please empty your brain below
If relevant, please start your comment with a number from 1 to 31.

(questions will not be answered)

diamond geezer | Homepage | 01.11.19 - 7:00 a.m. | #

10: reports suggest that it may not be Mr Johnson's seat for much longer, as he heads up country for a less marginal constituency. I hope someone lets Lord Buckethead know.

14: I've been discussing with a friend about whether Parliament needs to be prorogued before dissolution. He reckons not; I think there does need to be the reverse Queen's Speech detailing all the legislation that's been enacted.

Various: I really hope your landlord isn't expecting full rent given the circumstances. Come to think of it, is your gas bill down to zero or are they still asking for a standing charge?

martin | 01.11.19 - 7:15 a.m. | #

24: Wolverhampton is very architecturally underrated.

Sarah | Homepage | 01.11.19 - 7:15 a.m. | #

2 - it could be the surveillance state implanting a microchip, or perhaps a non-native insect taking advantage of global warming to infect you with a terrible disease, then again being Beddington it could be a bored youth with an air gun/catapult.

17 - probably quantum tunneling.

Still Anon | 01.11.19 - 7:37 a.m. | #

5. I travel to Luton’s Rothesay Road cemetery every month. DG is correct that everything still appears unchanged. But the growth of the University has seen a massive influx of students.
In the next two decades an investment of nearly a billion pounds is planned and the Victorian-era infrastructure will be gone.,
The Vauxhall plant which seemed doomed a decade ago is recruiting staff again due to the demand for the Vivaro van. The airport is expanding rapidly and is the destination for all London’s private jet aircraft arrivals.
But the Marks and Spencer store in the Arndale Centre has closed a victim of online shopping

Kenneth Morton | 01.11.19 - 7:42 a.m. | #

22. Must not forget my white stilettos and handbag to dance around whilst I am listening to the music at the the O2. Your sincerely, Edgy Essex girl.

Essex Girl | 01.11.19 - 7:45 a.m. | #

8 etc You’re exceptionally tolerant.... In a previous life I’ve been abused by tenants when a replacement boiler wasn’t fitted the same day the fault was reported.

NLW | 01.11.19 - 7:48 a.m. | #

6: Whenever I boil potatoes etc I boil the water in the kettle first, then put it in a saucepan with the veg. I have the idea this is more energy efficient than boiling the water in the pan (if not, no doubt someone will tell me) - it's certainly quicker.

Suse | 01.11.19 - 7:58 a.m. | #

DG get heavy with your landlord about your boiler situation. There is no excuse for the length of time this is taking. It's a days work for a decent engineer.

chicker | 01.11.19 - 8:04 a.m. | #

17; obviously train 2 is going faster and will shortly overtake train 1

amber | 01.11.19 - 8:09 a.m. | #

7. I hope you still have Rabbit ...

24. Good to be reminded of Beatties - the arrival of their store brought gracious living to Birkenhead when I was a child. The store still staggers on, albeit under the endangered House of Fraser brand.

31 and throughout. You are certainly being extremely tolerant regarding your heating and hot water situation. You landlord is lucky to have you ( but then, so are we all ...)

Liz | 01.11.19 - 8:39 a.m. | #

25: HMV Uxbridge has been reopened.

dg writes: Added, thanks.

Matthew Dickinson | 01.11.19 - 8:40 a.m. | #

18. We saw 'Noises Off' the week before (a birthday present to me from our son) and also spent ages guessing where we had seen the actors before.

Sara | 01.11.19 - 8:44 a.m. | #

8th: This extended delay while your landlord replaces your heating and cooking facilities is verging on the illegal. You should certainly get a rent reduction while you have to eat out or buy ready meals and have baths elsewhere. It's a disgraceful way to treat such a long standing tenant. Maybe time to look for somewhere else, though it would be sad to say goodbye to bus stop M!

ActonMan | 01.11.19 - 8:48 a.m. | #

My gas situation is complex, so I'm not in need of advice, thanks.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 01.11.19 - 8:54 a.m. | #

6. Suze - I was taught that root vegetables should be started from cold and greens from boiling.

kev | 01.11.19 - 9:38 a.m. | #

31 I think you may have meant to type Oakleigh Park

dg writes: I did not.

Keith | 01.11.19 - 10:03 a.m. | #

25: There's also Fopp at Cambridge Circus, part of the same group as HMV.

Jonathan Wadman | 01.11.19 - 10:04 a.m. | #

7. Were there really decimal halfpennies?

Joho | Homepage | 01.11.19 - 10:18 a.m. | #

25. There is also a HMV in Romford

dg writes: The HMV Store Locator doesn't include it, but yes there is. Added, thanks.

Ailsa | 01.11.19 - 10:32 a.m. | #

7. Decimal halfpennies were withdrawn in 1984, so DG's stash is at least 35 years old. 27p then was worth about 85p in today's money.

timbo | 01.11.19 - 10:50 a.m. | #

30. That was a long way to go for footwear. Are Blackman's in Cheshire St. no longer in business? I remember going there a few years ago on your recommendation.

David | 01.11.19 - 10:56 a.m. | #

7. Joho - there certainly were. 6D became 2.5p but the government's ready reckoner said 3D became 1p so we soon worked out how to swindle the old lady in the sweet shop by buying smaller portions.

kev | 01.11.19 - 10:56 a.m. | #

18. Add The Bodyguard to that list. I saw the production at the Lyric, but am thinking of taking a friend to see it now that said Bodyguard actress is appearing - we're both fans of her because of a little BBC3 web series she did a couple of years back.

22. Put me down for that dirty burger. Hopefully I'll be able to partake next week as I am also in the same situation as 30., and the outlet has a branch of the trainer brand my podiatrist recommended.

E1W-er | 01.11.19 - 11:02 a.m. | #

3. I can't believe how excellent the pitches look. Last time I played on Hackney Marshes we sent rescuers out for our goalkeeoer who had sunk in the mud.

Mind you, this was in the mid 70s....

Chris | 01.11.19 - 11:04 a.m. | #

7. Joho, you have to bear in mind that decimalisation happened in 1971, before the rampant inflation of the later 70's. A pint of beer was about 10 pence, a school lunch 8 pence and a litre of petrol about 7 pence.

The spectre of the metal of the halfpenny coin being worth more than it's face value began to approach. Hence the reason why our currency has grown smaller over the years.

In Italy in the 70's small change there virtually disappeared, as the astute melted them down to ingots, they being worth more than face value of the coinage.

Dave | 01.11.19 - 11:07 a.m. | #

6: Suse, I think the energy efficiency of the electric kettle is probably superior, given that the hob is wasting a fair bit of its heat up the sides of the pan. But with gas costing a fraction of electricity per kW/h, doing it all on the hob is cheaper.

I usually use a pretty big pot, so it's half and half for me.

If you're looking at efficiency *from the source*, gas will always win as it's a primary energy source. Electricity has to be generated from something at less than 100% efficiency. However, renewables are skewing the results a bit if you consider their primary energy sources to be effectively infinite.

Chz | 01.11.19 - 11:08 a.m. | #

6. No. Gas may win in certain circumstances, but you have to take account of energy wasted at the consumer end. Most of the energy used in cooking is wasted, up the sides of the pan, making steam etc.

18. Noises off is my favourite play of all time. I would happily watch it 3 times a year for life. Wouldn't care who the actors are, so long as they're at least competent.

Malcolm | 01.11.19 - 11:53 a.m. | #

6. I have no experience of using an electric induction hob, if that is what you have acquired. However, regardless, you should put the lid on the pan as soon as you start heating it. This reduces cooking time and is more efficient.

B | 01.11.19 - 12:07 p.m. | #

4. On the very same day I took an old computer hard drive to the Greenwich council tip. The 1.5 mile journey took 10 minutes by car. If I'd gone by bus, it would've involved two buses each way with a walk at either end, taking well over an hour. Convenience won out over saving the planet on this occasion.

H SE18 | 01.11.19 - 12:53 p.m. | #

4: I guess the monitor had already been idle for quite some time before it's disposed.
10: This could indeed be a good opportunity to have a reflection. Sometimes we could just be as hypocritic, putting a warm face but secretly wanting very few to come close.
16: One miss is unluckiness, but every leg leading to a miss can only be explained by bad timetabling.
20: I can imagine how young DGD is deep inside.
29: If I were a British, I would see the continual success of Farage as a sign of at least my own incompetence (if I hate him) or selfishness (if I like him).

Patrickov | 01.11.19 - 1:56 p.m. | #

7 - Can Rabbit go with Squeezy Pig on his next adventure?

greatkingrat | 01.11.19 - 2:16 p.m. | #

"My gas situation is complex"

my quote of the day!

Grumpy Anon | 01.11.19 - 2:17 p.m. | #

8. This may explain the stay-at-home nature of in-depth musings on what the Mayor does all day posted on the 9th.

17. It's not supposed to, but often does. Sometimes on the Southbound too.

18. There is seemingly no such thing as a theatre programme without mention of an actor who has been in The Bill

29. I did want an election. No more watching the first half of television newses until it's done, mind.

31&1. Lucky you, having a BestMate who lives in pop-roundable proximity.

NickW | Homepage | 01.11.19 - 2:22 p.m. | #

8, 13, 27: If I was living in an unheated flat I’d be tempted to turn the stove on even if there was nothing to cook.

Great Aunt Annie | 01.11.19 - 9:49 p.m. | #

15. Gents toilet in Oakwood Park N 14. Way back in 1969 I had a summer job in Oakwood Park. Cleaning the loos was one of my tasks-hope they are still sparkling.

GB | 01.11.19 - 10:13 p.m. | #

Days which have not inspired comment:
9 11 12 19 21 23 26 28

(but the majority have, cheers!)

diamond geezer | Homepage | 01.11.19 - 11:59 p.m. | #

20: My dad turned 63 this year. I sent him three identical 21st birthday cards. He approved.

Gregg | 02.11.19 - 12:06 a.m. | #

18 - at the theatre once, I sat behind a couple of blokes who played a game with the programme. One took Coronation Street and The Bill, the other East Enders and Casualty, and the person with the most listings for his team in the actor profiles won. Doctors is another show which turns up all the time.

Baldassaro | 02.11.19 - 8:02 a.m. | #

9. Great idea! - 6/11/09 is very topical.

NickW | 02.11.19 - 9:05 a.m. | #

6. If your oven is fan assisted and the cooking instructions on your pies or whatever don't make allowances for this then you can reduce the oven temperature by 10 or 20 degrees and still sufficiently cook the food without it burning.

I agree with Suse. Turn the cooker ring on full blast, boil the water in a jug kettle, add to your pan of veg and then place the pan on the ring. It speeds the whole process up.

milliem | 02.11.19 - 10:02 a.m. | #

18: We were in the audience for Noises Off that same evening, but in the back row. Where we discovered that the reason the tickets for that row were so cheap is that the restricted view is truly restricted - when the actors were on the balcony, the Dress Circle cut off all but their bottom halves. All the more amusing when an actress is dressed only in her underwear, but a tad confusing when you can't see facial expressions or gestures. Fortunately there were a few empty seats further forward, so we sidled into a couple at the interval. The second half made much more sense as a result.

Claire | 07.11.19 - 9:42 p.m. | #

The end of the month is coming up soon, and it's possible that DG may post another round-up of unblogged items from the month. While I remember, I very much hope that the situation with your gas supply and boiler has been resolved to your satisfaction.

Chris | 27.11.19 - 2:01 p.m. | #











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