Angels and Demons

A cracking read this one, all 620 pages of it. I'd read a single Dan Brown some years ago, during an ill-fated week's holiday on the Isle of Wight when I spent three days in hospital with a kidney stone. On coming out I collected a copy of Deception Point, which was a good read. Because of its length A&D had stayed in the pile for a while but I got over the intimidation of its size (and it's 620 of relatively small text too!) I enjoyed every page of it. The action very quickly switches to Rome, a wonderful place I have been lucky enough to experience in real life, and spends most of it's time there, within the architectural and religeous treasures. As with the last book I enjoyed this thriller has it roots dipped pretty deeply in science based on the clash between physics and religion and the fictious (?) battle between the two. The Illuminati, a cult of scientists leading the battle against the church, through their "Hassassin" kidnap and murder four of the preferati (preferred candidates) for the vacant papacy.. In the meantime they have planted a single drop of anitimatter within the vatican and the machine stabilising it will run out of energy at midnight. Robert Langdon, hero of the Da Vinci code, and eminent academic symbologist uses his puzzle-breaking skills and cracking of the clues to save the day, but there are many unexpected twists along the way. Great characters, a wonderful setting, a fantastic plot and a style of writing that brings every page alive may well make this the best novel I've ever read. I can't believe it scores so average on Amazon. Nowt so queer as folk !!!

..... and then it was done !!!

Yesterday the Decree Absolute dropped through my letterbox. People had told me that it would be quite an emotional day and that I would shed a tear or two, whatever. That was n’t the way it was for me. I think because the last couple of years of my marriage things were deteriorating and then it has been two weeks short of two years since I left the family home, I’d got past all of the upset. Instead, with the time it has taken for things to resolve themselves to this point, where I am divorced and my financial responsibilities to the children are my only monthly outlay beyond looking after myself, it had worked itself out of my system. I did temporarily feel a slight twang of guilt, for not feeling remorseful, but quickly kicked that into touch.

It was a wonderfully sunny and warm September day yesterday and I was due on the golf course after an early finish at work but on my way I popped home to get changed and found the post. A quick 9 holes and dinner with friends was followed with me dropping into the shop for bubbly and chocolate on my way round to Kate’s to celebrate, which we did in big style!

The Miracle Strain by Michael Cordy

This was the most recent book I completed, last week, I think.

Tom Carter is a DNA geneticist whose life is about to change. In Stockholm to collect his Nobel Prize (eek!) the assassin trying to take his life murders his wife. After her death it becomes clear she had a brain tumour and was likely to die anyway. With his background in genetics Tom quickly realises and proves that his 3 year old daughter has a very large chance of dying from the same brain cancer as his wife.

The assassin came from a cult whose key purpose is to identify and educate the new christ (evidently, he will not know that he is the son of god!). Their secondary objective is to remove individuals who go against God's word, and evidently messing about with DNA is a real no-no in their terms.

Tom has invented the Genoscope, a machine that can read DNA and scan people in a high through-put mode to see who carries what genes. The cult hear of this and elect to ask him to help them find the second coming. They provide DNA samples from Jesus to scan in the Genoscope. Tom agrees, believing it is only way to find the cure for his daughter's cancer before it is too late. Of course, at this point Tom has no idea that he is now working for the folks who tried to kill him and did kill his wife!

Lots of intrigue in this one with nice twists in the plot and a final kick that I did not anticipate. I enjoyed reading it a lot, although I found a real interest in the science that others might not. A good effort from the author.

It's all made up !!!

Ok so this year I started reading novels again. When I was a teenager I read a lot and now I'm having trouble remembering a lot of the stuff I read all that time ago so I thought it would be good to write a brief synopsis of stuff I read on here. If nothing else it will serve as a reminder in years to come, when I'm even older and even more forgetful :-(

A house can be home, but it is not always the case…….

Yesterday the Miller family home was sold and my wife (very soon to be ex-wife) moved into a smaller property. It marks another landmark step in my journey from very unhappily married man to a much happier individual. With the decree absolute due through the letter box any day now, that phase of my life is almost at an end. Carol and I were together for 18 years and had many happy times and I won’t forget that. In particular three wonderful children came from the marriage, something that I’ll be eternally grateful for.

I pretty much chose the house in Swavesey when we moved down from Scotland as I was down here by myself for a while whilst our old house sold. I screened potential properties and then one weekend Carol flew down and we viewed the short-list, but I knew which one was best and it was just a case of selling its potential to her. A detached property with a very large garden left room for the extension which happened a few years ago, turning a two-bedroom house in a four-bedroom house with the most enormous living room I’ve ever seen. I stamped my mark on it in an architectural sense with a design that was inspired by the tv programs of the day and it was great (large open spaces and a real “flow”). I did not take my ideas as far as I might due to the reticence of my wife but if I had of done it would have been phenomenal.

Of course, less than two years later when we agreed we should separate after the failure of Relate counseling, for the sake of the children, I was the one who left. I’ve been pushed around to three different rental homes since then but I’m very happy in my house in Bar hill now. However, with my financial responsibilities in terms of providing a home for my children about to be significantly reduced as of next month – I start saving for my own home, if that is the direction I choose, but I think I need some sound financial advice and a good long-term plan 

Fly fledgling, fly .........

Saturday September 17th. After I've finished this last cup of Lavazza, I'll be jumping in the car with my first born, Tom, to take him to Leeds. He starts at university there next week, reading physics.

I still remember very cearly the day he was born in Leicester Royal Infirmary, I think times like that never leave us do they? After I'd cut the cord, the mid-wife took Carol off to clean up whilst he lay on my chest and went to sleep. It must have been early afternoon as I remember I/we watched "How" and "The Flintstones". When he was just a year or so old so we got to spend lots of quality time together and really bonded as his mum started working weekends. Since then he has been an absolute joy to have around. He always been well behaved, thoughtful, kind and considerate. Those teenage years I worried about have been a breeze!

Today is going to be a real rollercoaster ride of emotions. Once I get myself back together I'm sure I'll be back to write about it :-(

So, it is sunday evening now and it has really been a rollercoaster. The trip up to Leeds was lovely thanks to the wonderful Honda. We got there and got him checked into his nice room in a nice flat, with two other lads and two girls, in a nice block, just 10 minutes walk from campus. We drove down to Morrison's and stocked up his fridge and larder. He paid, to trial his new credit card clone on my account to check it worked ok, and it did. We got back and were sat eating our sausage rolls and pasties and Tom got upset. He was struggling with the whole concept, a big wobble. To be honest, half the problem was that he had not slept well the night before partly due to Beth staying perhaps. He was tired and hitting the dip but his upset pulled at my heart strings as it must do for any parent. We talked and after a while he seemed to feel better but I could not leave him so we walked back into town to grab him a few things that we had seen he was missing. Walking back up the hill we stopped for a lovely smoothie! Back at his flat we finished unpacking his clothes and the poor lad is struggling again. We talk some more, he accepts that everything is ok really but tiredness is making everything more scarey. In the end he is on the up and I decide that with his flatmates chatting and having a real good time in the kitchen next door I might actually be doing more harm than good by hanging around. I leave, giving him a massive hug and telling him how much I love him and how proud I am, and drive on back down to Kate's. As I'm leaving a lovely girl pops out of the kitchen says to Tom, "hey, come on thorugh and chat!" so that really helps.

Evidently, he does so and enjoys their company for a couple of hours before they all head off to a party at a flat downstairs. Tom stays for a while but it's loud music and drinking which is not really his scene. He heads back but has a bad night partly because other inhabitants of the block keep waking him. So, this morning he is still shattered and struggling, to the point that he's not eating. We exchange texts and have a couple of chats. I encourage his mum to actually give him a ring as well. Mid-morning, his party animal flat mates get out of bed, they all chat for a couple of hours and then head off onto campus to get their barings and then into town. Tonight, they are out at the pub and Tom seems to have turned a corner, but he's found the change hard.

For me, that two and half drive back down from Leeds was tough. I struggled for Tom and also spent a lot of time thinking about my own father. It was hard and there were a few tears shed. Kate has been a rock, she was amazing last night in talking sense into me and making me feel better. Spending time with her and her "little people" today has also been a welcome distraction.

Tom is doing a brilliant thing by going to Leeds to study for a degree in physics. He knew it would be hard away from familiar faces, in new surroundings and possibly most importantly, away from his gf of two and a half years.

As I said, I love him immensely and am so very proud :-)

Moaning

Wow - there is so much moaning and complaining around at the moment. People just seem to need no reason at all.

As positive as I am, it does to get to you after while. People just complain all the time ..... and when something good happens, well that was just expected anyway so not worth talking about!!!

So, I thought I'd come on her and have a moan about it !!!!

Rise above it David, rise above :-)

Wiggle-it, just a little bit !!

Saturday Sept 10th: Wiggle Cyclosportive, 65 miles required (middle distance). Diet up-date, pretty crap (14 st 5 lbs); training up-date, last minute cramming, Weather forecast, strong winds with rain around lunchtime, outlook, bloody worrying.

So, with some trepidation I got up at 6 am to meet the boys from Over Bike Club (aka The Badgers Nadgers) before 7. We were at the start well in time for the first off's but by the time we joined the queue and got away it was 08:15. There were about ten in our group and it had been suggested to me that it would split into a faster and steadier splinters. That happened after about three miles I think when we were five -Tom Ashworth and Dave Corbett (both around my age), and Rich and Rob who must have about ten years of youth over us. For quite a while we were a group, dropping off, shooting up the front and then all coming together again, but by the time of the first food stop (20 miles) it seemed to be Tom and myself. The others had not arrived before the end of our short break. After that we spent a while in big group and made good progress, which was handy as the wind was quite brutal. Hitting a short sharp hill I went to the front and having got to the top and turned the corner into the wind - crunch - the chain comes off. It took me a couple of attempts to get it back on and then there is a long hard chase on my own. Eventually, I catch them, we spend a while together and then a couple of guys from Covenry Racing Club come by going just a mile or two per hour faster. I'm onto their back wheel in a shot and manage to stay with them for maybe five miles before I tire a little and drop off. I reach the second food stop (@ 40 miles) alone, and basically unhinge my jaw and suck the whole contents of the table into my enormous mouth. I've been there a while and Tom comes in. He digs out last night Chow Mein from his pocket - classy! I hang around for him but then just I start writing a text he nips off saying "you'll catch me up in no time!". I finish the text and chase him but he's got into a group and is moving quickly, it takes a while before we come together again. About ten miles later we turn north and that strong wind is behind us, for a while we blast along but then turn back into it. Approaching a small incline I've been struggling for a few miles and really feel like it's "the wall" time. As I struggle to the top of a small-ish hill a few miles from home I look over my shoulder and Tom's dropped off. That's it, the adrenaline surges through me knowing that this is the time to really go for broke. I ride the last few miles all out, even after 60-ish miles I'm doing around 20 miles per hour and grimacing non-stop. I cross the line alone, the first from the club, the guy hands a medal to me "is that gold" I remark, feeling confident I've beaten the time the lads said would qualify, "no, they are all the same!!" He replies. Tom' rolls in only 43 seconds later according to the offical timings :-) We both get GOLD !!!!! The younger lads are about fifteen or twenty minutes after.

Two cups of the worst coffee ever, a Red Bull and a Hot Cross Bun later and I'm on my way round to the house of my dream woman, to continue a truly wonderful weekend.

Three Men in a Boat !!!!

So, this one came from left field. The guy I run with at lunchtimes, Andy (Yorkshireman!) had been to the Isle of wight cycling before and he proposed this trip. We work with Ian as well (Geordie, but still a lovely bloke!) and he's a big cyclist so when we him invited him he was well up for it.

I was up at 04:15 :-( put the newly acquired and expensive bike rack on the Honda and drove off down to Ian's in Hitchen, Andy arrived minutes later. Once all packed up with three bikes on the rack we were away fighting through the traffic of the M25 (even at 06:30 it ain't good!) and heading down to Lymington. Once there we got the bikes off the car and got ready. We boarded as foot passengers (with bikes, obviuosly) and left the car on the mainland. After a smooth 35 minute ferry ride we were on the Isle and in Freshwater. We rode on the road for a short while before hiitng a bridleway and climbing to the top of the main ridge on the island. From there, the views were awesome. We know cos we had a long time to look as I punctured near the top of the climb (only hill I was n't first to the top of, nerh, nerh, ne, nerh, nerh !!) and sat on the ridge changing the tube. Then again because too busy talking, I managed to nip the tube between the tyre and fork :-(

Once we got going again down a big chalky hill it became clear that Ian is a superb descender. After nearly coming a cropper trying to keep up with him, then easing off and nearly coming cropper again I slowed down quite a lot for the sake of safety. On saying that peddling very slowly up the next hill I managed an off!! Front tyre hits stone or bump of some kind and shoots out to the left whilst I go off bike onto right hip, ouch (falls: David 1, Andy 0, Ian 0).

The day was more straightforward after that. The morning was good riding on the chalk downs with nice views but overcast. We rode past the north of Shorwell and then hit the road from Billingham down to Chale, were we lunched on ale, nuts, crisps and lasange (veggie curry for Andy) at the pub (The Wight Mouse, get it? Hilarious eh?). At which point, the sun decided to show it's face and stayed out pretty much all day. We left the pub and did a loop to the north east of Blackgang before picking up the ridge again and heading back. Andy punctured by a field that was being cut and the guy driving the harvester took great pleasure in driving right past and covering us with dust (Punctures: David 2 Andy 1 Ian 0).

We headed back along to the pint we had come up from the north but carried on east along the ridge where the views along the coast towards the Needles were brilliant in the afternoon sun. A lovely long descent through the golf course led us to the disused railway and back to the boat. A cider for me on the way over and then the long drive back. Dropped the boys off in hitchen about 9:30 pm and then got back to Kate's by 10:45, tired but very very happy. 35 miles of good, mainly off-road riding made for a good day indeed :-)