Saturday 9 April 2011

2051 The sun shines in London and on Tyneside

I am home with glorious sunshine outside and yet I am at my desk, briefly.

This was my second trip away this year with only two others so far planned on late August and mid September.

I will begin with glorious Wednesday April 6th 2011, a day which I had planned to spend in central London. By good fortune despite misplacing at home the Oyster travel card and only ordering a replacement online late on Thursday it arrived on Saturday morning so was available to bring with me. There was only £3.50 of transferred credit so the first task was to bring up the amount to £8 the maximum charge during a single day after 9.30 am. I thought I had added £5 at the ticket machine but did not appreciate that I had to touch the Oyster Card for the sum to be added. This I did second time of trying. There was a similar hesitancy at the registering ticket machine, so I touched again and this time noticed that a sum deleted so my first reaction was that having touched twice it had treated the action as arrival and departure and that the card may not have been registered for the trip. I therefore checked with an assistant on arrival at East Croydon whose hand held monitor confirmed that everything was in order and that the basic journey charge is always taken and then adjusted at the checking out as appropriate.

I then took a bus from outside Victoria Station to Piccadilly Circus and made my way to the Cineworld in the Haymarket to check out the times for Sunshine and Oranges the film about the work of the Child Migration Trust. I also checked at the box office that I had interpreted the new Cineworld vouchers correctly that they can now be used at Cinemas in Central London, worth up to £9 for an evening or weekend ticket where there are no elder concessions.

There was time for an early lunch at the Weatherspoons and on the way I noted a sign that day tickets were available for the Children’s House play at £15 with a matinee available at 2.30. I was tempted but as with the cinema there was glorious hot sunshine, a rare event any year and at the commencement of April almost unique. The gardens at Leicester Square were all boarded up with a notice getting ready for 2012. It was not clear if this was an improvement to the nearby Underground station or some refurbishment and reorganisation for the Olympic Games.

I had noted some good meal offers before getting to the Square and decided to go along teh Charring Cross Road towards the Tottenham Court Road where the other side of Cambridge Circus I had come across an inexpensive Chinese buffet restaurant. It had not lasted and was now an unattractive empty pizza parlour. A little way alone on the other side of the road there was another Wetherspoon’s where I enjoyed a pint of lager and beef hamburger and chips. I then went to the cinema and the film was moving and personally challenging with long term consequence.

All I wanted to do was to sit somewhere in the sub so made my way along Piccadilly to Green Park, taking a peak in the windows of Fortnam and Mason, scene of the recent sit in noting that one of the House specialities was a platter of four types of caviar for £150. There was also some work on the damaged Ritz Hotel. There was also a large area of hoardings within the area of the park at the entrance of Green Park creating a new entrance for the 2012 Olympic Games. At the far side of the park opposite Buckingham Palace was another area cordoned off with several large hospitality type structures. I could not read the signs from one of the few available park benches but later discovered this is a temporary area for the Royal Wedding. As I crossed over to St James’s Park to make my way along the passage way by the former Home Office, now Ministry of Justice building to the Underground station I gasped at the four tiers of temporary Television studios in the process of building with 12 studios on each level assuming that one window equated with one studio!

At East Croydon I waited for the train to Caterham, but got off at Purley for a visit to the Tesco supermarket where as the previous day I bought a baguette and a layered prawn salad. I could also not resist a mini peppered salami. However all the ice cold Pepsi was sold out. On the way to the bus stop to completed the journey to Whyteleafe South I saw a newsagent back towards the railway station and crossing back over the busy main road I was disappointed to find it was closed by Court Order because of non payment of rent.

At the bus stop the first bus to Whyteleafe was seventh in queue and a wait of 17 minutes. Another bus was then signalled six minutes later to Caterham, a different route. I decided on the first which took a tortuous route part way up one side of the steep chalk hills on either side of the main road. With cars parked on both sides of the road there was just sufficient space for the bus to pass through which meant oncoming vehicles had to dive into empty spaces. Most fo the housing had garages although those further up the him had almost vertical driveways into the garages whereas those at the other side had almost vertical drops down to the housing although few a spent a fortune creating a level space to the side of the house while others had a elongated ramp down the side of the property to a garage set back into the vertical garden space.

At the travel lodge I consumed two cans of ice cold Pepsi from a machine in quick succession. I was in bed and asleep by nine pm missing the second half of the Champions League game between Manchester United and Chelsea.

I have been busy since rising with the alarm at 5.30 am, on Friday, the morning after my return yesterday afternoon making the Leisure club for 6.15 to find the most regular member and one female hotel guest rushing back and forth with exuberance.

A task bar window reveals that Durham is now 38 for 0 wicket at the Rose Bowl against Hampshire. Hampshire do not broadcast their home games which adds to Hampshire being my number one and only hate County after their disgraceful facilities for the 20 20 final. I only have bad wishes for their new and any season. We are now 42.0 after 12 overs.

Because it looked as if I would not immediately enjoy my first swim back home I had a Jacuzzi and then a brief Sauna until I heard the regular member of the 6 am club enter the steam room opposite and I commenced my swim session. It was hard work after a four day absence and I struggled to reach 50 lengths. There was an important article on cricket in the Daily Telegraph report of a civil action for liable in which a leading individual alleged that forces from the sub continent had met with representatives from three British counties to discuss what a UK 20 20 franchise system might look like. One party alleges that the proposals were advance enough to threaten the authority and structure of established cricket in the UK while the other party are reported to have only been sounding out possibilities after a commercial review of estimated income to participants.

While away I asked about the position of the stadium development on the club site forum and while there have been two responses from other Members the club has resisted the temptation to comment. Interesting! We are now 57.0 after 12.2 overs.

After the Leisure visit I purchased frozen roast potatoes, a full baguette which I hope will last two days and a good portion of salad. I have been hungry this morning enjoying cereal, two sausages and mash, a hot cross bun with coffee and a glass of diet coke after struggle to remove the Winter destroyed tree plant, my pride a joy where the root ball encircled the large pot thus making it impossible to remove without cutting and pulling and breaking sweat.

I will make half the baguette with half the salad and then take the remains to the tip along with some other stuff before returning and going back into town on foot to replace a couple of cartridges which did not work, renewing my travel pass and making use of the addition of free ferry crossing as part compensation for the change in approach so that there is now a summer concession for £15 and Winter for £10, up from £12 last year, but the Ferry concession is an important bonus as until now the return trip cost £1 so with fine weather I shall make regular trips and then get the bus to North Tyneside and Tynemouth or walk to the fish quay and along the coast. The score is 72 .0.

I need to arrange a visit to the Dentist and the boiler servicing and some plants for outside. I need to send a birthday card for the weekend. One of the reasons why I have not gone out earlier is that three shipments of books are due which have been ordered over the past two days. (81.0). I went to check for information about the shipments and found I had own £2.50 on the lottery having invested £3 for last Wednesday, 2 lucky dips plus the bonus entries. Remembered to o buy Euro lottery. In fact I bought two with the winnings! Durham has lost their first wicket with De Venuto out for 42 and the total 86 for 1. There is a sound of the post so I may not have to check the latest position after all Stoneman got his 50 and so the score is now 105 2 with lunch approaching and 116 for 2 at the luncheon. I have enjoyed the filled baguette and completed the removal of the plant, broken pots and such like while watching a good edition of bargain hunt with one team gaining £150 on the bonus buy taking profits to £227 while the second team stuck with only £5 profit and missed out on a further £45. 133.3 With Stokes out for a poor 10.

Nearly time to go out as I have loaded the car, cleaned up, ordered a mixture of 450 Bizzie Lizzie Pansy and Petunia plants for £18 which is truly amazing, and made a dental appointment for next week and was just about to arrange the central heating boiler servicing when the second arrival of books of the day so just as well did not go out before now. More about the books when I come to the main development of the past few days. Tried to make the boiler service on line but had to ring free number instead and arranged for Monday. So that is be now all done and ready to take stuff to Council recycling and waste site after posting birthday card and then return car so I do not have to walk up hill on return journey and go to renew Travel Pass, replace the Ink cartridges and take the ferry over for a short walk before coming back. Durham have recovered to 183 for 3 so should get a total of 300 to 400 to day.

It is just before 5 pm and I am shattered without having got to the ferry. This is because having reached the office for the Travel Pass I had forgotten my credit card on the desk after ordering the plants. So on the way back I stopped to read the opening chapter of one of the books I had taken with my rucksack which was left at home when I collected the credit card and return leaving the car down the hill but a little bit closer to the town centre. On the first journey I had continued to opposite the former Woolworth store and now partly a Pound store to the Computer shop to replace the two black cartridges which had not worked and on the way back to the car for the second occasion I went into the Museum and Art Gallery from office to collect the latest information on summer Ferry trips, what‘s on, and bus service Time Tables. I then went to the Council, recycling and waste centre, cleaning out the back of the car before returning and garaging the vehicle. Durham are progressing exceptionally well as the partnership between former captain Benkenstein now on 101 and Blackwell now on 55 339 for 4 with over an hour play 400 remain a good possibility. I shall get myself a drink and watch some backlog TV.

The first season of the history of the Mafia in the USA is coming to an end with various developments concentrating on the Boardwalk Empire -Atlantic City with no involvements in New York or Chicago.

The big event is a clash between the hypocritical, calculating and emotional Margaret who reacts when she finds a predecessor seeking help from Nucky at his office. This brings out her insecurity and ambitious streak and a verbal confrontation with Nucky after which she leaves. The predecessor has walked out on her in current relationship after finding the man has lost all his money in the original Ponzi scheme.

Nucky’s brother is highly critical over the fact that Nucky has admitted he was responsible for the death of Margaret‘s husband. Mucky retaliates by stripping his brother of the job of Sheriff which he hands to the deputy, believing it will help to secure a Republican victory in the forthcoming election.

Jimmy’s Angela goes ahead with her plan to run away to Paris with Mary Dittrick and leaves a letter explaining things for her husband only to find that that Mary and her husband did moonlight flit the evening before

The most interesting aspect of this episode is that Jimmy visits his natural father and this leads to his mother talking of the situation where Nucky arranged for her to visit the Commodore when she was only 13. The doctor advises Jimmy that his father’s deterioration in health is not natural but caused by arsenic poisoning. Jimmy appears to have found the letter from his wife who returns and to have accepted that he nearly lost her but did not do so.

Nucky goes to consult the fortune teller once more.

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