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{ Author Archives }

I am a former research scientist, now temporarily of independent means, fighting oesophageal cancer and learning to support myself without a salary.

Comfy Bed

I’ve had the new bed, mattress, and memory foam mattress-topper several weeks now, and they definitely are making a difference. You can buy the mattress-toppers in a range of depths, typically from 1″ to 4″, and I chose 3″ deep as a compromise between comfort, weight and cost. Too thin, and my bony hips won’t […]

New Bed

Since even my boss has asked me for an update on the Bed Saga, I’m pleased to be able to announce that the new, new bed was delivered on Tuesday. That’s the replacement for the original new bed, which never seemed to be any closer than three weeks away. I took Tuesday morning off to […]

The workmen are back – and so are the mice

The end of the financial year has been so manic that there was no way I could take time off to deal with the various issues of maintaining an old cottage. But today was the last day of the fiscal year, all my milestones were submitted on time last Friday, and I could take a […]

The Grand Budapest Hotel

I walked by Malvern Theatres yesterday, and my eye was caught by the poster advertising the current movie – The Grand Budapest Hotel. It’s had some pretty good reviews, so I thought I’d give it a whirl and bought myself a ticket for this afternoon’s matinĂ©e. The cinema was only very sparsely populated, and they […]

Applying to the Housekeeper

Madresfield Court, the ancestral home of the Lygon family, is a rather interesting stately home on the outskirts of Malvern. It’s not in the care of the National Trust or English Heritage, but seems to be under the control of a family trust. Once a year in Spring it opens its gardens for “Daffodil Sunday”, […]

Back at the pottery again

I find that one of the best ways of coping with end-of-year, work-related stress is to spend a day at Eastnor Pottery. Throwing, turning and decorating pots are all very absorbing activities, and leave no room left to think about work. I spent the day there yesterday, initially working on half-a-dozen or so vases that […]

End of year madness

It’s coming up to the end of the Financial Year for both my company and our primary customer, and the usual end-of-year madness is in full swing. I’ve had a two-day meeting this week with my main customer to finalise the architectural design for an equipment trial we’re planning for next year. I’m covering for […]

Getting distinctly annoyed

It’s four weeks since my new bed was allegedly “three weeks away”, and there’s still no sign of it. I phoned the furniture shop this afternoon, and asked them for an update. They phoned back half an hour later, having been on the phone to the supplier, saying that it was apparently another four weeks […]

Dinner out with the bid team

Way back last autumn, September I think, I was involved in writing a rather large and complicated bid at work. It was very challenging – on the edge of my technical field, with lots of political considerations, a complicated marking scheme, and tight deadlines for completion. Anyway, well before Christmas we first heard that we […]

Once more unto the breach……

I would have thought that after three and a half years, all the companies that Christopher dealt with would have got the message that he is dead. But apparently not. I waded into battle with unfeeling and impersonal “Customer Services” once more yesterday afternoon. This time it was Orange, who sent Christopher a letter about […]