Saturday 9 January 2010

To cap it all off

As I'm working from home at the moment, heading out during the current wintry weather has not been a priority (especially as our freezer is particularly, and surprisingly, well stocked at the moment).

Today, being a little stir crazy, I walked up the hill, into town, to pick up some supplies. Nothing out of the ordinary there although there is still a lot of snow around.

Waiting in line at the check-out, I had one of those "I've turned into my dad" moments. Wearing a £3 beanie and not having shaved for a couple of days, I realised I was presenting myself in the same manner that dad used to, and mum used to complain about.

When we got out later (just round to a neighbour's house, but it counts as out) I will have shaved and be hatless. Contact lenses will also be worn. I have learned my lesson.

Er, you know if you'd thought about it for more than five seconds...

The bus carrying the Togo football team has been attacked in Angola on its way to the Africa, Cup of Nations.

It's very sad. It was also very avoidable.

Why? Organisers say the team should not have travelled by bus, that teams were requested not to travel by bus.

On the other hand:

The bus travelling from the Republic of Congo had just entered the Angolan enclave of Cabinda, where separatists have waged a three-decade long war, when it came under heavy gunfire. The driver was killed and nine others were wounded.
(from The Independent)

So, on the one hand they should not have taken the bus.

On the other, a major football tournament is taking place in country where separatists have waged a three-decade long war.

Which do you think had more to do with the incident?

The grass is always greener

I work from home at the moment. It's actually quite tough.

I know, I can hear the violins playing at the moment.

When watching property programmes, the hosts tend to make a lot of office space even it's just a converted cupboard. My how I scoffed at such delusional nonsense.

Only now I think I hanker for such delusional nonsense. A bit of space, set aside for a specific purpose would be great. We are a couple in a two-bedroom so the second bedroom would make sense. However, we like to have people come over to stay, so we have a bed that takes up most of the space (it is a small house).

Diana's solution is a summer house. In the depths of winter, the idea is a summer house where we currently have a shed.



The thing is, it's a great idea.

And it's what, in DIY terms, you could call a project. We could probably just about afford to buy one at the moment. Running electricity and kitting it out might be another thing. But as long as the wireless network goes that far then there's no reason why a laptop wouldn't work.

An extra room at the end of the garden.

All I need to do now is clear the shed, knock it down and get rid of the wood.

By the time that's done, it might actually be summer.