Monday, November 30, 2020

Published Monday, November 30, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 29th November

On Monday I went on a ford spotting ride to Bagnor just the other side of Newbury. On the way out I passes Englefield Park. I new they had deer there didn't realuse how many. Not sure if you can make them out on the photo.
Also spotted this fine hedge in the Lambourne valley.
There were meant to be 2 fords on by way near the Watermill Theatre but they dont exist any more. There are just bridges.

l had planned to get a train back from Newbury but I timed it wrong and would have had a long wait so I cycled on to Thatcham. This reminded me of the times I visited my mum. Sometimes I would cycle over and get the train back. There were always delays and things haven't changed. Got my ticket inspected as soon as I got on which I also wasn't expecting. There were quite a lot of people waiting which I also wasn't expecting. On Tuesday I had another unsuccessful ford spotting trip to Wraysbury. I used to work with someone from Wraysbury and as she drove a land ranger I kind of assumed it was one of those really up market places like Bray. Turns out that's not the case. One of those places where all the houses are different and not very attractive, something I spotted on some of my Thames path walks. I couldn't find the ford either but I must take responsibility for that as it turned out I was looking in the wrong place. When I tried to check its wherabouts my phone died, my fault again. So I might have to go back. There were a lot of cyclists out all along the route. I got a train back from Staines. Dont even have any pictures because of the phone. The Chrustmas rules for covid were announced. 3 households can mix between 23rd and 27th December but don't know the full details yet. We had a power cut just after 8 30 pm. There had been one earlier in other parts of the street and the lights had been flickering during the evening. M reported it and it came back on about 9 20. However I woke up in the night and checked my alarm clock to see what time it was and it wasn't on so I reported it again. They said there was a cable problem they were trying to sort out and it should be back on within the hour. More explanation of the Christmas rules this morning. You cant change your household mixes. So say 3 households mix on one day they cant go and mix with different households on another. You can still mix with larger numbers outside though. Great activity in the garden this morning. Now I've started feeding the birds again its become a popular spot. This in turn attracted a sparrow hawk this morning. Either a juvenile or a female, probably the latter. The fat balls are attracting jackdaws. That's good as they make a mess on the ground that gets eaten by blackbirds and the like that don't go on feeders.
Went for a quick ride along the Kennet to Burghfield and back through Green Park. Kelvin popped round with some 1845 which was on offer at Waitrose. Ian published Like A Hurricane on Soundcloud. Had a zoom with the goolies in the evening. On Thursday they announced the tiers we are to be in in England after lockdown. Reading and Greenwich are both in tier 2 which means no household mixing indoors. When for quick ride through Green Park and back down Shinfield Rd. Got my second covid puncture near the uni. This time in the back wheel so decided to walk back and fix it at home. M had been for a run. Very nice, sunny afternoon but it soon cooled down.  Had a zoom with James and Amy in the evening to discuss Xmas. As things stand they cant leave their council area so would have to travel in the Xmas period, 23rd to 27th Dec which isn't that appealing as every one else will be. They come out of their lockdown on 11th Dec so we'll have to see what happens then. Our tiering will be reviewed on 16th so Xmas is on hold as far as they are concerned. Went for a quick early ride along the Kennet on Friday morning. It was cold and misty.


We have reluctantly decided to postpone the Pirate Studios session scheduled for 4th December as no indoor house mixing is allowed. The others were prepared to go ahead which I was OK with but it was decided to move it to the 18th in the hope we will be in tier 1 after the tiers are reviewed. I put a basic track of Killing Floor into Soundtrap and have suggested we play around with that until we can play together. Seems to have been quite well received. M had an early evening zoom social with her UC team. Did a salad nicoise with fresh tuna and chips, very tasty. A good start to the day on Saturday, finished the prize crossword before we got up. Watched Reading vs Bristol City with a one day Sky pass. Won 3 1. Played well. M's quilt is coming on.
My Berkshire Beer Box arrived on Sunday morning.
Had a bit of lazy day. Baked bread and did roast pork for tea.
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Monday, November 23, 2020

Published Monday, November 23, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 22nd November

Yet another lazy day on Monday. Needed to wait for the tumble drier man to come out and no time given. Did the crossword by myself in about 30 mins. Its usually easier on a Monday. Spent the rest of the day preparing my quiz. The drier man says the broken timer is no longer available so we've ordered a new one. Its a heat pump one. They are like condensers but more energy efficient apparently. They cost more but save you money in the long run. Phoned Norilyn as she had contacted me about problems with Martin's laptop. She has moved to London. There's no change in his condition. She managed to see him in person a couple of weeks ago. Still sees him everyday online. On Tuesday morning M went to the dentist's in Oxford. I went for a ride, the first time I'd been out in a few days. Just did a loop north of Reading. Spotted this in Sonning Common and tweeted to Wynn.
Ended up going past the Lodden Brewery so picked up 4 bottles of Forbury Lion. They are expanding their decking area and looking forward to reopening on the 3rd after lockdown. They dont do Dragon Fly in bottles unfortunately. Noticed some raspberries on the canes when putting my bike away so I harvested them and had with muesli for a late breakfast. Bob Onions, the double glazing man came. Learnt the lead for Like a Hurricane. It uses the same notes, an octave apart on the 4th and 2nd strings. Went out for a very early ride on Wednesday, 10 past 8, almost the middle of the night. Went out through Caversham and back via Mapledurham. Saw lots of pheasants, they must breed them as I spotted a feeding box.
We heard last week that there had been a break at Nigel and Sarah's at the end of the street. 4 men in balaclavas at 9pm. Nigel was beaten up and taken to hospital. We heard today from Sarah that he has a broken jaw and eye socket and is in the John Radcliffe. One man has been arrested. On Monday M entered a competition to be in Reading's University Challenge team. On Wednesday she heard she'd got through. Got some bad news from Russ, Clive Seymour has died. He had motor neurone disease. He was a really nice bloke, had been the drummer in Blank Generation with Russ and JR and played drums at my 40th birthday session. He was also an excellent guitarist. I think he had had it for about 5 years. I last saw him at the Fantasy Lockdown Festival. Had a zoom with the goolies in the evening and tried out some of our quiz. It took a while to get going due to various technical issues but worked reasonably well. On Thursday I went for a quick ride down the Kennet to the Burghfield Bridge then back down the A4. I noticed some improvements at Fobney lock.
Picked up some coffee on the way. We seem to be getting through a lot in lockdown. Got the estimate from Kellys Sash windows so finally completed my green deal application. Had a zoom call with Gigs n Ale in the evening. On Friday I did a solo on Like a Hurricane. We have agreed songs for the get together at Pirate Studios Tony has arranged. The other guitarist is Mike and Peat plays drums. If you have Spotify  here they are. Started learning them. M made some very tasty meatballs. Started off some bread to finish in the morning. On Saturday got up about 8 to make some tea, knocked back the bread dough and left it to rise again. Baked the bread later and had fine bacon sarnies for breakfast. Finalised the quiz in the afternoon. Cooked the Ottolenghi aubergine dahl. Did the quiz. It went well. Kelvin won, Bobby and Fiona second. On Sunday we did the Sulham walk, this time taking in the motorway footbridge. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon both pylons and trees look good.
It was so warm these little purple flowers were out when we got back. M is making a patchwork quilt. She is using some old patches she made from before the kids were born, probably 1985. They are hexagonal patches sown round a piece of cardboard. This one was made from a punched card. I'm not sure when they went out of use. For me that was probably around 1980.
Watched the end of The Crown series 4.
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Monday, November 16, 2020

Published Monday, November 16, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 15th November

Some good news and some bad news on Monday morning. First the bad, the tumbke drier has packed in. Booked an appointment with an engineer for Wednesday. The good news is that the vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech seems to had passed its mass testing trial. You need two jabs and its then 90% effective 7 days after the second. The problem is it needs to be kept at -80°. Stock markets gave gone up as a result. I went to check out a couple of fords.
The second one is marked abd the first is just under the C in NEWLAND CP. They are both on an unnamed stream that flows into the Loddon. I've been over the first one before on the way to Mark Best's leaving do but fords weren't that significant back then.
Its a very narrow stream.
Here's the second one.
It started raining just as I got back into Reading but it was actually quite pleasant as it was a very mild day. Shorts weather in fact. Ian started a Smokin Gun soundtrap collaboration so I added a rhythm guitar track. It was an unexpectedly nice day on Tuesday. I drive M to Prospect Park so she could go for a run, then picked her up again. The last time she went the car park was closed as they were using it for a covid testing centre but that looks to have been a temporary measure. Went for a ford spotting ride with Andy. 
The first was at West End just outside Bracknell and the second at Westleymill.
I'd been to the second one before as we used to cycle out that way on our evening rides from Bracknell. They are both on the river Cut  which I'd never heard of before. The first isn't shown on the schematic but 2 others are but we couldn't find them. We went back via Sonning. Andy had spotted Jimmy Page there on Monday, he's seen him a few times as has Kelvin but I never have. We watched Jake's funeral on Wednesday. It was done as a webcast by a company called Obitus. Very sad and very well done. All the Kimes were there except Sol who is too young. There were about the same number of carers too. They didn't have anyone officiating, they just did it themselves. Had zoom with the Goolies in the evening.  It was another nice day on Thursday so I went on a ride out to Nunhide Lane and across to Pangbourne and back down the track by the railway and along the river. There was a break in the cycle path down the Bath Rd as the pacement was only about a foot wide. But its now been widened at the expense of the road.
I stopped off at Mapledurham lock. All the locks are fenced off at the moment.
I added some guitar and a not very good vocal to Smokin Gun. Went to the hygenist on Friday morning. I wasn't sure they'd still be open in lockdown. Started working on the Counting Salmon video in the afternoon. Cooked pizzas in the oven for tea. Had a zoom with T, S, J and A in the evening. All well. A good start to the day on Saturday. Got notification of my Aviva annual pension payment. Its no longer taxed at 40%. We also completed the prize crossword and all before getting up  but that wasn't until 12 45. Had a bit of a lazy day from then on. Made some bread, M did the Ottolenghi chicked again. Another lazy day on Sunday as the weather wasn't too good. Uploaded Superstar to Bandcamp as an experiment. Greg has started a Like a Hurricane on soundtrap. Worked on an online quiz we're doing next weekend. Cooked steaks, watched the new series of The Crown. Tony suggested a Pirate Studios session on 4th assuming we can.

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Monday, November 09, 2020

Published Monday, November 09, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 8th November

Went for a swim on Monday morning. If will be the last one for me for a month or so but M may go on Wednesday. I've made a bit of a mess of the stonework above the window. Part of it is scratches made by the ladder (before I thought of putting socks on the end) part of it is sloppy painting that I am annoyed with myself about. I tried going at it with a scrubbing brush but it doesnt have any effect. Not sure what to do about it.
Did some harmonies for the Counting Salmon song. Watched the quizzes and a thing called The Undoing we have started watching on Now TV.  Put a coat of masonry paint on the window sills on Tuesday morning. I stopped feeding the birds during the first lockdown, not sure why, maybe I thought it wasn't essential. Anyway I've decided to start again so went to the big pet supplies at the retail park near Morrisons. Got the usual, peanuts, sunflower hearts, dried mealworms and thought I'd try some suet balls. I thought it might take a while for the birds to come back but it was only 15 mins or so except for the suet balls. They are in a more exposed position though at the front of the wisteria arch. Apart from the fact that schools are staying open there's a bit of a relaxation in the meeting up outdoors rule in this lockdown. If you are on your own you can meet up with one person from another household. A new chest of drawers arrived for M's dressing room. Its made from recycled furniture.
I put the second coat of masonry paint on the window sills so that job is finished now except for getting the double glazed sashes put in which will also involve some touching up plus sorting the stone above. On Wednesday I'd planned to a ride to a ford over the Thames at Duxford.
Me, Kelvin and Andy got a train to Didcot and met Charlie there. He lead us to Abingdon. The ford was down a footpath.
We thought we'd have our sarnies on the footbridge in the sun but there wasn't one so we headed for the churchyard at Hinton Waldren.
The ride out had been quite pleasant if unspectacular but the ride back wasn't so good. The roads themselves were in need of some serious maintenance. They are a bit narrow and windey so it was hard for traffic to get past and then they just got busy. I also had a bit of trouble navigating on unfamiliar roads. We stopped off for a pint of Landlord at the Hart of Hartwell. Charlie  had been forcing the pace most of the way. Wednesday was the last day the pubs were open so First Thursday was changed to First Wednesday. Charlie also does a First Thursday in East Hagbourne and they changed there's to Wet Wednesday. The original plan was to go to the Fox and Hounds but they were fully booked so I managed to book a 6 to 8 slot at the Castle Tap. We had 4 pints of Yellow Peak which hit the spot. I went home after that but the others managed another 3 in the Butler. Thursday was the first day of the new lockdown. During the bad weather of the last few weeks we talked about taking advantage of the good weather and seeing as it was a really nice sunny day I thought I'd head out on my bike to see if the Loddon Brewery shop was open. Took this snap on the way.
It was open so bought a selection. 
l cycled back through town. It's not as quiet as first lockdown. There were school kids around  things like estate agents still open, some restaurants and coffee bars doing takeaways and some shops doing click and collect. Clas Ohlson also seemed to be open. I'm not sure why. It was the US election on Tuesday but there's no result yet. It looks like Biden is edging but some states still have postal votes to count. They do it differently in different states some count them before, some after. Had a zoom call with Kevin, Adrienne and Penno in the evening. K and A are thinking of retiring to the coast and had visited Plymouth but other trips are now on hold due to lockdown. Penno's university life continues. I mentioned my ford spotting activities and Adrienne sent this.
Did some shed tidying on Friday then went for a walk along the Kennet to Milkmaid's Bridge. Saw Kelvin and Graham on their bikes taking advantage if the meeting up with a person from another household rule. I'm not sure which is Milkmaid's Bridge, they are both at Southcote Lock, probably the second one which is very narrow.
On the wayback I went to the shops in Coley Park. They have opened up a bit of metal fence from Coley Ave so you dont have to go through the iron kissing gate anymore. Its been blocked off for at least 36 years since we lived in Upavon Drive. I wonder if its because of covid or to make cycling easier or both.
Stayed up late on Friday. Went for a walk along the Kennet again with M. This time just to the bridge near the Brunell retail park and back through Waterloo Meadows and Elgar Rd. We had to go via the crossroads that supposedly is the only one in the country where a road, street, avenue and lane meet. 
A brisk 3 mile walk. A few minutes after we got back it was announced that Jo Biden has won the US election after winning Pennsylvania. Had a tweet forwarded to me from Dave Kirkham saying there's no beer collection from the Castle Tap because the manager has been told she has to self isolate. That's where we were on Wednesday evening. She's not ill just been contacted by the app it said. M had planned a ladies cards night for the evening and as a result I had planned a trip to the Phantom Brewery with Steve, Andy and Kelvin but both had to be cancelled. Judy and Mike did a zoom quiz instead, me, M, Stuart, Clare, Bobby and Fiona took part. We were second, B and F won. They had a couple of rounds with an online buzzer which was quite interesting. Very lazy day on Sunday. On Saturday we had done a bit of youtubing and Venus by Shocking Blue had popped up. Quite an intetesting song so had a stab at learning it. Its got a country style guitar solo. M cooked a really good Ottolenghi tray baked chicken dish. Included some flat breads made with our new rolling pin.
Then we settled down to watch telly.

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Monday, November 02, 2020

Published Monday, November 02, 2020 by with 0 comment

Coronavirus - Sunday 1st November

Put a coat of gloss on the window on Monday morning. It chucked it down just after I'd finished. M went for a swim. A track called Chest Fever by The Band came up on my Spotify Discover Weekly playlist. This reminded me of a band called Chest Fever I saw a few times when I was at school. Did a bit of googling and found this link. Sent an email to the Goolies which sparked a bit of a nostalgia fest about bands we had seen including The Mandrakes with Robert Palmer and The Rats with Mick Ronson and Woody Woodmansey from The Spiders From Mars. A special day on Tuesday as the new guitar chair was being delivered. First I had a trip to the tip to dispose of the old chair. We reckon we bought it round about when Tom was born for about £30 so its had a good innings and was quite a bargin. I had it recovered about 10 years ago but M never liked the colour. Originally it was thick pink and white verical stripes.
You need to book half hour slots at the tip at the moment. I was a bit worried as I didn't take a mask but I didn't need one. I dropped a demi-john off at Penno's on the way as she's making some sloe gin. When I got back the new chair had arrived.
Its very comfy and you can get out of it by yourself. Also good for playing guitar. Not sure if I mentioned it when I bought it but the material is called Elsie. I watched Reading away at Blackburn. I missed the first goal. Meite scored in 7 seconds, later updated to 9, and they equalised at couple of minutes later. Then 2 cracking goals from Olise and Laurent before half time. They pulled one back, put us under a lot of pressure and the keeper made some good saves before another cracker from Joao. So we won 4 2 and are 7 points clear. Unbelievable. Went for a swim first thing on Wednesday. It was full of oldies holding people up. Good on em though. Finally got the underfloor insulation people to do a survey via zoom. Also had a bit of gutter work done. Got the quote from the underfloor insulation people and its just over 3K, a lot more then I thought. But that's good as it means we can spend the same amount on secondary measures, i.e. double glazing in the front room.  The scheme seems to be roughly this. You can get a voucher to cover two thirds of the cost of primary measures like insulation, solar panels etc. Up to 5K. You can then get a voucher for up to the same amount for secondary measures. 
Worked on my new Counting Salmon song.
On Thursday I got in touch with Allwood, the sash window people and got them to re-do their quote. Then discovered they are not registered on TrustMark which the government scheme requires so asked Kelly Sash Windows to re-do theirs. Got an impromptu WhattsApp call from the Goolies. Rick had tried to send a message about the play he's working on "Losing The Plot" but instigated a call by mistake. Me, Ian and Greg joined. It was good to chat. Greg is working on music and about to complete walking 1000 miles in a year for which he gets a medal. Ian had made a homopolar motor, Rick is working on his play. I got Margaret to check out Counting Salmon as its a bit of a departure from my normal stuff. She liked it but suggested the lyrics need a bit of work, which I agree. Declined an invite for a ride with Kelvin and the Andys on Friday morning as I wanted to put a second coat of gloss on the window. Bob Onions from Kelly Sash Windows cant do another quote until the week of the 9th November. M went for a swim first thing. Had a lie in on Saturday which was just as well as it chucked it down. It turned out to be a nice afternoon though so went out for a ride. Headed for a ford at Burghfield Common.
Its just over a stream which I think is Clayhill Brook. You dont really think of it as being that high up out that way but there is a fine view of Reading.
Coley Park flats on the left and the Mad Stad on the right. M texted to ask me to get some soda water but I didn't have a mask so had to come home first. We're trying to arrange a regular Goolies online chat. I suggested Wednesdays even though that's normally cards night in Sheffield but that has been posponed as they are in tier 1
Boris announced that England is going into lockdown again for a month starting on Thursday after midnight so that's after Wednesday night. We have therefore swiftly rearranged FT to be FW. Its not quite the same as the first lockdown as schools, colleges and unis are staying open and there's no restriction on the amount of exercise you can do. Its meant to be just for a month until 2nd December. Had a society walk on Sunday organised by Nick and Becky.
It was interesting to hear their covid stories. They had been in New Zealand at the start of things then flew to Vietnam which was meant to OK but things changed when they got there. They nearly got stuck out there and had to quaranteen when they got back. They also ended up in Wales where they got a lot of abuse from the locals. I mentioned the unwelcoming signs at Hambledon and Becky said they also had them in Turville. Their son Alex is stuck out in Guatamala City. They had also managed a trip to Greece to see Nick's family. Her mum has been sheilding but was out walking today with a society she belongs to. Apparently they can had up to 30 walking. Nice view of the autumnal Thames.
Did a roast chicken, very tasty even though I say it myself but probably could have done with a couple more roast potatoes. Used the quick cook method from the Genius book. The regulat Goolies call has been arranged for 8pm on Wednesday.
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