Trousers

OK, I recognise that I’m a middle aged man with a middle aged man’s girth. But I have a problem. 

If I buy American branded trousers/jeans, I buy a 33 inch waist (34 leg, obviously). But if I buy UK produced (China, Vietnam, India) clothing, I mostly need a 36. 

Now, I know I’m not exactly skinny, but I’m certainly not a true 36. Hell, I even bought a pair of 36 inch trousers recently and couldn’t actually fasten them. So that would make me a 38. I think not. 

I’ve a 33 inch waist. And I’m not really an extra large kind of bloke. 

Made in Scotland

I finally gave in and bought one. A Westclox Baby Ben, which now proudly sits on the mantle. 

I may have been influenced a little by recent scenes from an episode of the Walking Dead. And, of course, by memories of a similar timepiece on the mantle of my childhood. 

I may have also bought a second. 

Extinction

Last year, when a Pterodactyl pooped all over me from a great height in Newcastle, I came to the realisation that dinosaurs were not actually extinct. 

Further evidence of this was discovered yesterday in the Central. When I observed a Tyrannosaurus Rex at the bar. 

Care should be taken when in Newcastle or Gateshead. 

Theft

A mix up with the timing of my second in command’s course dates meant I needed to book transport home tomorrow (she now needs to stay until Wednesday, but I have work stuff that day).

So I stole a book. 

A man’s book. 

A gem from 1968.

Gas street

While I’ve been to Birmingham many times, I’ve never been to the canal area before this afternoon. Most impressed with the Canalside Bar, which has a pretty decent vegan menu. 

And, while on the subject, the Stable has a rare choice of vegan pizzas. 

Little Glasgow

I know I’ve mentioned this previously, but it’s weirdly cool that there’s a little oasis of northern-ness in the south. 

Currently in Wetherspoons, Corby.

The carpeting is still of the tartan variety. 

Salt crystals

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ve compounded the problem with the damp wall. Around seven years ago, I fitted a new door, creating an air (or, rather, heat) lock between the kitchen and the back door. The door wasn’t exactly new, since I’d found it in a skip, but it’s a nice door and it resulted in a warmer kitchen during a very cold winter. 

Unfortunately, a warmer kitchen resulted in a colder rear lobby. So any damp wasn’t going to dry out. 

Since resuming work on the damp wall, with the new/old door remaining open, the wall’s now a lot drier. More frequent use of the kitchen stove of late has surely helped too. 

On close inspection, earlier this evening, I realised just how bad the dampness had been. 

Salt crystals. Blue ones too. 

Landfill

A while ago, I dropped down to one desktop PC. With smart TVs and other connected devices, there was no longer the need to have more. 

One old desktop didn’t quite make it to the tip, purely by accident. It hadn’t been used in years, so I was surprised that it booted-up this afternoon. 

I bought it from ebay for around thirty quid over a decade ago, but I think it’s around 17 years old. It’s running Ubuntu 12.04 and, if I remember correctly, couldn’t upgrade to 14.04 a few years ago. It’s something like a Celeron 5 or 600, with a half gig memory and a 60 gig hard drive. 

I may keep it.