www.randomandtwisted.org

[freedom]

Thursday 7th January 2010 (late afternoon)

Got back home 0330GMT. Despite warnings that road grit doesn't work under
-7'C, and that temperatures would drop to -10'C overnight, pools of water on
the old A350 Hungerdown Lane had not frozen.

Finally - after four nights without it - got some decent actual sleep, for
eight and a half hours.

Local free intercafe closed early due to weather (internet down due to
weather(!)), so did my bulk flickr uploads at the rail intercafe.


Further lifting on duct tape on the VLDC halted by adding four spare small
plastic clamps onto. Forgot to mention last time: Serviced the four soldering
irons left in a pile: Sanded down the bits (only possible because they
detach), tinned, tested. Yellow-jacketed iron didn't work. Checked plug: Fuse
fine, connections so loose they weren't. Tightened those, retested; fine.

Something in RPC made funny noise on switch-on again; solved by shutting
down, switching off, then re-activating at the unit switch, instead of
starting directly from the mains. 'Will consult WAUG on this.

Off out soon with vodka and insecurity jacket, to do some more leafleting
(and Xmas Card deliverying).


Via facebook:
2310 Aprx 163 leaflets out, in 1:27 Hrs = 32 s/l. Slow tonight due to ice. Better grip on edge of town, due to undisturbed snow.


Friday 8th January 2010 (morning)

Too cold to leave the office last night. -10'C Outside, always 5'C colder
inside, so -15'C inside unheated enclosed areas, with in theory -20'C in the
kitchenarea & toiletroom.

Too cold to sleep, too. I had the choice of which side of my body was warm,
rather than which rooms were warm.

Via facebook:
0416 Outside -10'C, enclosed offices -15'C, kitchen/toilet -20'C. No washing-up possible this week!


Saturday 9th January 2010

Feeling much better after nearly two days' rest at home.

That was, until two of my stalkers invited me round for a talk and some wine,
and allegedly some mouldy coffee, saying they were lonely. Craziness
ensued...


One new one invited me round, actually giving me a correct address this time,
but another one was already there, with a camera. I turned up trying to be
sympathetic, but got groped instead, then accused of betraying one of the
stalkers by her daughter, on the grounds I didn't agree to what was going
on... I didn't even accept anything to betray it.

I decided to leave to get some vodka, to bring something to the party as it
were, returning a little while later to be told that I was trespassing and to
leave the premises immediately, by her daughter again. I do not think it was
her house.

Sod that for a game of dominoes I thought, and went down the office instead,
only to be phoned repeatedly, with apologies and pleas to return. Eventually,
I agreed, only to be threatened by her daughter again, this time insisting it
was her house and threatening to call the police. Well, that'd be handy:
I was thinking of calling them myself.

When I have time, I'll check down the council about whose house it is, or at
least who the householder is, if it's a council house.


Sunday 10th January 2010 (late evening)

Just finished leafleting most of Pewsham.


A bit of a facebook flap on, about nothing happening in Bassett on a Sunday.
There's a march tomorrow - sorry, I mean a repatriation - and apparently some
people wearing hats looked at the war memorial, I4UK started a rumour about
an imminent march, and the police went bananas. This created a story out of
virtually nothing. If this can happen on the coldest day of winter, what will
it be like next August????!


Islam4UK to be made illegal, under the grounds that it is a terrorist
organisation. Now, it may be many things, most of them unhelpful, but they
don't exactly go around blowing people up, so by this definition Wootton
Bassett Town Council and the Royal British Legion must also be terrorist
groups. But not, strangely, the British Army, whom do go around
blowing people up.

Meanwhile I4UK say they have "successfully highlighted the plight of muslims
in Afghanistan." B****cks they have. There's no acknowledgement of balance,
an outbreak of racism all over the country like a rash, and no enlightenment
of the refugee problem.

The News of the World said "comments made by I4UK on websites breached the
Terrorism Act 2000." I've looked at their website, and it's sanitised as far
as that goes', so no - I'm not so sure. I'd like to know what specifically,
and where.

The BBC says "... counter-terrorism experts remain concerned that it's [I4UK]
angry message feeds into a broad strand of extremist Islamist activism."
-Yeah, and likewise Wootton Bassett Town Cou...

Hang on, "Islamist activism"? Christian activism is church fetes and jumble
sales, so how bad can Islamist activism be? I think they've got the wrong
word there...

Curiously, nobody has banned the BNP or EDL. --Now that really is
odd.

Claiming they're fighting for a free country, while taking our freedoms away
AS THEY SAY IT: Yup, that's our government. Grrr.


Via facebook:
1551 Unconfirmed reports of very small protest in Bassett.
[Honeyball:] (Gossip & Hearsay news link)
[Robin:] Yes, I know. We reported that, infact.
1820 Leafleting in the vicinity of King Henry Drive.
2110 Leafleted most of Pewsham now. Staggering back to the office.
[Sally:] Why don't you pop into Rachel's for a quick coffee and warm up before you go home?
[Robin:] Very funny.


380 Leaflets out, in 2:42 Hrs, making 26 s/l.

Going good to firm, with melted snow and some insignificant extra-light snow.
Apart, that is, from one driveway on the mouth of Hedge Row, which boasted an
entirely frictionless driveway. I went over on there, but it was just like
sitting down heavily on my bum, albeit after an extended tapdance sort of an
affair.


Tuesday 12th January 2010

Nationwide's self-service till swallowed my passbook, and they can't retrieve
it for me until tomorrow morning, so I had to draw a small amount from my
business account to see me through.

Soap is running low, and ditto around town: I can't find any bulk packs
anywhere.


Switched three heaters on in the kitchenarea (a 1kW heat lamp thingy, a 1.5kW
fan heater, and a 2kW wall-mounted fan heater), and after a few hours the
temperature became bearable and the washing-up thawed. I still had to wear
several layers and a hat, though, but I could get away with not wearing a
heavy coat indoors, which helps when you have to roll your sleeves up.


Via facebook:
1839 police have locked off the road outside the office again, so I'd give it 20 minutes before trying to come in. A few screamers.
1849 Road clear, largely due to anyone who complained being arrested. Washing-Up done, building warmed.

SMS Comment:
1917 Grovelling apology from one of my stalkers, saying her daughter was
being protective, whereas she wasn't; it was pure abuse excuse.

Via facebook:
2025 scanning Class of '87 leaving book, for reunion purposes.


Wednesday 13th January 2010 (a bit past midnight)

Caught the admin of Islam4UK's facebook group gambling online, participating
in "Texas HoldEm Poker", which appears on his Wall, and grumbled. He says
it's okay because it isn't with real money. Hmmmm... 'Have to check about
that. I'm sure they're making these rules up as they go along - which is
against their own group principles, incidentally.

Ismlam4UK are a group that I am keeping tabs on, along with other bits of the
news, because they at first appeared to be possibly helpful and peaceful, but
on closer examination are neither.

Meanwhile, the Landlord (who is also an Editor,) gives the impression he
believes that because I am a supporter of peace in Afghanistan/Iraq, that I
must also be a supporter of a pro-violent group that pretends to be peaceful.
I'm going to have to clarify my position there - again!


Question [buried] on fb: "Are you a patriot?" And somewhere along the line
equating patriotism with racist, pro-war, oppression; essentially, fascism.
Support for bits of this country is not necessarily fascist! And since this is
not a fascist country (yet), in fact, never(, rather than just not
necessarily). Whatever happened to "Buy British?" It's turning into "Kill
Muslim," and trick statements like "If you're not with us, you're against
us." This is all wrong.


I4UK were banned partly on the groups that they are violent and political.
Well they're pro-violence, not actually violent themselves, but the EDL and
the BNP certainly are! Why haven't they been banned? -They're doing I4UK's
dirty work!

Note they didn't ban the actual march, just the group. I'm sure that's the
wrong way round. Still, something needs to be done about I4UK, whom have just
morphed into DoIW, ie a group of a different name with the same objectives,
that isn't banned (yet).

They could be charged with their previous incitements of violence, including
causing a serious fight, and a stabbing - that'd keep them busy for a while.

Via facebook:
0001 Just finished the scanning/processing. Non-confidential data coming to a flickr Set near you soon!


Friday 15th January 2010

Upgraded to a Pro account on flickr, mainly to stop me hitting my account
limit when I upload the reunion photos. Also put all my regional Sets in a
Collection, and activated my statistical traffic tracking facility.

Having settled into my 562% income tax problem, I was rather less than
pleased to receive a notice from the HMRC demanding I pay more tax with money
I don't have.

Now to go off down the bank to try to retrieve my passbook swallowed earlier.
I was held up at home from a few days, but everything should be just peachy
now (with the possible exception of my leaflet deliveries). It's just thawed,
too.


The bank says, although they were aware I intended to collect my passbook in
person, and they had put it in a safe for me for this reason, they decided
this morning to post it to me instead. -And tomorrow, they have limited
opening hours.


Saturday 16th January 2010

Via facebook:
1701 Robin has just narrowly escaped being run/cantered over by a horse. And on the pavement, too. recovering in the Pack Horse.
1850 Robin has just met a dog the size of a small pony.
1947 Robin is wondering which is best: A reviving drink in The Bear, or a wait for the bus (surrounded by old women).

In the evening, after I had finally managed to get home, sitting on the edge
of the bed about to drop off, and called by some of my stalkers, wanting me
to go out with them in Calne!


Saturday 16th January 2010 (just gone midnight)

Looked on the calendar for when my Jobseeker's Interview is due. Hmm,
Tuesday: Now, this is Friday, so I'd better gather up the necessary
documents... Ooops! Somehow, I've missed it, because it's last
Tuesday! Strange, they usually grumble on the day if I'm late, but miss it by
a whole week, and nobody ask's why. -Why?

And I can't tell them about this until Monday, now.


Via facebook:
0018 watching, as my computer types-up the scanned reunion data for me.
0114 Finished enhancing the reunion photos - taken out the halftone effect now - will upload later this morning.
0153 Robin has received a letter from the HMRC saying he is not paying enough tax. He's on 150%, previously 562%.

Ran all the text I had to type up through the OCR app beforehand - I should
have thought of that one earlier! Some it liked, some it fumbled. 'Reduced my
workload considerably, nonetheless.


Sunday 17th January 2010 (my Birthday)

Via facebook:
1946 250 Leaflets out in 2Hrs exactly, making 28.8 s/l. 3000 Leaflets out in total: Job Done.
2327 Typing reunion things and eating other things.


Passed by Wil Hogdson on the Bridge, whom is clearly trying to get noticed so
he can grumble about being famous, but nobody was biting.

The Hardenhuish Fifth Form 1987 reunion photos are up, with this inadequate
photostream link for mobile access.


Monday 18th January 2010 (a lot past midnight)

Just finished typing in the CSV file containing the main reunion data.


Tuesday 19th January 2010 (afternoon)

The strange loud whistling noise echoing through the streets of Chippenham was
http://riggott.co.uk burning line markings off the car park of the old
Sorting Office with a glowing flamethrower-jet thingy.

The 249th dead solider just passed through 'Bassett, (and the 247th and
248th,) meaning it'll all go nuts on the next one. (If there is a next one(,
as if not).)


Stronghold have contacted me about my non-depleted bank account after my
purchasing a pair of boots from them. I had checked with them previously; no
problem there. The bank was happy too, so I had run out of things to check,
and had given it a month's wait, then was just about to go through all that
again. It appears however, that they had lost my debit card details on the
journey between the sales department and the accounts department, and
consequently were until to debit my account, and also, it seems, unable to
notice for two months.

Retrieved card details and repeated it back to them; happy now again.

Meanwhile, the automatic flickr Pro account upgrade hasn't debited yet...


Busy tidying up things previously forced to one side during the inclement
weather.

[freedom]

Wednesday 20th January 2010 (early evening)

Told the DWP that I had missed my 12-week interview when I turned up to Sign
On today. They said, after some rummaging around to "find out what to do",
that normally my claim should have been closed yesterday, but because they
had forgotten about it too, that had lapsed, and they would let it
stand, and booked me a new appointment tomorrow.

Odd nightmare about being attacked by the police after being arrested under
the Anti-Terrorism Act for protesting against terrorism. It doesn't quite
make sense though: How do you protest against terrorism?

The bit about a series of irrational/illegal militant/fascist attacks from
the police has come true already though, so no worries there then(?)

That being a nightmare, extreme violence was there on both sides, but checks
IRL show things are fairly unlikely to go this far.

This is probably something to do with nasty letters from the HMRC. Preliminary
re-checks IRL show this is probably unfounded.


Did the washing-up because that is a simple worry that is simple to solve,
and will draw up a list of other worries so I do not have the worry of
worrying about how many worries I have.

Told the Landlord this, and he says:

1. I worry too much.
   
2. Sometimes he worries about me.

Via facebook:

2005 Jacqui Stubbs: Robin, where [are] you taking Rach, then?! She has gone and got herself a lovely outfit from Oxfam! It's beautiful! Why do you keep putting the date back, she is getting very disappointed! <sad> I hope you don't let her down! <grin>
(Slight misinterpretation of proposed meeting, from the organisers of the reunion)

2101 dropped into the Rose & Crowns Comedy Club: If you cant laugh at people who want you to laugh at them, who can you laugh at?

'Off to the Rose & Crown's comedy club night tonight, to laugh at other
people's problems with their blessing. -But really to experience a change of
scene to fuel creative thinking, and stop me settling into any vicious
circles or destructive ruts.

My diary is filling up this week.


Wednesday 20th January 2010 (nearly Thursday)

Just come back from seeing the Rose & Crown's Comedy Club: If you can't laugh
at people who want you to laugh at them, who can you laugh at?

As it turned out, I could hardly laugh at all, even after 2.5 Pints.

Food allergies are trendy: I've decided I have a Beer deficiency. Beer makes
me feel better, and it settles my stomach. Only half a Pint, though. It's
[fairly] strictly for medicinal reasons, like the bottle of Vodka under my
desk.

I don't [often] drink the Vodka, it's just cheaper than TCP, it's a better
broken-skin detector, a better instrument sterilant, and it can dissolve the
glue dressings are held on with.


Andrew O'Neil was interesting. Instead of merely trying to built a rapport
with the crowd, he attacked the audience, occasionally breaking off with
spots of loud musical style. He remind me of the now-famous (and dead) Mr.
Thompson, who could silence an unruly mob by talking to them whilst reclining
on the desk in a Moulin Rouge pose. People are too busy being confused, and
trying to work out what sort of an animal he is, to be disruptive.

There were lots of nibbles there, which was just as well: As usual, I hadn't
eaten all day. (Ah come on - you had to pay to get in!)

Opened 2100, closed 2330: Closing time helpful information, because it closed
just before the Pub did.


I thought I was okay for desperate food, being quite close to the only 24Hr
shop in 'Nam - the vending machine on the station platforms. At least, I
thought that until I realised I'm almost out of coins, it won't accept notes,
and it doesn't give change.

Serviced my insecurity jacket, so it says "Insecurity" on both sides, instead
of "Heavy Lifting" on the back as well.


Thursday 21st January 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Via facebook:

1410 Worked through the night, on insufficient food for last two days - will have to rest soon, but office space lots tidier.
1541 So tired, staring into space in a sort of trance between bouts of work.
Karen Sheppard likes this.


Wanted to do some typing up, but not drunk enough to do the creative stuff
and too sober/headachy to do the accurate or dictation stuff, so corrected
some OCR'd stuff instead. Dried some of the washing-up, too.

Nabbed the empty leaflet boxes and tidied my office with them. Look's tidier,
but needs more sorting and labelling, not least so I an actually find the
stuff I've put away in identical-looking boxes now. Additional surprise:
Boxing supplies enables them to be stored vertically and release's space.


Thursday 21st January 2010 (late morning)

Worked through the night, and had a half-hour nap at 0530 to make it through
to when the local shop opened, for breakfast. Had to do this so I would be in
the right part of town for my rescheduled interview with the DWP. -So you can
imagine how delighted I wasn't when they phoned and said the appointment had
been cancelled. At least I'll get some sleep later on today (maybe).

Finished the drying-up, did some hoovering.


Enhanced some of the pages that had come out as gobbledegook from the OCR
app, and ran them through it again. This actually worked, saving me hours of
typing in the process.

Now late afternoon, and have to have a lie down before I can make it up the
hill home, for some food.


Friday 22nd January 2010

Via facebook:

1727 and so the set up to Calne Model Railway Show 2010 begins...
Timothy Hitch likes this.


Got a lift to Calne in BMRG's convoy for the set-up of CMRS 2010. This was
two cars and two large vans full of model railway bits, and exhibition
pieces. I noticed that the vehicles in the convoy pointlessly cut each other
up along the way.


Observed that this event remind's me of a summer festival, without the music,
or the tents, the bars, the mass of people, the women (okay a few pointed
themselves out, but it's not the same), the beer, or the weather... or...

Eventually, everything that could be set up was, barring early morning
arrivals from mid-distance exhibitors. At this point the office clown decided
to play with the junction motors on the flagship layout, saying as an excuse
that it's best to test them now, and somehow blowing an entire bank of
circuits in the process.

Got a lift back to the office with the Landlord/Organiser, who had to go back
anyway to get a new Capacitor Discharge Module for the freshly-toasted
layout, and was kind enough to gave me a lift home, too.


Saturday 23rd January 2010

Had a meeting down in bath connected with codename Ebony, which I almost
didn't make, having been stuck behind a trainload of rugby fans blocking my
access to the ticket machines.

Picked up some aspirin to take my mind off a fresh dental abscess.

Then in bath library for three hours, looking up the precise definition of
fascism. If you've ever tried to do this, you'll understand why it takes so
long.

And now back to 'Nam for some stocking[-up].


Via facebook:

1759 repaired the flaky lightswitch in the office building.
(actually done much earlier the previous night.)


Sunday 24th January 2010 (evening)

Went over to Calne to hep BMRG with the break down of CMRS 2010. Now all
that's left is dust, an empty venue, and a diaspora of exhibitors, and one van
on it's way to Trowbridge, for an associated private thingy.


Monday 25th January 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Just finished typing in the last of the class of '87 year book data. Now in
HTML format, ready to upload to http://freedom.is/reunion later this morning.


Via facebook:

0253 finished typing in the rest of the class of 87 year book - should be online later this morning.
1152 Added flickrtab app to include flickr photographs in a facebook tab.
1215 Geotagged as many of the reunion photos as I could.
1228 Uploaded basic reunion page http://freedom.is/reunion


The abscess has now properly started to burst, and I'm wondering if it's worth
going to a dentist (there's one with places just two blocks away apparently),
and what level of horror they would react to me with if I did.

The problem with going to a dentist is, I don't feel any pain anymore, so why
bother? Also, the abscesses take care of themselves; treating it would either
involve drilling out the nerve (why?), or at least the core of the tooth and
filling it; dentists can't pull it out (it would require a stay in hospital);
I don't want it pulled out because I can't afford artificial teeth implants
yet.

The reason dentists can't pull out my teeth is my bones are the strongest the
surgeons I've met (and I've met a lot) have seen, and the teeth have deep
splayed roots, so they're locked into my jaw, and to get them out you have to
remove chunks of bone (which grow back very quickly). This needs a general
anaesthetic, and a 1-2 day stay, and stitches (which dissolve (eventually)).

There's also a very small risk with general anaesthetics, which I'd really
rather not expose myself to unnecessarily. And I also object to being X-rayed
several times more than usual because the orthodontists don't believe the
results the first time around.

The orthodontists also seem fascinated by my canines, although why I don't
know because they're no use I can see - I can't even use them to open beer
bottles. I'm sure there's a knack to that though, because Americans can do
it, and they file their fangs off, for some reason. (They also file their
teeth down to stumps, then fit plastic fake teeth over them, held in place
with resin. How is this different from false teeth??) When I can afford
implants, I intend to get one with a bottle opener fitted, or at least a
tooth shape optimised for common kitchen tasks. A Swiss army mouth, if you
like.

So there you are - more stuff to worry about.


Tuesday 26th January 2010 (afternoon)

Loud humming from RPC on switch-on again - last time it subsided naturally,
almost definitely something to do with the cold, I think.


Tuesday 26th January 2010 (early evening)

Someone reminded me I owed them some money yesterday - I've sent a cheque off
now!

I've also run off an invoice someone-else asked for (a formality).


Why do conversations on facebook tend to go saucy? Here's an innocent thread
on the subject of Cadbury's Creme Eggs:

Sam: Creme eggs - how do you eat yours?? xx
Jacqui: Lick the centre out first! <grin> x
Claire: Bite off the top and lick the middle til it's all gone and then eat the rest, yummy!!!
Averley: Bite the top off and suck out the cream!! Lol
Sam: I see a pattern forming here ladies - that seems to be the general way us girls prefer to eat it, and I have done lots of research, for scientific purposes of course. xx
Robin: Bite in half, eat first half, eat second half.
Jacqui: Boring, Robin!!!! <grin>
Averley: I will do some more research tomorrow! All in aid of the cause!! Pmsl x
Sam: See, blokes are alot less inventive! Averley, I will expect a full report. xx
Jacqui: Robin, why do you keep repeating yourself!?
Averley: Report and pics!! Of course!!! X Robin!! See, men have no idea!!! Lol
Denise: 3 at a time!! xx
Averley: Good girl, Denise!! I like two at a time myself, but I have been known to dabble in three sometimes!! Lol
Robin: Bloody mobile web - removed the echoes now. How do you fit your tongue into such a small egg?
Sam: God, this is like reading soft porn!!! Steady ladies. pmsl xx
Jacqui: You'll be surprised wot I can do with my tongue, Robin! <grin>
Denise: Averley haha. You can scoff 2 really quick, but the third I like to linger on and make it last x
Robin: I think there's a market for bigger ones.
Sam: Lol lots. Glad this has sparked such a debate! Oooh liking the idea of bigger one - yummy xx
Elizbeth: Sam.... Behave!
Denise: The bigger the better - but I bet it would give you jaw ache........
Sam: I meant the bloody egg needs to be bigger, you saucy mare!!! Just read your comment, too. Denise, 'think the secret is not to put it in all at once pmsl xxx
Robin: @Sam: Wouldn't more of a mouthful be more satisfying for you?

That's killed it.

[freedom]

Friday 29th January 2010

Went off to 'Bassett today, to see what would happen on the 250th
repatriation. There is also to be a celebration of the town council making a
decision and/or putting up a flag, and this also coincides with a royal
visit.


I have a feeling the ['Bassett] town's getting a bit fatigued from all this
hi-shine, spick 'n' span, wash 'n' paint, city-style public effect, and just
want's it, the uncomfortable aspects particularly, to go away so we can all
relax and get on with life.

This town-feeling is different to that in 'Nam, because 'Nam never relaxes.

'Tis interesting how I can identify with different town and their different
feelings, as separate from my own personal circumstances. It's a collective
thing, simply with different collectives, I think.


Anyhowsaway, I got off the bus at a temporary stop and walked up Vale View,
because the police had sealed off the road at the bottom of the High Street.
Crossed into Beamans Lane, with muffled brass band noises floating through
the air.

Took some photos on the High Street. Was too late from the repatriation
itself, but early for the flag erection/visit. My progress up the High Street
slowed as I encountered people coming out of Somerfield gawping at the
spectacle in the middle of town.

There was a brass band wearing white jungle explorer type hats, parked
outside the old town hall, patiently awaiting orders.

Beyond those was a gap, then a crowd barrier across the width of the street.

On "our" side of the barrier was the war memorial, and various local civic
creatures waiting outside the post office, which told me my plan to save time
by bring some letters with me instead of posting them in 'Nam beforehand, may
have hit a slight snag.

On the other side of the crowd barrier were thousands of people, er, also
waiting. Why they were on the wrong side is unclear, because the side streets
weren't sealed and they could easily have walked round. There were also the
usual police and media presence, but this time the press photographers were
sealed into little cages of crowd barriers, along with their equipment and
stepladders.

I edged a little further along, feeling exposed with only dribs and drabs of
people around me. The side road (Station Road), across my path, wasn't
sealed, and people were drifting across now and then, into the denser crowd
near the press pack cage. I seized my moment, and nipped across with some of
them, to find policepeople of various ranks walking up and down in the road
on the other side of the cage. Two of these were in rankless tunics, yet
appeared to be wearing military medals, or perhaps police ones. There was also
a high-ranking policeperson chatting to the local MP across the road. He too
had a collection of medals.

After a bit there was a sudden flashing of blue lights, and the royal car,
a lightly-armoured Jag with some royal protection officers in a Ranger Rover
behind, shot suddenly into the gap in the road space. They zoomed up Station
Road without warning - I hope they checked for pedestrians beforehand!

Prince Charles and Camilla got out the other side and started shaking hands
with the assembled creatures, who started bowing and scraping in turn.

Then their driver got out to do something, and left the door open with the
keys in the ignition! You could see right into the car (I took a photo), and
there was only a female PCSO between he crowd and the car! If someone jumped
in there, there'd be bugger all anyone could do to get him out. The car's a
prince-refuge, so it's designed to be impregnable. The only thing would be to
chase it until it ran out of fuel. You couldn't smash the windows, shoot out
the tyres, tip it over or block it in. You could probably blow the thing up,
but it might take a while to russle up the necessary resources.



In my photo, you can see the secret documents they had propped up in the
front, including a colour-coded map of 'Bassett, showing visit spots and
escape routes. No problem now, because the only real danger would be using it
to find the royal car, and we know where that is already.

There were some navy cadets standing around: One by the flagpole (across from
the war memorial), with, er, a flag, and two holding wreaths ready for the
prince & Co. So, the wreaths were laid, onto a memorial devoid of the little
graveyard around it, but still sporting a surrounding garden of turf. The
other wreaths had vanished, and been replaced by vases and bouquets of
flowers, many with messages attached.

Then an announcement was made, which turned into a sort of public prayer, and
dragged on for a bit. Subject matter was the war, and the dead, or rather 251
of them: "**** the civilians" mode was in place again. And so after asking
for "The Lord's protection", a freak blizzard erupted, which the crowd
thought was very funny. Isn't it nice how they've managed to keep the
religion out of it? The very-young lone cadet tried raising the flag in a
suddenly very-strong wind, and this took some time. Nobody offered any help,
and it wasn't for lack of helpers, or as if they had anything else to do.

One the flag was up, the band (also made up of very-young [participants)
started up, marching up the High Street, being a kind of personal sound
system for the prince. They started with the national anthem, then did a bit
of patriotic-type tunes, trailed off into the theme tune to Dad's Army, then
did a burst of Star Wars.

'Strange how that march isn't considered offensive.

And so the prince drifted off into the crowd (the one behind the barrier)
(maybe it was there to keep us out), and then into the Pub (The Cross
Keys).

The crowd thinned dramatically, and I was able to get into the Post Office -
but not out again easily, because the marching band parked itself outside on
the pavement, and started a shouting and standing to attention type game.

'Off to Boots, and the jewellers, getting a new battery for my watch. -All
the while watching the High Street carefully, for oddities from the police.

Unexpectedly ran into more crowd barriers further up the street, and anxious
looks of people inside the nearest building, the Conservative Club, not
knowing what (or rather when) was going on. Clearly next in line for a
princely visit. Detoured around this.

As I continued Northeast up the High Street, I realised I was going in the
wrong direction for the things I most needed to do, and circled round,
through Borough Fields.

Visited St. Barts, the "main" church, as part of my plan to spend more time
in quiet places. Retook some photos that didn't come out too well last time.
Found that while St. Barts is big, the walls are thin for a church, and the
road is near, so it isn't as quiet as you would expect. It was, however,
uncomfortably cold, and I had to retreat to a nearby Pub (The Five Bells).

Resumed contemplation in the Pub, and managed to list all my current worries.
The Five Bells also does coffee, and that helped. Later on, I was roped
[threaded?] into a drinking gang that arrived, and they plied me with more
coffee.

Asked by two of my stalkers to come round from drinks, but couldn't, because:

1. miles away, in a different town
2. got attacked last time I did that

Ran out of things to do in the Pub, and on my hungry way to the bus stop,
caught a whiff of chips, so got a small portion - very satisfying.

Got back to 'Nam late evening, worked through night, etc.


Sunday 31st January 2010 (Silly O'Clock)

Make an inventory of the sections of storage in my office space. Identified
some stagnation and inefficiency, which I shall straighten in the coming days.


Sunday 31st January 2010 (mid evening)

Did some token leafleting with the Trainwest-only leaflets in Monkton. 250
out in 1:54 Hrs, making for 27 s/l. Noticed these leaflets are on slightly
heavier paper than the combo ones, making it easier to put some unrolled
through 'boxes, and unnecessary to tightly-roll the others. Strangely, the
bundles of 250 are still the same thickness as with the thinner paper.

The PC is slow on startup, so ran a Chkdsk /F.
Some minor bits fell off, so next to run a Chkdsk /R, to get 'em back!
Bizarrely, all the bits fell off the PDF reader, yet it's functionality is
unaffected!

Second recovery took out the help centre, which I never use anyway, and
something to do with SQL, although if whether that's Apache SQL or not,
I cannot yet say. Removed redundant recovered files, and compacted the rest.

The second recovery took much longer. Checked over the machine, then ran a
defrag. Restarted the PC again, this time to see if the maintenance had made
a different to the start-up speed. Hmmmm - slightly faster, but only in that
the odd dotted-then-solid bar-graph pause-state is shorter rather than
absent.


Removed quite a large number of unnecessary teeny (and not-so-teeny) files
that came along for the ride from downloaded pages. Then had to run a defrag
again. Continuing to go through past directories, chucking out the
unnecessary, compacting the medium-useful, and moving the still-useful into
contextual areas. And then along come's an archive...

According the defragmenter, about 10Mb of redundant filespace released.
Strange... seems like more.

Further searching, and another 40Mb released.


Tuesday 2nd February 2010 (mid afternoon up till midnight)

The Others' AGM this evening. Did the huge amount of washing-up, cutting my
hand in the process.

Paid off outstanding rent - previously this was very difficult because the
people I needed to pay it to weren't around at the same time.

Wrote the core of a "basic" filter app, to strip the junk out of saved pages
like flickr and Wikipedia. I've called this !Defluff.

Reorganised more of my office space, finding surprisingly-large amounts of
material that should have been stored at home in the first place, and
stacking that up ready to shift out, to.

More boxing-up and shifting-around released enough space to put my reference
volumes (phone directories, electronic supplier catalogues, stationary
supplier catalogue) actually on a shelf so I can actually retrieve them
quickly, without limbo-dancing around an obstacle course.


Wednesday 3rd February 2010

Uploaded a batch of Bassett stuff to flickr, had Job Description "Interview"
at the funeral parlour, which the Job Centre insisted on.

Discovered undocumented feature of Samsung phone, allowing me to enter
punctuation marks such as apostrophes and quotes: When in text editing mode,
hold down # for 2-3 seconds. Release, and use arrow keys to move highlighted
selection square. From particular square, enter number key. Repeat as
necessary (or not). Sequence will be inserted at caret.

A new car park has opened in the old sorting office. (What a surprise - not.)

Crossing over to the office from Station Hill, following in the wake of some
crazies. They were puffing away on skunk, leaving a dense cloud of smoke in
their wake. So I'm feeling a bit spaced out now.

Conversation with the Landlord - he seems to think I'm stoned. Time for some
fresh air. "Fortunately," there's leafleting to be done.

Via facebook:

1947 Robin: 250 TW leaflets out again in Monkton, 1:55Hrs @ 28 s/l, whilst stoned.
1956 Sam: Impressive!! xx
2007 Kerry: Id love to see Robin stoned lol
2012 Robin: It wasnt voluntary.
2018 Kerry: Bless.
2029 Robin: a bunch of crazies were walking infront of me earlier, puffing out skunk like a chimney. It didnt dissipate and I couldnt avoid it.
2036 Jacqui: Robin stoned - I dont believe it!!!!! <grin>
2040 Robin: its wearing off now. It wasnt a pleasant experience, hence the fresh-air/long-walk work, to clear my head.
2041 Sally: pmsl... Goooo Robin, you skunk master.
2044 Kerry: Have you got the munchies yet? lol
2047 Robin: Dunno: I hadnt eaten for hours anyway. Ive had some food - rice, bread, tea.
2049 Sally: Wot, you on hunger strike? <wink-grin>
2100 Kerry: Sally, will you bake Robin a cake with or without hash? lol
2101 Sally: Kerry, I only know how to bake them with. lol
2105 Kerry: 'Used to go to the shops where they grow it in Amsterdam. lol


Noted that the office clown marked a road as leafleted which doesn't have any
houses on it, and has been taking last year's exhibition leaflets with him
all this time, which of course have all the wrong details on.

Started to flag seriously towards the end of the leafleting, so took the
opportunity to try the liquid pep pill of "Lucozade Alert". Yuk, but it did
the job. Nothing mindblowing though, which was just as well after the skunk.


Thursday 4th February 2010

'Report in the Gossip & Hearsay today, noting that the Band from the 250th
repatriation day got hypothermia, due to being young, small, dressed in light
clothing and made to stand still for hours in a blizzard. That would explain
the two ambulances rushing into town and staying put for hours. Oh dear - it
reminds me of playing rugby in secondary school. It's entirely feasible they
did that to us repeatedly and nobody cared. I wouldn't be surprised. Annoyed,
yes, but not surprised.

I expect they're still doing it. Someone should check.


Friday 5th February 2010

Many interruptions at home this morning, making me late for my 12-week JSA
Interview, which they rebooked for me again, instead.

Off to bath to do many things, including paying my secretary and buying some
underwear (for me, not her(!)).

Took a few photographs of some interesting streetscapes, hung around the
entrances of coffee shops, trying to gauge the average price of a cuppa -
£2-£3, Ithink. The theory there being they're warmer than churches and
quieter than Pubs & libraries (sigh).

Discovered I couldn't block one of my stalkers without unfriending her first,
so did that, and decided to leave that there - perhaps it will be enough(?)

Only £5 left in the kitty until Monday, now, because someone owe's me
£25, although I'm not certain if I should raise this next time I run into
him, because I'm uncertain whether or not I owe him £50. More thorough
checking required...