87,000.

VX52 has been to the garage today for his MOT test. If you are reading in America, I am not sure of the equivalent but the MOT is the Government roadworthiness test, compulsory each year after a car is 3.

Everything was ticked and VX52 passed. I was surprised at that as he's got 87,041 miles on the clock now.

My friend Spence did the MOT test for me (he's the one who looks like Heston Blumenthal) and I gave him my car for the morning at 7.15 just before my run. I also encountered Spence later in the morning when I saw a very shiny silver car coming towards me at a hefty rate of knots on a road near here. Spence and I had a moment of sudden mutual realisation that the car was mine and the bloke on the pavement was me. Quite a rate of braking followed! Spence is a good man and gave my car much more of a check over than he needed to and has said he will give it a tweak for me next week to sort out a small issue.

Friendships are a fine possession.

The New York Times and shouting.

I live next to noisy, unruly kids! Heck, I'm on a good street and families are a cool thing but today, after about three months of constant noise at getting up time, and again at home-from-school time, I became ratty. I am a relaxed sort of a chap, indeed often to the point where it might be hard to detect a pulse sometimes, but today I was ratty about it and it tested my neighbourliness and stretched my default stance of life conducted in a DCF.

At 'home time' when I was just chillin' with a coffee and the New York Times (paper copy, and a total treat, always enjoyed and earnestly anticipated), I became irate. It's not the noisiness that I mind because kids being noisy is cool; it's the parental interpretation of care and growth through employment of the words FUCK, JESUS, and C**T that depresses me. What's that about? And shouted so seemingly unlovingly?

Not my call to do anything about it but I was a ratty mofo' tonight.

When I land a job and leave for work at 7 and come home again at 7, none of this will be of consequence so a complaint feels churlish yet here it is.

Iran drama. What Falcon?

Ooops! Just caused an international stir larking about on a low fly past in BS5. I took my eye of the ball and strayed into Iranian air space and now it's bouncing diplomatic traffic all round the world. I really need to be back in an office job away from the temptations to goon around after lunch.

Flatten

My internet connection is nice and fast but this week my refresh rate for pages through Firefox is double bobbins slow and it's reet irritating! I have a virus that is altering my DNS and remains resident in the memory and therefore the boot up. No, I don't really know what that means either.

Time to flatten and start again, ably assisted by a pal later in the week.

Hey, hey, hey, hey......

This is the dog's bollocks and reminds me of school days (but not American school days). Me, my tremendous and life long friend M.E.R.C and endless days in the 1980s. Fantastic!

And after all.......

This is a quick post for Scargosun who asked recently if there was video evidence of BS5 trying out Wonderwall on Karaoke the other night. Alas no such video exists but here I am with my Wingman Spence, singing said same tune back in the early summer (when I had a job, it would seem)!

Hey BS5, that's a shady picture but a smart tie!

Campaign stop.

Check this out!

I couldn't get a close picture because of the presence of the Secret Service, but last evening at The Rhubarb, the pub had arranged for a singer to do his stuff for the evening (he was very good), and whaddayaknow Barack Obama turned up! Amazing.

He said 'Yes we can!' a few times and talked about change and the special relationship and then he did his turn.

It's been a funny old weekend.

Bengali BS5

Today I went along to a festival of Eid, the celebration that takes place at the end of Ramadan. BS5, cultural attache! This one was specifically for the Bangladeshi community, but they had a completely open invite.

'Eid Mubarak' was the title of the day, as it were. Mubarak means Welcome, I have learned. (I only knew of Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt but he wasn't there).

The festival took place in the Church hall attached to my local church, St Luke's. No one else from 'our' church went along this time but I certainly accepted the generous invite and attended. I turned up at 3.15 and I was actually quite nervous because even though I have been to the church hall a zillion times, I did not know anybody except the 2 chaps I met after Friday Bingo, who made the invite to me.

My welcome was immediate and open, so I had no need to worry.

As promised there was a table laden with food and I was invited to tuck in. I tried a fish curry, a lamb curry and a vegetarian curry. I thought the veg' looked the nicest so I had quite a large amount. Turns out the veg curry was 800 chillies, quarter of an onion and a noodle. It was hot as rocket fuel and blew my shoes off. But I ate the lot!

I mustered my few facts about Bangladesh and managed to make pleasant chit chat about Bangladesh coming into being in 1973 (I think) and the cultural/language impact on Bengali speaking communities. After the dinner there was the usual sort of thing one would see at any celebration with small children singing songs (in Bengali in this case) and people generally chilling. Most people were from BS5 anyhow, so there was lots of chat about that too.

All quite smart and good stuff that an Islamic festival mixes it with our church; not always embraced in Bristol.

Quite an unusual Saturday afternoon. Almost grown up and sensible. Gosh!

Pic 'n Mix....fifty six

Last night was Bingo calling night - a new line in my CV, perhaps.

Our usual Bingo caller was out for dinner and asked me if I would step in. Heck, why not? Drama from the off as the key got stuck in the door so I turned the corner to find an assembly of panicked folk. I nipped over the road to the local garage and borrowed their WD40 and we were in shortly after.

This is the Enigma machine used for Bingo calls. I had intended to print out all the numbers with their calls, such as 77 Sunset Strip but this didn't happen, so I kinda' made them up which was a decidedly risky tactic as the Bingo ladies are quite fierce about protocol, especially with a young whipper-snapper on the go.

We played six games with yours truly calling away, making it up and generally being silly, and whaddayaknow, they loved it and asked if I would call every other time and share the duty with the regular caller.

After Bingo it was a well deserved pint at The Rhubarb and a few tunes on the Karaoke (sang Wondwerwall and various others).

A classy night altogether here in Bravo Sierra Fiver.

Word Cloud...

Last night I was watching Channel 4 news which I rather enjoy, and they had a piece on Presidential debates. They invited visitors to view their US Election word cloud.

I didn't have a clue what that meant so I Googled it today. It is HERE. It's quite smart. You lob in your own text and the software arranges it into a little pic with the most frequently used words in your copy. The site asks you to credit it which I am happy to do via way of the link that is bolded out above.

This 'word cloud' is a little tale I wrote a while back about a massive weekend beer fest in BS5 when I lived with Bag and Seamus. Seamus had been working in Hong Kong and Bag and I had spent the weekend on the lash; Seamus returned to utter chaos.

Rosti Schmosti

Today in the continuing theme of the week, I am going to try cooking something new. On every cooking programme I seem to watch (and there aren't many) someone or other chucks out a potato rosti. Some people like them, some people are a bit sniffy about them. I like food that divides people because it implies that it is interesting. Not sure what I will have with it, but I'll give it a go.

Jonathan Sachs is on Radio 4 as I type and he is his usual intelligent and listenable self. He's the UK's Chief Rabbi and is talking about atonement.

Also as I write the three little kids next door are their usual noisy selves. They switch on at 6 and shout constantly until 8. Great laugh. I get toy planes, cars, footballs and all sorts lobbed over my fence during the day (yeah, I give them all back).

Off for a run.

Miles and Miles to BS5

Tonight was a fine dinner: a glass of wine, a thoughtful stretch on the sofa and a good listen to this (picture) with the last glass of white after dinner. Ideal.

A thoughtful day, for which I am thankful.