Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in East, Central, South West London, Essex, Surrey and West Sussex (Inc Cineworld Crawley) (The NEXT Chapter).

Week 294 Saturday 1^st  until Friday 7^th February 2020.

Happy 14th B’day to WB, still pretty after all these years.

Happy (mumble, number) Bday to George on 4^th.  Don’t worry you will always be younger than me.

A long running theme to this ramble is escaping, running away from the rat race.  A few years ago I was lucky to sample a more relaxed life in Tofo, Mozzibeak beside the Indian Ocean.  This March it will be 4 years since I returned to London and hardly a day goes by without me thinking of the people and marine life I met and experienced.  Sadly, I have slowly come to accept that I will probably never return, that’s a painfully though sentence to write.

 “These Two love there Aunty MOZ.  The organised Aunty”.

But I still need to escape and get away from this unhealthy rat race.  The last couple of weeks I have been watching people on webcams, not those type of **webcams!  These cameras are set up around a place in the UK I have never been to, The Shetland Isles.  A collection of about 100 islands (approx. 20 are inhabited with a population of 23.210 in 2012) that is nearer to Norway than the UK mainland.  For as long as I can remember I have felt drawn to these islands wondering if this is a place I could settle in.  What appeals is the small population, a relaxed lifestyle with nature and beautiful views all around.  Any bad weather would just make life more exciting.  Growing up I knew a couple of children (Vanessa and Eric) the grandchildren of the neighbours, who would visit London during school holidays, they lived on Shetland and told lovely stories about their lives.  Watching these webcams I wondered if they still live in there, I haven’t thought of them in decades.

 “007, meet 004 and 003”.

Over the last few weeks while watching the various cameras, I wondered if there were signs saying “if you stand here, you can be seen all over the world.  Think twice if you pick your nose or scratch your bum”.  This went through my mind as I saw people walking in and out of the tourist centre or the pub.  My favourite ones are the “cliff cams”, which as the name suggest look out to sea.  Watching the waves smash onto the rocks is very therapeutic.  It’s stated that occasionally Orcas can be spotted, I’m still looking.

 “They enjoyed there afternoon out”.

From what I can see and read there is nothing not to like about Shetland, at some point I will have to visit.  If at a future date I happen to go missing, then keep an eye on the webcams because one day you might spot me standing outside the pub scratching my ample lardy ass for everyone to see.

“Monday to Friday, going home is the best part of the day”.

** http://www.shetlandwebcams.com

And Now For Something Completely Different……

 “Just getting rid of the evidence of brekkie”.

Just wondered if it’s only me, but has anyone noticed an increase in rubber bands lying around on the pavement.  This might be a “London issue” if it is, then you are lucky to live in a place where people care about the environment and possible danger to wildlife.  The main culprits as far as I can tell are as postman/women (or however the individual identifies themselves).  I’m not saying that every postie drops them, but a fair number that I am now stopping to pick up have been dropped on a letter delivery round.  Yes, you read that correct, I have started to pick the bands up.  How long will it be before I am picking up litter that’s been casually tossed aside?  If anyone watches me, they probably feel sorry for the old bag lady picking shiz up.

 “I did pick this up”.

There really is no excuse for this additional littering (London’s streets/roads have enough already on them) especially when we are supposed to be so much more environmentally aware.  The reason I am picking the bands up is that i have read and seen pictures of animals getting trapped or worse dying because the rubber was eaten.  When I have a decent collection of maybe I should deliver them to the local post office and ask for them to be reused.

 “second one spotted in a couple of mins”.

And Finally……

 “The morning looked pretty”.

The left boot of a favourite pair suddenly became slippery, after my recent fall I didn’t want to risk going arse over tit again.  Looking at the underside it was clear that the thin grippy layer (a cobbler’s technical term) had come off.  A couple of days later when I arrived home, my friend presented me with something thin found on the pavement while on the way to the station, the bottom of my boot.  This meant I had passed it several times over a couple of days.  My friend either has better eyes or just keeps them open while out. I did consider hammering it back on, but I think an expert should probably do it.

 “Light fitting of the week.

Congratulations to a friend who was nominated secretly for ‘Celebrating Success’ award” at their work and won.  About time they were recognised for their wonderfulness.  If there is a swanky do, I’ll give them a huge bag to stash any leftover free food or bottles of drink. It would be wrong not too!

 “Distracted by Malcolm tearing a strip out of another poor victim”.

My Mid Life Crisis Conts……

This week I have mainly been watching:  

“Ares”, (S1, ep 1).  “Cheers”, (S6, ep 15 to ep 25)(S7, ep 1 to ep 5).  “Click”, (TX: 01/02/20).  “Dolittle”, (2020).  “Inside No.9”, (S5, ep 1).  “Last Tango In Halifax”, (S1, ep 1).  “Luna Nera”, (S1, ep 1).  “Omniscient”, (S1, ep 6).  “Ragnarok”, (S1, ep 1).  “Star Trek: Picard”, (S1, ep 3).  “The Goes Wrong Show”, (S1, ep 6).  “The Graham Norton Show”, (S26, ep 16, TX: 31/01/20).  “The Incredible Story Of Marie Antoinette’s Watch With Nicholas Parsons”, (TX: 06/10/16).  “The Last Leg: Countdown To Brexit”, (S19, ep 3, TX: 31/01/20).  “The Thick Of It”, (S1, ep 1 to ep 3)(S2, ep 1 to ep 3)(Special: Rise Of The Nutters, TX: 02/01/07)(Special: Spinners And Losers, TX: 03/01/07).  “Top Gear”, (S28, ep 2, TX: 02/02/20).   “Wisting”, (S1, ep 9 & ep 10).                  

Doctor Who Watched This Week:

“The Smugglers”, (S4, Prod Code CC)(ep 3, TX: 24/09/66, LC Recon)(ep 4, TX 01/10/66, LC Recon)(Loose Cannon, “Intv: Richard Hunt”, “Production Featurette”, Aug 08).

“The Tenth Planet”, (S4, Prod Code DD)(ep 1, TX: 08/10/66)(ep 2, TX: 15/10/66)(ep 3, TX: 22/10/66)(ep 4, TX: 29/10/66, BBC Recon).

“The Power Of The Daleks”, (S4, Prod Code EE)(ep 1, TX: 05/11/66, LC Recon)(ep 2,  TX: 12/11/66, LC Recon)(ep 3, TX: 19/11/66, LC Recon)(ep 4, TX: 26/11/66, LC Recon)(ep 5, TX:03/12/66, LC Recon)(ep 6, TX: 10/12/66, LC Recon)(LC Recons, July 99).

 “The Highlanders”, (S4, Prod Code FF)(ep 1, TX: 17/12/66, LC Recon)(ep 2, TX: 24/12/66, LC Recon)(ep 3, TX: 31/12/66, LC Recon)(ep 4, TX: 07/01/67, LC Recon)(Loose Cannon, “Intro: Michael Elwyn”, “Carry On Culloden”, “Historical Extract”, “Production Featurette”, Aug 07).

“The Underwater Menace”, (S4, Prod Code GG)(ep 1, TX: 14/01/67, LC Recon)(ep 2, TX: 21/01/67)(ep 3,  TX: 28/01/67)(ep 4, TX: 04/02/67, LC Recon)(“Intro: Frasier Hines”).

“Praxeus”, (S12/S38, ep 6, TX: 02/02/20).

This week I have mainly been listening to:  

“Daddy Look At Me”, (S2, ep 15, 06/02/20).  “Iain Lee (Bonus)”, (04/02/20).  “Iain Lee (Highlights)”, (29/01, 30/01, 31/01, 03/02. 04/02, 05/02, 06/02/20).  “LBC: Mystery Hour”, (07/02/20).  “NASA: Houston We Have A Podcast”, (ep 130, 07/02/20).  “Nick Abbot (Whole Show)”, (01/02, 02/02, 07/02/20).  “Rule Of Three”, (S5, Trailer 03/02/20)(ep 1, 06/02/20).  “Soundtracking With Edith Bowman”, (ep 179, 01/02/20).  “The Old Doctor Who Podcast”, (ep 80, 24/07/19)(ep 81, 14/08/19)(ep 82, 04/09/19)(ep 83, 25/09/19)(ep 84, 16/10/19)(ep 85, 06/11/19)(ep 86, 24/11/19)(ep 87, 18/12/19).  “The Nick Abbot Habit”, (03/02/20).  “The Skewer”, (BBC Radio 4)(S1, ep 5, 05/02/20).  “The Skewer: Podcast”, (BBC Radio 4)(S1,ep 4, pt 1 & pt 2: 04/02/20).  “Walking The Dog With Emily Dean”, (ep 55, 03/02/20).  “What’s Your Problem? With Nick Abbot And Carol Mcgiffin”, (S1, ep 3, 03/02/20).  “Woke Up! And Enter The Maelstrom”, (S1, ep 3, 31/01/20)(ep 4, “Uncle Arthur” 02/02/20).  Morrissey”,  “Beck”,  “The Stone Roses”,  “The Cranberries”,  “Green Day”,  “The Beloved”,  “Ash”,  “The Clash”,  “Beacon Blue”,  “The Blue Oyster Cult”,  “10cc”,  “Badly Drawn Boy”,  “Skunk Ananise”,  “KT Tunstall”.