My wife and I just had an outdoor lunch at a nearby visitor centre, run by a charity to provide vocational training and jobs for adults with special needs - an absolutely splendid setting with restaurant, gift shop, plant nursery, outdoor bbq area and six acres of woodland walks. The temperature in the well-shaded bbq area was 34C...
I have been getting plastered all day, or rather a couple of walls and a ceiling, we live in a house built in 1936 and the plaster dated back to then, we were having problems behind a radiator in a bay window and our heating engineer took of the radiator to se how bad it was, he recommended a plasterer who it turns out sits two rows in front of me in the lower GT stand What a small world we live in
When hearing about renovation of houses, my mind always reverts to a Larry cartoon where he rips off a large piece of wallpaper to reveal some graffiti reading ‘Votes for Women’.
Morning all. Let's up the temperature by another degree or two seems to be the message from the météo today. Looking at the state of the parched fields and verges, the slightest bit of carelessness by someone would easily set off fires. This weekend sees our village fete that finishes with a spectacular fireworks display. Last time a heatwave coincided with the display, water was pumped from the river to wet the display field. I am not sure that there is that much water in the river now. We will see what happens, but people travel long distances to see the live show and fireworks. Have a good day everyone.
It certainly is. Back in the 70s in Australia I worked for a while as a Wages Clerk in an abattoir. When an obviously Scottish lady asked for her pay one day, I commented on her accent and asked where she came from - turned out that before emigrating she had lived in the same tenement block in Edinburgh that I had been brought up in.
Weird. We must be surrounded by so many more than we know about. I was at my sister-in-law’s wedding, when I got chatting to a friend of hers. It turns out, as a child, she lived in the same ordinary-sized house in London that my grandfather grew up in, about sixty years before her. As we were describing the area, we both kept honing in, with the other person saying, yes I know the area, yes I know the street, yes I know the corner, yes I know the house… So weird - there is no familial connection to reduce the improbability of this. If I hadn’t spoken to her, I would never have known, so how many things like this go on without us knowing?
I have someone who lives about 1/2 mile away from me here in France, who lived about 100 yards away from me in England for about 10 years, yet we never knew each other. Mme knew his wife, but never connected them until she met them together one day out here. Also, while waiting for Mme at Limoges airport I was chatting to a lady with twin girls who were waiting for Grandma to arrive. It turned out the girls were two of Mme's brownies, and her and Grandma had been sat next to each other on the plane and had a good gossip.
We surely are. A few years ago, my brother, who lives in Sydney, went on a tour of Hunter Valley wineries in NSW. Whilst he was nose deep in a glass of red, he felt a tap on his shoulder - turned round to find a guy who he had gone through primary school with in Edinburgh - fifty years earlier. I was amazed that they recognised each other after all that time.
Morning all. Today sees the start of the football season for teams in the French third tier. Chateauroux welcomes a team from Paris that is playing at this level for the first time in their history. With a capacity of 17,000 the stadium is larger than the Bournemouth one, and is a proper football ground, not a multi-sport one with a running track etc. something that is fairly common at this level. Once again full live coverage will be available to stream, so Friday night football has returned. Of course there is also a match to hopefully watch in England later. Have a good day everyone.
Morning all. It is expected to hit 38°C here this afternoon, but storms may come along overnight to drop it down to 27 degrees tomorrow, and the promise of some rain. I tuned in to watch Chateauroux last night, and after the first three minutes the official FFF site crashed. " We will be back in just a moment" was the message, which was a little hopeful as it was not restored until half time. The Paris keeper had one of those nights when nothing was going to pass him, even saving a penalty. So 0-0, not a good start to the season for the fans that were sat in the blazing sun. Although there was plenty of effort from both teams, it was very noticeable what a huge difference there is in skill between players at this level and those in the EFL. Have a good day everyone.
Good Morning All. Emirates Business Class Lounge, Birmingham Airport. A bit above my paygrade but very nice indeed. Good to get bumped up! Out to Dubai, a three hour wait, then on to Hanoi. Marvellous.
Hanoi.... yum Meanwhile so hot here... just had a meal with french neighbours..... much unhappiness about global warming.... the little spring that emerges below their house and was the source of water for the hamlet in their childhood has not emitted a drop for almost two months after flowing ceaselessly throughout their lifetimes... Thunderstorms expected tonight.....at last
Morning all. The man from the météo was actually correct yesterday as we did have a storm and a little rain overnight. There has been a dramatic drop in the temperature, but it is still very easy to work up a sweat. The annual cycle race takes place this afternoon, and the lane going past the house will be closed to traffic for three hours. It is a serious race for some who are looking to gain ranking points and join a semi-professional team, while others are quite happy to have an afternoon out with friends. I am not sure if I have been forgiven yet for getting my French neighbour slightly the worse for wear by supplying him with cans of Ruddles best bitter, which he enjoyed, but was stronger than what he was used to, and found getting up from our bench was rather difficult. Have a good day everyone.
Xin chao! from Hanoi. Up at 06:30 Saturday morning and arrived at our hotel about two hours ago. Nice room. Weather is 35 and cloudy. Possibility of a thunderstorm by the looks. Trying hard not to nod off...
Good morning... Light and sound display circled our area for a couple of hours last night as the rain finally came . Mid twenties here now a cool 10 degrees less than the last month.....
