And back ...

Well, I finally believe that San Francisco has fog! Had a fantastic trip - worth the 10½-hour flight. Weather was wonderfully sunny (apart from one afternoon - unfortunately the one when we were walking in Muir Woods) but quite windy at times.

Some decent food too -- though the notion that the Michelin Guide uses the same standards for everywhere it assesses is, clearly, false. Food was good - but not great- in 2* restaurants and the service was adequate (but you can do better in Birmingham!).

Went to the Napa valley on a wine-tasting trip (I still don't really like Californian wines, I've tried, really I have) which was fun (and HOT) and saw the Coastal Giant Redwood trees in Muir Woods.

Off we go ...

So it's off to San Francisco in the morning (ought to be a song title, really). The cat's in the cattery and I just have to sort out our seats with Virgin Atlantic and we'll be fine (it's a bit odd that when you book as 2 people together they allocate you to opposite sides of the plane...).

Anyway, there are restaurants booked and a couple of trips planned (Muir woods where the giant redwoods grow and (of course) Napa valley for some wine tasting.

The Book

The end's in sight! Liz & I have been working unbelievably hard over the last couple of months in particular and the finished manuscript will go off to the publisher at the end of the week.

At more or less the same time, we're flying off to San Francisco for a well-earned break! Hooray!

Floor & Food

Finished the floor on Sunday. Lots of moving and sorting of book-case contents, returning guitars to their proper homes, etc., (they have to make room for a new friend, too - an Ovation double-neck!). Hope the damp problem's solved.

Last night went to the Mash House in Brindley Place with friends. It was OK, but the gravy was clearly Bisto's best. Sausages we OK too, but not special (to be fair, this isn't an expensive place). The on to a bar which had a 'Wednesday Special' on bottles of wine. Oh dear!

The Floor, cont.

So I finally managed to get the builder back today to lay the new floor. He's done a decent job of it -- BUT (and isn't there ALWAYS a 'but' with builders?) I found I couldn't shut the door to the room! The new flooring is about 1.5 mm thicker than the old. Now, I KNOW he had to take the door off to do the work, so you'd think he might check????
Anyway, though I'm really not a woodworker, I do have the right tools and it only took me 15 minutes to sort it (I guess a professional would have taken about 5).

There's a lovely phrase around here, "I wouldn't pay him in washers"!

The Floor contd.

It turns out that the self-levelling screed that had been used 6 years ago hadn't been given enough time to dy out (about 3 days, needed 2 weeks minimum), so there's been moisture trying to work its way out ever since.
So, had to do some repairs to the screed, and it's been drying out for about 10 days now (with a dehumidifier). We'll see ....

And ...

09:00
Q: Did the flooring fitter come?
A: No.

09:30: He's arrived!

11:10 - Oh dear! He thought the floor was dry, so I made him take up the damp-proof membrane & it was wet underneath! Damn!

More Moving ...

Looks like I may have survived the office move - we'll see.

Spent Sunday emptying the dining room at home. There's a problem with the laminate floor that we laid about 5 years ago and it's being replaced.


The picture indicates some of the stuff we had to move (the cupboards as well as the contents) + dining table & chairs, guitars, etc., etc. Took most of the day. It has motivated me to try to sell the 'portable' harmonium (that used to belong to Redditch Salvation Army) on eBay: should be intereating, at least.

Of course, al the upheaval has disturbed the cat - who's getting a bit old for sudden changes, I think. Oh well, she'll probably forgive me in time...

Office Move

The Department's move back to Muirhead Tower went quite smoothly, really. Lots of minor issues of course, lost boxes, won filing cabinets, etc. Largest irritation was the fact that (apparently) no key existed for my office -- in fact, my office didn't exist! While this, clearly, has some potential advantages, it's a bit problematic in terms of access and security. Eventually, they realised that the corridor outside my office has a room number (but no lockable doors) that had been confused with mine. What fun!

Work on the book proceeds, with my colleague Liz doing wonderful things!

Taste of Birmingham

The Taste festival has been on again this weekend, lots of restaurants demonstrating, etc. Had decided not to go, but then won free tickets, so sat in the VIP enclosure downing gallons of free gin and watching the world go by. There are worse ways of spending an afternoon!