Boring, Not Snoring

Went to the Art Club this evening for a Chinese evening.  There were people from the Bank of China there and  a long lecture by an expert on Chinese silver.  He was very boring even though it is an interesting subject.  And it was incredibly hot.  Everyone was red-faced and using their programmes to fan themselves.  I nearly fell asleep.  Marion did fall asleep - luckily,she didn't snore!

So why did we go? Well, an old friend of mine whom I met at University - Karin - organised it.  She became president of the R.G.I. this year.  We felt we had to go to give her our support.

ZZZen Graffiti

Horror Furniture

I think I like The Shining bookshelves best

E.T.

Saw this car today at Braehead. 

Maybe he was driving an Extra Terrestial home?

Shiver Me Timbers! Its A Dog ...

 

 ... dressed up as two pirates carrying a treasure chest!

It's a dog

Day 9 - The Last Details

Ten o'clock and already the joiner has replaced most of the skirting and door facings.  The shower doors are half done and there are all the little things like towel rails to attach.  The tiles are made of porcelain ceramic which is so hard that every hole they drill in the tiles ruins one £5 drill.  Last night, Marion had second thoughts about sanding the floor and phoned Mr Black Walnut to cancel Wednesday.  Looks like we will be going round carpet showrooms instead.

Landslide!

This is what a proper landslide in the Alps looks like (YouTube video)

Spitsbergen Trip

Cool Truck

Day 8 - Nearly There

The sink and shower are both working, and all the electrics are done, apart from a weird problem with the spotlights.  Either the bulbs are wrong are the fittings are wrong -- they one will not fit the other.  The big wardrobe has been taken apart and moved into the little room.  When I looked under the base of the wardrobe, I saw the date when I built it: 26 May 2003.  Almost exactly nine years ago.

One more day - Monday - and it should be finished.

Iron Maidens

Hard girls on wheels, knocking lumps out of one another!  Sounds like fun.

Day 7 - Sink

Steven came to put the wash basin and tap etc into place.  He also gave me a hand to take the big wardrobe apart.  We have to have the entire floor of the room clear for next Wednesday ... that when Mr Black Walnut comes to sand and varnish the floorboards.

Day 6: Grouted

Once all the tiles are fixed in place, the tiler begins filling in the gaps between them with grout. That makes them watertight and smooth.  We'll give them a whole day to dry out and set properly and then, on Friday, start installing the new sink and shower.

On The Boyle

We were having a morning coffee in Epicure's round the corner when Frankie Boyle walked in and told me how much he liked the stuff I sent to the Glasgow Herald.  Well ... the first bit is really true  ... but I didn't get his autograph.

Day 5 - Tiled

Tiler arrived at 8:15 and got right into lugging the tiles up the stairs.  They weigh a ton!  The walls will be tiled by four o'clock.  Then the electrician comes and lays down the heating mat that goes under the floor tiles so when the floor tiles are laid, we will have underfloor heating.

Day 4 ... Plastered

Monday morning: the English plasterers arrived and by lunchtime all the walls and the ceiling were plastered to perfection.  Now the new shower base is plumbed in and the tiler starts tomorrow.

For When You Don't Know What To Think

 

Upside-down

This what can happen when you ermploy Polish workers  to build your house.

Day 3 - The Vital Spark

'The spark' is the slang name for any electrician - for obvious reasons.  Today, Friday, is the day our spark lays in all the wiring for the shower room.  There is an amazing amount of it ...  6 ceiling spots, 6 wall lights, a shaver point, 2 heaters, 5 switches and 3 plug sockets.  As soon as Marion comes back from shopping, I am going in to John Lewis to buy glass shelves and then to Queen Street station to picket up our train tickets for our Arctic trip.  We will be leaving by ship from Aberdeen and flying back to London.  At only four hours, it is quicker, cheaper and easier to take the train back to Glasgow.

Day 2 - A Whole New Room

All the new walls are built and covered with plasterboard, the new door has been hung and most of the new plumbing is in place.  As well as that, the laundry and the spare room are covered in new lino that looks like planks of wood.  Tomorrow, the electrician arrives to wire up the whole shower room for lights, heaters, sockets etc.

Eleven On A Rope (joke)

Eleven people were hanging on a rope, under a helicopter  ..... ten men and one woman.  The rope was not strong enough to carry them all, so they decided that one had to leave. Otherwise  they were all going to fall.  They couldn't agree who that one person should be.   Finally, the woman gave a very touching speech. She said that she would voluntarily let go of the rope because, as a woman, she was used to giving up  everything for her husband and kids or for men in general and was used to always making sacrifices with  little in return. As soon as she finished her speech, all the men started clapping . . ..... . . .

What A Difference A Day Makes (Day 1)

Bedroom project:  end of day one.

Everything stripped out and frames for new walls built.

On The Move

Busy day!  Lunch at Epicure's with Dany.  I had to rush off to meet the Ikea kitchen planner to arrange the plans for the new kitchen in Oakfield Avenue.  She thinks they can do the work early in June.  Meanwhile, Marion was arranging for new flooring for the little room where the sewing machines are.  Then she got a text from the plumber saying they wanted to start work on our bedroom tomorrow instead of next Monday.  Panic!  We'll have to move everything out before they arrive early tomorrow.

Plane, But Cute

Marion's friend Judith wonders if they have a big litter tray at the back instead of toilets ......

Van Morrison

I like the idea that the driver can declare his musical preference on his vehicle .... 

or perhaps he is just particular about which supermarket he goes to?

I hope this idea catches on.  For instance, you could have:-

Van Heusen  =  a shirty driver

Van Williams = English driver with classical music tastes 

Van Dyke =  driver who likes Dutch School paintings 

iVan The Terrible = East European refugee driver, not very good at his job.

Van Damme  =  Driver lifts weights and swears a lot

News from Alfie

Alfie's school organised a swimathon at the local baths to raise money for the Mari Curie Cancer charity.  Rachel tells me that Alfie - aged eight - managed 21 lengths and so raised £120 which is pretty amazing.

Alfie has a much older half-brother called Dan.  He is John's son by his first marriage.  Dan recently entered a BBC writing competition and won and is now writing scripts for TV.  Tomorrow (Monday 7th May) is his first script for Hollyoaks.  Check the the listings and you will see his name - 'Writer - Daniel Moulson'

Right Trousers, Wrong Time

A flyer from Go Outdoors promised 15% off today so we drove out to Clydebank to get the waterproof trousers we need for our trip to the Arctic in three weeks' time.  Turned out that the discount offer was only from 5-8pm which was a bit sneaky, so we just bought 2 pairs of the cheapest trousers.  I think we have all the gear we need for the trip now.

Urszula's Choice

Went with Urszula & Percy to the GFT yesterday because it was Wednesday and they have Orange mobiles. Urszula wanted to see the new film with Glenn Close called something like Alberts Nobb.  It is based on a true story of a woman in Dublin who lived and worked in a hotel as a male butler back in the 1890s.  It was so boring that I fell asleep twice   .... and it still felt like a very long film.