Ding Dong ! That's right, ring those bells its a family success.

Last night my oldest son, joined children from every Greenwich secondary school  in the final of a public speaking completion at Greenwich University. There he stood up and spoke without notes or other prompting for two and half minutes about what it is like having a brother with aspergers to parents, teachers and dignitaries such as the mayor!

Last night was the culmination of series of events over the last few months for Greenwich schools who's pupils have received training in public speaking, with some pupils then selected to represent their schools in at events such as last night.

He was placed at the end of the evening and came home with CASH money which will no doubt be wasted on lollypops and fizzy drinks .

As a point of interest never under estimate the ability of a child to spend money on sweets. A couple of years ago he won £500 at the rugby and frittered the lot on nothing except airfix models and paint over the summer holidays.

Lent

A couple of years ago I managed to not drink for the 40 days of Lent.

So after looking at my waist line last night I've decided to try absence again, so since 9:30 the 5th of Feb 2008 I'm not going to drinking anything alcoholic till Easter Sunday. Although I have been told that I can break the fast on Good Friday. Wish me luck

I've also entered a 5000 meter swim in Early April which means I've got face the cold and get back into the pool in the next few days.

And now a fire

After a couple of trips from the plumbers, the Schlanker clan can return to their high levels of personal hygine as the boiler as associated pipes have now been fixed.

This morning the blue winter sky of Charlton has been dimmed by dark clouds of thick smoke billowing up from a fire by the riverside. This is the second major fire from the same factory in the last three years which is a bit worrying. From what I know of the place, dredgers moor up and discharge sand via massive convayors. This sand is then used for making cement or is loaded on to trains driven away. This site of the fire is next to the route I take on my bike between home and North Greenwich tube so I might have to find another way tomorrow morning!

Blackheath FC take on Westcombe park in the quarters of the Kent cup this afternoon. Hopefully we'll have a better result, than yesterdays shocking events at Twickenham and the woeful display put up by Blackheath's first team against 'Combe in the league last November

Cold Water

The plumbing has become possessed. Water is now flooding through a bedroom ceiling!

Hot Water

When its a cold winter morn, one of life's smaller luxuries is to slip into a warm relaxing bath. I'm sure you can all picture the seen, you turn on the hot tap, slowly steam fills the bathroom, clouding the shaving mirror as you drag the razor across your chin.

Its time to add the cold, to temper a bath hot enough to cook a lobster...

So how do you react when after turning on the cold tap, you find that water coming out of it is even hotter than the still steaming flow from the hot tap.

Then a family member shouts 'there's steam coming out of the toilet!'

Yes my boiler is trying to ensure that whatever the outside temperature, my house is has the humidity and warmth more usually found on the equator.

Somehow my boiler has created a feed back loop so not only is it heating the water it contains but also the cold water reservoir in the loft, while making sounds like a battleship boiler as it engages the enemy more closely for the last time.

It has now been turned off (so its not going to explode)and until the emergency plumber arrives its going to be cold showers around here. 

Retitled Rebranded and Restarted

Well after the excitement of christmas out of the way and a long hard think about what to do with the blog, I've decided to start it up again.

As well as the geeky stuff, I'll also write about my interest's (Rugby) and social life.