... who is having issues with images, it's Yahoo, who seems to have stopped the facility to upload them.

Shame that, otherwise you would see a glorious photo of half a scaffolding.

Half a scaffolding, as we only spent half a day erecting it.

Up at 07:00 this morning ("does that time really exist?" - ed) and unloaded Caliburn (it only took an hour and a half) and then to Riom so that Caliburn can be registered in France. I arrived at 09.15 and Terry was totally wrong with his "see you at 11.30". At 11.30 I was still in the queue. 11.45 I was seen and .... gulp ... 320 Euros later, Caliburn is no longer XLG533 and now is AB-945-XF (or he will be as soon as I can find the time to have the plates made).

After lunch Terry and I (with Caliburn's help) moved the rest of the scaffolding down to my place, took the corrugated iron roof off the lean-to down the hill, and started on the erection. And I'm impressed with this Kwikstage Scaffolding.

One problem is that the scaffolding needs to go through the roof of my verandah, blocking the door into my room, and then onto the roof of my room thus requiring the removal of the tiles. In addition, the wind turbine and the solar panels need to come down. I'd planned to hang out in Caliburn for the duration but Terry and Liz have kindly made their spare room available. Hence normal service may well be interrupted for a while.

I was on my way round to Liz and Terry's this afternoon and encountered what passes round here for a milking trap. Back in the mid-80s I had things to do in Stockport and that involved a hectic drive through the country lanes. I could do Crewe-Stockport going via the country lanes, Middlewich and the A556 in just 45 minutes if I found the right time slot but if I was 2 minutes early or late, I'd get caught in the milking traps, including the famous one involving the farmer and his big red flag on the A556 about which I waxed lyrically on a previous incarnation of these pages.

It took all day (well, considering I woke up at 10.40 this morning) to unload Caliburn and stuff everything out of the way in the barn and in my room. And now you can't move in either of them which is pretty depressing. But Caliburn didn't stay empty for long as there is now about a tonne of scaffolding inside and on the roofrack. I went round to Terry and Liz's to pick it up and tomorrow, after a trip to Riom to register Caliburn here in France, I'll be picking up the rest. And then we'll make a start erecting it.

Once the scaffolding is up, Terry and I (and anyone else who we can rope in) are going to get on with the roof. We've set ourselves a time limit of the end of the month. I just hope I last that long.

... and if I could work out how to configure this card reader in my new laptop (which I've now done) I'd show you a pic of the jungle I had to wade through to get here. The greenhouse has been totally overwhelmed by a courgette plant and the tomatoes that I planted just before leaving have overwhelmed the shelving, As for the cloche, there's just a mass of leaves in there. Heaven alone knows what else.

I passed through Dover Docks without showing my passport or being searched by Customs - a first time for both experiences - and then over the Channel on the new Catamaran. I docked at Boulogne at about 06:15 and decided to have half an hour on the harbour but when I woke up it was 12:15.

A visit to a helpful supplier (the first) took up most of the afternoon and with it being late I headed off to Montlucon for another good kip and a visit to Auchan. On the car park I was approached by a potential client. Good stuff this van advertising.

Now I'm here and tomorrow I have the unpacking to do.

Help!!!!!!

.... I've just been sent a copy of OUSA Sutures - so-called because it's a nasty stitch-up of a job - a document prpared by the OUSA President. And I've just choked on my coffee.

"if we stop seeing Conference as the ultimate authority in OUSA it creates the freedom to do lots of things very differently"

"Conference will play a major role in electing the student leaders but the E C should then be allowed to get on and run the organisation". Conference will not "be the place to debate detailed policy or processes". There will be a little bit of business and some "workshops, discussion and social activities"

Well, of course that assumes first of all that there will be any EC members in post at the end of the term of office - not unlikely if the last year is anything to go by and even more so if they "extend Officer terms to 2 years" as proposed.

And also, in other words Caligula and her horse are proposing a p155-up for the boys (and girls) in the club - "bread and circuses" in the good old Roman tradition while she gets on with exercising supreme power by some kind of divine right and not from a mandate (or persondate, seeing as it's OUSA) from the masses.

But never mind Caligula and her horse. You only have to read the document for 5 seconds to see just how full of Hatred it is, and you can guess for just how long Caligula and her horse will remain in charge once this motion (well, we are talking about Turds) is passed.

I always knew that Megalomania knew no bounds, but I bet you that the rest of the OUSA body, wined and dined (at OUSA's and hence the Goverenment's) expense, will be too p155ed to see it.

You can't make this story up, can you?