Golfy Rides Again (or how a fool and his money are parted)

I am absolutely horrified.  Golfy is banging on, again, about the new iPhone 4.  Anyone would think he has nothing better to do with his time, or his money.

However, all that is forgiven since he has found me two different ties that I will seriously ignore.  

The first is a tie pillow.  Now, those that know me know that I do tend to fall asleep at the drop of a hat, or just after the third pint, whichever comes first.  Sometimes they both come at one and I simply cease to exist in the space time continuum that I had previously occupied.  I remember in the good old days when I spent my days in Worcester, and in particular in the Cardinal's Hat in Worcester, I did actually fall asleep through the whole second half of a seminal Cardinal Sin and the Bum Notes gig.  And I was the lead guitarist.  

Sorry for the delay.  Room service just arrived (veggie burger with a side of rocket and Parmesan salad plus a pint of diet coke) and I needed to tuck in, since my stomach was beginning to think my throat had been cut.

The second is an 8-bit tie.  Having started my computing career at a time when 8 bits was more than enough for any man, and colour VGA was just showing off, this does seem apt.  Go checkout Golfy's fine blog for links to these ties, but hurry back or you might miss something.

I am just watching the South Africa vs Uruguay.  The SA goalie has just been sent off.  He looks like quite an honest chap, so I am minded to believe his pleas of innocence, however the ref was not so charitable and has shown him a red'un.  I fear that the hosts may not make it in to the knockout round, and that may well change how the overall contest is received in South Africa.  Even the army may get bored and then who will steward the games.

Have a good evening and speak again tomorrow.

Retail Sandwich Index

The thing that economists have been warning of for a while has finally come to pass. As anyone could have identified by the devastating fall in the Retail Sandwich index (RSI), the Worcester sandwich shop has closed.
Golfy first brought this news to you two days ago, and the poor chap has been inconsolable ever since he found out. Even the mighty Gorse Fox is planning a boycott of the West Midlands in support of the place.

I would just like to give a shout out to Lucas, the owner, and his daughters. Lucas was, I am sad to report, a Manchester United fan. He may indeed still be a Man U fan, depending on how the counselling is going. Ha ha.

Anyway, I shall miss my brown-baguette-egg-mayo-and-salad-with-lots-of-black-pepper sandwiches, a friendly chat with Lucas, a checkout of the latest wacky nail painting on one of the daughters, and quick peek at The Sun. Just about the most perfect lunch break you could ask for. I am salivating just at the thought of the egg sandwich and really will miss every aspect of the experience. Lucas, if you are reading this (which of course he almost definitely is not) then good luck in whatever you are doing now, and maybe we shall meet in another food outlet sometime.

I is nearly 8 years to the day that maggot number 1 was born. It feels like a lifetime. I really am not sure what we used to do before children, but I dream that it including a lot of sleeping, reading, eating and drinking. It may have even included a bit of the other, which of course got us into this mess in the first place.
I do remember that when we were in the flat we sometimes did not get up until 8am. Sometimes I can be up and have driven two and a half hours to be in Worcester by 8am. And even if I was not driving all that way, then there are plenty of other ways to welcome in the new dawn as one or other, occasionally both, maggots dive bombs us in search of a cuddle.

Maggot 1 has three of his friends from school coming over for a sleepover that will involve swimming, cinema, an almost uncontainable amount of excited energy, and the illicit eating of a mountain chocolate at midnight that maggot 1 has been stockpiling since Christmas. One of the mums said to me in the playground today that we must be mad, oh, and also mentioned that her little maggot often stays up until midnight when he stays with his grandparents. I need to check the contract, because I don't remember that being part of the service. Let's just hope we can knacker them out before then because, let's be honest, we need to be in bed way before then.

And I certainly didn't do that BM (before maggots).

Let's hope the sun keeps on shining right through the weekend and into next week. Scobi senior times two return to these shores in 5 days and we really do not want to be scaring them off with cold weather and rain.

I hope you all have a great weekend, and let's meet again next week.

Old Haunts

My life as a foot soldier of Starfleet has, in the last couple of years, revolved around 4 main locations, namely my home office, Worcester, Farnborough and London, in order of frequency. So far in 2010, due to a combined effect of stricter rules on when you can travel, and also less of a need to do so anyway, I have spent too much of my time working from home.

"Oh, how lovely, being able to work from home."

"Yes it is, but to do it all the time gives you cabin fever. It is great to have the option, but it is also good to mix in person with like-minded colleagues from time to time."

If I have a pound for every time I have said that this year, then I would have exactly £17.50. The 50p relating, obviously, to a very abbreviated version of that conversation.

It is true, having the option of working at home is a fantastic privilege, if privilege is not too strong a word for it. In my industry, it is fair to say that Starfleet leads the way in supporting, in fact actively encouraging, home working, even if they did take away the company funded broadband connection last year, leaving me to either pay for my own, or change my working status to "office-based" and be allocated a desk in my local Starfleet starship. The latter being somewhat more of a threat than something they would actively want to encourage, in my opinion, but nevertheless a clever tactic to help ease the transition without mass revolt. This does, I know, sound a bit ungrateful, since most people do not get their company to provide broadband for home working. I accept this and the best defense I can make is that when you are provided with something, and then have it taken away, then you do feel like you have lost something. Maybe bankers are likewise moaning about the million pound bonus they are not getting this year. Oh sorry, they are getting it this year, but only to ensure that each bank can retain their best "talent". Claws away, rant over.

Anyhow, my lack of travel means that I have not been to Worcester this year, a massive change from last year when I went every week, usually for two days and one night.

My stay would normally be at the Fownes Hotel. This was a glove factory "in the old days" and is now a local hotel that is a bit tatty, but a place that feels like home. I always liken it to a dotty aunt's house - not perfect, but somehow charming in its imperfection.

On Wednesday, I visited Worcester, just for the day. I was unable to stay at Aunty Fownes' house because I had to work from home to look after the recuperating maggot 1 on the Thursday. It was nice to see a number of old faces, and to catch up on what is going on with the program, which is long and complicated. They were all able to confirm that any rumours of shortness and simplicity are much over-blown.

Primary reason for attending Worcester was to meet with my customer to agree and sign off an important proposal. This went well, but needs a bit more work so back next week for an overnight stay. This overnight coincides with a leaving do for a couple of colleagues, and will effectively be also my leaving do, since I do not imagine going to Worcester again, so it will be nice to have a beer with people who I have worked with for several years.