Sunday, 30 March 2008

When Saturday Comes (3)

Great day, thanks everyone of you. Picture taken at the Black Horse in Ipswich.

Ipswich should have got all three points from the game, the ball crossed the goal line and a player kept it out with his arm !

Friday, 28 March 2008

When Saturday Comes (2)

It doesn't look like the group of us will be travelling by train, to Ipswich, due to line repair works, over this weekend, How Frustrating. There are coaches laid on for the journey, which are just not going to be the same. Hopefully Ipswich will win to soften the inconvenience.

No.5

Thursday, 27 March 2008

When Saturday Comes

This Saturday eleven of us from "the local" are going on the train to Ipswich to see the Ipswich v QPR game, K.O. 3pm. Five of us, including myself, are sitting in the "home end", north stand, and the other six, not all actual QPR fans, are sitting in the away end.
Last season, for the same fixture, there was only five of us in total, so the numbers have more than doubled for this one.
One moment of hilarity, on the last trip, came when four of us came into Thurston train station, expecting to see another friend on the platform, only to see him rounding the corner into the car park, as the train pulled out. Him having to get the next train, Hi Stuart (aka peanut) - you'll never live it down.

No.5

Sunday, 23 March 2008

Snow ! (2)

More pictures of the snow taken on my walk to the local, for a lunchtime pint.

The local

The pond, and no sign of the Carp today


No.5

Snow !

Its a white Easter, instead of Christmas. I had to go out and knock the snow off the satellite dish, because it had stopped me getting a TV signal. So while I was out I took a short walk to the footbridge to take a picture.

Off to the pub at lunchtime so I'll get some more photo's if it hasn't melted by then.

No.5

Saturday, 22 March 2008

Lark Valley Trail

We, Bro' and I, set off today, along the public footpath that starts between Anglia bodyworks and the Somerfield Supermarket, along Mildenhall Road, at about 10am. Destination - Flempton Greyhound.

At the beginning of this trail, behind the Padley factory, there was a horrendous stench in the air. Not sure what the source of it was, but maybe you could blame the river and ditches being in flood.


The amount of water in the river was pushing through really fast, and we were starting to experience rain and sleet as we walked along the river Lark towards Fornham, (Fornham Sluice, above).


On from Fornham, behind Hengrave, we come to Culford and walk through the School grounds back down to the river, and this bridge spans the river (above), and the view down stream from the top of it (below).

Carrying on along the Lark Valley Trail (that goes all the way to Mildenhall) got a bit tricky not far from here. The Trail diverted us around a fenced off area, signed as a biological area for the school, through a very boggy field, where we needed to step/jump between clumps of reads to keep our feet out of water.

Having climbed over this style, first, out of this boggy field, I started to laugh at the next sign to greet us on the other side of the fence, much to my brothers puzzlement. " Why weren't we warned of this entering the field!"


Maybe this was what the smell was along the river behind Padley's.

Having emerged out on the road in West Stow, the church bells chimed twelve. We turned right, then left, and walked the road up to Flempton village, and to the Greyhound public house. Once in the pub, they had an open fire going in the public bar, and after a couple of pints of Woodforde's Wherry, my sister-in-law arrived to give us lift back.

No.5


Friday, 21 March 2008

Why Is Easter When It Is

Easter falls on the first Sunday, after the First full moon, after the spring equinox (March 21st). This can fall between 22nd March and April 25th.

No.5

Saturday, 15 March 2008

Happy 50th Birthday Steve

Happy 50th Birthday Steve

In the Moreton Hall pub

No.5


Wednesday, 12 March 2008

Waiting Room Magazines

I had a check-up appointment with my dentist today, and picked up a Motorboat and Yacht magazine while I sat in the waiting room, and I have two different things to mention.
The first being, as I sat there thumbing through the magazine, I realized the person in "my" dentists chair (not the type you have alcoholic spirits squirted into your mouth) was a neighbour who lives across the road from me. When he came out of the room we shook hands, exchanged pleasantries and I jokingly asked him if he was having his teeth whitened (as does Jeremy Clarkson, about Richard Hammond, on Top Gear).
The second thing I want to mention is I've always dreamed of an ocean going motorboat. And I now know I need about £400k to have something a little bit luxurious, so I got a lucky dip for the lotto tonight, on top of the usual ticket I buy for each draw. Monaco here I come.

No.5

Tuesday, 11 March 2008

Food Poisoning

On the way home from Cambourne, on Saturday, we stopped off and got a takeaway which involved Chicken. There was some left over, and on Sunday night, about 8pm, I zapped it in the microwave oven, against my wife's warnings, and ate it.
Well boy do I wish I'd listened to her. At about 2am Monday morning, I woke up and didn't feel right, and not being able to get back to sleep, I thought I'd get up and watch a bit of TV to take my mind off it. I went back to bed at 3:30am, not feeling better but not any worse either.
It wasn't long though, before I was thinking that I would be better off in the bathroom, and in this situation, I was glad the hand basin is close to the Toilet. I was back and forth a couple more times, before I had to start getting ready for work at 7am.
When I got to work a fever started to affect me, the sort you get with flu, the alternate shivers and sweats. At 10am I left work, in the rain and gales, knowing that I could get the 83 bus home at 10:10 from outside Palmers. When I got to Palmers I was shivery so I stepped inside the store, I then felt like I was going to pass or black out, so I went back outside and the cold air helped, but was still feeling weak on my feet, and crouched down.
Then the bus didn't turn up ! I gave it 10-15 minutes after the bus was due to arrive, and walked to the Taxi rank. I look in the first cab, no driver, I look in the second cab, no driver, I go to the next cab parked round the corner of Specsavers and explain this to the driver and he blasts his horn, "he doesn't need to scare the crap out of me" I thought to myself.
"Can you just get me home please, I don't feel good" "they are probably in the betting shop" the cabbie replies, "I can't wait for them" I said, and he drove me home.
Once home I took some ibuprofen and zantac and took up residence on the sofa, with a blanket for the shivers, and wished the aching neck, headache and fever would go away.
I'm dozing off in the afternoon, and the house phone rings waking me back up, its a voice message reminding me I have a dental appointment on Wednesday, I know I have an appointment as I can't afford the fine for missing it !
I sipped some water occasionally and at about 6pm, felt I should try to eat something and I heated a can of soup and had toast with nothing on it, and had more ibuprofen. Thankfully the soup and toast digested ok.
I headed off to bed about 10pm, watched TV in bed for about 30 minutes, but still felt like I wouldn't be going to work the next day, but in the morning I felt much much better and went in, all day.

No.5

Saturday, 8 March 2008

Cambourne

I went to Cambourne, today, with my brother, sister-in-law and nephew to visit a mate called Jon, his wife and three children. With the plan to leave the two women and children at Jon's house while my bro' Jon and I went to his local, The Monkfield Arms in Cambourne.

Here is the pub with the two of them loitering outside each window, while I get a picture for the blog.

Cambourne is a new estate with about 3000 houses, similar to the Moreton Hall estate, and still growing.


It is supplied by a large Morrisons supermarket, and has a small shopping precinct, which includes Chutney Joe's Indian takeaway, a Chinese, estate agents and other businesses.

We chose to meet up today, to coincide with the rugby (Scotland v England), and this trip was to replace the Christmas shopping trip that never happened due to Bro's illness at the time.
In the Monkfield Arms, while watching the rugby, a huge washing up bowl size tub of ravioli/chili-con-carne with ladle and plates was brought out for a local rugby team, drinking in the pub. It did smell good, but that was as close as we got to it.
After England lost the rugby, and a few beers had been drunk, we returned to Jon's and later my sister-in-law drove the four of us back to Bury.

No.5

Thursday, 6 March 2008

Beans Means...

If you like the sound of Slow cooked Boston Baked Beans you have to click on the link and look at the recipe, it looks Grrreat. I came across these bloggers while searching for a sloe Gin recipe, and have been popping back to follow life at "their place" occasionally, since then.
I fancied a big dollop of them on my Pizza as I read about it.

No.5

Wednesday, 5 March 2008

Amusing Work Story (3)

I was serving a gentleman last week, with a transaction that requires the submission of two identical photographs with the application form.
He past everything through to me and I started to read through the form, and having read the first page, I turned it over to read the second.
Inside the second page, somebody (who the gentleman informed me was probably a work colleague of his) unknown to him, had gone to the trouble of making two identical photocopies of a Monkey, and post-it noted them to his form.
So I kindly pointed out to him that they unfortunately didn't look like a true likeness of him. Anyway he had his proper pictures with him so I was able to continue.

No.5