AS: Cool Britannia (sort of): the British thread 2019

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  • Piglet first crying is part of coping. Secondly, ask at church if anyone would be willing to pick you up and let you take them out for a coffee at short notice.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Thanks, Jengie - several of them have already offered. :)
  • TheOrganistTheOrganist Shipmate
    edited November 2019
    Piglet
    You were able to keep it together up to and through the funeral because you had to: no conscious thing on your part, just the underlying knowledge kicks in and you keep going. Now it is OK to crack because you won't miss some vital task, you can let out the tears that you would shed normally plus those you kept in when D was in hospital and up to the funeral. Be kind to yourself, let them fall and don't apologise.

    On a personal note, I found up-beat, joyful occasions and music far more likely to set me off than playing for or organising funerals: weddings, in particular, set me off dreadfully. I found that sucking strong mints and keeping a bottle of sal volatile to hand for a bracing sniff helped.
  • I rather like the idea of ‘short notice coffee companions’. I’m often short of one for cafe training for the pup, and end up going on my own - I would gladly pick them up on the way.

    We need an app!
  • Gosh, viewings already! I forget the state of play with your car. You can't go and crouch in it with a good book? It's sounds like that isn't feasible, so all good luck with the ambling.
    I sold one house and bought another last year, and I remember well how stressful these things can be. Take care, and tons of good wishes from here....
  • Piglet, your tear ducts sound as though they are functioning as they should (and not malfunctioning at all).
    I get a bit tearful at For All the Saints. And Eternal Father Strong to Save.
    I’m going to be in EDINBURGH sometime next year...fancy a coffee?
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited November 2019
    Absolutely, St. E! :)

    Apparently the lady who looked at it last night was quite impressed - she preferred mine to the one she saw a couple of streets away. Not counting any chickens yet though!

    There's another viewing scheduled for tomorrow evening; a friend's taking me out for supper, so I'll be out anyway. It's now listed on Realtor.ca, so with any luck there'll maybe be a viewing or two while I'm away.

  • NenyaNenya Shipmate
    D was worth crying for, Piglet. {{{hugs}}}

    I hope the house sale goes amazingly smoothly.

    Boogie, I wish I lived nearer to you. I'm likely to be finishing work in the next few months so will have plenty of time available and am always up for coffee.
  • Piglet wrote: »
    [...] It's now listed on Realtor.ca, so with any luck there'll maybe be a viewing or two [...].
    I dare to doubt that there are any real tors in Canada, but as anyone knows there are loads of them in the South West and they have quite a few visitors! :)

    You're welcome. :D
  • No, no: Real Tors are found in Devon: https://tinyurl.com/y647umoo
  • <Hi 5, BT> :D
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Groan ... :mrgreen:

    It's a beautiful day here today, but I suspect it may be the calm before the storm: they're talking about rain, wind and possibly significant sn*w for Friday. I shan't be here: I'm going to Newfoundland for the weekend, where there's a requiem for D. on Saturday, but I could really do without coming back to a whole load of shovelling, and it's not likely to encourage prospective buyers either.

    It might not come to much, but it would be a royal pain.
  • Wesley JWesley J Shipmate
    edited November 2019
    I s'ppose if I were to get a dog, it'd have to be a type of Belgian Shepherd, a - yes, you guessed it - Groan-endael. :)
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I'm messing around on here while waiting for my lift to the airport. There have been a few flakes of sn*w falling, and more in the forecast for here (ugh!), but so far they don't seem to be lying - long may that continue!

    Newfoundland's weather looks rather more civilised - temperatures in plus numbers, and no sn*w.
  • Hope you have a great trip, Piglet.
  • Hope your enjoy catching up with your Newfoundland friends @Piglet. A very sad occasion, but hopefully a joyful one too.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    V. good so far - had a lovely (late) evening with friends last night and much laughter with my hosts this morning.

    Retail therapy* will ensue this afternoon. :smiley:

    * There are one or two shops that have branches here, but not in Freddy, so I'm hoping to take advantage of that.
  • Oh... Such a good place to be - I am sure it will be good for you. We left St John's in fairly good shape and tried not to do too much damage when we were there in September for our first visit. We'll be back.
  • Winter appears to have arrived in these Southern Parts heralded by an inch of ice on the bird bath. Thermal long johns today.
  • daisydaisy wrote: »
    Winter appears to have arrived in these Southern Parts heralded by an inch of ice on the bird bath. Thermal long johns today.

    I poured hot water on the bird bath to melt the ice this morning too.

  • Jemima the 9thJemima the 9th Shipmate
    edited November 2019
    Hope your trip continues well, piglet.
    I read the DT obituary for D - how lovely!

    Child C came home yesterday after 3 days on the children’s ward with a nasty wheeze needing lots of drugs. MrJt9 and I did shifts - I did the days and he did the nights, so we could be home with kids A & B too.
    We’re all beyond knackered and out the other side, and had to get up in the night to do more inhalers for Child C who is on a reducing schedule, but oh my goodness it’s good to be home.
  • Chilly here, but lovely and sunny. Our son is here this weekend and he and his dad have gone off to take photos of the local scenery. I'm lazing around ahead of going to an art/poetry event this afternoon where I will be reading a couple of my poems.
    @Piglet, hope you are continuing to enjoy the company of old friends and that the retail therapy is successful.
    We're off walking a bit of the Pilgrim's Way for a few days on Monday, and I'm going to try and find some thermal glove liners when I go to the next town along for the poetry reading, otherwise I can see me being a bit miserable when my hands seize up.
  • Wet! WET! WET!
  • Child C came home yesterday after 3 days on the children’s ward with a nasty wheeze needing lots of drugs. MrJt9 and I did shifts - I did the days and he did the nights, so we could be home with kids A & B too.
    We’re all beyond knackered and out the other side, and had to get up in the night to do more inhalers for Child C who is on a reducing schedule, but oh my goodness it’s good to be home.
    You have my sympathies. My youngest once at an asthma attack on the first day of a walking holiday in Snowdonia and got airlifted to Bangor paediatric intensive care unit. As I don’t drive, I spent the rest of the holiday living in the hospital while my husband entertained our other child. It was exhausting and utterly draining mentally. I hope C is better soon.
    Nobody else up yet in this household. I’ve had a nice mildly spicy omelette for breakfast and might go and do some wool spinning. I fancy a nice walk this afternoon and tea somewhere.
  • BroJamesBroJames Purgatory Host, 8th Day Host
    @Piglet I’ve read as much of D’s Telegraph obituary as I can without registering. What a treasure! Also in poking around the interweb thingy I came across these tributes on the Mander Organs forum which I thought you might like to see if you haven’t already.
  • Child C came home yesterday after 3 days on the children’s ward with a nasty wheeze needing lots of drugs. MrJt9 and I did shifts - I did the days and he did the nights, so we could be home with kids A & B too.
    We’re all beyond knackered and out the other side, and had to get up in the night to do more inhalers for Child C who is on a reducing schedule, but oh my goodness it’s good to be home.
    You have my sympathies. My youngest once at an asthma attack on the first day of a walking holiday in Snowdonia and got airlifted to Bangor paediatric intensive care unit. As I don’t drive, I spent the rest of the holiday living in the hospital while my husband entertained our other child. It was exhausting and utterly draining mentally. I hope C is better soon.

    Yikes. That really does sound scary. And exhausting.
    A far smaller level of woe, but I managed to insert a piece of floorboard into my foot this morning (accidentally!) and so back to the hospital we went for it to be removed under local anaesthetic. I sobbed quite a lot.

    Those tributes on the Mander Organs forum are lovely. One really gets an impression of D’s generosity.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Thanks for that link, BroJames - what lovely things people have said about D.

    The requiem went off beautifully; the homily was generous and well-thought-out, the choir sang very nicely and it was lovely to see lots of friends again.

    My tear-ducts behaved almost perfectly (there was much hugging before and after that almost set me off), and there was a very enjoyable reception afterwards at the house of a couple of friends.

    I'm going to be a Heathen Piglet tomorrow and skip church; my hosts both sing in the Cathedral choir, but I think it might be diplomatic to give it a miss.

    A long lie followed by a nice lunch beckons ...
    Jt9, I hope Child C gets better v. soon.
  • You have, Jemima!

    I’m glad it went okay, Piglet.


    We’re popping to York shortly to visit our eldest at uni.
  • Requiem sounds beautiful, piglet. I hope you enjoy your lie in this morning, I think you’ve earned a rest!

    Pleased to report that child C is very much better and hopefully able to go back to school tomorrow. Currently curled up with him (still asleep) in the big bed. Simple things....
    My foot hurts. Ow. Stairs take so long I might as well be a dalek.

    Hope the trip to York uni goes well, Heavenlyannie, we had a quick lo9 round the other week as Child A is thinking of going there. Lots of ducks!
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    York is beautiful, and I'd imagine a very nice place to go to university!
    I had a lovely lie in - with a few brief spells of waking, I finally woke at almost 11:00. :sleepy:
    I've just opened Facebook messages to hear from one of D's former organ pupils in Belfast; a small choir that he conducts is going to sing an Evensong in D's memory at the end of January, and he wanted my advice on choices of music. I'm once again beyond chuffed and out the other side - people are just so nice!

    If I've managed to get moved to Edinburgh by then, I might even try and go over for it - I haven't been in Ireland for about 12 years and it would be great to see everyone over there again!
  • daisydaisydaisydaisy Shipmate
    edited November 2019
    @Piglet, well done for the lie in, you must have needed it. And what a lovely request from Belfast - I do hope you get to go over for it.

    I’ve had a Getting Things Done afternoon - it might not look like I’ve achieved much but I’m rather hoping the wild birds appreciate the straightened and filled bird feeder in the front garden and the new easily-topped-up location for one in the back garden. The birds just need to notice the changes - long tailed tits have visited the unchanged one but fled as soon as they saw me. And the newly opened Spike’s Diner (not “our” @Spike ) needs some hedgehogs to visit it too.

    Freshly picked raspberries from the front garden will be added to a windfall apple from the back for pudding later.

    Now to make a cauli curry - as well as being dinner I’m beginning to stock up the freezer with hot things ready for much colder days.
  • It has been a glorious day here (even though our central heating has gone on the blink!) After church and a quick snack we drove up to the Afan Valley Forest Park near Port Talbot and went for a lovely amble along a good path (an old railway track). It's a tranquil spot, hard to imagine that 70 or so years ago it was a hive of industry.
  • Hope the trip to York uni goes well, Heavenlyannie, we had a quick lo9 round the other week as Child A is thinking of going there. Lots of ducks!
    Back in the mid 2000s, when I was an undergrad, it 'officially' had the highest density of waterfowl of any UK uni (or at least those with active SCM groups as I'm sure the research was largely shared through word of mouth at meet ups.)Yes I know the website does rather show its age.
  • I am reliably informed that one of the ducks has his own Instagram (I had to get a teenager to show me how to find it...)
    https://www.instagram.com/longboiyork/?hl=en
  • 2019 is not being a good year for us - sampling far too much of local NHS provision.
    The latest medical "issue" was Mr RoS having a heart attack during Monday morning's prayer meeting.
    Whizzed off to hospital for treatment and a couple of sleepless nights observation, now home for a bit of molly-coddling.
  • 2019 is not being a good year for us - sampling far too much of local NHS provision.
    The latest medical "issue" was Mr RoS having a heart attack during Monday morning's prayer meeting.
    Whizzed off to hospital for treatment and a couple of sleepless nights observation, now home for a bit of molly-coddling.

    I hope he makes a good recovery and quickly.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited November 2019
    Crikey - {{{RoS and Mr. RoS}}}
    I must confess to some more retail therapy; Additionelle, the Canadian "fat-lady" shop, doesn't have a branch in Freddy but there is one here, and they had a 40%-off-everything sale today, so I now have a rather nice black trench-coat that cost $92 (about £54).
  • I was at York from 1969-73, back in the days when it had only just started up. I loooooved it so much - collegiate, so it was easy to make friends; campus, so not too much travelling; new, so all shiny and clean. And it was small! so you could feel you knew almost everyone.

    I met Mr. S there (outside the chemistry lab stores :lol: ) which no doubt adds to its appeal, but when we went back a few years ago it wasn't at all the same (obvs!) The city itself is just as it ever was, of course... :heart:

    The Nostalgic Mrs. S
  • HeavenlyannieHeavenlyannie Shipmate
    edited November 2019
    2019 is not being a good year for us - sampling far too much of local NHS provision.
    The latest medical "issue" was Mr RoS having a heart attack during Monday morning's prayer meeting.
    Whizzed off to hospital for treatment and a couple of sleepless nights observation, now home for a bit of molly-coddling.
    You poor things, I hope he makes a smooth recovery.

    York still has the highest duck density of UK unis (I was told this before I read the discussion here!). They even have a Facebook/twitter page with duck of the day.
    Son is on the new campus 10 mins walk from the main one where his engineering dept is, it is a lovely uni, as mentioned it has a friendly collegiate atmosphere. We liked it immediately when we visited.
  • [
    York still has the highest duck density of UK unis.
    I presume this has nothing to do with Cricket?

  • No, the number of actual waterfowl per square metre of open water on their campuses.
  • I'm sure there is some fowl play involved in all this!
  • Sheffield may have had you beat a couple of days last summer. AFAIK we have no open water actually on campus, since the tiny fountain was removed and Western Park is not technically part of the campus, but did have two ducks deciding that they would try and live just outside the Octagon Centre.
  • Actually just checked it ducks per rood see see this article from The Tab where Leeds beats York.
  • Clearly good old-fashioned British ducks which have nothing to do with metric measurements.
  • Popping in to wish MrRoS a speedy recovery.
  • Jengie Jon wrote: »
    Actually just checked it ducks per rood see see this article from The Tab where Leeds beats York.
    That article rightly points out that the league tables are inaccurate as they didn’t include the new campus ;)

  • I should think that ducks being measured per rood would get rather cross.

    I'll get me coat...
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    edited November 2019
    Don't bother, BF - I'll fetch it for you! :mrgreen:

    We spent a week in 1990 with the Belfast choir singing at York Minster, and stayed on the University campus; I remember the ducks and geese. I also remember overhearing two elderly (and rather posh) ladies talking at breakfast about being at Evensong the day before: "Do you know, they're from Belfast, but you really couldn't hear their accents when they were singing"!

    I'm heading out shortly for brunch with a load of friends from the Cathedral choir here, which should be rather jolly.

    What won't be quite so jolly is the weather when I get back to Freddy - they're forecasting sn*w, rain, freezing rain and anything else you mightn't like ... :cry:
  • Talking of birds and Yorkshire: I'm sure that Scarborough has by far the highest (and noisiest) level of seagulls.
This discussion has been closed.