Adventures in Wine
One of the guests needed some help selecting the wine for dinner. It turned into a little education for us, like a mini personalised wine tour!
Filtering and decanting.
Lovely.
Morning coffee run
A morning ride to grab coffee had the added bonus of watching the polar express warming up.
FFFFFreezing
It's been a tad chilly, and a tad chilly for over a week. The sun is doing it's best, and today managed to defrost the sunny-side half the tree.
Missing Supplies
Lovely H left supplies to help out after F's shoulder op. Unfortunately Yogi and Ewok got there first. However, I'm most impressed at how neatly they unpacked.
Field UFO
Aliens landed in Bob's field last night. They nearly got away with it but their rocket ship left burn marks in the snow.
Twenty Five Walk
Breakie at Cherry Trees. Lunch at Blue Tomato. Dinner at the Pig.
I don't think we did enough steps to compensate for all that.
Sunset Swim
A beautiful evening at Harlyn. The dogs got a speedy short walk because the surf forecast was poor for the rest of the week.
Could have waited for the tide to drop a bit more, but by then it would have been night-boarding.
Yup, the only one in!
Warmed up with a cuppa from the thermos. But my feet took a day or two longer to recover.
Padstow Christmas Festival
We got the perfect seats for the lantern parade — but I forgot to take pictures until after then main event. But then Padstow's fire engine was just slightly ever so more popular.
I got things oppositely wrong for the fireworks. For these the timing was better (just between "ohhh" and "ahhh") but instead of being quay-side, with amazing reflections in the harbour (forth of July-style), I was in the crowds with this gent's bald bonnet for framing.
Taking a Moment
Taking a moment above St Saviour's Point, looking over the war memorial towards Rock.
> The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
J.F.K, 1961 (attr. Edmund Burke).
Reading Week
Just dropped F back in Bristol after a few days home for reading week. Yes, his digs are next door to the O2. Smart choice. Bonus points if you can spot him in the piccy's above.
Dog finds mud
A walk around the clumps which was amazingly mud free until almost the very end. Yup, Yogi delivers.
Wellness Day 5
Up early to tidy the house, put the recycling out, and grab a coffee. But still time for a quick chat with H along the terrace.
Achievement unlocked: Total for the week: 154km
Pub Band Bingo
After a day out in the weather what better way to relax than a beer and a veggie curry in the pub next door. How about a beer, curry and name-that-band bingo? Yup, you're looking at a winner!
Wellness Day 4
Day 4 plan, grab the bus to Porthcothan, because, and then walk back home. Estimated distance 20 km.
Wellness Day 3
Up early this morning, trying to beat the weather.
The plan was to head up the river Camel, heading to Wenfordbridge and the closed Snail's Pace cafe (open until the end of October in case you're wondering).
The sky looked promising as I passed the sailing club.
Wadebridge, where the sun was trying hard to break through.
The trail winds itself through woodland along the edge of the river.
Occasionally leaving clues about its history.
Before long (well, a while or two), Wenfordbridge arrives. The cafe looks like it'll be a lovely stop come March.
The way back was gloomy as the clouds settled and drained away all the autumnal colour.
Except the the occasional reminder of better times past.
On the way back a lovely coffee at Relish in Wadebridge - possibly the best coffee since Coffee Works Leadenhall.
And back home, just before the heavy rain hit (this is becoming a pattern).
Muddy bike and muddy gear = never a bad day to ride.
Oh, a tad over 55km in case you were curious.
Wellness Day 2
The weather for the week looked to be worsening. The best way not to get soaked by the rain is to already be in the water. Magic Seaweed reckoned Harlyn would be fun, and Constantine Surf concurred.
So I hopped on the number 56 bus to Newquay, stopping at Harlyn Bridge.
The waves were breaking perfectly, with a cross wind conjuring rainbows in the spray.
I also learnt of another use for a body board: head protection when the hail storm hit. Rather a surreal experience floating beyond the breaks and waiting for the squall to pass.
Wellness Day 1
We've been here before, but this time what came next was more successfull.
Bike is ready to board the ten thirty-ish to Penzance.
And I'm ready too, with caffeine drink in a slightly leaky mug.
Taunton arrived - almost as quickly as the snack cart.
It was slower after Exeter, but the views are something special.
And the reading was just as good.
Too soon, Bodmin Parkway arrived. Luckily mine was the only bike, so I was able to wrangle it out of the rack with only 5 minutes of hassle (oh to be a fly-on-the-wall for the user research that never happened when this wasn't designed)
The route from Parkway station into Bodmin is a wonderful ride through the woodland around Lanhydroc. There's lots of trails here to explore, and on reflection, this might have been a tad over ambitious on a single-speed.
After the woods is a dog-leg to get across the A30 Bodmin Bypass and then down into Bodmin to pick up the Camel Trail.
The trail was almost deserted, a big change from the summer when it's packed wheel-to-wheel. Unlike the summer there was plenty of places in the Wadebridge bike racks... but the coffee place I'd found last time was shut.
I made it just before the rain, but managed to get soaked picking up some supplies. But at least I managed a selfie to prove to F that I'd made it ;-)
Going back might take a little longer...
Waiting
90 minutes after the usual time for tea and Ewok was giving up. Yogi tried to encourage him to stay, but Ewok was adamant that he was off. Just as soon as the front door opened.
The team meets
In a distributed-first, post-pandemic (ish), way of working, coming together as a team occasionally is something to cherish.
Stockholm
A week in Stockholm hotels. Plural, for reasons.
Accelerate: Book
I was after a couple of copies. But, it was out of print. I tracked down one copy online at Blackwell's and asked them to reserve it. When I went to pick it up I stumbled on their 25 missing copies, shelved under business strategy. I then went to Sweden and forgot to give them to the people I'd got them for. Duh!
Goodbye Friend
The space where my bike should have been.
Some highlights...
- May 2005 - with Fay along the Grand Union
- Jan 2021 - riding home cross-country after an MRI
- May 2009 - with H riding the Redmond watershed
- Sept 2009 - with H in Paradise Valley
- Feb 2010 - with a unique hair style co-rider
- May 2020 - lock down exploring
...and it's never been a bad day to ride
2007
Helping the neighbours with some bottles, a reminder of what we were up to when the wine went into that bottle.
Another Padstow at Night
Clearing sky. Resting on a bin, in a post-dinner stroll around the harbour. This something at night could become a trend.
Cloudy Day for a Walk
Padstow looks like, well, Padstow, even on a cloudy morning.
Morning Padstow Dog Walk
Up with the sun, which is getting easier these days, for a stretch with the boys.
Old Boar Quarry
A walk from Padstow to Stepper Point Quarry.
Waun Fach & Grwyne Fawr Loop
Up early for the Bath Spa express.
Most lovely, thanks chaps.
New Milton Dog Walk Views
Views from excursions of the early morning kind with Mr Special and Pip...
Milton Lunch
A spot of lunch in Milton (new) to say thank you for looking after Mr Special and Sir Ewok while we were taking in the sights, and as a little well done celebration
Bunkfest 2022
Band of Hope followed by Fleur Stevenson (with Maff and Drew) at Le Clos for the last evening of Bunkfest. Tight.
No lanterns this time.
Montmartre
Montmartre. Where we discover the boy's culture¹ limit.
And yes, it was just as good as the last time
Footnotes:
- The editor reprimanded me. I think you mean "the culture expressed by Impressionism, Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Neo-Impressionism, Divisionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Art Deco and Abstract art movements that evolved in Paris" (to paraphrase from wikipedia) rather than culture per se².
- Actually, they didn't use the phrase per se, but you get the drift.
Eiffel
Originally the tower had a permit to stand for 20 years. It was to be dismantled in 1909, that would have been five years before construction of Sacré-Cœur had completed.
Water lilies: Better in colour?
The tour guide really impressed the boys with his knowledge of the construction of the panels (each panel mounted on casters so that Claude could move them around in his purpose-built studio while painting, from a combination of smaller-scale sketches and his memory). If you look closely you can spot the seams.
Soon there was a whole procession penguin shuffling around the gallery, everyone looking closely for the joints. Or perhaps everyone was just going that way anyway.
Street Art
Finding your way home is easy when the end of the street is decorated with something subtle like this.
Paris surprise
Fay found a lovely apartment in Paris, complete with a great big picture of Amsterdam on the wall. I probably didn't think long enough about the "it's a bit big for two of us but it was the only place in Paris that was available" line...
Well played family, well played.
(Planning all that must have made the unexpected Brussels diversion even more stressy! ❤️)
Paris
A day of being tourists and eating great food. Au Trappist was perfect for Moules et Frites with Belgium and Irish beer (!), while L'Alsacien République at the end of the street was a fantastic and relaxed spot for the evening. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
The water lilies ranged from beautiful through interesting to errrr; depending on which of us you were. Obviously, they are better in monochrome.
Get on your bike
The best way to see Amsterdam. We whizzed around. If being overtaken by a chain smoking, mobile chatting, lady on a cargo bike with 3 kids in the front can still be called whizz. My excuse was that we were admiring the views.
Here's an example:
Unexpected Brussels
Our train from Amsterdam to Paris was cancelled... Technically it was disrupted. Due to industrial action it would now start from Brussels; but with all trains that day similarly disrupted, starting from Brussels wasn't so helpful when you are sat in Amsterdam.
So we grabbed the last seats on a late train the night before, and had a lightning quick Brussels experience thanks, again, to some tips from the man in Seat61.
Food in Amsterdam
Lunch at Gartine. Lovely. Must book.
Art in Amsterdam
BREXIT and Black Lives Matter at the Stedelijk Museum.
Our Lord in the Attic
Oh yes. A church hidden inside a house. It was fine, so long as you weren't overt about it.
Watching the traffic float by
Conflicted whether boat or bike is the best way to get around this city.
Anne
Anne Frank and her family hid in the house at the end of the canal. Look closely and you can see it.
Day 1 in Amsterdam
Fay found an awesome house boat to stay in while in Amsterdam.
This is a footpath
"What I don't understand is why don't bikes pull over to get out of the way of my car when I'm clearly capable of going faster"
Padstow sunset. Maybe.
A computer generated painting of Padstow Harbour Sunset, generated by Midjourney AI.
Wally might be impressed.
Pint and a read
It chucked it down just before midday, and it sounded like everyone made a beeline for the nearest eatery. By about 8pm the Harbour Inn was just calm enough for a quiet pint.
Screwfix on a fixie
I had a delivery to collect from Screwfix, simple, except I was on a single-speed (not quite a fixie) and Screwfix is at the top of the hill.
Getting there was puffing, but let's just say home down West Hill to the trail was fuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnn!
Challenge - Padstow by train and bike
Challenge accepted, can I get to Padstow on public transport and a bike? Should be easy, what with our new Great British Railways (with both the words Great and British together it must be awesome).
Let's use the GWR app to book the ticket and a cycle reservation. Sorted. ish. It can't give me a digital ticket, instead I must collect the ticket from the station. OK, I'm leaving from a station so let's do that!
After 12 years of conservative government leadership the railways lack a guiding focus on customers, coherent leadership and strategic direction. They are too fragmented, too complicated, and too expensive to run. Innovation is difficult. Incentives are often perverse. Some working practices have not changed in decades. There must be single-minded efforts to get passengers back. In short, we need somebody in charge.
Eloquent words you say? Sorry, but those aren't my words. They're copied verbatim from the government's own Williams-Shapps plan for Great British Railways. You can read all about it here. And before you complain about my blatent copying, the 'Shapps' in Williams-Shapps is the beloved member for Welwyn Hatfield; also the previous chair of the conservative (and unionist!) party; the same Shapps named when "Google blacklisted 19 of the Shapps' business websites for violating rules on copyright infringement"; and, hysterically, also the same Shapps that used multiple made-up names in some pyramid scheme. You couldn't make this up.
Expectant
"It must be almost dinner time" said Yogi.
"In fact, it always must almost be dinner time" he thought.
Sailing!
Treated myself to an awesome couple of hours sailing on the Camel with H from Camel Sailing. It's been a while. The last time was also here, but back in 2005.
I could get used to the view from a Wayfarer, but maybe not following the views experienced by Frank Dye.
After work boarding
The benefits of work from anywhere and a "finishing early 🏄" appointment in my calendar. Some nice waves @ Harlyn with F and then dinner from Big Pans. Yummy.
Sandsnipe
Sandsnipe. Sniping sand.
If only I could be consistent on how the boat's name is spelled. In my defense, that was seventeen years ago.
I blame Sean
I started with a txt from Sean. He'd spotted a flyer for a "music festival for people that don't do music festivals".
Not to be out done, I quickly searched up the twinkling lights we'd seen the night before while crossing the Camel at Wadebridge. Aha, some festival thing, a combination of music and… food. Hardly surprising in the land of the rising PadStein.
Happy 81
Happy 81 L!!!! The birthday swim is becoming a tradition. Hopefully the post-swim Thai meal will too.
Cove with a view
Cove with a view. A view of the three people and two dogs getting cut off on the sand bank by a rising tide across the estuary. Fortunately "swimming for it" was successful.
Congratulations H
Celebrating with H - two very proud parents, and a proud little brother. A tough covid three years at uni. Well done super star!!!!
It's a dog's life
E is so happy with the bed under the breakfast bar that he's pretty much moved in permanently. He nearly missed the evening walk because he was so chilled.
Brightwell Run
F was walking the boys with H so I cadged a lift to Brightwell and ran home over the hill. Puffed.
Out and about in Oxford
Starting at Redbridge Park and Ride with EV charging powered by some massive "grid scale" battery that was installed at Cowley Substation. Perhaps that's why you pay for parking and the park & ride bus, which together is more than parking at the Westgate. Genius!
It's a bit warm
"It's a bit warm" said Yogi.
Scorching might be a better description.
Randall illustrates why this is a problem in xkcd 1732 below…
London - Amsterdam & Back
Work trip to Amsterdam via the Eurostar. St Pancreas to Amsterdam central in ~4 hours which is a bit crazy considering home to Liverpool Street used to be ~2 hours. (Although that was bike-train-bike 😉) Connecting from Paddington to St Pancreas was a whizz, what with the Elizabeth line taking about 8 minutes from Paddington to Farringdon. Would have been quite handy for getting to Chancery Lane back when that was my commute.
My next bike?
Maybe. Possibly something similar. Maybe not.
Because:
Cool yes?
Team meetup in Amsterdam
A short trip via Eurostar to Amsterdam for a couple of days with the lovely product team. Super.
Lunch @ Prawn on the ~~Lawn~~ Farm
Lunch at Prawn on the Farm. Scrumptious food. Great service. Almost perfect company and a lovely view across to the monument. Again?
Morning Walk Mono
Up early, but it was already hot. The same walk is also available in colour if you prefer. Vote in the comments.
Morning Walk Colour
Up early, but it was already hot. The same walk is also available in mono if you prefer. Vote in the comments.
Good Night Padstow
A wander around the inner harbour to the Friday evening sounds of something from the Harbour Inn. I wonder what it will look like tomorrow?
End of the pint
A silver lining story. H & D had to hastily rearrange their holiday when the transport to Montenegro suddenly wasn't. Instead they're on a touring trip of Cornwall which meant we got to spend a lovely day with them as they made their way to the Minack. A lovely bonus to our week. D took a marvelous group selfie, while I got this shot of the glass on the pub table. Go figure.
CCTV watching the view
It was probably sometime in 1992 when I heard Wally Axford describing the lens-less camera of the future. It was in the Photo Science labs in the basement of Riding House Street and, I think, during an extended image processing practical session with an Acorn Archimedes something or other. Wally's theory was that the future camera would just be a GPS device. All you needed to know was where you were.
It would generate the perfect picture by composing something from a combination of stock imagery for where you were with the curated images of the people you were with. His theory was that a) most people couldn't capture a great landscape photo, b) most people didn't like most pictures of themselves, and c) no one cares really about the actual picture, more it's the memory it evokes or the message it sends.
At the time there was some Kodak research floating around that the most common photo was granny in front of a bin in the garden. So Wally's idea would give you the best photo of granny with the best bits of the garden (without the bins, or a telegraph pole sticking out of grannies head).
Tech went in a different direction, with computational cameras in every pocket. But I can't help wondering if the highly curated feeds on facebook, insta or wherever are telling us that we'd be better off with something closer to Wally's vision.
But then there's deep fakes, which is pretty much exactly what Wally envisioned. Except they've not (yet) reinvented and replaced the camera.
Fork in the path
Random walk dog walks: every time there's a junction with a choice we follow Ewok. One day we might end up at Bodmin Parkway.
Tree Fern
Awesome pressie from G J A & F. Thank you.
Beach Not Constantine
A little walk from Trevone to Harlyn and back for a) fuel and b) to decide to go boarding at Constantine.
The surf was a little bigger, but much, much messier. Low tide and we nearly ended up in Boobys.
Wittenham Home
Walked the boys with F around the Dorchester Loop but then left them half way round to jog/waddle home.
Expired
The hand written scrawl across the computer generated barcode said it all. 'Expired' in large red ink. DPD strikes again, delivering a next day COVID test package six weeks later.
Cyclists from shop windows
Hanging out in Wallingford, getting new specs fitted and grabbing coffee while spotting a person or more on a bike or two.
Sounders T
F spotting a 13 year old Seattle Sounders Soccer Camp T-Shirt. Perfect revision attire for the last A-Level exam tomorrow...
Running to the office
Achievement unlocked: 5.01k from Paddington Station to the office. I hadn't factored in running with a backpack (laptop, change of clothes, spare shoes, bike lock‽‽‽). It was a tad warm too.
Dinner
Walking to dinner with Lovely F last night.
A walk from Padstow
A slightly longer dog walk: Padstow — St Saviour's Point — St George's Cove — Hawkers Cove — Lellizzick — Harbour Cove — St George's Cove — St Saviour's Point — Padstow
I'm looking for the opportunities
"I'm looking for the opportunities" said Yogi. "Apparently now we've "taken back control" they're everywhere".
"Maybe you need new glasses" replied Ewok.
Distracted Walk
Yogi was meant to pose for the view, but was distracted by something off-camera.
Coast Walk Padstow Loop
A beautiful day for a beautiful loop with the bubbas and beautiful F.
Top right!
Wow, in the top three of business books in Sweden. At least according to the book shop at Arlanda. It's been a while since I first stumbled on a copy in the North Cascades Institute library.
Hainault Forest
Flying over Hainault Forest in circles, waiting for the Queen's Jubilee flypast to fly past.
Central Station
40 minutes after wheels down and I'm 40km away and heading out from Central Station for an evening stroll across Stockholm to the hotel.
Nothing like a bit of Northern European efficiency to slap you in the face with what a monumentally stupid mess of things we've made with Brexit.
Cholsey Tournament
Reprise of an era. Cholsey Tournament for the under 26-plus-a-bit's. Every other team felt like a Wallingford or a Cholsey squad, with some Harwell too. Four cousins in one team. Maybe five next time…
Walking away from the sunset
H is home for a few weeks, between end of coursework and end of term. Good chats.
Run New York
The Wall Street Run & Heart Walk was why there were no cabs to be found in Lower Manhattan. The cab I did find was not impressed that I was going to JFK: "I was sure you were headed for midtown". Given the traffic, next time I'd probably ride, except it looks like you can't ride a bike into JFK…
May in the Garden
W00t! is time for May in the Garden. Previous May in the Garden's:
2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 (May-ish) | 2017 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005
Enjoy.
A working from transition...
A transition. From working from the garden to...
Lawns
I cut the lawn. It took ages.
Baby Swallows
Look closely. Swallow's nesting in the dunes part way to Polzeath.
A quiz for Granddad L: how many are there?
Adventures in transporting wood
The roof bars took a while to figure out. Then the rails needed to be clean before attaching the bars. So the car needed to be washed. That took a while. Then a hunt in the shed to find the straps. That took another while. Finally, a trip to Colliers and without too much flaffing about the 2×2s (aka 38×38s) where on the roof. Except…
If only I'd have thought of that sooner.
The path, transplanted
Farmer T is moving the path. It might be tidy, but it's rough on the wildlife.
Birthday Flower's by Bike
A ride to Green & Gorgeous. Lovely flowers and a lovely ride. Inspiration for some painting!!!
Sunday Lunch
Part of sunday lunch for 15-ish. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Lamb, Potatoes & Mushrooms (from P249 of Three Good Things… On a plate).
PS please don't tell H about the mushrooms.
Preparing Flights
Preparing flights for the great weekend darts match. The grey fox was unable to defend his championship title due to a previous engagement with a palm frond. M was the unexpected tournament break through (double 20, and a triple 19). But F, or maybe P, just pipped H for the win.
St Mary's
St Mary's Church in Newham Murren. Tucked away just off the Ridgeway. Blink and you'll miss it.
Beanz
Inspired by A's series of pasties, I present Beanz. Yup, with a "z". Apparently it was z-ed sometime around 2008, which unsurprisingly is long before they were available in the United States other than as imports by the English Pantry.
Beanz. Seriouzly?
Climbing Sequoias
I asked the boys (no, not those boys, nor those, the SMMS boys) for some advice on climbing these lovely specimens. The consensus so far is to start at the bottom, although B is still thinking.
"Time has a different quality in a forest, a different kind of flow. Time moves in circles, and events are linked, even if it's not obvious that they are linked. Events in a forest occur with precision in the flow of tree time, like the motions of an endless dance." The Wild Trees, Richard Preston
It's a bit daunting, so I think I'll start with this one. And work my way up.
Bike TLC
The Aiddy alter-Nate Commute Vee-hee-call is still going. Ish. Going rather than going strong that is. Ish. It just needs some TLC. A lot of TLC for the AACV.
A morning dog walk in April
The planes are back in the skies. Getting ready for the Easter rush.
"I knew you were there anyway." he said.
The 積ん読 Bench
The boys were round for music (Roy Harper), chat, beer & snacks. Obviously I had to arrange the 積ん読 along the bench, in a not so subtle attempt to impress.
Brexit Opportunities
Finally, we received one of the fabled benefits.
The Economist
The Economist looking for one, just one, of the elusive promised Brexit opportunities.
Yes, I did predict the future which is why 👆 that link goes foward in time. Clever eh?
Cars, on pavements
There was a time that this post would have been titled Cars, on sidewalks. But we've been fully re-acclimated now. Almost.
This post is for everyone who ever asked "Why doesn't that cyclist get out of my way". You're welcome.
Guinness Challenge
M started a Guinness Challenge. Here's my pour attempt from a can.
Oh, and note how the computational photography calculation to simulate DoF got the glass wrong, again 😎 📷 🖥
Design in a magazine
The trouble with selling your designs through an agent is that you don't usually know where they end up. Then one day you see your work in a magazine. Sophisticated. Quintessential. Joyful.
Proud of you F.
what time of day is this if I tell you it's on a walk with E&Y earlier this morning somewhere near the house?
Answers in the comments.
Mother's Day Boarding
What do you want to do for mother's day when the boys are away?
Boarding, in the sea, in March. A tad chilly, and more a ripple than a surf, but very 😎
Yes, the beach was busy and yes, we were the only ones in the water.
Hotel Nofo
Hanging at at Hotel Nofo on Södermalm, Stockholm. A recommended spot to hang out for the week.
Something is missing
The first half of the pastry was lovely. The second half disappeared. It certainly had nothing to do with Pip 🐕🐕🐕
We're blessed with the weather
…as the taxi driver reminded me, compared with much of the world we're remarkably lucky when if comes to the weather.
Celebrating
Last mock exam. F celebrating with a spicy chilli and a bottle of Angel's Lore courtesy of granddad C.
Fossil Fuel Buster
Ukraine is fighting for our freedom as I type. A two part plan to help.
Part 1: donate \($\)$
Part 2: cut out the fossil fuels
- Drive less, cycle or walk if you can.
- Turn down the thermostat. Put on a jumper. Cuddle a blanket, a loved one, or a Yogi.
- Get all your electricity from renewable's. But use less so there's more to share with others.
- There's no such thing as cheap energy. We pay one way or another.
“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”
John Stuart Mill, 1867
Friends
Surprising how quickly your friends turn up when there's Sticky Toffee Pudding up for grabs.
A walk to lower beach
A morning walk to Lower Beach. After the storm (storm Franklin, the next one after Eunice and high tide, the incoming waves up the estuary looked eminently surfable. But in the pictures you can't see that.
Oh, BTW today the government announced the end of COVID restrictions. It's been a while: 38,409 cases per day and 160,610 official UK deaths.
(I'm still trying to figure out why the family call me the GRoC)
Running-ish (again) to Little Petherwick
Another little run around the Little Petherwick loop. Hard work with the 50mph breeze.
There have been some complaints about the lack of colo(u)r, so I'm alternating a bit.
Unimpressed Yogi
Yogi was not impressed when F decided to wait at a bench for us to finish the walk. He ummmmed and ahhhhed and then took off like a rocket to find her.
Survey Marker
Survey markers for, well, surveying. They're not messing around with these measured drawings are they?
After Storm Eunice
A was a tad breezy yesterday. 122mph at The Needles on the Isle of Wight.
A 50+mph headwind dropped the average mile per kWh somewhat.
A work thread, out of control
A thread about the distinctiveness of a certain author's documents, resulted in an admission that said author owned a copy of The Elements of Typographic Style.
WTMW.
Sky Walk
An afternoon walk with the boys, in which Ewok head-faked me twice to retrieve hedgerow tissues. Yes, he was mighty pleased with himself.
Painting
Painting the kitchen. F was "well impressed" with my ability to paint around the wires. It was shocking.
Waiting for a paw wash
Yogi decided that the walk was a little too muddy… so he decided to camp out in the shower to wait for a bronze wash and dry. Clever pup.
Lunch time stroll
Some things workish are a tad busy right now; Neil, Joe, both, neither; so decompressing with a lunch time walk.
And yes, the first picture was because of complaints that there have been too few pix of people on c r o s s o a k recently.
Who pulled the plug out?
Walking to grab my morning coffee I noticed the water in the inner harbour was a tad low. Was it the plug getting knocked out, or maybe it's time for an inspection.
Afternoon Run: Stepper Point Loop
Not to be outdone by yesterday, I tried a gentle trot around the headland and Stepper Point.
A slow 10.5k and yes, I should have had a rest day.
Morning Run: Little Petherick Loop
Padstow to Little Petherick and back with an almost loop.
Remember
I wasn't going to forget the bag again with a hint like this!
Become a community scientist
Recording coastal erosion at Sidmouth.
Cooking in Padstow
One pan meals. Sorted. You can do two-pan meals if you're up for some multi-threaded pan swapping.
Working from Padstow
Working from the future spare bedroom in Padstow.
Beach Walk
Afternoon beach walk with the boys.
Things you find in houses
A damp wall behind fake tiles. Probably not helped by the kitchen sink draining into the wall for X months.
Learnt lots from Caroline's visit.
Padstow Walk
The boys and I were up before the rest of the dog walkers for a morning stretch to Hawkers Cove and back. I'd planned to do the loop, but Ewok, and then Yogi, had other ideas. Apparently, Ewok isn't as sprightly as he was, and hurdling the local stone-built styles was a small ask too far. Next time we'll take the beach route and wade through the marsh.
Morning Coffee Reading
Yes, two days running (and there you were thinking I'd broken my one coffee a day rule).
