Blog ≫ 2025Who said I was going to waste the day?

Just realised I have been making a mistake for the past year not tagging my gigs and pages correctly, so my "bands I have seen the most" list will change now I have fixed that. Right now it is this:

Going to rerun the system and see what happens... Probably not a lot at the top of the list there. 60ft Dolls and Cooper Temple Clause are unlikely to be going anywhere anyway...

Oh yes, David Devant are still in the same place but the count goes up to thirty times. Suede overtake MJ Hibbett, I've seen them seventeen times, or will have done by the time of the upcoming gigs. Likely I am missing some of Mark's gigs, and also some Devant and Darkness shows. Cooper Temple Clause actually did go up one, I must have miscounted one of theirs. Probably more movement further down the list.

Light rain showers and a fresh breeze, 8 - 14℃.

Energy usage

Energy usage graph, electricity and gas 0 - 50 - 100 - Graph axes Oct 26 27 28 29 30 31 Graph line from 2.71 to 99.18p last week p last week Graph line from 2.87 to 122.39p p free energy 🐙 Sat £5.25-ish Sun £8.97 Mon £5.80 Tue £6.31 Wed £8.31-ish Thu £5.42-ish Graph line from 0 to 47.61 Graph line from 0 to 122.39

This week 20 years ago

25 years ago

30 years ago

Blog ≫ 2025I get up when I want

No parkrun today. Knackered and felt sure it would be cancelled. Was that the tail end of a hurricane that hit us last night? Weather was very bad anyway.

Luckily was ok earlier when I went out. Was running very late indeed because of a long running support call at work. Have been on eight hour long calls for the past four days and an issue with an external supplier is still not resolved. It's going to result in us getting alert calls during our busy period now, and I might be on call for that, brilliant 1. Anyway, running late got the bus into Hythe. Nearly failed there, the first bus disappeared from the schedule and then I was walking past another stop when another one came. But made it, to The Three Mariners for a change as the Potting Shed was shut for a holiday. All the usual suspects had also migrated, it was great, like a pub holiday.

Walked back, finished Slow Horses, fell asleep during The Last Frontier and then went to bed.

Today we're off to Ashford, shoe shopping 2.

Thirty years since a great gig today, a Radio One show at the Camden Underworld, Menswear, Longpigs, and Fluffy. Great for the time anyway they don't all have the popular longevity of some bands of that era.

Light rain and a fresh breeze, 8 - 15℃.

  1. I am actually on call the following week in the even busier period, but hopefully it will be solved by then.
  2. Actually wasn't me in the end, just wife and T1, I am home with T2 sitting about and listening to records...

Blog ≫ 2025Health stats 1/11/25

🚶 203 steps

your daily target Best ever daily steps: 38155 on Sat, Sep 14, 19 Sat was the best since Thu, Oct 16's 17958 10ᵏ - 20ᵏ - 30ᵏ - 10482 Thu, Oct 23 3626 Fri, Oct 24 14136 Sat, Oct 25 6504 Sunday 3002 days of data 1168 Monday 4855 Tuesday 3341 Wednesday 9847 Thursday 11936 Friday 203 (so far) Saturday

Some things missing from the graph since September 2023, working on getting them back just kind of hoping someone else will fix it and they'll come back.

Scattered clouds. 11 - 13℃

Blog ≫ 2025Exercise stats 31/10/25

🚶 11936 steps

🚶 22:01 Shepway Walking 42'58

🚶 08:32 Shepway Walking 24'05

Passing clouds. 14 - 15℃

Blog ≫ 2025Free energy, at an unusable time

Hmm, free energy yesterday from twelve until two. Twelve midnight until two in the morning that is. Hard for me to use, best I could do is time the tumble dryer to come on which might have woken me up. I like to go to bed about nine, especially when I'm working in London, as I was yesterday.

Sign up here to join Octopus Energy 1, and you might be able to get in on this difficult to use scheme..

Busy day at work yesterday, but good, I do enjoy going into London at the moment. If it didn't cost me about ninety quid a go I'd really enjoy it. I nearly missed my train in, as I struggled to find a free parking spot, and was running a bit late anyway. Just made it though and got my preferred seat, but oddly there were two free seats at the table opposite me. This rarely happens. Standing room only after the next stop though.

I got presented with cake at the end of the day, for five years long service. Very nice, it was vegan chocolate and raspberry cake and we had it after tea last night.

Happy Halloween. I was at The Darkness this day in 2002, at Highbury Garage. This felt like a big one, was with their new Must Destroy labelmates, so not just them on their own, possibly for the first time. This band are going somewhere, these boys can play!

Light rain showers and a fresh breeze, 12 - 15℃.

  1. Join Octopus Energy here and we both earn money.

I have seen Darkness probably 36 times; Kings Cross Water Rats ('01), Barfly (2001), Barfly ('01), Kings Cross Water Rats ('01), Barfly (2001), Barfly ('01), The Verge (2001), Camden Underworld (2001), The Cut @ Ocean ('01), Notting Hill Arts Club ('01), Kings Cross Water Rats (2001), Barfly (2001), Barfly (2002), Ocean (2002), Bull + Gate ('02), Metro ('02), Kings Cross Water Rats (2002), Ocean ('02), Camden Underworld (2002), Notting Hill Arts Club (2002), Metro ('02), Kings Cross Water Rats ('02), The Garage ('02), The Libertines @ Islington Academy (2002), Def Leppard @ Brixton Academy (2003), 93 Feet East (2003), London Astoria ('03), Glastonbury ('03), HMV (2003), Darkness album launch @ The Cross (2003), Hammersmith Odeon (2003), The Darkness homecoming gig @ London Astoria (2003), Leas Cliff Hall ('04), The Darkness Passport gig @ Barfly ('04), Leas Cliff Hall ('13), and Portsmouth Guildhall (2025).

Blog ≫ 2025Health stats 30/10/25

🚶 9847 steps

Passing clouds. 9 - 12℃

Blog ≫ 2025Health stats 29/10/25

🚶 3341 steps

No weather data available undefined℃

Blog ≫ 2025This is why I'm not going on a cruise

Elderly woman left behind by cruise ship on Great Barrier Reef island found dead

Australian authorities are investigating after an 80-year-old woman who was left behind on a Great Barrier Reef island by a cruise ship was found dead.

The woman had been hiking on Lizard Island, 250 km (155 miles) north of Cairns, with fellow passengers from the Coral Adventurer cruise ship on Saturday but is believed to have broken off from the group to have a rest.

No, it's not really why I'm not going on a cruise.

Light rain showers and a moderate breeze, 5 - 14℃.

Blog ≫ 2025New bathroom cupboard handles are here

Our bathroom came with goldie lookin' handles instead of silvery looking. Not sure how it happened I don't remember choosing the cupboard door handles, but those gold ones were not the ones in the show room. They do look nice, but everything else is stainless steel. Wickes have sent new ones now, and we've got the other things that weren't considered at the time now too. Important stuff, a toilet roll holder for example. So now the fitter can come back to sort this, and then we have no more reasons not to sign the job off and actually start paying for it. We've got an interest free loan over two or three years. That will fly by.

Maybe I'll be retired by the time it is paid off? Hoping so today, I have woken up very tired again. This clock changing lark seems to have wiped me out, I'm tired at night by 9pm and I'm tired when I have to get up at 6.30am.

At least I do not have to do the 1am to 5am shift at work this week, someone else has volunteered. I was considering it as it could be extra money. As it was this morning at 1am though a) I would have struggled being this tired and b) that does not really get me out of going to London this week. So, I have no extra money, and I have to pay to go into London on Thursday. And it's not even the day of pay like I thought it was, that is next Friday.

Watched a new TV show that I think I quite like, The Last Frontier. It starts with a plane crash like all good TV shows, but this plane is full of dangerous prisoners and it crashes in Alaska.

Light rain showers and a moderate breeze, 5 - 14℃.

Blog ≫ 2025Exercise stats 28/10/25

🚶 4855 steps

🚶 08:14 Shepway Walking 24'15

Clear. 10 - 11℃

Blog ≫ 2025I cleared the last remaining apples from the tree

I thought it was cute the other day to see the last apples on the tree had been partly eaten, by birds I thought. But no, it was big mouse, and he shall have no more apples.

That was my one useful task of the day. Work felt hard today. I haven't decided if I will do the overnight work on Wednesday, I'm not quite sure it's worth the pay for the lack of sleep. I'll leave it for someone younger who can recover quicker. It might be out of my hands already, someone might have put their name on it. If not I'll decide tomorrow.

Partly cloudy and a moderate breeze, 9 - 15℃.

Blog ≫ 2025All change in the vinyl value chart

Everyone wants some Black Sabbath since Ozzy died, my copy of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is now my most valuable piece of vinyl. also three Suede albums in the top ten!

  1. Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath - 1973 (Vinyl) Very Good (VG), Bargain boot fair purchase in the days before the vinyl revival £211.74
  2. Pulp - His 'N' Hers - 1994 (Vinyl) Near Mint (NM or M-), Framed and on the wall, our favourite albums all are. £195.70
  3. Suede - Suede - 1993 (Vinyl) Near Mint (NM or M-), Framed and on the wall. £183.14
  4. David Devant And His Spirit Wife - Work, Lovelife, Miscellaneous - 1997 (Vinyl, Vinyl, All Media) Mint (M), Got two copies of this, this one is still sealed. Framed and on the wall. £171.50
  5. David Devant And His Spirit Wife - Work, Lovelife, Miscellaneous - 1997 (Vinyl, Vinyl, All Media) Near Mint (NM or M-), Got two copies of this, this one is open and has been played. £153.44
  6. The Darkness - Permission To Land - 2003 (Vinyl) Near Mint (NM or M-), Framed and on the wall. £114.74
  7. The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses - 1989 (Vinyl) Very Good Plus (VG+), Framed and on the wall. £114.71
  8. Suede - Antidepressants - 2025 (Vinyl) Near Mint (NM or M-), Birthday present, pre-ordered, came with signed picture and a t-shirt. £110.81
  9. Suede - Sci-Fi Lullabies Vol.2 - 2025 (Vinyl) Near Mint (NM or M-), Record Store Day purchase from Vintage and Vinyl, Folkestone £96.77
  10. Feeder - Two Colours - 1995 (Vinyl) Near Mint (NM or M-) £93.77

I should put that Feeder one up for sale I have no interest in it.

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Paulʼs blog - I live in Hythe near Folkestone, Kent. Wed + dad to two, I am a full stack web developr, and I do mostly javascript / node, some ruby, other languages ect ect. I like pubbing, parkrun, restaurants, home automation + other diy jiggery-pokery, history, genealogy, television, squirrels, pirates, lego, and time travel.

🏷 🏷 🏷 🏷 🏷 🏷 🏷

Yep, deliberately unstyled.