Author: 6000

TBS: BBT

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As predicted, today has been busy. But don’t panic – I’ve got us covered with a gentle melody from [wince] 25 years ago. Yes, it’s the gentle harmonies of The Beautiful South with Bell Bottomed Tear. And I’ve chosen the live version because it features Paul Heaton, Sheffield United fan and ex-pupil at my Infant school*.

Taken from their 1992 album, 0898 Beautiful South (the dialling code representing premium rate phone calls – mainly sex lines – at the time), this was TBS at their peak – the third of their seven Top 10 studio albums, and also featured 36D, We Are Each Other and the brilliant Old Red Eyes Is Back.

At the end of the original video, our selfish male protagonist finds himself on a Mediterranean beach, faced with a number of angry women brandishing baseball bats. Baseballbatophobes will be pleased to hear that there’s no such nastiness in this live version.

* when I say this, I mean that we went to the same infant school. I don’t actually own an infant school or anything.

And that was it.

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The end of the holiday will hit me full on in the earhole early tomorrow morning, as my alarm clock wakes me for another day of toil in the lab. It’s the downside to having a break: the inevitable return to reality. Having been off work for 11 whole days, during which time we drove literally thousands of kilometres and paddled for literally another several, it’s going to be tough to face real life head on in the morning.

And it’s not even as if it’s going to be that bad. Most kids go back to school tomorrow, but thanks to the vagaries of the SA private schooling system, ours have an extra day off. So that’s an extra hour in bed.
Wednesday morning… well… Wednesday morning  is going to be obscene.

The good news is on the horizon. Another long weekend (and another, shorter trip away) at the end of the month. It’s not too long to wait.

And that’s what will keep me going tomorrow. After that though, I don’t know. The next long weekend isn’t until the middle of June.

Killer.

Stop the world…

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… I want to get off.

Yep. Whatever. Call me when you can pirouette your way to safety around an Ebola outbreak or conjure up some much needed water in the Sudanese desert using just your cha-cha skills.

And who would ever want to explore Mars when there was an opportunity to wow the audience with some exciting team ballroom work?

I actually have nothing against dancers, but “future-proofing our children” by teaching the Merengue instead of Microbiology?

No. Just no.

Champions!

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After they gained promotion while I was camping by the Orange River, Sheffield United were crowned League One Champions this afternoon, after Bolton failed to beat Oldham in the Lancashire derby.

I may have shed a tear.

This makes the Blades only the third ever team to win all four divisions of the English league. It’s been a great season, and I’m actually rather hopeful for our chances of a decent finish in the Championship next year.
But that’s still months away, and we have three more games to play this season.
The pressure is off for once, so why not enjoy them? It’s going to be well-deserved party time at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane for the next few weeks.

And so I’m back…

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Not from outer space, as Glorious Gloria once proclaimed, although certain bits of Namibia do resemble Mars or the Moon or something similar:

[it’s bigger and better on black]

Did you miss me?

3½ days and 64km down the Orange River was certainly an adventure, taking us way out of our comfort zones, but it was also an enjoyable experience that will stay with us for years to come.

The group was fun – a good laugh – and the beers and G&Ts flowed almost as fast as the river. The guides were helpful, friendly and knowledgeable, and while there were numerous challenges of rapids, capsizings and long days paddling through the heat along the way, I think everyone had a good time. The lack of water in the river did make the trip even tougher though. Apparently, during high flood season, some guides had done the same route that we did over those 3½ days, in just 75 minutes! We actually had to do some work.

I’m uploading photos as I write [update: here they are!], although due to a camera malfunction, not as many as I would have liked. Still, others on the tour have pics too, so there are plenty of memories to be shared. And Florence the Mavic came out on the river with us (you couldn’t have packed a Phantom, #just saying), so there’s some footage from there to come as well. Give me time. My bruised, blistered, aching, exhausted, old body needs a little while to recover. Still, with creature comforts like a bed, a roof and a shower to enjoy, I don’t think it will take too long.