I was invited over to CM's for dinner friday and was met with a surprise guest, CC, whom I hadn't seen for nearly a month. CM made a lovely pork roast dinner but I was beginning to nod off and had to break up the evening a bit early.
Saturday I visited the Gran to discuss the housing market and potential cost savings and domestic security issues. I had thought it was a productive meeting but since then I've come to find out that all parties weren't as forthcoming as they could have been. Negotiations continue....
Sunday I met up with CG for the first time this year for a quick bite to eat in Jerricho before watching Paris at the Phoenix cinema. I'd read some good reviews and it starred Juliette Binoche whom I've always liked, and ....no other actors that I knew, but we both left thinking the story was a bit lacking and disjointed. We had a quick cup of tea at her place before I had to head home.
8/05/2008 07:16:00 PM
Thursday, July 31, 2008
July Done Then
I was off for 12 days from work and tried to unplug from the computer. No Grand Voyage for me but I did get some stuff done around the house and ran some errands and had a few days out, including:
It was lovely not having to go in to work and the weather was mixed but not too bad, but I've been having trouble sleeping for the past fortnight as I've another pinched nerve in my upper back/shoulder--no sleeping in for me!
7/31/2008 10:38:00 PM
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Easy Go
I sold my 1st iPhone on eBay last week. £330 before fees were assessed.
That will come in handy as I have annual car tax to pay this month (£180, $360) and this year's first auto insurance installment (£100) due. The car's also going in for service on the 21st and I'm hoping there'll be nothing too costly wrong with it.
7/08/2008 02:51:00 PM
Am i Phoning?
Steve Jobs announced last month at the WWDC that the new iPhone 3G would be available for sale on July 11. O2, Apple's sole service provider in the UK, announced yesterday morning that the iPhone 3G was available to purchase in advance, for delivery on Friday.
I recieved a txt from O2 shortly after 8:0am telling me that --as a prior iPhone owner-- I could upgrade online. I tried their site at work first thing and couldn't even get the page to load. I recieved about 10 different upgrade codes, all unusable as the web site never progressed past that.
Then after a many more unsuccessful attempts over four hours, and many messages saying the server had fallen over and try back later, I got the 'Due to huge demand were are out of stock online. Come back on 10th July for more information' message.
What a load of rubbish! The early availability was supposed to be for iPhone customers only. Surely O2 know how many iPhone customers they have? Why not stock that amount with the optimistic view that the majority will upgrade?
O2 aren't telling the truth about their 3G iPhone stocks. It seems *new* O2 customers were able to purchase the stock that was available yesterday through the online system with no problems (until stock ran out), but prior iPhone owners were blocked.
Luckily, I'm on leave on Friday and will (probably) be at the local O2 store's door at 8:00am when they open. Let's hope they have more than 3 or 4 in stock per store....
7/08/2008 02:27:00 PM
Friday, July 04, 2008
I'm on a concert roll
We're opening up the doors to the Royal Albert Hall for our first ever free of charge Prom! Come over the road after Folk in the Park to the Royal Albert Hall and experience the Proms for yourself in our special folk-influenced concert.
Programme to include:
Traditional Folk songs: Seventeen Come Sunday, Green Bushes, I wonder as I wander
Vaughan Williams English Folk Song Suite, for military band (c.11mins)
Grainger Shepherd's Hey; Green Bushes (c.4 mins)
Berio Folk Songs (25 mins)
Trad. arr. Folkestra Folk music from the British Isles (15 mins)
Trad. arr. Muzikas from Transylvania, the Eastern Carpathian Mountains and Moldova (15 mins)
Bartok Romanian Dances (13 mins)
Kathryn Tickell 'Confluence' (BBC commission: world premiere) (c8 mins)
There will be one interval
Royal Albert Hall
Proms 04
Sun., Jul 20
3:30 PM
Centre Stalls
Price Each: £0.00
Section: Stalls L 11
Seat: 116
Quantity: 1
Sub-Total: £0.00
7/04/2008 12:24:00 PM
Sunday, June 29, 2008
I've seen you before
It was a spur of the moment decision:
You purchased 2 tickets to:
Bon Jovi - Seated
Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, Middlesex,
Sat 28 Jun 2008, 16:00
Order for: Timothy G
Seat location: section L13, row 34, seats 70-71
Total Charge: £22.25
A web site I peruse daily whose readers post coupons, deals and other sales notifications had a listing for a special link through Ticketmaster to buy £75 tickets to this concert for only £10 each. I didn't have any plans for Saturday night, so why not? Called a friend of mine, SK, and decided to go.
I'd seen Bon Jovi once before, in 2001 at the MCI Center when the company I worked for offered the tickets up in a lottery. I recall I went alone when my partner bailed at the last moment but enjoyed the show nonetheless. I don't think I've listened to any new Bon Jovi albums (except Lost HIghway, once) since.
I left the house at 3:30 and drove to the nearest park and ride. There I caught the same bus SK had boarded in Oxford, on our way to London. We got off at Shepherds Bush and took the Tube (along three different lines, because of service suspensions) to Waterloo rail station. We caught a train there to Twickenham and then walked a half hour to the stadium where the concert was held (and where we queued for 40 minutes to pick up the tix, getting in at 8pm, just a few minutes before Bon Jovi started.) So we missed the opening act but didn't mind so much.
I was hungry & thirsty and so spent £12 for a burger, fries, a lukewarm drink and a sweet (more than the price of the ticket). Filling, nonetheless.
As for the show, our seats were OK but the sound wasn't that great. I could see people on the stage but couldn't identify individuals, so I watched the video screens for most of the concert. Out of the two dozen or so songs that were played, I recognised about 10, and enjoyed more than half of the rest. The crowd certainly was into it. I noticed Jon let the crowd sing some of the higher notes of the songs.
Afterwards, 50,000 people all tried to walk through the residential streets of Twickenham to board the trains. We queued for about an hour and squeezed onto a packed carriage where the party continued & snatches of song broke out. By midnight we'd reached Waterloo again and continued the reverse trip back home (I got in at 2:30am, 11 hours after I'd left). I'm not so sure I'd do it again.
6/29/2008 09:44:00 PM
Friday, June 27, 2008
Nearly the last call.
Read today:
Pubs are closing down at their fastest rate ever - with those in towns and cities being hit the hardest.
Some 2 % of all city pubs have closed in the last six months, whilst food-led country pubs with outdoor facilities for smokers are reaping the benefits. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) believe the increase in pub closures to 30 a week - nearly four every day - comes down to a number of factors. BBPA says these include the smoking ban, the economic credit crunch, increased beer prices and temperamental weather conditions.
According to a survey carried out by the association, 1,409 pubs closed during 2007, a sharp increase on previous years. Pub numbers were down 216 in 2006 after a fall of 102 in 2005.
This doesn't surprise me as similar stories have been appearing all year. I don't go out to drink very often at all. I've only been to the two pubs in my village twice in the past seven months, other than for a meal. One of the reasons is that it's just too damn expensive - £3.30 (nearly $6.50) for a pint of beer in my local.
6/27/2008 12:01:00 PM
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
I'm in the wrong business, part 32
Petrol went up another 1p/l overnight (8¢/gallon) but at least I was able to find some petrol; Shell's delivery truck drivers were on strike over the weekend and about 600 petrol stations ran out. One response wasn't too popular:
A Devon petrol station which charged £1.99 a litre for petrol has dropped its prices after coming under fire for cashing in on fuel shortages.
Foxhayes garage at Exwick, near Exeter, was charging the equivalent of more than £9 a gallon on Monday, saying it wanted to conserve stocks.
Fuel price watchdogs slammed the increase as "inexcusable". And on Tuesday the price had dropped to £1.20 a litre for petrol and £1.36 for diesel, with a maximum £5 spend.
A member of staff at the garage told BBC News: "It got a bit extreme. I heard on the radio that we were more vilified than George Bush."
6/17/2008 10:06:00 PM
Monday, June 16, 2008
SW1x3
Third weekend in a row in London, a record for me.
Last weekend my father came into town and so we took a trip in to London to see the Cabinet War Rooms, which had been where the Westminster at War walk had ended two weeks ago, but which DLA and I hadn't visited as we'd had quite enough walking around, thank you. The Cabinet War Rooms also house the new Churchill Museum, and both were impressive. We also popped into the new Household Cavalry Museum at Horse Guards Parade, which was a skip away, and then had a nice meal at the standard in Covent Garden. On Monday I had the day off and we visited Bletchley Park, where most of the Allies' code-breaking was done during WWII, and which now houses Britain's National Computing Museum.
Yesterday I was in town to visit the Victoria & Albert museum & have a wander around Kensington High Street before visiting a friend of mine. The long summer days sure do make this kind of activity more practical.
6/16/2008 09:44:00 PM
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Wow
I believe I ruminated awhile ago that there are very few artists whose concerts I would pay to see these days. NKC is going to see Elton John next month and I believe paid around £180 per ticket (for excellent seats). I saw in news this week that George Michael is not going to be touring any more after his two final dates at Earls Court later this year, and he's one of the few I would see. Janet Jackson is another. Peter Gabriel maybe. Josh Groban most likely.
Coincidentally I ran across this clip on That Josh Groban Guy of Josh's appearance in Ally McBeal back in 2001, before he was anybody. I never saw the show, but what a dork Josh's character is, which is probably what makes the performance all the more stunning. Watch:
Ally McBeal #1, "The Wedding"
May 22, 2001
The performance that started all the "buzz" about Josh! His first TV role as Malcolm Wyatt, where he performs "You're Still You" at the prom.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Weren't you the one with the untreatable skin condition?
June must be the month to find old friends and colleagues.
Last weekend I spent a day in London with my friend DLA who I graduated from LCHS with, and whom I hadn't seen in almost 20 years. We went on a guided walking tour with a "Westminster at War" theme which was both educational and entertaining, and then had dinner at the standard, Bella Italia, in Covent Garden. The weather was just right and it was good to get in to London as it had been a long time since my last visit.
Yesterday I was bored at work and started messing about with Facebook. Someone had posted a ton of photos from LCHS from the mid-80s ... what a hoot! I also found a buddy of mine from GWU who I hadn't heard from in fifteen years or more, PG, and it's been great to catch up.
Coincidentally, I graduated from high school 22 years ago today.
6/11/2008 10:42:00 PM
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Up 3p/litre (~23 cents/gallon) this week
5/27/2008 12:27:00 PM
Saturday, May 24, 2008
It's Over
I'm just watching the last of the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. Terry Wogan's provided amusing enough commentary.
Not surprisingly, the UK did poorly despite having a decent song by a talented singer. What is surprising is how few points they received: out of 43 countries who voted, only two (San Merino and Ireland) gave them any points, and they were tied for last in the total votes. Here were the final standings;
1st- Russia: 272 points
2nd- Ukraine: 230 points
3rd- Greece: (didn't deserve) 218 points
...
Last place- Poland:14 points
Last place- Germany: 14 points
Last place- United Kingdom: 14 points
For the record, my favourite was Iceland, who scored in the middle of the pack.
5/24/2008 11:07:00 PM
Thursday, May 22, 2008
I can Dance if I Want to
Before I'd known mom was visiting, I'd bought myself a ticket to see Mathew Bourne's Nutcracker! in Southampton on the 17th. I'd seen his Swan Lake, The Car Man and this show on DVD before and thought it would be a fun day out. Luckily when I phoned the booking office, the seat next to me was still available, so I invited mom along.
I met her in Oxford the night before and we had a nice curry at Mirabai in Headington before popping over to CM's for a cup of tea. We got an early start the next morning and were 50 miles down the road when I had to fill up with petrol. Unfortunately, for the first time ever, I'd left my wallet at the house & had to humbly plead with mom to pay the £40 bill. Luckily I'd picked up the theatre tickets but mom had to pay for everything else that day, including our nice lunch at The Giddy Bridge before the show.
The show itself was ... innovative. You can read a review for yourself. The second half in particular was just bold and brash, but in a good way. We both thoroughly enjoyed it.
After the show we had a short drive around Southampton but weren't too impressed. No sandy beaches (no beaches to speak of really) and the day was overcast so we didn't stick around.
5/22/2008 10:18:00 AM
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
I'm not sold
Now that we've had more than 2 hours in a row without it raining (and in order to Stick it to the Electric Man), NKC and I strung a line across the back garden in order to hang clothes out to dry.
I'm not yet sold on the idea. It's less convenient than using the dryer, and you have to keep an eye out on the weather (which turns every ten minutes). Also, the clothes wind up *crunchy* when they're dry, no matter how much softener I use in the wash. Of course that's fixed by ironing them, but I don't iron.
Supposedly, NKC says, they wind up smelling fresher too.
I realised deep down I think there's something awfully white trash about stringing your clothes up to dry, but it's more the norm here in the UK than not.
5/20/2008 10:04:00 PM
My ears don't bleed
I was pretty sad to hear that Shania Twain and her husband of fourteen years are splitting.
I know it doesn't mean she'll stop recording, which is a good thing as she's one of the few country artists whose music I can stand to listen to.
