Matt's Blog

Christmas

2009-12-20T13:00:00.000Z

This morning we went out to Chobham Common with Surrey Wildlife Trust to clear some of the birch and pine. As our reward we were allowed to cut down a Scots Pine to take home. Strangely enough, it didn't look quite this big when it was outside!

Ascot

2009-10-31T17:52:00.001Z

We've been to Ascot races today, the first jump meeting of the season. Unlike last year, when it chucked it down, today its been reasonably warm and dry. It didn't help with the betting though, we still lost money. Perhaps if we studied the form, rather than picking horses whose name we like, we'd do better.

Andy gave me two tips. One came in first and one was very near the back.

Viruses

2009-10-31T17:46:00.000Z

I appear to have caught a dose of slap cheek from somewhere. I've had it on my face and it is currently making its way down my torso.

Xmas presents

2009-10-25T17:13:00.000Z

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Helliwell.me.uk

Telescopes

2009-09-12T09:53:00.002+01:00

I have spent the money i got from selling my motorbike wheels on a new telescope. It's a 10" Newtonion reflector on a Dobsonian mount. I've only had it a couple of days so far and what have I seen - I've seen stars. Lots and lots of stars. I've just aligned the finderscope so hunting things down should be a bit easier now.

Archeology

2009-08-09T21:33:00.000+01:00

I bought my scrummy eife a metal detector for christmas and in return she digs holes in the patio. She found an old oil tin. It must have been there a while as it was well below the level of the top soil.

Raspberry wine

2009-08-07T09:50:00.000+01:00

Last years attempts at strawberry wine didn't go too well as it had a rather bitter after taste. This year I am trying raspberry wine. The recipe is nice and simple:
1 pound of raspberries
1 pound of sugar
1 pint of water
1 sachet of yeast

Put raspberries in blender. Add eveything to demijohn and leave. It started to ferment within 30 minutes.

That's half the normal amount of water from other recipes. My plan is to keep addung sugar until it won't ferment any more. That should hopefully give a sweet itence wine, almost like a liquor.

Newts

2009-07-21T12:49:00.000+01:00

While moving stuff around the pond in preparation for a new filter, I found what I think is a newt. It was dead, unfortunatley, but it does mean there a probably other in the pond somewhere.

Guilfest

2009-07-13T17:24:00.001+01:00

We went to Guilfest this Sunday, so I got a rest from building the decking. We saw quite a few different bands, including the Wailers. Sue didn't seem too keen on the rock bands, still plenty of time to work on her though.

We even had a decent amount of sun. I must remember to apply sun screen to my expanding forehead, it keeps getting burnt.

Patio

2009-07-05T19:51:00.000+01:00

The old patio is gradually being sorted out. The area outside the lounge now has decking. I've spent the weekend starting on new fountain/paddling pool.

The masonary is done. There's going to be a bench all around the edge so we can sit the in the summer and dangle our feet in.

Eyes

2009-05-13T16:53:00.002+01:00

I had my eyes lasered this morning by Mr Anderson. It all seemed to go smoothly enough. They start of taping your eye open and adding some anaesthetic drops. Then they push some sort of suction device on your eye to hold it still whilst the first laser cuts the flap. I couldn't feel the laser at all but the pressure from the vacuum device was painful. Then they take that off and swing you across to the second laser which does the eye correction. I could make out the surgeon as he pushed the flap around but there was no pain at all.

Total laser time was about 60 seconds and after a check by the surgeon and a cup of tea, I caught the train home.

My eyes watered like nobody's business for the first few hours but are ok now. They are a little sore (it feel a bit like wearing an uncomfortable contact lens) but my vision is already pretty good - not good enough to drive yet but it should be in a day or two.

Repointing?

2009-05-13T16:31:00.000+01:00

I was cleaning out the gutters yesterday and had the chance to get sight of the wall above next door's garage. The pointing is a mess, looks like it needs redoing to me before it lets in the rain.

Radio 1 Big Weekend

2009-05-11T13:27:00.001+01:00

Sue, clever girl that she is, won tickets to the Radio 1 Big Weekend this Sunday. We saw lots of bands I would never normally see. N-Dubz were pretty good, Tinchy Strider had so much base I thought my nose was going to bleed but Akon gave the best performance (though he was miming for a lot of it!).

Decking

2009-05-03T19:18:00.001+01:00

This weekend I have mainly been putting down decking at the end of the garden. One end is a semi-circle so it took quite a while to get the frame cut properly to support the deck. I've now got to run a skirt around the edging and trim the weed membrane back. However I've ran out of screws so that will have to wait.

I got the decking and timber for the frame from these AVS fencing. Best price I could find and they even carried it around the back for me (with a little help from Sue).

2009-04-24T09:28:00.000+01:00

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Helliwell.me.uk

Anyone want a sofa?

2009-04-22T19:24:00.000+01:00

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Helliwell.me.uk

Geevor tin mines

2009-04-14T08:13:00.000+01:00

Yesterday it rained most of the day. We had a very brief walk around St Just and then went off too a couple of mining things. The first was Levant steam engine, owned by the NT. Like most steam things, it was a bit dull, made worst by the fact that the engine broke down last Wednesday so we couldnt see it steaming. The location was spectacular though.

The second place was Geevor tin mines. This was fascinating. It was a more modern mine with a lot of the equipment still there. They even had all the locker rooms pretty much left as they were when they closed, complete with clothes.

There was also a short underground tour which we enjoyed as I do find big holes in the ground interesting for some reason!

This morning the sun is shining and I'm watching the early surfers whilst I drink my tea.

2009-04-13T16:21:00.000+01:00

Not quite so sunny today, in fact its chucking it down.

2009-04-12T16:46:00.000+01:00

Sue and i have been married one year today! We are spending it in a static caravan near St Ives. This is a picture of the beach directly outside the caravan. The sun is shining, we've been body boarding this morning and a walk along the beach this afternoon. Tonight we are having champagne and fish and chips over looking the beach. Over all, i think we're pretty lucky.

Anyone want a spare TV?

2009-03-15T14:31:00.000Z

Sunrise on the train

2009-03-06T07:51:00.000Z

The sun was rising when i was on the train going into work so i grabbed this photo.

Compost

2009-03-01T08:22:00.000Z

The compost bin has taken shape, all built from bits of scrap wood. Next i just need to shove all the half composted stuff back in it.

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Helliwell.me.uk

Worms

2009-02-28T08:03:00.001Z

Whilst moving the compost around in readyness for building the new compost, i found this lot. They were all in the discarded apple pulp from the cider making for some reason.

Prosopagnosia

2009-02-13T19:39:00.002Z

I think this link describes me with a fair degree of accuracy.
http://www.prosopagnosia.com/main/likewhat/index.asp

As published in Current Archaeology issue 228

2009-02-13T19:36:00.001Z

I spotted this on the train this morning. I'm easily pleased.