Further ramblings of a self-made pauper

So anyway, as you might have guessed from what little I have posted this past few days, we took a short break in Germany last week. During the planning stage in January it was supposed to be a Bank Holiday weekend break, but they were expensive. So we looked at a long non-Bank Holiday weekend and they were less expensive but still pricey; we took a midweek break instead. Rather cheaper, Monday night to Friday morning.

Because we’d enjoyed it so much we went back to Konstanz, but tried a few different places while we were there. Armed with my new camera, I managed to grab over 740 photos (many duplicates to be fair, because I am not used to the multishot facility yet), but don’t worry, I shan’t be terrorising you with all of them, just a sample to give you the feel.

On the Tuesday we took the bus a few klicks down the road to the Island of Mainau, which is approachable across a short causeway. Essentially, on the side looking out across the lake, there is an old mansion house and the rest of it is ornamental garden. We’d thought about seeing it in September, but assumed it would be past its best. Our theory this time was simple: spring flowers. Being that much further south it seemed reasonable to assume that spring is further along than in England. Of course, I forgot to factor in the elevation. So we got there just after the daffodils and tulips had gone, but before the roses were in bloom. A bit disappointing, from that aspect, but there were plenty of other flowers to see, together with some artsy installations and things.

( huge photo hidden for your formatting sanity )

Once we’d finished out tour of the gardens, we grabbed the ferry across to Meersburg. We didn’t go for the sights this time, but simply to visit the little bistro/wine bar we’d been to before and had a few glasses of local wine before taking the ferry back to Konstanz in time to get changed and go out for dinner.

Next day, Wednesday, we decided to visit the Dornier Museum in Friedrichshafen. We caught the catamaran and spent a cheery 45 minutes on the lake and then went to find some lunch. Then we decided to make for the museum on foot. Except that it is a) further away than we thought and b) we took a wrong turning. After walking about 5km, we eventually got to the place by effectively wandering through someone’s back garden, climbing through a hole in the fence and crossing the railway bridge.

It is a very small museum and it has a very disappointing gift shop. The Germans don’t seem to do gift shops properly.

We caught the bus back.

Thursday was our last full day, so we spent it wandering around the back streets of Konstanz and doing a bit of shopping. We went into the cathedral for a look around. I can’t remember the name of the cathedral (I suppose I could look it up), but the crypt dates back to Carolingian times in the ninth century and the whole looks rather like Stormwind from World of Warcraft. So for us, it is Stormwind.

Friday was taken up mainly with travelling home and Saturday saw us setting up my shiny new iMac. But more of that anon.

Note The antiquated office browser is making adding more photos impossible right now. I'll try an additional post through my Nexus7, or later from home....

Very shortly, Furtle and I will be sloping off to Camden.

I have my eye on a 500Gig external hard drive at Maplin's, whilst Furtle is after additional jewel boxes in the continued tidying up of her CD collection (I want a couple, too). A trip then, to Rymans for some decent quality paper and probably a quick trip to the Edinboro Castle for a restorative Kriek before returning home.

I am allowing the paint to dry on the Doctor's head before launching in with any further work, so when we get back, if I am not confident that it's all dry, I shall try and create some CD sleeves for Furtle in photoshop and print them off on the fancy new paper we are getting.

I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning – the old eyes really didn’t want to open and yet right now I feel very chipper indeed.

Of course it helps that from this evening, Furtle and I are off until the Tuesday of Easter week, giving us ten full days away from work. We are hoping that on one of the days at least we will get to Brighton (or, it has been suggested, Southsea) for the day to see the sea and take in a little of the old ozone. If the weather stays like it is now: cool, dry and not too windy, Brighton (or Southsea) is not going to be a problem.

It has been a rather busy morning as I get rid of bits and pieces that will fall due while I am away and bury others for eternity somewhere down in the Pre-Cambrian layers of my in tray. In a few months when they are suitably fossilised, I shall dig them out and recycle them. I include in that two more petitions that we have received and sent off the usual desultory acknowledgement.

In the meantime, let me entertain you with this piece that I found during my never-ending quest to find a TV style Batmobile:



( and another )

Well, to quote Samwise himself, "I'm back".

As suspected, there is only so much family a body can take these days, much as I love them, and it is a relief to be back at the Athenaeum Club in front of mine own computer and clutching a cup of coffee.

To be fair, most of the week was spent in Wales with mother, surly 16 year old nephew/Godson, and littlest niece. Godson's voice is not so much broken as badly cracked, and a great deal of effort was expended in not laughing like a drain as he moved from baritone to soprano three or four times in a sentence. That said, he's a hefty brute, and only a couple of inches shorter than his Uncle Bry. I expect that sometime within the next 12 months it will be me doing the looking up, rather than him. Luckily, he is an even bigger softie than your favourite correspondent, so I do not expect the balance of power to shift quite as drastically as the centre of gravity.

Much of the week has been engaged in wandering up and down beaches, digging channels, diverting littlest niece and streams between rock pools. Dams were involved, and so were starfish.

I have also discovered why the Welsh rarely laugh, unless they are in England. There are no dentists. Even by our infamous UK standards, the Welsh coast is ill-served by the buggers. Since dental pain is pretty much the worst I have ever experienced, I can only assume that is the reason why Baptists and Methodists have such a hold on the Valleys.

On the other hand, I have discovered the magnificent restorative power of Oil of Cloves which did in three hours and two applications what paracetamol and codeine could not achieve in three weeks of constant liver abuse. It turned the pain off. Permanently. Admittedly Oil of Cloves tastes pretty much how I imagine a Turkish Wrestler's jock strap might, but a good strong mint clears that. And hey, no pain.

I still need to find a dentist, but now it is a more leisurely affair, so I can wait on an NHS dentist which means I shall not need to mortgage my soul, not that of my first born to the seventh generation.

Those of you who have emailed me with queries about the NWO characters what I wrote, I beg your indulgence for a day or so further. The forum is covered in new postings which I need to digest before thinking through the oddities you have come up with. I shall get back to you shortly.

I daresay that there's more I should write, but let's break ourselves in gently, shall we? I wouldn't want you to overdose on these witty little entries after an absence of ten days.

Apart from which I have a hankering for cheese. Toasted, mostly.

I still haven't packed.

Ho hum.

Never mind, I have decided that I can get all I need into my rucksack. Shreddies, socks and teeshirts for one week, and maybe a spare pair of kegs. I can wear the sweater to save space.

A couple of books, the chargers for my walkman and phone and all is well. I have not decided whether or not to take my lappie or not; I suspect I shan't. Previous experience tells me that I shall get very little use from it and the last ever piece of NWO I need to write can comfortably be done when I come back. All the deadline stuff is complete.

I may have time to update tonight from my sister's PC, or I may not. After that, I shall be a largely digital free world for a week, though I shall have my phone with me, so if you are desperate for a chat I shall be contactable.

Other than that, have a great Easter.

And don't forget that the new series of Dr Who Stars on Saturday at 7.15pm. /geek.

My toothache and I are now off to Shropshire and then Wales. See you on the other side.

Back at the Athenaeum Club and it's probably time I turned the radiator back on. The mild spell has disappeared in a splash of mid-winter caprice, and my observation that central heating made The Tower too hot was probably a little premature. The old tootsies are a little chilly (putting socks on would help, but what's a lazy bloke to do?).

I got back from Yule in Foxton yesterday, about five-ish to find an already returned Beastie in the middle of a rather uncharacteristic bout of tidying up. My first inclination was to apologise for the intrusion and go back out on to the street and go to the proper house, but that passed.

My return was a little earlier in the day than I originally intended, spurred on by the severe weather warning issued by the Met Office. Three millimetres of snow and a partial thaw later, I am wondering quite what the urgency was; I've spilt talc deeper than the snow we've had, and over a wider area. Doubtless Niclas, the co-Godfather of my God Daughter with whom we all spent Christmas, is wondering if it was all some kind of bizarre practical joke as he prepares to travel back to Stockholm today. Still, they get several metres of the stuff every year. We may get a foot or so every twenty, so I'd be a bit miffed if the council spent a fortune on snow-clearing equipment which will still only have 500 miles on the clock in thirty years time.

A little later on I am going down into Finchley to try and get hold of a drawing board and some decent pencils. I have found that I cannot get on with drawing flat on the table, I have got used to shifting the picture around to strange angles while I draw to make life easier. A table is a little big for such shenanigans, though indispensable in other ways. I have several sets of drawing pencils, but I'm damned if I can find them just when I want them, so it's time to acquire more. They're not expensive. I'm not sure my small supply of sugar paper survived the move from Clapham, but I still have several pads of cartridge paper, so that will do until I get down the West End next where I can get supplies from Cass Arts or the London Graphic Centre. Probably the former, as the latter seem to be convinced that true art can only be produced through poverty and charge prices designed to ensure the continuance of the would-be artist's bohemian living conditions. They do have a cracking selection of stuff, though, and I still haven't acquired the Japanese calligraphy brush I'm after, so...

Right, that's it for now. I've just had an email from ebay telling me that someone has outbid me on the Lennon-style shades I was after. Judging by the price they've bid, I imagine that they must think they're buying a pair worn by the man himself. Good luck to them; I'll search for a cheaper set.

Later, kids.

Last day at work until a week on Tuesday. Hurrah.

I am already demob happy, and actually getting off my desk the crap that has built up through sevral weeks of apathy is proving to be a CHORE. Still, never mind. Grit the teeth and think to self four more hours, four more hours....

I think I might nip out and purchase a sarnie shortly. Anticipating a week off whilst gnawing at something tasty appeals.