please empty your brain below
If relevant, please start your comment with a number from 1 to 30.

(questions will not be answered)

diamond geezer | Homepage | 02.05.23 - 12:33 a.m. | #

Always my favourite post of the month. I've added Milk to my things to do list over the summer, thanks for the alert.

Victoria | 02.05.23 - 7:22 a.m. | #

13 - In cases where the technology problem isn't at your end, don't make the mistake of trying to fix it from your end as it usually 'fixes itself'.

14 - It depends how 'one off' they are, how many people want to get involved in knowing how they work and then solve the problems - think about things like staff turnover.

Still Anon | 02.05.23 - 7:37 a.m. | #

22 - they used to do them at 55 with quite an invasive technique. My most British moment - three 55 years olds wearing just NHS surgical gowns sitting in a waiting area for about 45 minutes as if we were waiting for a train while a preceding patient had some polyps discovered and removed.

kerspatula | 02.05.23 - 7:44 a.m. | #

27: The works at Plaistow are a nuisance. When I wanted to get to the station pedestrians were being diverted across the road but they'd cordoned off the crossing you were supposed to use.

paul robert draper | 02.05.23 - 8:26 a.m. | #

4. They've done well. The DVLA do their best to not issue anything that could be interpreted rudely

Ian | 02.05.23 - 8:30 a.m. | #

3. Ken is going to get very bored, very quickly. I suppose he's got all that money to comfort him.

Scott | Homepage | 02.05.23 - 8:43 a.m. | #

22. After you have done them a few times they get pretty boring. I am due my final one this year unless they change the age limits again.

I don't count them but I think I am way ahead of you in Z4-6 stations and I don't even live in London.

davews | 02.05.23 - 8:53 a.m. | #

9. roadtesting fresh joints - sounds like a relaxing day!

David B | 02.05.23 - 9:02 a.m. | #

I can't get how you've visited all Boroughs and effectively all postcodes, while only using 3 Zones 4-6 stations.

I know you won't answer, but can some-one else help me out here? Surely not all by bus?

dg writes: never risk a surely.

David B | 02.05.23 - 9:10 a.m. | #

13. Chunk block error? Lack of Yorkie bars?

Benjamin Waterhouse | 02.05.23 - 9:11 a.m. | #

29. You do - but not during Sweeps. As a former Rochester resident I do miss the events Medway council put on for us.
Dorset are awful by comparison.

Jonnus | 02.05.23 - 9:16 a.m. | #

22. In France you start playing Pooh sticks at 50. You never get used to it, no matter how many times you do it.

Simon | Homepage | 02.05.23 - 9:19 a.m. | #

Strangely, did number 26 2 weeks ago as well with a mate, half a pint in each and would totally agree with your reviews. The Nags Head is definitely worth a visit, plus the Grenadier.

Johnny Topaz | 02.05.23 - 9:25 a.m. | #

3. Ken with ads remains far better than the interim on R2, and what will no doubt come in a couple of weeks time.

6. When you say Milk, I think of the film of the same name.

18 & 25. Interesting the offer was only at Costa and not the other vendors in the station.

30. I shall look forward to Ian's post, as you will not be blogging about why you were there.

Jordan D | 02.05.23 - 9:32 a.m. | #

26. A plumber's arms could smell far worse than disinfectant, depending on what jobs they'd been doing that day.

James Matcham | 02.05.23 - 9:41 a.m. | #

28: It's always somehow shocking to me to see pictures of normal family scenes, intact streets, un-boarded shops - in places which 15 years later when I arrived, were a kind of northern-English Beirut and where the remaining, elderly, normal folks were hard-pressed indeed. Perhaps a reminder not to take social stability for granted.

mark addy | 02.05.23 - 9:45 a.m. | #

17. I didn't know the 'dubious trackside alley' I've taken from the Thameslink station to West Hampstead Arts Theatre was named in recognition of Billy Fury. Turns out it isn't - there's a very similar, equally long and unwelcoming one that runs west from the station beside the tracks, which is ominously called The Black Path.

Frank F | 02.05.23 - 9:53 a.m. | #

14. If the Woolwich Ferry had linked more affluent parts of London, the ongoing scandal would be talked about far more.

17. Yes, Billy Fury Way is indeed horrible, and pretty sinister. The Black Path on the other side, Frank, is way nicer!

19. Like Billy Fury Way, I wouldn't want to walk around the lake at night...

Mikey C | 02.05.23 - 10:28 a.m. | #

14) According to my contact, the damaged boat may not have to go back to Poland for repair after all - there is now talk about using a British drydock.

The slow docking is due to a combination of the "new" technology and the new ships' "masters" who are still getting used to the tides and currents.

John Simmons | 02.05.23 - 10:31 a.m. | #

11. I got a very reasonably priced Wispa easter egg but I had to wait almost a week after Easter before they reduced the price.

Alan | 02.05.23 - 10:40 a.m. | #

14. The new boats have been in use since 2019, and the new “masters” in place since 2020, so the docking issue can't be familiarity.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 02.05.23 - 10:47 a.m. | #

6 & 28: Ooh, that sounds interesting. Must go. (Almost certainly won't.)

Jonathan Wadman | 02.05.23 - 11:22 a.m. | #

29 - I walked across the Chatham-Rochester boundary line in 2010 and only notice a slight change in the style of paving. The characterisation here of the contrast is much more vivid and engaging.

cau1khead | 02.05.23 - 11:58 a.m. | #

17:

The Black Path, leading from the other side of West End Lane from Billy Fury Way, along the Thameslink line (which offically received its name at the same time, adopting an already common usage) is, while less graffiti-ridden, is if anything more isolated and menacing.

Shortly after the 2001 general election I encountered a formerly prominent government minister there, taking advantage of its isolation, ranting and raving loudly to themselves (and for anyone within earshot) along there about all the injustices of the modern world. Yay. This is not Islington.

Dominic H | 02.05.23 - 12:00 p.m. | #

24: Pre-recorded, what's the point then? How does the audience vote?

Last year after all the covid restrictions were lifted, Come Dine With Me was still socially distanced. People were cooking in a big hall and were sat 2 metres from each other. It was just sad to watch.

If you can't do the format, just don't do it at all.

Greg S | 02.05.23 - 12:34 p.m. | #

13. The only search result for "ChunkBlockError" is from your blog, so you must be using some seriously esoteric e-mail provider.

Anonymous | 02.05.23 - 12:47 p.m. | #

22: A friend's husband had one of the regular checkups and they discovered cancer. From being annoyed at having to do them to very grateful that it was caught so early!

Rachel C | 02.05.23 - 12:53 p.m. | #

Perhaps entry 13 was written by AI.

Lorraine | 02.05.23 - 1:02 p.m. | #

Always enjoy these posts, thank you.

1. I am curious about how personal the ChatGPT prompt was to create a C-grade version of DG content. (Update: I read the comments; so I now wonder if ChatGPT could produce such a post in the style of DG.)

Lux | 02.05.23 - 1:10 p.m. | #

17. Billy Fury Way used to be fairly safe when I was a kid when I used to play around the railway lines. There was not much in between apart from disused railway sidings (now the Audi dealership) and allotments.
The increase in crime seemed to start around 20 years along with the arrival of new housing on Lithos Road.
The Black Path between West End Lane and Broomsleigh Street was known as the Black Alley.

26. £7+ pint!?! Not only is a decent pub a rarity in London these days but they have the cheek to ask for £7.

Tetramesh | Homepage | 02.05.23 - 1:47 p.m. | #

26: After drinking in five pubs it wouldn't surprise me if one of you had forgotten that the other had mentioned where you'd be on 30, only for the subconscious to take you to the southwest London bus station at the same time. (When Ian Visits tweeted last week that he'd met you for drinks, I had hoped we'd get a DG post about the night!)

spankybackpack | 02.05.23 - 2:03 p.m. | #

2. I hope it's not literally from the 1970's. I have also had started clean-out recently as I am moving workplace (not job, sorry). Can find out interesting stuff on the way, but thankfully I don't put away much for someone being there for nearly a decade.

Patrickov | 02.05.23 - 2:06 p.m. | #

13 - "ChunkBlockError" sounds like something from Minecraft

TW | 02.05.23 - 2:13 p.m. | #

2. Me too.
9. Also in Norfolk (but not by train so not 10.)
13. I recall transitory email access problems around that date.
17. BFW has been called out as an issue in two proximate developments (former TP site and o2 Centre) but neither will be providing improvements despite police concerns, and Camden also unlikely to deploy S106 funds towards improvement either.
22. Snap, about 3 months ago. Not an easy activity to complete in a mess free way.

MilesT | 02.05.23 - 2:48 p.m. | #

15. I seem to be the first person to be excited about (more) photos of Croxley Mill - but they're fantastic.

Sarah | Homepage | 02.05.23 - 5:02 p.m. | #

2. This evokes memories of Saturday afternoon visits, as a teenager, to an elderly great-uncle. When it was time to eat, our meal was usually based around either a tin of salmon (as a 'treat') or a tin of 'Tulip' ham. Dessert was generally tinned peaches and condensed milk (also from a tin).

Carllo | 02.05.23 - 5:28 p.m. | #

26. I happened to be doing my own pub review that day. Had a late lunch of fish and chips (mushy peas) at The Builder's Arms Kensington****. Busy, but not too busy. Quiet and enjoyable. A nice way to spend part of my last day in London before heading back over the Pond.

Mary | 02.05.23 - 5:45 p.m. | #

3. I'm guessing the ad-free version will sound decidedly clunky, with records faded out early to fit the length of the ad break. Can't find out without paying, and anyway I'd then presumably be limited to listening online. I'll stick to 6 Music and hope the looming line-up changes aren't actually as bad as they seem.

Andrew S | 02.05.23 - 7:25 p.m. | #

3.
I got the same vibe from Ken's new show on the new station. Also felt he sounded slightly embarrassed when asking listeners to spend money to win a cash prize. His self effacing personality we have come to know over the decades sits uncomfortably with the constant adverts for the new star of the station, I almost see him wince each time one of his colleagues announces his arrival. On the plus side, he did play 'The Promise' by Cock Robin' the other day and to quote a rival station, I really haven't heard it for ages, great song.

Cottonsocks | 02.05.23 - 8:11 p.m. | #

9. Wedding venues? Something we should know, dg? (Apologies if I missed mention of this in an earlier blog).

dg writes: you did.

Adam B. | 02.05.23 - 8:38 p.m. | #

Days which have not inspired comment:
5 7 8 10 12 16 20 21 23

(but the majority have, cheers!)

diamond geezer | Homepage | 02.05.23 - 11:59 p.m. | #

8. The stormtrooper photo, though uncommented, is now in my top 12 most-favourited Flickr pics.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 04.05.23 - 4:06 p.m. | #











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