Quickie

We had a great time at David and Samatha's triple birthday bash, with lots of drinking and eating and talking, and latterly even a little bit of dancing.

This week is a utility week, the purpose of which is to get to Friday, when I have a half day off to receive a scaffold tower and to do the cracks in our render, finally.  Scobi Senior will be over to help in the morning, and I will hopefully be able to help erect the said scaffolding tower in between calls, before we put in a good stint of grinding out and re-rendering every single crack on the wall by our driveway, followed by a likely dismantle and remantle (it is too wide to get through our back gate) to then do the cracks outside Maggot 2's window.

We hope to paint all the woodwork at the top too, if we get time.

We are at a party on Saturday night, again, and on Sunday, Maggot 1 has a cricket match over in Worthing, and we will then be packing the car, ideally to almost "ready to go" status, in expectation of a busy final 4 days before we depart.

And . . . relax

Bit busy, have appraisal mid-year results to get in by today, and had a week of being pulled in to urgent stuff, so really needing to be putting in the hours.

Also applying for an internal role, Cloud based, of course, and in a slightly different direction to the Cloud role I had originally envisaged, but nevertheless an interesting role, done by a couple of my chums and one I am now actively pursuing.  The difference with this role is they are desperate to fill them, so I am hoping things will move quickly.

This weekend, we are at Brad and Angelina's David and Samantha's* for a party jointly celebrating the birthday for three of the clan.

Have a great weekend, speak next week.

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* Doh!  We were SEEING Brad and Angelina, but were definitely AT David and Samantha's.

And . . . relax

We have a most fantastic weekend.  The weather had been forecast for wet, but in fact apart from a couple of inconsequential down-pours, it was sunny.

In fact, we all got sunburnt on the Saturday.

We have a BBQ on the beach Friday night, much to the delight of the Maggots (8 of them in total), and we went swimming, with wetsuits of course, being proud and soft and Southern, for a good couple of hours Saturday.  Half the group went up the hill before breakfast for their daily exercise, whilst yours truly took the opportunity to sit*.  In short, everyone did what they wanted to do, and nothing more.

The only slight blip was that Saturday night, we had one of the wardens come over to say that someone had rang their emergency line, complaining about our Maggots playing football and rounders on the grass by our pitch.  Sour pusses.  To me, if kids having fun outside is not the essence of camping, then I don't know what is.

David and Samantha had to leave Saturday at 9pm due to David getting his dates mixed up, having to go to the Festival of Speed on the Sunday.  This made his Maggots sad, but in the round, it was not too obtrusive.

This weekend we are away at an Engagement Party, between LO's cousin and his soon-to-be fiance, and it is going to be a traditional Ghanan affair, so really not sure what to expect.  We are staying away for the night, which our Maggots love, and may venture in to the Capital on the Sunday, what with the England football team and Andy Murray out of their respective competitions. 

The only slight cloud is that LO may be coming down with something.  We should know more tonight as to her state of health.

have a great weekend, speak next week.

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* and not even to think

Longer, and shorter

My weekday is shorter, by half a day, so my weekend is longer, by half a day.  May not seem much to some folks, but makes a hell of a difference to me.

This means, of course, a lot of loose thread tying, and focused activity to ensure that there are no nasties lurking for me in my Inbox on Monday morning.

So why am I writing this bog.

Good question.

No good answer, except I like to think about the weekend ahead, and putting it in to writing seems to work for me.

We are away in Lyme Regis this weekend, with a big group.  We are in our 'van, as are A&E, with Brad and Angelina and David and Samantha in static vans up the hill.

Our pitch is overlooking the beach, and it is a pretty nice view.  There is something about water, whether sea, stream, lake or puddle, that is very soothing, so we are very much looking forward to it.  The only fly in the ointment, or cloud in the sky, is the weather forecast which seems to be painting a rather moist outlook.  Oh well, stiff upper lip, raincoat and boots, and off we go.

Have a great weekend, and speak next week.

That was the Weekend that Was

We had a good weekend, but not entirely one we had planned.  Maggot 1 awoke with a "dodgy tum tum" and by lunchtime it had materialised in to full hot and cold moments.  We therefore had to revert to a reluctant Plan B, which was me and Maggot 2 going up alone to Newbury, and returning at 10pm, which we duly did.  It was sad we were not all present to celebrate Brad's birthday, but we made the best of it and we did have a good time.

We do have a chance to make up for the last weekend next weekend, where we are off to Golden Cap, near Lyme Regis.  The plan is for BBQs on the beach, wetsuit swimming and other outdoor activities.  The real issue right now is the forecast is not looking so good.  I am hoping that the forecast will slowly change in our favour, which is has done many times before.  To be honest, it has also got worse as we have got nearer to the time, so we will just have to wait and see.

And . . . relax

It seems inevitable that most of the English components of our nation will be down-faced and depressed after our national football team seemed to go out, not with a bang, but with a whimper.  Every time any team starts a competitive event, they are putting themselves in the ring, and so will risk either victory or defeat, or perhaps a draw.  That is the nature of competition.  The fact that our lads seem to always pick tails - defeat - is rather disquieting.  History tells us that that is how it is.  If we had gone further, it would have been penalties, and that is like trying to toss five heads in a row.  Not impossible, for Germans, but for the English, the deviation from impossible is statistically insignificant*.

Anyway, there is also some real news going on in the world, not least the unsettling activities in Iraq.  Never has "your enemies enemy is your friend" been more true than now, as we enter "meaningful discussions" with Iran.  Indeed, commentators are saying that the solution lies with Iran and maybe Syria, since having a noisy neighbour like Isis is not in their interests any more than it is in the interests of Iraq generally, so this may be one campaign we can no bid.  I hope so actually, since it is hard to really follow the thread of truth though all that has happened in the last decade, to really work out whether the war was worth it or not.  That means a lot of lives were lost, and no-one can categorically prove that they were lives worth losing for the greater good.  That fence-sitting position is a considered one, in that I have heard partially viable arguments both for and against, and I fear that opinions are so entrenched, and so diametrically opposed, that it really is very hard to know what the "true truth"** is in amongst all the strong views.

Anyway, lightening the tone a bit, we are off to Brad and Angelina's this weekend, to celebrate Brad's birthday, who is seventeen or something***.  Should be a good weekend.

I hope your weekend is also good.  Speak next week.

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* I am of course borrowing from that Lottery truth that the difference in the probability of winning the Lottery between if you buy a ticket or you do not is statistically insignificant.
** as opposed to the "my truth" which drives most of what we do and don't believe as individuals
*** Just sour grapes, being the oldest in the group by a few years.

And . . . relax

Rather excellent training day yesterday, more Cloud, adding to my net knowledge and my network.

It is still hot down South, as with may parts of the UK, and working at home means minimal clothing, enough to not shock the postie when he knocks the door, but little enough so I am not over-heating.

This weekend is going to be a game of two halves.  Usual stuff, maybe a big bike ride Saturday afternoon down to the marina, then maybe a bit of a nap early/mid evening so that I can be awake at 11pm.  I am really really keen to watch the match live.  I could record and watch the next morning, but that would not really be the same for me, so here's hoping I can break a habit of a lifetime and actually be awake after 11pm.

I have been out the house more than usual this week, as has LO, so we also need just a bit of time in our own space, diddling and getting familiar again with the place.

I hope your weekend is both hot and cool in equal measure. 

AND COME ON ENGLAND

Stuff

Lot's of stuff on the go at the moment.

Always at the back of my mind is the crack repair program.  I have now done all that can be done without a scaffold tower, so now I need to identify a spare weekend, and look to hire one, and blitz all the stuff to be done over the two days of hire.  The only bit I really really need it for is the grinding out, since I did not want to be doing that at the top of a ladder - one slip and I could lose a limb.  Everything else is possible from a ladder, just easier on a scaffold.

Also in the home mix is that Maggot 1 has started to play for a cricket team.  This involves Sunday mornings and plenty of hours sitting in the (hopefully) sun, and while we are keen to encourage both Maggots in any and every pursuit they would like to try, it does take some hours out of your day.  Nevertheless, I plan to dive in wholeheartedly and enjoy the experience.  Truth be told, they only have about half a dozen matches a year and do not really expect an individual to play in every one, family commitments and all, so it is not as if the rest of my life will be spent in a portable chair in a field somewhere.  To be fair, this first match was in Priory Park at Scobiville, and a nicer location you could not find for experiencing the thwack of willow on leather*.

At work, I am really busy again, and still trying to pursue all things Cloud shaped.  I have a day's training tomorrow, am revising to take a Cloud certification exam, and am still waiting for my new role to materialise.  I pinged my potential new boss on Friday and the answer was "not been able to give it any thought, will be doing so soon", so really a cheque's in the post kind of answer.

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* I think that is what they call it

Hot

It is hot chez Scobi.  Very hot.  To be clear, my home office is hot, the outside a bit less so.  I could open the window, but the bins are being collected so there is too much noise whilst I am on my 9am conference call.  This means that I am glowing a bit.  I think men glow, or is it horses, can never remember.
Call is nearly over, and can't wait until they all stop blathering so I can get the window open. 

It's open, I am happy, time for tea.

Busy

Bloody hell but I am busy.  Sorry for cussing, not seemly for a chap to swear in public, and even at the bridge club, where things can get pretty hairy, such bad manners is frowned upon.

A week off and everything has piled up, which combined with a super urgent project means that I have more than enough to keep me busy, and I say "more" advisedly; I really cannot cope with the volume just now.

This is 50% coz I am actually busy, and 50% coz I am still half in holiday mode, which for me means slow . . . if I am not able to find a place to stop.  I guess in a week it will all be back to normal, but who wants normal?

Gone in a blink

We had a lovely week off, but, as the title suggests, it was over in a blink.

Yorkshire is lovely.  The people are also, from our experience, pretty nice and friendly too, none of the expected stereotypical bluntness.

We saw some sights, and I caught some fish.  In fact, so did Maggot 1 and A&E's Maggot 2.

The accommodation was good, and the site very quiet and well equipped.  By the end of the year, mind, it will be more than double the size and we suspect the peace will be less and the business in the service areas much more.  Ah, progress, good for some, not for others.

All in all, a great week off.



P.S. Sorry Gorse Fox, forgot to respond to your kind comment on a local iPhone repairer.  I sent it away to a company who turned it round in a day, so problem solved, but thanks very much for offering the info.

Things are picking up

Workwise, that is.  I am getting busy and actually, I rather like it.

As this is my last day before a week off, I am in close-down mode.  That means as many small loose threads as possible being closed, and any larger pieces that will overrun being put in good shape for some kind of handover.  Standard process, you need to appear to the outside world like the cover and handover is seamless, but those of us on the inside know that in truth there is always issues in any handover, and no-one can really fully pickup another person's work.  Having said that, we will try.

I am really looking forward to the week away.  I will get some fishing in - always a pleasure - and we will of course spend some time together as a family, and will be visiting some interesting places.

I am on a conference call just now with some, let's call him Steve, and it turns out that Steve and his wife are taking their newish caravan and their very new Q5 to a site just north of York.  It seems almost inevitable that we will bump in to each other at some stage.


We had some problem with LO's car in the week, when a load of hair started hanging out of the exhaust.  At first we thought it was a covert Barbie mission gone wrong, but it turns out to be the damping material, horse hair often, for the exhaust silencer.  It is now at the garage, and bits have failed, and the garage is putting it right, for a price that is not too bad considering the age of the old girl, and the fact that the exhaust has been sounding a bit throaty for a while.
This means that LO has my car, which means all the carefully crafted plans for me to get the top box fitted and the car partially packed have gone south, meaning that this evening will be exceedingly busy.

Yesterday afternoon, there was some extreme weather, and at one point there was an almighty lightening crack, so load and intense I thought one of our ceiling lights had spectacularly exploded. It turns out, when I did the school run, that it hit a local house, about 200m from my home office.  Not a great picture, but you can see where it hit the chimney, which presumably had a TV aerial attached until don't-know-how-many-thousands-of-volts decided to use it to get to earth.  I imagine that the occupants of the house, if they were present, had a much bigger shock than I did. This house is across the green from Maggot 2's school, and it was the talk of the school most of the afternoon apparently.

Other than that, all is good.  Have a great weekend, and speak in a week or two (depending on whether I am able and willing to blog remotely).