Frustration

Back on Jublilee Way this morning, where I made sure that I did notice the Tesco Express first noticed yesterday, subsequently at reference 1.

On the other hand, I did not mention the serious looking Thames Water activity outside the strip club at the eastern exit to Epsom town centre, first noticed about a year ago at reference 3. Didn't think to look to see what was going on this morning and certainly didn't notice anything, although I did notice hole in the road activity (with traffic lights) a bit further along, just before the Kiln Lane junction. Must do better tomorrow.

But the main news from the trip is frustration. I clocked a No.21, a couple of No.22's, a No.23, a No.24 (I think), and a No.25. A lot of No.20's. Several No.62's. A No.29. But no No.26. All very tiresome.

And things went from bad to worse.

A few days ago I bought a secondhand bulkhead light on ebay to replace the one we had, now rather the worse for weather. I suspect that the sealing ring for the glass cover has perished. It arrived in good order, but with two fixing bolts stuck in their unthreaded holes, one of which holes is very top left in the snap above, a light very like the one in question, from Coughtrie of Glasgow. Cut off the stumps with a hacksaw. Drill out the first bolt, using an ascending sequence by size of drill. So far so good. But go to do the second hole, to find that the drills have been blunted by the first bolt and are not good for the second. So stuck for the moment. More frustration.

And just to wrap things up, I lost the daily game of Scrabble for the second day running. Yesterday by a short head, but today by a couple of lengths. I blame the Q and the handful of vowels blocking my hand for the last quarter of the game. Didn't think to dump the Q, thinking rather of the coup to come which didn't.

There was also the matter of my 'quiff', rejected by the complete Oxford of around 1890 (lots of big volumes), this being the dictionary we play to. A word which is in the concise Oxford of around 1960 (one small volume) and in the shorter Oxford of around 1950 (one big volume). The former saying not in the US, using the double vertical bar which is used to mark not naturalised in the complete. Very untidy. The latter informing us that the word came into use around 1900. So if the teddy boys of the 1950's had quiffs, they had not invented the word. While BH had 'biro' rejected as foreign without my troubling to get up at the time - a word which turned out to be in neither concise nor shorter. Never mind the complete.

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/ 01/inattentional-blindness.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/01/elusivity-continues.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/01/waterworks.html.