Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in East, North East & West London, and Surrey (The NEXT Chapter).

Week 229 Saturday 2^nd until Friday 9^th November  2018.

And now, its time for a rant about car park’s.

 “I recycled this pointless pieces of paper”.

Last Sunday I needed to do some shopping, the car park I visit is free that day.  To enter though I still needed to press a button take a ticket for the barrier to lift.  Later when leaving the barrier rose automatically as the car approached.  What was the point of the ticket!  Think of the thousands of pointless tickets issued that day and every Sunday.  We are constantly being told that we need think about waste, saving Earth’s precious resources; this is a good example of needless waste.  There could be a good reason for the tickets, but surely there system could be adjusted so that they are not issued on a free day.  But who am I to comment! I’m a nobody working in a call centre!

 “Heard this man giving a call centre worker hell, i would have loved to say something! I didnt!”

In other car park news.

 “Enjoyed some Sri-Lankian and Indian food this week”.

A couple of nights ago my best friend and I saw the new Halloween film, which was very good.  Because MOZ was with me, I didn’t lose her car (read last week’s blog) in the multi-story.  After the film we hunted around our bags looking for pound coins, while keeping an eye out for any masked lunatic’s brandishing a kitchen knife lurking in the shadows.  Driving down the ramp leading to the outside world we discovered that the barrier was in the “up” position.  We could have exited for free! Couldn’t there be a process that warns drivers that they don’t actually need to pay?  Deep down I felt robbed of four quid, though on the upside I found things in my bag I thought I had lost, and didn’t get killed by an escaped mad man.

And Now For Something Completely Different……

 “MOZ demonstrating her Chicken Wings move”.

You may remember if you have been reading this shiz for a long time that from November 2016 until late September 2017 my best friend and I were doing Aerial Yoga in a basement in Central London.  This is Yoga which uses a sling suspended from the ceiling made of parachute silk.  This came to an end when the instructor packed up and moved to India.

 “I pay good money to be strung up like this”.

A couple of months ago we got word that he was now in Lithuania and coming back to London for a special session (last weekend).  This will hopefully lead to regular monthly classes from January 2019?

 “Never been here before, not sure what else to say……”

Both of us have really missed this form of exercise.  For me I particularly enjoy lying completely enveloped in the sling while it gently swings back and forth.  My signature position however, is hanging upside down with my feet wrapped around the silk holding me above the floor.  The 75 min session came and went far too quickly.  Not only was it lovely to see instructors Richard and Agne again, but others that used to attend the Whitechapel sessions.  Both of us left with a spring in our step and a totally euphoric feeling.  Once a month is never going to be enough, but if that’s what it has to be, then so be it.

 “Billy the puppy, and waterfowl.  Not a good mix”.

And Finally……

 “7.30am, looks pretty”.

It’s early November and I am already seeing full on “big budget” Crimbum ads on TV. Traditionally these have appeared in early December.  Seeing them now just points out how desperate shops are to persuade you / me to spend with them instead of going online.

 “7.45am, looking even nicer”.

Crimbum really does seem to be getting earlier and earlier every year.  Tinsel and tacky gifts start appearing on shelves at the end of August.  I heard this week that a branch of a large corporate coffee shop in a fashionable part of London (I assume all branches have had the same memo) has been told to play seasonal song on a Friday.  I love a festive hit like the next person, but I only want to hear them during the week of holiday.  In the late 90s I worked in a Sci-Fi shop, we were told to play annoyingly happy tunes about snowmen and fat men in red suits, which the staff felt didn’t fit the character of the shop.  Of course when anyone from head office visited we played them loudly, but once the visit was over the CD was changed to something that suited the environment better.  Customers might have preferred the jingling tunes, but they were not there for 8 hours a day.  “The customer is NOT always right”.

 “Visit to the local flee pit.  Something was happening, a red carpet”.

Crimbum is fun for kids! For adults (certainly me) it’s a couple of extra days away from the grind of work.  The celebration takes place over 2 days, it should not last for 6 months.  But I’m not a company owner who is trying to keep things afloat I suppose, but to me it does seem over the top.

There Bah-humbug Grumpy rant over.

 “We remember”.

Oh, One More Thing……

I would to apologise to London Overground passengers a couple of days ago for my Mackerel breathe, which I made worse by eating spicy nuts.  Don’t worry I will be contacting the authorities and handing myself in. “#See it. Say it. Sorted”.

 “Writing this shiz, what a Krunt”.

My Mid Life Crisis Conts……

This week I have mainly been watching:  

“12 Monkeys”, (S2, ep 2 to ep 13)(S3, ep 1).  “Click”, (TX: 03/11/18).  “Crow’s Blood”, (S1, ep 1 to 4).  “Doctor Who”, (S37/S11, ep 5).  “Frasier”, (S2, ep 10 to ep 20).  “Halloween”, (1978).  “Halloween”, (2018).  “Have I Got News For You”, (S56, ep 6, TX: 09/11/18).  “Informer”, (S1, ep 5 & ep 6).  “Lego Masters”, (S2, ep 1, TX: 06/11/18).  “Louis Theroux’s: Altered States: Love Without Limits”, (TX: 04/11/18).  “Odd Squad”, (S1, ep 11).  “Our Musical History, Indie And Beyond With Shaun Ryder And Alan Mcgee”, (TX: 02/11/18).  “The Apprentice”, (S14, ep 6, TX: 07/11/18).  “The Apprentice: Honest Subtitles”, (S4, ep 6, TX: 07/11/18).  “The Apprentice: You’re Fired”, (S13, ep 6, TX: 07/11/18).  “The Great Model Railway Challenge”, (S1, ep 5, TX: 02/11/18).  “The Last Leg”, (S15, ep 3, TX: 02/11/18).  “The Mash Report”, (S3, ep 3, TX: 09/11/18).  “There She Goes”, (S1, ep 4).  “Tuckers”, (S1, ep 1).  “Will & Grace”, (S10, ep 5).  “Zapped”, (S3, ep 4).           

This week I have mainly been listening to:  

“Brian Gittens And Friends”, (ep 46, 06/11/18).  “Chasing Earhart”, (ep 65, 04/11/18).  “Griefcast”, (ep 58, 07/11/18).  “Iain Lee (Highlights)”, (02/11, 05/11, 06/11, 07/11).  “In Poor Taste”, (ep 34, 23/12/15)(ep 38, 29/01/16).  “LBC Podcast: Mystery Hour”, (08/11/18).  “LBC Podcast: Nick Abbot (Whole Show)”, (03/11, 09/11/18).  “NASA: In Silicon Valley LIVE”, (06/11/18).  “NASA: Houston We Have A Podcast”, (ep 70, 09/11/18).  “Skeptiod”, (ep 648, 06/11/18).  “Soundtracking With Edith Bowman”, (ep 113, 05/11/18).  “Strange Times”, (ep 282, 28/10/18).  “The Adam Buxton Podcast”, (ep 82, 03/11/18).  “The Hitchhickers Guide To The Galaxy”, (S3, ep 4).  “The Nick Abbot Habit”, (S2, ep 2, 09/11/18).  “The Rabbit Hole”, (ep 66, 04/11/18).  “Morrissey”, “T-Rex”, “King Of Leon”, “Natalie Imbruglia”, “The Halloween Theme”, “Black Grape”, “The Stone Roses”, “Bowie”, “Fun Boy Three”, “The Sex Pistols”.