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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 11, 2019 19:35:41 GMT
Just to cheer you all up, exactly six months until Christmas, folks. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill. Holidays are coming, holidays ARE coming. Only just seen this. And now of course, less than that. Excellent! From few days before that, the days have been getting shorter. Even excellenter!
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 11, 2019 19:33:41 GMT
I went from being a 'nice man' to having 'a dark countenance'.
I briefly chatted with two elderly women at Gatwick after I let them in ahead in the boarding queue. Encountering them again on the bus from Inverness airport one said to the other "Oh look, it's that nice man who let us in."
Then on going to the supermarket till I was gestured in ahead by another old lady at the checkout. When I thanked her, she said she gestured because she wasn't sure if I spoke English because of my "dark hair and beard" and my "dark countenance". I quite liked that, it made me feel a bit like an old-fashioned villain.
It was probably her polite way of saying I look scowly, which I am often told is the case. (Admittedly my face does tend to lapse into an angry frown when I'm not really thinking anything).
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 11, 2019 19:23:16 GMT
Not sure why front row isn't one of the options, that would always be my choice but of the two offered, side, 100%.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 11, 2019 19:19:39 GMT
He he, it is a great piccy though. In fact, behind the Kenneth Williams it is the second greatest picture on the internet. And by quoting myself I have posted Blakey again I'd go with the KW as it keeps us in the music category, his of course being a music recording artist with his album On Pleasure Bent. His ditty Above All Else about lovesick computer Elsie is a delight.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 11, 2019 15:50:10 GMT
What I find slightly annoying about this is that warnings don't cover everything. I have no problem seeing people shot dead but, due to emetophobia, have a massive problem with seeing actors pretending to be sick. That's never included in warnings. I try to check plots beforehand but it's not always possible to find out. I suppose the warnings can't cover everything, as in every possible phobia or trigger, can they? I do sympathise, as an emetophobe myself. Puking scenes in films and TV shows have, it seems to me, become more or less commonplace over the last 20 years or so. Mrs Backdrifter is seriously arachnophobic, she can't look at any sort of visual representation of them and finds it difficult to even say the word 'spider'. It makes me notice by proxy how much spider images crop up and how frequently they appear in trailers and even adverts. Metro became so bad for this they must have received complaints as they started putting a warning on the previous page but it didn't last.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 11, 2019 15:36:52 GMT
I don't see a problem with the way they have done this. It's no different from other theatres which say on the website they will provide content warnings if you contact them. For the Donmar you have to specifically look for this info: each production page says That links here with links to content warning for each production - www.donmarwarehouse.com/visit/content-advisories/Each of those pages displays a warning similar to what you might see on entry to the theatre. eg for Sweat - Then there's a spoiler protected section with specifics about sensitive scenes. So if the general warning indicates you may have an issue, you can then check in detail if there will be a problem for you. Really can't see why anyone would object to this. The oversensitive people are the ones who get terribly offended by the concept of content warnings. Thanks for that detailed explanation. Based on that, I don't see what the problem is. It caters for those who don't want to know or don't care, and those who need the greater detail. It sounds to me like a case of nothing to see, move along.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 23:17:11 GMT
Anyway time for me to prepare for my morning routine as I have a flight and all must run smoothly.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 23:11:06 GMT
I worked a xmas period at Volume One books in Kingston. As per Marty Di Bergi, don't bother looking for it, it's not there anymore (the shop, that is - Kingston is still there).
I didn't experience anything too bad, I just didn't much like it. But one thing, quite minor and not especially upsetting, has stuck in my mind for some reason. A woman asked me if we stocked birthday cards. I explained that no, it was just xmas cards. She gave me a really sour look and said very reproachfully "people do have birthdays, you know" and walked off. If anything it amused me that anyone would choose to make such a simple exchange so negative for no reason.
Better at least than my colleague whose momentary look of baffled incomprehension was mistaken for stupidity by the person who'd just asked him for ping-pong balls and proceeded to enunciate "you know, small white plastic things you play table tennis with!" (To remind you, this was a book shop).
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 22:06:05 GMT
Hang on, I'm slightly confused. What have the Donmar actually done?
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 21:58:37 GMT
Sitting in a bar where Motown pop and 60s soul are playing, and reflecting on how I've ever really liked these genres. I find them quite dull and uninteresting but they seem like the untouchables of music, along with reggae. But you like Genesis??!! Yeah. This could be fun. I wonder what other holy sanctified artists and genres I can be dismissive about to trigger you posting your Blakey pic and repeatedly ask for confirmation that I like Genesis. Genuinely, I'd far rather listen to Call The Shots by Girls Aloud than Respect by Aretha Franklin.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 19:21:48 GMT
Sitting in a bar where Motown pop and 60s soul are playing, and reflecting on how I've ever really liked these genres. I find them quite dull and uninteresting but they seem like the untouchables of music, along with reggae. More of a Stax fan from that period, Motown often being a bit less gutsy. A quick glance at my shelves and I’ve a lot of sixties albums by Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone, also from Marvin Gaye, The Isley Brothers, The Temptations and Stevie Wonder but I think they really came into their own in the seventies, with things getting more funkified by that point. As for more straight ahead soul, Curtis Mayfield and Donny Hathaway stand out as seventies soul music geniuses to me. With reggae, it suffers/benefits from having Bob Marley who is so superior a songwriter that most of the rest is in the shade. I have some stuff from British bands like Steel Pulse but for excitement and fun then look to its precursor, Ska music. There was an interesting link between the early punk bands, reggae and ska music too. Klu Klux Klan by Steel Pulse is superb.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 19:20:24 GMT
Life as an unskilled person - retail! Retail workers aren't unskilled. Having to deal with the general public on a daily basis with their demands and ludicrous entitlement. Thats a skill in its own right! This, tenfold. kimbahorel,don't you dare describe your work as unskilled! I did it a couple of times, many years ago and couldn't hack it - because I didn't have those skills.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 17:16:29 GMT
Gaaaaaaah! Eating then showering?! Fair enough it's part of your routine. For me it goes against the natural order of things. I suspect it might be a split similar to brush teeth before or after breakfast. (You didn't include that!) Eating in 10 minutes is a lesser, shorter 'gaah' but a gaah nonetheless. teeth brushed after I get out of the shower while I have a brief time for my hair to dry a bit. But I always have a shower the lastest I can before leaving as it means I leave the cleanest I can be. If I eat after shower I have to wash my face and that again. I understand. And excellent use of "and that" by the way, a phrase I'm very fond of.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 16:30:32 GMT
Sitting in a bar where Motown pop and 60s soul are playing, and reflecting on how I've ever really liked these genres. I find them quite dull and uninteresting but they seem like the untouchables of music, along with reggae.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 16:23:58 GMT
Around 4.20 eat food 4.30/4.40 Have a shower wash hair Gaaaaaaah! Eating then showering?! Fair enough it's part of your routine. For me it goes against the natural order of things. I suspect it might be a split similar to brush teeth before or after breakfast. (You didn't include that!) Eating in 10 minutes is a lesser, shorter 'gaah' but a gaah nonetheless.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 16:02:57 GMT
The toasted contract was about 2 inches thick, both cats and flowers are thicker, so it seems to work. Also, e-tickets help cut down the dangers. Not incinerated anything recently, anyway. When I landed on this page, this is the post I saw first. With no context, you can imagine my bafflement. It reads like an exchange between two men in trilbys and trenchcoats in a park in a spy drama pastiche. Or a series of cryptic crossword clues.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 10, 2019 15:58:34 GMT
To me the mornings are the best time of the day. Wake up about 5;00, download the paper and a bit of social media, 20/30 minutes of exercise around 5:30, shower, breakfast, a bit of chilling either listening to /playing music or some reading, and look to leave the flat around 7:30. Never been able to rush a morning, the silence and tranquility set up the day perfectly. That's very laudable. I don't like a rushed morning either but on work days I absolutely cannot do things like reading or music that I associate with relaxed leisure time as it feels wrong! But the routine you describe is great for non-work days except the downloaded paper and the start time. And the exercise. Usually.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 9, 2019 12:37:12 GMT
Due to mentions of it above, I wonder what the split is between brush teeth before or after breakfast. I'm an after.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 8, 2019 22:36:44 GMT
I absolutely detest snooze buttons.
Some of the above comments remind me of David Lodge's description of Vic Wilcox's morning routine in Nice Work. He wakes up well before the alarm and can't get back to sleep because he's fretting about all the work stuff he has to deal with. He should probably just get up and steal a march on the day but he still just lies there wide awake. Finally the alarm goes but then, by some cruel trick of biology, he immediately feels drowsy and goes back to sleep!
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 8, 2019 22:30:22 GMT
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The HEAT
Jul 8, 2019 22:25:52 GMT
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 8, 2019 22:25:52 GMT
That's handy, I just arrived today in London for a few days work. Phew. Except I don't live in London! I live near Cambridge, so you can usually add about 2 degrees for London. It was horrible when I got here Sunday evening but not too bad today.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 8, 2019 8:32:16 GMT
Radio alarm, usually 5.30-6.00 (Radio X in London, 6 Music at home) Usually lie there and listen for longer than I should Shower, get dressed Breakfast (see other thread!) Brush teeth
Then it diverges depending on where I am and what I'm doing. I do consultancy work either from home in Scotland or on site usually in London. So if at home:
(Pre-breakfast brisk 30-minute local walk) 'Commute' ie go upstairs to office and start work, by 8.30 latest.
If at London sites:
Go to either station or bus stop for commute and reflection on how glad I am that I very rarely have to do this.
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The HEAT
Jul 7, 2019 22:54:33 GMT
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 7, 2019 22:54:33 GMT
the temperature today was not too bad & the next couple of days look as though they'll hopefully be bearable. That's handy, I just arrived today in London for a few days work. Phew.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 7, 2019 18:42:11 GMT
It can be strange how these things go. The thread started with a gently glowing comment, followed by a succession of "This is absolute rubbish. I'm sticking with it!"
And even odder, as a result of those comments I'm considering giving it a go.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 7, 2019 18:08:50 GMT
Yep,i use this skin soft and i think it does help. I've used it before and not noticed any difference. So for anyone trying to decide, there you go. The same sort of claim is often made about it in regard to midge-repelling.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 7, 2019 18:04:36 GMT
It’ll be interesting to see if we ever get anything like the full story on this one. Maybe someone could suggest a public discussion, a la Tree? ;-) One thing’s for sure - at the moment nobody’s coming out of it well. Tree? I reckon that's that one done. From tomorrow, possibly even from about 8.40 this evening, no-one will care or in some cases remember it.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 5, 2019 18:03:22 GMT
Backdrifter I'm very envious of your temperature. Less so that you've probably got even more insect life than down here! In fact, not really. I'm in Inverness, it's when you get out of the city and especially westward that it gets really midgey. Here, we don't seem to have them. Regarding the mosquito discussion. If they are nearby, they completely ignore Mrs Backdrifter. They see me, lick their lips, tie a napkin around their necks, get out their salt and pepper shakers and chow on down. Even the sodding midges, when we do encounter them, make a beeline - sorry, midge-line - for me.
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The HEAT
Jul 5, 2019 16:54:01 GMT
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 5, 2019 16:54:01 GMT
13-14C here in the Highlands.
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Post by Backdrifter on Jul 5, 2019 16:52:04 GMT
As is usually the case with SP's stuff I really enjoyed it. I actually do get the naysayers above, I understand what they mean but didn't have a problem with the series. There's a sort of other-worldliness to most of his work which I really like, and always find it well-served by Adrian Johnstone's plaintive music.
To back up the comments on vegetarianism, it definitely was seen as a major aberration and some sort of indication the person was unhinged, hence the vegetarian chain ironically calling itself Cranks. I went vegetarian in the 80s and was met with a mixture of bafflement, pity, derision and mocking. And some of those reactions were from friends and even family.
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The HEAT
Jun 29, 2019 14:21:58 GMT
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Post by Backdrifter on Jun 29, 2019 14:21:58 GMT
Although thank goodness it is due to drop: if it was staying up there I'd be on the first train to Scotland. I think we're about 10C below you here. It still feels too sultry to me!
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