Back at the grindstone today. On Saturday I was aked to go to the pub again by Aaron and co, but I can’t do 2 evenings in a row. There is another big one on Weds when another of the group is moving on. I’ll be there.  

I’ve been reading 2 very contrasting sets of books. I can’t put down the Lee Child Jack Reacher books. Despite the author being a Brit, the idiom is very American. Still, he drops in things like a cop called Geezer Butler. Very little used apart from the name. The other extreme is Alexander McCall Smith. I first met him through the No.1 Ladies detective agency, but he has other series. I think he set himself to write in quantity like Dickens. Lots of good jokes and truthy smiles. I do read serious things too from time to time. Maybe I will list my library some time. 

I’ve been enjoying the Raymond Chandler series on Radio 4, and the Barchester books. Go to bed with a Trollop! They are doing Pride and Prjudice. I thought I had read, heard and seen it too many times, but I’m enjoying that too.

One of my guitars has a problem. The neck has twisted a bit. I refretted it years ago, but I have changed the way the  neck locates since. It is a cheap Egmond plywood f-hole guitar. I have done lots to it over the years. The Beatles used them when they couldn’t get anything better. Mine has 2 very good humbuckers and very wide switching choices. It would be great to have it enjoyable to play again.

On friday I was talking to Chris of ‘The RampRats’. I was going to take the guitar to Chandler Guitars. They have a frantastic grinding machine for dressing frets. Chris told me Doug of ‘Zapped’ used someone else at good prices. Doug’s a neighbour. Yesterday I dropped round. Doug and Sue were very welcoming. I got to turn the odd lick on his new Cabronita. Cool! Anyway, I got the details and will follow them up.

It turns out Zapped are history. Rainer was at their last gig, when I was unwell. Doug and Keith will carry on to something new. They are writing original stuff. Doug has another band with a different style, but they are not close by.

Then the work bit. I hate going back every week. New silly problems. Today at least I was taught about Lync by my support guys. It is obviously very useful, but I suspect it can be disruptive. It is hard enough having the phone ringing and email to answer, without managing my availability to the very second. I don’t think the Capital Expenditure things went in today. They should have. I am dealing with small companies. Terms tend to be 30 days, but my company arbitrarily decides who it will pay and who it will not.  Totally unethical and very frustrating.