Showing posts with label boat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boat. Show all posts
Thursday, 23 July 2009
Friday, 17 July 2009
Saturday, 18 April 2009
Study, Study, Study, Run, Drink, Dance
The early night set me up for a productive day. Three and a half hours of studying in the morning, charity shop shopping over lunch, then another three hours of reading in the afternoon. I feel happy and concerned about the course at the same time. Happy, in that I’m really enjoying learning something new, and concerned in that my exam is only nine weeks away and there’s still a bucketful to learn before even starting revision. In great news, my search of Oxfam Books turned out a textbook that fits around my course very neatly. In other news, I’ve ordered the proper one from Waterstones anyway.
After the study-a-thon, I stepped out for a quick 10k run.
Quick? 52.03. Which is a 5 min12 km, or an 8 min 24 mile. It felt really good all the way round.
Dunk, Kate, Megan, Ryan and I went to Odder for Chubb’s birthday. Craig and the whole of Fordbank were there, along with all of Fiveseven and a handful of other friends and relations. I was the sole representative of Parsonage. So it goes.
I had an amazing night. It was really good to catch up with Craig – who wants to race the boats again! – to ask Rich and Fran about their honeymoon – Safari in Kenya! – to speak to Max and Wallis about Max’s work strife, and how Wallis feels about it – he’s being forced to move to London – and to see the Cook and Woody rendition of Roots Manuva’s ‘Witness.’ We stayed at the bar until it closed, and then five-starred our way into Mojo, leaping past the front of the queue and up the stairs. Kate is very well connected! Yeehaw!!!
After the study-a-thon, I stepped out for a quick 10k run.
Quick? 52.03. Which is a 5 min12 km, or an 8 min 24 mile. It felt really good all the way round.
Dunk, Kate, Megan, Ryan and I went to Odder for Chubb’s birthday. Craig and the whole of Fordbank were there, along with all of Fiveseven and a handful of other friends and relations. I was the sole representative of Parsonage. So it goes.
I had an amazing night. It was really good to catch up with Craig – who wants to race the boats again! – to ask Rich and Fran about their honeymoon – Safari in Kenya! – to speak to Max and Wallis about Max’s work strife, and how Wallis feels about it – he’s being forced to move to London – and to see the Cook and Woody rendition of Roots Manuva’s ‘Witness.’ We stayed at the bar until it closed, and then five-starred our way into Mojo, leaping past the front of the queue and up the stairs. Kate is very well connected! Yeehaw!!!
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Two fine pieces of pie.
I have eaten two fine pieces of pie today. Last night I ate at the Gurkha Grill. Life is good.
The first was during my long walk, and the second was at the end of it. I got onto the river behind Tall Trees, and headed for Sale Water Park. The river was high, and full of junk. Ducks struggled to keep swim upstream, and were paddling hard, prow to the flow, just to stay in the same place. The path was muddy, with twigs and branches that had been washed up along it. Jogger after jogger, wet dog after galloping wet dog, I made my way past Chorlton Water Park and Jackson’s Boat. It rained on and off, but never for that long. I thought about sailing, about the job interview, about being in Wellingborough at the weekend. There were some dire sights around by the old school, with the horses’ field by the Nene flooded badly. The Mersey had flooded too. I got onto the Bridgewater canal at Stretford Cemetery and I unwrapped my piece of pork pie.
I walked up the canal, past the Watch House Cruising Club and the Coronation Street houses, and came to some newly built flats that had their own moorings. I wondered how much they might cost, and whether I’d be able to afford them. Onwards, through old industry and through new, past piles of containers five storeys high and dirty old pipes. The canal doesn’t flow. It’s like a huge, long thin pond. Litter floats eerily still, several bottles steady, each at different heights, based on how full they were – as if they were suspended in jelly.
It was much greyer than this. The boat with the red roof had been moored too tightly, and was almost underwater because the canal had risen.
I walked through here too. Everything under this bridge was flooded. I had to edge past on the raised footpath to the right of the canal as you look at the photo.
I didn't meet this young lady by the canal. What a shame!
On I walked, past Old Trafford, Salford Quays, the Ship Canal – I saw a hole next to the footpath, ten feet wide, six feet down to the white water gushing around inside it, a pipe halfway up gushing out brown water, and floating on the surface at least fifteen balls - footballs, basketballs, 99p funballs, old cistern balls from toilets – at least a hundred plastic bottles, and countless chunks of browned polystyrene. To Castlefield, to Love Saves The Day, and on to the next slice of pie. Tudor Pie, ham and chicken, and – for £2.80 – I’m sure it’s organic too. Thanks Hugh!
Ancoats, Strangeways, Mai Bai and Tall Trees saw the rest of the day passed merrily. After the gloom of not getting the job, last night’s Gurkha Grill, long chat with Pippa and baptism of Peep Show really cheered me up. Today it didn’t feel like there was anything on my mind, but I got to do a lot of thinking too. I feel very optimistic. Perhaps it’s endorphins from the exercise. Normandy, Withington, Bury St Edmunds, Melton Mowbray, and Wellingborough: I bet that I could even find five fun things to do in each of these places. I feel a series coming on…
The first was during my long walk, and the second was at the end of it. I got onto the river behind Tall Trees, and headed for Sale Water Park. The river was high, and full of junk. Ducks struggled to keep swim upstream, and were paddling hard, prow to the flow, just to stay in the same place. The path was muddy, with twigs and branches that had been washed up along it. Jogger after jogger, wet dog after galloping wet dog, I made my way past Chorlton Water Park and Jackson’s Boat. It rained on and off, but never for that long. I thought about sailing, about the job interview, about being in Wellingborough at the weekend. There were some dire sights around by the old school, with the horses’ field by the Nene flooded badly. The Mersey had flooded too. I got onto the Bridgewater canal at Stretford Cemetery and I unwrapped my piece of pork pie.
I walked up the canal, past the Watch House Cruising Club and the Coronation Street houses, and came to some newly built flats that had their own moorings. I wondered how much they might cost, and whether I’d be able to afford them. Onwards, through old industry and through new, past piles of containers five storeys high and dirty old pipes. The canal doesn’t flow. It’s like a huge, long thin pond. Litter floats eerily still, several bottles steady, each at different heights, based on how full they were – as if they were suspended in jelly.
It was much greyer than this. The boat with the red roof had been moored too tightly, and was almost underwater because the canal had risen.
I walked through here too. Everything under this bridge was flooded. I had to edge past on the raised footpath to the right of the canal as you look at the photo.
I didn't meet this young lady by the canal. What a shame!
On I walked, past Old Trafford, Salford Quays, the Ship Canal – I saw a hole next to the footpath, ten feet wide, six feet down to the white water gushing around inside it, a pipe halfway up gushing out brown water, and floating on the surface at least fifteen balls - footballs, basketballs, 99p funballs, old cistern balls from toilets – at least a hundred plastic bottles, and countless chunks of browned polystyrene. To Castlefield, to Love Saves The Day, and on to the next slice of pie. Tudor Pie, ham and chicken, and – for £2.80 – I’m sure it’s organic too. Thanks Hugh!
Ancoats, Strangeways, Mai Bai and Tall Trees saw the rest of the day passed merrily. After the gloom of not getting the job, last night’s Gurkha Grill, long chat with Pippa and baptism of Peep Show really cheered me up. Today it didn’t feel like there was anything on my mind, but I got to do a lot of thinking too. I feel very optimistic. Perhaps it’s endorphins from the exercise. Normandy, Withington, Bury St Edmunds, Melton Mowbray, and Wellingborough: I bet that I could even find five fun things to do in each of these places. I feel a series coming on…
Saturday, 19 January 2008
XKCD and February Third
Tracy comes back from Thailand, Kate comesback from Japan, and Emma too. Nice, isn't it?
Tuesday, 6 November 2007
Songs that I didn't expect to be the same length - 1
Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name Of
Belle & Sebastian's The Boy With The Arab Strap.
5 minutes, 14 seconds
Craig has suggested that the boat I'm making should be self-propelling, and that he should also make one, which we'll then race. That wasn't why I got into it in the first place - it was for the fun of making the boat, not the fun of racing it. But I can still enjoy building it, even if I have to fake my enjoyment of the race.
I was so stressed at work today that I had a three-cigarette lunchbreak, and ended up too tired to go to the cosmobiology lecture. Rubbishimo!
Thursday, 18 October 2007
Better boat-o-type photo
State Building. Watch this space.
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
I guess I'm in love... if not...
approximation of the 'chimney', the dice sweets that Kate sent from
Japan are the 'cabin,' and the yellow twisty torsoed beast is the
'captain.' It looks pretty cool already. The finished thing will look
miles cooler!
I'm going to build a boat
I want to build a boat, so I'm going to. Not a big boat that I can ride, but a small, hand-sized boat. There are a few rules:
1 - It must really float
2 - It must have a 'chimney'
3 - It must have a 'cabin'
4 - It must have a 'captain'
5 - It must have an 'anchor'
I want the boat to be about as big as a mobile phone. The items in inverted commas on the wish list need to look like a chimney, cabin, captain and anchor respectively, rather than serve the actual functions their names might suggest. I'll probably end up making the captain and the anchor seperately to the main boat itself, but the chimney and the cabin should be part of the main hull.
I've got some photos but gremlins mean I can't upload them right now. I'll try to trick them by email. Mwa ha ha ha!
1 - It must really float
2 - It must have a 'chimney'
3 - It must have a 'cabin'
4 - It must have a 'captain'
5 - It must have an 'anchor'
I want the boat to be about as big as a mobile phone. The items in inverted commas on the wish list need to look like a chimney, cabin, captain and anchor respectively, rather than serve the actual functions their names might suggest. I'll probably end up making the captain and the anchor seperately to the main boat itself, but the chimney and the cabin should be part of the main hull.
I've got some photos but gremlins mean I can't upload them right now. I'll try to trick them by email. Mwa ha ha ha!
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