Last week I got an Xmas animation from Penno that I assume she'd made and one from my cousin Linda that she definitely hadn't. Anyway as a result I thought I'd make one and started in earnest on Monday. An AFD. Warren, Mary Ellen and JAMO came round for the traditional lasagne tea on Tuesday. Madeline found my selfie stick. On Wednesday I finished my Xmas animation. I went up to London later to see BRMC with Wynn at The Troxy. I went up early and walked from Embankment.We met in The Clement Attlee which was rammed. Support was from Night Beats who were OK but their recorded stuff is more interesting. They were just playing as a straight 3 piece, guitar, bass, drums. I really enjoyed BRMC. Quite a mixture of stuff from folk to heavy rock but they didn't have much off as they would say up north. One of them also seemed to be having medical issues and we found out later from a review that they had flu. We left before the encore so I could get the 23 32. Meanwhile Edith had been singing. Went swimming on Thursday morning. In the afternoon went up to London again with M to meet up with Anne and Wynn. We were staying in The Hazlitts Hotel in Frith Street, Soho. We had drinks in the library honesty bar then went to Zedel for dinner. Had a bit of a walk round then went the Arts Club that M has just joined.

Had a bit of a lazy day on Monday but did book an AirBnB in Vancouver. The one I picked out originally had gone. Maybe because of the World Cup. An AFD. Went up to London on Tuesday and met Tom for lunch at the Apulia restaurant in Farringdon. It's opposite Smithfield Market. We went there once before on our way to The Barbican to see Nicklecreek. In the evening I went to see URZ lose 2 1 to Peterborough with Ralph. They conceded in 2 mins pulled one back after about an hour, both soft goals. They then made a couple of subs and briefly looked threatening before conceding a well taken goal. It was a dire performance all round. Nobody played well in spite of what srats may say. On Wednesday I did my Theale, Pangbourne, Mapledurham ride.A picture showed up on M's online feed showing Blackheath in the winter with the frozen lake near The Princess Of Wales.Went to BnQ to get an Xmas tree but they didn't have much of a selection do didn't bother. Did The Retreat quiz in the evening and came third. We've called ourselves The Quizlings for the last 2 quizzes. What we didn't realise was there was already a team with that name and Mike the organiser originally gave our winnings to them. We also think they may have got our winnings last time. I put some lights round the tree stump out the front on Thursday. JAMO came round for tea then I went to first Thursday drinks at The Hop Leaf. Tim Monk put in an appearance. We got our Christmas tree on Friday. I popped into RSAC later to set up the PA for the salsa disco. M put up the rest of the Christmas decorations on Saturday apart from the tree. On Sunday she sanded and polished the kitchen worktops. I did some weeding.

M went to the dentist's in Oxford on Monday so I decided to along and do a walk. I walked along the canal to Wolvercote then back through Port Meadow. Unfortunately I got a bit wet. An AFD. We went swimming on Tuesday morning. The SD card on my phone filled up so bought a bigger one and started copying data to my laptop. It took a surprisingly long time. Met up with Rob Callaghan and his mate Ray in The Nags then went to see Gnod at the Facebar. Loud and repetitive psychedelic rock I guess you'd call it. Enjoyed it but they could have been better. The stuff they played over the top was just noise and we had to wait until the last song for a chord change. Finished copying the data, put in the new card and started copying it back on Wednesday. Finished about 7pm. On Thursday did the traditional festive ride out to The Black Horse.Apart from the cyclists, Coxy, Howie and Charlie were also there. James came round with the kids for tea. On Friday Brendan, Lynda and Kelvin came round for the traditional Xmas meal so we put the decoration up in the kitchen. Drank too much hence didn't get up until gone 2pm on Saturday. Went to the Xmas art market at RSAC. Penno had a stall there. Set up the PA after for the festive fund raiser. Did a society walk on Sunday organised by Kelvin from the Renegade Brewery.

Amy took Owen to a dentist in Reading on Monday morning. They said the broken tooth will need to removed under a general anaesthetic and they'll probably need to wait 6 to 8 weeks. They all came round here after and Owen seemed quite perky. Later they made an appointment at Toothbeary a specialist child dentists in Richmond so we went over to no 81 to look after Madeline. Toothbeary said they can do it on Wednesday with intravenous sedation. On Tuesday morning heard the bad news from Tom that he's not having his contract extended. The company, CIC, have lost Boots, a major client. M went to the docs for tests on her lung capacity and everything is fine. Got some Sony WF-C510 earbuds to replace the CF500s I washed in my shorts a few months ago. In the evening me and James went up to London and met up with Tom to go see English Teacher at The Roundhouse. It was their birthday present. We met at Bodeans just opposite and had one of their platters of mixed meats. All very tasty. Me and James walked from Paddington along the Union canal. Support was from Orielles who were pretty good but I don't know their stuff and the sound wasn't great. Me and Tom had seen them before on 4th March 2020. The last gig before lockdown. The sound was  much better for ET who were great. They have so many good songs and Lily's voice is very distinctive. Great set. On Wednesday James and Amy dropped Madeline off with with us very early as they took Owen to have his tooth fixed. They had to be there by 8. Madeline had not been well the night before so they decided to keep her off nursery. They were back with Owen about 10 am. All sorted. Both back in nursery on Thursday. Had a band practice for Tribute Night in the afternoon. In the evening M went up to London and met Sally for a drink at the Arts Theatre Club she's just joined. M did a bit of Labour Party leafletting in Southcote on Friday morning. Late afternoon we drove over to no 81 and took Madeline and Owen to see the lights in the Forbury on the bus.Then we took them back for tea. James and Amy went to The Corriander Club as it was their wedding anniversary on Tuesday. Did the sound for The Spice Girls Tribute Night on Saturday with Paul. Tony was filming it.

It was a cold but sunny autumnal day on Monday so I got the week off to a good start by doing my 5 hills ride. Came back via The Forbury and the Christmas lights are looking good.James and the kids came round for leftover chicken pie as Amy was away. Had late afternoon drinks on Tuesday with Penno and Clive in The Allied Arms. Clive had made us peanut bowls.Later I watched Scotland beat Denmark 4 2 to qualify for the World Cup. Great game. It snowed on Wednesday morning but not for long and afterwards cycled out to Wallingford with Stuart and Kelvin. Went to a History of Reading Society talk given by Joan Dills in the evening in the Abbey Baptist Church about 18th century Reading. Never knew they had horse racing. It was on Bulmershe Heath. Went swimming on Thursday morning. There's a  Swedish chap who reckons he's the Lord of Coley. He sent M this.

On Tuesday morning went to pick up a subwoofer that had been donated to RSAC by Alex Walsh. On the way back, as I was still feeling a bit out of sorts, picked up a covid test but it was -ve. Took M over RBH for her chest x-ray. I didn't have a great night but felt a lot better in the morning so did a bike ride with Kelvin and Graham. Went to the Spire and Spoke in Watlington via Christmas Common and back through Ewelme and Checkendon. About 42 miles. Did The Retreat quiz in the evening with M, Kelvin, Bobby and Fiona. For the first time we weren't placed. Went swimming on Thursday morning followed by the hygenist. Went for first Thursday drinks in the Nags in the evening. I learnt an interesting fact about the Spire and Spoke from Dave Kirkham. The Spire refers to an area of chalk the has been exposed to resemble a church spire. Bit of a lazy day Friday. On Saturday I did the sound at RSAC for a Greenpeace fundraiser. Three bands, Queens of Between, Adders and Made Of The Mist. They were all very friendly but also vey loud and I didn't find their music particularly inspiring  Probably about 40 people there so a good night. JAMO came round for roast chicken on Sunday.

We looked after Madeline and Owen for most of Monday as Amy was flying to Canada to see baby Emma. The initial plan was that James would drop them off but Owen had a bit of a temperature so he worked in the shed in case he was needed. Owen perked up a bit after lunch so we took them to soft play. Went to a RSAC meeting in the evening. Did my 5 hills ride on Tuesday morning. The first time since I had the bike overhauled. It's got a wider spread of gears now so I didn't have to go down to the lowest. Spotted this crop if yellow flowers which seemed totally the wrong time of year for rapeseed. A bit of googling revealed that it may have been mustard. I passed through Green Park round about lunch time and it was good to see lots of office workers out walking, a lot of them quite young. The new bridge over the Kennet is now open. It wasn't on Sunday so must have just happened.