Medal Table

I've probably mentioned this before - indeed probably during the last Olympics - but the US inexplicably orders its medal table by total number of medals.  Whereas the rest of the world more sensibly orders it by the number of golds, number of silvers, etc.  So Americans are currently rejoicing that they are atop the medal table.  In reality, as I write this, even we are ahead of them in the proper medal table.  Though I'm sure that won't last.  And I maybe think that too much attention is paid to the medal table, with it's totally ridiculous imbalance between sports.  I can't get over that swimming has 37 different gold medals, which is way too many and more than double any other sport at the Olympics (apart from athletics - but I'm OK with that, since athletics is the GOAT of Olympic sports).     

Deja Vu

Oh no, I have another neighbor causing me grief.  This time it's the Spanish-language speaking family south of me - below and across the street.  Since last week, they've got some kind of souped up car (maybe a buggy?) with an incredibly loud engine and an incredibly loud sound system.  And it's really been testing my over-sensitivity to noise.  There have been multiple occasions when I've been disturbed by either a revving engine (or indeed, just the idling engine) or playing their stupid Spanish-language music exceptionally loudly.  After one too many times of being bothered by the thumping bass, I did manage to shout down to them a request to turn down the music - and they have obliged.  But that hasn't stopped me still being occasionally bothered by the sound of their engine, and still being able to hear their music even if it's played  at a quieter volume.  I don't know how long this is going to go on for - I fear it might not get better any time soon.  Do I consider next steps, or do I just suck it up?  To be determined.          

Exercise

I played over 2 hours of ping pong today in 2 sessions.  I'm exhausted. 

Bird Bath

I don't know how this has happened, but my bird bath has sprung a leak.  I guess that's what you get for buying a cheap one (or should that be cheep one - ha ha!).  I only noticed the other day that the water level had dropped significantly, and the damp patch below the bath on the patio was not drying away despite how hot it is outside.  I thought it might just be that one of the birds had just had a vigorous bath - which wouldn't be the first time I've seen that - especially as the water was an alarming shade of brown.  But closer inspection reveals a split in the polyresin.  And I have absolutely no idea what could have caused it.  It doesn't look like something a bird or an animal could have done, and it certainly wasn't me.  A mystery.   

Homeownership

Today, for some reason I became profoundly worried about the fact that I am still not a homeowner.  If I am to be a forever renter - which seems likely - then that means I'm going to have a huge housing expense in retirement that most other people my age will not.  Do I/will I have enough saved up to account for this?  I honestly don't know.  And if I ever want to become a homeowner, then I really need to do so soon - but that is just not going to happen while I continue to live in the Seattle area.  What a dilemma.  And it all makes me very nervous - I really need to find a trustworthy financial/retirement advisor.    

Paris

With the opening ceremony being held today, I have a lot of thoughts on the Olympics.  The main one being I probably won’t watch much of it.  And I’m not just talking about the opening ceremony (which I probably won’t watch at all), but the Olympics as a whole.  And the American TV coverage can take a lot of the blame for that – with its bloated and jingoistic coverage.  It’s a shame, because I do like checking out the cornucopia of ridiculous and stupid sports every 4 years that otherwise I couldn’t give a monkeys about.  Though I could hark on forever about which sports should and which sports shouldn’t be in the Olympics.  Similarly for which sports have too many medals (swimming), which sports are too reliant on subjective judging (any “trick-based” events), which sports are particularly boring (sailing, synchronized diving).  I could dwell on the very dodgy politics and shady finances of the games.  Or who in addition to Russia is conducting state-sponsored dosing (I’m looking at you Chinese swim team).  I read somewhere that Team GB is expected to get 50 to 70 medals – which seems an awful lot, but then we have done inexplicably well at the last few Olympics and it’s not like we have to worry about Russia and Russian athletes in many of the sports this time around.  But don’t expect me to be rabidly cheering on the British athletes – I don’t care enough.  It’s telling how very fleeting the winners’ moment of fame is e.g. how many of the 22 Team GB gold medalists in the last Olympics could you name?

Cat

I didn't post any photos of my landlord's cat that my trail cam captured, even though there were a few.  But maybe I should have kept them, because speaking to my landlord today he said that his cat has gone missing.  I wonder if it has become a victim of one of the predators captured by my trail cam (i.e. coyote or bobcat).  Apparently my landlord has owned a lot of cats over the years that have just gone missing - suggesting that these predators are probably even more prevalent than my trail cam suggests.   

Photos

Major panic this evening as I thought I'd deleted all the photos I'd taken during my UK trip.  Why is transferring photos from a phone to a laptop so complicated?  I'm sure it used to be so much simpler.  I was getting lots of "your iCloud storage is full" type messages on my phone - the main culprit being all the photos I'd taken, so thought I'd copy them to my laptop in order to free up the space.  But then I got confused between my iCloud folder and my non-iCloud folder - both of which contained the same photos - and started deleting the wrong ones.  Thank god for the recycle bin.  I know I get unlimited photo storage with my Amazon Prime membership, so don't know why I don't make use of this.  So now all my photos are on my laptop, where they'll probably remain unseen for the rest of time.

Trail Cam Update

Some of the better photos from my trail cam over the last few weeks, until it decided to stop taking photos.  

Election Update

I think it's fair to say that we can still expect many twists and turns to come in the lead up to the US presidential election.  Biden dropping out was somewhat unexpected, but I respect him for doing so.  However, I think that Kamala Harris will not beat Trump.  And I think it is very wrong for the Democratic party to automatically throw all their support behind her without considering other, and better, options.   

TV Theme Tunes #92

I haven't done one of these for a while, but for some reason this show entered my consciousness today.  It's not even a show I particularly remember watching, so I cannot explain what triggered it to enter my memory.  Weird.

Sleeping Patterns

As always seems to be the case when I come back from the UK, my sleeping patterns take a long time to re-adjust.  And they're currently all over the place - on my first night back I woke up at 2 am, and on my second night back I didn't go to sleep until 2 am.  And in between, some napping and generally feeling very tired.  Not good - I need to get this straightened out before a potentially taxing work week ahead.   

Carnage

I don't know what kind of weather we had in Seattle in the 3 weeks that I was away, but I've come back to carnage outside my house.  Moles have devastated my yard.  My landlord (or his son) has done a half-assed job of cutting my grass.  And I assume there's been some hot weather here, because most of the grass has turned brown.  All my hummingbird feeders were empty, as was the bird bath.  So I hope the bird life is still around.  And something was off when I was outside, and I couldn't put my finger on it until I realized that my landlord has apparently cut down one of the trees beside my driveway.  It was one that was already bent over quite dramatically, so I'm glad he did it now rather than it eventually falling down and taking the overhead wires with it.  I guess I had noticed the subtle difference in the treeline.       

British Airways

Several reasons why I might never fly British Airways again:

- I HATE Terminal 5 at Heathrow.  Even going into the business class check-in area, it was horribly undermanned and so I had to do self service i.e. print my own luggage tags.  It meant that (a) no chance of an upgrade and (b) no priority tags for baggage arrival, even though I'm entitled to it

- The meal service on board was disappointing.  It wasn't like I was at the back of the premium economy section, but they still ran out of the meal choice I wanted.  And to rub it in, an item was missing from the replacement meal they gave me.  And then they decided to skip me on one of the drink's service.  The service seems to get worse every time I fly.

- Did I mention I hate Terminal 5?  Crowded, overpriced, and limited options. 

I'm no fan of Sea-Tac either - my flight actually arrived half an hour early.  You'd think that'd be great - but unfortunately it was the same time that a number of other international flights arrived, so the queues at passport control were horrendous.  And so poorly organized and, again, undermanned - naturally I got filtered into the slowest moving line ever.  Thank god I was able to drive back home just before the afternoon rush hour.     

Last Day

Kind of looking forward to going back to the US and returning to my home comforts.  I'm sure I'll quickly miss my time back in the UK. 

The Sculpture Park

A random trip today to a sculpture park that is, relatively speaking, in the middle of nowhere in "rural" Surrey.  It describes itself as "possibly the most extensive outdoor display of sculpture in the world".  It basically consists of a number of forest trails that take you past some 850+ sculptures.  And to actually follow all the trails and see all the sculptures takes a lot longer than you'd think (it says 2 miles, but it felt like we walked more than that and we didn't even see everything).  I'm not sure us philistines really appreciated all the art, but I actually really liked the setting and would happily spend more time walking the entire route.  I took a lot of photos, but I'm not sure if I'll get round to including them here.

Pre-teens

The first of what will probably be some very brief entries for my last few days in the UK, as my niece and nephew are staying with myself and my mum.  I can already tell that (a) it's going to be exhausting, (b) I'm going to have very little space to myself and (c) there is going to be a lot of cheating in any games we play. 

Windsor and Eton

I'm writing this before the football, so nothing to say about that.  Not much I want to say about the Trump assassination attempt either, apart from (a) if it wasn't orchestrated by the Trump campaign (not beyond the realm of possibility), then this guarantees Trump is going to win the election that he was probably going to win anyway, and (b) if you're going to attempt to assassinate ex-President Trump, then the least you could do is actually succeed, and (c) perhaps the most tragic aspect about the whole thing is no mention of addressing gun violence by changing the gun laws.  Nope, nothing will change.

Made the most of the nice weather today, and did another walk from my book of London walks - which actually involved braving the tourist hordes yet again, but this time around Windsor and Eton rather than London itself.  It was busy almost throughout the entire route, so I think doing this walk on a (relatively) sunny summer weekend day is probably not the best plan!  You could easily make a day trip of this e.g. I never went inside the palace (the queues looked horrendous).  But it was a good walk - even if the main highlights are representative of 2 parts of British society that I don't care for: the Royal Family (Windsor Castle) and toffs (Eton College).  Through a combination of outdated directions and construction work closing my desired route, got horribly lost around Eton College so probably ended up walking a lot more than the planned 4 miles.  And, if I'm going to be honest, a little bit disappointed with the quality of my photos - must do better.

Casualty

Crikey - so they're still airing Casualty.  That show has been on for years.  I'm guessing it's more of a soap opera now rather than an actual medical drama.  But I'm disappointed that Charlie Fairhead is apparently no longer on the show - the only character I remember from way back when.  Next you'll be telling me that Ian Beale is no longer on EastEnders (I have no idea if he still is or not). 

Ageing

A serious post, because I accompanied my Mum to see my Dad in his care home today.  And it might be the last time I see him alive.  I've got to be honest, and say that I don't like going to the care home.  It smells, it's depressing and it makes you reflect a lot on mortality - not just your loved ones but your own.  And it makes you feel guilty that you'd rather be anywhere else.  But for me the saddest thing is that I don't want to remember my Dad how he is now, and would rather remember him how we was.  It's an unfortunate, but very real, view on how devastating and traumatic the process of ag(e)ing and dementia/depression can be.  My respect has exponentially increased for the people that work at places like this, and the caregivers (like my Mum) who regularly and frequently go to visit despite how tough it must be to see their loved one's mental and physical faculties deteriorate.  

Inns of Court

I've been very lax with posting photos on this blog - but here are a few from a walk I took in London yesterday.  This was a shortish route through the heart of legal London - featuring an alien world to me of old Inns of Court where barristers train and practice.  This is the kind of walk I like - lots of history, relatively quiet considering you're in the heart of the city, and great architecture.        

England vs Netherlands

Half-time entry (1-1): a good half, by far the most watchable half that England had played so far.  Which means we'll probably lose!  It's a good open game - we have more of the possession but they look dangerous on the break.  But there is NO way that was a penalty - England were lucky.  We've had good chances - and I'll think we'll have more (as will the Dutch).  Though I fear England could get conservative in the second half and make the game a lot less enjoyable.   

Full-time entry (2-1): a terrible half - or more accurately, a typical England half.  Ponderous, labored, dull.  Yes, blame the Dutch for changing formation and stifling England.  But we are capable of breaking them down - but we didn't or couldn't.  But, fortuitously, for one significant exception.  And it was the difference.  At the very least, you cannot say England are not resilient.  Another game they had to come from behind.  But have we used up all our luck - last minute equalizer, penalties win, and now a very dodgy penalty.  Do we have anything left for Spain?  

Peaky Blinders

I'm only about 10 years late to the party, but I've been using the BBC iPlayer to catch up on a show I've never seen before - Peaky Blinders.  I've just finished the first season (in quick time, thanks to having nothing better to do due to the wet weather), and it's terrific.  Can I finish the remaining 5 series in a week?  Unlikely.  But when I inevitably finally (re-)subscribe to Netflix in the US, I can look forward to streaming the remaining episodes then.  

Haircut

Before

After

Weather

Well, so much for visiting UK in the summer and expecting some decent weather.  It sucks.  I can take some wet weather in Manchester/Lake District - that is no surprise.  But the forecast through next week in the South-East is terrible - lots of rain.  Not ideal when you want to take excursions into London and beyond.  And not ideal when you can't even take the dog out for a decent walk.

England 1-1 Switzerland (5-3 Penalties)

A travel day back to the SE today.  Just in time to watch another enjoyable and spirited England performance.  And definitely not yet another tense and laborious ordeal.  It seems almost inevitable it is going to be an England vs France final - the two least watchable and least deserving semi-finalists. 

Manchester

A brief trip into Manchester city center (centre) today.  Checked out a few free attractions - Manchester Museum of Art, John Rylands Library, Imperial War Museum North.  Really only visited the Imperial War Museum for any meaningful length of time - which is housed in a flashy new building and has some interesting exhibits, though I think the Imperial War Museum in London has more to offer.  Manchester is an interesting place - a kind of dynamic and youthful city, which excels in things like music, culture and sport.  It has great public transport (I like the tram system a lot).  But boy, is it an ugly city.  Not very photogenic - and a bit too modern for my tastes as it sheds it's bleak industrial past.        

Lake District

A day trip to the Lake District today - only complicated by the fact that (a) the weather was less than cooperative (cold, windy, lots of rain) and (b) my friend took his 18 month toddler along (which made us look like a gay couple!).   I'm reminded how long everything takes and how exhausting it is to have a toddler - not that I would ever really know!  I don't think I've ever been to the Lake District before - and it's the kind of place where just a few hours there does it massive injustice.  Especially when you only have time to go to a few places already inundated with lots of tourists.  I took plenty of moody looking photos, but again don't know when they'll appear on this blog.  I have an awful lot of photos to go through from the last few days...  An now to look forward to the election results.  Joy. 

York 3

My last day in York before heading over to Manchester.  And a better organized day - did everything I wanted to do with plenty of time to spare (namely interior of York Minister and National Railway Museum).  Even did the tower climb in York Minister - a climb up the tower to the tallest point in York.  Wanted to go in the morning, but first available tour wasn't until the afternoon, just a few hours before I had to get the train.  After a lot of indecision - particularly as the climb wasn't recommended for people with high blood pressure - I went ahead and did it anyway.  Glad I did - the climb was tiring but perfectly doable, and I certainly wasn't the least fit person in our group, and was rewarded with great views.  But the combination of walking around, this climb and then having to heft my bags around has left me totally exhausted.

Sorry, still no photos to post.  And I'm not sure how extensive my posts are going to be over the next few days.

York 2

The hotel internet speed is appallingly slow, so I'm not even going to try downloading any photos yet (I'm stubbornly refusing to pay extra for the high speed connection!).  I'll update this blog post later with some photos.  But not the most satisfying day.  Something is definitely amiss.  I'm not eating well and I was feeling unwell last night and had an incredibly restless night's sleep.  So today started a lot later than I hoped and just consisted of a lot of rather aimless walking around.  I should really have planned out my activities a bit better - I don't feel I'm making the most of my brief stay here.  I don't really want to go on one of those touristy open-top buses, but I think maybe I should have signed up for some kind of organized tour (though I cannot be tempted by one of the many evening ghost tours!).  However, I did see most of what I wanted and did complete the loop round the city walls.  But the hordes of tourists are really testing my patience - and I say that as one of the horde.       

York

A travel day today, as I took the train up to York.  Why York?  I kind of wanted to visit a city with a bit of history.  The only thing I remember from visiting York as a kid was the smell of medieval poo on the Jorvik Viking Centre ride, and I know it has more to offer than that.  And first impressions from only the briefest of brief walks this evening are that I'm going to like York.  Reminds me very much of Bath, in that the city has just built up around it's history rather than draw attention to it.  And already walked past lots of atmospheric old pubs, which makes me wish I wasn't alone.  Unfortunately, as I'm greeted with cold and rain on my arrival, I'm reminded it's grim up north.  I was literally the only person just wearing a t-shirt.  Looks like it's going to be overcast tomorrow as well, which is a shame (though I'm sure it won't stop me taking loads of photos!).  What was surprising was how easy it is to get to York from London.  It was a less than 2 hour ride from King's Cross, on a pleasantly uncrowded train - and, shockingly, direct.  York was literally the first stop on this Middlesbrough bound train.  Nice.