Will Bob lose weight?

April 12th 2007. 23.16
I was saddened to see that Michael Dibdin died recently. There was a short obituary in the Guardian last week. He was the creator of one of my favourite fictional policemen, Aurelio Zen. He always seemed to solve the crime though the solution wasn't always wanted by his corrupt or politically motivated superiors. I think he was overdue for retirement but in a perverse way he seemed to thrive on work and to some extent, on disappointment. I have always thought that "Dirty Tricks" was one of Dibdin's best, though it was not an Aurelio Zen story. He was almost always to be relied on to produce a good read so I always looked forward to his next book and I shall miss that now. He was only sixty which seems awfully young these days, but I don't know the cause of death.
Although I had planned more frequent blogs, they have not appeared for two main reasons. Firstly the weather has been so good that I have been able to spend long hours taming the allottment, so when I have returned home it has been tempting to have a little snooze that has most often turned into a more prolonged and deep sleep. Secondly, my computer at work is misbehaving and keeps turning itself off. I would ask the IT chaps to sort it out but they are such a bunch of snitty nosed bastards that I dont want to ask them. They don't ever seem to be able to come round and put it right without first asking a whole series of complicated questions and giving a load of instructions that I cannot understand. So I haven't used the work computer lately for the blog. Great progress has been made and there are now four rows of raspberries, two rows of early or not so early potatoes, a row of garlic, a row of broad beens, two roses, two blackcurrants and a few Japanese onions which are not thriving. My sleeping partner even arrived one day with his son so he was unable to spend much time actually doing any physical work though he was full of encouragement for my efforts. I also have sweetcorn, climbing French beans and sunflowers coming up in pots in the kitchen after less than ten days since planting and there are also artichokes, okra, peas and runner beans which, I am confident, will appear any day now. So there is some urgency now to get on with the digging to clear enough space to plant all these things out in the near future. I may also have to have some of the beans at the house so they can be transferred from plant to pot within seconds.
I actually recognised the make of a car as I was going home from work the other day. Normally I cant tell one make of car from another but the reason I could name this particular car wa s because it was the very distinctive Hillman Minx which made me quite nostalgic for the cars of the fifties and sixties. They did seem to have more character and greater differences in appearance than the common cars of today; they even had better names.So, in memory of those days, I offer the following:-
211. Triumph Herald
212. Ford Popular
213. Morris 8 (Series E)
214. Austin 7 (or the 10 or the A40)
215. Standard Vanguard
216. Citroen Light Fifteen
217. Morris Minor
218. Sunbeam Talbot
219. E Type Jaguar
220. Jowett Javelin
You probably have forgotten most of these brands or would have to be interested in vintage cars if know them. When the Morris Minor was first produced, it cost £128! The Citroen Light Fifteen was the car that Rupert Davies drove around in the BBC Maigret series. I once shared a similar car with a chap who became the Queen's gynaecologist - or maybe it was a Light Fourteen. I can remember that it had a running board which was useful as it had a slight clutch problem and sometimes needed a bit of a push to start it moving. I think that the front door opened from the front and was hinged on a central column from which the back door was also hung.I also remember selling it for fifty Francs to a scrap dealer outside Paris when it broke down for the umteenth time. We all hitched back from Paris and I actually got a lift in a Maserati! Ah! Those were the days. Petrol 2 shillings a gallon and beer 7 pence a pint! I think my memory is failing me a bit there but it wasn't far off those prices. Maximum wage for footballers £12 a week. Incidentally, I'm willing to be transferred to Madrid for £54million.
I also once shared a Series E Morris with a chap who became a brilliant Rectal Surgeon. We used to take it in turns to use the car. Girls were invited for a ride in the E Type, but they weren't fooled for long.