Modern Vespa

Poor dude is still being tortured. I'm going to lose the rag with the vet tomorrow and bring him home...

Saw Larry Crowne this evening.

Who want's to touch me ?

Bill X

Would you recommend it?


Touching you I mean not the movie.

Touching me will change your life. I promise you.

I've touched many others.

Bill X

I can almost take your word for it Bill but I will need witness statements.

Nothing was ever proven and the case was thrown out.

Bill X

aawwww, sammy give him a big cuddle for me.

i've had an annoying evening.

annoyance no. 1: on the way to see an exhibition, i received epic, unsolicited rudeness from a security guard at the Hayward gallery. i broke my 'don't be a twat' vows and made a formal complaint, which, to their credit, was taken very seriously.

annoyance no. 2: the tracey emin retrospective. don't even get me started on how annoying that was i was dragged there unwillingly by a friend

annoyance no. 3: finding that orange have decided - about six months after i first got the iphone - to activate 'orange safeguard', a parental control option which has decided that modern vespa is unsuitable, as is my work email and several other perfectly innocuous sites i visit regularly. it's denied me access to these sites, and i can't find a way to switch it off online, so i'm going to have to ring customer service tomorrow and wade through 10 minutes of computerized voices directing me to their website before i get to speak to a human

i'm off to bed, annoyed

genie-

Just think of all the exercise your phone keypad will get as you "Press 8 to hear more options....."

Grr! Not one of the car park guys, I hope? They're usually super nice.

My annoyance last night was a taxi driver who tried to tell me that the headlight beam on Jim's GTS was badly adjusted: "That's illegal, you know. It's three points on your licence."

I told him to f*ck off and find someone else to patronise.

Oh, wait, no I didn't. I just smiled and thanked him.

This made me smile in agreement at the weekend. From an interview with Brian Eno:

"It's that ridiculous, teenage idea that when Mick Jagger sings he's telling you something about his own life. It's so arrogant to think that people would want to know about it anyway! This is my problem with Tracey Emin; who fucking cares? I never wanted to write the sort of song that said, 'Look at how abnormal and crazy and out there I am, man!'"

Pretty much everyone acknowledges Eno as a leading cultural polymath. If he thinks Emin is full of shit, she's full of shit. Hopefully his stance will filter through like a stately decree.

Alright I'm approaching this from a layman's point of view but I think it's more a case of The Emperor's New Clothes.
Very few people (apart from me ) are prepared to say - Hang on, this is a piece of overrated selfindulgent crap that I just don't understand or am moved by because once you've done that you've singled out yourself as the one not to get it.
I'm happy to admit that there is some work that I've seen recently that I just don't understand but I wonder how many other artists or critics ( because of their elevated position ) will turn to one another and say - you know what, I just don't get this old bollocks.

If you go with the belief that a if a piece of work provokes a reaction ( be it positive or negative) it's done it's job that's fine but I'd much rather be the one person in the room to admit it went way over my head than nod in a sage like fashion through fear of showing a lack of perception.

For me it simply boils down to talent. Did it take talent to create this ? and in Emin's case it doesn't.

Bill X

It's black and white to me.......I like to see the talent (beautiful paintings show real skill imo) and don't really understand abstract stuff like piles of duvets on a bed. Call me a pleb if you like but there you have it.

I've had a bit of a shit day. Poor little mite Sammy got home from the vet last night, only to go downhill overnight. Ended up taking him back in this morning to see a very nice vet, who couldn't see where to go next, so referred him to the Royal Veterinary College where they train the students. So off we went to their hospital. £1 grand spent so far, now a £2 grand estimate.

On the scooter front, my insurance comes into force in the morning so I can see what the LX is like. I managed to get a Forcemaster CDI for the 190 kit, so when I come up for air the kit may go on again.

Doug so sorry about your cat and i hope it all goes well. My fav bunny had to be put to sleep after we gave him every treatment available. He hurt his back and slowly became paralyzed. He has acupuncture and a chiropractor for animals work on him as well as other treatments. It prolonged his life but he had to be put to sleep, because he was in a lot of pain. He had a good life and does your cat. Cherish the good times. Oh and your going to love the LX. Good luck.

I realised pretty quickly that I didn't like the GSF600 so she's gone.....
This beauty has taken her place

Re XJR - I've got one of those (mines blue). Oddly I much prefer riding my GTS though.

Re cat - a £1k bill is just natures way of telling you that the cat's time has come. Why not give him a hug and let him go quietly and then give a new cat from the rescue home a real good life. I've spoken to my cat about all this and told him my limit is way way lower than this - the cat seems to understand as he's quite careful now crossing the road etc. I still love him to bits though

Oh Doug I'm so sorry to hear that Sammy's fortunes haven't turned around for the good.
Has something actually diagnosed or is he not recovering from his moribund state ?
Poor little thing.

Arrived at Scootech this morning nice and early to hand over the Ventilato only to find that they only had one employee in the workshop and they had also doubled booked themselves with work so my scooter wasn't going to be finished by close of play so I've left it with them until wednesday when luckily enough I'm riding back to the smoke for a meal out.
My weapon of choice for my return journey is the Interloper.
Thanks Genie.

Bill x

Not quite true. Vets bills are phenomenally expensive. My other cat was in the vet about six years ago for a week and a half, costing about £2500. Still going strong today at 13. Thank goodness for insurance. And thanks for the well wishes everyone. I got really very upset this morning.

Sorry the hear about Sammy. It is devastating when they start to fail. Even though you know it isn't true you feel like they think you are letting them down. Chin up mate.


Just finished "The Forever War" A very good read indeedy! Still relevant after all these years. Haldeman appears to be a prolific and decorated author...can't believe that I hadn't even heard of him. Any suggestions for another of his?

I'm about 2/3rd of the way though and I'm still not getting it.

Read any of the Iain M Banks Culture series and you'll find that they are "light years" ahead of this.
I have to keep reminding myself when it was written though.

Bill X

a couple of pics of today's outing on the River Lea - we hired a little kayak and did a bit of exploring

thinking of you and m and sammy, doug xx

genie where are you? that first pic looks like Florida.

That's the thing Bill. When it was written. Kind of amazing and I can see why he had a hard time getting it published. Homosexual material aside it is very condemning of the Vietnam war and the associated insanity. Probably way to raw for a country weary of the nonsensical war they had just endured. Hey wait... 2/3 of the way through, stick with it. If I am wrong you can still point at the big book and brag that you read every page. Iain M Banks, I will look him up.

Yeah we did a bit of a weird triathlon today.

We cycled our way up to the dock to rent the kayak for a couple of hours boating ( then consumed quite a lot of cake afterwards ) and after cycling back we ran for about 6 miles but the run was a bit of a chore because I while I was paddling earlier I got a little competitive which was totally pointless when I was still learning how to steer the kayak.

Note to self. Must grow up.
Pictures were taken in the canal just up the road from Hackney.

7/8ths of the way through The Forever War now and it's getting better. I admit I'm a huge Iain M Banks having met the guy.
Try Consider Phlebas as it's the first of Culture novels and well worth a read.
His writting is also quite funny in places.

Bill XX

competitive yes. mr dog was trying to go faster than me ... tricky, as i was sitting in front of him, in the same boat.

needless to say, his attempt to break the laws of time and space by overtaking me was an utter failure.

@stickfrog - we were on the river lea, which is part of a rather extensive system of canals and waterways within the M25. at the point where the picture was taken, we're only about 8 miles outside of central london.

Cycled 8 miles, Rowed 5 miles, Ran 6 miles. Not bad for a relaxing Sunday.

Bill X

Sounds far to much like exercise in my book, but if it's doing your brain some good Bill, I'm all for it - for you.

But a journey shared even if exercise can be joyous, so I'm not knocking it.

Jim - the energy conservationist... (I need to!)

You're right Jim I'm really enjoying being this fit. It's the fittest I've ever been and the slimmest too.
I wasn't really in proportion a couple of years ago but now and I quote " don't look like a crash helmet supported by 2 q-tips" un quote.
I no longer suck my stomach in while in a state of undress and you can now bounce peanuts off my arse and thighs if you were so inclined so it's for me it's all been worth it.
There is one down side and that's whenever I do anything physical I have to treat it like a work out such as cycling to work or paddling a kayak.
Lots of encouragement from Genie has also helped me apply myself so maybe before I didn't really have the motivation but I do now.

Bill XX

Now that's a sentiment I completely share.

im shite at inventing but why has no one done egg yoke in a bottle © .... it would go on anything from toast to chips ................ mmmmmmm

I'm still working on the chocolate ash tray.

Bill X

Apparently kittenz has nothing wrong with him and is being sent home from the holiday farm in Hertfordshire tomorrow evening with an option for a return ticket if he should need one. We shall see.

My LX has now got a little smoked screen which suits it. It also has a GTS bitubo shock, which shouldn't technically fit, as it is a bit longer, but it went on, so the front end has a ride height 1cm higher than it should. Apparently the LXies are also subject to that fuel pump recall... so in it goes.

hmm. sounds like the little gazelle may be seeking attention? i'm glad to hear that he's okay - maybe he's just gone off his food. bindi decided pretty much overnight that she didn't like what i was serving her, and has insisted on a mostly fish diet ever since. I'm slowly re-introducing other food back into her diet, but for a couple of weeks she turned her nose up at everything but tuna.

Ever heard of powdered eggs???
Not in a bottle, but in a box/bag.
Military has them coming out of all orifices.
Probably could get some through military surplus, think Iraq or Afghanistan.

Tandem kayaks are often called divorce boats. Sounds like you got enough of a taste of it to know why.

Yes I can see why. I was being a bit of an angry knob because I like to be really good at something instantly and if I'm not frustration starts to boil within me and this tends to cloud my mood somewhat.
For me it was a bit like rubbing your stomach and patting your head - attempting to paddle and steer then to add to my mood I got a blinder of a headache.
It took two muffins,two lattes and a baguette to sort that lot out.

That's all the time we have for this week.

Bill X

Nice one - I'll remember that.

Last night's unusual commuting sight: a man struggling to cross the road while carrying a groggy, medium-sized dog with its leg in a cast. I waved him past because clearly his need was greater than mine.

This morning's unusual commuting sight: the crew of a fire engine throwing sand on a recently-crashed but upright bike. No sign of the rider, but ambulance present.

en82pg ive heard of powdered egg but its not the same as i want runny yolk in a bottle to spread on me sausage butties

oh... ewww. have you thought about the fact that it would have the colour and consistency of a bottle of snot?

I seem to have found someone's green GT200 in my garage so I've rolled it out, washed it, leathered it, polished it, vinyl coated the vinyl bits and glass guarded the fly screen then put it away for the night.

I wonder who it belongs to ? Clues anyone ?

Bill X

The Dutch have an egg yolk liqueur in a bottle, called Advocaat, that might be worth a try.