Speak Up!

Is anybody apart from Dave Berg reading this? (Dave....you there buddy?)

If anybody is out there....PLEASE....click the comments button and say hi :-)) My paranoia is growing.

Kicked In the Clutch

On Saturday I actually diagnosed and fixed a fault on the Spitty! OK....admittedly by the standards of Lewis Horton and Gareth Dubbeling my efforts were pretty lame. There I was, pootling with Soph back from the ice cream shop when suddenly I couldn't select any gears and it felt like the transmission was going to fall through the floor of the car. After a quick panic I mustered the courage to do a few Google searches on the subject and came up with the solution. Now the clutch is better than ever. A pint and a pie to the first reader who guesses what I did to fix the problem.

On Sunday we went to Moraine State Park for a picnic followed by swimming and a paddle in the canoe with Kenny and Liz Smith and their three boys Rowan, Sawyer and Adam. "Our Adam" had a go with one of Kenny's fishing rods and managed to catch a rather fine fish.

I Know Best!

I have it on good authority that Sophia is still the boss. Tonight she stated that "I know best" which, given all the faffing about and indecision that accompanied our move back to the USA, may well be true.

Today has been a great day. The sort of day that makes me feel justified in dragging the troops away from their cosy nest in Chalfont Rd. We had a genuine light bulb moment in the lab about something we have been struggling with for ages. The daily opportunity to try and solve important public health problems gives me enormous satisfaction and can be incredibly good fun. This of course has to be balanced against the scientific norm which usually involves lots of banging of heads against brick walls and an infuriating lack of progress.

It's Not the Taking Part....!

Well we didn't win but who cares. It was a fantastic day. We met some new friends and hung out with a few old ones. The only downside is that I got the distinct impression that you have to be an anorak to take part (you know the type Ed). There were plenty of them there and lots of improbably shiny cars.

I am shattered. Here are some pics.

Spitty

Tomorrow is Roger the Spitfire's big day. It is the first day of the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix which means a day of relaxed scoffing and hanging out while the hardy few hurl their race prepared vintage cars around Schenley Park. Unfortunately, Roger the Spitty lost a wing mirror yesterday thanks to my clumsiness in the garage so he will look a bit lop-sided. My chances of winning the Spitfire category (they run a kind of "Miss World" for old cars) are diminished by the fact that Roger seems to have developed some kind of electical fault that involves mucho clicking and complaining when I turn the key followed by (fingers crossed) the engine turning over and starting with a healthy roar (and a faint smell of electrical burning). So.....Lewis and/or Gareth....if you are reading this, a diagnosis would be much appreciated!!!

So...watch this space. Will Roger win the grand prize? Adam and I polished him tonight so at least he is looking his shiny best.

I'm In Charge!

Yesterday Sophia announced that "I'm In Charge". I have always suspected this but now I know for sure that she is the boss. I think we were all relieved to finally discuss and establish the family pecking order.

Our latest acquisition (this is becoming addictive) is a canoe. Inspired by a canoing trip with Dave Berg on the River Dee during Xmas 2005 we bought an Old Town canoe. This has become an immediate hit.

Dave and Rosie Woods were flying out of Toronto into Liverpool on Sunday so on Saturday we headed North together into New York State and stayed in Ellicotsville (next door to the Brew Pub!). Sunday morning was spent paddling and picnicking in the Allegany State Park after which the Woods duo headed North for the airport and we pitched a tent for the night. On Monday we drove South into Pennsylvania to the Allegheny State Forest and paddled off for a picnic and a swim on distant shores of the Allegheny Reservoir. Fresh air makes you sleepy!

Bye Bye Ma and D....Hello Dave and Rosie

It has been 5 weeks of family fun.
My Mum and Derek arrived June 4th and stayed until July 2nd. Derek brought his journalist hat and spent much of his time here researching a story about urban regeneration in the Hill District of Pittsburgh. This is the old African American neighborhood from which many of the famous Pittsburgh-born jazz musicians emerged. For famous...read Art Blakey, Ray Brown, George Benson, Lena Horn, Erroll Garner, Earl Hines, Ahmad Jamal and Henry Mancini (wrote the Pink Panther). I almost forgot to mention....Billy Strayhorn who wrote "Lush Life" and "Take the A Train".

This leads me into a fantastic "name dropping" opportunity. Ahmad Jamal's drummer, James Johnson, was the bass singer in a vocal group Shaz and I sang in back in the early 2000's. Other distinguished members were Nancy Egan, who does the voice-overs for the "Howard Hanna" showcase of homes (only follow that link if you are bored shitless) and also sings with "Homefront"...an American folk music group (famous or what?) and Thatcher Over Montgomery who sang bass in "InVoice" (mega!). As you can see....James Johnson is the least famous.

The Hill District's most famous venue was the Crawford Grill which was still open when we were on our first tour of duty here but which has now (sadly) closed. To his eternal credit, Derek boldly strode into some of the most ghetto-ized parts of town in search of a scoop. I am ashamed to say that I have yet to visit many of these places despite having spent a total of 9 years living in this city. Not only that but Derek managed to gain the support of a few local cultural and civic leaders which is good going. So.....well done D. Hope something big comes of that.

Mum spent most of her month hanging out with the kids. They loved having granny on tap and have missed her this week. Mum also managed to retain her sense of humor during our move to the suburbs which turned out to be more traumatic than necessary.

One sterling job performed by mum was the entertaining of the kids while we test drove a variety of....(and I am somewhat ashamed to admit this)....."minivans". Yes folks.....not only have I recently turned 40 and moved to the burbs but we have bought the iconic middle class soccer mom middle-American vehicle...a Toyota Sienna. Super-practical and totally lacking in any romance. It does however have 14 cup holders. Which is great if you are catheterized and/or wearing incontinence pants.

After our excessive consumerism we visited Moraine State Park which is North of Pittsburgh and the favorite spot of local dinghy sailors including David Finegold who has just given me a much loved but no longer used 470 to sail there (a dear friend and a good man!).




Sharon's brother Dave and his daughter Rosie arrived on Tuesday. We met them at the baseball ground...PNC Park.....which I have to say is amazing. All the seats are behind the batter and look out onto downtown Pittsburgh which, frankly, is more interesting than the baseball. To put this derogatory comment in context, the Pittsburgh Pirates have just won their first major league game of the season (we were there!) despite having been playing pretty solidly since April. So there you go.



It is a beautiful skyline. In fact this is one of the compensations of my morning commute which involves bursting out of the Fort Pitt tunnels and across the Allegheny River with full view of the downtown skyline. Very impressive!