This Sunday afternoon, I decided to take a walk locally, simply to stretch my legs and perhaps burn up a few calories. I have walked past the St Mary's church tower many times in the last 20 years, and knew that there had been some restoration done upon it or iniside it, but had never seen inside, or walked to the top. Imagine my delight to find that today was an Open Day, and that I could actually visit inside.

Yes, where have I been? Nowhere, really; it's just that somewhen last September (2007, that is) I didn't feel like putting more onto the blog. Not that there wasn't anything to write about, it was just overcoming the hurdle of getting started.

I stumbled upon these earlier today; thought they fitted into the general theme (and certainly the title) of this blog, so here they are. See the mutatoes right here .

It may not be George W's exact pronunciation, but it is one used very frequently here in the UK when taking the p**s out of Bush; particularly by Rory Bremner and his cohorts.

I wonder if those who bandy this about know what they're actually saying? Do they realise that they are actually insulting the President of the United States? Well, probably yes, but maybe not in the way that they originally intended.

A quick look in a modern dictionary, such as the Collins, or the OED, will reveal that a 'merkin' is actually a hairpiece to cover the pudenda, or in former times, the pudenda itself! Now that's a description of George W that I can live with!

In his case, even the 'Bush' works, even if it is only ersatz.

For more information on this word and its various uses, see this entry in Wikipedia.

No, this isn't what Moses said before he parted the Red Sea!

Is it just apochryphal that all black cab cabbies use this as a response when asked to travel over many of London's river bridges? Or do they actually use it?

These aren't my creations, but I thought them good enough to post a link to.

Enjoy! Vegetable Carvings

My SO has a sleep problem - I think it's called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome (DSPS).

Although going to bed at the usual time (say 11 pm or so), she can sometimes not get to sleep until 4 in the morning. And it isn't - apparently - because she is lying there thinking about problems, or worrying or anything like that; she just can't get to sleep at a 'normal' time.

Not too much to say on this, really. Having had what we thought was a fairly modern washing machine for the last six years, it had to be replaced as the bearings on the drum went suddenly.

Perhaps I should have anticipated the problem, as it was getting a little on the noisy side. But, the new machine was delivered and installed - by me - today.

I don't know how we put up with the old one, to be honest - this thing whispers, even when it is spinning at 1600 rpm. I had to keep looking in the kitchen to make sure it was still running. And it is not one of those expensive jobs, either - just a run-of-the-mill Hotpoint! At the end, the previous one forced one to leave the room whilst it finished the spin cycle.

Happy punter, happy partner, clean knickers!

Is it just me, or are charities becoming ever more agressive in their search for supporters and funds?

I'm not sure what these things are called, but they must have a very active sex life - they've sprouted like mushrooms in Haringey - or at least in Crouch End.