The Wall Building will Continue until Morale Improves

Yes, I have brutalised myself, but all in the name of progress. The wall has come together quite quickly. Is it perfect? Far from it, but it hasn’t fallen down yet and doesn’t look horrendous. It is a long overdue project as I hated the old pseudo-brick wall (very 1970s) and wanted a more natural look. The first step was moving plants that were in the way (with the aim of replanting them once the wall is finished) and extending out the existing bed to account for the additional wall thickness.

As previously discussed, I’m using local slate which comes in a wide variety of sizes. I started off separating it into different sizes, but life’s too short. There are quite a few running seams which isn’t ideal, but equally it’s easier to avoid them in theory than in practice when you’re dealing with differently sized stones. Some of these buggers are heavy, too. The process has also made me aware of how dry the ground is after the summer, in spite of the heavy rain we’ve experienced this month. I have been working in dust most of the time.

Time for a break…

Plymouth Fine Dining

Fletcher’s is tucked away behind the Theatre Royal in Plymouth. Not an auspicious location, but one you should consider visiting if you enjoy excellent food. It has been our restaurant of choice for years now, and has never let us down.

The tasting menu at Fletcher’s did not disappoint. The food is consistently some of the best, if not the best, in Plymouth. The experience may not be as luxurious as Boringdon Hall, but the stunning presentation and atmosphere make up for it. Haute cuisine, but in a more casual setting. The menu utilises high quality, locally sourced ingredients, with the usual flair you’d expect from a Michelin-type restaurant. Fletcher’s is yet to gain a Michelin star but that tends to come with an elevated price tag and booking challenges that would diminish the experience slightly. I can confirm that the experience beats the Michelin-starred Tofuya Ukai in Tokyo (sorry Japanese friends, I’m just not that into tofu!).

Even more Split Fiction

This game continues to impress me. We have played through many different genres and art styles nested within this co-op powerhouse. Even a level of hand drawn sketch animation. The creators’ love of games shines through, and despite the difficulty at times, it really makes me smile.

Sniper Elite: Resistance

Sniper Elite: Resistance is a 2025 third person shooter in the Sniper Elite series of games which, unsurprisingly, follows an elite sniper getting up to war hijinks. I have dabbled with the series in the past including the spin-off Zombie Army Trilogy, and I find them fun enough to a point. They are far from polished, and some aspects of gameplay (allowing a player to aimlessly hunt around a massive same-y environment looking for an arbitrary doohickey to advance the mission status) can get tiresome quickly. Does that sound like a painfully specific example? It was.

I have reached for my phone to look up guides on several occasions now, which isn’t something I do much these days. Games tend to be better designed with environments that direct you to where you need to be. Instead I find myself looking at the tenth pair of bolt cutters which I don’t need because I already picked up a set twenty minutes ago. The protagonist, Harry Hawker, goes through bolt cutters like Twixes at a church social. You know I’m going to find a crowbar and bolt cutters, so can we all just skip that bit and accept that it will happen? I have enjoyed using Harry’s telekinetic abilities though as seen below.