plubby’s blog

Would you go on vacation by yourself, and if so where would you go?
Submitted by Sean & Stefan.

Aaarrgh!  Internet stalkers!

What time is your alarm clock set for?  Do you use the snooze button?

*speechless*

So, Britain's most prolific lone bicycle thief has been caught for stealing commuters' bikes - as many as two a day - for the past 3 years.

Apparently he admitted 10 counts of theft and asked for another 92 similar offences to be taken in to account.

So, what happened to the other 300 - 400 'similar offences' (mostly mountain bikes)?

I'm giving you all fair warning:  there will be howling gale-force winds and horizontal rain lashing down at approximately 5 o'clock this afternoon in the Covent Garden area.

Yup - time for a PogMopCrop.

It's all very interesting irritating working on the charity side of the fence, trying to get past the dragons-at-the-door who are paid good money to protect their bosses from the likes of me.

I used to be one of those.  And I used to be bloody good at it.

Karma, see?

• Red Sea - no it isn't.
• Getting bladdered on next door's Jack Daniels on first night, doing the 'Madness' dance outside in the wee hours and jumping into the pool fully dressed is a very, very good way of nearly getting chucked out on your first night.
• And your second.
• Egyptian cab drivers are homicidal/suicidal nutcases.  Take a friend with you who will smack them on the back of the head while shouting 'Watch the road!' and 'BOTH hands on the wheel!' as you gibber in the corner watching the road rush past through the holes in the floor.
• Egyptian wine is not weaker than European wine.  Fact.
• Nor is Egyptian beer.
• It is very weird to enter your hotel room in the afternoons to find the staff have made amusing models out of your towels and sometimes your bedspreads.  The most impressive was the life-sized crocodile, which required both bedspreads and towels.  The creepiest was the babies, which had toilet rolls for heads.  With faces drawn on.
• That wasn't feta.

Right, off to stuff heavy boxes of handouts and a large stand into a black cab and off we go to set up the Hall for the dinner tonight.

I shan't be back here until a week on Monday - hurrah!  Bloody Plymouth tomorrow, a party tomorrow night, pack pack pack and a Red Sea beach on Sunday.

Have fun, y'all!

The light in question is a large helping of hot, bright sunshine.

On Sunday I shall mostly be heading to the land of of pyramids and camels.  Not that I shall be anywhere near either of those.  I am orft to the Red Sea for a week.

And I can't wait.

Just popping in to tell you I'm far too busy and important to pop in.

Umm ... oops.

Oh - and I'm going on hols next week.  Don't know where yet, but don't care.

HURRAH!

Take one Bank Holiday weekend and a handful of friends.

First pop down to Borough Market to acquire perfect cheeses, cream, butchers' sausages, artisan bread, bitter leaves, sweet plum tomatoes, perfect potatoes and onions, fresh sweet herbs and anything else that takes your fancy.  Don't forget to help yourself to as many samples as possible as you go round.

Marinade for an hour or so in a nearby lunchtime pub - in a decent pint of bitter or two.

Go your various ways to prepare your purchases and leave to cool.

The next morning, pack everything up, travel to Hampstead Heath and find your spot (under the tree with the '18' certificate - or so we assumed when couples with children hurried away from us once the anecdotes started).

Spend several hours eating sausage pie, cheese and onion pie, dhal pasties, garlic & lemon roasted chicken, Asian slaw, tabbouleh, Sicilian lemon salad, grilled radiccio with parmesan, potato salad with fresh dill, olive/sundried tomato/mozarella bread and lots of full-fat cheese.

Wash down with frozen Sea Breezes and plenty of giggles.

That was some picnic.