Birthday girl

It's a very happy **st birthday to Carole today - this photo was taken last year at a wedding at Finzean - and, for the non-Scots readers, that's "Fingun" phonetically - it's a small village just past Strachan - "Strawn". Thankfully, neither place is anywhere near Milngavie (Millguy) or Culzean (Cullane) - I think I'll stop there.


On this day in history:

• 1863 - The Gettysburg Address
• 1942 - Calvin Klein born
• 1969 - Pele scores his 1,000th goal
• 1969 - Second Moon landing
• 1979 - Chuck Berry released from prison

and, somewhere in amongst that lot, Carole was born!

Nowt much else to say today - we've got Luca staying tonight - he's just peed his pants and I got a row for it - "you need to watch little kids all the time!" - "I was - he was sitting down and then suddenly stood up dripping - how was I to stop that?".

We've so far escaped the worst of the downpours that the West of Scotland is getting - again - but it's not looking good for the weekend. We've decided not to go to St Andrews tomorrow - we'll save that for another time and just drive down to Glasgow and back on Saturday - hope the roads are OK then.

And here's Kelly's postcard from Oz:

She has obviously forgotten our postal code!

Future diet

Well - after yesterday's visit to the dentist and the warnings I received, it was a soak and suck breakfast this morning - those dried fruits in F & F can be lethal after all! Is this what the future holds? - A soup and soft fruits only diet?

Frustrating day today - firstly, having to deal with bankers - we need them, but when they screw up and it costs our business money, how can I avoid falling out with them? Secondly, getting my Archos DVR back to the way it was before we went to USA in the summer, is proving almost impossible - they are so hard to communicate with - both by phone and e-mail. The unit was sent back with a battery problem just after we came back from holiday, and since then, it's been a nightmare - all I want is for it to be the way it was before, but it's being very awkward - partcularly on audio recordings, which I play in my car.

We Skyped with Lucy last night - on Jo's new account on her (wired) PC (as opposed to my wireless). It certainly didn't seem to have the same sound problems as my laptop, but there was a frustrating delay on the line and Jo reverted to a simple telephone call eventually. So, is the problem our ISP? I decided to experiment this morning and tried to Skype Kelly using my laptop and the work's wireless internet - but she wasn't there!

While I'm on the subject of toys and technology, Jo keeps asking me if I want a new camera for my Christmas? Well, yes - kind of. I would like a new camera, but does it have to be a Christmas present? It's a bit like Jo's request for a mirror for our hall for her Christmas - well, perhaps yes again - but it's not really a suitable Christmas present for her is it?

Talking of which, I'm a little short in the pullover department - and Ginger Baker's new book would probably go down well too. Incidentally, I took delivery of No Mean City last week - it was a book I read as a late teenager, I think - and I recall it scaring me to death then. It's all about the old razor gangs in Glasgow - scary. The book looks tiny, but it's over 300 pages of very small print - looking forward to reading it again 40 years later!

Dentist

Well, I've been to the dentist and she managed to fix my tooth this afternoon. It was one of my "fangs" so I really didn't want to lose it - Jo thought I might have to get a plate! The dentist reassured me however that the next step - if it cracks again, as is likely - is a crown, or possibly an implant.

Yes - it is mostly old age that's causing my teeth to crack up - they get more brittle as we get older - just like bones - and this tooth had had a root treatment done, which apparently makes them even more brittle.

I need to watch what I eat - Fruit and Fibre in the morning is nice, but pretty crunchy, particularly the dried bananas.

What else? Well, Keith and I played racquetball at Kippie last night - first time for a long while. I'd forgotten how long the rallies can go on for - we were both pretty knackered after just 3 games - but it was a nice feeling.