Birthday Tea

An early lunch today and then Jessica & I set off on the PASSO coach for a performance at the Porstmouth Music Festival.

Wendy had baked a healthy ginger birthday cake for tea.

Birthday

My birthday - hurray!

I opened my presents early then Wendy & I went up to London to the "Who Do You Think You Are? - Live" show at Olympia. It's certainly a much larger event than when I first started and it was just the SoG Fair at the Horticultural Halls.

Quite a profitable day, I picked up some Sussex Parish Registers. A very pleasant lunch in Pizza Express. A sunny day but a bitterly cold wind.

Some nice beers to look froward to, plus a Will Hay DVD boxset.

Pinewood Derby

Another highly successful Pinewood Derby evening at Churcher's College with a capacity crowd and 194 entrants. Toby's car number 307 managed two 3rds and a 2nd in its three heats, earning a place in the Seniors' Final where he came a creditable 5th.

During the award ceremony Toby was called onto the stage and presented as a long-term Pinewood Derby racer. He's been in every one of the events since it started in 2004.

Pinewood Derby car building

The building of this year's entry for the annual Scouts' Pinewood Derby has been a bit rushed. Toby had been unwell earlier this week but, feeling better, he made a franctic effort over the last days of half-term to get it finished.

He made some last minute finishing touches, attached the wheels, did a quick road test on the kitchen floor and got it up to Churcher's College before the scrutineering closed at 8:30pm.

The test run down the proper track went very well, it looks like it will be compeditive. Fingers crossed for tomorrow and a place in the final Grand-Prix.

Temperature rise

The warmer weather and rain has cleared most of the snow, although the 10 foot mountain in the corner of Tesco’s car park will be there for some months yet.


I came across what appeared to be the mass grave of thousands of Snowmen. Fortunately it turned out to be a field of carrots.

They're plagiarising my old films now!

Following the Top Gear electric car episode last November, further evidence that the TV media are spying on me for inspiration. Now they’re raiding my old super8 film collection for material.

Exhibit B: The new Mr. Kipling sponsorship for the TV show “Mr. & Mrs.”

As a young man did Mr. Kipling prefer to take...

his Hillman Imp ...

his NSU Quickly...

or his mini Battenberg?

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Seven inches of snow means we're pretty isolated. Can't get to work so only one sensible course of action. Yes, buy a new camera!

The old Canon Ixus has proved very reliable so I've upgraded to a newer model. 12.1 megapixels. Plenty of photo opportunities out there and a chance to combine both the snow setting and the "panorama stitch assist" with very pleasing results.

Electric vehicles

Evidence that someone from the Top Gear production team was in Seaford earlier this year whilst Geoff was demonstrating the Bombadier.

This week's Top Gear episode featured an Electric Car, designed and built by James May. To get all the presenters in they had to sit three abreast, with Hammond perched on a plastic seat in the middle. They decided to name the car "Geoff".

Goodbye Galaxy

It's been a bit of a fraught month. The Galaxy, after years of faultless service, has expired without warning. Well not strictly true, it gave a few warnings. I've had AA callouts resulting in two tows home. A new wiper mechanism, fuel pump, partial wiring loom and a new front tyre weren't enough to placate it and now the turbo has gone and the power steering is playing up. A two ton diesel cannot get up Stoner Hill without turbo assistance, I've discovered.

Rogate Renault offered me £2K for it as a trade-in but then downgraded their offer to scrap value after taking it on a test drive! So it's Ford Galaxy R.I.P. and, on Thursday, hello Renault Scenic. Not the most exciting car but it'll do for a couple of years until the kids have left home and I can get a Jensen Interceptor!