Bob Mills and another 50th celebration

A busy and varied week. It started with attending a lecture run by the Oxford University Society and given by Baroness Shepherd, one time Education Minister. However, it was sold as a talk on Margaret Thatcher. What became evident very quickly was that Baroness Shepherd wasn't ideal for the role as she didn't seem to know the iron lady particularly well. She, and the book she was promoting, rely almost entirely on reporting the anecdotes of others. Still, it was interesting enough, and kept us interested, our party being me, one of my colleagues and his teenage son taking politics at A-level. Of course the latter is particularly interesting as what for his father and me seems like current affairs for him is history,

Later in the week I attended my first bingo hall since the age of 5. No, I haven't finally succumbed to a hobby more commensurate with my age. It was a departmental outing. And at least was an interesting anthropological study. Basically a bingo hall in Stratford is where people with type 2 diabetes go to die. We were in the posh bit (ie the bit almost as plush as a Wetherspoons pub) with a bar where you could get unhealthy food for bargain prices (like a Wetherspoons). Behind glass walls is the serious hall, with row upon row of tables seating their geriatric guests in geometric formation. As a hobby this is, if you think about it, a quite unlikely one, where over 300 people just listen to a bloke calling out numbers between 1 and 90 at random, with the skill being dabbing your felt tip pen over the right numbers in your book. Like being a cloakroom attendant without the intellectual stimulation. I don't think I will be in need of the abundant leaflets offering me advice if I feel I am hooked.

A long weekend began with a trip to my local comedy club to see Bob Mills. Not sure what happened to Bob as he did quite a lot of TV work in the nineties. Well, one thing that has happened is he has piled on the weight. But he is a splendid a stand up who is well worth catching.

Then onto Cheshire for a friends 50th, or otherwise a weekend of eating and drinking too much with friends. What more can one ask for?

Curious thing with David is he is a gamer. Not computer games, but board games. Quite odd seeing a bunch of people even watching others playing board games. Well, whatever floats your boat. 

His wife led the afternoon escape party for a walk in the country

After afternoon tea, and dinner, we headed outside for a firework display. It seems most fireworks now go for names which suggest nuclear devices, and so may be troubling the advertising standards board. We finished with a large box which needed to be buried in the garden and claimed to be anti-matter. But it was a nice change and interrupted the gluttony. And fireworks are a good challenge for my camera.

And on Sunday morning we had a piano moving party. You know how you have decorating parties where people come round and help paint your house? Well here we had to get a second hand upright piano from around the corner. How many Oxbridge science graduates does it take to move a piano? Lots.