Be Excellent To Each Other

Well, Mali, your lot are playing my lot on Saturday. I have zero confidence that QPR will get any points from it.

I think you're going to get three.

Tattoo Session 3 of 4

Few more geeky bits added.

Advent calendars.

Yes I know it is September

I bought a watch.

This one. https://www.revelot.com/products/mecadromo-bonfire

It was a whole preorder thing so it won't come until November I think.

I was never a big watch guy but then I started using smartwatches. And for a while I thought they were good. I ended up with a Garmin one that tracked everything. My runs, my weights sessions and it even connected to the spin bike at the gym. Great. Except for the fact that I never used any of that data EVER. So I switched to a hybrid smartwatch that I just use for the time (natch), steps, heart rate and for setting alarms. It looks like a normal analogue watch and is very smart (looking).

So when I saw that watch above, I thought I'd treat myself.

I could never justify spending big money on a watch (I just don't get that at all) but for under £150 (the pre-order price at least), this works for me.

Oh I quite like them.

I've got a little fitbit thingy, but to be honest i don't care about it much, other than actually tracking my running, and TBH it sucks as an actual watch. Can I ask what brand your hybrid smartwatch is?

Fossil Gen 6 Hybrid.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fossil-Smartwa ... B0BQWBY1ZK

I've got that face on it too. It's e-ink behind so it lasts for like a month on one charge.

I got a nice Citizen mechanical automatic watch for Christmas. I do have a Garmin that I wore all the time and still use for running, playing golf etc. but all that constant tracking data wasn't really any use for anything and I found notifications were just a prompt to look at my fucking phone more than I already did. Also the Citizen looks much nicer.

That's relaly nice. I've got a Revelot that I bought about 5 years ago, and their designs have definitely improved since then.

Yeah, I've got enough stuff in my life that beeps and buzzes at me, I could probably do without a watch adding to it.

I bought (well, I didn’t buy them, but someone bought them for my child’s birthday at my suggestion) a set of Fighting Fantasy books. So now he goes up to bed with his dice and his adventure sheet, pen and book, and it’s great. He also is reading aloud one for us to adventure as a family, where we vote on the decision, but he always lets Russell and I vote first, so we split the vote and give him the deciding vote ‘wow, you guys can’t agree on anything!’

When Dr Zoidberg and his partner came over last we played a boardgame called What Next, which is a choose your own adventure game (actually, three different stories) with physical mini games. Really nicely made, too. Great for playing with friends and kids, and I’ve been thinking of getting some Fighting Fantasy books for a while. The original published books are bizarrely hard to get hold of, but they republished a set, with two new additions, one by Rihanna Pratchett and another by Charlie Higson.

That’s awesome getting the FF books Mimi, beware though… that’s how I started out.

The Sorcery! books have printed dice so you can flick through them to ‘roll’.

I’m now reminded of my lack of Deathtrap Dungeon…

I used to have a big collection, the same editions you have there, with the green spines.

Ohh, I had a few of them, including House of Hell. Proper creepy illustrations in that one.

Mate, good news! Deathtrap Dungeon is in that picture!

I was very lucky to get those in one eBay auction (I already had the Titan book) for about £20 years back.

Also, I have Deathtrap Dungeon! But it has scribbles on the inner cover…

Warlock of Firetop Mountain and Starship Traveller are the missing ones I used to have.

I had Warlock as a nipper and probably Deathtrap Dungeon. Long gone now though

If you want to play FF in multiplayer, Clash of the Princes is a two player version.

FFFF (fun fighting fantasy fact): some books were written by Games Workshop owner Steve Jackson (like Forest fo Doom), and some were written by Munchkin creator Steve Jackson (like Scorpion Swamp).

Steve Jackson is two people?

I wonder how many Barbara Cartlands there were?

Cor, they don’t eBay up for cheaps.

I bought a copy of this game, from this post of Grim…’s of a whole eight years ago: viewtopic.php?style=26&p=924478#p924478

It’s a terraforming world evolution game, part Doshin, part Spore, I guess. But anyway, the best bit is that it came with a BOOK. Man alive, that’s the worst thing about games now — no book. I want a book. A lovely flick-through book.

You can get books with games! But it'll cost you £20 extra and it'll be a complete walkthrough.

I just want a little booklet in standard game packaging. When I was young the best bit about buying physical games was reading the book on the bus home from Brent Cross.

Dude, Ian Livingstone wrote AND was a co founder of Games Workshop too!

A book.

Dungeons & Dragons Lego minifigs, and a frame to put them in.

This is awful. Mrs. W bought me a pack of 4 to try. I managed to drink one and threw the rest away. Terrible flavour, waaaaaay to gassy.

Free Damm is a really good alcohol free beer.

Only one of him, though. Dull.

We bought plants!

I thought that my phone had wildly over-represented the greenness, but then I realised that it's a 'stylized' pic form Google photos.



I bought a new sprayer, with a long handle - ideal for hanging baskets but we don't have any hanging baskets. It's still good for reaching in places or getting close to the pots and not overspraying and ended up with a wet patio. It also feels nice to hold and use.

I also cut the hose on the reel to a sensible length and left it out in the sun to soften up before being carefully rewound. It makes a big difference to usability, so I'm more likely to keep the pots nicely watered.



Something we bought ages ago but I had't bothered to set up - a motorised jockey wheel to make that last bit of re-positioning the caravan easier. It works well and just takes out a little bit of the hassle of lining things up with the car. I fannyed about for too long worrying about how to connect it to the 12v power so in the end came up with something super basic using some jumper leads. Probably not something to publicly display

We also put down a deposit on a 'same day granny flat' which we will plonk in the back garden and can be used as guest accomodation. I was sceptical until we went to the 'showroom' to take a look in person, and then i realised they are pretty great. It's got 2 bedrooms, a living space, bathroom (with toilet and shower) and even a little kitchenette.

It'll arrive on a trailer and is roughly the size of a shipping container, but then when it's in position it unfolds open and out. The trailer underneath will stay connected, so it still counts as 'mobile' which means we don't need any local council approval or anything like that. This will be far cheaper and quicker than having something actually built.

I think I prefer it to my actual house (my house is super cluttered) so maybe I'll end up living out there.

Love this idea.

That looks good. Don't let it be another place for clutter though! Keep it niiiiiiiice!

Well, that beats my book.

Believe me, I'm going to try, but I'm not the only stakeholder in this. The amount of stuff in our life has often been a source of tension.

Oh, God, this

What kind of clutter are you dealing with, Sir T? I know you’ve mentioned this being a problem for you a few times and I sympathise as my mental health is deeply affected by clutter (which I’m sure sounds silly to some people, but Russell will attest to this).

It doesn’t mean we live without stuff. We have loads of stuff. I just have found ways to cope with it and systems to counteract the clutter forming, and also how to let go of some possessions without it being and overwhelming task.

I’m not sure I can help, but I honestly believe little changes can make a big difference. Also doors. Bookcases with doors. Sanity saver.

I completely agree with everything Mimi has said here.

I have brought some top up loft lagging. I wasn't expecting them to be this big, they are like the bumpers you get in children's ball pits. I am determined to get my room sorted before Christmas, and then I can do more sorting and decluttering too.

Sorry, I only realised in GJ’s quote that I left my sentence incomplete!

I meant to say I’m not sure I can help, but if you want to talk about what the issues are maybe we can pitch in with some low-energy tips and strategies to make a difference.

Oh, and loft insulation is on Russell’s list of jobs here, too. He was getting some info from my brother about it last week and I’m hoping it might get done before it gets any colder.

I don't want to moan (well, I do, to get it off my chest, but it's very negative sounding and it's hard not to make it sound personal).

Lady T is a profligate buyer of things, but she is very reluctant to ever get rid of stuff. We're talking books (the bookcases are two-books deep, so its impossible to see what's in the 'back row'). Pretty much none have been read but new ones keep appearing. Clothes - so many clothes and shoes, many still with tags on. Baby toys - we have never thrown out or moved on a single toy or item of clothing from any of our 3 kids. Kitchen stuff - there is a cupboard just full of drink bottles (there must be 30 in there), last year i emptied some out (into boxes, which are still in the garage) but new ones appeared. Other tat - for some reason we have 3 print-scanner devices. A fucking piano that has never and will never be played. Drawers just full of tupperware. At least 5 solid plastic cool boxes (they call them 'eskies' out here).

Any time things are 'sorted out' just becomes in my view cramming stuff in more densely, piling it higher and deeper. Did you know we have garage space for 5 cars? Given the amount of stuff we have, you may not be surprised to hear that no cars could currently be parked inside. At times, the entire place feels like an obstacle course.

Have you got much up there at the moment? Happy to give him a hand if you like.

I’m sure he’d be very grateful for the help. Paging @mr Russell

Thank you! I'll send you a message

That gives me actual anxiety to read, my man. I'm sure you've tried discussing it so it's just a very difficult situation I guess. I know that I'd not be able to tolerate it personally.

On the plus side, eBay has done away with selling fees now. So if you could convince her to let go of some of that stuff you could consolidate a bunch of unwanted things into a smaller more valuable thing. Like I'm happy to get rid of loads of stuff and then turn that money into a big TV or something.

I didn’t spot this earlier (I got too excited at the prospect of finally having some decent lift insulation).

It does sound difficult. Have you had a gentle discussion with Lady T about this? Explain that it does have mental ramifications for you, and that you want her to be comfortable in her possessions but also to be comfortable in her space. To start with something small, like the drinks bottles. How many do you likely need? Ask her which are her favourites and go from there.

I saw someone who had been overwhelmed by their stuff, who decided to sell five things on eBay each week, sort five for donation and throw five pieces of junk. Slowly but surely things improved.

I did also see a tip for those for whom ‘does it spark joy’ doesn’t really work, and that was to instead ask ‘if this had poo on it would I wash it off, rebuy it, or throw it away?’

With the kids toys, why don’t you offer to help them eBay some things and say that the money will go towards a fund for them to either buy something for themselves or fund a kid-chosen day out? We prepare for new things at Christmas and birthdays by asking D if there are any toys and books he’s either grown out of or exhausted his enjoyment of, pop them on eBay, and then the money goes into his Rooster Money account.

If you and the kids can model that behaviour and feel the benefits that the space gives back to you, maybe Lady T will be able to experience what that gives you all back and find it easier to let go of some belongings.

I've met enough clutterers (for want of a better word) to know it transcends logic. If you try to throw away things in front of them they get proper jittery. I was clearing up my mum's kitchen last time I was there. There's only her and her partner and he's a proper clutterer and she was a clean freak but now she's 85 and can't fight him on it anymore. He doesn't live there but he's there every day but has his own place/hovel.

Anyway, I figured step one was to reduce how much crockery and cutlery is there (because he leaves it for ages before washing it, poorly).

When he arrived I was a couple of hours in and he was proper struggling with what I was doing and was going to root through the outside bin to save a steak knife of all things. I made him swear to me that he wouldn't do it because as I said I don't want my mum using bin cutlery.

It's like trying to explain to a smoker why quitting is good or how you wonder why a 30 stone person didn't just stop eating at 15 stone. It's baked in anxiety that you can't always negotiate with.