I have now made the final trip for Colchester and back, at least for the time being. Mum is in the nursing home and the flat keys have been handed back. Colchester FreeCycle was a great help with clearing the flat, as was Nicole's charity shop. We also sent a few items to the auction salerooms, which will have been sold by now. I did bring a few ( Read more... )

Another round trip to Colchester, more successful this time. Mum is set up in a nursing home and the flat is getting a lot closer to being cleared out. I have the family photos here now, as well as mum's toaster and a few bits and bobs. The trip was made less tedious by the handy "AUX IN" socket in the car, which connects a portable music player to ( Read more... )

Over the last few days I have been to Colchester to visit my mum and try to make arrangements for her future. Not altogether successful, after a false start and lots of frustration. I did make a start on the clear-up at the flat and also visited the grave of my grandfather and grandmother ( Read more... )

Just before meeting up with my long-lost cousin in Colchester, I called in at the library. I asked about trade directories of the town and was shown a glass-fronted cabinet of Benham's Almanack of Colchester going back to 1875 or so. The most recent volumes were from the 1960s and there were also a few copies of the Cullingford's directory. ( Read more... )

I spent the day today in and around Colchester, the town where I was born and where I grew up. My mum still lives here, and I've been visiting her too. Parts of the town are unchanged from how I remember it in the 1970s, while other parts are unrecognisable ( Read more... )

I'm now back in Bristol again after another trip to visit mum in Colchester. The train from Colchester to Liverpool Street didn't take me any further than Ingatestone, and so we all got on the replacement bus service for a trip to Newbury Park. This turned out to be an architectural plus point, because we arrived in the splendid barrel-vaulted ( Read more... )

I've just had an e-mail accepting my entry for the first UK Maker Faire in Newcastle! I'll be taking some UK101 machines (and a few other retro computers), including a restored UK101 in original, unmodified condition. I need to sort out the Health & Safety checklist, which I think will require all the electrical gear to be PAT tested. That could ( Read more... )