Toolstation

At my first woodwork lesson at a long gone grammar school I remember being impressed by the array of tools all with their own little hook, hole or slot to sit in, awaiting use in creating some schoolboy masterpiece such as coat hook, teapot stand or (a sign of those times) ashtray; now within the barn shelving my very own toolstation has been created which should make future DIY jobs easier, as that elusive tool can be located quicker and with less likelihood of spiking a finger on a saw, bradawl, wire brush or other vicious implement lying in wait.

Clocks Forward

Just as we get used to calculating the time difference to Mongolia the nonsense of British Summer Time arrives to confuse matters, ten o’clock in the morning here was six pm there, convenient times for a weekly Sunday chat, but this morning I got up at 9:00 GMT (10:00 BST) which is only 17:00 in Mongolia (there being no Mongolian Summer Time) in the unlikely event my daughter realised the clocks here had gone forward and compensated accordingly (she did, but thought we probably wouldn’t, but did come on-line a bit early anyway); at least I had an extra hour to adjust those timepieces that don’t now update automatically, which later enabled us to turn up at my in-laws for Mothers’ Day lunch on time this year, unlike the last time these dates coincided when instead of being 10 minutes early we were an embarrassing fifty minutes late.

MOTD

True enjoyment of my Saturday night ritual watching of Match of the Day is dependent on not knowing the scores in advance, increasingly difficult these days given the preponderance of smartphones among the spectators at the matches I visit in the afternoon, and the inevitable loudmouth who insists on announcing the premiership goals as they go in; today at West Auckland an exception to the norm actually checked first with his mates whether they wanted to know the half times or remain in ignorance ‘so as not to spoil Match of the Day’ – unfortunately they lacked the resolve to resist and so I got an earful of scores before retiring to a safe distance to retain some uncertainty for the highlights show.

Film Night

Home alone tonight with my wife on a girls’ night out and my son on a sleepover, so I took the opportunity to watch a couple of films recorded on the TV box several months ago but left languishing there pending an opportunity for uninterrupted viewing: first a twice watched favourite, “Fracture” in which Anthony Hopkins plays mind games with Ryan Gosling; then a classic inexplicably not previously seen, “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” where the mix of black comedy and matter of fact violence somehow works.

Plastered

Not intoxicated, just have my hands patched with Band-Aids following three heavy DIY days, taking their toll on fingers and thumbs more used to soap and water than sharp tools and pointed bits of steel and wood (although, truth be told, sharpness is not always necessary, having once cut my finger on a sausage); the delicate digits have been well protected by the waterproof plasters that stick fast all day and need to be peeled off like a second, dirt encrusted, skin before bedtime.

Radio Gaga

It may have been due to a fortnight gap or the effect of a day spent in the barn sawing, drilling, screwing, hammering and lifting, or both, but for whatever reason tonight’s gym session seemed harder work than usual, not helped by my I-pod lacking charge and so consigning me to an hour of Capital Radio with its mixture of (to me) unintelligible rap, strident yelling, headache beat and inane interjections from the DJ; it’s on the communal radio by default, and being British no-one turns it off or changes stations, but tonight we were mainly a mature group and the volume was set tolerably low, so while on the exercise bike I could read my kindle (thankfully charged) as normal without distraction.

Maths Mentor

Completed my first shift in job three today, as maths mentor at the FE College, and a refreshing change from yesterday with a keen adult student dropping in, determined to better understand and use correctly the various formulae relating to his course on electrical theory; after 90 minutes he left with more confidence in rearranging formulae and I was reacquainted with the concepts of power, voltage, current (of the alternating variety), resistance and even impedance, that I had left behind in an exam room with my A level physics paper 40 years ago.

Hide & Seek

My young ‘risk of NEET' (not in education, employment or training) was nowhere to be seen at the appointed time and place today, even after a scout around the building, but I stayed in the training room doing a bit of maths prep for tomorrow, so was still there when he popped in about an hour late just to let me know he’d seen me arrive and look around but had decided to hide elsewhere in the building; he had no intention of staying and doing any work (today or ever) so we parted, probably for the last time, which will prevent further waste of my time and my employer’s money, but will continue his waste of opportunity, not so much risk of NEET but a near certainty.

Star M’App

A clear moonless night tempted me out with the Night Sky app on my Hudl to see what was what, but the cold and an unresponsive tracking function soon had me back indoors; however as I still know my constellations from my teenage astronomy craze, I was able to just use the app as an interactive star map to identify, from the warmth of the snug and the comfort of an armchair, those planets spotted while out there – Jupiter brilliant in Gemini and the unmistakably red-hued Mars in Virgo.

Suits You Sir!

The boy’s end of school prom is approaching and a suit is required, so it was off to the shops to pick one that suited his style aspirations, my more experienced eye and his mother’s purse; two equally sharp outfits were tried on and the flashier one finally rejected in favour of a classy shiny blue number in which he did look very good and certainly different from when he last wore a suit - of the romper variety some 14 years ago.

Walking Words

Each year my sister and I buy each other a book for Christmas, and today I made a start on the most recent – The Old Ways by Robert MacFarlane – that extols the pleasures of walking, which reminded me that I was behind on my Ancient Roam blog and prompted me to spend a pleasurable couple of hours this evening writing up legs 5 and 6 of the Teesdale Way; my blog is unlikely to match MacFarlane’s masterpiece for general appeal but it does enable me to enjoy a virtual repeat hike any time at the click of a mouse.

Plane Crazy

Exactly six months ago (I knew this blog would come in useful) we had the new bedroom carpet fitted, since when the bedroom door can only be opened and closed by either shouldering or tugging with both hands, a situation I hoped was temporary pending some wearing down of the new, apparently thicker, carpet but today I resigned myself to planing the bottom of a door, a minefield of a job beset with potential difficulties: first the screws in the hinges generally refuse to cooperate, second there is the question of how much to take off – too little (and you don’t know until the door is back on its hinges) and you have to start all over again, too much and there is daylight showing and potentially a gale blowing in -  and then you really need three hands to put the door back, two to hold the heavy (solid pine) thing in place and one to drive at least the first screw in; it took some time, but just two attempts, to achieve an acceptable coexistence of door and carpet - still a bit of resistance but we can now use the door handle as god intended.

Blown Away

Tonight’s top of the table clash in the Evo-Stik First Division North featured Darlington 1883 at home to Curzon Ashton at Heritage Park, where the strong diagonal wind reduced the beautiful game to an ugly kick and rush affair with most of the action at the down-wind end with some laughable goalkeeper clearances boomeranging back whence they came; Darlo’s backs to the wall, faces to the wind, effort in the first half saw them concede just the one goal, which seemed a reasonable basis for optimism, however they failed to make the favourable second half conditions tell and made defensive howlers that enabled Curzon’s few breakaways to result in goals, three of them, to blow Darlo away 4-0.

Driving Day

A triple shift driving the minibus today as I criss-crossed Darlington picking up and dropping off children from two schools to two separate destinations, then later retrieving them and returning them to (hopefully the correct) school; along with diversions for rest, recuperation and refreshment between shifts, I reckon there were 9 zig-zags (5 zigs and 4 zags), and after clocking up 70 miles in the bus it took a while to readjust to my car, in particular to resist the urge to change up to sixth gear, which position in the C-Max gearbox is unfortunately occupied by reverse.

Bacon Jam

One unusual Christmas present, courtesy of my niece who worked part time for the production company, was a jar of bacon jam, which had since remained unopened in the cupboard awaiting a chance to tickle the taste buds - I like bacon and I like jam but what to do with bacon jam?; today I took the bull by the horns (or the pig by the trotters), peered under the lid and despite its unappetising look applied the paste to a chicken sandwich, then spread it on a cracker under a slice of Wookey cheese (from Wookey Hole near Cheddar Gorge not Chewbacca’s home planet), and both benefitted by the addition.

Bed Times

On the way home from Richmond yesterday we called into a couple of furniture shops and purchased a new bed for what, now my two daughters are living away, has become the spare room, and it is a sign of the times that a double bed is now needed as when they visit, partners are in tow; the outgoing bed owes us nothing - it is the remaining half of a set of bunks bought for the same two girls aged 7 and 5 some eighteen years ago, when we had to squeeze them into the second bedroom of a two up two down terraced house – and it will now start the cycle over again at a the house of a friend, whose young daughter is due to move out of her cot.

Richmond Station

Revisited an old stomping ground today with an anniversary trip to Richmond with my wife, who was keen to visit the Angel’s Share Bakery that did so well in the Britain’s Best Bakery competition on TV; they are situated in Richmond Station, which has been thoughtfully developed since my time into an attractive centre for small businesses and community groups - not necessarily comfortable neighbours as we enjoyed bacon and sausage muffins at the Seasons Café in full view of the local Weightwatchers meeting – but it is a good addition to the town that is always worth a visit with some good independent shops, an interesting cheese stall on the market and some classy charity shops with a good selection of books.

Mousetrap

Not a rodent problem - this refers to the Agatha Christie play currently on tour to celebrate its sixtieth year in the West End, seen tonight at the recently refurbished Forum Theatre in Billingham, which I found impressive with its well-appointed auditorium and its purposeful bar (lacking ambiance but spacious with plenty of seating); the play itself was enjoyable with polished performances, though inevitably dated to the modern audience (who are used to seeing current TV crime dramas that took up the baton from Christie and developed, over six decades, a highly sophisticated art form), but here the point was to see the legendary production, clearly famous for its longevity rather than its dramatic impact.

Dinsdale Deer

Retirement is made for days like this with blue sky, sunshine, and cool still air, which demand you get on your boots and head for the hills, or in my case the Teesdale Way to complete the next leg of the long distance path, the Middleton One Row – Dinsdale - High Sockburn circular route; wooded riverbank, country lanes and open fields make for attractive rather than stunning scenery, but there were also interesting period buildings, unconventional livestock (in the shape of alpacas), and a variety of wildlife to see – more squirrels, a few rabbits, the first butterfly of the year and most remarkably a small wild deer that, from 50 feet away, stared me out for a few seconds before leaping off through the trees in Dinsdale Wood.

Shelves Started

Plans to crack on with building shelves in the barn were themselves shelved for the morning with the need instead to get puncture sorted, but a start was made in the afternoon on the structure to provide storage space along the rear wall, using those pieces of wood that have been accumulated over the years with the vague notion they may come in handy, including a flat pack picnic table/bench thing (that we won in a raffle, lugged home but never built); it was a luxury to work out there in so much space and in no time I had manufactured the component parts of the central unit (from five 3’ x 15” white plas boards, two bits of picnic table, and four bits of 2x1) which now “just” need joining together.

Anniversary Challenge

Our wedding anniversary falls soon after our birthdays, themselves not long after Christmas, so with present ideas being exhausted we have followed a fun and (initially) inexpensive system whereby we buy a present made from the traditional material and costing a pound for each year being celebrated, so for our first anniversary the presents were made of paper and cost £1, for the second  they were cotton items costing £2, all the way up to a piece of crystal costing £15; that was a couple of years ago and to cover the unallocated gap to 20 years (when it will be china) we have to improvise by buying a combination of items that adds up both in terms of years and cost – a mathematical challenge tackled at the shops today with some success.

Squirrels

A warm sunny Monday and more of the same promised for the rest of the week makes me hope the Spring weather has arrived, and my stroll to work through Darlington’s South Park took in wonderful displays of crocus under the trees, still bare, but budding and in some cases blossoming; also well in evidence were the squirrels, out of hibernation and busy along the riverbank, looking cute which shows the marketing value of a fluffy tail that is all that distinguishes them from the reviled rats.

Big Shelf

What started as a mezzanine, then a hay loft, currently resembles a big shelf, as it is now fully loaded with toys for future generations (Duplo, Lego, Barbie, Bob the Builder, army trucks and soldiers, castle and knights in armour, construction plant, even books), camping gear (in case we ever get another summer), and unused sports gear (in the unlikely eventuality someone we know decides to take up golf, cricket, tennis, badminton, squash or weightlifting); at this point it struck me that the cost of re-buying it all (if and) when we needed it again, would have been considerably less than we spent constructing the storage space, but the regret was momentary as the project has other benefits that are already taking shape.

Railcard

The senior railcard had another outing today to get me up to the sixth round FA Vase tie at Dunston UTS, the ground being a short walk from the Gateshead Metro Centre station, readily reached via an hourly (and evidently popular) service from Middlesbrough that I picked up at Billingham and which took the scenic route via Hartlepool, Sunderland and Newcastle; the fare was less than £9 with the railcard, which has proved good value, repaying its modest outlay and often bringing the marginal cost of rail travel down to the fuel cost of going by car.

37 Days

The First World War holds less fascination for me than World War II but with this year being the centenary of its outbreak the BBC are putting out an impressive array of programs, including 37 Days, shown over three nights, commencing yesterday and concluding tomorrow; dramatizing the diplomatic manoeuvring in Berlin, London and Vienna (within as well as between the nations) in the summer of 1914, it is quite gripping to see events unfold, slowly slipping out of the politicians’ control as the momentum of their brinkmanship becomes unstoppable – the last four days play out tomorrow, are you watching Putin, Obama & Cameron?

Hay Loft

The installed mezzanine floor (completed yesterday) stood invitingly empty, but once up the ladder and exploring the space, mainly on hands and knees, I came to conclusion it is better described as a hay loft; nevertheless, up there will provide good storage space for grown out of toys, boxed up Christmas, and out of season camping gear, while down below there is now scope to create various zones – DIY and tools, decorating, gardening, garden furniture, car care, cycling, wood store etc. – which in theory will make finding stuff so much easier, and there is even a small corner for the football programme archive and the small but nostalgically important collection of vintage vinyl LPs.

Lunchtime Lacuna

With a lot going on to complicate my wife’s birthday (builders arriving, present opening, Mongolia Skyping, banking, cake shopping, dance costume sewing, in-law visiting, athletics training, gym exercising and even delayed pancake making) it was good to find a quiet lacuna in the middle of the day for a quiet celebratory lunch at the Three Tuns in Sadberge; recently converted from a village pub, it is now a smart, intimate little restaurant that at lunchtime offers a limited but varied and tempting menu from which we chose steak & ale pie and a salmon tagliatelle followed by bread and butter pudding with custard and a chocolate brownie with ice cream – delicious and inexpensive fare that set us up for the rest of the day.

NEET Plan

After a false start yesterday when my ‘client’ (through no fault of his own) failed to materialise, I began in earnest my second part time job - engaging and supporting young people at risk of becoming ‘NEET’, which is not a new epithet for cool, hip or bang-on, but is the acronym for those not in employment, education or training; it went well enough as did the cunning plan to both boost my exercise regime and save car park charges (which would reduce my hourly rate by £1) by parking out of town and walking the mile in, the only drawback being the weight of the paperwork I need to lug about with me to meet the demands of the European Social Fund auditors.

Supermarket Shop

What with holidays interfering and tradesmen calling my weekly shopping routine (alternating Aldi and Morrisons) has got out of kilter, and tonight I ended up visiting both, during which two things puzzled me: first, why could I not find any tomato puree at either shop – is there a global shortage, is it no longer sold in the familiar toothpaste tube shaped packaging, or is it no longer located sensibly adjacent to the pasta; second, I can see why people pick up products on one shelf and then leave them on another where they spot a better or cheaper alternative, but what is the explanation for the swede jettisoned in the biscuit aisle – “mmm those custard creams will taste so much better in my casserole than a swede”.

Birthdays

Birthdays come thick and fast at this time of year with my elder daughter’s today (sandwiched between mine and my wife’s on consecutive Wednesdays) meaning our weekly Skype with Mongolia had the added ingredient of her opening the presents we had packed her off with in January and us opening, and waving at the webcam, a card that had arrived here; later the boy and I zipped off to Teesside Retail Park for some covert birthday-related shopping under cover of getting a black printer cartridge from Staples, which we returned with triumphantly, but then realised I had forgotten to buy the other stationery item we had run out of – ironically enough – staples!

Breaking Even

The first Saturday of the month sees us back to the cricket club quiz, a team of just five hopefuls, up against another half dozen, mainly better populated teams, and not a bad performance, struggling on the somewhat esoteric music rounds but pleasingly working out a couple of mathematical questions and correctly identifying and completing a sequence of initials as Dr Who incumbent actors; bottom line was a fifth place finish and £5 prize money which equalled our £1 a head entrance fee.