Wednesday, April 12, 2006

fun before work

I spent much of yesterday blogging. Taking, importing and editing pictures, reading other people's blogs.
I have numerous essays waiting to be marked, they sprawl disreputably across the floor of our study, encroaching, making their way to the door in a bid for freedom, ungrammatical and (where not ungrammatical) possibly plagiarised domination over our whole lives. They must be stamped out on! I hope to God they never make it as far as the lounge.

But for the day, for once, I followed M's example : marking only bits and pieces, at an extreeeeeemely leisurely pace, between more interesting computer activities. I only marked a few essays all day, but M is right, its much more enjoyable and relaxing than the proper "work" way of doing things.
Not sure I could live like that all the time, hardly anything would "get done" but it was fun for a day.

My life has been so geared up to "getting things done" - and I've always tended to put work first, fun later. Which means, of course, little (often no) time left for the fun-later part. Particularly when M's way of life is so much the reverse.
Its quite liberating to live the other way around.

Wait, watch and wonder as our house descends into complete squalor.

I've even been surfing random "Next Blog"s and leaving comments for total strangers. I think I'm becoming a blogslut.

Who would have thought it? I'll talk to anyone these days.

Pics from our outing on Monday.
M, LG and I cycled from the Thames Barrier into Greenwich along the cycle path.

Yes !!!! M. came with us !!!! You might spot a bit of his knee in one of these pictures.

He was none too impressed by the bits of cycle path which are like this:



nor by the stinky patch along by the Tate & Lyle factory. (Stinky, but fortunately not sticky). I


don't know what the smell is, but it isn't recognisably either sweet or sugary.


But some stretches of the cycle path are much more salubrious, with great and diverse views:

Canary Wharf and docklands in one direction across the river
(City Airport is somewhere behind the tower blocks)



and
Greenwich itself (the Royal Naval College and the Cutty Sark) in the other direction.

This first picture is mine - but doesn't do justice to the panorama across the river (or rather, across the bend in the river - this is where we ended up), so the next two are stolen borrowed.
























Our original plan was to cycle into Greenwich for lunch. We didn't arrive until after 2.30, due to M not getting up till 12.00, and then having some important game-playing to do before we left. Having good priorities is so important, she wrote, somewhat bitterly. (despite my liberation about the work/fun thing, you can tell the constant, compulsive, addictive game-playing is still a bit of an issue.....)

We also cycled at a pretty leisurely pace, which was nice, (didn't help so much whilst passing through the Tate & Lyle stinks) but we arrived thinking pub lunches would be long over.


Fortunately, however, our favourite Greenwich pub was still serving lunch. And, of course, their excellent own-brewed wheat beers.

So alls well that ends well.

Here's to fun before work. We're possibly going into London today for a bit of a wander, feed the ducks in St. James' Park, falafel at Gaby's, bit of shopping, possibly pop into the National Gallery/British Museum.

We will be leaving the essays weighted down under heavy stones and locked in to the study.

10 comments:

Tanya said...

Well you blog salope you!
I remember that smell and that route, me and Guy did it once together, but that's another story however I did ride that route many a time with Lily on the way to get to sainsburys and just for the fun of it... Sounds like a nice day was had and yet another one today,well i never...no i never, i'm stuck in front of the puter....

Molly Bloom said...

You dirty bloghumper you! That sounds like fun. Your post is full of joy and I enjoyed the pictures. The 'Tate+Lyle' smell is actually the smell of Sugarbeet, a large turnip like thing that has a strange, icky smell rather like pants. I only know this having been brought up near to a sugarbeet factory. Nice!

I hope you have a lovely day in London. Gaby's is lovely. They do great falafel. I like to look in the window for a long time. A bit like Wendy would.

I like M's knee.

grumpy old woman said...

What a lovely day you had yesterday. Hope today went as well?
Re. your comment: I didn't think Donna would mind if I posted a 30th cake on my blog!! hahaha
~(:o})=

Meg said...

It always makes me homesick for London when you post photos like those. I stayed once, just for a night at the Royal Naval College and ate in the dining room. I was the guest of someone who worked in the library there. So many handsome men! Ah!

What did you do today? Did you go into the parks as you planned?

Molly Bloom said...

Ooooh, what's happened to your sidebar? It seems to have gone underneath all of your posts. These sidebars are rather like slugs in their movements! Hope you had a good day.

J. Slab said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
The fabric of my life said...

I've been a blogslut myself once or twice. Fun isn't it?

I love your photos of London, I miss Greenwich.

J. Slab said...

Thanks for stopping by... The Porkchop Express strongly encourages blogslutting! And I can't help but appreciate someone with a nom de plume like "Lettuce" who can savor a good sausage story.

welcome aboard,
J. Slab
http://porkchop-express.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

I live near the old Tate And Lyle house!

grumpy old woman said...

Oooh, Lettuce, would you be able to teach me how to use HTML tags too? I've tried what I think it might be with no success.
Pretty please??
My address is sovintagekitsch@aol.com

Thanx, hugs, GOW xxx
~(:o})=