Note to self. Matthew Herbert “had an apple pie baked in the foreign office, flew it to a US civil war battleground and got a former cia agent to shoot it”.
Neil Hopcroft
A digital misfit
There’s something about nosebleeds in the bath that makes them seem more dramatic. A little red goes a long way.
The car survived. It ticked 130k on the way too, nearly time for an msb party for it. Assuming it lasts another thousand that is. Anyone recommend a mechanic in surrey?
Now i’m surrounded by boxes, waiting for me to have the time to figure out what to do with their contents.
Any strong people out there? I’m going to need a hand with this washing machine sometime.
In keeping with my time in Cambridge I’m about to sit down to a last meal as a resident, its one of those ‘what have i got left in the fridge?’ meals…cherry and brie rolls, the cheddar is looking a little more ‘organic’ than when I put it in there.
Its times like this I wish I didn’t have to make decisions about what to leave behind…but that would involve being organised and I’m not sure thats really me, is it? I’ve got a pile of must have, one of nice to have and one of in-the-bin, only the bin is full, so it’ll have to go near the bin.
Goodbye Cambridge.
(with a dose of hoping my suspension doesn’t give out on the journey south)
You’re going the wrong way
…and so began my visit to the fair – with the bus driver taking an accidental detour to drop me off at the gate, which was nice but a little unnerving for the other passengers.
The fair itself hadn’t really gotten into swing yet, there were lots of opportunities for fun but nobody taking them. I’m not a big fan of fairground rides, or indeed theme park rides, not because I dislike them, rather they seem like a lot of waiting around for not much in the way of entertainment.
There are two parts to the fair, they seem to sit rather at odds with each other, theres a small and very sedate flea market which seems to be mainly travelling thing-makers selling their things alongside a large funfair, the boundary between the two if very distinct.
One of the stalls in the flea market was selling videos of “Bear knuckle fighting” – for some reason I’d always assumed it was the knuckles that were bare, rather than they were owned by a bear, but these guys are professionals and I’m not.
“Din-n she yoos-a be a bid chavvy?” comes the question from one of the bright orange girls walking in front of me, the one in white hot-pants, a perfect estuary accent with a little slur for added measure. Clearly I’m no judge of subcultures either.
By the time I’d done a round of both halves the funfair was starting to liven up a little – some of the finest characters England has to offer…this is a far more earthy affair than Strawberry Fair, where everyone is living a dream for the day, this is about thrills now, instant gratification, and somehow they’re not quite enough.
As I was leaving there was a little group of policemen walking along licking ice creams, its not something that should surprise me but somehow it did.
And then I got driven home by the oracle from the Matrix – she was pretending to be a bus driver but I can see through that disguise.
Contact Info
Address: 9 St Johns Road, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8SE Home phone: +44 1372 378418, though mobile number is generally better. Mobile phone: +44 7970 712888 PM Mobile: +44 7725 708462 Skype: neilhopcroft SkypeIn: +44 20 81332634 Voip phone: +44 20 70435953 SIP: sip:2015650@SIP.Gradwell.net Email: neil-lj@hopcroft.org.uk
Directions:
From M25 junction 9, follow signs to Leatherhead Town Centre, after two or three roundabouts (depending which way you arrived on the M25) you enter a 30mph residential area, about a quarter mile down there is a sign for a hospital, that sign points along my road. My house is just under half way along the road on the left.
So this is my last weekend in Cambridge…I’m currently (taking a displacement activity break from) running around cleaning the house. Its not going badly, mostly clear now, a car load of things to the tip this morning, pretty much the rest of it comes with me. Not sure if its one car full or two.
There are a few things I’m going to miss about Cambridge, the night skies at this time of year are fabulous and its a city full of slightly weird people, which lends it an interesting atmosphere.
Some of the things I’m not going to miss are the A14 and traffic in general (though I suspect I get my fair share at the new place, what with the proximity to the M25).
Later this afternoon I’ll be heading down to Midsummer Fair – give me a shout if you’re going to be there and we’ll see if we can meet up.
Book review: Hedgehogging by Barton Bigs
Barton Biggs is not the kind of guy I feel I would get on with if I met him on the train. Or rather, he wouldn’t get on with me. He’s a money man, arrogant and brash. This is an autobiographical work, but there seems not to be any particular order to it. Like a collection of stories you get from someone you meet at a party. Many of these stories come from his personal experience of ‘running money’, and that of members of his social circle.
There are, however, some interesting insights into economics and the view of the markets from the front line – he was running funds for a number of years and clearly understands a lot of the things that move markets. But its broader than that, theres a lot of personality in the book, and you feel somehow like a friend, a confidante, he’s telling you some secrets of the trade, how it feels to be going through some of these things, watching the young ‘uns making the same mistakes.
Some of the most useful insights are into what running money does for people, and in particular the wives of guys who do it – there are a number of tales of woe where they’ve taken over control, the money is like a drug for them. But its not just the money that does that, its playing the game, being a part of the social group is an important factor too, as well as being seen to be part of the group.
Who should read this book? Anyone who wants to know about markets but doesn’t think economists really get it.
I’ve just noticed there are now 10 times more users registered on Livejournal that when I joined.
With thanks to evilmattikinz I’ve now gotten a van-full of boxes and some shelves to put them upon in my new flat. Theres still more to come, but most of the big things have now made it here….the major omission being the washing machine. I’m hoping that fits down the corridor in the new place.
Leatherhead itself is a quaint old town, which hasn’t been invaded *too* badly by high street names. Indeed, it still has a traditional green grocer, complete with little paper bags, frail old ladies and some very tasty (if slightly squishy) cherries.
There is a fabulous ’30s pumping station, too, of which I’ll post some pictures later.
I’m now down south on a reasonably ongoing basis, with a few treks north to pick up another car-full of boxen. Anyone about for meeting up during the week?
Traffic chaos on my doorstep, m25 junction 9. Admittedly in one of its quieter moments. I remember taking hours to get past this spot.
