31st December 2002
Went into town change a couple of duplicate CDs and found myself looking at some strange choices of music and having to make some weird decisions: All Saints or Crosby Stills Nash & Young? Manic Street Preachers or Bruce Springsteen? Still more proof I'm getting old..... guess the 2 I bought.
New Years eve party at Vicky & Kevin's, very nice it was too .. thank you to all the people of the Medway towns who bought fireworks we really enjoyed the show you all put on
30th December 2002
Des is back at work for a half day
A bit of time to catch up with myself but what a dreadful day ..... rain or what! Then I get a puncture in the car, the boot is full of stuff and the spare is at the bottom. Mind you sitting in the car with the rain pounding on the roof took me back to the days of my youth and going camping with the scouts. Strange though' I can't remember it actually raining (I remember the ground being wet and muddy but not the rain!) which proves that I am getting old!
In the evening we (Ted Des Vicky & Kev) went to see the totally brilliant Two Towers it makes Ben Hur look like "Noddy Goes Shopping"
Still later Des & I went to Pete & Carol's for "As close as we can get to New Years Drinkies" it'll be a sad day for us when they move to North London.
More sad news from Oldham, our friend who had been ill since the summer died on Boxing Day. He will be missed, there aren't enough people like him to go round.
29th December 2002
Back to the shops .... Arrrrrrg January Sales but a real result! First shoe shop, first pair of shoes not only are they marked a size 3 but they fit Des's tiny tootsies and look dead sexy too. After years of being dragged twice round every shoe shop in the world to find the sale bargain for the year a real pleasure.
Home for supper with Lynda & Erika and a quiet evening sitting in the conservatory with a glass or two of wine. I then tricked Erika on the webcam hence the photo...
28th December 2002
Des's sister Yvonne plus her son Darren and girl friend Stephanie over for a meal, Ted manages to totally smudge his copy book by sloping off to next door to play his guitar with a couple of people until the early hours
27th December 2002
Ted & Des dashed off to Tonbridge for supper with John The Bassman and his lovely lady Glenda, Discussed arrangements for the forth coming function we are organising and started planning the one for the following year. Oh and don't tell Glenda but ...... John did mention reforming This Way Up, book earl to avoid disappointment gigs will be limited!!!
26th December 2002
Up late and off to Lynda's for lunch, Vicky's for drinkies then back to Lynda's for supper ... what a hectic social life we have.
25th December 2002
Des & Ted cooked the turkey & made the gravy then we decamped to Vicky and Kevin's for lunch and the rest of the day.....
24th December 2002
Working at home today, well nearly! Des finished lunch time too so visited a pub in Maidstone with the team she works with, then home to wrap the last few pressies.
In the evening Linda and Erika came round for drinkies.
23rd December 2002
Don't you just love it when a plan comes together..... Getting to St Thomas's Hospital has been a nightmare, 3 hours last time I succeeded so I was 1/2 an hour late for an 11:30 appointment. Today I had booked to do a session with the Endoscopy Nurses at 10:00 ... why so close to Christmas? why so early in the day? Everyone else was on Holiday it took an hour and a half including a stop at Dartford on the way in Brilliant.
Sent out an e-Christmas card to lots of e-friends, ok so I'd missed last post to NZ, so that's 2 of them but a lot of the others I have no postal and worse still visiting address to use, Sad to have such flimsy connections or great that a tenuous connection can be maintained with old friends and new acquaintances? Think about and let me know what you decide.
22nd December 2002
Death please come soon my head, my head ...... Eventually recovered enough to deliver Ruth's birthday present, it had been cluttering up the house for over a fortnight.. also using the Ruth postal service to deliver the Xmas pressies to Sarah, Grace and Jeanette & Brian. Came home, the aspirin stopped working, to wrap presents. Des managed to fall off the bed room stool trying to get stuff out of a wardrobe, nasty bumps on her head, bit scary for a moment.
21 December 2002
Had friends round for dinner, really posh menu, lots of wine, brandies etc come 03:00 we are all still sat at the table, brilliant night, Pete, Carol, Gerry & Jenny thank you for being such wonderful company
20 December 2002
Long drive up to East Midlands Airport for a sales meeting, very tired on the way home, stopped for a power nap.......3 hours later.... hmmmmmm! A friend with similar tastes had taped a couple of records that had been mentioned in conversations about past glories, Venus and Mars by Wings was never a real favorite, but Bursting At The Seams by the Strawbs that was great until I heard it again for the first time in over 20 years.. just so much pants, a several good songs but the production and some of the arrangements, Oh dear so much for my tastes at the time. Lay Down still brilliant
19th December 2002
Up town end of the day for a very pleasant Masonic event.. + dinner and carol singing
18th December 2002
Christmas Party Day I met up with some old friends after work and had a surprisingly good evening. To all those involved thank you.
16th December 2002
So sad news that one of the guys from Oldham that we met back in the summer is very ill, Des & I wish him and the entire family strength and a peaceful Christmas.
15th December 2002
Nice quiet day at home, decorating the Christmas tree after moving ever stick of furniture in the house to try to find a place to put it ... Oh yes and I avoided falling out of the loft just! Still it looks nice. Des then created a wonderful meal for us both. I could get to like duck
14th December 2002
Got a reply from one of the e cards I sent from Friends Reunited, nice to hear from Trevor Smith after nearly, no actually over 30 years! Rest of them must be as tight as me, won't pay the £5 to access addresses or I must have upset them at some stage ... I might just know how ... but it is now safe to get back in the water! (JAWS 2, if I remember rightly)
Ted had a very pleasant afternoon with a nice bunch at Aedile Lodge, just around the corner from Petticoat Lane Market.
Des was supposed to have gone skating in Rochester Castle grounds, Christmas Fayre, Dickens Christmas & outdoor skating ..... it was raining all but one stall holder had gone home (and he was packing up!) no one skating so they went back to a friends house. While parked outside some total idiot (guess the sex!) drove into Des's Ka ..... at least she was honest enough to admit it. Mind you her Skoda was a non-runner afterwards
13th December 2002
Had another look at Friends Reunited site, send a free proforma e Christmas Card to your mates.. sent off four..
11th December 2002
Des is having her works Xmas party at the famous Chilston Park Hotel. Why famous? Well firstly because 15 years ago I got charged £2 for an orange juice &lemonade, and secondly because it was alleged that the late Michael Hutchinson & the late Paula Yates absconded without paying their bill after a night or two of ....
10th December 2002
At last the repair-man cometh, busy evening with the email beckons... meanwhile AAAAARGH NO!!! shopping again!!! I'm going back to work tomorrow to get away from the shopping, I hate shopping,
9th December 2002
Bon jour matelotes! today (Ted & Des) we went to France to do some shopping for Christmas. As usual we used the Euro Tunnel, The shopping was successful, the food was OK. We couldn't be bothered to go out on the coldest night of the year to find a proper restaurant, so we ate at a place in the Cite Europe.
8th December 2002
John the Bass man and his lovely lady Glenda came for Brunch, Ted made a nice Kedgeree (it worked first time whew!). Then we drove down to Margate to inspect and sort out some arrangements for a function that John is organising for March next year. While we were there we met up with Jeanette & Brian for "afternoon tea" so I had coffee. Then home to get John & Glenda back home at a reasonable time, before heading back down to Herne Bay to join the surprise birthday party Kevin's dad (another Brian but that gets confusing) had organised ... home eventually and sober!!
7th December 2002
I spent the morning shipping a load of "stuff" up the tip, then disaster struck my wedding ring broke, not where it had worn thin but at a the thickest part! Weird or what?
All afternoon spent shopping in Macarthur Glen near Ashford
Action Hero Kev has pre-birthday drinkies, Des N Ted left about half past midnight, last people kicked out about 4:00 am, Glad I don't live next door to them!! Their neighbours will be coming to dread the start of the month - they are planning a New Year Party too
5th December 2002
Little sisters birthday. No party!
4th December 2002
All the way to Birmingham (West Midlands not Alabama!) for a short meeting then home again - then it happened. This never to be sufficiently damn computer goes and kills the "Mother of all Boards" No e-mail! not even a game of Free Cell! Good news it's still under guarantee until the 18th, then the bad news can't fix it until Tuesday.
2nd December 2002
All the way into central London for an exhibition in support of a "Study Day". About 20 out of a crowd of 100+ bothered to come and see the stand .... bearing in mind that the exhibition had paid for lunch etc. Then after we had waited round from 2:00pm until nearly 4:00 we were told that they had decided to cancel afternoon tea so we could go home. I sometimes wonder if it is worthwhile supporting some "Professional" bodies, that is a general comment not aimed at today's organisers in particular.
This has happened several times in the past and is becoming more frequent. If you are organising a sponsored event make sure your sponsors get their moneys worth or they won't be rushing back next time!!!
1st December 20002
White rabbits! White rabbits! White rabbits! Loads of decorating to get done! At least the grotty, wet grey weather means I can avoid the garden. Cassie is getting a little "stir crazy" she hates getting her feet wet and refuses to go on the grass. Mad just like her Mum!
In the evening went to Pizza Express to watch John the Bass-man's new band "News From Nowhere" maybe I'm biased but I thought that "This Way Up" were better in every department, except Rhythm Guitar & I suppose bass for that matter too. News' are very tight group, much better at low volume than This Way Up ever could be