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Hampton Court
Hampton Court Palace is having work done to its exterior. Look how they’ve covered it up!
Generating electricity?No comments on Hampton Court -
It Was Just an Accident
A car mechanic unexpectedly encounters a man with an artificial leg who may have been his torturer in prison. Kidnapping him with the intention of exacting revenge he meets up with fellow victims in order to confirm his suspicions.
This Iranian film won the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and has received rave reviews, but I found it slow and laboured, though not without a little humour. A ‘tense thriller’ it is not.
I watched this in the revamped Curzon Cinema in Wimbledon. The plushness of the seats, the re-designed foyer (not keen) and the ‘gold-plated’ taps in the cloakroom are perhaps why ticket prices have jumped since I was last there, six months or more ago.
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I was there
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What a nightmare despite the team playing so well. But 4 yellows and 2 reds is totally unacceptable and yet again there's an omnishambles in the defence leading to a goal. This playing out from the back is so prone to error and can be so predictable such that opponents quickly catch on to pressurise defenders. An exciting game but a disappointing result. The crowd were terrific.“Posted by me on the fans’ forum soon after returning from the match.
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27th January 2005
I decided to destroy all my diaries dating back to 2004. Before doing so I thought there might be some notable dates / events that I should make a note of. There was nothing worth recording though it was interesting to recall things that happened long ago. I had a busier life back then!
However I did come across a rather puzzling entry for Thursday 27th January 2005.
9 – 12 Mlbrough (Marlborough? Middlesbrough?) Chimney Sweep £34
I have absolutely no idea what this was about. I’ve googled it but found nothing. I’m still racking my brain trying to remember what it could have been. It’s an event (9-12) with a price (£34), but what was it?!
As an aside, the previous day’s entry (“QEF IT User Group”) I well remember. Interestingly I have only just found out that the Queen Elizabeth Foundation (QEF), a disability charity I worked for at the time, has gone bust, which is very, very sad.
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Bugonia
A conspiracy theorist abducts a pharmaceutical executive convinced she is an alien. Terrific acting from the small cast and a suitably dramatic soundtrack, I enjoyed the adventure a lot.
A very bizarre film which I’d highly recommend (for some).
David Lean Cinema, Croydon -
Hatchlands Park
There’s a lovely, 2-mile walk around the edge of the grounds. A decent size bookshop and a stunning house with lots of musical instruments and paintings make this National Trust property well worth visiting. Taking photos inside the house is not permitted but that’s understandable.
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A short story
I’m in my local library browsing the new-books section. To my left a woman is sat at a computer terminal and asks me if I have a phone in my pocket.
“I do”, I respond, wondering where this is leading.
“I can’t have a phone behind me, can you move it to the other side”, she says.
I pat my pockets and realise it’s already on my other side (my right side).
“It’s already on the other side”, I say.
She seems satisfied with this and turns round to continue using the computer.
The end.
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A very pleasant gentleman
I was described as “a very pleasant gentleman” in a report to my dentist by another dentist.
Initially amused / flattered, I looked further into this and it appears to be rather common!
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Guildford to Farncombe
This is a very pleasant, level walk along the River Wey-Navigation – I think this is the third time I’ve walked it. It was a mainly sunny morning such that a north to south walk means walking into the low, Autumn sun, but it’s always nicer to walk away from a city rather than towards, so it’s a small negative. At this time of year the path along the river was inevitably strewn with puddles and muddy patches, but nothing much of concern.
At my destination, Farncombe, I once again had a small English Breakfast and a pot of tea in the friendly Natter café. Farncombe village is not much to shout about. A dozen or so shops close to the station with the nearest pub a third of a mile away.
My journey home was a sequence of mis-timing the first train, a broken down train and a poor connecting train, but with a novel to read it’s no big deal. A lovely day.
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Leatherhead to Westhumble
I’ve done this walk several times but this time I tried it in the reverse direction, thinking that a longer, gradual climb was better that a shorter, steeper climb. However, I think I prefer the usual way – ie from Westhumble to Leatherhead.
The Wild About Coffee café in the woods is a terrific stop-over but it’s only there Thursday-Sunday and between 9 and 3pm. It’s under the 3-mile marker on the map below.
things change 