test please delete

[NickFitz]

Lunch has been chicken & barley soup, with toast of both colours but predominantly brown

And then it was time to venture out into the cold, damp (though just ambient dampness, not actual rain or even drizzle at the moment) afternoon to check the car’s tyre pressures before the long trek south. I’ve clearly been somewhat remiss about them lately as none of them were up to spec

All sorted now though, so I’ve just got to get the last few bits into my bag and I can be off. Probably try to go about 14:30, which will be an improvement on last year:

*thrashes about aimlessly for two hours*

OK, finally ready. I should be just in time for the rush hour around Heathrow on the M25

See you later

but I may end up dithering a bit longer; we shall see

[ladymuck]

It has been persisting it down for much of the day so far.

We have used the time wisely by investigating cheese shops and bars.

[NickFitz]

Greetings from drizzly Amsterdam. 9 degrees, overcast, light rain.

I like Amsterdam. Remember, in the Netherlands you can recommend the tomato soup to vegetarians, then watch their faces as they find the little meatballs (soepballetjes) at the bottom

[NickFitz]

Right, time to stuff the laptop in the bag and head for the coast! See you in Brighton

[BR14]

It has been persisting it down for much of the day so far.

We have used the time wisely by investigating cheese shops and bars.

aye, - right!

[DoctorStrangelove]

Since it was a nice afternoon, all sunny like, a bit more gardening was indulged in, to whit, some of the brambles and gooseberry cutting were chopped up so they fitted in the green bags ready for the dump, then a bit of digging was done, followed by a bit of spreading of some ancient building sand from long long ago that was well on the way to becoming soil.

<hiatus>

So that's S4 of BTVS and S1 of Angel done & dusted. <-

Tea this evening was some rather pleasant chili con carne with rice, terminated with 1.05 pints of good Glengettie tea.

Yum.

I suspect a little rest from the vampires is due.

So it might be Zombieland later on or Cold Pursuit with that Liam Neeson chap doing his thing.

<hiatus>

Lunch today was the poached tomato and scrambled egg on Morrisons pumpkin seed crust toast.

It was very nice but would have been nicer if I hadn't forgotten about the egg scrambling in the microwave with the result that it was more than slightly leathery.

[NickFitz]

Made it!

Not helped by half-an-hour or more stopped on the M1 near the South Luton junction, then a further twenty-odd minutes a bit north of Pease Pottage

But in a step up from this time last year…

Made it to Brighton

Nice seaview room - well, it would be if it wasn't dark. Not the one I've had the last two years with the little flat roof of a bay window outside on which a seagull stands every morning, though.

They told me they'd "been able to give you a larger room than the one you booked" which I assume is hotel-speak for "We're not very busy this week"

This time they’ve upgraded me to a “Tower Suite”, which means I’ve got a big semi-circular array of windows giving views down the prom towards the pier, and back the other way towards the ruins of the other pier, along with a big comfy sofa from which to admire the view

Still dark out, but I should have a nice view of the grey sea under the grey sky in the morning

[NickFitz]

Just had tea: fish & chips, as is required when one is at the seaside

I went to the chip shop I first tried last year which turned out to be very good indeed. Since then it's been sold and completely refitted under a new identity, but it still gets good reviews, and it seems just as good as last year

I thought I’d better check how they were getting on, one year later. Very well indeed, is the answer - cod and chips for tea, and very nice they were

There’s something about how they run Sainsbury’s on the telly. Wonder if they’ll explain why they shut down our Local store

[DoctorStrangelove]

Now watching "Building Star Trek" on PBS.

I wonder if that Zeity chap will turn up.

^^Yup, if briefly.

[NickFitz]

Now watching "Building Star Trek" on PBS.

I wonder if that Zeity chap will turn up.

^^Yup, if briefly.

After the Sainsbury’s thing whilst guzzling fish & chips, I watched John Simpson reminiscing about the fall of the Berlin Wall on BBC4. It’ll be thirty years ago on Saturday

My favourite story at the time was about the bloke who’d been born and lived all his life on a street in East Berlin that was blocked by the wall. That night he came through a checkpoint and went to the Western part of the street because he’d always wondered if the numbers carried on on the other side. They did and, content with having finally found that out, he went back to the East because he had to be up for work in the morning

Now I’m watching Law and Order: UK on ITV3. You’d think the L&O franchise has made enough money by now that they could afford to pay a proper writer to sort this script out. It’s clunky as hell

I think I’ll get an early night in a bit as it behoves me to be first down to breakfast as usual when I stay here