This weekend I went to Trina’s BBQ party in Torquay. We had a nice time in the afternoon relaxing and eating lots of food before heading down to Torquay town centre where there was a fun fair.
The fun fair was good. We went on the dodgems several times, I think they were our favourite ride.
More photos here: http://gallery.durrans.com/v/events/other/torquay-bbq-2006/
Thank you Trina, you made a difficult weekend great.
On Friday night I went to see a free performance by Bollywood Steps, organised by Bristol City Council, and performed in the open air on college green.
It brought together aspects of Bollywood films including the glamour, the wet sari scene, boy meets girl, and the grand finale – a flower-strewn magnificent wedding. The show was fantastic and involved the use of fireworks and water sprays. It was enjoyed by a large crowd who braved potential wet weater to watch the show.
More pictuers here: http://gallery.durrans.com/v/bristol/bollywood-steps-2006/
Sugar Snap Peas are one of the best ingredients in the world. Ever.
Tonight I made a chicken stir-fry and used some sugar snap peas in it. They are so much nicer than mange tout.
I just placed an order for a new (second hand) car!
It will (should) be arriving in about two weeks and will be a year old silver Vauxhall Corsa 1.2i SXi with a ’05 number plate. I am getting quite excited about it.
My insurance company informed me today that my car is is a write-off.
“Our engineer has now examined your car and it is their initial view that your car is uneconomical to repair.”
I now have the fun of having to find a new (or at least used) car. Anyone want to come car shopping with me this weekend?
Just as I thought things might start to get back to normal I am involved in a car accident. I was on my way home from work on Thursday when, while waiting to pull onto a roundabout, a car crashed into the back of me.
My head involuntarily gets jiggled backwards and forwards and the sun roof cover slides open.
I pulled over onto the side of the road and the person who crashed into me followed. I got out of the car to have a look at the damage. There was nothing visible apart from a small scratch on the rear bumper. The silver coloured Ford Mondeo that had crashed into me was untouched.
The driver got out of his car and came over to exchange details. He was Canadian, on holiday in the UK for a couple of weeks and had hired a car at the airport. We swapped our particulars and, because I couldn’t see any damage, continued our journeys.
I stopped at a service station a mile or so down the road where it was easier to have a good look at the car. Again there didn’t appear to be any damage, although the boot looked a little funny. I opened the boot and noticed that the metal behind the bumper had been pushed inwards. I tried to close the boot but the catch wouldn’t even go into the lock.
I ended up having to use rope to lash the boot down. I then drove very carefully along the motorway towards home.
When I got home I spent an hour on the phone to my insurance company. The phone call alone is likely to cost quite a bit as it was a 0870 number.
They arranged for me to take my car to an accident repair centre and to provide me with a hire car while mine was off the road. The insurance company sounded pretty happy that it was completely the third parties fault.
I took my car to the accident repair centre on Saturday. They had a quick look around the vehicle before saying “probably going to be a write-off”. I won’t know for sure until my insurance company contact me later this week. I am not expecting to get much money for it. It sounds like £100 will be a good offer.
Looks like I am going to be going car shopping at the weekend.
This weekend my parents came down for the Bristol Balloon Fiesta. We went to see the night glow on Saturday which was followed by a fireworks display.
More photos here: http://gallery.durrans.com/v/bristol/balloon-2006/
According to an article on the BBC website I now consume more energy per capita than a house with more people living in it.
But the researchers reckon that with the right advertising, such individuals may be willing to invest in more environmentally friendly homes and products in future.
The report also suggests the government could encourage people to live more space-efficiently with the introduction of an occupancy tax.
I think researchers need to spend some time living on their own. Then they would realise that single people are already taxed more than a two person family and that the cost of living in general is more expensive.
For example I get a 25% reduction in my council tax because I live on my own. That means in a year I only pay 75% of the council tax of a two person family. However if I was living with someone else then I personally would only be paying 50% of the annual council tax bill.
Secondly while I am not taxed any more on my heating bill I still pay more than a two person family because it costs the same to heat the flat for two people as it does to heat it for one person.
If government really wanted to save energy and reduce pollution then they should concentrate firstly on industry and then on persuading America to reduce pollution and be more efficient.
Lastly what exactily is so wrong with using energy? If the energy was produced more cleanly then surely we should be able to use as much of it as we like.