tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57289502012-02-02T13:04:58.599ZA positive outlook for troubled timesDavenoreply@blogger.comBlogger4531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-6781124915455014452009-01-30T20:30:00.000Z2009-01-30T20:30:00.286Z

...especially all over me. We took Nimbus swimming for the first time on Sunday, which he really enjoyed and then on Sunday night we started bathing the two boys together.Nimbus loves drum his heels on the floor when he's being put to bed and he does exactly the same in the bath. When Cirrus is in there as well, he gets into it too, and the bathroom isn't big enough (hence our intention to make

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-64747980065019200632009-01-29T20:25:00.000Z2009-01-29T20:28:02.506Z

I'm getting more than a little excited by the way the temperature is forecasted to head downhill over the weekend. Apparently the south east is going to be hit by (possibly heavy) snow storms on Monday and Tuesday. Now, I like snow and everything that comes with it but if this had been last week I wouldn't have been looking forward to it anywhere near as much. You see, Tuesday is my birthday

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-86475322544883589382009-01-28T20:30:00.000Z2009-01-28T20:30:01.223Z

One of the things I have to put up with in my job is a certain amount of cold-calling from recruitment agents. They just call up reception, say they're a friend of mine and get passed right through. I'd rather they didn't do it, but in some respects I've brought it on myself as I have a profile on a well-known professional networking site that shows what I do and who I do it for. Because of

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-82043060296084813222009-01-27T20:40:00.001Z2009-01-27T20:42:07.836Z

So, you may ask, what sort of home improvements are we planning to do? Well, we haven't settled all of the details yet but here are the headlines: 1. Bathroom - knock down wall separating bathroom from toilet, replace the whole suite, tile etc. 2. Kitchen Extension - demolish temporary rear utility room, extend kitchen out into rear garden. 3. Dining Room Extension - replace existing rear bay

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-87872520934366536512009-01-26T19:37:00.002Z2009-01-26T19:50:59.706Z

When I got back from the gym yesterday morning, a voice called out to me before I'd even had a chance to take my shoes off. "Daddy, we made a card for you!" "Er, really? That's nice." I briefly wondered why. "It's a secret!" Ah, so that's what it's for. I'm going to have to act surprised.

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-55039676575860468952009-01-21T13:00:00.003Z2009-01-26T19:37:31.679Z

Temporarily cutting the VAT rate to 15% will cost taxpayers in the region of £12.5bn. The government's stated aims in doing this are to give consumers a little bit of extra cash to spend, in the hope that this will stave off some of the recession. Clearly, it's far to early to tell whether this has actually worked, despite what many people who are opposed to the idea think, but that doesn't

Davenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-34080958570113466362009-01-20T21:59:00.001Z2009-01-20T21:59:01.233Z

How about this for a job advert?What's the betting you don't need to apply in writing for that one? Just click on the Apply Now button and wait.Twenty minutes later there's a knock at the door."Ah, Mr Skies. We've been expecting you."

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-3876629754197455532009-01-20T21:14:00.001Z2009-01-20T21:17:27.063Z

This may seem a deathly boring (pun intended) subject but since I don't have many readers to bore in the first place and BW specifically asked anyway, here it is. I finally managed to track down some specific information, with examples, about the how the new threshold is calculated when unused inheritance tax exemptions are passed from one spouse (or civil partner - can't be seen to be

Davenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-52074267694356889842009-01-15T19:35:00.001Z2009-01-15T19:41:29.333Z

I seem to have had less time to myself over the last couple of weeks and during the little I've had, I've been far too tired to think about writing anything. So, where was I? Ah, yes. Plans. Big ones at that. More on that in a minute but first some background and a catch up. My grandmother's funeral went very well. Despite having a very small family (she was an only child, as is my mother),

Davenoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-48862066786988496702009-01-01T11:26:00.004Z2009-01-01T11:28:31.073Z

Here's hoping that 2009 will be a good year for all of you. It certainly promises to be an interesting one around here as big plans are afoot. More on that to come soon.

Davenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-38614064266383973132008-12-25T07:00:00.001Z2008-12-25T07:00:01.323Z

Merry Christmas to you all.

Davenoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-10507839715595030282008-12-24T12:48:00.004Z2008-12-24T12:59:37.630Z

Just no time in which to say it. Or, more to the point, to compose it into legible, well structured and, hopefully, interesting sentences.In about an hour we're off to spend Christmas with my parents and we haven't finished packing yet so news of how last Friday went, plus our plans for 2009 will have to wait for now.

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-39337837771217771382008-12-15T20:34:00.002Z2008-12-15T20:41:24.144Z

So far my composure has held up reasonably well but last night saw the first small cracks.L came into the room and said that she's got to pick up the photos of Cirrus we've ordered from the nursery when he's ready to go back this week. And that she doesn't know what to do with the fourth copy.It took me a couple of seconds to remember why we might now only need three and then the tears came. A

Davenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-3038236246744567612008-12-12T12:40:00.000Z2008-12-12T12:40:19.760Z

...or on all of Cirrus, at any rate.I'm at home today, having booked it off weeks ago because it's L's work's Christmas lunch and the second performance of the Christmas Play at Cirrus' nursery (the first having been yesterday, which L was going to see).The trouble is, Cirrus, like a significant proportion of the rest of the cast, has come down with the dreaded pox, so I won't be seeing him

Davenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-20535129647557373562008-12-02T06:50:00.003Z2008-12-02T20:42:17.410Z

It won't be long now. That's the message that makes work seem suddenly unimportant. All I can think of is getting there before it's too late.It won't be long now. Waiting impatiently at the station, I read to try and distract myself. Finally the train leaves. Half an hour and I'll be there.It won't be long now. On the bed is a woman who lost her husband almost a quarter of a century ago and

Davenoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-15140734961888778792008-11-28T20:20:00.002Z2008-11-28T20:47:27.078Z

As my local station is one of the minor ones on the West Coast Main Line, there are only two trains per hour into London, which makes it very annoying when the one you're going to get in the morning is cancelled. Now, don't get me wrong, it doesn't happen very often - my usual gripe is that the trains are often several minutes late - but when it does it can really mess up your morning.So, it was

Davenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-81589388307074263952008-11-24T21:30:00.000Z2008-11-24T21:30:00.744Z

Unless you've spent the last twelve months in a cave somewhere in Outer Mongolia, you won't need me to tell you about the woes that have afflicted the global economy. Every day there's yet more gloomy news from the City and as the recession begins to bite, this is more and more about jobs being lost, particularly in Financial Services.So, what is it like to work in Financial Services in the City

Davenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-38930850741833763982008-11-24T19:54:00.002Z2008-11-24T19:56:39.820Z

It's finally possible to choose sides in British politics once more.

Davenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-46635539265224567642008-11-23T14:28:00.003Z2008-11-23T14:35:22.371Z

Given that the chancellor is going to be announcing a raft of tax-cuts tomorrow in the hope that they will soften the landing as the economy heads further downwards, allow me to set out the basis of an idea that could be used to help reduce the financial burden of council tax while, at the same time, improving the local environment and possibly even fostering better community spirit. The

Davenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-73449856757011446932008-11-18T20:00:00.000Z2008-11-18T20:00:11.112Z

Nimbus is now almost four months old and weighed in at 21lb 12oz yesterday (that's a nice round ten pounds more than when he was born). He's now wearing 9-12 month clothing and, amazingly, cut his first tooth at the weekend. We're going to see some friends on Saturday whose first daughter is just a couple of weeks older than Nimbus - it'll be interesting to see the difference between

Davenoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-69637786999391237272008-11-09T14:42:00.000Z2008-11-09T14:43:35.545Z

The word 'banker' is no longer merely a euphemism for someone who enjoys spending time with himself, it's a pejorative in its own right.

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-81034477721289433992008-10-31T09:16:00.002Z2008-10-31T09:28:07.061Z

Why is it that when you leave the country for a few days, something totally unexpected happens back home? I'm currently staying with friends in Paris and learn that not only has it been snowing a home in late October (and we turned the heating off completely when we came away!) but that a completely avoidable crisis has hit the BBC.Now, I'll admit that I don't know the full story and I haven't

Davenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-85707980852976845602008-10-21T19:29:00.001+01:002008-10-21T19:29:00.191+01:00

The phone in my pocket starts to ring. On the other side of the train door the weather is pretty awful and my hopes are raised at the prospect of a lift home. The number on the phone is unknown, which means the call is coming from home rather than the car. Those hopes begin to fade. "Hello?" "Can you get me something munchy on the way home?" The hopes are lying in tatters around my feet right

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-85043972303526943172008-10-19T17:11:00.000+01:002008-10-19T17:11:20.562+01:00

If you followed CBS in its last incarnation, you'll have noticed some changes around here. Most obviously, there's the new template. Not terribly original, I know, but better than the last and I may actually play around with it much more this time.Secondly, I've given up on the old comments. They were too full of spam and didn't quite feel right any more. So, I'm afraid you'll have to make do

Davenoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-68177524027757281962008-10-19T17:00:00.003+01:002008-10-19T17:02:28.365+01:00

No more awful ads featuring a crab saying "What's in your wallet" in a dodgy oriental accent.

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-83326907967555756582008-10-19T17:00:00.000+01:002008-10-19T16:59:56.352+01:00

I was sitting on the train a week ago thinking about the various crises facing the world at the moment and suddenly felt the urge, in a way that I haven't for about three and a half years, to have my say on them (and many other things).So here I am, clearing away the clouds that have obscured the view around here for so long.I can't promise it will last very long. I can't promise to write

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1117794142454018032005-06-03T11:19:00.000+01:002005-06-03T11:22:22.460+01:00

As any regular readers of mine will probably have already guessed, I have slowly been running out of steam when it comes to blogging. I'm now down to posting once a week, if that, and it is becoming a chore.I could offer up any number of reasons for this; I have less time on my hands both at home and at work; I'm more tired than ever; I'm pre-occupied with other things. The simple truth is that I

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1117019448469442502005-05-25T12:08:00.000+01:002005-05-25T12:10:48.476+01:00

So, the government has started their third term with a couple of controversial ideas; ID cards and Shared Equity Schemes.I don't think I've talked about ID cards before but I have to say I wouldn't mind having to carry one. I don't accept the argument that it will tackle terrorism but I can see that it would help to stop benefit fraud and the like. Having said that, I would not be happy about

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1116589416593641912005-05-20T12:42:00.000+01:002005-05-20T12:43:36.610+01:00

I was meant to be working at home yesterday so I dragged a laptop home with me on Wednesday. I sat down to work yesterday morning and connected to the work network, only to find something was wrong and I couldn't launch any applications. I spent an hour or so on the phone in total between then and 3.30 talking to our technical guys. They couldn't sort it out so I ended up with a day at home,

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1116410774183766102005-05-18T11:05:00.000+01:002005-05-18T11:06:14.190+01:00

In the last carriage of a Northern Line train, a man is standing near the door, book in hand and white earphones in his ears. A woman with a distinctive lock of red hair is sitting down nearby and looking at him as if she knows him. A girl walks down the carriage and as the man moves out of her way he sees, from the corner of his eye, the woman watching him. He looks up and recognition blooms

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1115981710291443652005-05-13T11:53:00.000+01:002005-05-13T11:55:10.296+01:00

So, George Galloway MP, who lives in Portugal (from where he can obviously represent the people of Bethnal Green and Bow adequately), is off to the States to rubbish the claims made by the US Senate that he was allocated a large amount of oil by Saddam Hussein. I can see how it will go.US Senator: "So you see, Mr Galloway, these papers show that Saddam set aside this oil for you. Now we're not

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1115980442728636162005-05-13T11:32:00.000+01:002005-05-13T11:34:02.736+01:00

Well, my predictions weren't too far off, were they? A 67 majority for Labour instead of my predicted 71 means I was pretty close on that one (though I messed up my calculation regarding the number of seats the other parties would gain). I was five minutes out on the first result but Peter Snow's swingometers and 'battleground' were definitely well used during the night. As for the rest, the

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1115202307573047352005-05-04T11:22:00.000+01:002005-05-04T11:25:07.580+01:00

It's the big day tomorrow so, despite still not knowing who to plump for, I thought I'd make a prediction of the results. If you want to do the same then leave it in the comments.Fairly obviously, I think Labour will win it but not with the sort of majority they've enjoyed over the last eight years. I think it will be cut from 166 to around 70 (71, say, for precision's sake), with the

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1115121108025136322005-05-03T12:49:00.000+01:002005-05-03T12:51:48.026+01:00

I was going to write a whole series of posts on the election but other events and a general apathy towards the whole campaign have conspired against that. Suffice it to say that I still have no idea who to vote for on Thursday. Here are a few points that have flitted through my mind over the last couple of weeks.I really can't stand Michael Howard. I hate the way everything he says seems to

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1114518008368171222005-04-26T13:17:00.000+01:002005-04-26T13:20:08.370+01:00

Before I go into how the last couple of weeks have been, I thought I'd announce which of the blognamesI'll be using when I talk about N around here. Thank you all for the suggestions - they were all good but the one I like the best is dg's. So, from here on in, N will be referred to as Cirrus. It's nicely in keeping with the blogtitle and is a pretty good name all on its own. And, of course,

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1113339922694803232005-04-12T22:03:00.000+01:002005-04-12T22:05:22.696+01:00

Okay, then, time to put you all out of your misery.Friday was a bit of a false start as the contractions, if that is indeed what they were died away on Saturday. Saturday night was a different matter entirely.L's waters broke at 2.45 on Sunday morning, cutting the night's sleep drastically short, and we duly headed off to the hospital (it's very nice driving at that time of night - assuming you

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1112996817159020772005-04-08T22:43:00.000+01:002005-04-08T22:46:57.160+01:00

Okay, then. This is it. L is now in labour (at least, we think so - neither of us have been through it before so we can't really be sure). She has been having regular twinges for over twenty-four hours now, and in the last few they seem to have become real contractions. The question now is whether or not we'll get a decent night's sleep tonight.Either way, it won't be long now (compared to the

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1112609253671789442005-04-04T11:05:00.000+01:002005-04-04T11:07:33.673+01:00

For the second of my series of future-prediction posts, I'm taking a look at the subject that has aroused the most confusion, anger and argument in recent years and is going to be the hot-topic of the next couple of decades, at least. The environment.The next generation is likely to be the most environmentally clued-up of all and I aim to make sure that my daughter is one of them. I don't want

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1112356103243301022005-04-01T12:47:00.000+01:002005-04-01T12:48:23.243+01:00

I'm not one of those bloggers that likes to set up an April Fool's Day ruse for their readers (though I did wonder about writing a post saying that L had just had twins, despite us only ever seeing one baby on the scans). Others do, extremely funnily at times, but it's just not me, I'm afraid.I do, however, have a couple of April Fool stories to tell you about this year's April 1st. One is a

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1112355934575721652005-04-01T12:44:00.000+01:002005-04-01T12:45:34.576+01:00

It was with some disbelief that I saw this news story yesterday. Apparently, Professor John Speakman thinks that taking thyroxine could boost our lifespan by up to 25%, because that's what it has done in mice.Thyroxine is the hormone, produced by the thyroid, that controls your metabolic rate. The professor's tests show that the mice with the highest metabolic rates lived longest and thinks

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1111584487485566232005-03-23T13:27:00.000Z2005-03-23T13:28:07.486Z

L has now been off work for three weeks and is starting to get very bored. The baby is due on Friday week and we're effectively now just sitting and waiting for it to happen.Two weeks ago I went along to the ante-natal class with L (I wasn't allowed to attend the other three). We had a look around the Birthing Centre in Hemel Hospital (very nice indeed but suffers from the lack of a maternity

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1111583158840145062005-03-23T13:04:00.000Z2005-03-23T13:05:58.843Z

Okay, as BW pretty much commanded me to do, here is what happened when I went to see the specialist a couple of weeks ago.Having had my height and weight measured and handed over the urine sample I'd brought with me, I was waiting in the endocrinology clinic for my turn to see the doctor. When it finally came I went into the office and the doctor had me go through the history of the condition as

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1110382513951318192005-03-09T15:33:00.000Z2005-03-09T15:38:41.216Z

I've been thinking hard for at least five minutes to come up with something suitable for mike's Blogger's Disco but I haven't had any ideas yet.I mean, there's so much to choose from. Do I pick a thumping dance classic or some pop kitsch? Punk? Rock? No, it's impossible to narrow it down that way.Okay, how else can I find the perfect track? What about by the effect it will have on the

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1110369157458815092005-03-09T11:48:00.000Z2005-03-09T14:06:00.380Z

The rest of my Future posts will follow over the next few days but for now I have more pressing things on my mind.I had another look at some of the online resources for thyroid problems and came across some numbers showing how likely you are to have them. Firstly, out of every eight people with some sort of thyroid condition, seven of them will be women. Up to 20% of women suffer from thyroid

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1110197057912711102005-03-07T12:03:00.000Z2005-03-07T12:04:17.913Z

Friday night saw me in a pub in Holborn attending my third blogmeet; a surprise party for dg, who will be forty this week. I didn't stay terribly late - given the way I've been feeling lately I wasn't up for a big night - but before I left there was cake and chocolate and the inevitable BW game, this time to do with creme eggs. Of course, I played along with great enthusiasm, as always. ;-)The

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1109857734317823502005-03-03T13:47:00.000Z2005-03-03T13:48:54.320Z

This is the first of a short series of posts in which I will try to predict what the first 25 years of my child's life will be like, particularly in comparison to mine. Predicting the future is notoriously hard to do, especially when you're talking about decades rather than months, but I'm not going to let that stop me. In writing these posts, I am going to borrow a trick from various books and

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1109686901657545982005-03-01T14:21:00.000Z2005-03-01T14:21:41.656Z

We watched the countdown of the 'Top 100 Cartoons' on C4 on Sunday night (well, to be completely honest, we watched the last hour and a half of it last night because we weren't up to staying awake until gone midnight) and I was pleased to see that my favourite cartoon characters of all time, Tom and Jerry, were placed as highly as one could reasonably expect.Second place behind The Simpsons is

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1109684589862672172005-03-01T13:42:00.000Z2005-03-01T13:43:09.863Z

Hey, you know I mentioned a month ago that cows are actually more intelligent than we are and are just biding their time until they are ready to take over the world?Well, if you didn't believe me, take a look at this. Convinced now?

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1109683042588486132005-03-01T13:16:00.000Z2005-03-01T13:17:22.590Z

This is quite a momentous day in our lives. For much of the last few years, L and I have travelled in to work together, at least as far as we could before going off in different directions. Today is the last time that will happen for at least a year and probably a lot longer than that (on a regular basis, anyway).This is L's last day at work before she has a few days of holiday and starts

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1109599121738661022005-02-28T13:57:00.000Z2005-02-28T13:58:41.740Z

I had Thursday and Friday off, because of the cold I developed on top of everything else - it wiped me out for a little while. I spent most of the time watching DVDs, including most of the Live Aid boxset, which I was given for Christmas but hadn't yet had time to watch.On July 13th 1985, I was just 8 years old and I don't remember anything about Live Aid. Neither of my parents were really into

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1108990888843222062005-02-21T13:00:00.000Z2005-02-21T13:01:28.846Z

I went back to the doctors' surgery this morning. This appointment was different to all the other's I've had in my life. That's because I didn't request it.I came home on Thursday last week to a message asking me to call the surgery. When I did, the receptionist (or whoever) told me the GP wanted to see me for a routine appointment. I thought it was rather odd since they wouldn't need to give

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1108469466527949672005-02-15T12:10:00.000Z2005-02-15T12:11:50.320Z

Seeing the odd letter that BW received last week, I got to thinking about a suitable reply...Dear Mr Bradley,Thank you for your kind letter requesting help with your project to start keeping bees. I can see from what you wrote that you are indeed a novice when it comes to the art of beekeeping. I tried using a technique similar to the one you are proposing when I first set up a beehive.

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1108135187108897742005-02-11T15:19:00.000Z2005-02-11T15:19:47.110Z

I went back to see the doctor yesterday. The results of the blood tests I had almost a month ago showed nothing obviously wrong (the white blood cell count, which was low in my first test, had picked up by the second a few days later) so diagnosis is very difficult. The symptoms have remained pretty much the same, though if anything the have grown a little worse. Some days are better than

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1108124090227394082005-02-11T12:14:00.000Z2005-02-11T12:14:50.230Z

For the last post of my 'Human' series, I'm going to write about the attribute that has helped make the human race the most successful species on the planet. Our adaptability.As I mentioned in my introductory post, it is very easy to come up with examples of animals that can run faster, carry more weight, etc. But try thinking of an animal that can operate in the variety of ways that we can.

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1107955092046721702005-02-09T13:17:00.000Z2005-02-09T13:18:12.046Z

Have you ever been sitting minding your own business when a smell suddenly transports you back in time to a place you'd almost forgotten and a scene from the past replays in your mind in amazing detail? Did you then stop to wonder just how you were able to recall so much from so long ago? The human capacity for memory is immense. As I've already mentioned in this series, we can remember the key

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1107778292970515312005-02-07T13:10:00.000Z2005-02-07T12:11:32.970Z

What do a brick, a chocolate eclair, a tennis racket and a piece of tissue paper all have in common? The answer is that they are all things that can be picked up by one hand. The human hand is a very highly sophisticated tool that has played a very large role in the development of the species from the time when we first came down from the trees. There are scarcely any tasks we routinely

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1107341253069147032005-02-02T10:46:00.000Z2005-02-02T10:47:33.070Z

I'm off work for the next two days (it's my birthday tomorrow and I'm taking Friday as well to make it a long weekend) so I probably won't post anything more until next week.

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1107341178914476612005-02-02T10:41:00.000Z2005-02-02T10:46:18.913Z

One of the most outstanding abilities of the human animal is the ability to recognise faces, or even just parts of faces. Facial recognition is something we mainly do unconsciously and it usually takes just a fraction of a second. But why is it such an amazing talent? If you count up the number of friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances that you know (and recognise with great ease) you

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1107260223863167372005-02-01T13:11:00.000Z2005-02-01T12:17:03.863Z

It's 7.00 p.m. one weekday evening and you settle in front of the television to watch a wildlife programme. The whispering tones of David Attenborough tells you about some animal you've never heard of before and you watch the screen in rapt fascination until he says the following: "The thigh muscle of the Three-toed Armadillo Antelope is four times as strong as that of a human." At which point

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1107176582640862362005-01-31T13:01:00.000Z2005-01-31T13:03:02.640Z

In the end, I did go along to the coffee morning to meet Tony McWalter, the Labour MP for Hemel Hempstead. He gave a brief talk about what his job entails, focusing much more on the dealings he has in the town and how he represents us in Westminster rather than the jobs he has had in the Government. He then took questions for over an hour. I was probably the youngest person in the room and

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1106741950152883462005-01-26T13:16:00.000Z2005-01-26T12:19:10.153Z

I got home from work last week to find a letter waiting for me with the House of Commons stamp on the back of it. "What on earth is this?", thought I. Inside the envelope was a letter from my MP inviting me to a coffee morning being held locally this Saturday to discuss 'local issues and concerns'. Could it be that I was picked at random or did someone in the local Labour party ranks think to

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1106658299983891432005-01-25T13:04:00.000Z2005-01-25T13:04:59.983Z

Well, more effect than cause, to be honest. Cause will follow later in the week, if I'm lucky. The symptoms I described yesterday are having quite an effect on my life at the moment. Feeling weak and tired means that you tend not to get around to all those non-essential jobs you've been meaning to do for ages. Like painting the stairs, for example. I started that a few months ago but haven't

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1106574973235473562005-01-24T13:55:00.000Z2005-01-24T13:56:13.236Z

I've said more than once in the last few months that I've been feeling tired and run-down and, now that things may be coming to a head, I thought I'd write a little bit more about what has been going on. This will probably take a few posts so bear with me. Two weeks ago, I was finally talked into going to see the doctor about why I'd been feeling so crap for so long. Until that point I'd been

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1105624220744232702005-01-13T13:49:00.000Z2005-01-13T13:50:20.743Z

Last night L and I went to the Royal Albert Hall to see Dralion, the Cirque du Soleil show that is currently touring Europe. The critics haven't been terribly kind to the show and it is true that there isn't much flow between the different acts - no obvious story that ties everything together. However, that's the only thing I can find fault with. Of those shown on the website, the only acts

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1105534141856258742005-01-12T13:48:00.000Z2005-01-12T12:49:01.856Z

Today's post by BW has reminded me of a couple of links I've been meaning to add to my sidebar. You can see them over there in their own section called Language. World Wide Words is a brilliant site, written by Michael Quinion, 'about international English from a British viewpoint. It is full of articles on the origins of words and phrases (from up to the moment new phrases to archaic words

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1105433499407396252005-01-11T08:50:00.000Z2005-01-11T08:51:39.406Z

I made a startling discovery last night. One that could amaze physicists across the world. This year is the 100th anniversary of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which shows that time slows as you near the speed of light, and it is fitting, therefore, that my discovery should expand a little upon that most famous of papers. In a nutshell, my new addendum to Einstein's work is this: "The

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1105355293957728472005-01-10T11:07:00.000Z2005-01-10T11:08:13.956Z

On Sunday, BW wrote a post about how customer service at John Lewis is worse than it used to be. She also recounted the adage that someone who receives good service will tell one person about it whereas someone who receives bad service will tell twenty. Well, I was in John Lewis on Saturday and got some very satisfactory service and if I only tell one person, then it because I only have the one

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1105098859272541022005-01-07T11:53:00.000Z2005-01-07T11:54:19.273Z

Isn't it odd how a room looks bare after the Christmas decorations have come down? Why did I feel guilty about walking past the Underground staff collecting for the tsunami appeal fund when I've already given plenty of money to it? It's very annoying that the Silverlink County trains don't have about two inches more space between the seats as it makes it difficult to avoid touching knees with

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1105001675192255012005-01-06T08:53:00.000Z2005-01-06T08:54:35.193Z

Coming up through Monument station this morning, I saw one of the Circle Line trains that has been repainted in support of the Back The Bid campaign. The rear carriage was red and going forward from there the next was green, then black and yellow. I assume blue followed that but it was round the corner so I couldn't see it. Does anyone know what colour the front carriage is? Is it a mix of

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1104928899728087982005-01-05T13:40:00.000Z2005-01-05T12:41:39.730Z

I have spent much of the last week wondering how to broach the subject of the tsunami in the Indian Ocean and the resulting disaster. It doesn't seem right to ignore it completely but where do you start with something like that? The scale of the whole thing just beggars belief. You can try to make some sense of the numbers involved by giving them 'understandable' equivalents, such as the

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1104844552433594962005-01-04T13:15:00.000Z2005-01-04T13:15:52.433Z

In the spirit of the god for which January is named, what follows takes a brief look at what the past year held for me and what 2005 may have in store... 2004 turned out to be quite a momentous year, all in all. Buying our first house, getting a car and relearning to drive were all fairly major milestones in my life. Then, of course, there's the decision we made to start a family at which

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1104842016434581462005-01-04T13:00:00.000Z2005-01-04T13:17:33.756Z

New Year Resolutions have never been my thing. I don't think that simply entering into a new year is motivation enough to change the way you live. And, if there is enough other motivation to do something different, then why wait until the beginning of January to do it? Having said that, I do want to write here more regularly than I have been doing over the last six months or more. There have

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1103882958304362012004-12-24T10:06:00.000Z2004-12-24T10:09:18.303Z

May your skies be clear and blue this Christmas. May your days be filled with joy and your heart with peace. May you wake to a whitened land and a roaring fire. May your families bring you love, May your gifts make you content. May your skies be clear and blue this Christmas. Have a very merry Christmas. I'll be back next week.

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1103551853804104692004-12-20T14:10:00.000Z2004-12-20T14:10:53.803Z

...it takes ten minutes for your cheeks to warm up once you're on the train. It was gorgeously crisp and cold this morning. The grass crunched lightly underfoot and the mists of my breath billowed gently up above my head. The pre-dawn sky was a riot of salmon pink, orange and golden yellow against a backdrop of cool, azure blue as the high clouds caught the first rays from the rising sun and

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1103111733755041282004-12-15T11:55:00.000Z2004-12-15T11:55:33.756Z

We have passed a couple of pregnancy landmarks in the last week or so. Firstly, in the middle of last week I felt the baby kick for the first time. L's been feeling it for weeks but until now it hasn't been strong enough to be felt from outside. It was a lovely moment, happening just after we'd got into bed and I think I went to sleep with a great big grin on my face. More importantly, we

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1101900005111369072004-12-01T11:19:00.000Z2004-12-01T11:20:05.110Z

And all of a sudden a week has passed without a word from me. I didn't mean that to happen. I was going to post something on Friday but I was ill and this week so far, I just haven't had the energy or the inclination. Thursday was a largely wasted day at work as I practically fell asleep at my desk. I wasn't just tired, my muscles were aching and it felt like I had no reserves of energy left

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1101301599471433642004-11-24T13:03:00.000Z2004-11-24T13:06:39.470Z

The air in our house is becoming steadily more blue at the moment. The normal household noise is being punctuated by soft utterings like "Oomph. You little bastard" as the baby uses L's insides as a punch bag. This raises the question of ownership of our child-to-be. Whenever it's kicking hell out of L's bladder or something then it's always my baby. Said in the right tone, "Your baby is

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1101133066213107272004-11-22T14:16:00.000Z2004-11-22T14:17:46.213Z

In his post about Friday night, NiC had a moment of genius that seems to have gone unnoticed by everyone else. "If the group continues to grow we'll be taking over a whole pub soon", he said. Now that's a bloody brilliant idea and it got me thinking. What would the perfect blogpub be like? Well, judging by Friday's example, it would either have to have quiet, background music or a pair of

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1101131355897142922004-11-22T13:48:00.000Z2004-11-22T13:49:50.066Z

Friday night saw me attending my second blogmeet, this time at the Green Man by Great Portland Street. It's definitely not the best pub in the world but the company more than made up for it. I arrived just in time to find Harriet, Elsie and dave at the bar and rapidly had the first pint of the night in my hand. We found a table in the corner underneath the world's loudest speaker and tried to

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1100865052917210572004-11-19T11:48:00.000Z2004-11-19T11:50:52.916Z

Since I haven't got much else to say, I'm going to fall back on that great staple of English Conversation; the weather. Boy, there was a chill in the air as we walked to the station this morning. It was wonderful. We may not have had the snow that others have but it felt like a wonderful prelude to the season to come. I mean, it's only the middle of November and we've had snowfall in the

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1100862535284501632004-11-19T11:07:00.000Z2004-11-19T11:08:55.286Z

I have a grumble to make about Children In Need. Some people wouldn't read that sentence and instantly become outraged at such sacrilegious behaviour, so let me make it clear that I'm not complaining about the charity itself, or the work that it does, or how it raises money or, indeed, anything of any importance. No, my grumble is about all about dates and timing. This year's show is being

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1100768903748741652004-11-18T09:04:00.000Z2004-11-18T09:21:19.173Z

Congratulations, dear visitor! Your name has been chosen from literally thousands of applicants to receive a prize in the first Great Blogging Giveaway sponsored by CBS Pocketlining Enterprises, so well done! At this point, let us assure you that this is absolutely, 100% genuine and that you have definitely won a prize. There are a range of thousands of prizes in the Great Blogging Giveaway

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1100697105924678902004-11-17T13:10:00.000Z2004-11-17T13:11:45.923Z

I can't seem to get beyond the first line in any post I try and write at the moment. I start it, thinking I know what I want to say, but then the words suddenly dry up and the idea behind it disappears in a cloud of smoke. This is more than a little disconcerting. I'm unable to organise my thoughts well enough for them to make sense when transferred to the screen and consequently the process

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1100532486519617922004-11-15T15:27:00.000Z2004-11-15T15:28:06.520Z

Well, there's definitely only one of them, which is a relief. Though it would have made us an instant nuclear family, it would have been a complication we just didn't want. The scan went very well. The baby was being a little bit shy and wouldn't show us its face but everything else was very clear. We could see it moving around, though most of the time it was sitting crossed-legged and

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1100267041642845032004-11-12T13:42:00.000Z2004-11-12T13:44:01.643Z

Why is it that being successful at work often means simply being able to shovel shit faster than anyone else? Sorry, work has been hectic the last couple of weeks but there are times when it doesn't seem like I've actually achieved anything. It has meant that I haven't really had the energy to think about what I want to write about. Things will get better, I promise. There may well be another

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1100176314797008462004-11-11T13:30:00.000Z2004-11-11T12:31:54.796Z

Well, we're just now reaching the half-way stage of the pregnancy - only another 20 weeks or so to go! Being 20 weeks in means that the first scan is coming up and I'm a little nervous about what we might find out. I'm not worried that we'll find out something's wrong since I don't think there is but we may well discover that we need to come up with more than one name come the spring. Twins

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1100075933698830442004-11-10T08:24:00.000Z2004-11-10T08:52:09.863Z

One of the new features that Blogger introduced during the last revamp was the ability to post via email. All you have to do is send an email to a specific address (known only to you) and, providing you remember a few simple rules on how to set it out, your post should appear just as you want it. Great, thought I, that will come in handy for posting while I'm at work. Actually, it's not so

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1099721117134230362004-11-05T14:30:00.000Z2004-11-10T08:24:06.013Z

I'm sorry that posts have been a little infrequent the past week or so. I've been under increasing pressure at work, which has left me with less time to think about writing anything. I'm taking Monday and Tuesday off to try and recharge my batteries a little (I'm so tired at the moment that I don't think two days is enough time for a complete recovery, but every little helps, doesn't it?) and

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1099765185056321012004-11-05T14:15:00.000Z2004-11-10T08:22:58.366Z

In the pub this lunchtime, I hit upon the perfect way to get free drinks. All you need to do is follow these simple steps: 1. Go into a very busy pub that has too feww staff behind the bar. 2. Order whatever you want but make sure it includes one large glass of red wine. 3. Watch as the barman catches the bottom of said glass of wine on the beer pumps as he's trying to lift it over them. 4.

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1099569953276308072004-11-04T13:05:00.000Z2004-11-04T12:05:53.276Z

So, that's that, then. Bush remains in the White House for a second term, another four years. The question that remains is whether the next four years will be the same as the last four or will Bush try and change the way he is running his country and treating the rest of the world? Well, domestically at least, I think he probably will. If unemployment continues to rise and the budget

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1099323945181878172004-11-01T15:43:00.000Z2004-11-01T15:45:45.183Z

So far, I have refrained from posting anything about the US Election, mainly because it would just be one post among countless others on the subject and it probably wouldn't say anything new. However, I saw something yesterday that made me change my mind. I was watching Jonathan Dimbleby on ITV at lunch time and he was interviewing all sorts of people from both sides of the election fight. One

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1099309302787766142004-11-01T11:40:00.000Z2004-11-01T11:41:42.786Z

Seen this morning on the way to work: a man trying to start a white van. He tried starting it half a dozen times before we were out of earshot, all to no avail. What made it funny were the words written on the side of the van. They said "24hr Recovery" I wonder if he's got homestart cover...

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1098965626161235142004-10-28T13:12:00.000+01:002004-10-28T13:13:46.160+01:00

Expecting your first baby makes you consider the future in ways you've really never done before. Suddenly, you can see the future more clearly than before (or one part of it, at least) and start thinking and making plans on all sorts of different timescales. The shortest of those timescales is that of the pregnancy itself. Mapping out the significant moments in the next five months is quite

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1098794124428616722004-10-26T13:31:00.000+01:002004-10-26T13:35:24.430+01:00

It's not often I offer up a book review for you to read but I thought I would on this occasion. For the last six months it has seemed like everywhere you look, someone is reading The Da Vinci Code or another of Dan Brown's books. Me included. I've read all four of them and enjoyed them all, more or less. They've come under a lot of criticism, though, for being formulaic and clumsy, among

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1098709125685284282004-10-25T13:57:00.000+01:002004-10-25T13:58:45.686+01:00

One thing that you soon find out when you are pregnant is that there are often some pretty odd side effects. Some of them are entirely expected, such as morning sickness and putting on weight but others are quite surprising. For example, to start with L was losing weight at a rate that most dieters would be happy with and it carried on for weeks. This is all perfectly normal but no one had

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1098451820827479802004-10-22T14:28:00.000+01:002004-10-22T14:30:20.826+01:00

This week's theme is science and nature. Looking around the schedules, it is really only the BBC that gives us anything much to choose from. The only programme on any of the other three channels that fits the bill is 'Nigel Marven's Bull Shark: The Search for the Deadliest Shark' on Five (Tue 8 p.m.). Somehow I don't think I'll be watching that one. By contrast, the Beeb has over a dozen

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1098442880009995732004-10-22T13:00:00.000+01:002004-10-22T12:01:20.010+01:00

Following on from the very interesting debate over at BW's yesterday about having children, we had a phone call last night from some friends of ours. They have a three-month old girl and the last we'd heard from them a few weeks ago, she was ill and going in for hospital tests and things. The news last night wasn't good. She is very ill and on the critical list. Hopefully, her condition is

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1098432992323421042004-10-22T09:15:00.000+01:002004-10-22T09:16:32.323+01:00

Sorry I didn't put in an appearance here yesterday, I had too much work to catch up on and just didn't really have the time. Anyway, I'm sure you'll all be glad to hear that I survived my trip south of the river and even came back relatively unscathed from it. I was surprised I can tell you. The course was very good, which was also a bit of a surprise. Project Management doesn't sound like a

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1097848235109541362004-10-15T14:47:00.000+01:002004-10-15T14:50:35.110+01:00

I'm off on a course early next week so I probably won't be posting again until next Thursday. The course is in Redhill in Surrey and there's no way I'm going to commute every day since it's a two-hour journey and the course isn't likely to finish until 6p.m., so I'll be spending two nights in a hotel down there. What joy that's going to be.

Davenoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5728950.post-1097848016617365952004-10-15T14:45:00.000+01:002004-10-15T14:46:56.616+01:00

For this week's look at the next 168 hour's worth of televisual delights, I'm going to concentrate on a quintessentially British archetype; the eccentric Englishman. We seem to love people with a quirky side to their nature; bumbling inventors, nutty professors etc. You see them in all walks of life and the TV schedules are no exception, as we shall see. Firstly, we have that most eccentric of

Davenoreply@blogger.com0