profile image - pencil sketch of a man with grey hair and beard seated next to a small table. The man is reading a book and there is a glass of red wine on the table A twitter of inconsequent vitality
Ian Mason | @thedimpause

Great result, the match flew by! ๐Ÿ‰

England ๐Ÿด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ 33-19 ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ New Zealand

Englandโ€™s last victory against the All Blacks was in 2019, their last victory in England in 2012 at Twickenham.

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท Rugby
Excess power โšก๏ธ

There are at least 21 mains power sockets in our (fairly standard double bed sized) hotel room.

  • 3 above the desk/dressing table
  • 5 below the desk/dressing table
  • 2 by the door to the room
  • 2 by each bedside table
  • 2 just above a chest of drawers
  • 1 in a corner of the room
  • 2 behind the wall mounted television

plus at least 2 I cannot see supplying the mini-fridge and coffee machine.

Only 5 of these are being used by appliances in the room. This all seems a little excessive!

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท Coffee ๐Ÿท Travel

Experiencing Storm Claudia in Stratford. Itโ€™s wet outside. Spending the whole afternoon in The White Swan bar - Fullerโ€™s beer, wine, chips and some reading ๐Ÿ“šโ˜”๏ธ๐Ÿ˜Š

Auto-generated description: A statue stands on a pedestal in a paved outdoor area surrounded by historic brick buildings and festive lights. Auto-generated description: A classic stone town hall adorned with a large Union Jack flag and remembrance poppy decorations is set against a rainy street with passing pedestrians and parked cars. Auto-generated description: A cozy room features a fireplace with candles, a stained glass window, wine glasses on a wooden table, and comfortable armchairs.
๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท Photography ๐Ÿท Books

Location check in โ€” At the RSC Swan Theatre to see Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand, starring Adrian Lester ๐ŸŽญ

Auto-generated description: A person holds up a program for Cyrano de Bergerac by the Royal Shakespeare Company at a theater.
๐Ÿ—บ Map of area

Google satellite map showing location pin

๐Ÿ”Ž Zoom in

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท Photography ๐Ÿท Location

Complimentary Shakespeare Distillery Stratford Dry gin in our hotel room ๐Ÿ˜€

Tudor Garden inspired British Gin

Auto-generated description: A small bottle of Stratford Dry gin is surrounded by a glass of gin and tonic and a card featuring a picture of a hotel.
๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท Photography

Location check in โ€” White Swan Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon
๐Ÿ—บ Map of area

Google satellite map showing location pin

๐Ÿ”Ž Zoom in

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท Location
Follow the Storm ๐Ÿบ

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท Photography ๐Ÿท Beer ๐Ÿท Glass Photo

Watched: Now You See Me 2, 2016 - โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… ๐ŸŽฅ

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท FilmTV
Tree cutting

Had to have some emergency tree surgery this week!

There was an tall conifer growing on our property boundary, about 20 feet from our house.

This tree had always grown leaning towards the house, but over the past few weeks there was evidence of the roots starting to move in the soil. It had to go before any windy winter storms!

It took four men a day and a half to deal with it - nearly 3 hours anchoring it, then stripping off all the branches and next cutting it in guided falls from the top downwards in roughly 8 foot trunk sections. These came down with a crash, shaking crockery and glasses in our kitchen (the nearest room to the base of the tree). I couldn’t guess what each section weighed.

Plus all the clear-up work, chipping the smaller branches and loading the logs in batches onto a trailer.

A lush, dense forest scene features tall trees with green foliage and a dirt path running along the right side.A tall tree stands surrounded by lush greenery and fallen branches under an overcast sky.A kitchen window with various items on the sill overlooks trees and a person outside.A kitchen windowsill is adorned with various jars and a radio, with a tree fallen outside in a lush, green garden.A large tree has been cut down, revealing its cross-section with surrounding greenery.A large tree stump and its felled trunk lie beside a forest path surrounded by greenery.Fallen tree logs and branches are scattered on the ground near a white building in a wooded area.Several cut tree logs are scattered on the ground in a forested area.

๐Ÿ“– more

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท Garden

Watched: Now You See Me, 2013 - โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…ยฝ ๐ŸŽฅ

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท FilmTV

Watched: The Running Man, 1987 - โ˜…โ˜…โ˜… ๐ŸŽฅ

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท FilmTV

๐ŸŽต My top weekly artists as logged byย last.fm: Baxter Dury (25 plays), The Doors (19), Florence + the Machine (16), Bob Dylan (14), Kate Bush (13)

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท Music

Watched: The Test S2E1, Own Your Own Space ๐Ÿ“บ

I watched the documentary series The Test when it was released in 2020. I didn’t realise until today that there have been two subsequent series made, which were released in 2023 and 2024 (although each has fewer episodes than the first). Started watching Series 2 this afternoon. A good warm-up for the upcoming 2025/26 Ashes matches ๐Ÿ™‚๐Ÿ

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท Cricket ๐Ÿท FilmTV

Watched: The Narrow Road to the Deep North ๐Ÿ“บ

Superb book by Richard Flanagan, impressive adaptation for television.

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท FilmTV

Watched: Zero Dark Thirty, 2012 - โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…โ˜…ยฝ ๐ŸŽฅ

๐Ÿ“† | ๐Ÿท FilmTV
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