Random Thoughts About Not Much...

Small update

2011-11-15T06:15:00.001-08:00

I've actually been living in the house for just over four weeks, now, and am getting used to the place...

David had very kindly put away lots of things, but because there is so much less storage space than we were used to I've had to rearrange most things [and the clothing, which is the only thing not re-done, is on the "To-Do" list!]. Despite having a much bigger kitchen, it has a lot less usable storage: most cupboards you open contain something already - a fridge; a freezer; a water-softener; a boiler; a washing machine; a dishwasher; two different electrical fuse boxes [different cupboards] - you get the picture!

So, we brought our pine dresser back from France, and bought a sideboard in a charity shop, and after I'd thoroughly scrubbed the kitchen, I tried to find new homes for everything. It's a lot better now, and we don't have the recurrent cascade of saucepans/lids/grater/colander off the (very tiny) carousel, rather the luxury of looking at two shelves of minimally-stacked pots & pans.

Bliss!

The oven took two days' of hard labour, but as I have a letter sent by the landlord saying if I cleaned it now I wouldn't have to pay for professional cleaning when we move out, that seemed a worthwhile bargain... Although given how the "professionals" dealt with the oven in Ormonde Court (didn't even wipe off the crumbs from one toasting session) I think I'm doubly glad I didn't get a professional cleaner in to do it now.

Apparently, there were grooves on the bottom of the oven all along!

Even if I don't clean the oven again, it won't end up in such a mess; my oven has never been that dirty (and that includes a very difficult seven-year patch where I never cleaned it once), so I think the landlord will benefit more from the deal than I will. Still, one fewer task to do on moving out.

We've had a new shower screen fitted [the old one came off in the hand the first time David tried to use it (and you won't be surprised to learn that the encrusted grot revealed showed that the break had happened a long time ago, I'm sure), and quadrant beading around the bath, so hopefully the water leak on the bedroom ceiling won't come back.

We're still waiting for the cistern to be changed on the downstairs loo as the damp persists after one leak was fixed, and the second leak happens every time someone flushes it, so I will be glad too see Shaun & Lee back to do that.

The lighting is mostly sorted - just a transformer to be replaced (oddly, the 105W one used wasn't capable of coping with the 200W of power going through it, so kept overheating! Simon's going to use two 105W instead so we're not left completely without lights above the dining room table) and a broken outside light fitting to be drilled so that the bulb can be changed. The landlord and I were both right, as it turns out: I thought it was just Daniel not replacing bulbs [16 bulbs were that], but there were also three other problems - one fitting was loose and needed replacing, the transformer is being replaced with two 105W ones, and the screw broke off on the outside lamp [although I don't think that had been touched since it was installed, so that's a moot point].

It does go to show that the landlord should check things very carefully before giving their tenant the deposit back; I'm sure Simon replacing those 16 bulbs cost more than if Diane had done it!

I've been round the place with a variety of cleaning products and it's all much nicer now [and no limescale], and a variety of screwdrivers and now the ball finials (reassembled one) stay on the curtain poles, the curtain poles stay on the brackets, the loo-roll holder doesn't swivel, the handles stay on the doors upstairs, the lock on the front door doesn't wobble about and the tap in the kitchen has better pressure so doesn't spray water everywhere as we use it.

I also did a running repair to the stairs [the first two steps no longer slope to the right], added a doorbell (only stuck on, so I can remove it if the landlord isn't happy), and changed the letterbox to one that can hold more that one free newspaper!

Oh, and I fixed the wheels back onto the dishwasher basket so that doesn't derail every time we use it, and re-attached the blind fascia.

I also (needlessly, as it turned out) customised the TV stand to add an extra shelf and wheels. Sadly, the freeview box/aerial combination couldn't cope with where we wanted the TV [out of the way, not the major "feature" of the room], so it all seemed a lost cause.

Sadly, again, the TV seems to be on it's last legs and the scart connection seemed really rubbish [if you things that's a harsh opinion, you should have heard the opinion of the salesman in Comet !], so we had to join the 21st Century, and buy a digital TV. We're getting used to it, and love never having to plug a recalcitrant cable back in for the nth time.

And we're getting used to the house: it's a lovely place, and now our belongings are (mostly) stored and it is clean and (most) things work it's going to be good living here.

I've joined a gym, so am getting nearly 40 minutes of walking in as well as whatever I do there [mostly swimming so far], and I've got the joy of raking leaves so that's even more exercise, so that is all to the good, too, but today's activity is waiting for a delivery [anytime between 07:30 and 19:30, so I've got a bit more sitting around to do], and profiting from the opportunity to update my blog!

Tired, but happy!

2011-07-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

Our move went succesfully, so we are now ensconced in our new home...

Or rather we are not: we basically dumped everything other than the furniture in the bedroom [particularly the bed, which we need to sleep in] all over the place and have decamped to France for a fortnight's holiday!

A few glitches, but nothing major: I couldn't sleep properly, so after 4.20am on Saturday morning that was it for me, until 4.00am on Sunday when I finally got back to sleep for the three hours I could manage until the alarm went off!

Sadly, there was two and a quarter vanload's of stuff, rather than just the two, so we had another trip back to London on Sunday morning to take the van back and pick up the car and bikes before heading straight to the Chunnel. But it all went better than I hoped [disallowing that extra round trip, obviously].

A down side: I've got yet another lot of cleaning up to do after tenants - just not my tenants this time!! The house we've moved to wasn't clean enough, so the estate agents arranged to have it cleaned on Friday. Either the cleaners let them down, or their standards of cleaning are satisfied with burnt-on grease, & handles so sticky that you want to wash your hands on the oven/hob, limescale/dirt around all the taps & just plain dirty woodwork/light switches/radiators/floors, etc... Where there isn't black mould [tiled windowsill & grout/behind downstairs loo].

Either way, for the second time in two years I've moved out of a place into a newly-"cleaned" place and it's been much filthier than the place I haven't cleaned for months! I left some of the cleaning at our London flat [given that we have to pay £250 for cleaning/carpet shampooing and window cleaning, I feel that three soy sauce rings in a cupboard and one pizza-baking residue on the oven isn't too onerous a task!], but if the tenants moved in tomorrow it would still be better than our new home that has/may have been cleaned twice.

I like to live with sparkling sanitary ware, a spotless kitchen and I vacuumed the carpets before I left. BUT, it's going to be for the last time! If our tenants don't leave the place spotless, they can pay for the £250 professionals, and when we move out of Maidstone I know that we don't have to clean to a higher standard than when we moved in, so I could get it clean to my happiness-levels now, and then do nothing exceptional for two years and it would still be a gain for the landlord!

[Note to self: make sure David (if he does the check-in) points out every item of filth and mentions that fact.]

A slightly amusing thing [hindsight; great for finding the funny!] happened to me at the nearly-23-hour stage of my day: sleep deprivation kicked in (have I mentioned the stress-induced insomnia was back?) and I lost my ability to climb stairs... I got very panicky, because my foot wasn't going on to the steps properly, and I ended up doing the last step on all fours, to avoid falling down!

Once I'd stopped, and had a glass of wine in the bath, it all seemed a lot more hilarious: grown woman forgets how to climb stairs. I promise you, I have been practising: our flat was on the fourth floor, and I've tried to climb the stairs at least once a day.

It's going to be nice to have an upstairs, and I'm going to love the little garden. I think the terrace is going to get the evening sun...

And on that note, I'm going to kick off my holiday with a celebratory glass of champagne [or two].

Slightly (?) disingenuous previous post!

2011-07-12T02:06:00.000-07:00

OK, I'm not planning on posting this until it's all a fait accompli!

Some omissions from my previous post/further information:

We're not actually going to be here after [hopefully!] Saturday;
We're [hopefully, again; it's been postponed from Thursday, and we originally wanted to move last Saturday] moving on Saturday, which is why we're not going to be here;
We're [hopefully, again, subject to the move happening OK on Saturday] going on holiday on Sunday;
I'm desperately hoping that the new tenants moving in at the end of the month are NOT bothered by the noise from the construction. It's all happening at times when working people [which they are] will be away from the building, but I wanted Nicole to tell prospective tenants that there will be building work above them (so they could make up their own minds). I'm really NOT sure about her decision to withhold that information from the new guys, but we're paying her a lot of money for her expertise, so I better shut up and trust her!;
I haven't told anyone apart from Karen that I have decorated the flat - I want to be the person to tell people my news, when it suits me! - and only Catherine knows about the redecoration and move (living four doors down, she needed to be in the loop). The lovely MJM knows about the move because I needed a personal referee, but apart from that it's all top secret; I hate answering questions from people my mum has told our private business to! But hopefully this time I get to tell people my news, and if I'm doing it from France, that will cut down the number of phone calls I get from people wanting to grill me on the finances, I'm sure!

If that makes me sound secretive, I'll put my hand up to that!

Seriously though, we have enough stress on our plates [did I mention Catherine's move and not knowing when (exactly) she's going so finding a new tenant for that flat is more interesting?] without having to go through the Spanish Inquisition until a time when we have less going on.

I'm finally learning to set boundaries and enforce them; with my family, that turns out to mean withholding information until it's all happened, and when I'm a more expensive phone call away, but that hasn't been my choice, so I can live with it!

So, once again, I'm keeping my fingers crossed: this time that our move goes successfully!

Maidstone, here we come...

Scaffolders

2011-07-12T01:55:00.000-07:00

Three weeks of scaffolding erection to look forward to!

A developer is building flats on the roof [after putting a new roof on] above the two front wings and on the back of our building, and after months of not being sure what was happening and when, we think that they are going to start work on the roof later this month.

On the upside, the front wings will be redecorated whilst the scaffolding is in place.

Poor people at the rear sound as if they are getting the scaffold without the benefit of their pointing being re-done. The directors do not want to run down the reserves too low. [And after (I think) ~£200,000 going on a new boiler when the hot water system failed, I can agree with them!]. I know there have been endless problems with water ingress at the front [we've had the builders in making good several time], so I'm glad that our bit is being done.

Hopefully the new roof will be properly sound barriered and we'll never know we have new neighbours!

Missing Dad...

2011-03-23T05:08:00.000-07:00

I thought I was completely over my dad's death; it's been so long, and normally these days I can talk about him and his death without any distress - that was a LONG time coming.

But I had a dream last week: he was there, [in a three-piece suit, for some reason?] and didn't really look any older [which he should have been, given how long it is since I've seen him], but just a little thicker around the middle - not fat, but just not quite as slim as he was [and he was really trim].

I can't remember what we talked about, or even if we talked; I do remember the feeling of normality.

And obviously the renewed feelings of loss when I woke up and he was no longer there.

I believed I'd got over it completely, but it was as though I'd lost him all over again.

I was over it [again], and then I looked up on YouTube "Everything I Own" as it's being used for some TV advert...

[Not that I could tell you what they're trying to get me to buy; I am not an advertisers dream target!]

No problems until I read that it was a song written by David Gates for Bread as a tribute to his late father; listening to the lyrics (and knowing that) after not hearing the song for decades has just reduced me to a blubbing wreck again.

[Did I ever mention I sometimes use my blog(s) as therapy?]

That is so how I felt when he died: I would have given anything I owned (including my life, my heart, my home) just to have him back again, and that feeling came flooding back, so it's lucky for David that we don't have that option, isn't it?

I think I just have to count my blessings that I missed the Boy George version!

Paddling on Hayling Island...

2011-03-16T03:49:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure that [almost] everyone thought I was potty on Saturday: I was the only person paddling in the sea.

It was cold, but bearably so.

What has become apparent is that my feet have become "southern softies"; as I no longer walk around barefoot since coming to live down south [too much dog sh!t everywhere!], and they can't cope with even minor shingle!

Still, I managed to walk in the sea for quite a distance, and my feet were as toasty as anything afterwards!

Felt a lot better when we were getting back into the car as then there were a couple of boys sitting in the water and paddling, and another lad with his t-shirt off.

So, not the only one!

Seriously, I wished I'd got my swimming costume; that would have been fun [but brief]!

Another 8 uploads.

2011-02-18T05:14:00.001-08:00

Did I mention my less-than-delight with Microsoft?

I'm blaming the eight uploads that happened on Tuesday for the problems I had with my card reader [I'm fairly sure that there's not a problem with the card reader itself, because it's working again now, and I haven't done anything to it]...

Maybe the three uploads Wednesday helped?

[They didn't obviously make it work!]

With all the "switching it off & switching it back on again" I was doing, I accidentally gave Microsoft another chance to do another eight uploads.

And then last night when I was shutting it down, guess what?

Yup! Eight more uploads!

On the positive side, they haven't managed to wreck the card reader again...

Do I need any more uploads this week than the 27 I've already had?

If I do, I'll let you know!

I got some photographs published!!

2011-02-17T07:25:00.000-08:00

Clean Slate Magazine, Winter 2010, issue 78 features two pictures of our kitchen in France!

Or, more precisely, two photos of the hemp-lime insulation in our kitchen to illustrate an article on hemp-lime insulation.

A lady from the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth [ooh, I remember visiting there in the 1970s, probably not too long after it opened to the public!] contacted me via Flickr having found some photos I'd posted there.

I don't think it's a testimony to my wonderful photographic abilities, as she said it had been really difficult to find any photos of hemp-lime insulation, but hey, I'm not proud!

Whilst I understand that people might get paid for having their photographs used for publication, it seemed a reasonable thing to let a worthwhile charity use my images if that helps to encourage people to use better-insulating/less-energy-consuming building materials!

And I got my name in print, and a few more people will have seen photos of our lovely house!

Orient Express

2011-02-17T07:09:00.001-08:00

Moving swiftly on from my dreams of being techy enough to build my own computer...

I think I saw the Orient Express on Monday?!

My train, having already been delayed before it left Putney, was held at Clapham Junction for what seemed like ages... [I'd only allowed an hour to do what should be a 35 minute journey! Eventually I was less than five minutes late; so glad I like being early!]

And then a steam train pulled past the other side of the platform!

I was marvelling at how lovely [and how smelly!] it was; truly a thing of beauty.

I've been trying to work out what trip it was likely to be on, and think it must be an Orient Express trip!

Clan Line locomotive [which said it was a Merchant Navy loco] and Pullman carriages including Zena, Minerva, Ione & Vera [I didn't realise they had names, or would have been looking sooner!] have got to equal Orient Express, surely?

It's the second time I've seen it [saw it at Victoria over twenty years ago], and I think I appreciate it even more now having seem most of Michael Portillo's recent railway series on BBC2 and David Suchet getting special treatment on the Orient Express [as well as getting to play Poirot!].

Ahhh!

Thinking about that, I'm calmer & happier; perhaps steam trains are antidotes to being a Microsoft customer?!

I HATE Microsoft

2011-02-17T06:39:00.000-08:00

AND their counter-productive updates!

I know I'm not alone [Google "useless Microsoft" and you get over 4 million hits!], but it feels like I've been thrown in an oubliette whenever I get one of their "updates" - usually it results in me no longer being able to use part of my perfectly good laptop and totally unable to find a way of letting them know!

Each time I lose some functionality, that corporation is driving me closer to buying an Apple machine; when I "upgraded" to the dreadful Vista, the main thing that prevented me from heading to Regent Street in the six weeks or so it took David's IT department to make the new machine actually work was the knowledge that we'd just lashed out several hundred pounds to replace the old machine.

I've only traded "up" in home computer twice, and each time the performance has got worse - Vista made me yearn for the Windows 98/2000 version, which in turn had me lamenting getting rid of my 486 [can't tell you what Operating System that was on, but you can guess it was pretty ancient if I tell you it was an upgraded 386!]...

The other thing stopping me crossing over to Apple was having used an LC II at one office where I temped!

Although I do understand Apple Corp has fixed some of their issued since then!

I've spent about six hours trying to get my card reader to work after Microsoft did 8 uploads, and after only three reinstalls/restore earlier versions and a further 11 uploads from Microsoft [that it sadly gives me no option of refusing], the card reader has magically started functioning again!

It makes me so cross that they can't leave anything that works perfectly well alone!

Because I'm old enough to be competent using keystrokes, I get very frustrated that they have removed some of them; now I have to use the mouse to close the computer down [no longer is Ctrl+Alt+Del S an option]; no wonder everything feels so slow!

Word now won't let me highlight a word and type over it, I have to delete it and then replace it, it's just so frustrating.

I've always seen Macs as a fairly trendy thing, and appealing mainly to style-conscious [as opposed to function-requiring] buyers OR those who need graphics packages for their work (or both, of course!), so I've remained pretty immune to any advertising that Apple may do [do they advertise? I can't say I remember any... But then, I am an advertisers nightmare], but I have to say Microsoft are doing a brilliant job of selling me a Macbook!!!

Everybody I've spoken to who has/had Vista hates it [and no, hate is NOT too strong a word], and all the Mac owners try to convert me; perhaps it's time to get with the program?

Bovine adrenal extract

2011-02-16T03:04:00.000-08:00

I've been seeing an acupuncturist who has diagnosed me with adrenal fatigue [not a surprise, I have to admit, but surprising that he picked up on it when I'm complaining about a dodgy hip!].

We discussed the best way of treating it, and he suggested bovine adrenal extract; I said I'd try it, but that I can't eat meat because it *ahem* doesn't stay down...

I was happy to give it a go, because what's the worst that can happen? Another spell vomiting over the loo?

I can handle that!

I took a single capsule yesterday and was fine, so this morning the thought of taking the two capsules that comprise a normal dose didn't cause me any misgivings...

What I was NOT expecting was the burning sensation starting on my face that was followed quickly by an impressive rash [the picture really doesn't do justice to the "English tourist after a day on the beach" shade of boiled-lobster that I achieved!], which then travelled down my neck, chest, shoulders, arms and into my fingers. My elbows were pretty impressive, too!

Spoke with Guy, and he says we'll have a re-think, and to take an anti-histamine.

Well, by the time I got back from the pharmacy (which is literally just across the road), the burning sensation was already subsiding and the rash fading so I didn't bother; if it's going to get better on its own, I don't need more drugs in my system.

The sad part is, I am already starting to feel better!

Thinking it over, I might have tipped from intolerant [stomach rejecting meat] to allergic [burning rash]?

Ouch!

2011-01-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

They say you know you getting older when the policemen start looking younger...

In common with many people, I'd never know if that's true or not [you have to be able to see a policeman to guess whether he's young or old].

But finding out you're older than the Prime Minister really does make one feel ancient!

As I say, "ouch".

My only consolation is that Tony Blair didn't take long to go from looking very youthful to haggard, so maybe David Cameron will go grey quickly and develop a few stress lines!

Ow ow ow!

2011-01-21T10:30:00.001-08:00

Kettlebells, after six week's lay-off...

Need I say more?

Slightly odd juxtaposition?

2010-12-18T02:07:00.000-08:00

Having had both our plans for Saturday and Sunday cancelled owing to the forecast snow, and seeing only what was left from yesterday [about and icing-sugar shaker's worth!], I was watching the BBC to see what was going to happen...

I was just telling David that London's snow IS coming, when two parakeets flew past the window. David had just turned and left the room when the snow started with real intent.

I know there are parakeets naturalised around here, but I've never seen one so close, and I still struggle with the idea of them in the snow!

Cutting back the ivy

2010-04-23T09:22:00.001-07:00

We've got a really great parking space at our new home - Gordon has let us (for a very reasonable charge) park the motorbike in front/behind the car as the space is longer than the standard size.

The only downside is reversing between brick walls!

When we got there the ivy was totally overgrown, despite having been "cut back"...
Hmmm!

Not my idea of cutting back.

We did our best, but were defeated by shortness of stepladders...

Steve said we could borrow his, so the only delay was waiting for the weather to improve.

This morning I couldn't find any more excuses, so we got the remaining flowering spikes off.

When I say "flowering", I mean "had flowered and are now covered in berries which the blackbirds find irresistible".

And with blackbirds it goes in one end and comes out the other [I remember from the patio at ivy berry time - little purple "offerings"].

We do NOT need the car redecorating, thanks!

Windows: "before" & "after"

2010-03-24T00:53:00.000-07:00

Peter dismantling the frame of the old Crittall window - the fixing screws had become so rusty the workmen couldn't take the window out in one piece. So, they had to resort to "plan b"...

Mm mm mm! The smell of the angle grinder & hot metal. And "special" dust - think very dirty talc; gets everywhere!

Still, we knew it was going to be worth it, and no remodelling work on a property happens without grit.

We were everso lucky with the weather; even the Thursday & Friday, which were supposed to be rainy, stayed good - apart from a little shower on Friday after the glass was in!

We wanted to replace the windows with metal framed, Crittal-type windows, but Paul said it would be twice the price. We were still thinking about it, but then realised that because the freeholders have allowed such a variety of replacements, it would be a total waste of money.

Everyone else would still have nasty plastic ones!

Mick had made all the uPVC windows off-site, so installation was much easier than getting the old windows out! The sealed glazing units were then fitted once the window was in place.

We had to have some of the windowsills replaced; the metal frames of the old windows seemed to actively encourage condensation!

We've already become accustomed to the lower level of noise; it's never going to go away - we are on the South Circular, after all.

But it's already seeming like money well spent! And given the rust on some of the frames, done not a moment too soon!

I seem to spend my life clearing up mess after work!

2010-03-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

Good job I'm getting so much less concerned about mess - I've done a fair bit of cleaning up after builders in the last few years of my life! I do know that you "can't make an omelette without breaking eggs", but sometimes I wish eggs were cleaner!

Seriously, Paul & his crew did clear up better than this! It's just that the grinder dust is so fine that it gets everywhere.

I've dusted in our bedroom five or six times; it's better, but we've still got a "crunchy" feel to the bedside tables. As they are new, I'd really like them to stay unscratched...

Oh well, more dusting!

I think that's why I like decorating or gardening better than housework - the effect lasts longer.

Progress

2010-03-17T04:25:00.001-07:00

The required scaffolding arrived yesterday, but by then the fitters had already started on the windows round the corner...

Today we are having the kitchen & bathroom windows changed.

Already the one in the kitchen is in and glazed, just awaiting all the finishing touches...

Hammering from the bathroom [and the smell of hot metal!] tells me that's not too far away either.

Another lovely day, but with less sun the air is colder...

I'm looking forward to being able to close all the doors and windows when I get cold!

[Obviously, to do that we need a full complement of windows!]

Take 2

2010-03-16T03:33:00.001-07:00

Scaffolder's back...

Sometimes my psychic abilities amaze even me

2010-03-16T01:53:00.000-07:00

OK, so let's front up: I'm not remotely psychic.

I do believe that our brains can take on signals that our conscious mind is not aware of, and the subconscious mind can put 2 + 2 together and come up with the right answer.

But I don't believe that's intuition or being psychic, just letting all our faculties do their job properly.

Either way, when we were organising Paul to come and fit the windows I really didn't want to be the one organising the scaffolding [probably Jill's experience of thoroughly unprofessional scaffolders in Brixton breaking windows/my tree and constantly swearing might have coloured my judgment!], even though Paul said he couldn't get it at a discount.

"We don't mind; please arrange the scaffolding, as you know a firm that you've found reliable."

Well, scaffolder turns up minus the last storey worth of tubing.

Much swearing, and he's off to Biggin Hill an hour (or hour and a half?) away to get a few more bits.

It's not a problem; Paul & co. do another window, it will all happen in the end, but thankfully it's SEP, and more importantly it's NMP!

[Someone Else's Problem/Not My Problem]

And it's leaving me totally untroubled: all I feel is mildly amused - the scaffolder [having worked in the block before, doing the stairwell window right next to the kitchen window] had been twice to measure, and had agreed a price with Paul, so there's no way I'm paying more for them to learn a valuable lesson about double checking your measurements!

Spot the difference!

2010-03-15T05:43:00.000-07:00

I was just getting used to all the light flooding in through the "picture window" [picture-effect non-window?], but not so completely happy about air temperature.

Being tied to the flat I've decided to do some housekeeping on my photos [Flickr, watch out, here I come!], so I'm just sitting here at the table, tapping and clicking away - not enough activity to keep me warm.

It's a lovely sunny day; a real feeling of spring being on the way, and quite warm when you're out of the wind...

BUT, the air is still nippy.

Very glad to see the new windows coming in through the door!

And now:I was so engrossed in sorting out my photos, and I'm very happy working with background noise, so I almost didn't notice the work happening.

It's very quiet now...

But there will be a second instalment tomorrow!

Even as we speak!

2010-03-15T03:00:00.000-07:00

As you can see, we are getting new windows fitted at the flat!

We've not been able to lock the french window for a long time [not much of a problem with bolts, and being on the fourth floor!], and the spare room/bathroom/kitchen windows have been steadily rusting away...

Paul & his crew have finished taking out the living room and bedroom windows, and are bringing up the new ones.

The old window fixings were completely rusted, so the windows had to be dismantled using an angle grinder, and then bashed out in sections.

We've decided to go for uPVC replacements; we weren't at all keen, but the Crittall type would have been twice the price, and the freeholders have already allowed such a variety of uPVC ones to be installed that we weren't prepared to pay the extra to retain the integrity of the 1930's "look" when no-one else has used like-for-like!

Shame, but it will be better insulated.

What was the most painful part of moving?

2009-10-05T04:15:00.000-07:00

The mouth ulcers from being tired, stressed, having too-much-to-do-in-too-little-time, and being in pain for about five weeks because I'd fractured my tooth and hadn't made time to get it looked at...

I thought a filling was starting to degrade, so wasn't urgent - but both halves of the tooth had to come out!

Lucky it had broken, if it needed to come out: the whole tooth looked like Sideshow Bob's haircut - roots heading out in all directions!

On the up-side: Paul reckoned I wasn't a wuss and had a high pain-threshold.

Ahhh! "Hard" image maintained; result!

Getting used to life in Putney...

2009-10-05T00:17:00.000-07:00

We have sold our flat!

Part of me wanted to blog the whole, painful process; but the irrational [superstitious] part didn't want to "jinx" our sale by talking about it...

Well, you can probably work out which part won!

[And for the most part, it wasn't painful - trying to go with the flow is what I'm working on, so I just got more practise at that! The bits that were nerve-wracking were to do with the dratted HIP and our poor purchasers' solicitors: for reasons of prudence (cowardice?) I'm not going to "name & shame" - so don't want to get sued for having my own opinions (albeit shared by several other people!) - but if anyone out there is thinking of selling & wants to know at least one HIP provider to avoid, get in touch. Similarly, if anyone is thinking of buying/selling/having any legal work done, I can recommend a really good solicitor and one to avoid like the plague!]

We'd instructed Kinleigh Folkard & Harward (KFH) on the 1st of June, and eventually the HIP Provider got around to sending me the Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) on the 4th - not impressed with their lack of speed: I paid them on Monday, and told them I was going to France at midday Thursday, so if they could get it to me quickly I could fill it out and return before I went to France.

We finally got out the door after 1.30pm on Thursday and despite several chases, the PIQ had only just arrived - with my name wrong, and my title!

Quick call to KFH (by then I thought chasing them would be more productive than talking to someone who didn't seem capable of listening/thinking - Hi L*****!) - pointing out that when I spelled my name and title from the credit card, and then spelled my name for the email address (yup, same name, same spelling!), and the fact that the money had been taken and I'd received the PIQ email showed that it wasn't through lack of trying on my part, and they could get my name right when it suited them!

I don't know when the correct PIQ finally came through, but by then we were in the process of meetings to formally finish the work on the French house, so finding the Livebox (to connect to the internet) was a much lower priority than signing handover paperwork & bringing down from upstairs: beds, refrigerator, table, chairs, bedding, crockery, etc., etc.

When we found a moment I filled in the PIQ & sent it back, and a few days later our property was in a position to be marketed, and appeared on KFH's website on the 9th of June...

I was trying to be calm...

And pretty much succeeding!

But the phone calls I was getting from other estate agents trying to get us to market the flat with them, and saying they could get a price £15-20,000 higher than our asking price (and would reduce their fee if we would agree to joint agency), together with the offers we were receiving (starting at £25,000 below asking price) were making me question our decision!!

Jitters?

Oh, yes!

David & I rationalised that we would wait till the summer was over (and our tie-in to KFH had ended), and not just grab the first (remotely sensible) offer we received, and even if the flat didn't sell, well there was no urgency - let's just enjoy a break from property-related 'busyness' [we'd been fully occupied with trips to France & meetings/"house doctoring" our flat for longer than was fun!]...

And then David was on the tarmac at Dover, waiting to board a ferry to come to France for his fortnight's holiday, when he received a call from KFH: the flat had gone to sealed bids, and the highest bid was...

Totally acceptable!!

For once, David didn't get into trouble for not checking with me before saying "yes" to something!

So, June 25th, and we accepted the offer and kicked off the legal process.

Apart from the searches (and at one point the 'progress' report from our HIP Provider showed that these had been requested on the 12th August [7 weeks after we accepted the offer] - we were hoping this was just hopeless inputting rather than failure to ask for the searches - they'd had a large chunk of my money for 2½ months!), everything on our side seemed to be progressing nicely...

If a bit of a headache for our solicitor!

I was also selling the freehold to our upstairs neighbour; having finally come to the point where I could leave the flat behind [various complicated issues relating to my dad meant I'd stayed longer than I ever planned - 20 years rather than 18-24 months!], it seemed sensible to break totally with the building, so handing over the responsibility for insuring, maintaining/repairing made sense, and gave our neighbour control over what works were done and how/by whom.

Oh, and we were extending the lease before selling the freehold (which had to be sold before exchange of contracts, for legal reasons) - hence the hair pulling for H****!

Also, the Land Registry plan was out of date (didn't show the extension & changes to the layout, or include the cellar) - another little matter to be sorted...

Thanks, H!

Finally the HIP was completed, and was everything we'd been led to believe from reading the property press: the search didn't show the Building Regulations approval for the extension, nor the Thames Water tunnelling work that was imminent immediately below the house, but did show that we were in a "Radon Affected Area" [not my quotes]: "Yes, the property is in an area where 1-3% of homes are estimated to be at or above the Action Level".

The Action Level according to the "informative paragraph" [my quotes] stated: "Radon concentrations above the Action Level should be reduced below it..."

Help, scary!!

For two reasons: I'd never heard that London was Radon affected (being on good solid London clay, rather than nice radon-emitting granite), and OMG was I living somewhere that was damaging my health?

Thankfully, a quick trip to the Health Protection Agency website (and then UKradon), where I input our postcode and paid my £3.45 put my mind at rest.

"Is this property in a radon Affected Area? - NO"

"The estimated probability of the property being above the Action Level for radon is: - 0-1%"

So everything was progressing satisfactorily, right?

Ahem, er, no!

We were just waiting for the plan to be re-drawn, and approval from the purchasers' solicitor that all the changes H had made to the lease extension/sale papers were satisfactory and she would register with the Land Registry as soon as the plan was completed.

We kept receiving 'phone calls from KFH reminding us that the purchasers needed to complete on the 18th September, or it would have to wait till 15th October (which neither side wanted!), so we kept speaking with H...

At some point we pointed out to KFH that it was S*********, our purchasers' solicitors who were holding up the process by refusing to respond to letters/email.

Unbeknownst to us, W & A lost faith with their solicitors (and having heard H speak of them, we can understand why!), and moved to another firm.

At this point it all started moving forward again - changes to paperwork agreed, plan prepared & registered, our mortgage prepared to be moved to the Putney flat [I dread to think how stressful it would be if one was trying to buy somewhere as well as sell! We had kept David's flat on as a buy-lo-let "pension plan" when he moved in with me, so we were moving back there]...

Only one teeny glitch: we turned up in Fulham to sign our set of papers (they were to be dated & time stamped on the 18th) on the afternoon of the 16th...

One of the secretaries/receptionists was running out of the door - nothing odd about that, maybe she was collecting a child or going to the dentist?

Except what was happening was she was running to give a cheque to Lambeth in the hope that they would do a "real" search in 24 hours, so that we could complete on the 18th!

The HIP had provided a "personal" search, which is why it took so long - apparently Lambeth don't like them (because they are cheaper) and won't prioritise dealing with them, hence the nearly-three-month delay!

Given how much we paid for the HIP, that's not impressive economising! We could have got another HIP for less than half what we paid, but thought it safer to go with a highly-recommended firm, who to save themselves nearly £70 have earned a whole bunch of negative recommendations!

And did the difference matter?

YES!

Apparently, HSBC are the only mortgage provider who insists on having a "real" search, and won't accept insurance against the search being wrong as an alternative (as do most other providers who also "insist" on a "real" search, but are happy to take the risk if they're insured against it)...

So, no search, no mortgage...!

[You can probably work out the next bit: no mortgage, no sale!]

Anyway, we did complete on the 18th (Lambeth must have had one of their rare 'attacks' of efficiency!), and had pushed the key under the door after locking up on the 17th, so had no need to go back to our flat after that (we'd been having farewell drinks with our upstairs neighbour, and she asked whether it would feel odd driving off down the street for the last time - yes!).

I'm going to gloss over how much cleaning was required before we could move into the flat in Putney, because that's receding into distant memory and I'd like it to stay that way!

But we moved, cleaned our old home in Brixton (so little cleaning needed compared to one that had just been "cleaned"! And W & A said how clean it was ["thank you for leaving it so clean"], so I hadn't skimped there) and eventually got BT to accept that when, on the 4th of September you ask to move your telephone on the 18th September, and "can you do the broadband at the same time?" what you actually mean it that you want them to make your broadband go to the new property (with the new 'phone number), AND you would like the Broadband Talk to go as well!!

Some time after I came to France (25th Sept), it all started working; but it wasn't when David got back to London on the 28th!

Once we're out of the latest tie-in period we're looking for a new provider!

[Couldn't face the additional hassle, which is why we stuck with BT - ironic or what?!]

So, what I mean when I say "getting used to life in Putney" is that I wandered round like a lost soul for a week then decamped to France!

Odd to not be trying to escape Brixton to the Channel Tunnel, but I'm sure I'll get used to trying to escape Putney to the Channel Tunnel!

The weirdest thing is that currently, whenever I think of my old home [20 years is the longest I've ever lived anywhere], I keep "seeing" the bay window in the dining room looking out towards my tree...

I'm not sure why that is, the only thing I can think is that after my dad died, I kept looking at the tree and it reminded me that life went on...

Which is what it's doing now!

Love & gratitude to all our friends, family & acquaintances who have wished us well in our property endeavours, and obviously to our purchasers:

Thank You So Much!

I LOVE PAUL McKENNA!

2009-08-15T03:28:00.000-07:00

OK, that's not actually true; [I love David Hopkins], but I am becoming a fan!

Having read that high levels of ghrelins can cause obesity because they cause feelings of hunger even when a person has eaten, and that sleep deprivation is linked with high levels of ghrelins, I had the "light bulb" moment!

[I'm NOT obese, but am heavier than I'd ever been until I hit my 40s (and WAY heavier than at any point till my late 30s), and I miss my energy; for me the gain in weight has been associated with a loss of energy - top tip: don't ever injure your back!]

Perhaps if I could sleep better I wouldn't feel hungry all the time?

I'm not kidding - I can be so stuffed I'm like a hamster, and I still feel hungry!

I'm getting better at recognising the "tiredness hunger" rather than the genuine need for food, but that doesn't mean I can actually sleep, just because I need to!!

Enter Paul McKenna...

[I wish I knew the HTML for 'drum roll'!]

I read his book "I Can Make You Sleep" with some success, but NOW I've been re-united with my CD player and am listening to the CD in bed at night.

WOW!

I've had about four really good nights sleep, and I can't believe the difference - I don't feel exhausted, and I'm not constantly looking in the food cupboard for what's missing!

Oddly, sleep never was in there but I'd try other stuff, just in case that was what I wanted!

Today, for the first time in ages, I'm actually hungry for food!

So I'm off to have that delicious salad!

Top Tip!

2009-08-03T05:20:00.000-07:00

Pizza oil is not an exact substitute for extra virgin olive oil when making salad dressings!

Nice & piquant, but perhaps I could have left out the mustard?

Maybe I should stop putting off going shopping!

Seriously, though, if you like your food reasonably fiery, pizza oil does work in vinaigrette...

It's just not the same.

Never thought I'd feel sorry for an estate agent!

2009-06-01T10:17:00.000-07:00

Just had one of those painful conversations that it's best to get over with quickly...

Like removing a sticking plaster, so they say, but I've never had any problems taking off plasters - even the ones that will actually stick on in the first place, and they are RARE!

Philip from Barnard Marcus got his call in before I called him; calling all the 'unsuccessful' agents was on my list for tomorrow.

The only reason I wasn't going to do it today was it was too late and I've had too many things to think about!

We have chosen to market the flat with Kinleigh Folkard Hayward, and Philip (to give him credit) wanted to know if he could talk me out of that and put the flat on with Barnard Marcus.

He was very persuasive!

And we don't know whether we have made the right choice... [How can we know?!]

My answer was that having given my word, I don't want to go back on that: old-fashioned concept, maybe, but I think treating other people how you would like to be treated is not a bad way to run your life.

Only another 5 awkward conversations to go!

If we haven't [made the right choice], it's not too late: Philip's last tactic was to get me to consider joint agency - still open to us later.

Now all I need to do is get a HIP organised!!

I understand there is very little chance of anyone reading it, but we still need one, so will have to grit our teeth to pay for something that is probably purposeless!

Wonder if I could "flip" this flat to be our second home & get the taxpayer to pay for it?!

Estate agents...

2009-05-28T05:09:00.000-07:00

I finally finished all the finishing touches [Oooo! BAD sentence!] on the flat - there was far more cleaning/putting things in the right places than I'd anticipated, and I ended up scrubbing the front path and patio; it didn't really need it, but looks so much better for it!

I did stain the door - again it didn't really need it, but it is an improvement - and washed all the [already clean] glasses, just to make them sparkle, and did more ironing than I've done in the last five years put together!

I will admit to not having cleaned the oven for (*ahem*) years rather than months, but was astonished at how much cleaner it was than the oven at David's flat when I cleaned that for the second time in 6 months after the awkward tenant moved on [hi Tom!].

How you can get that level of filth in 5 months, AND say you've cleaned the oven, I don't know, but my oven now looks brand new!

I've cleaned everything I can clean & painted/stained everything else!

All the estate agents said it's a lovely flat, and that they would be very happy to sell it for us, so now just the tricky choice of high/middle/low valuation and then who to choose within that category.

Hmmm!

I'm silently asking for guidance....

It's actually really nice to live in the place with it all finished!

Leaving Leander Road?

2009-05-15T07:46:00.001-07:00

We have decided, for a variety of reasons (I miss the countryside and being able to walk in fields/woods, and grow my own veggies, and high-density living is becoming less enjoyable as we spend more time in France and go out in London less), to put our flat on the market.

I did all the decorating APART from the dining room before Christmas, but since then have just got "stuck" about finishing the one remaining room...

Finally (with the massive help of a kick-up-the-butt letter & surveyor's appointment this Tuesday), I have overcome the hurdle that was preventing me completing the work...

[It's going to sound really weedy, but there was an odd (totally illogical?) train of thought: if I finish the decorating, we can put the flat on the market, then it might sell, and we would have to move, and I would lose my one remaining link to my sadly-missed father (who built the extension and fitted the kitchen, bathroom & heating). It was as though I was preventing myself from having to leave?]

So, after getting back from France at midnight on Monday, I started painting the (black ash) shelves.

Tuesday to Friday I managed to give both sides of all four shelves two coats of undercoat and three coats of eggshell.

And the brackets and metal rails, obviously!

The only way to do it was painting a second coat after dinner (and one day I managed a third coat starting at midnight!).

Finally got them done and then painted the bathroom door (a long saga of poor lighting/wrong paint choices causing runs & other horrors!) on both sides, and the inside of the flat door (a casualty of wrong paint choice [Dulux quick-drying gloss peels off like sunburnt skin when you try to flat it down for a second coat!] and a sink-dropping incident leaving a gouge!).

7 or 8 hours stripping off lacquer from door handles, polishing and relacquering, and then we were ready to Spring clean & reassemble the flat.

It took ages to get everywhere clean and tidy, but when (at 10.30 Monday evening) we had a flat that looked like a home, it all became worth it!

The surveyor said it was one of the cleanest and tidiest homes he had ever seen (and I still haven't Spring cleaned the kitchen!), and the best decorated place he had ever seen.

That really made my day!

I've had to lower my standards (a little) to be able to finish without driving myself potty, but it still looks lovely, and made the week-and-a-bit of 12+ hour days worthwhile!

I thought I'd lost the ability to start work before 5am and still be going after 10pm, but I managed it a couple of times, so that's also a bonus!

I just need to re-stain the outside of the common door (I do NOT want pictures of the house with a [very] slightly tatty door when everything else is neatly done), and put the remaining bark on the garden/scrub the patio & path...

And, reluctantly, I've decided I need to iron the duvet covers!!

I popped into an estate agents on the way back from the picture framers, and the very helpful lady was keen to book in their valuer, so I now have another[helpful] deadline to get everything finished to my satisfaction, then we shall see...

How much of the conversation was spin, I don't know, but Mitra said they had clients looking for two bed flats...

If you know anyone who would like to buy a 2-bed Victorian conversion garden flat in the nicest part of Brixton ("original features, secluded patio garden, gch, etc, etc"), please get in touch!

Sad news

2008-05-30T04:49:00.000-07:00

Claire called by yesterday (she saw the house was open) to warn me before I went to see her parents: her mum has had a fall and is in hospital.

I can't remember if she said the fall caused an epilectic seizure or was as a result of one.

Sadly, it doesn't matter much either way...

They did a scan, and found that the chemo was working on the cancer that had spread to her lungs and spine, but she now had secondary spread to her head.

Apparently this was shielded when she had radiotherapy.

She's very unwell, and Claire doesn't think she will be coming home.

It makes me feel quite small (and fairly useless).

Here we are worrying about financing a holiday home project, and Denise is fighting for her life.

I offered what help I could - but what can I do? I'd be no use in the vines (lack of knowledge, rather than inability), and I suspect neighbours are already helping with the horse and chickens.

What I wanted to do was take away a bit of the pain (I have so little, now, but can remember being overwhelmed after dad died), but I don't know how to do that.

I wish I did.

Redstart nest

2008-05-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

I've discovered what the "rouge-queue" was doing upstairs: he's got a nest in one of the niches in the wall.

I think it's got babies in it...

But I didn't want to scare away the adults permanently by checking!

I'm going to put the house-related stuff on my other blog...

2008-05-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

...And keep this one for the "random thoughts".

Flying menace!

2008-05-29T07:10:00.000-07:00

I'm sure the neighbours would think I'm batty, if they could hear me.

And understand what I'm saying!

Periodic shouts of "Go out!", or just plain "OUT!" probably don't make much sense...

Until you know I've got an attack of swallows!!

I know they are just looking for a place to nest, but this really isn't that place!

Seems much kinder to yell at them now, than risk them starving if I have to leave and shut up the house before their offspring have fledged.

The "rouge-queue" upstairs got in by himself, so he can make his own way out, I'm guessing - there's enough openings (holes in windows & walls) up there that I'm happy to leave him.

Not sure about the great tit - but he saw me & got nervy, so I probably don't have to worry!

Back in France

2008-05-29T07:06:00.000-07:00

"Does what is says on the tin"!

Don't know how long I'm here for, but who cares

What are you hiding?

2008-05-22T07:09:00.000-07:00

There's a woman at the gym who is often having a shower at the same time as I am recovering from my swim.

She always arranges a towel so it completely covers the opening above the door.

It looks as though she is hiding...

Well, I reckon that using the swimming pool (like most of us she throws the costume over the door after discarding it) at the gym means it's unlikely that she's paranoid about anyone seeing her size (often a reason for avoiding the communal changing room, I'm told)...

And my view is a fairly common one: in the female changing rooms we've all got the same bits - some may be younger or older, saggier or more pert (I can remember what that looked like!), bigger or smaller...

But it's all the same kit!

Or is it?

The hiding has got me thinking...

I don't remotely think about other people's activities, if they're not making massive efforts to hide something (and I include lying in that).

[Unless it's exciting news from one of my friends, of course!]

What can she be hiding?

My best guess is before-op gender reassignment!

I don't have any kind of imagination ordinarily, but when I'm looking for the motive behind secretiveness or deception I can usually come up with half a dozen scenarios!

Now, does the lady behind the towel screen feel she's preserved her privacy?

Or does she realise she's opened herself up to much more scrutiny than she would have if she'd just got on with showering?

Hoodies:

We used to wear our hoods up as children after a particularly bad "mum" haircut - are these boys hiding bad hair?

A "mum" haircut is where your mum cuts your hair (obviously!).

A bad one is where either the child wriggled (this is always the mum's excuse), or the mum couldn't cut straight (remembering being a child, I know this is the correct reason!)...

So to even up the fringe (mum's always do fringes!), you have to cut it shorter.

A particularly bad "trim" will involve several 'evening up' passes across the child's forehead.

Hence a desire to wear the hood up!

This child clearly is missing a hood...!

The child on the left can clearly keep still; the right hand one has only escaped the full "mum" haircut experience by a remarkable ability to argue!

Burkas:

I reckon it's safer if I don't go there, don't you?

Day 23

2008-05-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

Today I am listening to excuses, sadly!

I think the bad sleep for the last week has been the final straw, and I am having a day off from exercising...

Feel guilty, but really believe that feeling tearful is a sign that I need to have a rest today.

Day 16

2008-05-13T03:48:00.000-07:00

I'm tired & achy today.

On Friday (day 14), I had a burst of feeling like there was power in my swimming!

But yesterday (day 15), it was all hard work again...

And today I'm seriously not in the mood!

Which is why my mental Harvey Walden IV is screaming at me "no excuses".

Sometimes I don't listen to him, but this time around my desire to get fit outweighs (hah!) my desire to listen to excuses, so I'm off to the park for my walk...

Just as soon as I finish my tea!

Trabby

2008-05-08T03:51:00.000-07:00

A slightly odd thing to have on the second floor of your hotel?

It's the Dorint Hotel at the Nürburgring in Germany, if you're interested!

So Boris won, then

2008-05-08T03:43:00.000-07:00

No massive surprises that Boris took the vote when it came to second votes.

I'm not convinced, but am keeping an open mind...

I think the policy of banning drinking on public transport is a good start (can't believe that it isn't against the bye-laws, but don't care enough to start trying to find out - it doesn't affect me or anyone I know!).

It would be good if it was enforced!

That's the falling down point of most of the good policies that would improve quality of life for the majority of people.

Any new law will do nothing, if not enforced...

Day 12

2008-05-08T03:35:00.001-07:00

I finally had a moment of feeling OK about exercising yesterday!

I was swimming, and for the first time, it didn't feel like a monster effort/just overcoming all the aches (the pain's gone now).

OK, so it didn't last, but it felt like a massive breakthrough!

Thank you!

VoteMatch Results

2008-05-01T04:40:00.000-07:00

Interesting, very interesting!

I'm going to go with the first choice, and probably the second choice thrown up by VoteMatch - that is a bit of a surprise, but as it's made me think about the process a lot more, it can't be a bad thing.

I'll be interested tomorrow to find out whether we've got Ken or Boris.

Can I use thunder as an excuse?

2008-05-01T03:41:00.000-07:00

For not going out to take any exercise?

I might get struck by lightning...

Again!

Today's resolution: I'm going to stop listening to excuses for not taking exercise!

There's no chance at this stage I'll stop creating excuses, so let's get real

Oh, and for anyone who's interested, I've only been struck by lightning on a landline (twice, apparently!)...

It feels like someone really nasty has smacked you in the ear, you get to see a blue flash & go deaf for a while.

Well that's my experience!

Does that make me more likely to be safe if I go out in a thunderstorm or less?

Statistically, I know, that being hit by lightning previously has no influence over whether I get struck today...

But I'm human!

Am I more likely to be a victim if I go for a walk (self-indulgently trying to change my life)?

Or if I go to vote (playing my part in the democratic process, and thus earning the right to moan for the next four years if I don't like the result)?

Hmmmm!

London Mayoral Election Day

2008-05-01T02:32:00.000-07:00

[VERY] Unusually for me, I'm undecided about which candidate to support.

I think Ken has done a lot of good, but also I'm feeling echoes of the worst of the GLC days of cronyism and "special" interest groups benefitting to the exclusion of the vast majority of Council Tax payers...

I also believe that the policies and attitude of TfL reflect Ken's refusal to listen and unwillingness to take reasonable steps contra to doctrine.

As a (non-cycling) road user I wish that TfL would think about how hard they make it for people to get about London!

The brilliant idea of replacing the double yellow lines in Brixton (after 2 lanes of traffic from Stockwell merge with 2 lanes of traffic from Kennington) with car parking (so now 4 lanes of southbound traffic have to funnel into 1 lane within the space of a couple of hundred metres) seems to reflect the thought processes of TfL!

OK, so we now have a Red Route to facilitate arterial traffic to the south of the city centre.

But what good is that when half of it is car parking?

The response from TfL when I questioned this was that shopkeepers were losing business because of the Red Route - how is that any different than when there were double yellow lines?

As someone who has spent hours sitting on buses getting past the shops by The Beehive, I notice the difference between the occasional car double parked for a couple of minutes (usually picking up a fare from the pub/friend wish shopping) and 2 stretches of legal parking!

It's made my bus journeys much slower if I travel anywhere near peak times (that includes from 3 o'clock when the children start coming out of school)...

And don't get me started on free travel for under-16s!

I thought we were trying to combat the obesity "epidemic" - how is letting the little porkers take the bus for free for 1, 2 or 3 stops helping them?

Sorry, rant over!

But that's why I'm not sure about Ken...

Boris - charming, but a jester?

And who wants a joker in charge of an already crowded city and its struggling public transport system...?

I'm not sure about Boris, either...

Brian - seeing the mess left in Brixton (when we read about primary school age children who don't attend school because they are too stoned on skunk, it doesn't seem unbelievable - especially when on the way in to work I've seen so many kids who seem unable to walk in a straight line and just launch themselves off the pavement without looking; who says cannabis doesn't kill?), I'm finding it hard to trust someone who left behind a policy of turning a blind eye to "soft" drugs.

So, probably not Brian either...

I'm guessing that a vote for any of the other candidates will only register as a protest vote (valuable, nontheless), but that makes the second vote of crucial importance.

And if it gets to second votes (which sounds likely) it will be between Ken & Boris...

So I'm going to try out VoteMatch that I read about in Kate Egglestone's column in thelondonpaper yesterday...

Watch this space - not that I'm going to tell you who I'll vote for!

I'll just let you know how well I think the VoteMatch site works...

Day 9

2008-05-01T02:18:00.001-07:00

(Of exercising)

I keep meaning to keep a record of how my re-introduction to exercise is going...

BUT after I've come home from the swimming pool, I can't muster the energy to re-boot the p.c. - it just ain't happening!

So, today I'm logging on before doing any exercise!

I should have listened to MJM (as always, her wisdom is bang on!) and not weighed myself for at least a month...

I've lost a pound!!

I think it's because I've felt so ravenous/needing-comfort-food/virtuous-so-I-can-have-a-treat that I've eaten a lot more food than normal (and that's before you factor in the chocolate...).

I'm hoping that I'm strengthening the muscles, and I'm choosing to believe that muscle is heavier than fat, and that means that I might have lost some of the blubber and toned up some of the underneath layer!

The pains at the front of my shins have gone (yay!), and not every length of the swimming pool feels like it could be my last, so I'm definitely seeing progress.

I know that I must be doing OK - I'm averaging 50 lengths of the pool in 30 minutes (1.25 km) - and I'm starting to feel some muscle in my quads, so I'm just keeping smiling through the tough bits...

And reminding myself that I didn't get overweight & unfit overnight, so the solution won't happen overnight either.

I'm doing this to get back to feeling energetic, and I know that that means feeling worn out until it starts to "work", so till then:

Keep on keeping on!

Starting Point

2008-04-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

I'm walking once around the short circuit of the park - currently taking 35/36 minutes, and yes it's aerobic!

I'm swimming for half an hour each weekday until I get a routine sorted (and then I'll decide how much & how often).

At the moment, the breathing and doing front crawl aren't happening at the same time, so I'm falling back to breast stroke until something gets easier...

Then I'll go back to the crawl!

Asthma making it too difficult to fight the breathing and unfitness and back pain and aching arms and legs and...

and and and!

Being a virtuous-feeling wuss, I took the bus home (this was allowed because of the blisters - a treat for having not found an excuse to do nothing for 4 whole days in a row!)...

Everything much more in perspective having seen the guy in the wheelchair...

At least I have the chance to walk round the park, and I'm going to grab it!

Carpe Diem!

Day 4

2008-04-24T09:28:00.000-07:00

Having reached 42 (which as we all know is the answer to 'life, the universe and everything'), I felt I had to make a decision:

Either turn my life around or accept that it is how it is, & stop complaining that doing no exercise & eating rubbish is making me fatter...

So, here I am on "Day 4", and the pain from walking in the park is no better (but no worse, so that is good!) which I had factored in to the mental preparation, so that's not demoralising.

[I had planned for feeling worse each day for the first couple of weeks, and then I'm hoping it will start to get better.]

Despite my fears, I haven't got blisters on my blisters - yay, result!

The pain from swimming is better today - my back hurts less, and the arms & legs feel less leaden.

Breathing: work in progress, but that will take time.

Started some stomach-crunching on Day 2, and am also trying to fit in some dry-skin-brushing.

I think that's enough for a start, but I'm hoping that as it gets easier I will manage to add in more toning exercises and stretching/yoga.

[Stretching is, I know, essential. But at this stage doing something seems more of an achievement than stopping after I have prepared to do something; it's a trade-off I'm willing to make!]

Hello!

2008-04-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

5' 8"

10st 9lbs

37.5"-31.5"-41"

In my opinion, room for improvement!

I'm not particularly overweight, but I'm a lot heavier than I'm used to, and really unfit.

And I hate that!

Thigh 24.5"; knee 15.25"; calf 14"; ankle 9.25"
Bicep 11"; wrist 6.375"