29 Oct - 4 Nov

Sat - Disturbed night as Dr M on duty and 2 phone calls in the night.  Walked to vill with Martine & Boyd for a Rootz experience.  Generally pottered around the house, trying on old clothes and then throwing them out!

Sun - W7R2 (25R).  3.3km and felt OK.  Moved dining room stuff into middle room, very exciting.  Cooked lunch.  L and C cooked cupcakes all afternoon and I schlept around the house, trying to reconnect audio systems without the right leads.

Mon - Here's a good question:

Went to Wembley Ikea to buy desk/table.  Successful expedition, as I was there when it had just opened so car park OK.  Still managed to get lost in the showroom though!

Halloween party at No 5, then FOCC committee mtg at 8pm.  Eat and drank poorly and too much during the evening.

Tue - Walked down to Rootz for coffee, joined by G fleeing the builders enroute to hair dressers.  Sun came out, W7R3 (25R covered 3.4km) on Common, chatted to painter of Rose & Crown and got his card for future possible use.  Tidied up desk and filed papers, very exciting day at the office stuff.
Walked to choir in evening, lovely and mild walking back singing Bach Mass, luckily no passersby to be scared.

Wed - Tidied up for our weekend visitors.  Had massive fleece clear out, thus enabling me to buy new ones!

Excellent WOW Burgundy tasting in evening.

Thu - Dropped Dr M at station as she is going in today for examining.  Then W8R1 (28mins 3.8km)  What a change to when I started when I couldn't run for toffees.  Drizzley weather but it was still invigorating on Common.  Managing to keep just below 90kg, need to have a push to drop it a notch.

Now thinking about buying 'The Pursued' by CS Forester, a lost book just published today.  Googling to work out how to best remove the DRM so it can be read on the iPad.  What a waste of time rigmarole just to read what you have legitimately bought.

Phew, thanks to google I managed to load some plugins in Calibre that in the background deDRM ePubs.  So I bought the book from Penguin, and it all worked to plan and its now on the iPad being read.

Mike Warburg called me to come over and see his great crested newts that he has bred and is about to release in the ponds on the Common.  Well how exciting, what an opportunity not to be missed:

In evening, went to Watford Palace to see Tartuffe:

Clever rhymes but not desperately funny - lots in the audience disagreed and were laughing like mad which makes it worse when you don't join in.

Fri - Clothes shopping for the new body in Harlequin - size 34waist craghopper trousers!!!!!!!!!!

Then up to London for birthday party meal for Jonathan and Hannah at Kettners in Soho (we drove and I had the brompton in the back so I dropped them off, then went away and parked and biked back, so cool!).  Rather too buzzy and loud for us older folk, but a great evening.

22 - 28 Oct

Sat - W6R1 (5R,3W,8R,3W,5R).  Lovely out on Common (shame about the M25 noise but you can't have it all).  I am so lucky and happy to be living here in Darvells & Chorleywood.

Eddie & Marge for late lunch tapas-style.  Lovely to catch top with them, scary that we/they haven't changed but we/they have done so much in the meantime, or maybe its just the lens through which we view life.  I drank too much red wine and fell asleep on sofa afterwards whereas Mrs M was very good and cycled to gym.

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy at Rex in evening.  Very engrossing film, evocative of the 70s, shame G&P missed most of it by dozing off!

Sun - Lazy day till went for cycle ride with Chris to see Hudgell Towers in construction, then back along a very bumpy Chiltern Cycleway to Chenies.  Only 11 miles but we were worn out by the juddery ride.

Just seen Downton Abbey, this gets more silly by the minute, how many 10th rate soap plot devices can Mr Fellows get in e.g. the returning heir who had amnesia and has a burnt off face, claiming his Martin Guerre role???  Has Mr Bates murdered his wife?  Is the Lord having it off with the new maid?  Has Matthew felt a stirring in his paralysed loins?  This is not serious drama, its 1918 Eastenders.

Mon - Up with Mrs M and the larks for W6R2 (10R,3W,10R).  Managed 2.6km in the 20mins run time.  Nice morning. On eBay there is a recumbent trike for sale in Little Chalfont so I went over and met Dave and had a ride.

It was fun,  but it rides a little harshly and too low for the roads around here.  His reserve is £1000.  Also storage is an issue.  I'll get one when I am old and infirm and not able to stay upright on the other bikes!

Exported Dr M's stuff on Palm for future import into iPad so she can reduce the number of devices she carries around.  In the future there will be lots of data that can't be read as the technology has vanished - this was a factor in Fred Hoyle's The Black Cloud when data on old paper tapes couldn't be easily read.

Walked to vill for shopping in sunny weather.  Rest of day was usual housewife chores, but then started to play around with prototyping a Friends of the Common website.

Now its red-wine-o'clock as I await Dr M's return and a nice steak...she is on duty tonight so is working late.

Tue - Waitrosed first thing.  Gym & swim at William Penn.  Tried on and chucked out lots of clothes that no longer fit - hurrah.  Walked to choir in evening, Tim standing for Michael, a good rehearsal

Wed - W6R3 (25R) - the first long one over 20 mins.  Managed 3.4km and felt alright, not brill but OK.  Jon's birthday iPad arrived so I carefully unpacked it and loaded IOS5 (they still don't send it out this the latest version) and got he set up with his iCloud Apple id.  Tidied up for our visitors tonight and prepared dinner.

Thu - Amazing breakthrough.  Went to M&S to buy 38in trousers, and found they were too big!  So for the first time in 25 years I bought 36in jeans:

3 months ago I was over 40in waist.  Maybe M&S make flattering sizes for us mature men?

Victoria Hislop in evening - nice enough lady, but not worthy of her place in the book sale ratings.  The interviewer, a local author Katharine McMahon was really good and we bought a new book of hers:

Fri - W7R1 (25R).  Another single run (as is the rest of the program).  Didn't feel too bad.  In evening, went to Sathi with Martine & Boyd, then dropped into Rose & Crown to show them ye olde village pub, it was very crowded:

Mrs M says my blog is boring.

15 - 21 Oct

Sat - We wanted to vote in the Cambridge Chancellor elections, so put the bromptons in the BMW and drove up to Cambridge, parking on the outskirts.  Lovely clear sunny day, chill in the air.  Cycled in to Senate House and were given gowns to enter to vote.  We had thought to vote for Brian Blessed but he was such a buffoon in YouTube about it that we were sensible and went for the establishment desire for Lord Sainsbury.

Together in gowns at last!

Very nicely organised, and afterwards we had coffee/cakes in the Senate Combination Road.

Then we took nephew Henry out to brekka in "Bills Cafe" in the nearly church.

Brompton & Kings Chapel in bright blue sky

Then up to Hillington for lunch with Pete and Mo before they go off to Antigua till December.  They had booked at White Heart at Brancaster Staithe, and we had a drink before there with Robert and Lucy and family.  Table with view over marsh & sea, good meal and lots of wine. ..... lets forget the new diet regime for once!

Pete then showed us his factory unit at Faversham, some new barn conversion to buy (very tempted!!!) and Snettisham sailing club where we helped Rob to load up his kids boats for winterising.

Cup of tea then drove back - long day but excellent outing.

Sun - W5/R1 (3*(5R,3W)) early in cold mist on Common.  Drove (oh dear didn't walk) down to vill for shopping as Lulu coming home for lunch.  Jon also popped back for eats and chat, lovely to see them both.  Lulu made iced buns....too tempting!

In evening, took Nigel to local concert at St Pauls Chipperfield for Mozart Requiem - great acoustics in church, fantastic orchestra and soloists.  Quick drink in Two Brewers afterwards, worth going there to eat sometime as it was a hummy atmosphere.

Watched Downton Abbey on sky player to avoid adverts.   What a load of obvious tosh it is!

Mon - Nipped to Hemel Homebase and bought and fitted new ceiling lights upstairs, how exciting is that?  Then took Granny to an appointment at Hillingdon which was also not exciting and dampened the rest of the day.    But Mrs M brightened it up by suggesting buying 25% off wine at Waitrose and going out for a Tamarind Thai in Ricky.  Which we duly did, and very yummy it was to.

Tue - Attended Speed Awareness course at Burnham because of my crime of going 37mph in a 30 zone. Was OK, but rather laboured to make the point that going faster than the road conditions is either illegal or more dangerous.  I did learn however pointers to decide what was the speed limit, and some things to be more aware of.  Then home for W5R2 (2*(8R,5W)) on Common in bold but sunny air, and to wait for Mrs M's iPad to arrive which it duly did at 2:30.  Played with that till Mrs M arrived home when I cooked dinner.  Walked up to choir for AGM and a bit of singing, whilst C and G went to see RMS Drill:

Wed - Took Suzuki into Boxmoor for service & MOT, with bike in back, early for 8:15.  Cold and clear, around 5 deg.  Cycled back 8.8miles in 38minutes, avg 13.6mph, felt good.  Then went back to collect at midday, taking 15 seconds quicker!  A good workout for a rest day.
 Played around with Mrs M's iPad trying to fix the double Apple ID/iTunes login conflicts.
In evening popped into London for dinner with Jon and Jamie at Cay-Tre (french-vietamese) on Dean Street and ice screem at Scoop on Brewer Street.  A nice evening, trains worked well so we were back at 9:30pm.

Thu - W5R3 (20R).  The first long run, and it felt hard.  I have a long way to go, only managed 2.6k.  Then down to vill with Mrs M for coffee and shopping, and generally pottering around the house the rest of the day.  Nigel came for a yummy diner of liver and bacon casserole, topped off with Mrs M's lemon drizzle cake (not on the same plate at the same time I must add).

Fri - Up to Barbican in evening, met Wendy, to see:

Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Songs by Faure, Liszt and Tchaikovsky

Good stuff, but rather hard work.  Nice to have the translated poems to read in a free programme.

8 - 14 Oct

Sat - P came over and helped to move table to Georgina's, many thanks!  Walked to vill, coffee in Rootz, and tidyed up generally around house.

Sun -  Up early and W3/R3 on Common in grey rain/drizzle, but it was invigorating.  Wine and Cheese tasting at Wadesdon Manor, excellent affair with G&P

Chateau reminds me of Cheviny (Marlinspike Hall of Tintin fame).

Mon - Up before the larks to restart 4 weeks of preparing lunch boxes for the worker.  7:45 out for W4/R1 (2x(3R1.5W,5R,2.5W)).  Took BMW in for MOT and to change glovebox lock (under warranty) and bromptoned in very gusty wind into Watford instead of waiting, which was only marginally more interesting than waiting in the garage and rather more depressing.  Back at lunchtime, walked down to vill for shopping then stopped by Memorial Hall for Chorleywood Local Forum meeting run by local councillor Martin Trevitt.  Not a very inspiring day, but ended on a better note with eating some of the yummy cheese we had bought from Wadesdon.

Tue - Decided two get up to date and ready for IOS 5 tomorrow and iCloud so loaded OSX Lion on my Mac.  Very easy, no user involvement.   Now my scrolling has changed direction, I need to get used to that.  Walked and shopped in vill, made dinner for tonight (Nigel is coming).  Cycled to William Penn at lunchtime and swam 40 lengths, it seemed an effort cycled back uphill.  Walked down to pick up Nigel for dinner, then walked to choir in the evening, had to concentrate but it went well, it seems the harder one works at it, the quicker time goes and the more enjoyable it is.

Wed - got ready for my run, but then I was informed I need to buy some tights from M&S.  So I changed into cycle gear, went for W4/R2, then immediately onto the bike and into Watford.  Mission accomplished I left before I could get depressed at the greyness of it all, people looking unenthusiastically at buying more clothes they don't really need, being sucked by the excellent presentation into buying too much food, and the Xmas items that were appearing on the shelves - and its only mid Oct.  13 miles.
Back for shower and hot tub.  The portuguese tsunami cleaners started so I walking into vill for a mini-shopping.  By the time I got back they were about to leave so I could have lunch in peace.

IOS 5 doesn't release till 6pm tonight!

Off to ROH to see 3 ballet acts.  Found that Sapori, the italian restaurant we always go to near there has closed down, so we went to La Tasca for tapas instead - food OK, not a brilliant at atmosphere, too formulaic.  Last ballet piece based on Faure Requiem was excellent.

Home at midnight, kicked off IOS 5 download.

Thu - IOS 5 failed, so restarted. Failed again, restarted, and it worked.  Created iCloud account, but nothing else to do with it, it all happens automatically.  Now playing with it.  iPod has changed to Music on the iPad, and its a retrograde step - lost the text listing of albums, now all cover graphics.  Why do they do this?

Into London for a meeting, had a super cheese and wine lunch at La Fromagerie.

Out to hear Sir Steve Redgrave in evening with Mrs M and G.  Very nice chap, able to talk (endlessly) when questioned.  Bought his Olympic book, not the greatest of prose but good Xmas presses.

Fri - W4/R3, dropped in to see Nigel and invite him to Chipperfield concert on Sunday evening (Mozart Requiem).  Chilly start to the day, but forecast to be sunny.  Got news that parcel was to be delivered between 3 and 4pm (very good service from DPD)....so.... took the plunge and cycled into Long Tall Sally in Marylebone to swap a pair of trousers for Mrs M that had a tear in them (just bought yesterday).  Weather good, traffic persistent & noisy, roads bumpy at edges, but I battled along.  Treated myself to a bacon sarnie at the Chiltern Street Cafe.  In normal Edgware Road, out Regents Park, Finchley Road, A41 for a change to Stanmore.

Good time overall - 46 miles in 3:25hrs on bike, average 13.6mph, then popped down to vill for shopping gave extra 2 miles.  Shower, hot tub and relax.

Ordered Mrs M an iPad from Apple.

A nice way to end the week.  And now Liam Fox has resigned, as he should have done before given his lack of moral compass.  And for a final laugh, this is a waste bin from St James Park:

2 - 7 Oct: Heatwave in Blighty

Sun - Woke with Andalucia time.  Amazing weigh in and 91.6kg, less than when we left last week even after the endless tapas and vino tinto. Must be the metabolism, so went for W3/R1 around Common at 7:30.  Lovely crisp and clear.  Then it warmed up.  Mrs M and I went to the vill for shopping and a Rootz coffee, then to look for water features at Solesbridge Mill Water Gardens. I cut the lawn.  Lulu came home, we then read in the garden/on patio, and Mrs M made a cake.  Jon arrived at 5:30 and we had tapas on the patio.  Lovely evening.

Mon - Cycled into Ricky to pick up parcel for Mrs M (cycling trousers!).  Disappointing coffee at Cinnamon Square.  Back via the vill for shopping, then prepared dinner.  P&G came round for tea and to be bored by our holiday snaps, lovely to have them back in local circulation.  Nigel came round for tea/dinner.

Tue - Walked to vill for shopping, and Nigel spotted us so we went for a coffee with him.  Mrs M went to gym, I pottered around house and practiced for choir.  Walked to choir in evening, was tough but went well.

Wed - Mrs M aka Dr M went into work, I got ready for mini-ex[edition tomorrow, prepping bikes and mapping out routes.

Thu - Cycled to near Oxford.  40 miles in 4:13 moving time

Stayed at the Talkhouse where we were joined by G&P for a delighful evening and breakfast.

Fri - Off we go, back home:

45 miles in 4:18 moving time

view over Alysbury Vale from Christmas Common hill

Then down to Sathi for a quick curry.  Tiring day but a good ride.