The Wider View

This is the wider photo that I took before the telescopic image posted last time. It has been enhanced slightly so the houses are not completely black.

This week I've been getting more minor nose-bleeds. I did think of making an appointment to see the doctor, but their system seems likely to raise my blood pressure more than anything else. Speaking to the receptionist at the counter she was reluctant to arrange anything except a month ahead, and to book on the actual day you have to phone between 8:30 and 9:15 in the morning. Obviously they are completely overworked. So I decided to leave it for now, and nothing has recurred.

I've been getting a series of emails from an chap in St Albans who has very vague plans to set up a chess variants organisation to replace BCVS, but he keeps using my name and that of Variant Chess as if I've already given approval to his efforts. This has not done my blood pressure any good either.

I've also entered the Hastings Chess Club Summer tournaments, those that are not rapid-play at any rate. The first opponent I contacted failed to turn up at the appointed time, but I did get a friendly game, which I won. I've agreed to rearrange the appointment for next week, though apparently I could have claimed the win by default, but really I just need the practice.

Echoes

I had another nosebleed on Friday, this time it occurred at an awkward moment as I was checking out at a small supermarket. Holding my nose and putting things in my bags at the same time was a bit awkward. A few drops fell onto my newly washed nylon bag, so it's going to need another wash! When I saw the doctor last year they concluded it was due to a weak vessel in my nose, but why it should recur at this time I don't know.

This morning I took another longish walk, this time up to the West Hill where the Castle is, and back through the Old Town via Croft Road. This will be the new route for the Jack-in-the-Green ceremony on Monday, so I thought I'd check it out since I missed it last year. There was a group of male-voice folk-singers outside the Jenny Lind pub, and a group of Morris Dancers at the entrance to Rock-a-Nore Road, but I couldn't see much since they were surrounded by a crowd. I ended with a walk along the beach. There was quite a strong wind coming off the sea.

During the week I've spent a lot of time typing up a collection of Exact Echo chess problems that I made about 25 years ago, with the help of various correspondents. It was intended to publish a booklet of them as a follow-up to the Exact Echoes tourney that I held in my little magazine Chessics. It was abandoned at the time because of competition from Eugene Albert's Encyclopedia of Ideal Mate Chess Problems, that would have contained many problems of this type. I presume that appeared, though I never followed it up, my interests having moved elsewhere.

Little Incidents

Today I went out for the first time this year without a coat. I'm always a bit slow to get round to losing my winter wear, until I start sweating. In fact I'm not really very good dealing with summer weather. By the time I get round to short sleeves winter is about to set in again, and I've never worn shorts since I was about six, even when cycling.

A few days ago I went into the temple-like public convenience in Hastings town centre and happened to somehow drop the empty bag that I was carrying under my arm into the gutter of the urinal. It's a bag I've had for years and grown attached to. At first I thought this was maybe the end of it, but I've never been able to find a replacement for it although it had got dirty over the years, so I decided to risk putting it in the washing machine. It survived and came up looking almost as good as new! It has the label "Guardsman" in red on the side, and inside is a small label with the legend: "Cat No. N5159, MADE IN CHINA, Z804, 100% NYLON." Perhaps this may be sufficient to trace whether they are still made.

Someone from the five other flats in the building where I live has put out an old sofa in the front patio (if that's the word). It has been there for over a week. I don't know whether they think the council's waste disposal men will take it away. They won't. I've put a little notice on the inside of the front door asking for whoever put it there to make arrangements to have it removed. Whether this will have any effect remains to be seen.

This morning I had a small nose-bleed. This is the first time it's happened since I had a long bout of nosebleeds last year and had to see the doctor about them. I hope it's just a once-off and not the start of a series again.