oldbloke's mutterings

To last January, when we bought some new christmas tree lights in the sales, and I posted about wondering how big a tree was needed for 120 lights.
We never did get a new tree. Forgot all about it.
Consequently, after putting it all up today, the tree looks just slightly busy. It's only 4 feet including the stand. 120 is a lot of lights for something that size.
And they have 8 different programs! Apart from "continuous" and maybe slo-glo they're all unbearably chav, though.
There may be pics sometime, if I can work out how to make the lights look bright without the tree being black on a black background.
We also got some stars to put up in the window, coz Lidl had them and we were in a silly mood.
5 vertical drops each with 5 small stars and a big one at the bottom. Each small star has a light in it, and the big ones have 15 lights inside them. It's a lot better than it sounds, really.
Tomorrow (oops, today, now) Jack has to write to Father Christmas to ask for a Barbie Race. The Polly Pocket/Hot Wheels "Race to the mall" set is already upstairs, but he doesn't know that. It's very pink, but it's cars. And ISTR him saying at one point that only boys could play with it. This despite the TV ad clearly showing two girls playing with it. The child is weird, but lovely. Mostly lovely.

We went to the local garden centre today, to get the lad new wellies (success) and see if they had make-your-own paper chains (bzzzt).
They had lava lamps and glitter lamps on BOGOF.
Couldn't resist - never owned one before.
Of course, now I have a lava lamp I may have to go and buy some LSD. Do they still make it? Is it still 25p a hit?

Just Google Earthed my sister's new address.
And then, as you do, went to look at the place where I used to play a lot as a kid. Where the newt pond was, and the ace sledge run, and the stream.
Found the meandering line of trees that hide the stream easily enough.
Followed it down to the bit where I remember it suddenly getting wider, slower, and deeper.
Went on a bit further.
Nothing.
A road and a farmyard.
Rivers can't just disappear!
Next time I go to visit my dear ole ma I might have to go and check this out.
There is something that looks like a sort of clay pit or settling pool of some sort.
Maybe it's a sink and the whole thing goes underground. Fair bit of that round there, come to think of it - the path at the top of our road used to break up every few years when the underground stream fancied a bit of fresh air, and there's a few fun cave systems not so far away.
And I daresay what looked riverish back then would only be about 5 foot wide, maybe even less.
Anybody have intimate knowledge of the area at 51.412966N,2.519624W ?