Tuesday, October 21, 2025

Published Tuesday, October 21, 2025 by with 0 comment

Roy And The Rogers Reunion - Sunday October 19th 2025

Amy and the grandkids popped round briefly on Monday morning for some dropping off and picking up of stuff. Cooked slow roasted pork belly for the first time. Pretty good but made a few mistakes.  Will be better next time. An AFD. Went to the dentist on Tuesday morning, all good, then went with M to suss out Watlington House as she's giving a talk there. Interesting place with nice gardens hidden away. Then I did our urban walk and noticed a few things. Eclectic Games has moved again. 

The double storey retail/hospitality units at the bottom of Huntley Wharf are being converted to single storey with flats above. 

Our favourite derelict building is up for auction with a starting price of £850,000.
As I was going over the gasworks bridge I wondered if it might have been built by Griffith who built Kings Bridge. Couldn't see anything to indicate who did but saw these markings on some girders.

 
Googling didn't help but I did find something that said it was built between 1881 and 1882 and designed by Edward Blake. Some people from Swan Support were doing something in the Kennet watched by some guys from Thames Water. It looked like possibly some sort of oil leakage. Saw this worrying sign on the other side under Horseshoe Bridge.

Another AFD.
Went for a flu jab on Wednesday morning. I was booked in for covid too but they've changed the rules and you now need to be 75 or have a health reason. On the way back took a photo if this milestone down Bath Rd.
T&J Perry had a foundry in Katesgrove.
As I've lost my distance glasses went for another eye test as my vision has got worse. My prescription hasn't changed but the cataracts have got worse so they have referred me to get them checked out. In the mean time I've ordered another cheap pair of glasses. M went to the cinema and for a meal with Mandy and Fiona. Another AFD for me. Went swimming on Thursday morning. When I got there I realised I was wearing my slippers. Think I got away with it though. JAMO came round for dinner. Set off to Ian's in Sheffield on Friday morning. All trains to Paddington were cancelled due to a person being struck by a train in the Ealing area. Went via Waterloo.  Had to stand as far as Bracknell. The train I then got from St Pancras was delayed due to trespassers on the line in the Radlett area. Had to stand as far as Leicester. As I left Reading I heard an announcement that platform 8 was closed to the public. M later found out from the Reading Chronicle that someone had died there. Not a great day for train travelling. Rick picked me up from Sheffield Station. John was already there. After a fine chilli we had a go at playing Start Wearing Purple with Ian on keys, John on drums, me on guitar and Rick on accordion. It turned into a late night. Did a walk early on Saturday afternoon out to Ox Stones.We had a go at Brain Damage when we got back with me and Rick on guitar and Ian on keys. Roy turned up just around beer time. Rick moved to drums and we tried I Should've and Spider. Also had another go at Purple with Roy singing. Another late night. Roy and Sue came over on Sunday and gave me a lift to the station. No problems getting back. A great weekend.
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Monday, October 13, 2025

Published Monday, October 13, 2025 by with 0 comment

Tom's 40th - Sunday October 12th 2025

Lazy did Monday, housework, Canada planning and guitar. Went to Windsor on Tuesday. M was visiting The Royal Archives in the Castle. She was hoping to find correspondence from John Berkeley Monk to Lord Melbourne about the Swing Riots. She had to go to the pass office first. I did a walk in the great park along the long walk. It's very restrictive. I wouldn't want to get too near this guy.
These looked a bit friendlier.
Walked up to the George III statue at the top. Always a fine view back.M had had a reasonably successful visit to the archives. Didn't find what she wanted but did find a letter from a chap from Tidmarsh to Lord Melourne on a similar subject. Spotted some more interesting architecture on Slough Station.
Keep forgetting the Elizabeth Line is on the tube.They also announced as we were pulling into Reading to change for mainline stations. Met up with Penno and Clive Rogerson in the Allied Arms late afternoon. On Wednesday cycled out to Blackbushe airport with Kelvin and Graham. Lynda Murphy had told me it was a good place to take kids to watch the planes taking off and landing. It was really busy as Wednesday is bikers day. It's hard to take a good photo if a lot of planes. Interesting area but no planes on the move.Unfortunately got bitten by a dog on the way back. We phoned Tom early evening to wish him a happy 40th. He'd tried to get Edith to do the same but she wasn't having any of it. We then went to do the Retreat quiz where we finished second. Went swimming on Thursday morning. Picked the grandkids up from nursery and went over to no 81 for dinner. There were 3 main items of news. Kat was in labour. Amy has been promoted and is now head of Scotland. As a result they are planning to move back up there probably to Perth. Found out on Friday morning that Kat had given birth to baby girl named Emma. 8lb 13oz. Both doing well.  We had stopped at Kings Bridge over the River Loddon on Wednesday's ride and noted it was made by S Griffith of Reading. Graham did some research and discovered that there's a coal hole in Castle Hill made my them. I found it outside no 126.
There was also this in Castle Street outside Talbot House.
And this further down the hill outside Harrisons Solicitors.
Someone was being optimistic at the Bottle bank on Saturday.
We went over to Blackheath later for a meal at The Ivy with SET. It was Tom's birthday present to M from last year. He had promised her a slap up meal when he got a job. Really good meal we all had sirloins apart from Tom who had a burger. Later we had baked camenbert and rilette back at their's. On Sunday we went into central London and met up with JAMO at the Transport Museum in Covent Garden. We then had a pizza for lunch and travelled back to Reading with JAMO.
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Tuesday, October 07, 2025

Published Tuesday, October 07, 2025 by with 0 comment

Sam Lee And The Big Reading Quiz - Sunday October 5th 2025.

Did a ride along the Kennet to Sheffield Bottom on Monday morning to check out a footpath for the walk I'm organising on Sunday. Came back through Geen Park. They seem to have finished work on the housing development there. An AFD. Went swimming on Tuesday morning. Another AFD. Did a ride with Kelvin on Wednesday to the control tower in Greenham Common which is now a cafe. Another AFD. Phoned James to wish him happy birthday on Thursday morning. They were in an Airbnb in Perth.
Went for a haircut later. Dominic from Kingdom Rooms came round to fix the loose door hooks on the shed. They weren't screwed to anything substantial.
In the evening we did the big Reading quiz in Revolucion de Cuba down Friar St. There was a bit of a cock up in the marking but we think we came 4th which wasn't bad as there was only 2 of us and about 20 teams. The last anagram we got was no. 8.
Bit of a lazy day on Friday but in the evening we went to see Sam Lee at The Snug Barn in Dorchester with Mandy. He was supported by 2 guys called Spafford Campbell. One on fiddle one on electric guitar. They were all on stage together though, sometimes collaborating sometimes not. He also had a pianist. We had front row seats. Very atmospheric and a nice little venue. On Saturday I went to watch URZ scrape a draw against Mansfield Town. Ralph was there and on the way I also saw Harry Pearson taking his daughter Hilda to her first game. Couldn't see the bike at the end though so maybe they didn't stick it out. On Sunday I organised the society walk based round The Spring Inn on the A4 just west of Theale. Seemed to go OK.
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Monday, September 29, 2025

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Wrexham Away - Sunday September 28th 2025

Walked into Llangollen on Monday and went to Plas Newydd where the Ladies Of Llangollen lived. Interesting place. 



Had a dip in the hot tub  after.


On Tuesday tried out the Bluetooth mirror in their new bathroom. It plays music. 


We went into Chester in the afternoon and stumbled upon an interesting art gallery that specialised in celebrity art by the likes of Bob Dylan, Johnny Depp and Billy Connelly. There was also dome stuff by John Myatt who produces genuine fakes. Went to a Piccolino restaurant then drove into Wrexham for the EFL Cup game. It's a much smaller ground then ours, capacity only 12,600 and only stands on 3 sides. Their mascot was a bit naff too.


It means Racecourse live.




They had a minute's silence before the game to remember the Gresford Collier disaster where 261 men were killed. I'd never heard of it before. Wynn was in the home end and I was in the away bit. We played well in the first half but they were much sharper in the second and won 2 0. Very enjoyable though. There were about 400 away fans, all standing and lots of singing. Although we were given seat numbers you could sit or rather stand anywhete. Drove back on Wednesday. Amy came round to stay the night as she needed to get an early train to Brum on Thursday which was when M's Irish passport and ID card arrived. 


I took my road bike into Evans to get a service and a new back wheel. JAMO came round for tea. They are going up to Scotland for a week or so. Had a bit of a lazy day on Friday. Went to RSAC in the evening to see Tom Webber and Grace Pounds. It was sold out and Tom had a lot of supporters who knew the words to his songs but it seemed a bit flat to me. Maybe it was because of the lack of buzz from not doing sound. Also the official capacity is only 50 for the whole building. This cupboard is very Rising Sun.

On Saturday afternoon popped into RSAC again to let Alex in to measure up for his wedding bash. Then drove over to Woodley so M could drop some books off at the Oxfam Bookshop. Went to the Theatre Royal in Windsor in the evening to see The Signalman. Quite a big old theatre and pretty full. It was very atmospheric. Had a pretty good meal first at Brown's. Excellent courgette fritters to start with. Almost as good as M's. Good to see they still have this trim on Slough Station.


A lazy day on Sunday. Very variable weather, bright and sunny in Wales, cold and dull when we got back then sunny and warm again.
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Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Published Wednesday, September 24, 2025 by with 0 comment

The Magic Seat Heaters - Sunday September 21st 2025

Got the week off to a good start on Monday by doing my Theale, Pangbourne, Mapledurham ride. Popped into RSAC on the way back to pick up a copy of Soundcheck as Ruch Lucas emailed to say a photo if mine was included. My first.

Went to a talk about early quakers in Reading at the Friends Meeting House. Never been in before and assumed it was just the modern building at the front but there's a grade II listed building at the back built in 1835 with a burial ground.
An AFD. Went swimming on Tuesday morning. Another AFD. Spent most of Wednesday working on the first scene of my animation but Cartoon Animatior crashed so I lost it all and then trod on my glasses. Thought that deserved a beer. On Thursday I went for a ride with Kelvin as far as the Goring Gap Boat Club where he volunteers. We called in at Ralph's on the way so he could pick up his season ticket. I then cycled on to Goring and came back north of the river. An AFD. On Friday started putting together a vague plan for our holiday to Canada next year. As a result I checked about tickets on the FIFA website and discovered there's a prize draw for the first lot. It closed the same day so entered. So have Warren and Mary Ellen who are now back home. Had a rehearsal for Tribute Night in the evening at Pirate. It was a busy Saturday. We started off looking round St Mary's church as M wanted to take some pictures. Then went back to the Friends Meeting House as it was open for a heritage day.Foubs a grave as recent as 2007 and a plaque for 2024. By quaker tradition all the headstones are the same. On the way back popped into St Giles' church as that was also open. I then went to RSAC to set up the PA for Tribute Night before going to the footy with Kelvin. We beat Leyton Orient 2 1. Then back to RSAC to finish setting up, doing the sound and playing. . We were on first after the interval as The Magic Seat Heaters.Went well. Drove to Anne and Wynn's on Sunday.
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