Jon Roach

Free good fings du jour

1. Hypothetically, were I employed, Tuesday would have felt like the sort of day that in a parallel universe, I might have answered seven questions in a work 🏳️‍🌈 quiz and won a free breakfast voucher!

2. After several days of looking and thinking, my new gloves were in the rucksack, untouched since returning from Bristol this fortnight last.

3. Before she died in 2017, my friend Ange commissioned me to take some photos of her young family. Her widower Paul just sent me a message that he was walking in the place we did the photos, and it had reminded him of our afternoon taking pictures with Ange.

3a. It's dusty in here.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings oggi

1. The jar of special foreign honey that is a gift for my Dad survived the journey,

2. The jar of the world's best marmalade survived the journey,

3. The jar of Carrefour own-brand rhubarb jam* survived the journey.

#3GoodThings #rhubarb #marmalade

• truly the sign of a civilised country, when you can find supermarket own-brand rhubarb jam, rather than Special Artisanal Conserve Made With Special Artisanal Care And That'll Be Fifteen Pounds Please.

Free good fings du jour - all food related. It's like when I was doing a photo a day in 2020 and by June every photo for the whole month was food or kitchen.

1. Local pub chain honoured our money off voucher despite The System rejecting it.

2. Colleague brought in chocolate brownies to share for their birthday.

3. Saw Mum & Dad and handed over most of the lardy cake that I bought from Shelley's Bakery as an early gift for Sunday.

#3GoodThings

I'm not saying I'm easily distracted but one of the reasons I took 10 hours to fix my espresso machine* was that I was looking on facebook groups for answers and instead discovered that a new model train manufacturer is going to start making models in my scale and is taking advance orders for a locomotive I "need". At what point does AD become a "disorder", you say?

* still on a massive high about this without actually having had a coffee from it yet..Yes! Yes!

Imagine a company dress code that prohibits "sportswear" but permits "Polo or golf shirts" and "Sports shoes" and "Boat and yachting shoes".

Free good fings oggi

1. People making podcast adverts in English have recognisable voice patterns that make it very easy to discriminate "advert" from "podcast" even when it's the podcast host reading out the advert.

2. Recently I discovered my headphones have a control that will advance the playback forward 30s.

3. Combining these things means I no longer have to sit through podcast adverts while riding my bike.

#ThreeGoodThings

Free good fings cuesta settimana

1. (from Thursday but I'm still grateful) I secured the last space in the 🇮🇹🍝 for Friday's dinner! Table for one.

2. (also quite old now) Roach Minor wrote something nice in a card to their mother 🥹

3. train travel today worked like a charm. Trains are the best, when The System works.

#3GoodThings

@Nikkileah@mendeddrum.org Hi Nikki, a professional question for you if you wouldn't mind...

Taking bike by train. Policies vary so much between TOCs. If I have a bike reservation, but miss that train because of other delays / insufficient space on preceding train, is it best to speak to

- ticket office
- station staff
- train crew
- someone else?

This occasioned by a reservation from Edinburgh to Kings Cross that I kind of _had_ to make because bike spaces on ECML Azumas are like hen's teeth, I'd have been stuck in Edinburgh for ages, but I had 2 trains before that which, thankfully, ran like clockwork and were lightly occupied!

That said a couple turned up with a tandem and the train crew found space for them somehow!

Thank you!

Free good fings oggi

1. after 6 months of sulking and eating Quaker instant porridge pots, because the canteen stopped doing itw own porridge and offered over-nigh toats, today I tried the over-nigh toats for the first time and they were delicious, more to eat than a Quaker porridge pot and 10p cheaper. Converted. Eventually. Now I just have to have separate conversations with every kitchen staff member about this revalation. I should make a badge.

2. I successfully avoided the two people riding in September rainy dawn light with no lights and dressed all in black 😆🤡🧿

3. Huge congratulations to the vendor, the courier(s), and the buyer, Mrs Roach, for the successful transfer via Inpost of a second hand 4' pillow. Roach Minor accompanied Mrs R to the locker and apparently watching Mrs R struggle to pull this massive squashy parcel out of one of the highest lockers was priceless. (and no, I haven't looked closely at the cleaning service record of this thing... eww?)

#3GoodThings

Free good fings heute

1. IPA plus lint free cloth plus disc brake rotors = hopefully no horrid noises

2. The first blue-grey Mk1s arrived.

3. Roach Major circulated a video of a vole that they discovered during their run.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings du jour

1. Retrieved the Best Bike from the Breton garage where it has has languished for a month. Oh and another bike, and the car.

2. Trains. When they run well, there's nothing I like more for long journeys. Thank goodness the place to which they recovered the car has a railway station.

3. When I force myself to step away from computers and portable telephones, it's amazing how much reading I can accomplish.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings heute

1. Both my parents confirmed to me that my 78-year-old uncle drives, and has always driven, "like a madman". Phew, not just my perception then. Zero margin for anyone else to make an error. 😬🫣

2. Roach Major having fun on their new internship with a wildlife management organisation. Grey partridge surveys! Off-road driver training!

3. Roach Minor returned from a nice Balearic break.

4. Roach Minimus back to school, start of their last year ever, unless they take up teaching!

5. I am grateful that I can over deliver on themed toots.

6. Rain dodged on this morning's bike commute.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings heute

1. Nice weather today..Again.

2. I found and printed a SPD-SL cleat cover to replace the one that escaped me, somewhere on the South Island. This might be a bit cryptic but is definitely a Good Thing and I'm grateful.

3. Future plans are crystallising with baffled but polite interest from Mrs Roach. This might be a bit cryptic but it is definitely a Good Thing and I'm grateful.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings from yesterday y Domani

1. Some nice people pointed me to the subway at Linlithgow station when I was flapping about the lack of footbridge to cross the tracks 😆

2. While on the train, I slid a recalcitrant contact lens back into position without having to gross anybody out.

3. Delay Repay decided I could have all my train fare back for yesterday's Bank Holiday afternoon trip (signalling approaching Northallerton, tree on the line at Doncaster, "police related incident" at Southampton that had them cancel the Poole-bound train and send it back to London (??) and then put everyone on the following train and turn that into a nearly-all-stations stopper. Yawn! If they'd asked beforehand "Would you accept being an hour late for £78?" it might have been easier. 😆

#ThreeGoodThings

Free good fings oggi

1. I finally got to see the Kneecap 📽️ and enjoyed it very much.

2. I know we like to grumble about Facebook, but I am very grateful to Facebook Groups tonight (it's the only thing I use Facebook for). Only there could I find the specific Q&A that solved my espresso machine problem and saved me £££ leaving me dancing for joy. (I have told Mrs Roach I will stop celebrating at some point.)

3. Rapido Trains announced recently they will produce a model of one of 2 locomotives I need to complete the set for my Cornish mainline layout. It's good to see yet another manufacturer decide to try out the TT120 scale. (Class 45 in case you wondered.)

#3GoodThings

Free good fings oggi

1. Restraint. For example, I sensibly muted the toots of kitten.exe rather than publicly replying "oh, fuck off, Kitten" which would have been much, much funnier, but would have garnered unnecessary opprobrium.

2. Last night's Brian Bilston poetry reading in Winchester. It was a treat to hear them as Brian intended.

3. There was a deer by the side of the A31 at Holmsley, but it was facing away from the road.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings oggi

1. You know that thing where you go on holiday and nothing's changed when you get back? Hypothetically, were I employed, they would have worked Friday and Monday so all I would have had to do today was work frantically until lunchtime and then sit back and relax. Instead of having to thrash around all week.

2. New Bake Off on telly later.

3. I'm getting on top of planning something big, bit by bit.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings heute:

1. Cancellation means workmen start today

2. My friends got their replacement garden cabin erected and fitted out in time for Nina's massage clients* on Monday. * actual massage, thank you very much. Still I couldn't resist "erected".

3. Last night's glorious, still, 20C twilight, while I watered the plants.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings oggi:

1. I have a new scarf because Mrs Roach has been sewing... and now everyone will get one for Christmas!

2. Mrs Roach noticed just in time that the squeezy ginger she was about to squirt into the ginger parkin mixture was, in fact, squeezy garlic.

3. Despite being awake since four in the morning, today is going quite well.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings oggi

1. Roach Minimus appears to be overcoming their cold.

2. Rain dodged on the bike commute home.

3. Sleb Traitors series 2 starts tomorrow.

#3GoodThings

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

I must not use the regnal calendar professionally

Free good fings heute:

1. Chalke Valley history festival schools' days, kept Roach Minimus interested with 4 talks from proper qualified historians and some practical demos.

2. Finished the amazing "Tip Toe" tv programme which means I can start watching Alan Cumming on The Traitors US and only have one really jarring moment when he first appears. Tip Toe really is very very good. Tough watch. But the writing is terrific. No surprise from that Russel Davies.

3. there is a phat 🥒 on the 🥒 plant.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings du jour

1. Poured my heart into Richard's retirement card. Glad I got one specially rather than being just another scrawled name in a communal card. He liked it

2. Roach Major's light blue car trouble fixed.

(Which reminds me that appropriately enough the first line of the song is "have you ever had a ride in a light blue car?") and so

1. Adam and the Ants' "Cartrouble" https://youtu.be/wZyqDmJYRy8?is=YDGxN69UIg_fIZIw

#3GoodThings

Free good fings oggi

1. The new thing arrived and it fits.

2. I still have the hotel booking details!

3. The workmen arrived and did a lot of work on a job which, every time I thought about it, made my back hurt.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings oggi

1. My parents are having a good time in Man.

2. Was not demolished on the road by motor vehicles operated by people that stayed up late with corresponding effects on attention and reaction times.

3. Fulfilled a 3 year ambition to ride to Bristol (yesterday).

#ThreeGoodThings

Free.good fings du jour

1. I don't have to get up early tomorrow! 🥳

2. The warmth in the garden office today. Because I know I will miss it in February. ☺️

3. The last guests of the year have gone, so we can have a last shouty Mario Kart before Roach Minor goes up. 📢📣

#3GoodThings

Free good fings oggi

1. I printed a rounded corner protector for a bookcase that's right behind my head when I'm on the sofa, and it's saved me from a nasty bump three times in the last few weeks.

2. Moved Roach Minor into their 2nd-year student house. Nice street. Slightly better house than my 2nd year student house.

3. Back in time to binge Strictly and Gogglebox before bed.

#3GoodThings

Free good fings oggi

1. It's our regular AirBnB guest's last night with us for the foreseeable, as he's changing job. He was our first guest. In the last two years he's been a regular monthly guest for a working week, run a marathon, become a dad for the second time, shouted at the football on the telly (especially Toon matches), and ordered about 100 pizzas. I am grateful for his support to our fledgling rental annex and wish him every success. 🏃🧑‍🍼⚽🍕

2. Roach Minor's gang moved in to their student house today and everything seems to be in good order. 🏠

3. A bit more rain this evening and tonight. The best sort of rain. 🌧️

#3GoodThings

Free good fings du jour

1. overnight, soaked the labels off a beer bottle that apparently would make a nice bud vase.

2. I made a "bud vase er" beer joke and am still standing.

3. one more day remains of a nice break somewhere I'd not visited before.

#3GoodThings