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I’ve been listening to Luca Stricagnoli
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A walk to Leatherhead

A repeat of a 5-mile walk I did a couple of months back.








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Eastbourne

I saw a man smoking a pipe. Who still does this?!





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My backgammon program

My latest VB.NET program, to play the board game backgammon, is done (subject to fixes and further work!). It’s been through many, many iterations. I’m happy with the result despite more work needing to be put into improving game strategy. I’ll see. Here’s a video of a game.
And here is a sample of the code….
Module PlayFunctionsModule Public Function AbleToPlay(ND As Integer) As Boolean ' ' See if there is any move that can be made with the current dice ' If IIf(CurrentPlayer = Whois.human, HumanBlotCount, RobotBlotCount) > 0 Then If AbleToPlayBlot(ND) Then Return vbTrue Else Return vbFalse End If If AbleToPlayNormal(ND) Then Return vbTrue End If If InBearOffZone() And AbleToBearOff(ND) Then Return vbTrue End If Return vbFalse End Function Public Function AbleToPlayBlot(ND As Integer) As Boolean ' ' See if there is a blot move that can be made with the current dice ' Dim p, d As Integer If IIf(CurrentPlayer = Whois.human, HumanBlotCount, RobotBlotCount) > 0 Then For d = 1 To ND p = Dice(d) If PointOwner(p) = CurrentPlayer Or (PointValue(p) <= 1) Then Return vbTrue End If Next Return vbFalse End If Return vbFalse End Function Public Function AbleToPlayNormal(ND As Integer) As Boolean ' ' See if there is a normal move that can be made with the current dice ' Dim p, pTO, d As Integer For d = 1 To ND For p = 1 To nLandingPoints If PointOwner(p) = CurrentPlayer Then pTO = p + Dice(d) If pTO <= nLandingPoints Then If (PointOwner(pTO) = CurrentPlayer) Or (PointValue(pTO) <= 1) Then Return vbTrue End If End If End If Next Next Return vbFalse End Function End Module -

Book Links

My favourite second-hand bookshops
Dapdune Wharf book shed Guildford, Surrey
(15 minute walk from Guildford station)https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk Kirkdale Bookshop Sydenham, South London
(close to Sydenham station)https://kirkdalebookshop.com/about/ Sam Beare Bookshop Weybridge, Surrey
(20 minute walk from Weybridge station)https://wsbh.org.uk/support-us/shop-with-us/find-local-charity-shop/weybridge-bookshop/ FARA Teddington Books Teddington, South-West London
(10 minute walk from Teddington station)https://www.faracharity.org/shop/teddington-books/ Morden Hall Park bookshop Morden, South London
(20 minute walk from South Merton station, or 10 minute from Morden tube station)https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/london/morden-hall-park Mrs Lofthouse’s Emporium Scarborough, North Yorkshire https://www.mrslofthouse.co.uk/ Some book links
The Book Guide Secondhand and Antiquarian Bookshops in the UK and Republic of Ireland https://www.thebookguide.info/bookshops/ The Book Guide (Facebook) Ditto (Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/thebookguide Charming Book Shop Cafes In London A magazine article https://londonist.com/london/food-and-drink/book-shop-cafes-london Second Hand Bookshops In London A magazine article https://londonist.com/london/books-and-poetry/buy-second-hand-books-shops-stalls-london-rare-antiquarian -

Black Bag


An interesting spy movie with lots of dialogue and very little action. Despite struggling with making out some of the dialogue, I just about followed the tricksy plot. I enjoyed the film.
A glass of Malbec and a packet of crisps in the Throwley Yard cinema bar, accompanied by a book, completed a pleasurable afternoon.
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I’ve been listening to…

Luca Stricagnoli
Lose YourselfDavid Bowie
Where Are We NowGlobalSoundDownCorona FlashMob
2025-03-08 -

Sam Beare Bookshop, Weybridge

Some interesting pre-owned books bought from the fabulous Sam Beare Bookshop, Weybridge, Surrey.

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Knole House, Kent

A beautiful day and a beautiful National Trust house and grounds. Wonderfully pleasant and helpful staff / volunteers. Bookshop sells new books, not second-hand – boo.



















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Dorking-Pixham-Brockham















