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  • No sit up

    dodman 7:38 pm on 08/02/2010 | 1 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

     
    • decoy 8:03 pm on 08/02/2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      i attempted some of fitness course yesterday on my first run in ages. the sit-up device in the video is quite effective although it puts a bit of strain on the ankle!

  • E'enclume

    dodman 6:48 pm on 05/02/2010 | 2 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

     
  • Assault course

    dodman 6:47 pm on 05/02/2010 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

     
  • Only in Brighton

    decoy 8:46 am on 05/02/2010 | 2 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
    Tags: brighton,

    Spotted this chap as I arrived in Brighton theis morning…

     
    • pinkie 2:51 pm on 05/02/2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I can’t quite see what it is… is it a man on a really high bike? How bizarre – guess it means your trouser legs don’t get splashed when you go through puddles! Surely a bit difficult for drivers to spot though?

    • dodman 6:26 pm on 05/02/2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I wonder what benefit there is from such a high riding position … what does he do at traffic lights – rest his foot on a nearby car?

      Very odd. As you say, ‘only in Brighton’. Maybe he was an escapee from a circus.

  • The Queen

    decoy 6:04 pm on 30/01/2010 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
    Tags:

    When Han and I were wandering round Brighton the other day, we came across this in a sweetshop window. It’s made out of jelly beans…

     
  • Snow and rain

    dodman 5:53 pm on 17/01/2010 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    Digging Gordon out:

    Weight of snow:

    On our bikes for the first time this year:

    We only just made it to the beach as the path was flooded:

    Magnolia bud about to burst:

    Squatting platform installed:

    Wobbly video:

    picasaweb.google.co.uk/NicholasBrockbank/PhotosWinter2010#

     
  • Nice view

    dodman 4:23 pm on 12/01/2010 | 4 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    Check out the view from J & M’s apartment in La Reunion:

     
  • Palsied hips

    dodman 7:13 pm on 11/01/2010 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    As readers may know, ever since my last Blencathra experience, my hip joint hasn’t been what it once was. I’m currently engaged in remedial stretching exercises that should ultimately allow me to ‘rest’ in this elegant position for minutes on end:

     
  • Epic drama

    dodman 9:41 pm on 09/01/2010 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    Settling down with Maza to watch ‘Our Mutual Friend’, we were somewhat surprised to find it ended sooner than expected, with some very unfinished business. We assumed it must be a new style of production, leaving most of the story to the imagination, as things seemed to happen with very little warning – until I checked the back of the box, and found what had taken us less than three hours to watch should have gone on for at least six. After fiddling around on the trusty laptop, and still finding only one episode on each disc, I donned my Arctic suit and scurried up into the attic. Lo and behold, if I sat through the closing credits of Episode One, and then meditated for a minute, Episode Two appeared. Similarly, with Episodes Three and Four, on the other disc. Instead of doing that, we had switched discs as soon as the credits for Episode One began, and had gone straight into Episode Three, the conclusion of which (that is to say, the credit rolling we should have sat through, which would have led to Episode Four) was so unsatisfactory.

    So, tomorrow, we will have to watch Episode Two, to find out why Episode Three was all over the place, closely followed by Episode Four, which should wrap up some unresolved issues.

    Checking the reviews over at Amazon, a few people complained about missing episodes and the abruptness of the ‘ending’.

     
  • Winter blossom

    dodman 4:21 pm on 08/01/2010 | 2 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    View of the snowy garden from the dining room, showing geraniums flowering happily:

    CIMG0007-1.JPG

    Closer view

    CIMG0008-1.JPG

    Closer still

    CIMG0012-1.JPG#

    Another

    CIMG0013-1.JPG

    Last of the ham

    CIMG0009-1.JPG

    Heel requiring exfoliation

    CIMG0017-1.JPG

    Woozle track in front garden

    CIMG0018-1.JPG

     
  • Snowman

    decoy 7:45 pm on 07/01/2010 | 2 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    Spotted this snowman on the walk back from station. It’s so big my head only came up to the top button.

    The epic snow here seems to have sent the locals into a frenzy of hoarding. We popped over to budgens for a bit of bread to find the shelves pillaged of all nourishment! There were tales of customers buying 16 bottles of milk – surely one can’t drink that much milk before it goes off!?

    Anyway, given the amount of turkey in the freezer, we should be fine for food for a while…

     
    • dodman 8:41 pm on 07/01/2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      There’s been the same sort of frenzied buying at the local Co-op, according to Maza. Luckily, we have two 25kg sacks of brown rice in our cupboard … along with several bags of turkey ’stock’ in the freezer, for flavouring!

      That is a good snowman – almost on a par with Calvin’s.

    • pinkie 9:23 pm on 07/01/2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      It certainly is a good snowperson! The surface was so smooth; it must have taken ages to sculpt.

      Budgens is a bit freaky. Quite surreal to walk into. Thankfully there was a bag of spelt flour left so I’ve been able to make two loaves. It was quite good fun to make, so it might become a regular event.

  • carotte 4:54 pm on 03/01/2010 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    I can vouch for the slanket’s cosyness. My Gibbs secret santa gave me one – the blue one to be precise. Most cozy on a cold evening.

     
  • Winter? Summer?

    decoy 11:21 am on 02/01/2010 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
    Tags:

     
  • decoy 11:09 am on 02/01/2010 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
    Tags: the sound of silence

    So both Han and I have lost our voice now:-( the house is now silent apart from the sound of arms whistling through the air, performing universal symbols of tea, food, etc…

     
  • Slanket

    dodman 9:49 am on 01/01/2010 | 1 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    These might be the perfect solution for life at the homestead in winter – especially for those venturing into the attic of an evening.

     
    • decoy 11:03 am on 02/01/2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      is it a requirement to look like an idiot whilst wearing them?;-)

      they do look snug though.

  • Some Xmas photos

    decoy 11:48 am on 30/12/2009 | 2 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
    Tags: Christmas,

     
    • dodman 9:47 am on 01/01/2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      Some good pictures there – but do I have to click on each of them separately to see them full size? Is there some easier viewing option? Maybe a slideshow …

      Shame Geoff didn’t catch you doing your ‘jump’!

      • decoy 11:01 am on 02/01/2010 Permalink | Log in to Reply

        indeed. The “jump”! The kite was already quite overpowered when a freak gust yanked me fully some meters in the air and many more forward, where I proceeded to land on my knees ruining my “good” trousers and also my knees.

  • pinkie 2:52 pm on 23/12/2009 | 1 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    Exciting rail journey this morning!
    Being surprisingly organised this morning I set off for work in the hope of catching the earlier train to work just incase there were any hold ups. I slipped and slid my way to the station in good time, but Lo! the train was running 8 minutes late. Nevermind I thought, 8 mins is not bad considering the conditions. Anyway, 8 mins later my train arrived and I was particularly chuffed (excuse the pun) to get a table seat on which to spread out my paper. The train sped through the glorious frost festooned countryside until…. bang, flash, bump, bump, bump, bump, grind…….halt. We were plunged into darkness (and it was really dark at 7.10am!) Then nothing but silence. Then a very jovial ticket master strode along the train informing passengers (in a tone that was not fitting for the circumstances) that ice water, yes ice water, had got into the electrics! So, there we stayed for over an hour fruitlessly checking our mobiles for reception to call work/loved ones/a chemist (to explain the phenomenon that is ice water). After a while the train driver was able to bunny hop the train 500 yards into the next station. Fully expecting to have to alight the train, I was most pleasantly surprised to find everything had returned to normal in the space of 500 yards and we were now able to continue our journey. Maybe the dreaded ice water had only affected a small portion of track?

    Door to door time: 3 hours.

     
  • A load of hot air

    dodman 10:06 pm on 19/12/2009 | 1 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    CO2 is a trace gas in the atmosphere. Plants thrive as a result of having it available for photosynthesis. Man’s CO2 addition is about 2 to 3% of that very small trace and any regulating we might do will amount to nothing in terms of changing the CO2 quantity. Basically, the 2 to 3% of a trace means little, even if CO2 has an effect on climate, which seems unlikely, as the release of CO2 in nature is caused by climate (temperature) change, rather than the other way round.

     
    • decoy 10:15 am on 21/12/2009 Permalink | Log in to Reply

      I’ve been seeing a lot of this kind of analysis appear recently. I tweeted this last week:

      Which clearly shows global temperature to be a cyclical thing, but it obviously bears no resemblance to any chart that i’ve seen previously (generally showing an exponential increase) . I wonder which ones have been statistically manipulated…!

  • carotte 7:28 am on 17/12/2009 | 1 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    Heavy frost in Toulouse this morning – snow in the north bringing motorways to a halt.

     
  • No more shorts

    dodman 8:53 am on 16/12/2009 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment

    Bitterly cold with frost possibly persisting through the day. Heavy snowfall may push down from the north.

     
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