Off On One Again

A blog of no interest to anyone apart from me. Highly egotistical. Somewhat ironic that once upon a time people kept diaries secret. Now we publish to the world, even if no-one is listening (or reading). This may include stuff on Greece, history, rugby, cricket, Health and Safety, Wales, genealogy and West Hendred. It will almost certainly include complete rants about things I find amusing, interesting or annoying. There is no guarantee that anyone will share my views!

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Location: Didcot, Oxon, United Kingdom

37, forgetful, cynical, sarcastic, would like to have been a struggling artist but ended up with a PhD in chemistry. Got bored with being in the lab, fell into Health and Safety and now can't get out of science without taking a pay cut. Rather enjoying the diversion into Environmental compliance. Unfit and terminally depressed. Lovely wife Sam - just about all that keeps me together. Son Rafferty GFX Hall born 24 Oct 2005 is growing up quickly. Greyhound (Buddy), cats (PJ and Boots), tortoises (Tinkerbell and Compost). Learning Greek at Evening Classes. Play Cricket badly for Didcot CC, haven't played rugby for years and am a little annoyed about that. According to my medical, am clincially obese. Earn far too little. Completed H&S and Environmental Diplomas

July 25, 2005

Mr Wantage

I never knew that Mr Wantage was the Telephone Engineer in Camberwick Green...

July 18, 2005

The BBC's Digital Britain

I got a photo published on the BBC website...

July 13, 2005

Flickr

Well, Anna was right. It is rather good. I had a bit of a glut of posting last night.

July 12, 2005

Boots

This is our other cat, very much at home.

Boots House

PJ is a Tiger

Our cat pretends to be a Tiger...

PJ Tiger

Fifer's Lane, UEA

This is what remains of the Fifer's Lane Halls of Residence at UEA. I spent a good year there in 1990/91 (as did Rob). Sam lived there in 1992/3. They closed it in 1994, biult a housing estate over most of it, and now it is reduced to this shell. The Halls were old RAF housing, indeed the Dambusters film was shot on location there. There are now the crammed in narrow streets of a modern housing estate with the ghostly remains of the old residences nehind it. K Block, where the really crap discos were, the communcal TV and the laundrette, are still there, if derelict, and amazingly Z Block is still there.

Some things in Norwich have not changed in decades. Some things have changed in the blinking of an eye. Mind you, every time Sam's father came up to Norwich, something burnt down (Library, Assembly Rooms, Roys of Wroxham...). It can't be said that the new library is not a vast improvement on the old one though!

Fifers Lane G Block 2005

Buddy

This is Buddy. He likes Uncle Dan a lot.

Buddy very cute

Danone Activia

"Are you alright, mum"

"I'm just feeling a bit bloated".

"Oh, I get that. I eat these new Activia from Danone"....

You get the gist. Turns out, her mother is well enough to steal her yoghurts and run off down the garden.

Basically, my love, you have a kleptomaniac mother who steals food from the mouths of her child, and hasn't got the intelligence to stop eating or let rip with an almighty fart to get rid of her bloatedness.

Have you ever heard anyone say "I feel a little bloated". Well, apart from Dan that is, and he's just looking for sympathy...

Star Trek

It is time for a confession. I am a bit of a Trekkie. I have never even considered dressing up as a Vulcan, and I am not learning Klingon (Greek is as far as I can get). I just think it has been a very good series lasting many years. The Original Series was cheesy, the films have only been good in stages and poor in others, but it has continously produced challenging ideas and storylines. Lots of fake science, and it was set too close in the future (items in the Original Series were set in the late 1990s, for exampe!). Voyager was very good right up until the last episode which ended too briefly. They have too often wrapped up good storylines in the last few seconds before the credits roll, which is poor. However, in 7 of 9, Jeri Ryan produced one of the best characters in the whole series. Enterprise had its moments, it was no worse than any others , and the two-parter in the last series set in the "evil" parallel universe was simply stunning.

There, that's off my chest.

However, it is still not as good as the new series of Dr Who.

Me, scared

Thought I'd try scaring small children.

The bloke from The Darkness

scary

My wife is lovely

Photo on the Venetian fort overlooking Rethynon harbour.

Sam Rethymnon fort

July 11, 2005

Photos

Can someone please explain how to get photos on this thing. I think I'm becoming technologically illiterate...

Albert Hall

How many toilet rolls would it take to fill the Albert Hall? And why is it always the Albert Hall that people want to fill to the brim with anything?

Is this an unhealthy obsession that people have with wishing to fill every orifice of a public building? I'm sure some psycho-analysts would have a field day with that one.

A Smoking Car

I was driving out of Halford's car park in Didcot on Saturday, when I noticed that smoke was coming out of the window of the car in front. I was worried for a moment until I realised - it was only Rufus puffing on his pipe...

July 07, 2005

The John Radcliffe Hospital

How come all bar one of the staff at the JR (Obs department) that we came into contact with at Sam's 22 week scan were extremely rude and dismissive. Only the midwife even acknowledged that I was there, and no-one explained what was going on as we got shoved from pillar to post.