Thames Path 06 - Staines to Windsor

Sunday 17-March-13.

The next leg of our Thames Path walk: http://www.thames-path.org.uk/thames_staines_windsor.html


Mark (me), Mary, John

This time with a diminished team. As you can tell from John's hood up it was a pretty soggy walk.


The London Stone

This stone marks the end of the City of London's river jurisdiction (1197-1857).


Victoria Bridge and Windsor Home Park Farm

The railway station is pretty cute. It is the end of the line.



Our end point was The Royal Oak for a pub lunch and the train home.

Full set of pictures on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157633025594706/detail/



Distance this leg 15.1 km
Previous legs 118.6 km
Total so far 133.7 km

Ronnie Scott's Blues Explosion! at Ronnie Scott's

A four part Friday!

It started out as a LastMinute.Com deal at The Oxo Tower Brasserie. Then Mary decided to see who was on at Ronnie Scott's. Ronnie Scott's Blue's Explosion was the answer, sometimes featuring our favorite Blues guitarist Marcus Bonfanti. We booked the late show so as to not have to rush our supper.

Supper at the Oxo Tower Brasserie

That left the question of how to fill in the time between the meal and the show. This answer was off to The Spice of Life to see what live music was on offer. For a fiver we saw the most excellent Freddie and the Hoares. After a pint of Guinness (preempting Paddy's Day) we still had time to spare so it was off to Kettner's for another glass of champagne.

Freddie and the Hoares at The Spice of Life

Finally off to Ronnie Scott's for ringside seats - literally - I was right next to the stage, I could touch it with a languid gesture, I could tell the time by the trumpeter's watch. Paddy Milner lead the band (feat. Marcus) and the band put on a great show. To be there, in one of the iconic music venues, in one of the greatest cities in the world, watching a great bunch of musicians playing live - it doesn't get much better than that!

Ronnie Scott's stage

We went home late, very late. It was after one am when we stumbled out into the street.

A punk stopped me on the street. He said, "You got a light, mac?"
I said, "No, but I've got a dark brown overcoat."

Cleaning the Wandle March 2013

A big turnout this month, 58 instead of the usual 40. Possibly something to do with Mothering Sunday? Apparently the largest turnout ever was when the clean up fell on Valentine's Day, make of that what you will.

This month I thought I would introduce some of the Wandle Trust team.

Every clean up starts with a safety briefing from Erica. Rather like the airplane safety demonstration I know it well however there are new volunteers every time so we have to go through the usual spiel. She did admit to skipping the bit about sunburn!



The official photographer Sally Ann whose pictures adorn the official blog (written by Erica). Much better quality than my hastily snatched iPhone snaps.



Jo who does a brilliant job of baking themed cakes and making a hot soup - much appreciated in the winter months. This month, with Easter approaching, she baked a Simnel cake - one of her best yet, absolutely delicious.



Andy who is marshal in his hi-vis jacket. Here presented with a miniature shopping trolley as a thank you for all his efforts as he leaves for North Africa for two years.



Fortunately the water was lower than last month; that was a little scary at times. This month was only waist deep but still as chilly.



After lunch my waders took a puncture above the right knee and my boot filled up with freezing water. I changed into some slightly over-sized waders and decided to stay landside on trolley duty.



Then back home for a quick shower and off to Farnham for a meal with parents and siblings to celebrate Mothering Sunday and my father's 88th birthday which was, coincidentally, that very day.

Courtney Pine at Ronnie Scott's

London, England. Thursday 07-March-2013.

Another musical evening in the legendary jazz venue that is Ronnie Scott's. They have a strict 'no photography' rule, even crappy iPhone pictures, in part to protect the monopoly of their in-house photographer David Sinclair. So here is my photo of the evening:

I have no idea what style or genre of jazz the support act "Curios" was but it is what I think of as "dinner jazz" - very mellow and featuring wire brush on the drum kit. With the pianist as the composer the nearest I could think of in our collection was Chick Corea but these guys were more laid back. Alas I do not know enough about jazz sub-genres to really put a name to what style I am listening to.

When Courtney Pine started playing I was sometimes reminded of Spyro Gyra who Wikipedia informs me are 'jazz fusion' and 'smooth jazz'.

The first track he was a bit too much of a show-off virtuoso. For the second track he eased it back a bit and made it more of an ensemble. Then he played an excellent, long, two-set performance finishing at 11pm so we got our money's worth.

Ahead of the beat: Courtney Pine (Picture: David Sinclair)

As he chatted I revised my opinion regards his egocentricity - he came across as a really nice, down-to-earth bloke, genuinely chuffed to be in Ronnie Scott's and with a real passion for the music.

At the end we bought a CD by the guitarist Cameron Pierre and a vinyl of Courtney's latest album which he signed for us. Top evening!

Evening Standard 4 * review
Guardian 3 * review

Sotto Le Stelle 07 - Starting the reconstruction

Now the deconstruction is complete and the reconstruction begins.

The roof of the stairwell from the street intruded into the volume of the bathroom and was very thin. That section has been re-cemented to make it more stable.


Arched roof of stairway

The access stairs to the roof previously had some wooden steps to get up to to the first stone. Saverio has built us some permanent steps. He is looking for some stone treads to match the one you can see at the doorway.


Access steps to roof stairs

One of the key structural decisions from the previous visit was to block up the door straight ahead from the street into the area that will be our bedroom. Rather than block up the full depth we have now have a shallow niche which will allow for some kind of storage.


Blocked bedroom door

The arch into the bathroom has been narrowed but, unlike the previous doorway, it has been set back to leave the curve of the arch visible and that will not be plastered over.


Bathroom door

All the exposed exterior surfaces are now re-rendered - the external walls front and back, the chimneys and the roof terrace parapet walls.


Roof terrace re-rendered

Only ten days until we are back out in Italy to choose, order and pay for the kitchen units, work surface and appliances.

Full set of photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157632950222285/detail/

Ecco - 57% of the shoes in my wardrobe

Not being a girl, my shoe collection is carefully managed. [Sharp intake of breath at sexist generalisation - OK Mary's tower of shoes is pretty restrained]. I only buy a new pair when the old pair is ready for the bin. Each pair has to justify its place.

I am a great fan of Ecco shoes. My feet are wide and Ecco's size 43 fits like a glove *ahem*. I have been saying for a while that most of my shoes are Ecco so I thought I'd better check it out. For "normal" shoes in my wardrobe the answer is indeed more than half - 57% in fact (8 out of 14).

Ecco - 7 plus 1 at work

Non-Ecco - 5 plus 1 at work

I notice that I seem to go for pairs of pairs: 2 for walking 2 brown brogues, 2 trainers and so on...

In my calculation I am not counting 2 pairs of cycling shoes, 2 pairs of wellingtons, 2 pairs of slippers, 2 pairs of old gardening shoes and 2 pairs of deck shoes in Italy. But then I don't think Ecco make those except deck shoes. Even if I counted the latter I'd still be at 50%.

My total collection of footwear of all kinds is thus 24.

A Mild Case of Dupuytren's Contracture

My father has lumpy palms which I had thought were callouses or some kind of arthritis or something. Then about a year ago a similar lump appeared on my right palm. Didn't bother me much as it didn't hurt and, given as how I am my father's son, hardly surprising - more "Ho, hum, here we go: the start of old age crumbling."

Then a facebook friend posted a picture of his bandaged hand following surgery for Dupuytren's contracture. I Googled the condition and there was picture of a hand looking just like mine!

Wikipedia picture

My hand

Dad's hand

(sorry about the colour - iPhone in low light level)

According to Wikipedia:

• "It is an inherited proliferative connective tissue disorder" - tick! like father like son.
• "The ring finger and little finger are the fingers most commonly affected." - tick! both Dad's ring fingers show it, now my right hand, I expect the left is a matter of time.
• "Dupuytren's contracture progresses slowly and is usually painless." - phew! certainly true in Dad's case so here's hoping.

At least I know what my hands will look like in 27 years time.

Sotto Le Stelle 06 - Stone Works

Cisternino, Puglia, Italy.

Since our visit last weekend the builder has been working hard implementing a number of the decisions...


Expanding the niche

The niche at the top of the entrance stairs is being expanded down to floor level to provide storage probably for coats. Every cc of storage space is vital is this apartment.


Removing the dividing wall

The big decision was to remove the dividing wall between the two rooms. This is possible because it is not structural. The dismantling is being done carefully because we expect to recycle a number of the stones for blocking up a doorway and possible works on the roof. Already you can see how spectacular the vaulted ceiling will be. The dividing line will need to be sand-blasted to bring it up to the same colour as the rest.


Re-framing the well head niche

The right hand edge of the well head was lower quality tufa - a soft porous rock - now replaced with better quality stone at Saverio's suggestion. We will retain the pulley wheel as a feature, possibly with a miniature bucket for a bit of whimsy. The well shaft itself will be blocked off; the cistern below is no longer in use and has been opened up as a garage underneath the building.


Terrace - Lighting wiring

There will be lighting and a power socket or two round the edge of the roof terrace for the balmy Italian summer evenings on the roof.


Terrace - chimneys

The stainless steel exhaust chimney from the "fornello pronto" on the ground floor has been lowered and is being encased in stone. All the neighbours' chimneys will be aesthetically improved with a stone casing.


Terrace - roof access, boiler niche

The central heating boiler will be housed in a newly-created external niche, mainly, it would appear, on safety grounds. That also has the advantage of not taking up internal space. We are not having a solar panel and hot water tank on the roof. It would appear that the design of modern boilers means that it doesn't make economic nor environmental sense.

Only four weeks till our next visit when we choose the kitchen fittings. I am expecting to see big changes.

Sotto Le Stelle 05 - Structural Decisions

A weekend for big decisions on Sotto le Stelle so the builder can crack on with the works.

One can have loads of alternative plans but there is nothing like being in the physical space to make the decisions firm. Saverio, the builder, needed to know where to put the wiring and plumbing so we had to decide the basic layout. The key decisions made were:

• the heating will be underfloor
• the kitchen area will be a linear range, not peninsular, not U-shaped
• the kitchen units will be (left to right): fridge, dishwasher, sink, cooker, hob
• the bathroom will be (clockwise), handbasin, shower head, shower entrance, loo
• the stairwell ceiling lump under the sink will be boxed over not lowered
• the washing machine will go at the top of the stairs to the roof
• we will not have alternative washing machine plumbing laid in to the chimney niche
• there will be no solar panel nor hot water tank on the roof
• locations of power sockets and TV ariel socket decide
• the door straight ahead at the top of the entrance stairs will be blocked off
• and the big one - the dividing wall is to go, apart from a small stub by the kitchen range

Mary explains the plan to Chris and John

Our neighbours are part of the planning committee. We have consulted with our friends to gather as many ideas as possible.


Kitchen Wall (street to the left)

The niche on the left wall might be used for storage. Fridge at the left hand end then the dishwasher. The sink will be centred in the big niche, which used to be a door through to next door. The oven will be in front of the well opening, then the hob with extractor fan above.



Stairs from street, stairs to roof, bathroom

Most vertical walls will be re-plastered. After some discussion we took Saverio's advice and decided to leave the stonework of this wall exposed to make a feature of it. The bathroom arch will need to be partially narrowed to provide privacy for the loo just on the inside to the right and to accommodate the door which will open outwards.


The former loo and street-side Juliet balcony

The niche to the left is, in fact, a fireplace with chimney above. A previous owner had built a small cupboard to contain the WC and the tiniest handbasin ever. We toyed with fitting the washing machine there but decided storage space was more valuable and are putting the washing machine at the top of the roof stairs.


Doorway at the top of the entrance stairs

At the top of the street stairs there are two doors: one straight ahead into the long room (bedroom / living room), one to the left into the square room (kitchen / dining room). One option considered was cutting a step into the double height threshold as it is too high for a single step. It would lead straight into the bedroom area. We are keeping our options open on how to separate bedroom from living area. However space is very tight and so the best plan is to block the door up and gain some floor space round the bed. Access will be via the other rooms.



Living room end of the long room (valley to the right)

The sofa bed will go against the end wall. The dividing wall to the left will go - apart from a low wall that will form the end of the kitchen units and mark a boundary between the two halves of what will now be a large open plan space. The result will be a spectacular full view of the complete ceiling arch.


Bedroom end of the long room

The niche on the left was filled in and plastered over. The works revealed it and opened it up - space is at a premium and every cubic centimetre is to be recovered. The blocked up doorway straight in front will become clothes storage space. The far right doorway will be blocked up. The wall between the pillar and the nearer door will go.


Window in the valley wall

This provides some much needed natural light in the darkest corner of the room which will be the bedroom end of the long room.


Damaged corbel

I had spotted the damaged corbel which we guess was hacked off to allow tall wardrobes to be positioned against the wall. It clearly offended Saverio's sense of rightness and was already on his list to repair.


Chimneys

We were surprised to see so much scaffolding at the front when we arrived. Turned out the neighbour saw our works and commissioned Saverio to sand blast and re-surface his adjoining frontage at the same time - while the scaffolding and the equipment was all there.

None of these chimneys belong to us apart the the stubby one bottom right. Saverio, bless him, has persuaded the neighbours below and next door to re-vamp their stacks so that we will see stone rather than asbestos, concrete and stainless steel - a far more aesthetically pleasing outlook. Methinks there was possibly some quality negotiating done here involving scaffolding and chimneys.

It is good to have made some basic decisions after so much soul searching. Next month's visit will involve more deciding - probably mostly to do with kitchen units and appliances.

Peaches and Blue Third Anniversary

It was on Valentine's Day 2010 that we formally adopted Peaches and Blues from Cats Protection. How appropriate as we love them to bits.


First ever sight of Blue and Peaches

We went down to the Cats Protection National Cat Centre to look at a cute kitten and came away with two mature persians.


Blue relaxing in the Garden

They soon settled in and adopted a classic feline lifestyle with plenty of snoozing and general lying about.


Peaches relaxing in the laundry basket

We bought them warm, cozy baskets which they, of course, ignored and preferred to sleep anywhere else: on the back of the sofa, the piano stool, on our bed, on the stairs...


Peaches being a Health and Safety hazard on the stairs

Blue provides me with regular amusement just by being herself and by being extra cute.


Blue being cute in the bath

Both cats regularly sleep on the breakfast room chairs hence this, one of my favourite photos:


Peaches wondering where supper is

Mary's excellent photo and current wallpaper:


Jungle cat

A selection of the best photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markmclellan/sets/72157632589954950/detail/