Monthly Archives: May 2017

Music

Someone in our street was playing music this afternoon. Very loudly. 

Which was a goid thing because I was working in the spare room(s) most of the day and the batteries in the radio had died an hour after starting work. 

I had the windows open since a lot of dust was being produced. Whoever was playing music has decent taste. Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Doors, Stevie Wonder, Killers, Nirvana, Green Day and some stuff I didn’t recognise. 

If I knew who was responsible I’d thank them. 

Tits

We seem to have a couple of pairs of bluetits nesting in the bush adjacent to the pigeons’ tree. There are many noisy hatchlings. 

I’m so glad I didn’t prune the bush/tree this year. 

Gyles Brandreth

When I was around 14 years old, I developed a dislike of Gyles Brandreth. 

He appeared in a childrens’ TV series called puzzle party. Mr Brandreth actually sang the (terrible) theme tune for the series.

The series was awful, with children having to do silly things for … Well, points. 

Anyway, Mr Brandreth, the host, simply annoyed the fuck out of me. 

Years later, he appeared as  a Tory MP, then as an occasional guest on BBC 1`s the One Show. 

Little has changed since my teenage years. His Tory-ness compounds my dislike of him. 

Is it true a Gnu only comes from Peru? 


Windows

Almost 13 years ago, when needing to have the dividing wall between the two back betrooms taken down and rebuilt, I glimpsed the potential of the rooms as a single room. 

The two identical windows made it obvious that the dividing wall wasn’t original to the house. 

And, now the wall is no more, the windows can be seen as they were intended. 

The plaster’s still drying in places, and there’s still a lot to do, but the result is better than I’d expected. 

It’s been the messiest job I’ve ever undertaken, complicated by the unusual angles in both rooms, due to old structural problems. 

150

During a post plastering soak in the bath, while listening to Radio 4, I learned of Dunbar’s theory. The theory from Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary psychologist, maintains that an individual can manage up to 150 friends. 

Friends are defined as “the number of people you would not feel embarrassed about joining uninvited for a drink if you happened to bump into them in a bar”. 

Dunbar’s research goes back to the population sizes of villages in England and Wales, as recorded in the Domesday Book. This transfers to the modern world of social media too. Apparently, the average number of active friends a person has on Facebook is 150. However, many have less. 

Naturally, it’s not quite that simple. There are different circles of friends which vary in closeness.

I could say more, but you can have a look on the Internet if you’re interested. Or, if you can find the programme repeated on the radio, it makes good bath listening. 

Pigeons

Lately, a couple of wood pigeons have been hanging around in our garden. And, earlier today, my second in command noticed that one appeared to be building a nest in the tree. After a half hour’s observation, this was confirmed. 

My knowledge of the world of nature is extremely limited, but it feels a little late in the year to be building a nest. 

An attempt to capture a picture, through the kitchen window, was something of a failure. 

There’s actually a bird in the picture, but it’s not easy to spot. 

Pouring

While in Germany recently, I observed the intense pouring of Erdinger into a (plastic -well, it was a gig).

Basically, the glass goes ovet the top of the bottle and it’s turned over 180 degrees. 

It works in Germany, but made a bit of a (volcano-like) mess in Washington. I’d try again myself, but the last time I attemoted such a feat in our kitchen ended badly.

Local

I was born in Sunderland. I grew up in County Durham, via New Zealand, but in 2004 I moved to Gateshead. It was a pretty random decision and it went tits up. 

I say tits up because I moved here with my (second ex) wife (to be at the time). It was never going to work out. And, of course, it didn’t. 

But it wasn’t all negative. The relationship might have died a horrible death, but at the end of the day I’m happy. There were a few agonising years, yes, but my time alone was something I needed to pull my head together. And I enjoyed it (once my head was sorted out).

And, after a while, I met my second in command. 

As You can see, she’s quite beautiful. 

I’m very happy with my second in command. In our little house (which we’ll quite possibly sell). 

And I’m very happy in Gateshead. We’ve both been accepted, even though I was born in Sunderland and my second in command likes football (Peterborough and Liverpool) and speaks with a funny accent. 

So, we’re now local. We’ve just been to see local blokes (from my local) play in the Academy in town. And they were damn good. 

A lot of people from our local pub (the Three Tuns) were there too, showing support. 

We were there because we’re local. We live in the Heed.