Vagueness and the Aftermath - A sporadic diary

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It's freezer defrosting time at Chez Red. It happens two or three times a year and at first it's great, we get to eat that leg of lamb that we bought on special offer, or the Black Forest gâteau that we saved in case we get visitors.

But things are different now that we're getting closer to the bottom, where all the items we don't fancy or can't identify are lurking. It's the unlabled plastic bags with the solid lumps of brownish stuff inside that I fear the most.

Tonight we are having potato waffle faces with cauliflower cheese and prawns.

Mrs Red, who has a digestive system like a composter asked, "Do you want baked beans with this?"

[EssexPhil]

Heard some fascinating stories about the Teekster from someone called Ronnie de Beauloux (yes, really) a while back. Recall a certain Vladimir Putin being in 1

Playing less poker these days. Used to love playing live, particularly in Vegas, but the Diabetes means there are days when my energy levels plummet without warning.

Still playing on Sky, but probably only about twice a week. The Sky exclusive MTTs appear to have just the same old faces. It always had a massive problem attracting new players. It should have been able to entice various players from other i-poker skins, but it just hasn't happened. It really needed an agreement with Grosvenor for one another's live qualifiers.

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I remember Ronnie well from back in the day. He had a penchant for very tall, leggy blondes, which was a little unfortunate because he was only about 5ft 7.

He dropped off the poker scene and I didn't see him for ages. Then I bumped into him and he told me he had gone back to uni as a mature student, (about 60) because it gave him great opportunities to get his leg over.

[Pokerpops]

Nice of you to pop in David. I trust you have no more aches and pains than befits a man of your advancing years. 

What is occupying your time these days?

I see that footy team of yours are doing better than I, (or probably anyone else) predicted.

It's a funny old game.

I pop in pretty frequently Tom. As an ex-golfer I enjoy the golf thread and I’ve always enjoyed your words.
What occupies my time? Well, I’ve just finished converting a 7.5t Daf into a live-in for my daughter. Took way longer than I would have liked but the old one was falling apart. I’m now starting to focus on some DIY on the house that has been neglected whilst the truck was ongoing.
I’m still playing poker and will be at DTD in a couple of weeks captaining the Raise! For Jack team. We’ve had two second place finishes in the five years we’ve played in the APAT Team Event and we donate 50% of our winnings to Young Lives vs Cancer.

It is indeed a funny old game - last week’s result showed the benefits of playing with a structure that players understand and having the right people in the right place. I’m not expecting much today, but you just never know. I suspect that Ralph will be nervous though.

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Camper conversions. Definitely a lot more involved than people realise. Did you manage to salvage much from the old one?

As a neutral I'm looking forward to the match.

[Karabiner]

David is 100% correct - I'll be watching this one from behind the sofa!

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I feel like a bit of a fraud when I talk about football. I've always enjoyed watching it but only in the way I enjoy watching most sports, my real passions were boxing and especially snooker.

So I wasn't a proper fan, I didn't have a team or anything, and the violence and hooliganism during the late 70s and early 80s appalled me.

Over the last few years though, I've taken a keener interest because the friends I knock around with talk about it all the time. They are real fans though, steeped in the history and tribalism of the game. They can and do talk about results and incidents from games played half a lifetime ago, and there are literally dozens of players whose careers they have followed from beginning to end. Every weekend creates a buzz of excitement that I experience vicariously.

I kind of get it now.

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So Brentford v Forest at 2pm.

I'll be funking for Forest, and later on during the post mortem, I'll be trying not to say anything too stupid.

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I'm just learning about "towel-gate".

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Sorry Ralph, but that was great entertainment for a neutral.

[Pokerpops]

Sorry Ralph, but that was great entertainment for a neutral.

And for the non-neutral 

[Supernova]

Ordinary Wellington boots aren't really suitable or comfortable on long (ish) walks, but 4 or 5 years ago I discovered these.

Neoprene Wellies.

Basically a sturdy well made rubber boot with a tough, grippy sole and a waterproof Neoprene upper that hugs your leg instead of flapping around.

Bliss.


The thorn that gives the blackthorn its name is a phenomenal weapon. Up to 4 inches long and as hard as iron, it can really inflict some serious damage. The saving grace is, it's a defence weapon. Leave it alone and it will leave you alone.

Click to see full-size image.

A belated Happy New Year everyone.

Newportlad and I used to go out every autumn picking sloes from the blackthorn to make one of my fav tipples but we gave up as cheap gin stopped being cheap and you can buy it now so it's not worth it.

I do continue to make rhubarb and ginger gin and plum sherry.

My speciality grow your own is garlic, especially elephant garlic and this year I'm going to have a go at confit and black garlic,

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SHAZ! How the devil are you?  I hope yourself and himself are well.

Mrs Red makes sloe gin every year but muggins here has to pick the berries. I end up looking like a bad lion tamer.

When she's finished making the gin she uses the alcohol soaked berries in her home-made chocolate liqueurs.

Lethal they are.

Click to see full-size image.

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8 hours and 48 minutes of daylight in the Midlands today.

Ar this time of year we gain around 25 minutes per week.

Summer is hurtling towards us.

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When I'm on my walk, I regularly walk into a cloud of gnats on a paticular corner. I did it again today, even though we are in the middle of winter.

I've been wondering about it for a while, probably a couple of years actually, but I kind of put it down to climate change or something, but today when I got home, I looked it up.

They are winter gnats. (Trichoceridae) Who Knew?

Google says..

Though they are active year-round, Winter gnats are most noticeable in the colder months when the males perform their courtship dances. Swarms gather in areas that are kept warmer by the sun, such as woodland glades, riverbanks and above sun-warmed objects. Sometimes following people purely for the heat they give off (though they resemble mosquitoes they do not bite). In low winter sunshine, the reflective wings of the dancing swarms can make them appear like apparitions. In fact the gatherings are sometimes called ‘ghosts’

Click to see full-size image.