Sunday lunch & snow....

WARNING - You may want to skip ahead to the line marked ** near the bottom and cut out the misery!!!

 

It's Sunday. Lunchtime.

 

I'm typing this with a plate of reheated rice, beef (I hope it's beef!) and mushroom next to me - the remains of a meal I had last night & brought back with me. The restaurant I ate in was pretty much empty, just me and a man with a much younger girl with him. She didn't look like his daughter...

 

Most people had stayed indoors because the weather was so cold and wet - raining, and as the words 'grid' and 'drain' here are not as important as 'Starbucks' and 'Mercedes Benz' in this rapidly expanding & ambitious place, there was standing water everywhere. Mind, the government have agreed to bring forward the 'big switch on' when centrally-controlled heating systems finally start to feed into homes. There is to be a change of leadership here soon, with the Communist Party appointing a new head at a National Congress, so a 'feel good factor' is important, if not a reliable Internet system....it drives me NUTS battling with it every day...

 

Today, I woke up to SNOW as well....so it's wet, cold, soggy and now snowy. My very un-British Sunday lunch confirms further that I am 5,000 miles away from home. Hell, I've just had a mouthful that includes a bit of chille...that's a MILLION miles away from a Yorkshire Pud!!!

 

The air is so dry, my eyelids drag when closing. Seems everyone buys steam-generating things that put moisture back in the air at this time of year, so guess one will be next on my shopping list, along with some good walking boots. Official statements encourage everyone to wear 'long-john' type underwear  vests...including women. Bet 'quickies' here are fun!!

 

The telly has stopped working. Not sure if it's the snow or the same bloke who turns the internet control knob up and down so I guess I'll not be watching the Grand Prix or seeing who is ahead in the American Election. Land of the burgers and candidates who are advised when to wear a tie or go open-necked.

 

So I have some music on...usual stuff. Big Ben (Howard) although that's a bit mood-dependant...makes my heart sing & then tear it out track by track...the new Steve Hackett 'Genesis Revisited 2' set which I was waiting for. It's good, if a little 'safe'...lacks dynamics, and makes me think "why?" because the originals are timeless, so why recreate them without fleshing them out? It'll be good live though. Hope I get to see a show.

 

I've thrown together a load of 'Assorted Goodies' sets which give me all my standard faves.....Pearl Jam's live 'Even flow' is still up there, along with the live 'Ripples' from the last Genesis tour....even its of Kate Bush ('Moments of pleasure') amongst the usual proggy stuff. heard a lovely collection of 'mood' stuff yesterday while I was in a shop - just nice piano & gentle pieces, interpretations of classics and film music that make you think "where's that music from? Which film?" - she said it was called 'Winter Moods' I think, which sounds very 'K-TEL' (for those old enough to remember) and Mother's Day-ish.....I'll try to track it down.

 

Oh - and my mobile phone has stopped working. I tried to pay the bill last week in the shop when I spent a fortune on a USB / 3G Dongle so I could at least get to a homepage on the 'net, and the man jabbered that I was too early. A few days later, I've been cut off, and the bloody shop is shut. Progress? Yeah!!!

 

Reading all this back, it's not very interesting and I don't sound very jolly, do I?

 

**Maybe I should have just said "It's bloody snowing here now - and I miss my Sunday roast" and just got to the point?

 

That reminds me - I must write my column for this week...I can OFFICIALLY be grumpy in there....I'll do that tonight while I'm still in the mood.

 

Enjoy your day. Where-ever you are. If you're Doctor Who and can get your Tardis here with that roast beef, roasters, mash, yummy gravy and Yorkshire Puds, some decent teabags, milk from a cow and some Desperados for tonight, you'll be welcome. If your new assistant has nice tits, too, she can join us.

 

Every cloud has a silver lining!!

 

I promise to be more cheerful next time. Mind, bearing in mind the title of this blog, what do you bloody expect? F*ckwit!!

 

PS I first sent this update in (via a complex system that my pal Ian set up for me - direct access is blocked!)....and it bounced back because I'd included TWO photo's.....I'll resend it with just one. The second one (now a collectors item) will be included as an extra on the Christmas DVD - 'Mr Grumpy's Adventures in China'. It was of my lunch...a plate of fried rice and beef etc. Just use your bloody imagination.Christ, I do everytime I feel randy!!! Welcome to the club!!!