I was in a car accident last week, though luckily I only suffered mild whiplash.
I was waiting to turn into the company car park after lunch when I was hit from behind. As I got out to investigate the bastard drove off right in front of dozens of witnesses and me - he was even perused by another driver - nobody could believe he did it. Two independent witnesses got his registration (with only one letter different), but neither number came up on the police computer - then the penny dropped - that's why he did a runner. If his plates weren't legal, than neither would be the car, and he wouldn't be taxed; MOT'd or insured.
I spent the rest of that day alternatively at the hospital and at the police station and the next two days off at home. The car is sans-bumper but even though it drives and all the lights work Sue insists that I take public transport to work until I get a new car (The car is only worth a couple of hundred quid, which is less than it would cost to fix). At least I can read my book while I am on the bus and train.
Sue has said I can get a VW Kombi if I want, but they are not cheap. Even a thirty-year-old tatty Type 2 camper is selling for £3000 to £4000. Better quality or rarer Type 1 campers can go for anything up to £10000.
I have found out that for even more money you can get a brand spanking new Type 2 Kombi (or a new 'old style' Beetle, Type 1 Golf or Caddy). VW Brazil still makes these old models and a company, Beetles UK, imports them and turns the Kombi transporter into a Camper Van.
Better check the lottery tickets again!
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
More of wot I have watched...
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
An entertaining tale though rather unnecessarily overcomplicated I thought (did miss a bit in the middle, which can't have helped). My, haven't those kids grown up!
Vera Drake
A superbly acted (perhaps a tad too much blubbering for my tastes) and very evocative cinematography lift this film above the ordinary.
Super Volcanoe
I saw an interesting docu-drama about the potential disaster of Super Volcanoes (like Taupo), and the catastrophic 'end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it' scenario. Some days it doesn’t pay to get out of bed.
An entertaining tale though rather unnecessarily overcomplicated I thought (did miss a bit in the middle, which can't have helped). My, haven't those kids grown up!
Vera Drake
A superbly acted (perhaps a tad too much blubbering for my tastes) and very evocative cinematography lift this film above the ordinary.
Super Volcanoe
I saw an interesting docu-drama about the potential disaster of Super Volcanoes (like Taupo), and the catastrophic 'end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it' scenario. Some days it doesn’t pay to get out of bed.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Another month flies by...
We are experiencing wintry weather here in the UK at the moment with occasional flurries of snow and temperatures below 5 degrees. The heating is on most of the time, and silly hats and scarves are the order of the day. Sue got me a great 'silly hat' that looks like a cross between a Russian soldier's hat and a deerstalker with its fluffy ear flaps - I think it was a joke?
I think I am going through a mid-life crisis. My hair has grown long, I am wearing leather bracelets with cartoon t-shirts and cords. I have brought Jamie's old 3/4 guitar down from the loft and have re-strung it, tuned it and bought a book on how-to-play-guitar-for-complete-beginners. I am looking longingly at VW Combi vans and we have arranged to go to a world-music festival with our neighbours in the summer (tents, tie-dye and veggie-burgers). If you fancy sitting on the grass lacing daises in our hair and calling each other sister, why don't you come join my commune?
We have decorated (mostly) our bedroom. It was the only room we hadn't done anything with since we bought the house, so we camped in Jamie's room for the weekend and painted the walls. Unfortunately when we moved one of the bookcases it revealed a damp patch that was caused by a leaky down pipe outside, so now we need to get the builders in.
Jamie came down for a visit this weekend, the first time we have seen him since before New Years. It was great to see him again and we all had a nice time when some of the Aunts and Uncle's came over for dinner. He seems to be enjoying the student life to the full and refers to his place in Hull as home (so much so he and his flatmates have paid a deposit to stay at the house next year).
I think I am going through a mid-life crisis. My hair has grown long, I am wearing leather bracelets with cartoon t-shirts and cords. I have brought Jamie's old 3/4 guitar down from the loft and have re-strung it, tuned it and bought a book on how-to-play-guitar-for-complete-beginners. I am looking longingly at VW Combi vans and we have arranged to go to a world-music festival with our neighbours in the summer (tents, tie-dye and veggie-burgers). If you fancy sitting on the grass lacing daises in our hair and calling each other sister, why don't you come join my commune?
We have decorated (mostly) our bedroom. It was the only room we hadn't done anything with since we bought the house, so we camped in Jamie's room for the weekend and painted the walls. Unfortunately when we moved one of the bookcases it revealed a damp patch that was caused by a leaky down pipe outside, so now we need to get the builders in.
Jamie came down for a visit this weekend, the first time we have seen him since before New Years. It was great to see him again and we all had a nice time when some of the Aunts and Uncle's came over for dinner. He seems to be enjoying the student life to the full and refers to his place in Hull as home (so much so he and his flatmates have paid a deposit to stay at the house next year).
More of wot I have read…
Croydon Airport: The great Days, 1928-1939
A historical record of the beginnings of the UK's first international airport from its amalgamation of earlier military and civil sites to the outbreak of WWII and its temporary return to military use. Now the site is half open field and half housing and industrial estate with the only evidence being the airport terminal building, hotel and some obscure road names to hint at its past. Not many locals realise the importance of Croydon, and its role in early civil flying. I have been looking into the history in the hope that I can use some of the events in a children's story, perhaps linking Croydon with New Zealand with record breaking pioneers like Jean Batten.
Links
Croydon Gov
Croydon Online
A historical record of the beginnings of the UK's first international airport from its amalgamation of earlier military and civil sites to the outbreak of WWII and its temporary return to military use. Now the site is half open field and half housing and industrial estate with the only evidence being the airport terminal building, hotel and some obscure road names to hint at its past. Not many locals realise the importance of Croydon, and its role in early civil flying. I have been looking into the history in the hope that I can use some of the events in a children's story, perhaps linking Croydon with New Zealand with record breaking pioneers like Jean Batten.
Links
Croydon Gov
Croydon Online
More of wot I have watched…
The Aviator
We saw this with our friends James and Nikala, and we were not so impressed with this movie, in fact the girls both fell asleep during it. There was something about the Martin Scorsese's directing that made you feel that at anytime soon the cast were all going to burst into a song and dance routine. I have seen much better bio-pics of Howard Hughes on TV. All in all this was a bit of a let down after all the hype in the media.
The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
This is an odd and convoluted sort of film, something I quite like, but Sue didn't. It has a good cast led by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. There are a great many scenes out of order, flashbacks and dream like sequences, which don't suit everyone, but there is a deeper level of moral and ethical subtext.
House of Flying Daggers
We saw this with Jamie, and it is his opinion that there was too much love-story and not enough flying daggers. It did make him want a sword - to Sue's obvious distress. This is a beautiful picturesque film, with wonderful characters (the lead actors are great). It has the same super-human special effects that 'crouching-tiger, hidden-dragon' had but it does have a little more plot. Great heroic adventurer fun.
Ladies in Lavender
This is a lovely, slow and touching story of hope and regret, played out by a couple of fabulous dames (Dench and Smith). In a sleepy 1930's Cornish seaside village under a cloud of war a young foreigner is cast ashore barely alive.
We saw this with our friends James and Nikala, and we were not so impressed with this movie, in fact the girls both fell asleep during it. There was something about the Martin Scorsese's directing that made you feel that at anytime soon the cast were all going to burst into a song and dance routine. I have seen much better bio-pics of Howard Hughes on TV. All in all this was a bit of a let down after all the hype in the media.
The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
This is an odd and convoluted sort of film, something I quite like, but Sue didn't. It has a good cast led by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. There are a great many scenes out of order, flashbacks and dream like sequences, which don't suit everyone, but there is a deeper level of moral and ethical subtext.
House of Flying Daggers
We saw this with Jamie, and it is his opinion that there was too much love-story and not enough flying daggers. It did make him want a sword - to Sue's obvious distress. This is a beautiful picturesque film, with wonderful characters (the lead actors are great). It has the same super-human special effects that 'crouching-tiger, hidden-dragon' had but it does have a little more plot. Great heroic adventurer fun.
Ladies in Lavender
This is a lovely, slow and touching story of hope and regret, played out by a couple of fabulous dames (Dench and Smith). In a sleepy 1930's Cornish seaside village under a cloud of war a young foreigner is cast ashore barely alive.
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