New news and old news

Well, more change. Where to start?

We went to the Isle of Wight with friends for a week. The weather wasn't great so as far as we know the Island is a 200m diameter circle, though with someone changing props every now and then. It was foggy for most of the time and since we were there to walk it was a tad spooky at times. While there Judi looked up her long lost relatives but without making huge progress. We did have the odd bit of sunshine and saw the island highlights - Carisbrook Castle, the Needles, and so on.

Tennyson's memorial

Our friends are also the other half of our quiz team. We've not been doing so well as none of us know any music, and there is a music round every week work 1/6th of the total. Mind you, we aren't so hot on any subject after 1980...

Putting a damper on the week was Q's call informing us of the earthquake, so we were worried for a while. It is a relief that no family or friends were badly affected. Still, I cried to see the wreckage of all those heritage buildings. I hope that whatever replaces them is more than just a cheap, quick rebuild. Will we be left with a Napier/Hastings or a Akl city centre?

Speaking of building memorials, with the bridge done I am making this:

Polish memorial, Monte Cassino

So far I have this, so there's a bit of work to go...

The recreation so far

This one can't take a year like the bridge, as we'll be moving in July/August. Yes folks, the decision has been made to chuck in J's well paid and secure job for another move into the great unknown, in the middle of a recession. Madness. 8^) 

We will be visiting NZ in August for C's graduation so hope to catch up with as many as possible. We'll take a month or so and do some touring of the North Island which I never saw much of before. Could be a little chilly though... Since we are away so long we'll stick our stuff into storage and move locations when we get back - much like last time, except we'll need a bigger van this time. J gave her notice - around 5 months so plenty of time to find a replacement - and there were a few tears from the boss.

Not my boss though as for the first time I am at a new school! Wearing yet another hat! This incarnation I am acting Exam Officer at Norton Hill School, a half hour drive south of Bath. It's a nice school but I am really in at the deep end this time - more so than any of the previous hats I've worn. Fortunately the incumbent was ultra organised so systems are in place and she did most of the hard work before she took her seriously sick leave. That is dedication! To add to the first week I got a bad chest cold so am pretty shattered, and the agency filled in my personal details as Gender: female. I should remember that operation shouldn't I? Put the knife down Mrs Bobbitt!

Tomorrow is hockey again. We've been struggling for a team since Christmas, through injury or absence, and it looks as though tomorrow will be a 9 aside game. Two weekends ago only 8 turned up. Perhaps understandably our results have been crap and we've been at the wrong end of some drubbings, so much so that we could be relegated. And all under my captaincy. 8^( 

On a happier note we get our hands on the book on April 20th apparently. Sadly, that is a few weeks too late for Jeff to pick one up in person while he visits the UK (including us) in March. We are both bemused by the apparent lack of marketing being planned, and a little worried that neither of us actually have a contract. Will this be just a labour of love?

Speaking of labours of love, I will guiding another group in May. The same organisation as two years ago - The Monte Cassino Association. This time J will be staying in the hotel so she can add her Kiwi charm to the proceedings. She and I'll take a few days beforehand to visit Termoli so I can get the pics for my next article. I finally got a contact there who might be able to give me a hand - a professor of History in the local uni - so hope to fill in some of the gaps in my picture coverage. I've been able to use Google Earth (TM) to map 80% of the pics already, but the ones I'm missing are likely to be the most useful for the publisher (tank losses, for the record). We also hope to catch up with some of our friends in Cassino - and sell them the book. I thought the Italian agent might be setting something up for the 'season' in Cassino but it appears that it is up to me: buy the books at 35% discount and flog them out of my car boot. Not really a possibility when flying RyanAir.

On Sunday we are off to a comedy act - Punt and Dennis. I've no idea if they've made NZ TV screens or radio yet, but they should be funny. Hugh Dennis was in a TV series called Outnumbered which I found very funny. It was partially improvised with three kids, one of whom was a young clone of Jonathan Davies, who you may also not know. We've been watching a few series off disk - Breaking Bad, which should be called the Law of Unintended Consequences; Dexter, though that got a bit annoying and stale after a while; and we've started on Huff but it is only filling in time.

As am I. See you next month. 8^)

The bridge to nowhere

I have finished the bridge, for better or for worse. You can see pics of it by clicking here or here.


Or these may suffice:

A cold Korean morning

The bridge grows, panel by panel

A reconnaissance aircraft swings over low for a look-see.

PS. I just realised that the walk we went on in the last posting was on the hill that Peter Gabriel sang about: Solsbury Hill.

Unemployment

So the hockey season has started again. I can tell because everything hurts. Last weekend we lost 5-2 after going off at half-time at 0-0. Fifteen minutes of madness into the second half and it was 4-0. It took me until Wednesday to be able to move freely again. This weekend we had a 2-2 draw, the defence was tighter, and I should be able to move by Tuesday. Next weekend I'm aiming for Monday... Sadly we are second or third from bottom of the league so well in the relegation zone at this point. Some captaincy.

J made the pain worse last weekend by making me go for a walk on Sunday. I struggled up to Solsbury hill where there is an ancient ramparted fort site with a fantastic view over bath and the valleys. Then we wandered around RAF Charmy down which has quite a few relics of the war years and immediately after. One remaining runway is now used for microlights, and we saw a two-seater Thruster, the big-brother of Dad's joy.

I have made progress on the bridge now that the book has quietened down (more on that in a sec). I have actually finished the bridge side of things and now only (!) have to pose, paint and place the 22 figures.

The book is nearing completion. We proofed the acknowledgements last week, and most of it is with the indexer now. I thought it was to be printed in China but apparently it will be done in Poland. That's the nature of our global economy. I got to see the dustcover as well last week, and it's quite good. Conservative, but that's the AtB style through and through. April is still the projected release date, but I don't know what they do for a launch.

I did my invigilating and some supply teaching, and have one more day booked tomorrow, but otherwise it is time to hit the agents. One job was for an administrator of financial products but I haven't heard from them after I was asked answer "Why are you interested in financial products?" Basically I don't give a shit about financial products so tried to emphasise the technical appeal of the position, but can't have been convincing.

The end of the noughties

New Year's was unspectacular for us though the kids had a good enough time it would seem. (Please note that the following description in no way condones binge drinking.) O was home by 11:30 after pacing himself carefully, though clearly over the wrong distance. He remembered throwing up at the pub, but not at home, a fact that was unpleasantly brought to his (and all of our) attention the following morning. C had got detached from her other friends and spent the early morning wandering around Bath with a stranger, both looking for respective homes away from home. Dangerous, but she got away with it, the silly girl. Sunday mid-day looked like a scene from Dawn of the Dead as the four of them, all still in last night's clothes, eventually found their way through the shower and then back to bed to catch up on missed sleep. God I miss those days. NOT.

C and O are actually officially C nand O, a decision that had been decided a few weeks back but which was announced on Facebook by a change of status followed by a flurry of explanatory messages. That's the modern way I guess. It all seems quite amicable, but O is going to Wellington for Film School and C is staying in Dunedin to finish her Masters.

We put them on the plane this morning at Heathrow, so they should be halfway between Dubai and Brunei about now. J and C were stoic, but it is always hard to say goodbye. Between the two of them they seem to have left a whole heap of stuff behind, presumably because it was too heavy for their bags, but what a waste of money.

I've been wearing a new hat again at Hayesfield, this time exam invigilator for a week or two, but then my time may actually be up for good. It'll be weird as I have been working there a year now under various guises. I've updated my CV so so we'll see what happens.

Would you Adam and New Year's Eve it?

Hoar frost

C&O revisit their childhoods

C, the swinger

Counting down to the end of 2010. Most of you will already have celebrated and gone to bed, but here our guests - C&O and friends - are just getting ready to go out, and J is also deciding what to wear. There has been a disaster with Big Ben which is used to toll the New Year. Apparently the clock running it is 2 seconds slow! Cancel New Year.

We survived Christmas though I have eaten and drunk enough for three weeks, and now feel like Santa Claus looks. God help me next weekend when we restart the hockey season!

The Crescent under snow

Kennet and Avon Canal

C&O have been wandering about Bath and Bristol to fill in their time. Lots of shopping, though too much to actually fit in their bags so stuff is being thrown out again. We went to Cribb's Causeway - a huge cathedral to mammon - the other day and did some ice-skating which was rather enjoyable. Not much was bought except from Hobbycraft where I got some modelling stuff to help with my next project. J also got a paint-by-numbers to keep people amused. I have been teaching C&O all I know about being a poor loser at Risk. Stupid game.



The snow was washed away on Wednesday and it has been overcast since then. It has been the coldest December since, well, the last really cold one. The Avon and the canals were frozen over, though not enough to walk on.

Rental longboats iced in.

Happy New Year everyone!

Snowbody here

Encouraged by evidence there is life outside Bath and that a small subset checks the blog occasionally I shall continue...

So cold it's gone purple!

From our lounge

The only news of any import (setting aside wars, terrorist threats, and the Aussie Phoenix rising) is the British weather, but then it's always the first topic of conversation so does it count as news? We didn't have to go to Edinburgh for snow as once again it is snowing here in Bath. Some lovely scenes from the comfort of our own lounge, and in fact it is quite heavy as I write. It is once again causing havoc in the UK, with Heathrow and Gatwick, and other airports closed, trains running late, slow, or not at all, roads blocked or just very dangerous, etc. The usual. Damn, I won't be able to do the outside chores J has set me for today. It's probably no consolation for many that the same is true all over northern Europe. W and R may not get to Berlin!

Yes, I am once again unemployed, this state being quite a regular one, though always (to date) temporary. I therefore have a list of chores every morning: today I must clean floors, do laundry, remove a spider from the bathroom (though in this house that's definitely the woman's work, or at least anyone other than arachnophobic moi), vacuum, and deliver a duvet to the dry-cleaners (cancelled by snow). I have added my own list: finish RM's memoirs (only three years late - sorry R), finish the Bailey bridge (only one year late), finish proofing the book, finish reading a novel. Oh, and re-jig my CV, look for work (at Christmas? Who hires over the Christmas/New Year period?), go sledding.

The first bridge bay is added to the launching nose

The snow has caused havoc for my hockey, with so many games postponed we'll be playing through summer. I have been playing at Captain this year, and what a minefield that has been - I have already caused one player to find another team, and cost the team three points for cancelling a game without the proper authorisation! But I am famous (for the picture - ignore the text)... http://www.thisisbath.co.uk/hockey/Buccs-knocked-thrilling-clash/article-2932481-detail/article.html

Further on the book... we have proof-read to p311 (of 400 odd) and those have gone for indexing and layout. Publication will be in April. Price will be £49.95 so it will break the NZ$100 mark I think. But it's worth every penny, so buy it!

C & O are currently in that London having a look around. I hope they aren't too limited by the conditions. They are in a central hotel so don't have to rely on the Underground too much, so that should help. I haven't bought Claire's Christmas present yet - must add that to the list. (I just bought my own on-line - don't tell J.)

Is there anybody out there?

I stopped writing as I didn't think anyone was reading any more! Well, that and getting out of the habit.

So what's new? The Poms are getting excited in anticipation of winning the Ashes in Aussie. We won't shed too many tears for Ponting and co will we?

We had a visit from W, R and L - it was great to catch up with them after what's been a while now. Lunch with C, M and M on the weekend, followed the next day with a stroll through Bath and a few beers. Good times.

C and O have been with us for four weeks or so now. It's nice to see them, and they seem to be enjoying their stay. They've been to Belfast for 4 days, Edinburgh in the snow for  week, Cardiff, Salisbury, Stonehenge and Avebury. Next they're off to that London.

Dangerous move!

The family at Clifford's castle, York

York Minster

The Edinburgh trip coincided with the coldest weather in 21 years, with -15 deg in central Scotland and snow everywhere. We managed to drive up in OK weather, stopping for a look at York on a crisp, clear wintry day. The car was snowed in in Edinburgh but we didn't need it anyway, and we managed to drive back in a brief warmer spell at the end of he week! The city was lovely in a mantle of snow, and we managed to fill in the time OK. I got two days in the aerial photo archive so that was a bonus.

Leith monument to seamen

Calton Hill Acropolis

Arthur's Seat from Calton Hill

Edinburgh under snow

It's coming up Christmas - last day of school tomorrow, though their break is shorter. I am unemployed again after a spell as Data Manager (temp.) and a few days as supply teacher (I'm in a class writing this -the students are studying kidneys but apparently don't cut them up). Who knows what the new year will bring?

The book continues to fill some of the time with the big task now of proof-reading so it can go to the printers. It will be published in April all going well. It may not be the book that I thought it would be - photo archives have raised their prices to ludicrous levels so around half my pics have been dropped - but it is still looking very good. What will I do in May?