Not somewhere you’d like to be, as I found out to my detriment, and testament to taking your time and doing a job right the first time.

You won’t be overly surprised to hear there’s more DIY in this post. The work on the office continues in earnest. I left off the last episode with a couple of brackets and some shelves, and now I’ve got…a couple more brackets with some shelves. Baby steps, but to be fair we had a busy weekend and I wasn’t able to work on it constantly.

I have limited time to squeeze the work in, so I decided it was all getting too easy and I should introduce my Japanese saw to my thumb. I was trying to shave a board down to size for the first step on the bulkhead and in my haste, slipped and caught the side of my thumb. There is no denying how sharp those blades are; I’m just glad it was a glancing blow although it still bled profusely. I quickly transitioned into doctor mode and stopped the bleeding with firm pressure for quite a while (in the region of twenty minutes) then arranged a plaster to keep providing some pressure. Thankfully that was the worst of the drama, and it has been more frustrating than problematic. Lesson learned.

It’s time to take a little break, and head on over to PlayStation corner.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon

One of the recent PS Plus offerings was Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and as is my usual habit I downloaded it then never played it. Yakuza isn’t a franchise I was familiar with but I’ve found enough enjoyable games through PS Plus that it was worth a shot. I was not disappointed.

Campy. Ridiculous. Improbable. Insane. These are just a few words I could use to describe the plot and feeling of the game in general. You play Ichiban Kasuga, a low level Yakuza grunt in a small family who takes a figurative then literal bullet for his patriarch, yet he still maintains his heroic optimism.

The game plays like a cross between Shenmue, an interactive movie, and a Pokémon game. There are some unashamed references to Pokémon in the combat style, with turn-based party combat and encounters with enemies can involve attacks, special moves and the use of items, healing or otherwise.

I won’t say too much about it here, but if I get time I’ll put together a more in depth review as I progress through the story. So far I am amazed at how compelling it has been given how little time I’ve spent playing (rather than watching).

Out in Plymouth

To celebrate my completion of the first part of the Certificate of Higher Autopsy Training (CHAT) exam last Friday, we had an evening out in Plymouth. We started with cocktails in the Refectory Bar above Plymouth Gin Distillery, which I was briefly acquainted with on a tour last year. This is my favourite bar in Plymouth, although I haven’t exactly been active in the nightlife here since most of my time has been spent living through a pandemic, looking after a baby, or both. But I digress.

The Refectory has an excellent atmosphere and is an amazing setting with a vaulted wooden ceiling and stone walls painted dark blue. We had two different Negroni variants – mine a complex smokey build, and Sarah’s a Japanese ume (plum) inspired creation. I’d thoroughly recommend a visit, and since they’ve removed the membership requirement there’s no restriction on when you can drop in.

The next stop took us to HonkyTonk Wine Library in Sutton Harbour for a nice grenache and a sharing platter. The food isn’t cheap, but the quality is excellent and there’s a substantial amount. Baked camembert, a selection of cheeses, meats, dips and sides. The whole experience is really chilled out. We ended up spending about three hours lazily working out way through the board and discussing Dungeons & Dragons. Yes, we’re just that cool.

Back to DIY

I’m trying to avoid death-by-DIY as it has been heavily represented in the last few posts, but that pretty much mirrors my experience over the last month or two. I got my Festool saw out again to cut another shelf and some boards to tidy up the edges of the bulkhead frame. All of the shelves in the lower portion are cut from the same big sheet that’s covering the bulkhead itself. Plywood is a versatile material and goes a long way. I’ve found myself using the track saw for crosscuts too when I’m only doing a couple and can’t face dragging the mitre saw out.

Since the last post I’ve put up a few more brackets and finished some more shelves. I did a little touch-up painting on the coving as well. The project is moving along nicely now. It is also developing on the desk front as I will reveal in a later post. I’m moving on from my trusty glass one to a wooden top that will be more in keeping with the new aesthetic. For now I’ll leave you with a photo of the current state of play.

The office project is moving along nicely, which is great for me but means even more DIY-related ramblings for you!