The Journal of the Browncoat Cat

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(10.12.03 09:10)
i’m sorry i have only now noticed your little icon, it so made me laff
big smile….

No matter how much time I spend getting ready for college on a Tuesday evening, it all goes horribly pear shaped on Wednesday morning. Forgetting things, putting vital things in the wrong place, it just gets worse and worse.

Don’t think that I am an old Scrooge, I love Christmas, however its place is in December. The Christmas Decorations have been slowly appearing since the end of October, which is far too early. However, given that it is the end of November, it is almost OK. Also, I think that things should be done tastefully. The displays are getting more and more elaborate as years progress. It used to be just the sad people in Trealaw who went overboard in the Rhondda, now it is both valley, and with a vengeance. On the plus side, it does make the extremely dreary month of December bearable.

So, I have had an eye-test yesterday. There was no change to the prescription, so no needs to strengthen my spectacles. I am thinking of getting a pair of sun glasses made to my prescription. I currently have photochromic lenses in my glasses, which are quite acceptable for sight seeing, but not for reading in a bright day, especially if I am reading whilst lounging by the pool on a sultry afternoon whilst abroad on holiday.

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(2.12.03 08:08)
re; blondes in Troy
i understood from someone else, that there can be blondes on the continent and not out of a bottle
in ye olden days, it occassionely happen as was mentioned in some writings by Athenians of ‘fair haired folk’ wish my memory was better could specify the writers, could it have been aristotle or was it Aristaphene.
what was a cause celebre, were red heads then……….

How could I possibly let today pass without noting its significance. Forty years ago, with a World still in shock after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the BBC returned to normal schedules with a brand new family drama called Doctor Who. I have always loved this series. I have been fascinated by its minutiae, the whole nine yards.

I refuse to call myself a Doctor Who Fan though, there is something deeply unsetlling about someone who devotes way to much interest to one thing, no matter how good it is, Doctor Who fans can be very sad anally retentive individuals. I am a fan of Science Fiction, whose major interest is Doctor Who. And of coures, this is the first anniversary in years that we have had a new series to look forward to, even though it is still at least eighteen months away.
On the who, I loved the coverage of Doctor Who and its 40thAnniversary.

The Radio Times was a very interesting read, and I was greatly impressed by the four covers.

 thought that the UK Gold programming was fascinating, just the right balance of fact and fiction. Plus it was nice to see Dale and Jenny.
The Children in Need sketch fell flat in places, but on the whole it made me laugh, so I will forgive the faults.

I found it interesting thing about the little piece about the future of Doctor Who at the end of the Doctor Who @ 40 marathon, no mention was given to the BBC books, the McGann Big Finish audio plays were emphasised as the real continuation of the series. Also they kept banging on about McGann being the Doctor, whilst the man himself kept dropping Francis Urquart style you might thing that… comments about playing  the Doctor on TV again.

I was watching the welcome Her Majesty gave to George W. Bush, the President of the United States of America at last night’s state banquet.  The Queen made a speech about how friendly our two nations were, and how we stood shoulder to shoulder.  Her Majesty then proposed a toast to the continuing friendship between the countries  At that point, the orchestra struck up the American National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. Am I the only person struck by the irony of this?  After all, the original poem Star Spangled Banner describes the bombing of Charleston South Carolina in 1812, an event that happened the last time the United Kingdom and the United States of America were at war with each other.

I spent the last weekend down in Plymouth at Armadacon 15. To my extreme annoyance, I forgot to take my camera with me, so I have no permanent visual record. I also came frighteningly close to having no way of paying for anything, as I had left my wallet in my bedroom, and had to trundle back up from college to get it before I could resume my journey down to the South West. It will probably be easier if I subdivide this entry, starting from when I left Trefforest.

Friday, 31^st October, 2003 (Halloween)

Boy, was I glad I was travelling by train. The M5 between Weston-Super-Mare and Taunton on the southbound side seemed to be stationary for most of its length. One stretch seemed to be a fifteen-mile long car park.

Just for once the trains did not let me down. I hit every connection got a comfortable seat and had a wonderful journey. The Virgin Voyager train for the leg between Bristol Temple-Meads and Plymouth is a wonderful piece of locomotive engineering. It is a shame that there are not more of these wonderful trains on the rail network. Added to all this is the fact that between Exeter and Newton Abbot is the prettiest stretch of railway in the country. Down along the Exe Estuary and then along the coast from Exmouth, through Dawlish Warrens, to Teignmouth and then up that estuary to Newton Abbot. Even in the rain with the waves lashing the side of the track it has a great beauty. On Friday, the weather was fine, the late autumn afternoon sunshine adding to the pinkie read of the cliffs.

It was almost dark by the time that the train arrived at Plymouth’s main railway station. To get into the City Centre form the station, you have to totally ignore the signs outside the building, which send you on a complete wild goose chase. So within a few minutes I was at the Copthorne Hotel, my home for the weekend. I really love Plymouth, it is my favourite city in England, so many pleasant memories.

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