This is a long shot but I need to stay over on business in or near Esher and don't want to drive . Is there a salubrious hotel near any of the stations on the Esher/ Weybridge/ Waterloo line ? I need to be there fairly early and fairly late so need to be on a direct train route.

I have new air conditioning !

I have guilt free Krispy Kreme doughnut (thank you Mrs Lovely Client in need of passport signature).

I have finished 18 page report of horror (at 4pm) and Other Lovely Client  has already skim read it and is excited and pleased.

Have just waved Roger off to summer quiz barbecue because I couldn't face going to London and sitting in boiling pub conservatory in this heat to discover it's actually a comfortable temperature out there after all ( Read more... )

I was inspired by desperance and his post on Gaudy Night to re-read this.

I'm very fond of the Lord Peter Wimsey series but some things about "Gaudy Night" are quite odd to the modern reader.

The book was published in 1935 and set in the same year.

Some bits of the book are timeless, Harriet is preparing to go to her old college reunion and is anxious about ( Read more... )

have just been invited to a conference entitled "The loneliness of the ideas hamster"

Sunday's meeting went well largely because neighbour brought his son in law. Have agreed to do small amount of extra work on the basis that that is it and we draw a line underneath.

So not quite happy ever after but we're definitely down from red alert status .

R has pointed out that it is totally inappropriate for foreign lions to symbolise our football team ( Read more... )

by Catherine Cooked Up

It's a long time since we had a Catherine Cooked Up adventure and I'm feeling a bit stressed so here goes.

In book the first, our trusty heroine strived to fit in at Hardcastle High and defeated Aardvark, the evil MCP robot from the future.

In book the second, she discovered that all was not what it seemed in the cosy village ( Read more... )

It's our first anniversary on Wednesday August 11th and also Roger's birthday.

We were wondering about having a mini beer festival on the following Saturday, which is 14 August.. Obviously, there would be things other than beer. We still have a lot of wedding champagne left for example.

Does this clash with anything vital ?

It's still nice to be home but less nice to be on the receiving end of more grief from my nosy neighbours . They've sent me a letter explaining why they think I'm in breach of various laws on my roof repairs. I've sent a bland response back to explain that we're not and that the work has been duly certified by the buildings inspector . As usual, ( Read more... )