Lamp

After fitting a nasty, white plastic fitting to our new old lamp, I’ve quickly replaced it with something more appropriate. 

We’re still struggling to decide on a lampshade, but that’ll come in time. 

Freebird

I attended a mate’s funeral today. It was pretty horrible, but nice at the same time. I knew, deep down, that Freebird would be played at some point. And it was. 

Right at the end. 

I can’t say more. But the world has has lost one of the good guys. 

Sowts

When shopping in Asda, Peterborough, my second in command randomly declared that she needed to purchase some sowts (which could perhaps also be pronounced sowse). 

Now, my second in command has lived in the northeast for a few years, so our once occasional communication issues are now quite rare. Many attempts were made to convey the meaning of the word to me, but all failed. After a lengthy laughing session, my second in command found a way to explain the nature of a sowts. 

Bath salts. 

 

Town Mouse

After a few hours working in the shed, and a shower to de-muck myself, I caught a bus to town. To buy a lampshade. 

Feeling somewhat stressed after my shopping experience, I needed to find somewhere to rest and unwind. I’m now in the Town Mouse, where the landlorn embarrassingly greeted me by name. Still, I have a nice pint of Almasty pilsner. 

If you’ve not yet tried it, the Town Mouse is a great little bar (micropub), with a most pleasant owner. 

Convergence resurrected

I’ve said several times that I loved my Ubuntu phone. But we parted company shortly before Canonical abandoned Convergence, along with further updates or support. 

Since then, a couple of less ambitious ventures have set out to bring Linux to the smartphone. Sadly, nothing close to mainstream. 

It now seems that Samsung have a plan to achieve a workable compromise. An Android device which can be switched over to Linux when connected to a monitor and keyboard. Fingers crossed. 

Furniture

Since we live in the tiniest house in the world, we have a rule regarding furniture. It’s quite simple; if something is introduced to the house, an item of a similar size must leave. 

A couple of years ago, we discovered a second hand furniture shop in Ouseburn, just round the corner to the Ship Inn. It’s actually a charity venture, a sideline specialising in older furniture and oddities. 

We visit every now and again, not looking for anything in particular. After all, a purchase could result in the agony associated with deciding what should leave the house. A couple of months ago, my second in command was taken with a glass and wrought iron table lamp, but indecision led to our departure without it. 

I also liked the lamp, although not as much as my beloved. I was unsure about its age; it appeared to be hand blown and had something of a late 60s/early 70s Eastern look about it. Someone had rewired it, but the original (only partially intact) fitting was still in place. 

The lamp was still there on Saturday, so it returned home with us. I began to doubt my estimate of its age since, on closer inspection, the fitting was made from an old, dark brown, hard plastic. It wasn’t bakelite, or I don’t think it was, but it appeared to be pre-60s. 

I’ve replaced the partially incomplete fitting, but could only find a white fitting in the slightly non-standard size. I shall continue to look for a black one though, since white does look a little out of place. 

We’re attempting to learn more about the lamp’s origins; google images found a similar, smaller lamp, apparently sold on ebay (long since weeded). 

It’s not a great picture, but you can see that the cord is fabric covered, so it could be as old as the 20s or 30s. Our new acquisition is actually a lot more ornate (and nicer) than this one, but the design/construction is identical. 

We shall continue our research.