Reggie Thomson’s Diary

I cycled very slowly down the Huntington road. Fortunately, the snow had put off most drivers - there was very little traffic. I parked outside St. Johns and went round some of the colleges to take photos. It’s a pity I can’t review the photos on the screen, and can’t use the screen to check the contents and exposure. Cambridge was full of photographers.

When the clouds started to cover the sun, I went shopping. Most shops were closed, but the YHA adventure shop was open. I purchased a pair of trousers - the same pair that accompanied me across Canada and Japan. I’ll have to cut off the zips when I go travelling again (assuming I will be sleeping in them.) The guy on the counter seemed to think I spent a long time “making my decision.”

I put the photographs onto the iicinternet.com webpage.

There were lots of people stuck in the snow around Cambridge and the M11 last night, and lots of complaints on the TV.

I drove to Histon to get the tax disc for the car. I had to write out another cheque, since Andrew’s cheque was too high. It began snowing as I came back.

I didn’t go down to the Barn because of the snow. Instead, I signed up for another host (iicinternet.com) that will give me 300Mbytes of disk space and 25Gbytes of monthly transfer for $10.99 per month. I currently pay $25 for 200Mbytes and 3Gbytes transfer, with $15 per extra Gbyte transfer. It is too expensive, as my transfer rate is now above 3G.

I checked Google for problems with iicinternet, but didn’t find any adverse comments.

I waited in the morning for the NTL installation, but had to phone up midday when they didn’t show up. I was told that the work was scheduled for the afternoon. The guy showed up and quickly installed the two phone lines and the internet connection. Of course, when drilling through the wall, he left a pile of dust on the carpet - an Englishman cannot see dirt. Once it has reached “earth” it has returned to its roots and is no longer visible - even a large pile on a carpet.

I started to install broadband on Andrew’s computer, but I see it is infected with XXX dialup numbers than caused the setup to fail. I had to do quite a bit of work to remove them. No wonder his telephone bill for the last quarter was so high.

I took the junk up to the tip, then drove home. I’ve spent all day typing my diaries.

So, I woke up late and had breakfast. I drove to Histon post office, but was informed that I would have to wait until Thursday before I could get a tax disk starting in February.

At home, I picked up my 45 junk mail, including half a dozen viruses deleted by Norton.

I started to clear out some of the junk in my attic. A full car load is about a quarter of the stuff. I’ve thrown away lots of books and files from years ago.

However, the tip was closed at 4.45, so I just had to drive to Girton.

In the evening, I watched an interesting documentary about Mr. Watson, who had helped to bring about 500 children out of Czechoslovakia just before the war.

I cycled to the Baptist church in Girton. I sat with Jonathan and Christine at the very back. It’s quite a small congregation.

Andrew and Sarah were panicking a bit - Sarah’s suitcase had a lock on it without a key. Andrew drove back to their other house to get another case.

We left around 1.30. Andrew drove down the A603 almost as far as Biggleswade, and then down the A1 to the M25 and into Heathrow. I wished them well, and then set off for the M1 and Luton. I stopped at a service area to phone Rob. He was surprised to hear that I was nearby, and gave me directions.

The children were watching by the window when I drove up. We sat in the front room drinking tea. The children had been playing with a train set, so were told to put it away. I joined in, making it a challenge - a game to see who could put the most parts away. Of course, the numbers jumped from twenty to a hundred, and then into the millions.

Madelaine is now at school and learning to read. She brought a book in to show me. So, I decided to read it with “mistakes” - changing the numbers or animals.

Robert is about to make another CD (of organ music, I think), and is interested in making a homepage to advertise it. I gave him a brief outline of how to make a page in Word (he has Windows95) and create links to other pages. However, Madelaine wanted to do some pictures for us. We had to wait.

I went to church in the evening - Rob was playing the piano. We met John, who is unemployed and looking for a job, but a bit disheartened.

After church, I loaded Rob’s current page onto his computer. However, we didn’t make any changes. I offered to make him a ten page website for £50. It won’t pay for the two or three weeks of work needed, but I don’t care. I didn’t tell him how long I might spend on it.

I discovered a few errors on my computations - not serious, but I had put some income from the consultancy under rental income. I went through all the bank paying-in stubs again.

Also, I had put down £400 for the tax for 2002-3, but decided that I could sort out the year and do a more accurate calculation. It came to £18. I think that is more acceptable. Now, my total bill is only £425. I paid it online.

I packed my bags, and cycled round to Andrew and Sarah’s. I will be staying there for three weeks while they are on holiday. I watched TV in the evening - a rare privilege.

When they returned from their Burns night, we chatted for a while. They are going to Singapore and Malaysia.

I continued with the tax return. It seems I will be able to finish it tomorrow, if I get the figures for the Building Society interest.

At the Barn, there was a Scottish evening. I took my kilt down, but was a bit reluctant to wear it, because I am getting too fat for it. However, I was just able to squeeze in.

I’m not very talkative any more. I wonder why I keep going to the Barn. The lady who proposed the toast to the haggis stabbed it with typical Scottish indelicacy, spewing out all sorts of truths about Scottish character that I no longer wish to be represented by, but still am.

I discussed the camera with Vlasta. He may be interested in purchasing it. The flash, though, is still worth something.

I tried some of the Scottish dances later on. I’m not very good at calling or teaching. I think I will give it up completely.

I went through the entries, checking they were in the correct columns and adding some code to help me calculate the percentage of the bills that is personal. This involved adding more columns to the database.

I cycled round to Andrew and Sarah’s for an evening meal. They had some things to show me about the house. I will be staying there for three weeks or so. Andrew drove me home.