tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319595002011-08-24T22:09:46.829+01:00Random thoughts from a '30 something' living in North London.John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.comBlogger651100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-67922936344694511962008-02-04T17:22:00.000Z2008-02-04T17:23:03.239Z

maybe...just maybe...

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-80914081944945182872007-07-10T10:01:00.000+01:002007-07-10T10:02:01.825+01:00

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-21234094526313944552007-06-12T10:35:00.000+01:002007-06-12T10:42:14.834+01:00

Driver on a Northern Line train pulling into Goodge Street Station, says over the Train tannoy system:"Thank you to the person who has just taken a picture as I pulled into the station, I am now blind"It's nice to be back in London.

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-6960710397994175862007-06-08T14:41:00.000+01:002007-06-08T14:42:22.065+01:00

Angela Merkel has been speaking for 45 minutes.I don't really understand German.I'm bored.

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-40269950245367213582007-06-06T13:54:00.000+01:002007-06-07T18:26:50.147+01:00

I am presently in Germany enjoying the G8 circus, and while it took me and my team an extra 45 minutes of driving around the back roads of Kuhlungsborn to find an 'unblocked' road to get to the press center, I am not that upset as while I sit in the press center and watch the circus go by, I have been entertained by 'performance artists' on stilts, artists with loud speaker skirts (yep, a clear

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-24786129235585398712007-05-30T20:45:00.000+01:002007-05-30T21:13:34.434+01:00

After my last post Mad dogs amid Englishmen I thought I would update with whats going on at the mo...So I'm in the process of patching the hole in the fence that the demon dog has left,(I guess) using a mixture of head-butting and chewing, and I get talking to Michelle who rightly so is very upset that the dog keeps getting into their garden, and she mentions some interesting information (not

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-77007048082890117062007-05-21T19:28:00.000+01:002007-05-22T13:33:47.530+01:00

It all started a good 3 to 4 months ago when my neighbour on the right 'Steve' asked as we were returning home on evening if we had a dog, to which we both replied 'no', he told us how he had seen a black dog having a good look around the garden, true enough upon investigation (and I'm no Sherlock Holmes) we discovered the tell tale signs of dog shit on the grass and a hole in the fence. No more

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-47075079690916418632007-05-11T11:06:00.000+01:002007-05-11T15:14:38.719+01:00

I aint blogged for a while, but I'm back.I got a little concerned about how I was finding it all too easy to blog about the moans and annoyances that really grind my gears and how my blog was turning into Mr. Angry from Finchley - and that's not what I want.So after a little break I'm back and I've decided that I will try my best not to moan (too much). If I do just tell me to shut up.I have also

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-86596808937272218552007-03-20T18:13:00.000Z2007-03-20T18:16:21.710Z

Saw these at Finchley Central Tube station (at different times), and wondered if there was a little gremlin at work?

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-13044535789635943912007-03-05T17:25:00.000Z2007-03-05T20:25:37.835Z

"Karma police, arrest this man, he talks in mathsHe buzzes like a fridge, hes like a detuned radioKarma police, arrest this girl, her hitler hairdo, is making me feel illAnd we have crashed her partyThis is what you get, this is what you getThis is what you get, when you mess with us"So sang Radiohead, in the song Karma Police, but it appears that the Green Karma Police have paid my locality a

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-75773949369503467452007-03-01T14:39:00.000Z2007-03-01T15:01:30.950Z

It is now unfortunately no surprise to be greeted by various chuggers on my walk from the tube to the office. Almost everyday they lurk on Kingsway outside Holborn tube, and if that isn’t enough, they manage to re-spawn at the other end of the street near the Aldwych., and if I’m extra lucky there will be an extra team outside the Royal Courts of Justice as well.On one day it will be a smiling

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-88581662390029971262007-02-28T09:37:00.000Z2007-03-01T16:15:23.475Z

Whilst I was travelling on the upward escalator at Holburn Tube station the other day, a young boy spotted the following poster:and he turned to his Dad, and asked:"Dad, is that Harry Potter?"to which his father replied:"No it most certainly is not"I wonder how many other sensibilities Radcliffe has offended by undertaking this brave move to make a name for himself as an actor.Thankfully the

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-70572551207106164052007-02-21T18:51:00.000Z2007-03-01T16:36:02.250Z

It's been one of those days where London and it's fabulous transport system has been truly great and delivered again.It all started on my tube to work, where a middle aged, very overweight women, (red top and a pair of old black skin-tight leggings - naturally) decided that getting herself out of bed 10 minutes earlier wasn't worth the hassle, and so treated the whole carriage to her make up

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-16277157119194702022007-02-20T08:40:00.000Z2007-03-01T16:37:09.014Z

The above pic was taken outside the Suffolk village of Peasenhall. Its a bit long winded, but I think you can understand what they are trying to say.Peasenhall is over 50 miles away from the Bernard Matthews Turkey Factory, that's quite a distance?After spending the weekend back 'home' in Bury St Edmunds, we had a nice little trip to the coast on Sunday - to Walberswick, (the home of the

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-36592368078791577122007-02-15T09:45:00.000Z2007-03-01T16:37:51.652Z

Over the last couple of weeks I've noticed something that's not quite right.In a road just around the corner from where I live, some guy (It has to be a bloke) parks his bright red Jag on the side of the road, now this would not usually catch my attention but the reason that it stood out, was that's it's a nice car always badly parked - so it falls into one of my pet hates - that of the 'nice car

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-45702200725998225222007-02-13T11:56:00.000Z2007-02-13T12:46:57.107Z

After sitting empty for many many months, I was intrigued to see the premises of the long gone trendy shoe shop being renovated and turned into an exciting new shop that would only add to the exciting experience that is shopping in Finchley.So after what seemed many months of slowly slowly shop fitting, finally there was a sign, and lo that sign did read:Actually it did interest me to see what

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-87170999610763736302007-02-12T09:39:00.000Z2007-02-12T10:09:06.277Z

It's only a small thing, butMs Gillian McKeith - BANNED From Calling Herself A Doctor!you can read the entire story HEREMeanwhile In Other News:On my way to work this morning In noticed that there was a huge power cut which affected a large area from my nearest tube (nearly) to my office.Loads of offices and shops were shut:Unfortunately my office was open, but I did get that 10 minutes of

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-86286322486360092942007-02-10T17:15:00.000Z2007-03-01T16:13:53.144Z

I know it's a little pathetic, but I took great joy recently watching someone who is obviously a little inadequate.On my way home the other evening, the air was crisp, and so was the snow covering the ground. I was in good spirits as although my journey into work using the Northern line had been appalling, my journey home wasn't too bad.I turned the corner into my street and carefully crossed the

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-2306252880493779192007-02-04T13:22:00.000Z2007-02-04T14:18:50.839Z

Living in this wonderful metropolis of London, and being bombarded by free (mostly very poor quality) media, which seem to spend acres of space dealing with the most pathetic celebrity obsessed stories, and even worse the new breed of non-celeb who is now given headline space.(Yes I'm talking about the LondonLITE and that other one)I am starting to feel that enough is enough. Not only do I have

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-22684001379035320232007-01-31T14:50:00.001Z2007-01-31T14:53:28.463Z

29012007406 Originally uploaded by John .(with a little tip of the hat to dg and Wikipedia)While pausing, as is often the case, at Finchley Central tube station to await for a suitable carriage to carry me away into the heart of London, I got thinking about the Harry Beck plague on the wall, stating that“Harry beck used to live near here”I know of at least two other famous Finchley figures, that

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-35925564245319562132007-01-23T07:43:00.000Z2007-01-24T12:42:12.223Z

C and I had an amazing week diving in the Red Sea at Sharm El Sheikh, in the Gulf of Aqaba, we were lucky enough to spot all sorts of wonderful examples of the varied life that inhabit this planet.Top of the list has to be where on one of the dives we spent over 10 minutes observing a hawksbill turtle , it was beautiful. We also spotted (amongst many others) moray eels, stone fish, porcupine fish

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-57483810759763745542007-01-10T13:22:00.000Z2007-01-10T13:23:00.495Z

No, not the words of Brian Blessed in the excellent Flash Gordon (Gordon’s alive?) but what C and I will be doing next week. We are off for a weeks diving at Sharm for some Red sea fun.We haven’t been before and as keen divers are very much looking forward to our first trip to Sharm. Expect photos and some suitably amusing stories about Egyptian men and their notorious behaviour.

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-15676318243047742572007-01-05T13:22:00.000Z2007-01-05T13:34:25.366Z

but this time surprisingly not from our dearly beloved Ken.The London Underground maintenance firm Tube lines has said that nearly 200 workers employed by tube lines contractor face the axe. BUT our Ken has said that Tube lines have "no reason" to axe the jobs. Go Ken!Give it to em straight!Don't hold back!At the end of the article on the BBC news website: A Tube Lines spokesman said: "We are

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-55158069592061336222007-01-04T13:15:00.000Z2007-01-04T13:19:49.973Z

..with what Zoe says over at My Boyfriend Is A Twat about how Girl with a one-track mind was treated by the Sunday times hack Nicholas Hellen.Have a look at that letter and tell me it doesn’t stink.As Zoe says “He should ashamed of himself”, but I have a feeling he probably sleeps like a baby at night.

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-71335100968923100362007-01-03T12:55:00.000Z2007-01-03T14:55:28.802Z

After 38 years of business, the family run Finchley Bookshop has closed.From the Edgware and Mill Hill Times:"The Finchley Bookshop, a family run business, opened in 1968 in Hendon Lane, but moved to Ballards Lane, Finchley, where it established itself at the heart of what was then a rather bookish community.Michael Hart, 55, took over running the shop from his parents Hilda and Norman who, when

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-9675886778881381482006-12-16T18:08:00.001Z2006-12-16T18:08:50.665Z

yet again Originally uploaded by John Spier.Well done Mr. Ramsey, a nice product with your name,of course, all over it.

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-60674553474072730192006-12-13T15:40:00.000Z2006-12-13T15:49:58.271Z

The BBC website's question of the day:Would you buy a ticket to the Concert for Diana from a tout?Yes   9.67% No   90.33% All I can say is that I am amazed.I would not go to this concert, BUT if I was forced to go, and the ticket was at the right price, then I would buy from a tout.

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-52124890609691531732006-12-11T13:36:00.000Z2006-12-11T13:38:12.654Z

Time: Now (well Friday evening at about 8pm)Location: My street in Finchley.Cast: Me, all of the neighbours and a drunken polish chap.Interior of my flat, the curtains have been drawn and a bottle of wine has just been opened, and the first sip taken, a ‘relaxing that’s better mood’ filters down over the occupants – (me and ‘C’)From outside a series of loud noises akin to a car hitting several

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1348532095634611772006-12-04T18:30:00.000Z2006-12-06T19:58:30.477Z

I’ve been travelling again recently, from the following pictures, can you guess where I have been to:(I’ve edited out a few tell tale signs to make it less obvious)OK, so it's not really that hard to tell, of course it's our beautiful London.The top pics are from Kings Cross, and the middle two are of Holburn.The bottom one is East Finchley.To add salt into our wounds, as it's not bad enough with

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-11509625991417141862006-12-01T12:32:00.000Z2006-12-03T14:30:26.960Z

I noticed in the news recently that yet another bout of Diana-gate is about to float to the top of the media septic tank, thanks to the former teacher and Coca-Cola salesman, your friend and mine ‘the Phoney Pharaoh'.Otherwise known as Mohamed Al-Fayed.Check out his website, it’s hilarious. (The picture on the left is from his website, the picture on the right is from www.coverups.com)I don't

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-38695517505033676912006-11-23T10:56:00.000Z2006-11-23T11:10:03.000Z

After my previous post, I got thinking that in the natural process of evolution, will Londoners evolve differently from others?If so, what shape will this take?Increased sense of direction.As the amount of passengers using London mass transport increases, and the amount of times that the transport operators go on strike, we the poor passenger will be on average walking to work on every 2nd day.

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-3444429724784142152006-11-17T12:58:00.000Z2006-11-17T15:34:04.427Z

I was listening to the radio this morning, and along came an advert from our friends Maggie and Kim who are advertising a quite ridiculously, ‘made up by advertising idiots’ National Carwash week.I have never heard of Total’s National Car Wash Week before, have I been missing out? I think not.So in the same theme, here are some others that may have escaped your attention:National Marriage week

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-58373841485308977832006-11-16T17:29:00.000Z2006-11-16T18:07:58.668Z

EXTERIOR - LONDON – BUSY STREET08:10 on a winter weekday morning.Picture the scene:‘Blade Runner’ style exterior, it is not quite daylight and has just finished raining. The shimmering glow of fluorescent light is reflected in many puddles. The tall, dull and oppressive buildings loom over the pavements and its inhabitants.Moving along the pavements are many hundreds and thousands of people. From

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-49645734676757695082006-11-14T17:53:00.000Z2006-11-14T18:15:15.544Z

I have just finished reading 'Random Acts of Reality', an excellent book from the blogger Tom Reynolds. It was great, full of amazing stories which made me laugh, cry and wince. - its really good - go buy it.Voices from strange people (2)Overheard in a restaurant in Finchley:Customer: “I’m a vegetarian, what would you recommend ?”Waiter: “Anything on the menu sir that doesn’t have any meat”

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-6160874540895911552006-11-10T10:24:00.001Z2006-11-10T10:24:55.431Z

Last night I had a dream that I was sharpening a selection of large carving knives in the back of a fast moving rally car.I have NO idea what it means...

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-85550752332627099952006-11-08T22:03:00.000Z2006-11-08T22:31:23.975Z

It is (possibly) good news for the car safety lobby, but I think most of us will not be too happy about the flying aspect. I’m talking about the prolific use of mobile phones and how it’s amazing to think that not too long ago, the only people with mobile phones were Estate agents and those dodgy business men types, how times have changed.The Association of Police Officers think that by

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-2594397409989358912006-11-07T14:13:00.000Z2006-11-08T22:33:16.899Z

In one of the many ‘summer type’ jobs I had during the ‘dark’ years of 1993 to 2000* one of the least appetising was delivering fresh and frozen seafood around East Anglia, and the company that I worked for was M & J Seafoods, Let me just say that the people and the job weren’t too bad, what really got to me was the smell, and because of this, it ranks highly in my top ‘worst that I’ve done’

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-82853829429117915612006-11-06T17:33:00.000Z2006-11-08T22:33:50.421Z

As we are all aware from the non stop, (and not so equal) mix of praise and xenophobia in the UK media, the amount of Polish (and of course many others) that have chosen to come to the UK to work and live has increased somewhat over the last couple of years.What you might have seen in recent news stories is that an average of 1,500 people arrived in the UK every day, that’s a total of 565,000

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-39551647649450949832006-11-02T18:12:00.000Z2006-11-02T18:16:03.913Z

I have an idea that could make all of London feel better.It’s really very simple.All we do is take away those two new crappy free newspapers (London Lite and This is London), and that old crappy one (Metro), and instead of that wasted newspaper we are given a nice pack of soft balsam tissues.This way, we no longer have to put with idiots who have no idea what a tissue is for, and how to use

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-74306680062138899552006-10-27T09:26:00.001+01:002006-10-27T10:02:48.290+01:00

I’m sure that there are a team of people working in a dark office somewhere deep underground that are earning good money trying to work out how to improve the tube, and get yet even more passengers on their trains , make travelling a nicer experience.According to TFL’s figures, they state that the Northern line is the busiest tube network, I know some people disagree with this, but at over 206

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-6483275771669211472006-10-26T10:04:00.000+01:002006-10-27T09:27:27.293+01:00

please bear with me while I 'move' the blog over to the Beta platform. a few changes needed to be made...It looks I need to re-format ALL of my previous posts. (its a good job I'm not busy!)

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1161849015578018372006-10-26T08:43:00.000+01:002006-10-27T09:28:04.693+01:00

OK, so I'm on my to work this morning, and I see an advert for the BBC's Good Food ShowGuess who is appearing?No, Give up?Well not only the wonderful Worrall Thompson BUT also the delightful Gordon RamseyTickets sell out fast - apparently.(that really, I hope is the end of my celebrity chief fascination)

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1161794432788379332006-10-25T17:38:00.000+01:002006-10-27T09:27:45.300+01:00

This is what I saw on the way home:He IS everywhere, and he is watching...

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1161779422670188852006-10-25T13:13:00.000+01:002006-10-26T10:11:24.999+01:00

(This is my Charlie Brooker impression)It’s only a matter of thyme before they do their own TV show.How long will it be before Gordon Ramsay enters the public’s conscience as the annoying, self publicity seeking whore, even worse than that idiot Anthony Worrell Thompson.I used to like Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, I used to like Hells Kitchen, and I even thought that the first series of The F-Word

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1161522425163870852006-10-22T14:02:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:22:02.841+01:00

Up on the BBC website:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6074252.stm'British adults fear youngsters'Soon, the adults will be wearing masks and headphones to block out the sight and sounds of the young, fearfull of going out at night...Anyone seen 'Children of the corn?'

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1161458536776764962006-10-21T20:03:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:21:52.779+01:00

Just came across this site - Music free buses, they are asking for people to sign up and support their petition to try and ban people from playing their music too loud on public transport.Before you jump up and start screaming that it's going to far, hang on and let me explain. They don't want to ban people using headphones, it's the twats who listen to their phone or MP3 player without

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1161191834547825662006-10-18T18:13:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:21:40.611+01:00

I’m thinking about cheating.I’ve spent weeks working on the relationship, but I think it’s time to move on and try someone new.Over the last 6 years I’ve done the same route to and from home to work, and the only regular people that I see are the tramps (Bill the bottle filler, and Terry the cardboard king), the two ‘Big Issue’ sellers (one who stands forlornly outside the Peacock theatre and

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1161105971882585382006-10-17T18:22:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:21:31.074+01:00

Overheard in the week1)   Businessman on the tube talking to a younger work colleague.“You have to treat all Americans like they are 15 years old”.2)     Couple of blokes on the train, looks like they were suffering from the hangover a little.Bloke 1: “You know how you can get Chinese, Indian takeaways?”Bloke 2: “ummmm”Bloke 1: “You know how much I love me Sunday roast dinner?”Bloke 2: “yeah”

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1161105672153806412006-10-17T18:04:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:21:15.050+01:00

‘C’ and I had a great weekend away at Portland, diving a couple of wrecks. The traffic was murder but it was worth it.The water temperature wasn't too bad in a wet suit - 16 degrees, it was just the wind chill when changing that made it a little cold ( I think a dry suit might be the answer).Jim and Caroline before they got wetOnce we were in the water, we managed to (sort of) see the Countess

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1160589157216397262006-10-11T18:41:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:20:55.006+01:00

Boring bit first:After coming back from Evesham, I found that my ADSL router was knackered and my local exchange was suffering, so after a few phone calls to UK Online, (they told me they are upgrading their kit in my local exchange) I managed to get a working connection. The added bonus being that I have a new Netgear router, which works very well, (better than my old Linksys) and I have an

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1159449259936407842006-09-28T14:02:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:20:11.331+01:00

I'm off this weekend to a friends wedding in Preston, then on Sunday I'm off to Evesham to do a course.So, next blog in a week.

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1159437634739437142006-09-28T10:57:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:19:56.086+01:00

Its 7:40 in the morning on the Northern line and the tube train pulls into East Finchley station. There is one seat available in the carriage. Waiting to get onto the carriage is a city boy, aged about 25, looks as though he earns a fortune, private school education, mummy and daddy do very well (and looks as though he has no common sense what so ever). He has the pink newspaper and the hair that

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1159350465490725412006-09-27T10:40:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:19:45.502+01:00

Act 2, Scene 1. (Interior of an Air France aircraft)The plane arrives in France and is still over 30 minutes late. But just in case this was not enough, the passengers can't leave the aircraft as it seems that Paris didn’t realize that we were coming. After a further 10 minutes waiting on the plane, a bloke with some of those ‘moveable steps on a back of a truck’ arrives and takes another 5

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1159203721392159472006-09-25T18:00:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:19:30.618+01:00

A (sort of) play in 2 acts.There are two intervals, the first 1 hour (but could be more) and the second 4 hours and 50 minutes (again this could change either way), refreshments will be served.The play is set in the present.The cast:Me: A lone traveler already tired but reasonably good natured.Air France: a company of multiple personalities.Heathrow Staff: all sorts of miscreants and nobodiesAct

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1158075251954764242006-09-12T16:28:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:19:18.497+01:00

Dakar by JetI'm in the final stages of planning my trip to Senegal, I leave on Sunday and I'm away for 5 days (so no blogging updates). Yesterday I was contacted by the travel company that are sorting out my air tickets. I thought that they had already booked and confirmed my tickets when I called them last week, but no, of course they didn't, so yesterday they told me that there are no economy

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1157973997077986832006-09-11T16:30:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:18:56.748+01:00

(Alternate title: My family and other animals)This last weekend my partner and I went back to Bury St Edmunds, Bury is the town that I grew up in, and as my mother still lives there, is a place I return to on a regular basis. (For an excellent Bury Blog check out Ruby's Living in Bury St Edmunds Blog)My mother is departing the safety of Bury St Edmunds to spend 3 months living with / teaching /

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1157625018202685792006-09-07T11:27:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:18:11.704+01:00

No, and before you ask it's got nothing to do with Superman, or Diet Cola.I have just got back from spending a week in Hungary and Slovakia. My girlfriend and I (and her family) spent half of the week in Slovakia and we managed to see a few of the truly beautiful sights of the region.We did a fair bit of driving and got to see a little of the natural beauty and some of the tourist spots in the

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1155231366662640612006-08-10T18:23:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:17:41.553+01:00

I am one of the many (100,000) 'passengers' who use the Northern / Misery line on a daily basis, and after the other day (long delays to and from work due to over-running works on the line) I have decided I have to now start claiming for all those journeys, so if you are delayed more than 15 minutes you can claim (I think it's 15 mins), so trot over to Tube claim and start filling out that form.I

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1155060193968200502006-08-08T18:56:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:17:23.781+01:00

I've been vey busy recently, but I have really done nothing of any note that warrants a blog entry.I'm trying to organise a work trip for myslef to Senegal for September, but all I've done is too find out via Google that I don't need a visa, and so all I have to do now is to book the flight tickets and find out what the scuba is like over there, (If I get time to, and I hope I do). But of course

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1154710593744771612006-08-04T17:51:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:17:00.113+01:00

29072006176Originally uploaded by John Spier.Just a shot of the tomatoes that we are growing in the garden. It's our first ever try at 'growing our own' and its worked great. They taste delicious and it's very satisfying to watch them grow and then eat them - knowing of course that there are no nasty chemicals on / in them (as far as that can be true living in London).

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1154595586628251772006-08-03T09:55:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:16:43.776+01:00

PeaceOriginally uploaded by John Spier. I usually do the normal rush hour commute (with what seems to be the rest of the planet pushing for space on the underground platforms), and the other day I was a litttle later leaving work, and Holburn tube was nearly empty, it was half nine in the evening, and it was really nice...

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1154595081401444712006-08-03T09:47:00.000+01:002006-10-27T10:16:18.214+01:00

It's time to say hello to even more paranoia,http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/security/current-threat-level/Or should that be a'realisation of the current climate and we really should be more aware as to thetruly horrifing amount of suspected attacks agaisnt the UK'....?maybe something like http://tech.pedrofigueiredo.org/threat.cgi would be better.(thanks to Londonist for pointing it out)

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1154423422135484712006-08-01T10:01:00.000+01:002006-10-26T09:56:36.684+01:00

Just a couple of points, I'm off to a charity event tonight to raise money for the street kids of Brazil,It's called Deeper shades of Fashion and promises to be a great night, all proceeds got to www.taskbrasil.org.ukI'll try to post some photos later.and...Just got the Sky by mobile installed on my N70, it means I can now browse and set my Sky+ planner using my phone - I don't know if I'll ever

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1154372465071447072006-07-31T19:46:00.000+01:002006-10-26T09:56:36.628+01:00

I hope this isn't a sign of things to come, but it looks like the first proper post might have a little moan in it.I know the way things work, if you're in a hurry, the tube is late. thats the law of the sods. But tonight being Monday, after a nice weekend of chilling and doing a little bit in the garden I really wanted to go home on time as I need to help my partner prepare for a job interview

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31959500.post-1154368168261857132006-07-31T18:48:00.000+01:002006-10-26T09:56:36.563+01:00

It's a daunting prospect, but after reading through some excellent blogs on the net, I'm prepared to have a go...

John Shttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05327209144902981367noreply@blogger.com0