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This Saturday was the Gonville and Caius benefactors lunch. We had booked to attend. Drove there by a round about route as we had to pick up my 10mm-20mm Sigma lens from the coach company. I had left it on the mini bus the previous weekend while visiting Richard and Andrea. Many panic phone calls on the Monday to ensure it was found before some one walked off with it.

So we went to Cambridge via the M25, and M11, and Stansted airport. Still arrived in time to park in the Park and Ride, partake of a cup of coffee in Cafe Nero and then have some bubbly at Caius.

Day remained sunny, though it did threaten to rain, and both Rosemary and I are sure we heard some thunder. Food was good, speech was rousing, still 75% of the alumni are yet to give to Gonville and Cauis, but by British standards the college was doing quite well.

Rosemary and I visited the library and saw some archive material, including the two charters for the college. All kinds of odds and ends, including a 17th Century notebook on the coal purchases for the college.

Back to catch the bus where we had to wait 35 minutes for it to arrive. If we are to be enticed away from our cars or parking in the centre, then the public transport has got to get much better. Cambridge Council has got to do better with its buses. I for one will never park in the Cambridge Park and Ride ever again. It spoilt a really nice day. Made it back home in time for a pint in the P&A with George and Annie.

New cooker wired into the mains. Again not as easy as it seems. Badly designed connections would not take the size of cable. Connector is right at ground level making it hard to connect, and the sharp edges of the hatch caused severe loss of blood. Definitely a down turn in design, the previous cooker was a doddle to connect with proper side bolts under which to connect and trap the wire. Electrolux needs to go back to the drawing board. [Ed’s note:  Steve is to undergo Grumpy Old Man syndrome management/minimization training very shortly before it is too late.]

The new Electrolux replaces an old electric Jackson, bought as a temporary measure more than 20 years ago and still working, and also the once-loved, oil-fired Esse range, which was bought a mere nine years ago and doesn’t work; useless thing. 

I have been working at a Grocers in Bristol this week. The weather started off fine, a nice sunny day as I drove into Bristol. Even ate lunch sitting outside in the sun at their staff canteen. Progressively the weather has got worse and ended on Wednesday evening with torrential rain. The end of the summer.

The tanker driver strike (which has not started) has caused panic buying with people in the office saying how they have queued up for 20 minutes waiting to fill up. I was lucky, filled up last night and there was not a queue in site. The Blasdale luck never fails.

Well maybe it does, last night was awoken by the fire alarm going off at 1.00 am. Trooped out of the hotel [Ed’s comment: And note he does not wear PJs] and stood in the rain. Remember I said torrential rain. After 5 minutes back into the hotel. Several false alarm bells after that required the pillow-over-the-head technique to block out the noise.

During one of Rosemary’s ad hoc, but frequent, sheep counts of the field flock, a discrepancy was noted.  One extra.  More stringent stocktaking showed the reason - a tiny, newborn lamb.  It is June, isn’t it?

Firiday at last, dress down day so am in work in my black jeans and T-shirt.

When I checked out of the Apex International Hotel I was given a message by the very polite receptionist. She said that the Manager of Customer relations thanked me for my blog entry. It’s good to hear they keep an automatic track on what is being said on the Internet. This has happened before, twice where I have visited restaurants. Once I had an email within a couple of days of commenting on a restaurant. The second time was when I was eating at the Mai Thai, I was asked if I wrote a blog. They were wondering who it was who kept coming in eating and then commenting on the food. Well that’s at least three people who have read an entry in my blog.

Picked up my coffee from the Cafe Nero on Lothian road. Again they had Pain Au Raisin (only downside was to be caught in the act of its illicit purchase by Rosemary phoning and overhearing my purchase. How do women know what you are doing when they can’t see you?) Happy and setup for the day, I entered work.

Thursday was a warm day, no rain, not particularly sunny though. Started off with my usual cup of coffee at Cafe Nero, and happiness they had Pain Au Raisins today. The last two days have been devoid of this delicacy. So ignoring my pension savings plan, I bought my designer coffee and my Pain Au Raisin, took them to the office and ate my breakfast at my desk.

Supper was at a Thai restaurant on Rose Street called Ruanmai. I have eaten there in the long, dim and distant past. Had a couple of Thai beers, a hot soup and a penang duck curry with sticky rice. Adequate but not nearly as good at Dusit or Mai Thai.

Afterwards had a couple of beers at Whistle Binkies before heading home.

The day remained bright and sunny all day, though a few cumulus clouds crept across the sky at midday. It’s actually quite warm in the hotel.

Early supper at The Outsider. This restaurant is on the George IV Bridge and has a good view of Edinburgh Castle. It’s a recommended eating establishment in the Easyjet on-board reading material. I wonder how much it costs to get a placement in the magazine.

Started off with grilled swordfish topped with a salad of mango slices, broad beans and beetroot leaves. I had some olive oil flavoured mash potato on the side. Rosemary would be impressed, or I expect she considers it normal, the beans were all double podded. It was very nice though, the difference in temperature of the hot fish and the chilled mango slices took one by surprise.

Next I had a cheesecake. Pile of cheesecake filling on a pastry biscuit topped with a strawberry and surrounded with a raspberry coulis.

I forgot to say I am staying at the Apex International hotel on Grassmarket. The hotel management must have taken notice of one of my comment forms from a year or so ago. Their Internet access is now free. Not only is their Internet access free, but local phone calls are free, and the cost of National phone calls are not outrageous as well. Have you ever heard of a UK hotel giving away free phone calls!!!

Thought I would also mention that today (Wednesday) the sun is out, there is not a cloud in the sky, it is warm and the women are beautiful.

Tuesday started off with a slight precipitation and overcast skies, ended the day with the sun coming out. At the Petit Paris I managed to get a table before 7.00pm and ate their cheap Plat de Jour, there were even people sitting at the tables outside. Summer is here in Edinburgh.

What a difference several hundred miles make. Rosemary rang several times during the day with panic stories about the floods that were about to engulf our home. The water was within 10 millimeters of coming in through the front door. She was unable to get to the DFAS meeting at Westcott where the road she had to pass through had water halfway up the nearby garden walls. Those who did get through had to walk through inches of water to get into the lecture hall and had to contend with a collapsing ceiling. In her words:

I was in work this morning and then had the dentist in Winslow at lunchtime. I was staggered at the water during the slightly scary drive back along the back roads. But I was in Westcott for DFAS just gone 14:00 and it was so flooded (especially at the turnoff just after the derestricted sign) that the van driver ahead suggested I shouldn’t attempt it and we all turned around. I don’t think I’ve ever seen everywhere so flooded. I was a bit worried about our front and the sitting room cos the front garden was very flooded.  I was also worried over the 10 day old lamb in our field.  I couldn’t see him anywhere and feared he had fallen in a ditch and drowned. Risking the elements and suitably garbed, I went out in search of his tiny corpse.  Scattering sheep to all sides and struggling against the suction of the waterlogged land on my wellies, I found him snoozing in a patch of long grass. 

Meanwhile DFAS’s Lecture Secretary says she “had to get the lecturer there! It was certainly bad in Westcott but the car is reasonably high. However, the front entrance was totally flooded and everyone had to go in via the fire exit through 2-3″ water, necessitating a number of people having to take off shoes, and quite a number turned for home. The hall was flooded down one side, a piece of ceiling fallen in near the entrance and we had the lecture in the room past the kitchen! It will certainly be memorable.”

Back to reality and the Petit Paris, good starter of Cray Fish Tail salad and salad potatoes, followed by a Salad Nicoise and then the Creme Brulee all washed down with a binge of red wine.

Ed’s update on floods:  The next day, all visible water has gone from around the house and the sun has shone.  The local rabbits all seem to have survived and I bet the wretched ants have too.

Another early start for the flight up to Edinburgh. Not sure how long EasyJet will keep the 6.55 flight going. It cannot have been more than one third full. As I left home it was a pleasant morning with roosting pigeons on the A41. By the time I reached the Chilterns it had turned foggy. Despite this the flight got away on time and I was in work before 9.00am.

Not a lot to report, other that a nice meal in the Mussel and Steak where I ate their soup of a day, a bean and tomato soup, followed by two fillets of sea bass cooked with a coating of sesame seeds on a salad base.

Rosemary had another man in to look at the Esse. It had been causing us some serious problems, not least the cost of running it with today’s high oil price. Today he was in to cure the smoking problems, he adjusted the flows, tested the flue and lit the cooker. Alas several hours later the same problems came back, smokes and the temperature drops to nothing. The next day he rang with a quote to replace the fuel regulator and put a flue balance in. Over £800. I am afraid the cooker is going to be scrapped and we are going green (?) with a wood burning stove.  But how much will it cost to remove the thing?  Anyone want an oil-fired Esse - buyer collects?

Met up with Ravi and Maggie in the Oxford Bar at 7.00pm for pre dinner drink. Then onward to Dusit Edinburgh Thai restaurant where they seated us this time. Booking a retaurant is a new concept to me.

We shared two starters between us:

• Miang – Secret Garden
  A light salad of apples, mangoes, melons and leaves with a tamarind & coconut dressing
• Koo Saneha – A Loving Couple
  Char-grilled scallops and jumbo king prawns served with garlic and chilli dip

I especially liked the Miang salad.

We then shared three main courses. Much argument, I was going to order duck, but was persuaded to order beef, and Ravi then ordered duck!!!

• Panang
  A rich, creamy medium red curry with fresh chillies, kaffir lime leaves and holy basil.
• Pad Ped Prig Tai Ong
  Stir-fry of meat with baby aubergine, imported fresh peppercorns,
  fresh chilli, grachi and holy basil, with beef
• Ravi’s choice, I can’t remember [Ed’s note: thought you said it was duck?]

The Panang was lovely, nice thick creamy sauce to it, and enough bite to know you are eating a curry. The other two dishes were beautiful as well.

This Thai restaurant has a reputation amongst my friends of being the best Thai in Edinburgh, and I think it is well deserved. The service was good, the waiters were friendly and the food arrived quickly and on time.

Afterwards we parted our ways, but will be meeting up in Essex in a couple of weeks time.

Made it to Edinburgh this week, staying in a hotel on Lauriston Place, a Best Western hotel. The hotel includes breakfast and is slightly cheaper than most I stay in. You can see it’s cheaper because there were tradesmen staying there.

Met up with Maggie and Ravi for a pint on Rose Street. They asked where to eat, so I suggested Dusit in Thistle Street. After one wrong turn we found the place. Alas no booking, so they were not able to seat us. Maggie and Ravi suitably impressed that this restaurant was fully booked on a Tuesday made a booking for 7.30 on Wednesday.

Where to now? I had mentioned the Oxford Bar earlier, being that it is on the same street as Dusit. Maggie, having read all the Rebus novels, was keen on the idea, so off we walked. A couple more pints, and some chicken and mayo rolls were consumed in the side room of the Ox. We completed the tour by walking on to Charlotte Square, and then back down Rose Street, Maggie pointing out all the saunas to us. I am still not sure why.

After several weeks of dry weather, the weather had to change. We had prepared for the annual tog of war against Tony and Cherie Blair’s new village. Food and drink had been purchased, the river blocked to raise the water level, nettles cut.

Again like last year, the weather Gods stepped in and said “No. No tug of war today, mate.” So we cancelled and will hold it in August. Maybe by then Tony and Cherie will have moved in and will be able to join in. Let’s wait and see.

Spent three days and two nights in Bristol. Arrived in Bristol on the Monday, called my company to book a hotel. The only one they could find was £150 a night. I was able to find a Premier Inn on the waterfront on Kings Street for £65 a night. Was quite adequate, though the mobile phone connection for 3G internet access on the ‘3′ network was very poor in my room.

Trying to remember what I ate. The first night I ate at a Turkish restaurant called the Bosphorus. Started with a very lovely mezes dish, and then a main course of I think chicken, but not sure now. The mixed mezes was very good.

On the Tuesday evening I ate at a tapas bar, very full for a Tuesday evening, probably due to the band playing in the background. Several glasses of wine later I left.

The company I work for had the services start of year conference at the Radisson hotel at Stansted airport. The day was full of talks about the company and its direction for the future. The evening was spent eating, and networking with colleagues who we often don’t see from one year to another, but whom we are in contact with via email.

There was some dancing, some karaoke and a little bit of drinking.

See the pictures here.

Amazing, several days without rain. The weekend was fabulous. The BBQ was used twice. BBQ English leg of lamb on Saturday, and then little, spatchcocked poussins on Sunday. Even now several days later the sun is still about.

At home the birds are nesting, we have four little ducklings on the field pond. Rosemary has yet to see them. Of course there could be a few less with the number of crows, magpies, rooks etc marching around the field. Then we have a great tit nesting. They ignored all the detached homes we put up for them last year. Instead they are nesting in the cavity wall of the utility room, just by the entrance door. Rosemary is very concerned that I don’t go around slamming the door as I come and go.

Preparations are under way for the annual tug of war against Wotton Underwood. I don’t expect we will be seeing Tony and Cherie Blair participating in the event. I wouldn’t think they would have moved in by then. Maybe we will see them next year?