1405.10 OH NO FOUR OH!

This week my wife, Morticia, turned 40. It's been a long preparation with loads of wailing and drama. Prior to the 'actual' big day we visited her mother down in St Neots. On the Sunday morning she got to pilot a light aeroplane (one of her biggest ambitions) and in the afternoon we had a little tea party. The bank holiday was my birthday, which we kept low key (I was happy for that).

The big day wasn't much to speak of, gifts were given and cards were opened. Morticia went out for lunch with a friend. I had planned to treat Morticia to a meal from her favourite restaurant (a takeaway since it was a school night). I hadn't realised that the restaurant's opening hours have changed and it no longer opens on a Tuesday. Disappointment didn't cover it but she was ok about it and suggested an alternative. We drank champagne whilst we ate our KFC.

The biggest event of the day was a text message from our eldest daughter. For those in the know, we haven't had contact with our eldest for almost 2 years so this was a big deal. It was the best present Morticia could have received.

The party, which was held at a local pub (in a private room) was an absolute success. It was well attended by family and friends, Morticia looked fabulous and to top everything our eldest daughter came. It was a sweet reunion, the first time in years the 4 of us have been together. 

And of course a party isn't a party unless I get out my legendary air guitar... 

1404.11 GOODBYE ADRIAN MOLE MY FRIEND

I was sad to learn of the passing of author Sue Townsend last night. The character she created in Adrian Mole, a working class anti-hero who's life never quite lived up to his expectations resonated with me. The character was a little bit older than me (4 years) but as a teenager I wholly related with the angst and the pains. He was also a child of the times speaking about the Thatcher years. The books dip in and out of his fictional life and I feel I have grown up with this character. The last book in the series, 'The Prostate Years' dealt with a man in his forties who hasn't achieved what he set out to do (that is something I can relate to) and looks at him dealing with serious illness (thankfully something I've not had to deal with yet). 

Sue Townsend's diary style of writing is the reason why I started blogging. There are books of diaries I kept which are long lost, it is something I've done most of my life. 

Thank you Sue, rest in peace... 

... Goodbye Adrian my old friend. 

1404.10 GETTING BACK ON

This has been an important day for me. Perhaps the most important in a long while.

For the first time in 148 days I got my leg over... 

...over the saddle of a bicycle. For the first time since the accident that saw my wrist broken in 4 places, surgery with 2 plates and 6 screws added, I have gotten back on a bike and rode.

Initially I was nervous, after all being hit by a car is quite a stressful occurrence. I took it quite steady but still I managed a 12K ride. The ride wasn't fast or anything to shout about since I was riding my work bike (that's the bike I ride at work, not what I ride to work).

I hope to ride again in the morning, I have a lot of fitness to recoup.

1403.04 FLOORED 2 GO

We are currently looking at redecorating our living room. The biggest job is to replace our ageing carpet with a laminate floor, something Morticia has been asking for since before the last carpet. We shopped around and found the perfect deal at the local 'Floors 2 Go' store. The staff were helpful and we paid for our new floor. We were told that the damp proofing membrane and edging strips would need to be ordered. That's when the issues began. All is explained in the email I sent to them... 

On 27th January I visited one of your stores in Rotherham and was pleased by the selection and the deal offered by sales staff. I purchased laminate flooring plus underlay and was told that a damp proofing membrane edging strips would be ordered and could be collected soon after. I paid for all the items. We were told that someone would telephone us when the items came into store.

After not hearing anything for 2 weeks I chased up my order. I was told it had yet to be delivered and someone would get back to me to let me know when i could expect delivery. No one called.

I tried to call back a number of times the following weekend where no one answered the phone.

I chased again a week later and was told the same and that I would be advised when it came into store. 

I left it for a couple of weeks and chased again. I was told that the damp proofing membrane was a rare item and not often available. I was asked why I specifically ordered this set up as there was a combined underlay and damp proofing available. I said that I was not offered this nor was I told that the separate membrane was difficult to source. I was offered a swap for the underlay I had for the combined underlay. I agreed and was told that the new underlay would be available by the end of the week and I would be phoned. 

Once again I received no phone call and it was left to me to chase. Yesterday I phoned and was told my items were available for collection. I went today to pick up the outstanding goods and was presented with the originally ordered damp proofing membrane (and the edging strips). I questioned this and why the membrane took so long to come. I was told that this item was like "rocking horse shit". I asked why I wasn't offered the other combined underlay to which I was told that it was much more expensive and that the system sometimes shows it in stock when it isn't. 

All in all its taken 6 weeks to fulfil my order. In that time I've been fobbed off, misinformed, never had my calls returned and been given in my opinion a very poor level of customer service. I had a friend lined up to help me fit the floor but now I have to wait for them to become available again. This episode has been a nightmare and what I thought was a good deal has turned out to be such a poor effort on your part. 

1402.28 SECOND HOME

Once again I find myself at my mother-in-law's in St Neots visiting and generally relaxing. We been coming down here for many years now and as such feel I know the town quite well. I've ascended the church tower, visited the fetes and markets and had a few in a number of the local pubs.

The only thing I've never done here is cycle. Cycling here is strange. Because it is so flat there are old ladies, vicars and tubby blokes out on bikes. So different from what I'm used too, don't think I've ever seen anyone wearing lycra here and there are few, if any proper road bikes.

We rarely do much when we're here. We usually visit town, Morticia is quite well known here (she visits more than me and she has brightly coloured hair). Today was slightly different, we visited a local chilli farm ( www.edibleornamentals.co.uk) which had a lovely cafe. It was empty today but I bet it gets busy in the summer, in fact I bet it would be a great cycling stop off.

I have to rely on my tablet computer heavily for entertainment since the choice of TV by our hosts can be not to my taste all the time (thank god for Netflix).

I usually enjoy my time here (apart from the fact that our hosts are smokers), it's a nice community for a bunch of southerners.

1402.26 THE TARTAN BREAKUP?

The news is awash with the forthcoming referendum in Scotland. Watching the politicians from both sides is like watching a relationship break up on Facebook (we've all seen them). It's embarrassing and quite frankly a little worrying.

I'm not Scottish and don't have any connections with Scotland aside from a short holiday about 20 years ago when Morticia and I drove up to Inverness to look for the Loch Ness monster (we were unsuccessful but had a great break). I do know some Scottish people who are a little peeved that they can't vote since they don't live there anymore. I think they're annoyed because if it's a 'yes' they instantly become 'Scottish' and thereby become foreigners. Maybe since Scotland won't immediately be an EU country they might get deported! 

1402.05 MEXICAN ARM WRESTLE

It's been 103 days since my accident and since I last rode a bike.

For the past 6 weeks or so I've been having regular physio sessions at Rotherham General Hospital. Last week I was told my strength had come a long way (not up to previous levels though) and my movement had 'plateaued' and as such there was little more she could do for me. At that point she discharged me.

So that is it?

Tomorrow I'll be attending the Fracture clinic where I expect the consultant to discharge me. So now I'm on my own, I don't have full movement, I have a loss of feeling in my fingers and a numb spot around my scar. I guess I have to learn to live with it.

1402.04 OFFICE CAT

Since my return to work a month ago I've been confined to the office whilst my wrist gets stronger. I have to say that the office isn't my ideal environment and I can't wait to get back outdoors. I'm hoping I'll get the green light to be out after next week.

1401.29 MOBILE WEBSITE

My website has been around for many years and for the last few years I've toyed with having a mobile version. Everyone seems to have one and even my blog has a special mobile view when accessed via a phone (thanks to Blogger). I'm no web designer, just a tinkerer and have always thought it would be a difficult task for my skill level so I never pursued it.

Today I had a nasty session at the physio which left me feeling sick and in a bit of pain. I ended up booking the rest of the day off work. After a couple of painkillers and a little nap I found myself doing a bit of work on my laptop (proper working from home work). After that I found myself playing with a free service that mobilised your website. To detect a mobile device I had to add some HTML code into my website to redirect to their service. This got me thinking that there must be a bit of code that I could use to redirect to my own creation. I quickly found it and knocked together a simple version of my home page.

I uploaded to my server and after a little tweeking it works. On a phone now (not a tablet)if you go to www.kirt.me.uk you are redirected to a simplified version of my home page. I'll keep working on it but I'm enjoying getting back into my web presence.

1401.19 CHRISTMAS ALES

I had a variety of ales over the festive period. I love the variety of beers that are available these days, all have their own specific charms. I think my overall favourite out of the selection I tasted this year has to be Shephard Neame's 'Christmas Ale', a strong dark and flavourful brew. A special mention has to go to 'Old Speckled Hen' which I had a keg of, it was great to have beer on tap (£13 for a 5 litre keg from Tesco).