Welcome distractions and Poor performance

 In amongst the mayhem that is home, it was nice to have a little distraction for Lynda and me.

However here is a quick updater on the apartment as of today for those who might be remotely interested.

• Chased the life out of the insurance company, the Facilities Management company and the builder and have a very tight program if we are to get completed by xmas.
• builders tomorrow to change floors and plaster.
• flooring laid next Monday
• new kitchen round on the 17th and hopefully chippy there to do the installation.

Please, if there is anyone looking down on us--make this happen--don't tease-- no sickness, no van breakdowns, no other more important jobs, no leaves on the line---nor anything else that I cant think of that stops this work happening.

So then, all that aside, we went into the weekend with an opportunity to forget , just for a moment, all that other stuff.

Friday night we went to this place below for a wonderful dinner dance and to catch-up with friends from the building game.

Its called the Fennes in Essex and yes, lots of Essex girls and boys there.

A bit grainne and never got a shot of this guy

Derek Thompson was the compare for the evening --he's from the Morning Line racing with the gravelly voice.

 

This is the really talented Francine Lewis from Britains Got Talent fame and she was really good and a very nice person.

 

And this is me and the boss -- we scrub up ok for a couple of old folk and I can still get into the DJ after all these years.

 

So we had a really nice night and retired early as we had to get back to South London for another little adventure to this place with our bestees Rod & Ann---

Rod got ticket for the stadium and museum tour at Stamford bridge last xmas and if we didn't go this weekend they would have been out of date---anyway , I have needed any persuasion to go to the home of the Mighty Blues when the opportunity arises.

 

 Here is me and my mate Rod with the first of many of these please

The King of Stamford Bridge--Sorry Ossie, couldn't turn you --well anyway this is the man I remember from the odd night out in The Pantiles club in Bagshot on a Saturday night

An American in London -- doing his Masters and the tour guide bit to earn some cash -- oh and that is the way they keep a great surface on the pitch these days.8

So here we are at the Press conference but someone" special " missing----

 

Of course it was Ann !

 

My Lynda keeping Jose's seat warm -- or is it Rui's

 Me and Rod ready in the zone for barking out orders

 

And the View from the Shed Upper towards the mighty Mathew Harding Stand--Now were is Hils--

 

So we had a nice bit of lunch in here---

And rubbed shoulders with Ex Chelsea player Jason Cundy , now a commentator at the Bridge--

And Graham Stewart, a half decent Chelsea player back in the day

 

Obviously not much going on as they were supping a larger or two.

 

And after a little Chelsea shopping, a bit of Macro meat and booze shopping it was back to Anns for one of her Ruby Murrays--really nice meal for a Saturday evening, before back home to prepare for the building onslaught.

 

So today is one of getting stuck in to getting the remainder of the bits out of the apartment--cupboards and flooring, shelf drilling and putting hole through wall for an outside tap to be fitted---oh and pay a load of money for the new flooring.

 

Good luck to my missus and daughter this week, gonna be a bit of a nightmare but we will get there---3 weeks till xmas --crazy.

 Oh, BTW--- The poor performance was me not dancing ---be grateful Lynda--and the Chelsea display yesterday--talk about letting a team off the hook

Alas Poor Warwick --- we knew him well!!!!

Well alright, its all mixed up but then so was Warwick castle telling us that Merlin had a tower there --no wonder since Disney now own the Castle.

Well so there were we and Rod and Ann yesterday and what a great day that was --woke up in Walton Hall Hotel after a very nice evening before and then a day of culture, mark shopping and a dose of great footy from the boys in blue---ok so they were in white yesterday--with a great shephards pie from the boss.

Added to this that we drove down to Warwickshire in our new --not actually new but nice anyway-- jaguar car--how about that Dad, your boy driving around in a Jag, not too bad eh.

Aint she pretty---bit of a change from a Beema.

 

These are the Musketeers on yet another little journey together and a wonderful journey it was too. 

 

 

So here is where we stayed on Friday night and had a great meal and some very good red wine.

Walton Hall, Strattford upon Avon

 

We had a really good Red wine that is definitely worth a try---

 

So having had a really relaxing evening and heartened by a full English breakfast we headed of to visit the Castle.

 

Let me tell you that we got an education from my wife on the families who lived in the Castle of Warwick. The history at Warwick really started with William the Conqueror in 1068 and then ran through the Beauchamp families to the start of the Warwicks, the Dudley--one of which carelessly lost his head with Lizzie the first, there was the Nevilles who had an  Anne Beauchamp who married Richard Neville and they had 2 daughters , Isobel and Anne.

 

Anne went on to marry Richard the 3rd, and her sister married George , Duke of Clarence who when he was sentenced to death for upsetting the King, got the choice of how to die and he plumbed for being drowned in a vat of red wine--My kind of man.

 

Got the chance to picture the ladies with someone who like women a bit---

 

 

 

In the greta hall there are 2 statues of knights on horses and this one was for when they went into battle---for the one the knights used for Jousting the body armour was much heavier. Stunning collections of armour, swords, guns and staffs/spears.

 

 
One of the regular guests in Warwick castle was the chap below who was a young Winston Churchill

 

 Probably one of the most famous people who owned the castle was more recent with Daisy the Countess of Warwick who knew how to party---

 

Eventually she went on to rebel against her up bringing by getting involved with the Labour party in fighting for the rights of the workers but this was only after some amazing loves , affairs and dalliances.

 

A good read for anyone interested in the aristocracy would be the book below and will show how easy it was for the exceptionally rich people to be able to do anything they wanted but not always happy.

 

 

So we got back yesterday evening and saw the game at Rod and Anns.

And Saw these two guys doing the business----

 

Back home for a bit of Xfactor and Get me Outta Here and the kind of perfect way to finishing our trip and visits---cuddling up to my wonderful wife--- in the works of the immortal Syd larking "Perfick"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfullfilled Promises

So right now here is how we live

 And here are some of the holes in the kitchen floor--

 And still the love of my life can cook a roast dinner on a Sunday

 And not too much room to do anything

 Thank god that we can relax on a wonderful settee in the lounge

 AS long as we dont need to find anything at the other end of the lounge--this is home for the microwave

So does it not pi$$ other people off like it does me

I mean when peoples job says that they should do something in a particular way, and they do not do it -- or they promiuse to deliver something and they fail to deliver then why should that be my problem .

If i had not rung last week then the people dealing with the drying out would not have come last friday morning

And as for the Insurance companies Claim Manager who a - had not contacted us at all for over 3 weeks and B) when i contatct them on thursday and they promise to get him to ring he doesnt so we are not further forward except that another week has gone and we are closer to xmas--they have no idea of the pressure this brings.
Lynda already having to use Juliets washing machine.

So we have to think about nice things coming up that we have to look forward to such as this---

This Walton Hall Hotel, which is supposed to be a pretty classy place so fine dining, pool and general bit of luxury for Rod and Ann and us and then on the Saturday we are going to ---

To the wonderful Warwick Castle----lots of piccies to come--and of course a nice bit of culture.

So thats it -- B&Q beckons and then coffee with are pals before back to catch up with daughter number 2.

KTBFFH

Mayhem and Emptiness

So here I am , writing this stuff with a Lounge that is full of bags and boxes, a Kitchen that is desolate and has holes in the floor and no way to find a damn thing. Well I did learn what it is like to cook in a Kitchen with no space , work top or in any way to be able to swing a cat--ok so we don't even have the cat anymore but you get the drift.

I cooked a meal for Charlotte and me last night and even cooked a cauliflower cheese for the first time ever--it was actually pretty easy but you have to do it first to be able to state that.

Not bad for an old boy like me -- but never as good as that which Lynda would do--well it stands to reason doesn't it.

So the weekend is a bit quiet--started off not too clever Friday afternoon not feeling good , so missed out on a Ruby Murray with Rod Friday night.
Busy yesterday with old rotten flooring to the dump, went to the supermarket, got the tax disc for lyndas car, got a whole bunch of kit for the new mobile---hands free device and the holder stuck to the screen for the phone and a car charger for when I forget to charge it at home.

Really big screen, not even close to working everything this phone can do yet---I think it can make Tea but don't know where to pour the water in yet.

And this means less risk for me in the car---so many hours in it every week that it stands to reason that I need to be able to talk to some folk when necessary. Currently doing around 1500 miles every 2 weeks--that's bonkers as it is around 30,000 miles a year--my old girl aint gonna last.---and nor will I.

So today I have decided to have a days rest from the noise that is generated from the likes of these below----

Plus we have a big fan to move air around and all of these things make a bit of noise--it becomes like a white noise as it is on all day every day in trying to dry out the house but of course part of this is finding the likes of the flooring crumbling where it dries out that well and the floor right now looks like this----

 

 

Really despairing of the lack of attention from both the Insurance Company and the company who put in the drying out equipment ---really would have expected someone to do a check for moisture content in the walls and floors after over a week in operation--gonna have to wind them up tomorrow.

So I got back yesterday in time to watch Chelsea live at Newcastle and I have to say that this was a bad defeat---70% of the play and not taking advantage of the opportunities that this brings--it must be difficult for people to understand that empty feeling that a bad defeat leaves you feeling and we will need to do a lot better starting next Wednesday in the Champions league.

So have done a bit of catching up on the computer for work and am watching college (NFL) football-- lazy day. I am using my own computer as the company computer got attacked last week by the Ransomware Virus that just locks your computer and tries to get you to pay a 100 pounds fine---

Stay well away from paying a penny and to unlike your computer you will be best getting help a PC shop with the ability to clean your machine. One critical thing you should do is to back up you files and photos to a storage device as to get this virus off your machine you have to wipe it clean so you stand a chance of losing information you want to keep.

 

Anyway tomorrow brings my darling Lynda home from Greece where she has been for a week--it's great that we are able to do this--and I hate it that she is coming back to the crap that is our apartment right now its going to take weeks to get all this sorted out, so maybe she will turn round and go back.

 

I miss her though

 

Up with the Lark tomorrow to drive to Manchester