A bunch of pictures we took in Leicester a few weekends ago when the Grogans went to put flowers on Katy's grandmother's tomb.
All pics here: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/leicester_oct_2007/
Tag: pictures
Busy (and costly) weekend
Katy and I spent in excess of £10,000 last weekend.
First, we bought a car:
It's a 2003 Toyota Corolla 1.6 T3 with just a little over 20,000 miles on the counter. It's had 3 services and 2 MOTs and the body work is in fine shape. We just need to get the loan deposited in the account now and we can sort the final paperwork exchange next Saturday.
We drove up to Leicester because we just couldn't quite grasp the enormity concept of having bought a “new” car. While we were in Leics, we finally bought the plane tickets to go to Canada for the holidays (after much badgering from Katy's parents). We're leaving Heathrow on the 19th and coming back on the 30th-31st. It really is a pain that Zoom doesn't fly to Ottawa in winter because we could have saved about £250 per ticket – and flown with more leg room in the process!
Then, to top it all off, we also booked the hotel in Montreal where we're going to be spending two nights around the time of Katy's birthday. For those of you who know it, we're going to be staying at Le St-Sulpice, in the old port.
Now that the flights and the hotel are sorted out, we just know that Katy's parents going to start banging on about a full trip schedule for Ottawa and Montreal. They – and most specifically her dad – are complete planning freaks. They put Michel's parents to shame…
When we got back to Cambs on Sunday night, there were pictures of our new pussycat waiting for us in my inbox.
Isn't she just the cutest thing EVAR?
Better late than never
I've finally pulled the finger out and put up the pictures from Cromer and Vienna.
http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/cromer_jul_2007
http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/vienna_jul_2007
Enjoy.
A clear sign I have a twisted mind
Quick! Quick! Look at this thing and tell me what the first thing you think of!
I'm willing to bet that you didn't think the same thing I did…
A bit of background: I have a gel-filled wrist rest at work. It's black and boring and comfortable, but it sprung a leak so, once in a while, my wrist or some cables get smeared with sticky goo. Not pleasant.
After a bit of running around, I found the right secretary to ask for a new one and, lo and behold, 30 minutes later she came in with a large, shiny, rubbery, bluish thing that would not look out of place in a sex shop.
I feel weirded out and slightly aroused at the same time to have it on my desk.
I have a sick mind, I know.
Geneva pictures are finally up
http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/geneva_jun_2007/
Peeeectures!
Katy bullied me into taking two days off last week so we went on a pair of day trips, one to Cadbury World and another to Hunstanton seaside.
Cadbury world was a childhood fantasy for Katy and was actually more fun than I thought it would be – once we managed to lose the 5 busload of hyped-up ADHD kids. We came back with a bit more than a kilo of chocolate and a stuffed parrot for Katy. I almost bought a 5kg bar of dairy milk, but I couldn't justify it. It would have gone bad before we'd have been able to eat it all without getting sick. Figure that one square of the bar is the equivalent of 3 normal dairy milk bars…
Our second trip was to the seaside, via Norfolk Lavender, a huuuuuge lavender farm. Hunstanton isn't the nicest of seasides. It looks a bit old. It probably didn't help that it wasn't completely open when we got there, but the bits that were were less than impressive. Southwold is nicer for a non-commercial seaside and Yarmouth is nicer for a commercial one. Still, we saw otters being fed and the beach itself was nice. The sea was completely calm and the sky was the same colour as the water, so both were indistinguisheable from each other.
The cliffs were also very cool. Apparently, they're a great source for fossils. As we were walking along the beach, we came across a rather unusual sight. An old dude was working at the base of the cliffs, apparently sorting out the fallen rocks into colour-coded piles. We didn't ask why; we figured he was probably bored and it took him out of the house.
The tide as out and had left tons of boulders covered in seaweed. Very funky indeed. The day itself was a bit overcast, but the sun was trying to shine through. I still managed to get a bit of a sunburn on my arms.
It was nice to spend some quiet time with the girl though :)
More pictures online at:
http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/hunstanton_may_2007/
http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/cadbury_world_may_2007/
Bury St-Edmunds and Greene King Brewery
We went to the Greene King Brewery in Bury St-Edmunds last weekend. It's a nice little market town about 30 minutes from home. There's a big parc where an old Abbey used to stand and the brewery offers hour-long tours with tastings of about a dozen beers for only £8. We discovered a shop that specialized in game meats. We need to go back there.
More pics here: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/bury_greene_king_may_2007/
Next weekend: WINE!
I know I mentioned this before, but I can't seem to find it
Bus drivers have nicknamed a white cat Macavity after it has started using the No 331 several mornings a week. The feline, which has a purple collar, gets onto the busy Walsall to Wolverhampton bus at the same stop most mornings – he then jumps off at the next stop 400m down the road, near a fish and chip shop.
The cat was nicknamed Macavity after the mystery cat in T.S Elliot's poem. He gets on the bus in front of a row of 1950s semi-detached houses and jumps off at a row of shops down the road which include a fish and chip shop. Driver Bill Khunkhun, 49, who first saw the cat jumping from the bus in January, said: “It is really odd, the first time I saw the cat jumping off the bus with a group of passengers. I hadn't seen it get on which was a bit confusing.
“The next day I pulled up on Churchill Road to let a couple of passengers on. As soon as I opened the doors the cat ran towards the bus, jumped on and ran under one of the seats, I don't think any of the passengers noticed.
“Because I had seen it jump off the day before I carried on driving and sure enough when I stopped just down the road he jumped off – I don't know why he would catch the bus but he seems to like it. I told some of the other drivers on this route and they have seen him too.”
Since January, when the cat first caught the bus he has done it two or three times a week and always gets on and off at the same stops. Passenger, Paul Brennan, 19, who catches the 331 to work, said: “I first noticed the cat a few weeks ago. At first I thought it had been accompanied by its owner but after the first stop it became quite clear he was on his own.
“He sat at the front of the bus, waited patiently for the next stop and then got off. It was was quite strange at first but now it just seems normal. I suppose he is the perfect passenger really – he sits quietly, minds his own business and then gets off.”
Somewheeeeere, over the raaaaaaainbow…
Katy and I went to Leics last weekend to go wash the car and generally annoy her folks. On the way back, we caught a patch of rain; at the edge of which there were rainbows. I'd never seen before a rainbow where you could actually see both ends of the arc. My camera didn't have a wide enough lens to be able to capture it, but it was beautiful.
Oh, and if the pictures seem a bit blurry, they were taken while we were going about 70 on the M11 :)
More here: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/rainbows_may_2007/
Whimsy picture of the day
Bill Cosby singing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is disturbing, btw.