Courtesy of my almost 6 year old

Q. What’s the most painfullest bird in the world?

A. An Owwwwwwwwwwl

TM

I *think* it was a bonfire night ride up to watch Lewes try and set light to themselves. But may not have been. Like you part of my memories have been erased to make room for the words to the Frozen songs *sigh*

You came up there with children just for some cake – and he calls us lot mad! :D

TM

Nice to see you again (Well nice for Mrs F- I was childcare today). Seems fitting that the last time we rode together was with Jenn in Brighton.
Tm

Waves at Timbur (and Herberts).

Impressive, wasn’t it?
Tm

Look out for us tomorrow at Firle Beacon :)

Must be time for a bump BUMP

Its the avoiding finishing a document and dragging out lunch BUMP

Monday Bump :)

Thanks. They are superstars

afternoon bump :)
TM

Morning bump! :)
Tm

We go Together (from Grease)
We had a dance routine as well

I suspect there was some cringing
Tm

Radiohead at The Roundhouse goes on pre-sale this Friday…
I really want to go to this but at £65 it’s a bit steep. I could only go to the Thursday night show too as I’m off to Shindig Weekender on the Friday which was £100 for two days of music. Going to the Roundhouse would make it a very expensive few days.

Festivals are good value n’est ce pas?

I guess it depends how much you want to see Radiohead. I went to 2 nights of their Victoria Park London shows a few years back. Night 1 had all the odd songs and a quiet vibe. Night 2 was just mental with all the hits (ahem) and a great interaction with the crowd. It got noisy and memorable.

TM

Fortunate enough to get to see Kate Bush in 2014
Lucky sod. That gig and Zep in 2007 will probably always be the 2 that got away..
Tell me you also got to the Zep gig and I shall have to stop being your friend.

Didn’t see Led Zep. I did see Fat and Frantic play a church hall in Hastings though. (who remembers them?)

Re: KB, yes, consider myself very lucky. It was an extraordinary experience. Standing ovations from arrival on stage to the end. We were all stunned at the interval really. Remains the finest musical show I have seen. The lack of phones was a very unusual occurrence.

TM

Fortunate enough to get to see Kate Bush in 2014. A big announcement at the beginning about not using phones during the performance. Not a phone in sight during and such a delight not be distracted by the bright glowing screens.

Mind you, seems like everyone there was a huge fan. I do wonder if people go to gigs just because their mates are going. They may have never heard of the band?

TM

I think the right answer is its new helmet time.

P.s. Mrs Twiglet_monster has had the maps out tonight. She’s been chuckling away suggesting there might be some challenges heading your way….
TM

Mrs Spooky
I trust you are taking Singlespeeds? ;)
TM

I got a Rome cast iron waffle iron for Christmas (lucky me!)

Pros

Its small enough to live in the kitchen (small, not a massive box with a plug)
Makes great waffles, quickly
Satisfying to use and play about with – enjoyable learning how to use it
Works fine on our induction hob
Flexible -you are in control of the heat not the machine

Cons

Seasoning it initially is a faff
You need to practice a little to get it right – but easy once you know
Handles get hot – take care

saturday mornigns are waffle brakfast now – last week had maple syrup, smoked salmon, black pepper and lemon. yum!

TM

We waved goodbye to our newly made friends at Obama and headed north again to Japan’s “Lake District”, and had a taste of the local precipitation. Riding around the edge of a big lake once the rain had stopped with the adjacent plum trees dripping with rain was atmospheric beyond belief and soon we arrived at what become known at “the James Bond hotel”. I half expected a monorail to be hidden around every corner, whisking uniformed workers off to the secret part of the installation, such was the uniqueness of this lakeside hideaway. Sitting outside on the balcony sipping Asahi Dry beer watching birds of prey (Ospreys I think) dive for fish into the lake remains one of my very fond memories of the whole trip.

*sigh*

TM

Travelled there in 2008 for Honeymoon. Fully guided involving bikes to get around (not tremendous distances, bus backup)

Write up here – Tea and Temples[/url]

The company still run the trip – easily accessible from their website – I won’t link here (I have no commercial interest anyway but just to be sure…)

Have heard that its a challenge finding the good parts away from the cities if you’re not a native speaker. Absolutely extraordinary trip for us and worth the money. Not to everyone’s taste though

TM

Uri Geller did the same but claimed to be using psychic instead of psychological powers.

Which is why Uri Geller should be considered the @rsehole. I read some of James Randi’s books that expose Uri Geller – at least Derren Brown doesn’t claim to be psychic…

TM

*Love* STW. Is there nothing this forum can’t solve?

anyhow – I got bought a box of these (Poachies[/url]

cheap, foolproof, recyclable plus one less pan.

my 2p worth deployed :)

TM

Interesting – I seem to get the same behaviour with my SLX version..

TM

Great suggestion – thanks.

I was getting ready for a disappointment – Martin Rhode gone. Such brilliant stories in B1 and B2 which they could never match again.

Pleased to report that B3 is fabulous. Enjoying learning more about Saga. Loving the story. Not often I would watch drama live (rather than recording for later consumption) but am looking forward to Ep 5 tomorrow.

Wonderful stuff.

TM

oh and ours are the most placid and tolerant creatures (almost too tolerant!). great pets for kids to handle. Need regular handling as they naturally jumpy. They will (eventually) give you a nip if they really upset but you do get warning noises before that point.

TM

2 guinea pigs since May 2014. Rescue chaps (neutered). All the wheeking and squeaking is the best part!

Ours live outside all year – they get a heatpad every night in the winter to stop them freezing. Look after them (fresh stuff every day) and they rarely become unwell (never for us). Rabbits comparatively are terrible for sickness – that’s from a lady who owns lots of rabbits and guinea pigs.

Think about who will care for them when you are away. The rescue centre we used (Bobtails) had a great checklist of things to consider.

TM

Sussex Bonfire – still utterly fabulous

“We wunt be druv”

yes – my application needs to have the ability to easily remove the end cap (at least one) so the jubilee clip is a bit overkill. the pipe won’t have liquid in but will live outdoors. what I need is the cap that is a snug fit for a 68mm pipe…

will research dog balls (ahem) – may still be the cheapest

Thank you STW :)

TM

ha ha! that’s a great idea :)
TM

try searching for ‘end cap’ rather than bung.

cheers – blimey there’s whole world of stuff out there… sadly nothing that jumps out for 68mm

That link from houndlegs is a goody – thanks. blimey nearly £30 for 2 lumps of rubber…

TM

indeed – looking for a neater finish though

R

Jemima

Thanks – spotted that seller too – its Hong Kong based and delivery looks like an age. It is my second choice…

TM

wwaswas

Thanks – yes – they want a min order value of £25 :( I only need 2 and they won’t do free samples unless there’s an order to come..

TM

Interesting debate

I am involved with an event that promotes the STEM subjects – Curated by the lovely Maggie Philbin no less :)

There are genuinely lots of early teens who think that striving to be in the X factor is a good career path. Honestly.

Over the course of the day the participants (500 X 11-13 year olds approx) get to meet a bunch of scientists and engineers and actually discover what this maths/physics/chemistry stuff is used FOR.

Seeing the lights go on when these kids realise what is possible and what enablers the STEM subjects are is utterly fascinating. I still think we have an issue with the STEM subjects being presented in a dry way – all tweed sports jackets with elbow patches and nasal hair. The arts? well they’re just always trendy aren’t they?

TM

What’s a good website to find places to go?

Cgeo on a smartphone let’s you do searches, or there’s a map so you can just go looking :)
Otherwise geocaching.com
Tm

Sheesh what to say. *Love* your writing . Undeserved rotten rotten luck. Do everything with what you have left (like you need telling).
TM

+1 for The Martian.

TM

(I still miss The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.)

Right, Amazon tells me I have read the following recently…

If you want an uncomfortable and gripping read, check out The Troop by Nick Cutter. OH MY GOD there is some unpleasantness in that book.

Dave Gorman’s Googlewhack Adventure was a good chuckle.

The Truth About Uri Geller by James Randi is an amazing expose (if a bit old now) of the worlds most infamous spoon-bending liar.

Really enjoyed Raising Steam by some guy called Terry Pratchett. What a loss.

Currently enjoying The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer. Excellent “voice”.

TM