JP's Corner of The Blogosphere

Sometimes when I go shopping it falls to me to purchase items for the shared house in which I live. You know, things like bin bags, washing up liquid, and - as was the case yesterday - loo-roll. The member of staff in Sainsbury's who handed me a free pack of loo-rolls as part of a promotion couldn't have timed things much better therefore. Unfortunately her ability to pyschically read my shopping list stopped there, before she was able to also find me free pasta sauce, cereal and other more interesting items. Still, free loo-roll is better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick. I also disproved another famous saying this week, after a BBQ at work proved that there is after all such thing as a free lunch. Defined by user

Nim - if you want to skip this, feel free. When I came back from a short break in West Wales, I found that my housemate had had a bit of a clear out; the wine-bottles which had decorated our shelves, the jars which had been rinsed out and the cardboard from a few packing boxes lay ready to be put out with a very full box for recycling. Last night, helped by a friend, I duly put the recycling out on the street for collection this morning. Upon my return from work this evening I found that the bottles had gone, as had some of the cardboard, but the recycling box remains full, and there is still some cardboard to be taken. This is quite puzzling... a) Is it that today was not recycling day after all, and there is an oddball thief in the area? b) Was it just glass which was collected today, and some cardboard just happened to be taken for good measure? c) Are those the council employs to collect the recycling jobsworths like the rest of them, such that they couldn't be bothered to col...

The good news is that soon-to-be-deaf girl is no longer such an irritant. The bad news is this is because there are now some loud Welsh people on the train, who are drowning her out a bit. On balance, this isn't so bad as I quite like the Welsh accent, and it's quite funny listening to what they have to say. One of them evidently auditioned for the X-Factor, and although "they didn't really tell her exactly why she was unsuccessful", the short rendition which silenced the rest of the carriage gave me plenty of ideas as to why that might have been. Worryingly though, they did apparently tell her that she "wasn't loud enough". To do what, exactly?! Whilst I have been writing this the guard has just told the girl behind that she will need to change at Carmarthen. She won't be getting off soon then. I'm now wondering how she's managed not to drive her travelling companion mad. When she answered her phone just now she even left her music b...

...I need to rant about the girl sat behind me on the train (where else?) and this corner of the Blogosphere (where else?) is a good outlet for my venom. Her personal stereo* is very loud, and it's driving me to distraction. I gave her a glare but the net result is that she has now donned her sunglasses (despite the grey sky) and is doing the whole "I'm so much cooler than you" pose. Which she probably is, but that's not the point. Sorry, darling, I don't find it very attractive. Boomchaboomboomchaboomchaboomchaboomboomcha... Annoying, isn't it. *Yes, I think I probably should have said iPod/MP3 Player but 'personal stereo' is more 'grumpy old man' I feel. Defined by user

Well, I've been back from Bonnie Scotland for a week now, actually, but I've been a bit busy since then. As my mother discovered when she visited a while back, Scotland is not as wild or backward as one might think ("they have a Marks and Spencer's in Inverness!") and Sam and I had a wonderful few days. We spent the first two days in Edinburgh staying with our great aunt, which was fantastic. I think I've paid tribute to her before in this corner of the blogosphere, and her legendary status was confirmed when it transpired that the random Edinburgh couple who sat next to us on the journey North actually knew her (I kid you not). On arrival she took one look at my Grade 2 'style' and exclaimed "what's with the hair?!", and it was nice to see that all was well. Edinburgh, I have decided, has JP's seal of approval and I did enjoy seeing the sights. We packed quite a lot in, including an exhibition on tartan which turned out to be re...

It has come to my attention that there may be a glitch in the system because I was accused of censoring comments. I have not done this at all recently and would only very rarely see the need to do so. So if you have been trying to be pro-Guardian or whatever I can only apologise and hope that such glitches do not continue to impair your freedom of speech. Meanwhile I have been out on Loch Ness today, but you'll have to wait until my return to see my photos of the monster.