Open Sesame

Today started with a short sharp shower that deposited Saharan sand on the cars. It only lasted about 5 minutes but left quite a mess. The sun broke through and remained in sole charge for the rest of the day. Even though we are close to the coast the thermometer read 24C this afternoon.

The morning saw the official opening of the Arun Sports Arena. There was an excellent turn out and we had teams representing  kids soccer, youth soccer, women's soccer, adult soccer, and, of course, old fogey's soccer. That was where we came in. After the meet-and-greet, some nibbles, and a glass of sparkling wine we sat and chatted until the allotted time. Changing into our strip, we prepared to meet Littlehampton. We knew it would be a hard game. They are all a decade younger than us, and several are ex-County players. We held our own for most of the first half but then their experience started to tell and in the end we were on the receiving end of a sound drubbing. Oh well, it's all good fun.

Back home, the garden was beckoning and a cold bottle of wine was calling our names. We, again, spent the whole afternoon out on the deck making the most of the glorious weather and the tranquility of the garden.

Big Screen

The feline alarm dragged the Gorse Fox from bed at 6:50. This seemed a bit harsh, but the Gorse Fox had plans. The plans, however, involved power tools and that wouldn't be neighbourly at that hour of the morning. The Gorse Fox would bide his time.

The project, mentioned before, was to build an additional screen and then attach a panel to the screen. The panel would be used to hang the mirrored planter that the Silver Vixen had purchased a few weeks ago.

The work bench was set up the tools prepared and the wood selected and measured. More to the point, the clamps were selected (as Norm says, you can never have too many clamps). The cutting and construction started... and, an hour or so later, all was done.

This will be enhanced with an additional planter on the central panel over the next few days. The Gorse Fox will also frame the panel with a small architrave and jam to give it some shadow-lines.

It was a gorgeous day, so when finished, the Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen sat down in the sunshine, and stayed there. Indeed we stayed throughout the afternoon, had dinner out there, and only came in when the sun dropped behind the houses to our west.

Tea

The morning saw the Silver Vixen at a workshop that was looking at dyeing techniques. The Gorse Fox had some errands to run and also some tidying-up.

With the Silver Vixen home, the afternoon was a bit different. The Sonning Crew (neighbours) came in for afternoon tea. Well, we say afternoon tea but it expanded.  First there was tea and biscuits (Canadian maple-syrup infused biscuits), then there was more tea and scones with clotted cream and jam. This was all very sociable. At this point, the tea morphed into wine and beer and the scones into nuts and crackers. The conversation ranged back and forth, the garden was filled with laughter and we were having a super time. Then it seemed sensible to think about dinner rather than all going our separate ways. The menu from our local Indian Restaurant was retrieved and an order placed. More wine was taken. The food arrived at the door and we all tucked in.

It was a lovely afternoon and evening with great company.

Toothpick

The Gorse Fox started this glorious Spring day with a trip to the dentist. One may not believe this to be a good start, but the Gorse Fox likes his dentist and has no problems at present. All was well, and it was nice to pop into Chichester early.

Back home, we took coffee in the garden. The Silver Vixen revealed that she had some solar-powered garden lights that she purchased several years ago. The question was "where could we put them"? After some debate, considerations of the cable length, and the possible locations of the solar panel, we decided that we would fit them in the bottom corner of the garden, on the screen. Not too long after all was fixed. Now we have to see if they work. This will only become obvious when the battery has charged. We wait and we will see.

Early afternoon the phone rang. The chap from Hillier's was nearby and ready to deliver the garden furniture. Directions were provided and the furniture was not only delivered, but it was assembled, and the packing was taken away. What an excellent service!

It seemed like a perfect afternoon to make the most of the new chairs, and whilst the Silver Vixen did some planting, the Gorse Fox sat and enjoyed the warm Spring sunshine.

Drumming up trade

It was another stunning Spring day. The Silver Vixen headed off for Pilates, and the Gorse Fox headed out for football.

The teams were pretty even today, and the game was hard fought. The Gorse Fox was pleased with his contribution, but a little perturbed by our audience. He looked pitch side and saw two chaps watching through the fence. Both were dressed in black and had the demeanour of undertakers. The Gorse Fox knows that we are getting on a bit, but felt that was a bit worrying. They seemed to be sizing us up. At least neither had a hooded cape and scythe. Perhaps there was an additional frisson as one of our number was playing his first game since open here surgery.

After lunch the Silver Vixen headed back out to the local garden centre whilst the Gorse Fox went to Travis Perkins and Screwfix to order the wood and the screws for the garden project mentioned last week. Wood should arrive on Friday and that will allow the Gorse Fox to get it built on Saturday (if he hasn't finished it on Friday).

Quiet

It has been a quiet day. The weather has been lovely, and this morning's football was great fun. Interesting to see that the first session was at its numerical limit, showing the increasing popularity of Walking Football. The Gorse Fox will skate over the results. Let's just say that in most games, his team came second. As usual, it was great fun.

Mid-afternoon we heard from Hillier's. They plan to deliver on Thursday, which will be great as the forecast for the end of the week and weekend is looking very promising.

The Gorse Fox had an online chat with Cousteau-Cub. We were debating whether it made sense to go and meet up with her and the Coventry Hobbit in Bali later in the year. The options are Bali, or perhaps a later trip to Thailand to see some other bits of the country that we haven't previously visited. The Gorse Fox is waiting to hear from his travel agent with some ideas and options. As it is a landmark birthday for Cousteau-Cub this year, it would be nice to see her.

Well Watson, what do you think?

The Gorse Fox was playing on the computer. He went to the IBM Watson site and saw a personality analysis tool therein.

This is what Watson has to say about the Gorse Fox, based on analysis of this blog for the year 2010:

You are heartfelt, tranquil and restrained. 

You are calm under pressure: you handle unexpected events calmly and effectively. You are self-assured: you tend to feel calm and self-assured. And you are calm-seeking: you prefer activities that are quiet, calm, and safe. 

Your choices are driven by a desire for efficiency. 

You are relatively unconcerned with tradition: you care more about making your own path than following what others have done. You consider independence to guide a large part of what you do: you like to set your own goals to decide how to best achieve them.

 Now, if Watson looks at the Gorse Fox's Twitter presence, he makes a slightly different analysis:

You are skeptical. 

You are energetic: you enjoy a fast-paced, busy schedule with many activities. You are modest: you are uncomfortable being the center of attention. And you are dutiful: you take rules and obligations seriously, even when they're inconvenient. 

Your choices are driven by a desire for organization. 

You consider both achieving success and tradition to guide a large part of what you do. You seek out opportunities to improve yourself and demonstrate that you are a capable person.

Well, all things being considered, the Gorse Fox wonders how close this really is. Obviously, he has a view of himself which may not be shared by others. Watson may just have provided some insights.

Stroller

After the lovely weather of Sunday, Monday (a Bank Holiday) broke with cloud cover and light rain. These are things that don't bother the Gorse Fox. For him, every day is Bank Holiday, now. He does, however, feel for those folk who had plans.

The Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen had a quiet morning the, as it had dried up a bit, took the opportunity to go for a walk. It was only local, taking in the lake and the old village, but was an enjoyable 40-50 minutes.

Smells and Rills

It is a lovely day in Bersted.

The bifold doors of the Orangery are wide open and the sun is streaming in. The pump is circulating the water in the rill and the little blade/cascade is providing a background sound of gently falling water. Idyllic.

After the morning football (the Gorse Fox was, at best, average) he felt that something creative was needed. He called upon Delia and decided that some rock cakes would be nice. Now, there are several things that the Gorse Fox should explain. Firstly, he has never "baked" before. Secondly, he has an almost pathological aversion to getting his hands dirty.

It was time to man-up.

Ingredients were duly measured and mixed. The electric mixer came into its own. The Gorse Fox could avoid mucky hands by using the technology. A few minutes later his "dough" was more the consistency of cement.

There was only one thing for it. Mixture was transferred to a bowl. The Gorse Fox plunged in. Finally, portions were put on a baking tray and put in the oven. A wonderful smell permeated the kitchen.

The Gorse Fox has just taken the rock cakes out of the oven and is allowing them to cool. His skills with landscape design may be more appropriate than baking. The rock cakes are big enough to build an impressive rockery (and probably include a water feature).

Smoke Signals

It HAS been a lovely day... though only about 13C.

Some neighbour has obviously suffered a temporary aberration and forgotten the cussedness of our weather. Smoke is rising from his barbecue... as heavy rain falls, dousing his efforts.

Game, set, and match Mother Nature.

Serendipity

Lovely start to the day again. We had decided to proceed with the garden furniture we had seen on Thursday. The Gorse Fox had called the manufacturers to check on some technical details regarding the material and its ability to stay outside during all weathers. Satisfied, we headed back to Hillier's and, with the aid of a small piece of plastic, handed over coins of the realm. Delivery should be in the next week.

On the way back we saw the sign to Dell Quay, and having heard it was a nice spot, decided to take a look. It was delightful.

We stopped in the car park of The Crown and Anchor and went in for a coffee. That was when it occurred to us that it was lunchtime. It would have been churlish to eschew such an opportunity, so grabbed a table and sat down to enjoy both coffee and eats.

The menu, whilst varied, was not huge. It was, however, very inviting. We both selected their burger (unusual for the Silver Vixen), and thoroughly enjoyed it. We will certainly return.

Design

The Silver Vixen has various ideas for the garden. This got the Gorse Fox thinking. As a result he has now come up with an idea for a new feature which occupied his little grey cells this morning. The screens that he made last year are quite a nice feature and he could create something similar to cover part of the fence. This would be a visual improvement and also provide a feature upon which the Silver Vixen could hang planters. Measuring was done this morning and vertical posts fixed in place. The horizontal slats will need to be ordered as none are left over from last year.

Whilst looking at the garden, the Gorse Fox also measured the top of the bistro table (which was broken during the winter storms). A few minutes with Google and a phone call later, and we have a local company ready to pitch in with a new toughened glass top - in exchange for a few coins of the realm.

It seems that Beloved Aunt managed to finish the set-up of her Kindle. She wrote overnight that she is reading the first chapter of her first e-book. Excellent news, and so much easier for her.

Considerations continue regarding a holiday later in the year. The Gorse Fox has spoken to his travel agent chappie. (This is the chap that the Gorse Fox has dealt with since 2010 for the various Thai holidays - nice bloke and seems to know what's what). He's off doing research and going to come back with some suggestions.

Cold start

Another cold start to the day, but it was bright and sunny, so soon warmed up. her the nice man from Ocado had delivered our shopping the Silver Vixen and the Gorse Fox went for a walk and had a mosey round the recently re-opened local Post Office/Convenience Store. Whilst it remained chilly in the shade, it was lovely and warm in the sun.

The Silver Vixen wants some inspiration for the garden planting. We made the most of the nice weather and popped across to Hillier's Garden Centre near Fishbourne. This opened up a number of opportunities for covering the pergola, though no decision is yet made. Whilst there we grabbed a coffee and panini and then went on to look at the other displays. We were particularly impressed with one set of garden furniture. Not what we had originally had in mind, but probably more practical and certainly more comfortable. A bit more research is required, but the Gorse Fox suspects we will order this set.

Afternoon was spent lapping up the sun in the Orangery and discussing the garden furniture. The Gorse Fox also had a FaceTime chat with Beloved Aunt, but the session failed mid-chat. However, by then he had managed to help her start the registration process for her Kindle. He will call back later to see how she got on.

Coolio

Another bright, sunny, but cool day. The Gorse Fox had football, as usual for Wednesday. It was a pleasant hour with some good chaps, plenty of banter, and some good football all round.

The Silver Vixen had an appointment for afternoon tea with some of her friends so she has left the Gorse Fox and Jasper to their own devices for the afternoon. Whilst she is being all posh and hoity-toity at some swanky hotel in Worthing, the Gorse Fox is enjoying a quiet afternoon listening to almost limitless supply of music available from Amazon Prime(*). What is nice is that there are some nicely curated playlists of smooth jazz and blues that you can select and then sit back and enjoy. One very good list featured the music used in the TV series Bosch and set the bar quite hight for all the others. So far, the Gorse Fox has not been disappointed.

A quick trip to Sainsbury's saw the Gorse Fox stock up on lentils. He enjoys lentil curry, and as the Silver Vixen said she was unlikely to want anything when she gets in, it seems like an ideal opportunity to experiment.

(*) The Gorse Fox subscribes to Amazon Prime and the music has been available for quite a while. It is only in the last few days, however, that it has been fully released to work on the SONOS sound system. There are other streaming services, such as Spotify or Deezer, but the Gorse Fox already pays for Amazon Prime and wasn't willing to subscribe to the others (though free versions do exist but again do not work with the SONOS, except for introductory periods).

Kindle

Glad to hear that Beloved Aunt's Kindle has arrived. Let's hope she can get it set up soon and enjoy the lower price of books and ability to change font size to something that is comfortable for her.

April Showers

The feline alarm had the Gorse Fox up and about at 6:30 this morning. He was not, however, fed until his usual time at 8:00; that'll teach him!

Talking of food, the Gorse Fox fancied something different and prepared bacon and eggs for breakfast. This is a rare treat, but most satisfying. He would observe that the new pan he bought recently has revolutionised the preparation of the eggs. No fat at all, and perfect eggs every time by adding a small piece of wet paper towel and allowing the steam to finish the eggs off. It may have been expensive but this pan is used daily and has superseded all others.

It was brilliant sunshine, but a bitter wind as the Gorse Fox set off for football. So it remained throughout the six games (D-W-W-W-L-W). Though the Gorse Fox didn't score in any of the games, he was in goal for two of them and was pleased with his overall contribution. Games over, he retired the changing rooms and then headed for the car. It had clouded over whilst he was getting ready and by the time he walked across the car park it had started to snow! Whilst it snowed quite heavily, it was not settling and it soon turned to heavy rain. So it has continued for the rest of the day.

The Gorse Fox was thinking more about the upcoming referendum on EU membership. There is so much misinformation and so many worst-case hypotheses being pronounced by both sides that it is making it very difficult to make a rational, informed decision. (Just looked out window, snowing again). The Gorse Fox saw an interesting article last week regarding the amount of mutual ownership that exists between the UK and the US and how many jobs on both sides of the Atlantic depend on the other side (US on UK business, and UK of US business). The trouble is, the Gorse Fox cannot find the details now. This is significant in the debate, because of the statement made by Obama last week threatening that UK would be at the back of the queue for renegotiation. As he won't even be in power by then it seems like an empty threat that would damage the US even more than the UK.

Restock

The morning started with our usual feline alarm call. Fortunately it wasn't quite as early as it has been lately, and we had to get up anyway.

The Silver Vixen had an appointment with the physioterrorist at the local cottage hospital. To avoid problems parking the Gorse Fox took her and then went back home to await her call. All was done by about 10:30 and the Gorse Fox was pleased to find that she was quite positive about the physio and whilst not convinced it would provide log term improvement, was happy that she had been listened to and tested and given sound advice and guidance.

There were items that needed re-stocking and so, after a coffee, we headed back out to the shops. Sainsbury's was, as usual, relatives deserted and we were soon done.

Leicester City FC continue to stretch their lead in the Premiership with a convincing 0-4 win at Swansea yesterday. Spurs play this evening. Hopefully they can beat West Brom and remain in touching distance so that if Leicester slip up, they are ready to pounce.

Lost

This morning saw the Gorse Fox heading across to Littlehampton Town FC. We had a 5-way walking football tournament scheduled and based on the complete lack of organisation, the Gorse Fox thought he's go early to see what was going on. At least the pitches were marked out, but the groundsman still had to put up the goals.

The teams all arrived and finally the ref turned up. The Gorse Fox went to brief the ref on the rules, but he was convinced he knew it all - and it was basically just football. This raised warning flags, which were well-founded.

We had a large squad, but only a couple of our A-team players. This meant that we had to mix in less mobile and less able players into the team. Th games started, and there was a lot of hanging around as each of the 5 teams played each of the other teams. The referee was consistent in his non-application of the walking football rules. This was a problem because the idea is that the proper application of the rules should even out the differences between young teams and the older players.

It was not one of our finest days as we lost all of games. It was good fun, though and the Gorse Fox felt that he had played very well.

Cancellation

There's something irritating about getting a reminder to pay an invoice. This is particularly true if it an invoice for a service that you cancelled 6 weeks back. So it was that the Gorse Fox spent an inordinate amount of the morning checking that a) he had cancelled, and b) how to sort things out. Eventually it was quite simple. He used online chat to talk to their customer services staff and they found the cancellation... and realised they hadn't sent the the email that allows the completion of the process. This was done immediately and the cancellation notification came within moments.

The Gorse Fox then spent some time looking at various flight and hotel options for a potential break later in the year. Nothing arranged, no destination agreed, just looking!

Budget

A day floating around in the adminisphere. Firstly the Gorse Fox had to sort out some arrangements for the weekend's football tournament. LTFC (who are hosting it) seem to expect everyone to know what's going on through osmosis.

Then after some household chores, the Gorse Fox got down to the budget-vs-actuals for the Toronto trip and also this month's domestic expenditure. That really took longer than expected as the Gorse Fox kept getting distracted.

Finally he spent time with the trip photos, ensuring they were all geo-tagged and all the people in the photos were correctly identified and filed.

After tonight's backups - ensuring the security of the soft-copies - all the paperwork can be shredded and all will be back to normal.

Jet lag

The trouble with jet-lag is that it doesn't affect the cat that you left at home in the cattery. Yesterday, Jasper was walking all over us at five in the morning, though the Gorse Fox did manage to wait until seven before getting up. Today Jasper started around six. By seven The Silver Vixen had had enough and got up. The Gorse Fox got up a while later and the jet-lagged Silver Vixen went back to bed for a while; the week away having really caught up with her.

We met up with Urban-cub at The Old Stables for lunch. She had already done her household chores and been to the pool for a swim. She was feeling very righteous. It was nice to just sit and chat without any specific agenda. Urban-cub showed us brochures for a couple of houses that she and Pistol Pete had been viewing. Both are nice, and both have pros and cons. If they decide to proceed it will be hard to select between them. First thing first, however. They still need to complete the sale of Urban-cub's flat.

In the evening we met with the Sonning Crew. It was time for one our curry-nights and we had to celebrate a wedding anniversary. As usual, the food was excellent and the company even better. We really have struck lucky with neighbours.

Normality

There was a partial return to normality today. Unfortunately, the Silver Vixen seems to have a cold or some hey-faver which is a bit of a shame - particularly as it seemed to develop in the last hour of our flight home.

The Gorse Fox headed out for football. The game was great fun as the weather was very kind to us and we had a good turn-out. The team that Gorse Fox played on won convincingly and our 7-goal tally included a lovely long range shot from the Gorse Fox. The normal game was followed by a friendly against a local team who asked for some practice games before they head out to Portugal for a tournament. We lost that game 1-0, but will get our chance for revenge on Sunday.

The afternoon was spent drinking tea with the neighbours in their back garden. Most refined. Most sophisticated. Not a french fancy in sight.

What?

Wandering round the store yesterday, before leaving, the Gorse Fox was amused by some of the items on display.

The picture shows one of the breakfast foods available to our Commonwealth cousins.

Home Sweet Home

As much as we love to travel and particularly travel to see family - there is no place quite like home. We had a pretty uneventful flight - though it was a bit late arriving back in the UK. Urban-Cub was waiting for us and swept us to the car and before we knew it, we were back home.

The early afternoon was, let's say, quiet, as we sat down to enjoy the warm sun in the Orangery. We did, however, have to go and collect Jasper later on. He had obviously had a good time at the cattery and insisted on telling us about it all the way home. He's now roaming the house checking that everything is as he left it.

Finale

Last day in "Tronno" started with breakfast in a small concession on The Path. It was inexpensive, but the yoghurt and granola was "craggy" and the coffee was rather insipid. Never mind, based on the the last week it would only be a couple of hours before we would eat again.

We checked out of the hotel and headed up to Bayview Village and met up with Beloved Aunt and Claire. For the third time in the last few days we settled down to eat at Il Fornello's. Lugging, the manager, recognises us now as regular customers and shows us to our "usual table".

The afternoon was spent discussing the benefits of the Amazon Kindle and the eventual purchase of one for BA. The debate was long, but the outcome sensible. Finally we had to say our goodbyes and head for the airport. The journey was trouble-free but the Gorse Fox had trouble at the gas station trying to get the pumps to work. In the end he hit the right combination and ended up using the most expensive blend of fuel they had.

As he said before, the journey to airport was trouble-free but on arrival the girl from Google directed us to the wrong place for Avis car return... Then, when we got out of the wrong car park, we went to the wrong terminal, but fortunately the Avis chap there redirected us to the correct terminal and drop off point. Pah!

The Gorse Fox and Silver Vixen are now enjoying a quiet hour or two in one of the lounges before we head for the flight. Home in the morning and a chance to catch up on the news from Urban-cub, who has been on holiday this last week.

Cracking day

Sunday was a cracking day. The weather was bright and sunny and the temperatures were lovely and comfortable. After breakfast at the hotel, we went for a stroll around Downtown Toronto. Early on a Sunday morning it was quiet and looked marvellous in the bright sunshine.

We grabbed the car and headed north. There is a craft shop that needed a visit. This turned out to be one of our less successful trips as the outlet in question was clearly one of their smallest stores. It didn't take us long to complete an inventory of the store and realise there was little of interest. We headed to Bayview VIllage to grab a bite and kill some time before meeting Beloved Aunt. The afternoon with BA was uneventful, but did involve a teach-in on the the use of FaceTime, which she then used to call Agent Mulder who was down in Princeton with Andrew (who was rowing in a regatta).

Late afternoon we took BA with us as we had all been invited to Casa Ross for dinner. We were made most welcome wit hor d'oevres on the deck. (It was still warm enough to to sit out in the afternoon sun). Mark managed the preparation of the steaks and the ribs which turned out beautifully. We had a wonderful meal with warm friendly conversation and lots of teasing and fun (as we would expect). It was a lovely evening and nice to feel such hospitality.

We dropped BA back at her complex, then headed back to the hotel. There was packing to be done and at a suitable hour, boarding passes to arrange for Monday. Needless to say the hotel computer and printer were not talking to each other (still, as Trevor had discovered a similar problem on Friday). The receptionist was most helpful and we soon got everything sorted.

Chillin'

Saturday was quiet. We left the hotel mid morning and headed out of town towards Bayview Shopping Village. We had been there the night before for dinner, and thought it would be nice to have a look round before meeting up with the family for lunch. The weather was glorious and this was keeping the locals outside rather than visiting their mall, so we had the place to ourselves. We started with a coffee. The Gorse Fox clearly misjudged the portions as it arrived in a cup the size of a small swimming pool. He was unsure whether to drink it or do laps across it. Suitable refreshed, we moved on. The Silver Vixen saw some things that she liked and resolved to return after we had had lunch.

We met with Beloved Aunt, cousin Claire, Sis and Trevor and had a lovely lunch before returning mob-handed to the store where the Silver Vixen had seen her bargain. Some while later, after every item in the store had been examined, we left. The Silver Vixen clutching a bag, the Gorse Fox a molten credit card ;)

Afternoon was spent with the family until Sis and Trevor had to leave for the airport. After the long goodbyes we headed for the dining room in BA's residential facility and were treated to a very nice dinner.

Marathon

The Gorse Fox has just realised he's stuck here in Toronto, and tomorrow is the Brighton Marathon. Shucks, he's not going to be able to participate.

Oh well, better grab a beer and try hard not to be too disappointed.

Feeding Frenzy

Friday was a bit of a feeding frenzy.

The day had started quietly enough: some breakfast, a leisurely shower, a stroll to the shops and rummage through the menswear for a new jumper. Then we met up with cousins Ross and Beloved Aunt at Beer Bistro for lunch. This is an immensely popular restaurant and bar about 1 block from our hotel. The menu listed hundreds of beers, and an impressive choice of food. The Gorse Fox had to drive later to limited himself to an Alco-free weissbier, but must say the other choices looked very tempting. To accompany this there was a portion of pulled pork and mountain of rustic fries (which was shared across the table). The food was superb and the company even better. Eventually we had worked through the huge portions and went our separate ways - making arrangement for Sunday.

For the Silver Vixen and the Gorse Fox it was time to return to the shops. The Silver Vixen was looking for something specific, but just couldn't track it down. The Gorse Fox suspects that it just the wrong time to be looking for chunky-knit as the Canadian Spring is in its full glory.

Late afternoon we met up again with Trevor and Sis and we drove out of town to meet with cousin Claire (and briefly, Beloved Aunt again). We met at another shopping mall, and had a lovely dinner in an Italian Restaurant that she knew and frequented. It was nice to have some time with her as she is so quiet that she would be a bit swamped in some of the other gatherings. It is over 20 years since the Gorse Fox last saw her, and despite several health problems and injuries in the intervening years, she really hasn't changed, and hardly aged at all. Obviously has good genes.

The Tower

Trevor had got us all a reservation at the 360 Restaurant. This is a rotating restaurant that sits atop the CN Tower looking out over Toronto and Lake Ontario. 

We were informed that it was so clear that we should be able to see to Niagara and Rochester N.Y., as we rocketed to the top in the glass-sided elevator.

We were shown to our table and settled down, trying to drink in the incredible view. The menu seemed irrelevant while we got used to the vast panorama. The camera started to click as we slowly rotated. 

The menu became relevant and we all selected various dishes. The Gorse Fox had a delicious shrimp cocktail to begin with, then followed this up with pork tenderloin. He chose well. The Silver Vixen also started with the shrimp, but she had a prime rib as her entree. 

We continued to rotate round toward the lake side, and then on to the west as the sun was setting.

At dusk the lights started to come on and the whole of Toronto became a fairyland of twinkling lights, tail lights, and buildings that were illuminated to make a statement. Wonderful. It was also different as it gave more definition and depth to the cityscape.

Finally, we had to go. We got to the bottom jus as the Toronto BlueJays baseball game was over so we joined the vast throng walking the streets of Toronto - clearly we would not be getting a cab! It only took about 20 minutes to get back to hotel, so it wasn't too much of a problem and it was nice to get some fresh air and walk off some of the superb dinner.

Shopping and Visiting

Yesterday we spent the morning wandering around the Eaton Centre. It is so large that it can be a tourist destination in its own right. The Silver Vixen eventually found what she had been looking for, and after a bit of searching the Gorse Fox also found a replacement tote bag for carry-on items on the plane.

In the afternoon we went to visit Beloved Aunt. This was the first time that the Gorse Fox had driven any distance and likely to be an adventure. The car does not have a SatNav, so we used Google map's navigation function and it did a superb job of getting us to our destination without getting snarled in any traffic. 

The time with Beloved Aunt was taken up with photos. She was eager to see photos of our house, the Oranger, the garden, Cousteau-cub, and Urban-cub. Fortunately they are all in Google Photos so the Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen were able to dig out whatever she wanted. It was a lovely few hours culminating with her give us a guided tour of the facility and introducing us to staff and residents that we passed in the corridors and rooms.

By late afternoon they were getting ready to serve dinner, so we waved goodbye and headed downtown. Again Google Maps did a superb job, directing us down a different but trouble-free route to the hotel.

Decaf!

The Gorse Fox has just realised that all the coffee provided for the coffee maker in our hotel suite is decaf. What's the point? It's just wrong, wrong, wrong.

Pah!

Beloved Aunt

So we arrived at the home of Beloved Aunt. It is like a huge high-class hotel with suites as opposed to rooms. It provides common rooms where the residents can meet and have their meals or greet visitors and then the accommodation which includes a spa, a swimming pool, a gym and heaven's knows what else. It looks like the perfect "assisted living" set up. BA, tolerates it, but still hankers after her own total independence. Deep down, she knows that she is better off there, however.

Agent Mulder was there when we arrived. He had flown in from business on the west coast, en route to home in Connecticutt. We spent several hours just catching up with everybody's news and everybody's families. It was a lovely relaxed afternoon and the Gorse Fox took the opportunity to set up BA's iPad with FaceTime so that we could keep in touch.

Early evening we drove round to a little Italian restaurant a few block away. It had obviously become a firm family favourite and we were joined by Miss Ellie and her Ross-family. We had a lovely meal and at the end, BA had clearly had a very good time. It was lovely to all get together, and we have agreed to have lunch with the Ross contingent on Friday. Agent Mulder headed for the airport. Family-Ross headed home, Trevor took us and we dropped BA back at her place and then Trev, Sis, the Silver Vixen and the Gorse Fox headed back to the hotel.

Lovely day.

Now to see what today has to bring. It certainly looks like a lovely bright start.

Out and about

After an leisurely breakfast, the Gorse Fox and Trev wandered down to the car rental Del in one of the underground concessions along The Path. The Gorse Fox picked up a very nice, brand new, Hyundai Sonata and was soon heading back to the hotel parking lot where it was destined to stay for the day.

We grabbed a taxi and set off for a wander round the Distillary. This was once the centre for distilling in Toronto, but is now a chic collection of outlets, pubs, coffee shops and so forth. 

We were early so it was very quiet, but you can imagine it being a real magnet for the locals later in the day, and a Covent Garden-like feel. We wandered round various stores and stopped at a chocolate factory for some coffee whilst watching the staff making the confectionary.

Back Downtown we dropped down into The Path. We wanted some groceries and knew where there was a deli. We also took the opportunity to grab s snack for lunch as we watch the office workers rushing by.

The afternoon saw us heading out of town. We were finally getting to see Beloved Aunt.

Bright Start

There's a lovel bright start to the day here in Toronto. Yesterday was all about getting here. Today is about getting set up. 

So, having had a very comfortable flight and trouble-free journey from the airport (despite arrive in rush-hour) we settled in to the hotel. 

Little Sis and Trev, who have been here for a few days met up and we headed off for dinner. Baton Rouge was an excellent restaurant with the usual selection of Canadian and American eats. 

The Gorse Fox went for a small rack of ribs (he was too tired to eat the large one), and the Silver Vixen a salad. Trevor and the Gorse Fox examined the local drought beer, then re-examined it after the first examination was complete. Finally we moved on, ducking into the pathways and subways that allow the locals to get about during the downtown during the winter without surfacing. This led us into the Eaton Centre and then through the Hudsons Bay Company back to our hotel.

Today's plan is to grab some breakfast the go and get the hire-car. Then we'll mooch around the shops for the rest of the morning before heading up to see Beloved Aunt this afternoon. Big family dinner planned at local restaurant this evening.

Long day

It's been a long day - as travelling usually is. We are happily checked-in to our hotel in downtown Toronto and preparing to join the Gorse Fox's little sister and Trev for dinner at a nearby restaurant. The Gorse Fox will consider a longer post later. (Don't hold your breath).

Jasper

Jasper woke early.

This meant that the Gorse Fox woke early. He dug in and refused to emerge before seven. This meant that was used as a trampoline for a hungry feline for longer than he felt necessary.

The morning was quiet. Thought there's a football tournament today, the Gorse Fox had declined his place due to the forthcoming trip. In fact the time was used packing and preparing the hand luggage for the journey. Then we went across to a neighbour for coffee and a chat.

The afternoon was slightly busier. We had to take Jasper to the cattery. This can be "tense" as Jasper does not like to change his schedule. He also doesn't like to get in his carrier or travel in the car. We got a lot of verbal abuse right up until we arrived at the cattery. Fortunately, he settled immediately when we arrived. He has, after all, stayed here several times before.

Back home we are ready to rock and already have several events scheduled for the rest of the week.

Start the Week

Cold but sunny start to the day. Though there is football this morning, the Gorse Fox has decided not to play as he doesn't want to risk injury before the forthcoming trip to see Beloved Aunt. He has to make sure that he maintains his boyish good looks.

The Gorse Fox has been trying to chat with Cousteau-Cub but is having trouble getting through... but will keep trying.

This week there has been a huge amount of outrage because our Prime Minister has been caught doing something entirely legal. The Gorse Fox was moved to post on Faceache:

• Did you choose a car with a low Road Fund License? (The Gorse Fox did)
• Have you done a booze cruise? (The Gorse Fox hasn't)
• Do you claim the Married Couple’s Allowance? (The Gorse Fox does)
• Did you negotiate the price of house down below a Stamp Duty threshold? (The Gorse Fox didn't... even he couldn't negotiate that far).

Well you have been avoiding Tax.

• Do you have a company pension? (The Gorse Fox does)
• Do you have a private pension? (The Gorse Fox doesn't)

You most probably have offshore investments, then… and must therefore be avoiding tax (according to the media).

But to complete the picture:

• Did you ever pay a tradesman “cash in hand”?

That’s probably encouraging tax evasion!

Google Profiling

The Gorse Fox is flattered, but a little concerned that Google's profiling algorithms may have gone astray.

He sees that in the latest set of targeted advertisements he has an invitation to visit his local  H.R. Owen dealer for the latest Maserati offers.

Not sure that's his style or colour.

Oops

The phone rang.

"Hello, I'm phone from Windows Technical Support about the errors we have detected on your computer". said the voice.

The Gorse Fox chuckled to himself,

"Oh dear, that sounds worrying. Can you speak up a bit as you are quite difficult to hear"
"Sorry, is this better" she replied.
"Yes, now what were you saying?"
"We are detecting errors on your computer, are you near your computer?"
"Hold on" the Gorse Fox paused.... "Right, go ahead"
"Can you log in to your computer" she instructed.
"Which one?" asked the Gorse Fox.
"Your Windows computer" she was sounding a little nervous by now.
"Which one, I have nine computers" asked the Gorse Fox. (Not strictly truthfully as only a couple are Windows).

Click. She hung up! The Gorse Fox wonders why!

Quiet

It was a quiet day. Being Thursday we were focussed on the weekly shopping (delivery) and the admin. Not very interesting, but has to be done.

Afternoon was spent in the Orangery reading the next part of "The Hut Six Story". This is becoming an absolutely riveting book. Not a thriller, but a history written by one of the people at the heart of Bletchley Park during the War. It is inspiring how these people were able to think so laterally that even when there were changes in the procedures used by the Enigma operators, the chaps at BP had got to know some of their foibles so well that they were able to guess what had happened and how to get round it. If the Gorse Fox wants a winter project he might build a software based Enigma on a pair of Raspberry Pis.... not sure why, but seems like an interesting exercise. (Why a pair? Well you need a sending and receiving station to make sure it works).

Hung up

The Gorse Fox was not going to get hung up on the rain that was forecast, first thing. Indeed he drove through heavy, driving rain as he made his way to Worthing for football. It was so wet as he walked from the car that he took off his glasses (not something he does often). We gathered in reception and twenty minutes later went out to the pitch. By then the rain had stopped and we managed to have a good, dry, hour of football.

Back home there was currency to sort out and the Silver Vixen had bought several pictures whilst out with Urban-Cub yesterday. Lunch first, then the currency, and finally the pictures.

The Gorse Fox put the first one up without incident. The next, however, was triptych. The three panels were packed in portrait form and so the Gorse Fox fitted the various fastenings to the back. It was only when the Silver Vixen was helping the Gorse Fox place them tat she spotted that there was, indeed, a right way and that was to hang them in landscape form. The Gorse Fox removed the fastenings and relocated them all. Then he threaded the picture wire and realised that he only had enough for two of the three. A trip to B&Q rectified that and now, several hours after starting all is well, and the picture are hung up.

Running!

The call goes up time and time again. "Running, ref he's running!"
Well, it is more or less under control on Sunday and Wednesday - but Tuesday is a different kettle of fish. The Gorse Fox was moved to speak to the ref after today's games. He made no attempt to stop people running, and that takes the fun away from those who try to follow the rules. To be fair, he was very apologetic - but that butters no parsnips, particularly if you have just lost 5 out of 6 games to teams featuring Mo Farrah, Kipchoge Kyeno, Carl Lewis, Kelly Homes, and the roadrunner.

Once home, the Gorse Fox spent the afternoon in the Orangery reading the "The Hut Six Story". Absolutely riveting.

Communication overload

The Gorse Fox seems to have spent much of the day dealing with email and other admin.

The email all started with a note from the group that organises walking football across the country. It was a long mail and well considered. It was picking up on several of the issues that we had raised earlier in the year. Issues such as poor refereeing, running, excess physicality, and no rule standardisation. The Gorse Fox passed the note on to the team and that stirred things up and poked the hornet's nest. Then, we had confirmation of thednate for a forthcoming friendly. Again that stirred up a flurry of emails over the squad, the time and the location. Spreadsheets and discussion groups were updated and it all made up a very busy morning.

In parallel with this, the Gorse Fox was focussing on the admin around the forthcoming trip to Canada. Forex needed to be sorted out, e-tickets printed, details of car rental, details of hotel, and so forth. All in all, this was busy day.

Amazon delivered a new book, first thing. Yesterday, there was a documentary on the BBC regarding Welchman. He was an unsung hero of Bletchley Park. The documentary was so good, that the Gorse Fox immediately ordered his book. He's looking forward to devouring this as it is clearly going to be interesting.

Extending

The new Wireless Access Point was due to arrive on Monday, but in some freak of the postal service it actually turned up yesterday whilst we were out. This meant that once the Gorse Fox had finished his football today - there some set up and configuration to complete.

Unlike the old adsl modem/router, the set-up was pretty straightforward. The Gorse Fox used his linux laptop to connect directly to the WAP and set an initial configuration to test it, then once it was proven to work, he reset it to integrate with the existing house network, fired it up, et voila! the network had been extended. It was soon sited in the Orangery and appears to be working well.

Football was fun this morning. Though the Gorse Fox was on the losing side, tat was always expected when he saw the way the teams had been selected. As a defender, though, it made the game more interesting as he was under the cosh from the very start. He did manage to score one goal, a penalty for hand-ball. He also managed to stop a certain goal with his face, but you need not fear, it did nothing to impair his boyish good looks.

On yet another topic, the Gorse Fox has been struggling with keeping the Sonos library a) attached to the Sonos, and b) up to date. The former problem was solved by the data cabling work that we completed a couple of weeks ago - well that and realising there were some limitations in the way the Western Digital NAS actually shares music. The Gorse Fox does not connect directly to the iTunes master library on the iMAC, but rather a backup of the library on the NAS. This backup was placed in a folder that the inbuilt media server couldn't service. By moving it, that problem went away. The second problem was that once moved, the backup regime for iTunes wouldn't reliably back up to the new location. The Gorse Fox spent time yesterday and this morning fiddling with all this and thinks (he stresses Thinks) he has solved that problem too.

Buffet

The Silver Vixen and the Gorse Fox went to visit Sue and Trevor (Rick Wakeman). It was a remarkable quick trip across to Brighton and we soon settled down with cups of tea and all the latest news from the families. It's always fun as they are so hospitable and easy to chat with. Whilst there, Jon came home having just won a football match 4-1, but pulled a hamstring in the process. Soon after, Alan arrived - so we saw all of the local branch of the family.

Leaving the lads to their own plans, the "old" folk headed across to a Chinese restaurant in Hove that seems to be incredibly popular. As it is, you have to book weeks in advance.

It has an interesting take on the traditional buffet. In a normal restaurant buffet you have long tables where you go and help yourself to your chosen selection from whatever has been put on display. At Danny's, the selection is described in the menu - and you make your choice, it is cooked there and then and served. You can go back as often as you like, and seem to be able to select time and time again.

Very impressive, very tasty, and absolutely fresh. (Also, great value for money). We had a wonderful meal, and would recommend the establishment to any who may be in the area.

Blue

What a stunning start to the weekend. Not a cloud in the sky, and the temperature is beginning to rise. The Gorse Fox suspects it will be a cracker.

Old Friends

It is so nice to meet up with old friends. It is also nice to have a really good restaurant that isn't too far away and you can recommend without fear of disappointment. So it was that we headed north through Boxgrove, Duncton, and Petworth on the way towards Chiddingfold. The Gorse Fox had booked a table at The Mulberry Inn and was looking forward to a lovely few hours of good company and good food.

Pete (The Hobbit) and Lynda had arrived just before us, Dave and May arrived soon after.

We spent the following three hours catching up on news, discussing technology, relating anecdotes, debating BREXIT, and working out our plan from world domination.

The Gorse Fox introduced himself to Camilla Hansen (who runs The Mulberry Inn for Chris Evans) as one of her Twitter followers and long term, if irregular, patron. As usual the service was faultless and the food excellent. There was a large tapas platter and some pumpkin bread to start, then, as Friday is pie day, we chose chicken and leek or beef and mushroom pies. Finally there was selection of cheesecakes, sorbets, baked alaska, and ice creams followed by tea and coffee. Perfect.

It's a shame that Lynda and the Hobbit only get a chance to visit occasionally.

Takeover

The Ford Football Arena used to be our usual venue for walking football. It was a huge hangar which had been adapted to provide a number of indoor 3G football pitches. The guy that used to run it went out of business.

Over the intervening months, some local businessmen have acquired the facility and given it a major facelift. The pitches have been resurfaced and the public areas have been completely redesigned and rebuilt. The facility is now called the Arun Sports Arena and is getting ready for its grand opening. Arun Amblers were invited to tour the facility today and we were all very impressed. They have signed up some major local football teams to use the facility - and even a London based Premiership team will be using it for one of the foundation squads.

This looks as if it will be a good new home for Arun Amblers and we have been invited to play as part of the grand opening event. On top of the sports side of things it looks as if it will be a good social space, also. It has a bar, kitchen, full-time receptionist, and even a multi-media meeting room.

Calm

It was the calm after the storm. Yesterday, the the tail end of Storm Katie still whipped high winds and squally showers across the South. Today, the sun is out and the wind has dropped. This made this morning's football a lot more controlled and enjoyable. Again, we had two refs. Again they were brutal in their interpretation of the rules, so the game was hard but much more fun for all.

When the Gorse Fox got home he realised that his phone was not behaving quite as he would expect. It turns out that the wifi settings were stuck on the test settings he had tried when experimenting yesterday. It took some fiddling about to correct it - but all is back to normal now.

Router

The Gorse Fox is the proud owner of several routers. Now he should embark on some disambiguation. One of his favourite routers is a tool that, with the correct bits, will cut wood, or cut trenches into wood, or shape edges. A tool of great scope and capable of creating sawdust at an astonishing rate of knots. The Gorse Fox is not talking about this.

The Gorse Fox has been playing with an old ADSL modem/router and pressing it into service to provide some additional WiFi coverage. This is the eponymous router. It took a little fiddling about (and there's a couple of configuration features that need some refinement) but it is now working and flooding upstairs with a strong WiFi signal.

With a further wireless access point on order he will soon flood the Orangery and garden with WiFi.

Very satisfying to reuse an old device and get it working so effectively.

Storm Katie

Well that was pretty spectacular.

The storm raged through the night but does seem to be easing now. Though a couple of miles inland, our windows are covered in salt. Further along the Crescent, the contractor fencing has been blown down. We have been pretty lucky, one of our new trees is bent double, and a pot has been blown over - but that seems to be the extent of the impact on us. Elsewhere on the development some of the houses that are still under construction have been damaged, but it could have been a lot worse.

Back on

Happy Easter to all of you.

There was no football today - we couldn't have achieved a quorum, nor could we have matched last night's England performance against Germany (though normally that is not beyond our expectations).

The weather was very changeable throughout the day - bright sunshine, heavy rain, hail, and more sunshine. Not really conducive to venturing out. The Silver Vixen spent time on her Thai-based project and the Gorse Fox spent some time getting the TV and network in the Orangery back online. (He switched it all off before the trip to Thailand and it hasn't really be necessary to switch it all back on up until now). What is different this time is that the Gorse Fox can use the new data network that he had installed. This should allow much better streaming and, so far, it seems to be working flawlessly. The Gorse Fox will add a wireless access point in the next few weeks. This will allow us to eliminate the last few wireless dead spots in the house.

13A or 16A

The thing about replacing an oven, or a combo is determining the ancillary changes that may be necessary. Examining the devices we currently favour means that two shelves in our housing unit may need to to be moved, and the existing electrical spurs may need to be upgraded to 16A from the current 13A supply.

The former is something the Gorse Fox could do, the latter needs and electrician. Even moving the shelves may not be straightforward as they may be dowelled and the dwell may be metal rather than wood. The Gorse Fox spent an hour or so this morning looking through the build specifications for the house, but there was no document that explained the actual construction of the kitchen housings. This will evidently have to be "try it and see". For this reason, the Gorse Fox is thinking that he will get the whole thing done by the installers... assuming, of course, that we decide to go ahead with the change.

Caught out

As readers will know the Sonning Crusties visited the Ideal Home Show on Monday. At the the Show, Chris & Maureen bought some chorizo and pointed it out to the Gorse Fox. The Gorse Fox found the stall and tried the sample. It was delicious. He too bought some.

Yesterday, the doorbell rang. It was Chris. Had we tried the chorizo yet? The Gorse Fox explained that his had been stored in the freezer. Chris complained that his didn't taste like the sample, wasn't really suitable for cooking (as we both often use it as a spice/condiment), and Maureen had been unwell after eating it. Not a good advert. He brought over a chunk and left it for the Gorse Fox to try. At lunchtime he sliced it finely and tried it with some crisp bread and cream cheese. It was, as suspected, nothing like the sample - but to be fair, was very nice. The main comment from the Gorse Fox is that it was more like the texture of a salami than chorizo.

Another part of the Ideal Home trip was to look at some replacement cookers. Though ours are relatively new, the combo oven is the most user-hostile device in the house. (As explained before, even neighbours come to ask the Gorse Fox how to use it). This morning the Silver Vixen and the Gorse Fox decided to have a wander round Curry's and any other suitable store to look for examples of our favoured replacement. Curry's turned out to be a dead loss - though the we-site showed the devices the store didn't have any for us to examine. We headed for Bognor Regis and the store that the Gorse Fox visited several weeks back. In the end, though we didn't see the exact models, we did get some detailed and excellent advice from the staff in two separate and competing stores. Still a few things to sort out, but looking good.

We stopped at a local restaurant for lunch. It was busy, but not rammed. The menu was extensive and it took us quite a while to make our selection. The Gorse Fox headed for the counter to place his order. He joined the queue which edged forward, slowly. Finally he reached the head of queue. "Hello, we are at table 22, I would like to order" explained the Gorse Fox.
"Hello" said the chap "I just need to warn you that there is a minimum of one hour to wait for food".
"I don't think so" said the Gorse Fox and he and the Silver Vixen left and grabbed a KFC on the way home.

It was 29c in the Orangery this afternoon. Delightful. Shame the weather is forecast to collapse over night.

Senility

The Gorse Fox guesses it just creeps up and bites you.

He left the house in the usual way and drove off towards Worthing. A mile from home a question flashed across his brain. "Did he lock the front door?"

The Gorse Fox was sure he had but had no clear recollection of so doing. This was not a doubt that could be ignored. He swung round the roundabout and looped back home. He had, of course, locked the door. He set off again.

Arriving at the Worthing Leisure Centre he grabbed his kit and played his football. It was only when he got back to the car that he realised that he might of locked the house, but he had forgotten to lock the car.

Doh!

Rules

There are some basic rules to Walking Football: walk, don't run, no offsides, no tackling from behind, and so forth. In the last 18 months or so these have become somewhat advisory rather than mandatory. After a spate of injuries and a number of newbies giving up, we decided to clamp down and today played with 2 referees to enforce the rules to the letter. Some were less than happy, but the Gorse Fox thought it was a significant improvement and actually evened out the games for those who are less mobile than others.

The Gorse Fox has mentioned the recent erosion of our ball supply. He did notice, whilst at the Ideal Home Show, a more striking option... maybe the Gorse Fox should approach the treasurer.

Gorgeous

It is a gorgeous day here on the South Coast. Having said that, the Gorse Fox would have been content to miss the first part - but Jasper-the-cat was insistent that the Gorse Fox got out of bed much earlier than needed.

Football was fun. Six games today and the Gorse Fox was on the winning side for all six games. Now, a quiet afternoon is on the schedule.

After the trouble at Brussels Airport today, Gatwick has been on a heightened state of alert and Urban-Cub has been on duty, keeping everyone safe.

Ideal

What a super day.

We all met app at the local station and took the train up to London. By the time we got to the Ideal Home Show we were gasping so started with a trip to the tea rooms for a suitable refreshment. After that we split up with a plan to reconvene in 2 hours.

The Silver Vixen and Gorse Fox wandered off. We didn't have a specific objective other than looking at some garden furniture and the Gorse Fox wanted to look at a new 28cm casserole pan/dish. We zigged then zagged and bit by bit made our way round the whole ground floor. Then we headed upstairs and continued our zigging and zagging.

There was a huge selection of things to see and we stopped here and there to view this or that. The Gorse Fox found the cookware and selected the pan he wanted. German made, titanium coated and sporting a life time guarantee.

We headed back to the meeting point and we all made a beeline for the food stands to grab some lunch. The Silver Vixen and the Gorse Fox seemed to do well by selecting the hog roast rolls.  The rest of the Sonning Crusties went for some Posh Sausages and seemed to be disappointed with their choices.

We split up again with a plan to reconvene at 1700. We enjoyed another loop round the exhibition and spent some time looking at built-in cookers and microwave ovens. Though there were some good offers we felt that there was further research required.

At 1700 we met up and headed for the train. The trains seemed quieter than the Gorse Fox had expected, which was a good thing. We had a fairly comfortable trip and were back in Bognor soon after 1900. A table was booked at the local Indian restaurant to finish the day.

Perfect.

Outing

Sonning Crusties have a day out. We are planning to hit the Ideal Home Show - let's hope they are ready for us (and the trains run on time).

Game off

No football today. There were insufficient players available to form two teams.

The Gorse Fox is spending some time looking into the options for the forthcoming In-Out Referendum. Despite the white noise coming from the politicians on both sides, there does seem to be an interesting paper looking at the "exit" options. The Gorse Fox is about half-way through this so far; www.eureferendum.com/documents/flexcit.pdf.

The Gorse Fox is stil ambivalent over the forthcoming vote. Philosophically he feels that closer integration should be a good thing, but practically feels that the EU is essentially undemocratic as it is run by unelected "commissioners". If we had genuinely got some sensible concessions out of the recent renegotiations, then the Gorse Fox thinks it would be a "slam-dunk" for "Stay". In practice, there were no concessions (as confirmed by various politicians across the EU). This means that there is a serious decision to be made and at present the arguments for "Stay" are, at best, very weak and based on fear-mongering.

The Girls

The Gorse Fox has had a day focussed on the girls. A chunk of the morning was spent online with Cousteau-Cub. She has been building a new website for her Yoga - specifically for a retreat she is organising for October. The site looks very good and the Gorse Fox helped get the domain name sorted out. So, go and look at http://www.roundhouseyogaretreat.com and if you fancy a relaxing and spiritual few days on the beach overlooking the Andaman Sea, then do get in touch.

Soon after the discussion finished with Cousteau-Cub, Urban-Cub arrived. She had a few days off before her next shift. Again, we started with sorting out some computer stuff then had a few hours of chat hearing all about what goes on at Gatwick and all her family news. The latest plan from her neck of the woods is to put her flat back on the market. Hopefully, this will be more successful than last time.

We put the heating on in the Orangery, but it wasn't really warm enough to sit out all afternoon. We gave it a while, but in the end the Gorse Fox lit the (gas) fire in the lounge. He's glad that he now has that sorted out. It made all the difference to the afternoon as the temperature is such that it isn't quite kicking the central heating into life, though it was needed (unlike Thailand, where Cousteau-Cub was telling us that it was 47C today).

Cooler

Still dry, but a lot cooler and cloudier today. This gave the Gorse Fox the opportunity to clean the inside of the Orangery windows with the new Karcher toy. There are two part - one squirts a detergent onto the window and the inbuilt microfibre strip cleans the glass. Then the second part works like a vacuum cleaner and sucks the fluid off the glass. It is so quick to use and the results appear to be excellent.  Looks like a good buy.

With a trip to Canada approaching the Gorse Fox has been looking at currency exchange rates and determining what to load on his pre-paid currency card. This is always one of the frustrating decisions - how much local currency and how much on the card (though, of course that can be reloaded at will).

Soffits

Another cracking day. This encouraged the Gorse Fox to get of his backside and grab the ladders and a bucket of soapy water and attack the soffits and fascias. They had got a bit grubby and dusty over the winter and were in need of some attention. It didn't take long, but the Gorse Fox was surprised to find that these features were actually wood, rather than PVCu which had been assumed. This means that there will be a need for some maintenance over then next few years.

Pilot Light

The Gorse Fox decided to light the fire one afternoon last week. He couldn't get the pilot light to ignite and without that he couldn't light the fire. He checked the manual and followed the instructions. Nada, nothing.

The following day he phoned the supplier and he talked the Gorse Fox through the procedure. Again, nada. The Gorse Fox gave up and asked for them to come and give it a service and sort it out. This morning, their engineer arrived. He walked in, pressed the button and the pilot light ignited immediately. Typical. He hadn't done anything differently from the procedure followed by the Gorse Fox. Pah!

Oh well, it has been fully serviced and checked, and the warrantee validated for 5 more years, so it wasn't all wasted.

Cracking

Another cracking spring morning. It was cool but lovely and sunny and a couple of hours of walking football was the perfect start to the day (even if the Gorse Fox was on the losing side). In the couple of hours he covered well over 5 miles and that was taking it easy (as he's still not quite up to his usual standard).

He must say, again, that the new by-pass is a huge saving on the journey in terms of both time and distance.

No football tomorrow as "tis on the Wednesday morning, the Gas Man came to call" (to paraphrase Flanders and Swann).

Seems to have clouded over a bit this afternoon and the wind is picking up.

Paint

Over the weekend the Gorse Fox has filled the holes in the study wall. This morning, with sander and vacuum cleaner, he sanded the surface down and feathered it into the surrounding wall. Now he has attacked it with the paint he purchased at the weekend, and is waiting for it to dry (as it looks a little patchy still).

Self help

The Gorse Fox walked round to the shops. He queued behind a woman of uncertain age who was coughing and wheezing. She bought her electricity credits, she bought her gas credits, then separately spent £108 on cigarettes and tobacco before shuffling out of the shop and mounting her mobility scooter.

Priorities sometimes seem confused.

Sunshine

Sunday morning's football was an absolute pleasure in the bright sunshine, even if it was a bit chilly to start with. We had a good turn out and the Gorse Fox swapped sides at half time, to try and even things out a bit. He was pleased with his game, being on the winning side both in the first and the second half... and he even scored a handful of goals.

Holistic

The data cabling left two huge holes in the study wall. This morning the Gorse Fox has started to deal with these. Firstly, he had to get some of the deep hole filler, but that was soon sorted with a trip to B&Q.

Then it was a matter of creating a backing against which the filler could be a applied. A few minutes thought and the Gorse Fox came up with some wood with "No More Nails". This was attached to another piece of wood with a long screw. Once inserted into the hole, and manoeuvred into position, the screw was tightened to hold the wood in place until the adhesive had set. A while later the deep holes were a lot more shallow as they were backed with wood. The filler was layered into the holes and the Gorse Fox now awaits the layers to set, before applying the next.

Meanwhile, the Gorse Fox checked the house "spec" to determine the exact shade of paint used in the study. It turned out that it was a trade mix unavailable at the local DIY superstores. This meant a trip to Chi to visit Brewers and get a pot of the paint mixed.

Doctors and ambulances have been coming an going all day to one of our elderly neighbours. The Gorse Fox took her daughter to the local pharmacy mid-morning, but notices that the ambulance is back  now. Pneumonia can be so devastating for such an elderly, frail lady. Let's hope they have intervened soon enough.

Eating Out

Last night, after a glass of champagne with the neighbours to celebrate Maureen's Birthday, we headed off for March's outing of the Sonning Crusties' Curry Club. As usual we were welcomed with open arms and given the very best of service and a superb curry. We really have fallen on our collective feet with this restaurant.

Still full this morning, the Gorse Fox had a vert small bowl of cereal to start the day, knowing that we were due out for lunch.

The morning was spent on admin - talking to Starlet Pensions to try and work out why the Gorse Fox gets, apparently, random Pension statements (the latest of which arrived this week). It turns out that they send out two a year - one at the end of the financial year, and one at the beginning. Mystery solved. Then we contacted HMRC about a transfer in allowances, which should save some money when it goes through. Indeed it may even result in a rebate.

At lunchtime we headed off to nearby Eartham. The George Inn has a great reputation, and the Silver Vixen has eaten there with friends recently. As we were meeting up with Urban-Cub we thought this was a good spot. Good? It turned out to be excellent. A lovely welcoming pub with big open fires and very cosy feel. The food was simple but really good. Urban-Cub and the Silver Vixen had the sausage, mash, and gravy and the Gorse Fox had a pulled pork burger. Simple stuff, but cooked perfectly. The Gorse Fox can see this becoming a regular haunt.

Done... all but

Well the cable guys have been here for 5 hours now. Things took them a lot longer than they had expected, but they are all but done now. Final connections are being made up in the loft. All the other connections are in place and the Gorse Fox has put the TV and all its components back together in the Lounge. The way things have worked out, he has one additional socket available on his router. This may be an excuse to move one of the NAS devices to the "man cave"... or he may move one to the loft.

Cable guys

The cable guys have arrived. The Gorse Fox explained the route for the riser to the loft space. That seemed quite straightforward, though they do have to distinguish between two separate cables. This is not beyond the wit of man.

The drop from the loft to the lounge was quite straightforward, and the drop to the kitchen should be fiddly but possible. (It's a good job they are no big lads as the space within which they will need to work is fairly tight.

The big challenge was the study. The Plan A was to come through the outer wall, but as the house is tile-hung, this was sub-optimal. Plan B (which was the Gorse Fox's preferred plan) was to use the existing TV socket in the study. This turned out to be troublesome. The aerial cable dropped down to the "man cave" not up to the loft. Then it was a matter of finding a route behind the plasterboard up to the loft. Needless to say, despite the hollow sound, there were blockages. In the end the Gorse Fox has decided they can cut the plaster board and run the cable, and the Gorse Fox will patch it and repaint afterwards.

Oh well, it'll be good when it's done, though the network map for the house is now beginning to look quite complex.

Wet not Yet

The Gorse Fox had warned the team that if the weather was too bad, he wouldn't be playing today. He is not going to take any chances as he is beginning to feel better. 

As it turned out, the forecast rain had stopped by early morning and it was bright and sunny. The Gorse Fox went along for the game, and had a very good session. Strangely, we had gone for months without loosing any balls, but as commented before, we have lost a few recently. So it was that "the Club" bought some new balls and gave one to the Gorse Fox as a replacement. Twenty minutes later, the new ball had been hoofed up onto the roof of the Spots Centre - and as the only chap allowed to retrieve them is off-sick, the ball remains on the roof.

On another matter - the new by-pass is great, cutting a huge diversion off the route.

Lunch

After a very quick run up to Heathrow, we sat and waited in the The Plough at West Drayton for Emma and Louis to arrive. The pub was a bit "basic" and not very warm. We bagged a seat near the fire to ensure we got the warmest spot. Emma turned yup with baby Louis, who was fast asleep in his stroller.

We had a lovely lunch and chat before Louis started to stir. A feed should have been on the cards, but he didn't seem interested. In the end helped Emma load the car and sent he on her way as we headed back to the Coast.

Outing

Sorry to hear from Cousteau-Cub that her rheumatoid arthritis has flared up and is giving her real trouble at present. Lots of love and positive thoughts whizzing across the globe to her.

We have an outing today. We are heading up to Heathrow to meet with the Silver Vixen's niece, Emma,  and her new baby, Louis. It'll be nice to meet up and have a quiet chat and a bite to eat.

Surprise

The Gorse Fox was expecting some aches and pains after yesterday's football and was pleasantly surprised to find he was quite mobile and ache-free.

He has spent much of the day trying to get the Sonos to recognise the music library. (It had been working but seemed to fail a few weeks back and just cannot seem to resurrect itself. Several hours later the Gorse Fox gave up with the intention of retrying when the data cabling is complete.

Scoreline

Well, the scoreline was a little lop-sided but at least the Gorse Fox felt well enough to play and, indeed, scored several goals this morning. It was bit raw out there - the frost had only just lifted and there was a cold northerly wind, but once we had started, we soon warmed up. Some, as usual, were much more mobile than others and as we were one man short, to made the first half very challenging. We swapped a player round at half-time and that evened things up for the second period.

Done

The man from Amazon arrived. the Gorse Fox checked out his stocks and realised that some addition 300mm cable ties would be useful, so whizzed round to B&Q. Within 10 minutes he was back home and up i the loft.

The power cable was tucked away and secured with cable ties and the extension sockets dropped to the right location. The shelf support was fitted and the shelf dropped on top. All was secured.

Finally, the Netgear switch was positioned and powered up. All he has to do now, is wait for the cable guys.

Most satisfactory

Loft Space

One of the by-products of the enhanced insulation provided in modern houses is that the loft space is not quite such a convenient dumping ground. The important thing is to proven the insulation becoming compressed. Now, there are solutions that allow you to use posts to elevate a false floor above the joists... but these would also encourage the hoarding of unused material.

The Gorse Fox has come up with a solution that allows suitcases to be stored without damage to the insulation - hooks!  He has fitted a number of hooks to the roof trusses and hangs the suitcases fro the hooks.

This got him thinking. He need to install a network switch in the loft... some why not adapt a similar strategy. To that end he has constructed a shelf that fits between the trusses and allows easy access to the switch without worrying about all the underfoot insulation.

Gorse Fox is sitting waiting for Amazon to deliver the new extension lead. Otherwise, he knows that as soon as he heads into the loft, the front door bell will ring, and he's never get back down in time to answer. (Also the length of the extension will dictate the final position of the shelf).

Crispy

There was a very hard frost overnight, but the car must have been positioned in an ideal spot as we didn't have to scrape the windscreens when the Gorse Fox took the Silver Vixen off to her exhibition this morning. Clearly, other cars weren't so lucky as they were caked in thick frost.

It's lovely and sunny here, again, but does look a bit bleak up on the Downs.

Righteous

They say "It's grim, up North". Well today the north is being blanketed with snow as we sit here in bright sunshine with wall-to-wall blue sky. It's chilly, but absolutely lovely.

The Gorse Fox is feeling a lot better this morning and gearing up for a football game on Sunday. Whilst not quite back to normal, he at least feels well in himself and most functions are actually working with an adequate degree of frequency.

The new by-pass should open today. This will provide quite shortcut for us whenever we have to head back over towards LA and Worthing. Will have to measure both the distance it saves as well as the time.

Threats

It appears that there were number of incidents at last Monday's tournament... this included two players from one team being sent off and their team being disqualified. There was also some issues where the referee was abused. The Gorse Fox was horrified to find that his team had been named as one that abused the referee.

The Gorse Fox sent an all hands email. He explained his displeasure in no uncertain terms, then went on to say that if, in future, players were not willing to play nicely, fairly, and respectfully (towards other players and the referee) - then he would be withdrawing from the club. It seems to him that this is meant to be a sport... and be played in a sportsmanlike fashion - and that does not include any aspect of "gamesmanship".

Emails are trickling back in, supporting the position Gorse Fox has taken.

Slowly, slowly

Still slowly improving. At least there were only two nocturnal interrupts last night. (Shame we are not programmable, as I'd mask the interrupt bit).

Another surprise phone call.

"Hello, it's Sharon, from xxy; we've been researching your PPI claims".

"Oh yes" said Gorse Fox knowing what to expect.

"As you know we have been unable to trace any PPI for your various accounts" she said

"Well that is what I told you from the start. I was always careful to ensure I was not being sucked into anything like that" the Gorse Fox countered.

"Well, we wondered if you had been back through any old documents that may reveal you were missed?"

Brain started to process "What part of I was always careful not to get conned...." but then one's natural politeness started the mouth overriding the brain. "No, and I don't expect to find anything. I assume this saga is now over"

Actually letting one of these companies research into (even non-existent) PPI claims does seem to stop the incessant phone calls we used to get.

Improving

Well at least the Gorse Fox was only disturbed 3 times during the night. This is progress and he is optimistic that things are on the mend.

Barney Rubble celebrates his birthday today, so the Gorse Fox was quick to get a message on Facebook this morning. Even though the birthday card was posted on Saturday, the Gorse Fox suspects it had just missed the post, in which case it would not have been collected until Monday afternoon. Pah!

It's been raining most of the morning so the Gorse Fox isn't too upset by his self-imposed football ban. He spent the morning pouring through the newly released Irish records. Well, there may be tens of millions of records - but so far none of them seem to be records of our families. Will dig deeper, but finding it frustrating at the moment.