Another Of Jerry’s Horrors
This picture shows some of his handiwork being removed from the cupboard in my bedroom.
A Shelf By Jerry
If you think that was bad, just look at this hole he made in the floor of the cupboard to access the shower.
Pipe Access By Jerry
It’s all gone now and hopefully when the new wardrobe inserts come from IKEA, his handiwork will be buried for ever.
But Jerry seems to keep popping up in some very unexpected places.
First Impressions of Eastfield
As Bill Turnbull has used the colloquial term for London’s newest cathedral of shopping, I feel free to use it now and in future, as so many do.
So what is it like?
These pictures show that it is glitzy and it was very busy today.
Here are a few more detailed points.
The Marks and Spencer is enormous and I was actually able to find some trousers for the winter in my size of a 30 waist and a 29 leg. I joked with the assistant, that all the small sizes get bougt by the staff and he didn’t disagree.
The food hall is also large and there was both good and bad news. There was no gluten-free sandwiches, but the manager, told me she’d had that question several times in the day. So perhaps Marks will sort that one out.
John Lewis was its usual self and probably almost as large as Oxford Street.
But it was the next door Waitrose that was impressive. I’ve not seen a bigger one, that wasn’t a food shop with a mini-John Lewis attached like the one near Higham Ferrers. It seemed that they were trialing a few new products, including some Genius fruit bread, that I’d not seen before. This Waitrose will probably become the shop where I’ll go for special food shopping instead of Canary Wharf or Jones Brothers, but I’ll still do general grocery shopping at Upper Street, as they deliver. Eastfield doesn’t deliver as far as me.
The restaurants I saw, were not my sort of places, as they were typically fast food, burgers and non-gluten-free. But this doesn’t matter, as after the Olympics, it’ll be next to one of the biggest parks in Europe, so you’ll go to Marks or Waitrose and buy a picnic.
There were a few teething problems, one of which was the lack of signs to the trains in the centre, but it is infinitely better than the rather tired Lakeside and Oxford Street.
I was impressed too, that the General Manager of London Underground was there talking to travellers. Bosses should do this more often.
Nose Bleeds and Hay Fever
I was travelling on a bus today, when I sneezed so hard that my nose bled. So I had to get off and get some more tissues. The only shop was a Tesco and there was a queue, so I used the quick self-service till. It was difficult as all I wanted was two small packs of tissues and I couldn’t get past one stage because the maschine kept tellimg me to swipe my loyalty card and asking me how many bags I needed.
I don’t do loyalty, unless it’s been earned.
Tesco were lucky that the one bloody tissue I did have was enough to at least stop the blood going all over their floor.
Writing In An Oven Glove
Can you write or do delicate tasks in an oven or other form of protective glove?
This video shows me writing in an oven glove from Gloven.
It was surprising how much control I had. As an engineer, I feel that it has many applications in the wider world, outside of the kitchen.
Remember they also protect against the cold and one version has extra silicone grips.
I will definitely be getting a pair to help with my gammy hand in the kitchen.
Comparing Texas and the EU
I found this on the web in a piece talking about the Texan use of the death penalty.
Luckily we don’t live in Texas, where they own around 51 million guns (more than all of the European Union combined) and the Encyclopedia Britannica is banned because it contains a formula for making beer.
The population of Texas is incidentally 24.7 million and that of the EU is 501.3 million. As to the Encyclopedia Britannica, I haven’t seen one in years and don’t know anybody who has one.
I’d be interested to know how many people are killed accidentally by guns in Texas every year.
A City of Clocks
Liverpool contains more public clocks than any other city I know. And most seem to tell the right time to! Even the clock on St. Luke’s church was showing the correct time. Obviously, the Nazis couldn’t make time stand still!
C never wore a watch and perhaps in her four years or so in Liverpool, she learned how to manage without one!
Where We Bought Our Wedding Rings
Over forty years ago, C and I bought our wedding rings at Pykes in Liverpool.
Pykes Jewellers in Liverpool
The shop has now moved from Exchange Street East to Whitechapel.
Since the day I got married, the white gold ring has stayed on my finger.
Smokers At The Adelphi
This picture reminds me of something, that you’d perhaps see in Amsterdam.
The Adelphi Hotel with Added Smokers
I also smile at the thought of my twenty-first birthday dinner with C in this hotel. She wore a purple dress from Through The Looking Glass. To say it was short would be an overstatement.
It’s a pity that the dress was thrown out years ago. It might be worth a few bob, as I suspect none from this boutique exist now.
The Liverpool School of English
I passed this place on Mount Pleasant
The Liverpool School of English
I’m not going to make the obvious joke, but I suspect they’ll give their students a rather different grounding to those schools in places like Bournemouth or Cambridge.
I’m reminded of the time, when flying down to the South of France, when the air traffic controller at Lyon, had a distinct Brummie sound. It turned out that as the French at the time were worried about the English of their controllers, he ‘d done part of his training in Birmingham.
I do suspect though that the Liverpool School of English has suffered in the acts of many Liverpudlian comedians.
Through The Looking Glass
I was in Liverpool in the 1960s and met C there. Obviously, she wore as trendy clothes as she could afford and Liverpool’s trendiest boutique was Through The Looking Glass on Mount Pleasant.
Was Through The Looking Glass Here?
I think it was here in this basement. I think it was owned by one of The Scaffold.
The Anonymous Widower 