Away
Posted: Fri 2 September, 2005 Filed under: D4D™, Travel 1 Comment »Well, we’re off to Norfolk for a week. When I get back next Sunday I’m then off to Amsterdam on Monday, and not back ’til Tuesday.
So d4d™ may be a bit quiet. There’s stuff queued up to be posted, but it’s not going to be as prolific as normal. Live with it.
E111 EHI card
Posted: Fri 2 September, 2005 Filed under: Health, Travel 8 Comments »
If you’re resident in the UK, and intend to visit somewhere in the EU, you now need to get an EHI card. The old E111 form expired yesterday, so any future travel needs the new card.
Fortunately, you can apply for it online, which saves a good amount of time/bureaucracy. You do need to know your NHS or NI number for the application, but that’s no great hardship.
Or am I the only person who knows their NI number off by heart?
Oxford
Posted: Sat 27 August, 2005 Filed under: Sweary, Thoughts, Travel 5 Comments »A quiet day today with not much planned, so I ended up going over to Oxford. I haven’t been there in a while, despite growing up (well, as much as I’ve ever grown up, anyway) in the area and so on, so I figured I might as well.
It was kind of weird being back in the city, actually – a lot has changed, including the infamous Cornmarket re-paving project that ran somewhere around £4.5m over budget. Mind you, from the state of people in Oxford, I can see why the council tried to make the centre “safer” and pedestrianise it – there’s just an amazing number of fuckwits who either dither out into the road for no good reason, or the shit-for-brains cunts who walk (fucking slowly) three abreast, thus meaning faster-moving people have to go out into the road instead.
Oh, and the woman with the five kids and a double buggy, saying “I’m going to belt someone in a minute” to her mate? Got news for you, love – you’re the fucking problem, not the solution. Shift your arse, stop talking to your mate who also has a double fucking buggy, and start looking where the fuck you’re walking, you mouthy scabarse.
So, what were my feelings about the place? It was nice to go back for a quick visit – and I managed to get some new Cat boots, among other things – but Jesus, I could never live there again. Too many people, too few IQ points – kind of sad, for a place renowned for its students and colleges.
Vroom
Posted: Thu 25 August, 2005 Filed under: General, Travel 2 Comments »Yes, the new car got picked up last night – and very nice it is, too. And just in time too, as Herself is away to Somerset this weekend to help the charity we work with. They’re doing a “holiday weekend” which should be fun.
And I get to look after Hound.
Stag
Posted: Mon 22 August, 2005 Filed under: Thoughts, Travel, Weirdness 2 Comments »Apparently it’s not just the costs of a marriage that are going up, but also the average spend at stag-dos and hen-nights, although men supposedly spend more than women (an average of £35 more, to be exact).
Quite honestly, I’ve never yet been on a stag-do (although bizarrely I have been on a couple of hen nights) – they’re just not something that really appeals to me, but then again, the entire “drink ’til you puke, then drink some more to wash away the aftertaste” concept has always been a bit beyond me anyway.
Supposedly it’s now the “done thing” to go off for a stag do in a foreign city – Prague, Amsterdam, etc. etc. Personally, if I’m going to those places I’d rather see something of them, instead of being the ubiquitous “Brit on the Piss”, or anything even close to that stereotype. Maybe that makes me boring, or an old fart – to be honest, I don’t care. What it does make me is (on average) £500 better off for every one I’ve never been on.
Sounds good to me!
Car hunting
Posted: Sat 20 August, 2005 Filed under: Resolutions, Travel Leave a comment »Over this weekend, we’re going to be looking at getting a new car. Not a completely brand-new “fresh from the garage” one, but a car that’s new to us, at least. Currently Herself has a Ford Fiesta, which is fine for her but for me is – let’s say – comical. I’m 6’4″, and built like the proverbial shithouse, so a Fiesta is kind of cramped and compact. Which is phrasing things tactfully.
Anyway, we’re going to be looking at going up a size when it comes to cars – we’re pretty sure of what we’ll be getting, it’s just dependent on fun stuff like price.
Anyway, I’m sure I’ll write more about it after the weekend, but yeah, that’s the kind of fun stuff that this weekend holds for us.