Modern Vespa

Kitty, I think we were naked.

Rick, I'm going to beat that woman one day.

Froggy, You are a blatant attention seeker. Welcome to the club.

Doug, Well done. If you need any vehicles transporting let me know.

Nite all

Bill xxx

Yes - get M out there and let him make the go/no-go decisions after you've got rid of everything you think you can. Once you've skipped the dross, there's a lot left you might think has some 'significance' - it might have far less than you think.

If it got boxed up would you miss it in the loft after a couple of years? No? Then get rid. If it's worth anything, possibly, to anyone else, get some well-organised local charity/thrift shop to come and collect.

You're buying a property - so an odd thousand or two of the perceived monetary or emotional value in possessions that you will never wish for or need again is peanuts when pitched against never having to fuss about them again.

Clean sweep, deep breath, relax then - freedom.



And yes, the hot tub is on our bucket list.

I've been invited to Amsterdam for a weekend get-a-way.

Decisions decisions.

Bill xxx

Bad Boy Bill.

Doug, you have my admiration mate. Such an awful situation to find yourself in. Being brave enough to make such a massive life change would scare the crap out of me. I know we're mere passing acquaintances but if I can help don't be afraid to ask.

That's brilliant, Froggie! Good job!

Richard (Waspman) is another go to guy for house removals - he's at http://www.arrowpak.co.uk/. I think you may have met him Doug.

Best of luck with everything - one of those bold moves so few people take and end up wondering 'what if?'

I'm not bad Jim. My buddy Andrew lives just behind the Heineken brewery and he's invited up to have a catch up.

While I'm visiting you won't find me doing all the things that Amsterdam is famous for.

The ride up there is a quick 4 hour blast from Dunkirk which suits.

In middle aged news I took a new shape Toyota Aygo out for a drive today and we liked it very much, right down to its angry rabbit face.

Bill x

I have word back on what was wrong with my scooter. The stator was going and causing it to stall out at lights and able to restart back after 5-10 minutes rest due to the batteries natural rebound when no draw.

Hey you, don't be making fun of dem bunnies.

just spent over an hour trying to complete the very simple task of changing the oil, only to find that the last person to fit a new oil filter had cranked it so tight that it proved impossible to remove. I need to use the scooter tomorrow morning so we had to stop short of puncturing the b*stard filter with a screwdriver and removing it that way - if that tactic had failed, I'd have been stuck waiting for a house call or a recovery van.

So i'm going to have to take it in to the shop, so that he-of-herculean-strength-who-torqued-the-nuts-off-it-in-the-first-place can remove the damn thing

Well, Genie, you're probably done for the day by now anyway, but I wouldn't hesitate to use the screwdriver method to get the old one off. It's pretty much a fail-proof system and many people use it as the first, rather than the last, resort. The old filter is no good anyway, so have your way with it.

Worst case scenario : you take it all the way to the shop and the first thing they do is drive a screwdriver into it.

Johnny

Spent a weekend at an event in Enniskillen. Lots of fun, great to get away, good roads, great company and lots of drink, food and even a ceilidh.

yeah, we're done for the day, and I"m glad we finished when we did - about 20 minutes after we 'closed', the heavens opened and it absolutely shat it down with rain.

it wasn't the screwdriver method itself that gave me pause, it was the possibility of the body of the filter shearing off and leaving the base stuck to the scooter - it's happened to a friend in the past and it took him days to remove it I need the scooter tomorrow morning, so i didn't want to take that chance.

and the bloody filter really was on there ridiculously tight - i've taken them off before, and sometimes they take a bit of persuading, but this was absolutely refusing to budge. it's like it had been welded on

Doug - is that a nascent beard I see? it really suits you!!

So I learnt today that the '99 Flake' at the Ice Cream Van has probably been consigned to the past.
The sign on the van window now says 'Flake Cone', yours for £1.50.
Inflation sure sucks, doesn't it?!

It's slightly more than nascent... just didn't come out that well from a crappy phone pic. You're not the only one to say that, I'm afraid, so you'll have to join the queue....

Ride was lovely today. Enniskillen and the lakes up through Fintona and the Sperrin mountains to Limavady, Coleraine, Ballycastle for coffee, then back down the Antrim coast road to Larne. I was beginning to get tired around Ballycastle (too much beer, wine and yakking under the stars til 2am) and couldn't hold my line in the corners, so asked if I could take the lead on the final stretch.

I have so much to do; I could do with a team of helpers to sort out the huge double garage rammed with junk. Gah. Jim your advice is very useful...

I found a 1USD coin on the floor of the garage at work this morning! Sadly, didn't find the earplug I was looking for down there.

That is pretty amazing. You can't find them over here.

Other weird coin finds include a ruble in Soho and an Indian coin from 1812 in the street in Woolwich.

I thought the flake 99 referred to the length in mm rather than price. I remember them being cheaper than 99p

I'm looking for a Ram Mount so I can attach my new nav to the BV.

I may only use it once so if you've got one laying around........

Oh Amsterdam is happening. 3 days in Holland. Lovely.

Birreh !

you must go to the Unlimited Delicious chocolate shoppe and bring back savoury chocolates for me yes you must.

I've spent the day playing in my friend Andrew's darkroom in Nunhead, producing more 'watergrams' (full colour photograms of water). He also made me a very tasty lunch. it felt like spending the day at summer camp

What and be talked to like an idiot like the last sales assistant did ?

Bah !

Bill xxx

Ignore a request for chocolates from "Her" at your own peril. I have Whetstone Chocolates in St. Augustine on speed dial.

she was a grumpy cow wasn't she? how is it possible to be grumpy when you're surrounded by delicious chocolate? i would put that question to her if she is there again (but I suspect she has been 'moved on' to a less customer-facing role).

Sticky, you give good advice boyfriends of the world ... take heed.

Yeah, thanks Sticky. Nice one.

Bill x

Just doing my part to keep the world beautiful.

She's never had Norman Love chocolates from Ft. Myers? They are so good they can't even be shipped.

http://www.normanloveconfections.com

Week of late shifts
Arse

So my Boss is a little concerned that we're not doing well enough and then goes out and orders this -

£100,000 of BMW I8.

Correction, he ordered it two years ago and now he says were not doing well enough.

Bill x

Well reviewed in the Guardian at the weekend Birreh

I8 bosses

I hear that its brilliant as you would expect from BMW.

Me, I really want a go on this. A snip at £13,000

Shush now. Troublemaker.

You can apply for a guided ride together with a visit to the factory. I have been thinking about this.

One of our customers - Chandlers BMW in Brighton has demo in the shop until August.

It's really tempting to test ride it. It sounds like something from the Jetsons.

Bill xxx

Does it have an espresso making attachment?

No, it's way cooler than that.

I'd have one. Honest I would.

Bill x

But what about?

That's next Sticky as long as the BV sells.

Granted the BMW would be useless for anything long distance, but to commute on ? Just perfect.

Bill x