:: flickrd off

Flickr has taken over from my blog! Photography and website tinkering and surfing (Anthea has been sending me music and Mum and John have been phoning regularly, both via Skype), walking, work ... I don't know. Time flashes past.

I'm trying to be disciplined and go to bed early, ha ha. Today I was wrenched from my bed by the doorbell at 11:30am - Bertie's new kibble being delivered. He's recovered from his ordeal (aka my holiday) to the extent that I think he might be better off on "Greyhound Maintenance" than "Beta Active". He turned his nose up at the new stuff though. "Bleugh! I'm not eating that rubbish."

On Easter Monday morning it was the fencing man that woke me, come to do a quote. The bamboo curtain isn't going to last another winter so I'd better get on with a replacement. The back gate is also falling apart, so I got him to quote for that as well. He reckoned 4ft would be high enough for the fence, though I have my doubts.

Last week's alarm clock was the next door neighbours having new central heating installed - they were very good about it, making sure the noisy work didn't start until late morning. They had to have the chimney swept and warned me about it in advance, which was just as well - it sounded as though someone was coming through the wall!

Went to quite a good concert recently - the Edinburgh Royal Choral Union. One of its members works in the features department and sells us tickets at a discount. This was a varied programme, to mark the launch of their CD. They did a James MacMillan piece, A New Song, which was gorgeous ... I really like MacMillan ... and my favourite bit of The Messiah.

On Saturday night Fiona, who is an ace social organiser, got a fun group round to her place for drinks and then off down the hill to a pub at Granton for a meal. There were ten of us altogether, once Verity had arrived - she'd just flown in from California that day! Really enjoyable evening.

Some wonderful news: my friend Colin (used to be a workmate, taught me sailing, now training to be a nurse) has just become a dad - his wife Gillian had a little boy by Caesarian section this morning. She already has three kids and he's been being a house-husband while waiting for his course to start.

Right. I'd better head off and walk Bertie before getting to bed - it's nearly 3am!!

:: losing streak

Must ... go ... to ... bed ... must ... stop ... surfing ...

But wait! I've just stumbled on Bertie's racing record. Poor devil, he started out really well, but it all went pear-shaped in a matter of months. All his races were in Galway, Ireland, the first on 15 April 1999, the last on 21 September 1999. I've had him since 22 March 2001. "Total prize money of €0." Pooooor Bertie, he didn't earn a living.

Right! I'm off to bed. I've been working on my website revamp - it's a lot easier with broadband! Honestly!

Forth Road Bridge

Forth Road Bridge
Originally uploaded by hockadilly.

Blustery, cold day - walked across the bridge with the wind blowing up my sleeves, had an ice-cream and got the train back. At the station some Russian tourists told me Bertie was a Russian dog and asked how much he cost. They thought £50 was pretty reasonable.

:: on the mend

Bertie's fans will be pleased to know he's recovered from his ordeal (aka my holiday) and has regained most of the weight he lost in kennels. Accordingly he's becoming a fussy eater yet again - for a while there he was scoffing anything and everything and then asking for more. His bowl is always clean at the end of the day though.

I should really take some photos of my house just now - it's a wreck. I've just got broadband (which is fantastic!) and installing it involved plugging a special splitter and extension cable into the phone socket. Which is behind a six foot tall bookcase. So I took all the books out of the bookcase and stacked them on the table and wiggled the case away from the wall. So far so good. But to get the extension to reach all the way from the socket to the modem, I had to slide it round behind the four other six-foot tall bookcases. This was tricky - they fit flush against the wall, so I had to stand on a chair and delicately tip each one forward, being careful not to tip them right over - books are heavy. But the cable got stuck underneath and wouldn't pull through and wouldn't fit all the way round. So plan B is to get a USB extension and take the mountain to Mohammed. In the meantime the books stay on the table - along with the box the modem came in, a printout of the instructions for doing everything, the old phone extension cord, packets of photo paper - the usual stuff.

Meanwhile in the livingroom piles of mail are building up: photo CD-ROMs for the family, music CDs for Rowan, books for Chris and Kate, a card for Caroline, pressies for Faye. out in the hall is the recycling collection; my old office upstairs has never recovered from its demotion (it's turning into one of those rooms you have to seal off when there are visitors); my bedroom - well, let's not go there. It was tidy for five minutes about a week ago, when I finished packing. It's not any more. Bertie refuses to keep the spare room tidy. The bathroom and toilet are pretty good.

The kitchen was a disaster area until Monday, when I had a shock visit from the water inspector. "Do you mind if I just shift these dishes out of the sink?" she said. It's a random thing they do every day, apparently. This woman drives around visiting houses to sample their water. She swabbed the tap with chlorine, left it for two minutes (she had a timer round her neck) then ran it for a while before filling a bottle from her tray. As soon as she was gone I did the dishes and wiped all the surfaces and polished the kettle and swept the floor. I'm sure she sees worse, but still, it was a wake-up call.

:: travelogue

Not yet! I've started on an account of my hols but only got a couple of sentences done before I was distracted.

There are some pictures on flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/hockadilly
Any information for wedding captions welcome - I haven't got names for some of the faces.

Bertie is recovering from his ordeal. He's been eating like a hungry horse and enjoying his walks. He's still quite clingy though, so I hope he doesn't freak out when I go back to work tomorrow night. I washed all the floors before collecting him from the kennels, but he's still finding certain sections dangerously slippery. Unless there's a walk or some biscuits in the offing of course; then he seems to be able to negotiate them without whining for help.

:: brrr

This is the view from the plane, flying in to Edinburgh airport on Thursday afternoon. I'd been on the go for what felt like several days but was something over 24 hours. It was roasting hot in Auckland when I left, fairly warm in LA (not that we were allowed outdoors), chilly in London. Edinburgh - argh, freezing. The taxi driver said the main snowfall on Wednesday was spectacular. My flight had been delayed because there was only one de-icing machine working at Heathrow. The next day a lot of short-haul flights were cancelled because of snow on the runways, so my timing was pretty good.

:: shock, horror

IMG0003
Originally uploaded by hockadilly.

The shock was flying into a snowy Edinburgh; the horror was collecting Bertie from the kennels and finding him almost emaciated. The owner said Bertie had been eating heaps - the food I provided was nearly all gone - but I don't believe him. Bertie weighed nearly 33kg when I left him at the kennels. Less than a month later he weighs 30kg. I took him to the vet yesterday & she said only diabetes could cause such a dramatic weight loss in a dog that was eating properly, but she tested for that and he was clear. He's acting starved too, gobbling everything that's put in front of him. The kennel owner is a blustering kind of bloke, acting as if it's normal - "some breeds naturally lose weight in kennels; boxers, greyhounds" - and denying point blank that Bertie showed any signs of distress. "It might just have been the cold," he said. See me, sucked in by the words "luxury heated kennels" in the advert. Grrrr. Right now I'm concentrating on getting Bertie well again, feeding him well and taking him to all his favourite spots.

:: The Big Day

Christchurch, NZ

It's the day of the wedding and fingers are crossed that the weather forecasters are wrong: they're saying there may be showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. It's been sunny all morning but it's clouding over now.

Everything's going smoothly - the bridal party is at a hotel in town; Trevor is wrangling three of his grandchildren; Pinky is looking after Mum and John; I'm at Liz's place helping Ken, Leighanne, Cathy and Gary mind the twins (ie, we're sitting around reading magazines, watching TV and drinking coffee while the babies cry in another room). I've already been sicked up on once, it's fun! This morning Cathy and I collected the large, fragile wedding cake from a chocolatier on one side of town and transported it across the city to the venue, a large colonial farmhouse on the way to Akaroa. We also had the floral arrangement for the room where the reception is being held.

I've had a great time so far; the weather has been mostly very hot and sunny, with some oddities. I had to stay an extra day in Wellington because of thick fog, and there was a violent rainstorm in Dunedin the day I left there, plus there was persistent fog along the coast. It's been wonderful catching up with everyone. The kids have all shot up of course, and there are the tiny babies and a couple of new boyfriends to meet. In Dunedin I stayed with Leighanne and her two girls, Georgia and Amelia, and her partner Gary - all very relaxed and enjoyable. We visited Uncle Jock and cousin Margaret on the peninsula, and dropped in on an old friend of Leigh's who makes beautiful Damascene knives. Leigh also took me for a drive down to Port Chalmers, and we visited Julia in St Leonards. She's a friend of mine who was a nurse, then a stockbroker and is now an artist.

There are photos on flickr - I think you might have to open an account to look at them, I'm not sure. It's free and very easy though, and it's a great site. My screen name is hockadilly.

Here in Christchurch I'm staying with Trevor and Jenny, another relaxed home. I haven't been doing much - a lot of babysitting (no hardship! the twins are soooo cute!) and a bit of sightseeing. I also visited some old Invercargill friends who are living up here now.

It's nearly time to get ready for the wedding, whee! It's going to be a wonderful day.

:: Slippy floors

A new cleaning product has made the floors dangerously slippery, apparently. For the last few days Bertie has had to be coaxed into the livingroom using Frolic, the crack cocaine of the dog world. Otherwise he stands trembling, whining and barking in the hallway.

It won't be a problem for the next month, of course, because today I took him to the kennels. What a shock! "Hey, hang on, the door's shut! Where are you going? Hey!" I did feel guilty, and I hope he settles in quickly and enjoys the change of scene.

The floors didn't seem to be slippy at all.

Well it's nearly 1am, the taxi's coming at 7.30, so I'd better get to bed. My bag is packed and I'm all set.

I don't think I've forgotten anything.

I'M VERY, VERY EXCITED.

:: snowdrops

snowdrops
Originally uploaded by hockadilly.

Spring! Not quite, but the bulbs are all doing their thing and I've seen quite a few snowdrops around. Not in my garden, sadly. For some reason I cannot get snowdrops to flower. I'll try again later this year - I'm sure they'd do well up the back of the garden.

Only three more sleeps to go till liftoff! It's getting very exciting. I've triple-checked all my tickets in a very neurotic manner, but still haven't really started packing. I have the suitcase out and have put some clothes in it, plus things like adapter plugs and sunglasses. I've bought suncream (Factor 30) and a new bathing suit - the weather is great, I'm told, so I'm going to be optimistic. The boot is full of dogfood for Bertie's hotel stay. (Food is included in the price, but he's really fussy and the kennel people couldn't find "his" variety.) I have books to read on the plane and flight socks.

I just have a couple of things to do (book a taxi to the airport, phone a couple of people) and I'm good to go.

:: Countdown to liftoff: 9 sleeps

Single figures! I can't believe it. Time to drag my suitcase out of the cupboard, freak out at how little summer clothing I have (17C in Wellington, ice on the puddles here), stare in horror at the mothballs in my bathing suit, fret about formal wear, wonder whether it's too late to get NZ currency. I already have some, actually, Christmas presents: a $50 note and a full set of coins. The coins are especially useful, because I can practise paying for things without having to read the amounts. Added to my kiwi accent, dreary clothes and fish-belly pale skin, fumbling with money makes me look like someone on day-release.

Bertie's been particularly cheerful since his feet healed up, prancing around and enjoying life. Little does he know ... I feel almost guilty. Almost. I wish it was easy to take him with me, though - he'd love hanging out with Poppy and Sam the kiwi dogs.

I'm even looking forward to the gruesome 24-hour plane journey. I have a couple of books and some sleeping pills, so I'm all set.

Eeeeeee!!!

:: all done

I finally, finally, finally got the computer going properly. The new one, this is, not the old one. The old one is a husk. It wasn't easy and I learnt a lot, mainly about the benefits of not rushing in with my first idea, or even my second one.

One of these days I'll write up the whole experience, but for now here are some photos:



This is the old computer, in the process of being gutted. I've taken out its hard disk drive and its floppy drive to use in the new machine. I was going to take out one of its CD drives too, but the new computer has an odd design which means it'd be extremely difficult to squeeze it in. Which explains why, in this next picture, the CD drive is balanced on top of the new open case.



It's a smaller case than the old one, so it's more congested. And I needed the CD drive to install the operating system on the old HDD inserted in the new case - oh, it's a loooooong story.

But anyway it's finally done and all I have left to do is reinstalling my software. I started that process today. Everything so lovely and smooth and fast, it's wonderful. It's always like that with a new computer. Mmmmm. It would have been a lot easier and less traumatic to have bought a whizzy laptop - I was sorely tempted - but I need to be financially sensible ahead of the big NZ holiday.

Only 16 sleeps to go! (Seventeen if you count dozing on the plane. Or even 18 if you count crossing the dateline. I think. Maths was never my strong point.)

The other thing I've been busy doing is finding a place for Bertie to stay while I'm away. I had thought of boarding him at the Cat and Dog Home, so I went there to check it out on Monday.

It was awful.

The people are lovely, and they do good work, but there's no way I could leave poor B there for a whole month. The kennel itself was a tiled nook, with the food dishes round the corner. But in one I looked at there was a gutter full of pee between the bedding and the door, and the place was minging. "We hose it out in the mornings," said the chap. It seemed the dogs were only inside at night, the rest of the time they're locked in a bare concrete run with a chain fence. Each one separately.

The real deal-killer, though, was that they don't walk the dogs. At all. The lucky ones - the ones that won't "do their business" in the run - are let out into a grassed area for five minutes. There were two greyhounds there, both wearing their jackets because of the cold.

Bertie was freaked out being back there - it's where he was rescued to - and he was extremely pleased to get back into the car.

I had a browse through the phone book and picked a place pretty much at random, after consulting a map. It's called Barking Mews - it's a cattery as well - and not much more expensive than the dog home. The kennel arrangement is slightly better, in that the run opens off the kennel, so the dogs can be inside or outside. Most important, they're taken for walks. It's in the country, and I noticed a path going off along the property's boundary, so hopefully they'll be good walks. The ad also promised cuddles, so Bertie won't have to rely entirely on his mojo.

I'm not going to talk about work, except to say it's a lovely place full of lovely people and run by even lovelier people. Click here.

:: happy new year!!

I'm still offline at home, but today I ordered the solution: a bare-bones computer "box". It should be ready in a few days, after which I just have to install my modem, plug in the peripherals, install the software and tada! I'm back in computer-ville.

I did toy with the idea of getting a fabulous laptop - I've been wanting a laptop for years now, and they're coming down in price and going up in specs - but in the end (after nearly going mad trying to choose between zillions of alluring machines) I went the cheapo DIY desktop route. Besides, I would rather have a new camera than a laptop.

I'm writing this at work - I still have access to my home email here.

:: meanwhile ...

I killed my computer. It's dead as a dead doornail. Apart from little green light that blinks relentlessly. It's my own fault - I was tinkering again - but it's still annoying.

I asked for help in a computer forum on the net (I'm at work) and someone suggested taking out the CMOS battery for 15 seconds before putting it back in and switching back on. Personally I think a better solution is to buy a snazzy new laptop.

:: the local angle

This is running on the wires at the moment:

SIX-YEAR-OLD BOY DIED IN TSUNAMI DISASTER – POLICE
By Lesley Richardson, PA
A six-year-old boy was amongst those killed by the Asian tidal waves, police said today.

Given that the death toll so far is 65,000 and is likely to be double that, it would seem mildly surprising if a six-year-old boy wasn't among those killed.

The puzzle is solved in the next paragraph:

The youngster from St Ives in Cornwall was on holiday in Thailand with his 37-year-old mother, her 44-year-old boyfriend and his eight-year-old brother when disaster struck.

Oh right, he's English. The story is probably the result of Devon and Cornwall Police putting out a press release, and agency journalists mindlessly typing it up. I know we're always looking for a local angle, but when the scale of the tragedy is so overwhelming it starts to look ludicrous.

:: flickr

I'm using this whizzy new thing now called Flickr, which I recommend to anyone who wants to share their photos over the internet. You can open an account for free, and it's fairly easy to use. It's a fun and interesting place to visit even if you don't want to use it for your own photos. Have a look at the tags page and you'll see what I mean.

:: Funfair fun

Went into town with Andrew today - very slow trip in, every person and his pet was out there. We had lunch at Lucanos on George IV Bridge, one of my old favourites from when I lived near there - pasta, mmmm. Then we headed down to the funfair. There are a few hair-raising rides in Market Street that I wouldn't even consider so soon after eating: this one looked like a "wall of death" ride where they drop the floor away, but in fact it tipped on to its side, while whizzing round:



And this one just whipped people round in crazeee style:



We went to the carousel, much more my style. It was just lovely. The horses had real tails, and it played proper old-style organ music, Strauss waltzes and so on.





Then we went straight over to the big wheel - the wind was picking up and we didn't want to miss out.



I was amazed at how scared I was going up! I honestly hadn't expected to be nervous at all; I've been on it before (though I was drunk) and in general I like things like that - I've been on the Pepsi Max at Blackpool! But there I was, clinging to the pole in the middle of our wee pod, screeching like a girly girl. It was bloody windy up the top, and the whole thing was groaning and squealing and pitching around. It was much better, however, once we got going - it was the hanging suspended over Princes Street that was scary.



After that we had afternoon tea in the Palm Court at the Balmoral Hotel - teddibly civilised. It was quite a hoot - we'd waited to be seated, like the sign said, and the waitress said they were fully booked. We were swithering around in reception trying to work out where the NB Bar was when a bloke in a bow tie asked if he could help. "We were just wondering if there's somewhere we can get a cup of tea," I said. A flunky was immediately summoned and whisked us back through to the Palm Court, where he snapped a "reserved" sign off a table and sat us down. The waitress who'd turned us away didn't seem to mind at all.

After scones and jam we hoofed it up North Bridge back to the car and drove back here. Andrew phoned his mum and I had a chat to her - she's off to Germany tomorrow with her pal Mabel (?), they're going on a Rhine cruise for New Year. Then he headed home, much to Bertie's grief. He was soooo thrilled to see Andrew - often it means a trip to the farm. Not this time, sadly.

:: some pics

bath01
Originally uploaded by hockadilly.

Shiny happy bathroom!

bath02
Originally uploaded by hockadilly.

Don't look too closely, please.

lunch
Originally uploaded by hockadilly.

The waiter took this photo at our Christmas lunch. I'm right at the other end of the table.

redface
Originally uploaded by hockadilly.

I caught the bus into town so I could indulge myself. And I did!

singing
Originally uploaded by hockadilly.

Gareth, who organised the do, said to bring along festive headgear. I was the only one who did, so everyone had a go at wearing the stars. (Those of you who had Christmas cards will recognise them!) They had quite an effect on Charlie, who immediately burst into song.

:: momentous event

Well, you know, what passes for momentous at my place .... I had a shower today. Yes, the bathtub retiling project is finally finished. Happily the glare off the brilliant white SooperCheep tiles is such that you can't easily see how wonky the silicone seal is, or how much grout/filler/sealant is spackled about all over the show. I even managed to tidy up the paintwork: there was a tiny scraping of Spearmint matt vinyl left in the tin last used in 2000, miraculously still moist enough to stir. The tiles themselves do a kind of Mexican wave across the wall. But hey! There was no puddle in the kitchen after my shower, so I'm a very happy bunny.

Happy Christmas!

:: bangers

I took my car into the garage this morning because I noticed last week that it was making puddles. One puddle was black and the other one was blue. So I just phoned to see how they were getting on with it and it turns out to be a diesel leak. The car won't be ready until 5pm because they're busy, but apparently John the mechanic says they have to do it today because it's so dangerous. Wow. The other one is anti-freeze, so it's either the coolant or the screenwash.

We had our work do on Saturday - lunch at Giulianos. The food was good and the company better. I very determinedly refused to talk shop, so it was fun. Afterwards I had been going to a film, a documentary about surfing called Riding Giants, but when I phoned the cinema it turned out there wasn't a screening until 9pm, so I went to the pub with the chaps instead. Which was great, because otherwise I wouldn't have heard Charlie singing The Portree Kid (to the tune of Ghost Riders in the Skye).

I've done the grouting on the bathroom tiles, and the waterproof Polyfilla round the edge; just the silicone seal to go on now. I'll be able to have a shower on Boxing Day, hoorah.