PhilJ W

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Nipped down to Tess Coes lunchtime for the papers, bread and milk. Didn't need anything else and the locusts had already emptied the shelves marked 'reduced to clear' anyway. Just had a bit of eyelid inspection and now tea is brewing, be back later.

Are parrots ticklish? Don't worry, its legal now.

Morning (yet again) from Estuary-Land. After my early morning missive it started raining, I had an idea it would as Arthur Itis wanted to come out to play. A couple of paracetamols put him back in his place. The rain has now stopped and the clouds are thin and high so not much chance of any more. Perhaps next year Bob Santa will give you a suit of armour, it looks as if you might need it. Thats it for now, be back later.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A bit warmer this morning than it was last night. When I looked out at about ten the car had a coating of frost, later when I went to bed not long after midnight the frost coating was even heavier. This morning theres no sign of ice. Back to bed for a bit more shuteye, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Brian, could you try uploading your pics onto Flickr and post them from there?

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Had a great Christmas dinner and managed to cook it without any mishaps or even mis-timing. Using the dry fryer as a mini fan oven worked a treat and the baked spuds and parsnips were perfect, and done in twelve minutes which was about the time it took to grill the salmon steak. The green veg (no sprouts) only took three minutes in the microwave and Christmas dinner was ready to be served. No Christmas pud has been eaten yet as I was well full up.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Just about to start preparing Christmas dinner. Everything lined up and ready to go just have to switch appliances on.

Best wishes to all from Estuary-Land. Breakfast has been eaten and tea drunk. Stayed in bed this morning until nine. Christmas dinner is ready to go on in a couple of hours time and should only take half an hour at the very most to cook. My pressies were opened a few days ago when the postie delivered them.

Goodnight all and have a merry Christmas.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Dinner (risotto) has been eaten and tomorrows Christmas dinner is prepared to go into various cooking machines. Heads up, tonight on the Yesterday channel at 10 pm is a program called Train Truckers about moving a locomotive by road, sounds interesting. Wishing everybody a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year, bye for now.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Decided to go to Tess Coes after all. Much to my surprise it was nowhere near as packed as it has been the last few days. Just picked up the papers and a few bits and then came home. Now for a cup of tea and a couple of mince pies.

Also it gives their franchised dealers a chance to make a bigger profit.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. A bit damp here this morning but its stopped falling from the sky for the time being. As I'm up I might be tempted to go to Tess Coes before the madness begins. Not that I need much, just a few bits and bobs and the papers. Heres wishing all a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. Dinner tonight was a pre-Christmas meal. I have been experimenting with the dry fryer which as I surmised can also double as a fan oven. The roast potatoes and parsnip came in packs with two helpings so I put half of each pack in the dry fryer dribbled a bit of olive oil on them and set it for 15 minutes. It turned out just about right, they baked perfectly. The green veg will only require a few minutes in the microwave and I will grill the salmon which I have instead of turkey. Reminds me of a colleague who was all of 20 stone who also wore lycra when using his bike.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I dared venture to Tess Coes just after lunch. Luckily I was able to grab a parking spot without too much hassle but I very much doubt I'll be going there tomorrow.

I just hope it didn't slip from his fingers as he was about to fit it.

Same thing, billycock is American for a bowler.

She has just found out that it's a snooker table. Unfortunately she had a cue in her hand at the time.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. I'm a happy bunny this morning, the parcel I was expecting from Hong Kong arrived about an hour ago. Without any extra charges as well. If anyone is interested its E-bay item 132990066695. That was the last one from that trader but there are others on E-bay but a bit more expensive. I am debating at the moment whether or not to go to Tess Coes today, I escaped the hassle yesterday and I have enough basics in the food line so I might just hobble down to the local shops for the papers. If I find I do need anything as its a 24 hour opening store I can pop down late (after 10 pm) to get it. I usually avoid the electric fish tank at this time of year but I will watch 'The Goes Wrong Show' tonight (BBC1 at half seven) by all accounts its very funny.

Goodnight all.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The neighbours have moved out so I'm going to have a quiet Christmas. Not much else to report, be back later.

There's also the special stock hauled by the District box cabs. It was built and owned by the LT&S and was specially designed for the Ealing Broadway-Southend service. Oakwood Press produced a book of the LT&S rolling stock that included drawings of that stock.

Afternoon from Estuary-Land. Ventured out to Tess Coes at lunchtime. As I approached from the Vange end I noted the queue of traffic snaking around the filling station so I took the road around the back of the store to the other entrance only to find an even longer queue trailing back to the A13! So I decided to try my luck in Pitsea itself and I found a parking bay on the short piece of road leading from Pitsea to the store. I only had to walk a few yards more than I would have if I'd parked opposite the store as usual and probably less than if I had to park at the back of Tess Coes car park. In fact where I parked was the stub of Station Road Pitsea that was severed by the Pitsea flyover. Time to put the dinner on, be back later.