Grey and slightly cooler here too, only 22 degrees. We’ve driven to Rugby to pick up Master Heavenly the younger, who has jury duty here next week. He’s off out to see some friends soon so I might go for a walk.
We had a fairly useful choir practice this morning, with me clattering out an approximation of the tunes on the appliance*.
Unfortunately, our resident guitarist has pranged a clavicle (poor chap!), so the sub-K*ndr*ck ditties will have to go with what J can manage on the aforementioned appliance. Luckily they're not too complicated, unlike some of that sort of thing, so it might not go too badly ...
* how David referred to electronic "organs"
It's a warm and pleasant day (although now verging on Too Hot); I had an amble along the street to Fork Handles to get some drain-clearing stuff and one of those gunk-catching thingies you put in the plughole of the bath. I really ought to do some housework, but can't summon up the energy.
Just out of curiosity, what language(s) do you use when you're with her?
She speaks to us each in our own language. So it's interesting round the dinner table!
Her parents speak German to each other. She speaks English to me and her Papa, Georgian to her Mum. Her parents both speak English to me. I understand German well, but can't speak it.
I've been attending an online retreat all day so just took a stroll out to see how Mr Nen is getting on helping with a friend's car. Now home and stir fry cooking will soon commence, because Saturday.
Just out of curiosity, what language(s) do you use when you're with her?
She speaks to us each in our own language. So it's interesting round the dinner table!
Her parents speak German to each other. She speaks English to me and her Papa, Georgian to her Mum. Her parents both speak English to me. I understand German well, but can't speak it.
Because I didn't get round to having brunch until early afternoon, I wasn't really hungry until about 8:30, so I cobbled together a bowl of Piglet's Pancetta Pasta, which was just what the doctor ordered.
Memo to self: get more pasta, more pancetta and more Parmesan cheese.
Another non-stop day. Rehearsals all morning, then met up with a former colleague who has retired here. She showed me round New Hall, Wesley’s first chapel and its interesting museum. We then rehearsed then sang Compline in Bristol’s oldest church building, followed by a group meal out. Twenty minutes walk back to the hotel and a 9.30 start tomorrow so I should sleep well.
Middle Child had been confirmed as studying Chemistry at the University of Nottingham which is fantastic.
I have enjoyed the fruits of that department despite being an ocean away since I was a decently wee lad thanks to the "Periodic Videos" channel on YouTube which is presented by several members of that department.
Ah, yes, the Mad Scientist Hair man. Great isn't he?
Definitely. I knew that uni name triggered a memory somewhere.
Just out of curiosity, what language(s) do you use when you're with her?
She speaks to us each in our own language. So it's interesting round the dinner table!
Her parents speak German to each other. She speaks English to me and her Papa, Georgian to her Mum. Her parents both speak English to me. I understand German well, but can't speak it.
🙂
Thanks! A typically polyglot European child...
Yes.
Her English is cute. Her accent depends on where she learned the word.
Northern English from her Dad and us
German from our German friends speaking English to Mr Boogs and I.
Canadian from her friend Rowan (they speak English together).
Occasional Eastern European when it's a shared word eg 'Laptop'.
Not much sleep since I last posted.
Hugely looking forward to singing today’s services in Bristol in the beautiful St Mary Redcliffe church. Music listed in Ecclesiantics.
Not much sleep since I last posted.
Hugely looking forward to singing today’s services in Bristol in the beautiful St Mary Redcliffe church ...
David had organ lessons there when he was a student in Bristol - it's an amazing church. I saw your music list in Eccles - very nice indeed!
It's an absolutely beautiful day here: 20° and glorious sunshine, so I had a little amble by the loch after church, passing the time of day with the ducks and swans. I'm so lucky to have such beauty literally on my doorstep.
Yes, the organ is very powerful and there was a bit of a bet on that the choir would not be loud enough, but one of our “ groupies” told us that the choir’s sound filled the church.
I’m resting up this afternoon ( it’s 24 rising to 26 degrees ) before rehearsal at 4 and Evensong at 5.30pm.
Sorry @Boogie, I ‘ll be gone in the morning, back to the East Midlands.
Feels chilly here back in the East Midlands, but I think that is mainly having got used to very silly high temperatures.
We had a visiting priest at Mass today who treated us to a 20 minute sermon, none of which I could hear properly. At the end of Mass the assistant priest decided to give us a 10 minute harangue on making sure you go to Mass. Not the way to grow your congregation.
I'm off for an afternoon nap!
A lovely blue Sunday in Arkland the Noisy, with a temperate easterly breeze to reduce the Heat somewhat.
The Noise is being made by Neighbours working on the Ark immediately astern of me - it's an elderly Dutch-built tug, being restored and improved by a man and his son who Know What They're Doing as regards cutting, grinding, and welding. It's a Work in Progress, but they're doing well, and I'm looking forward to seeing it completed.
Lunch was Ham Hock, Leek, and Potato Gratin (courtesy of Tess Coe), and there is CHEESE for later.
@Boogie , a meet in Wells would be great but September's diary is a bit choc-a-bloc until towards the end. But it would be lovely to do it at some point.
Interesting to read of the Ship's links with St Mary Redcliffe Church, I've never visited it although we are not that far from Bristol.
I haven't been to church, choosing instead to visit the coffee shop with my book. Mr Nen joined me, having been on projection duty at Our Place. It's pretty hot here and I'm pretty tired of it. Like the gardens and the land generally I am gasping for some proper rain. They were saying on the radio how the trees are shedding their leaves, and even some branches, in an effort to conserve energy.
The chicken is bubbling away in the slow cooker ahead of a roast meal later. That'll make the kitchen even hotter...
After yesterday I am staying in, next to an open window and the occasional welcome waft of air. I have cleaned the bathroom, hemmed a pair of trousers and am on the last dozen rows of the first sleeve of a jumper which has been on the needles since March.
Later I will bake some trout and microwave a veg or two, hence avoiding Hot Stovetop misery.
Even the plants on the river-banks of Arkland are looking parched, possibly because they are parched...
OTOH, the lack of rain does mean that I've been able to get some much-needed Paint Ing done in the very small doses which are all I can manage now. If we get a fine September, that'll help, but I do sympathise with farmers and gardeners.
We have returned to a very hot foie gras land. We are currently sheltering under the air-conditioning in the hopes of a storm in a couple of days time.
. At the end of Mass the assistant priest decided to give us a 10 minute harangue on making sure you go to Mass. Not the way to grow your congregation.
Hell! - where the air is pungent with the aroma of roasted behinds!
Hell! - where enormous demons break wind continuously both day and night!
Hell! - where your nether regions are never free of the pricking of little forks!
. At the end of Mass the assistant priest decided to give us a 10 minute harangue on making sure you go to Mass. Not the way to grow your congregation.
Hell! - where the air is pungent with the aroma of roasted behinds!
Hell! - where enormous demons break wind continuously both day and night!
Hell! - where your nether regions are never free of the pricking of little forks!
There's a Circus thread here - see what other horrors you can add to the harangue...
. At the end of Mass the assistant priest decided to give us a 10 minute harangue on making sure you go to Mass. Not the way to grow your congregation.
Hell! - where the air is pungent with the aroma of roasted behinds!
Hell! - where enormous demons break wind continuously both day and night!
Hell! - where your nether regions are never free of the pricking of little forks!
There's a Circus thread here - see what other horrors you can add to the harangue...
I just nicked the dialogue from The Black Adder - the Archbishop
. At the end of Mass the assistant priest decided to give us a 10 minute harangue on making sure you go to Mass. Not the way to grow your congregation.
Hell! - where the air is pungent with the aroma of roasted behinds!
Hell! - where enormous demons break wind continuously both day and night!
Hell! - where your nether regions are never free of the pricking of little forks!
There's a Circus thread here - see what other horrors you can add to the harangue...
I just nicked the dialogue from The Black Adder - the Archbishop
After a church service which included Believers' Baptism and a light lunch at home, we headed out on a golden afternoon: first to the beach at Llantwit Major where we just sat and enjoyed things for about an hour, then home via Penarth where we bought fish and chips and ate them sitting on a bench on the pier. Once home, a glass of crisp white wine was drunk and the parched garden watered with the hose. Today is cool and grey; autumn has arrived and, when I walked down to the supermarket, there were lots of leaves on the pavement.
To take advantage of our new lower tariff at night electricity package we ran both the washing machine and the dishwasher last night. As I was first up I had the joy of both unloading the dishwasher and hanging out the washing. Rather overcast and cool here, and it was almost raining when I hung out the washing, but as no precipitation is forecast I didn't bring it straight back again.
We're off to city to the west today for a mooch. Son and husband want to visit a camera shop and I'm aiming for Lakeland and John Lewis. We'll probably do a gallery or something vaguely cultural as well.
Tomorrow is son's birthday so we need to think about how we're going to celebrate that too.
I have a couple of days off so no work for me today. I’ve done my daily walk and the laundry and have just started tidying up the kitchen as the new cat sitter is popping round this evening.
To take advantage of our new lower tariff at night electricity package we ran both the washing machine and the dishwasher last night. As I was first up I had the joy of both unloading the dishwasher and hanging out the washing.
I had to re-read that to understand what you meant. My first thought was, "Why should running the washing machine at night make you feel emptier?" - then I twigged.
In our last house we had a similar tariff but the timing device had got somewhat "out of sync" with reality which meant that I could run the machine until about 9am on the cheap tariff. We're now on a tariff which gives us a cheap rate in the middle of Sundays - not really much help to us except for warming the house on cold winter afternoons, as it's too late in the day for the wachine machine and we don't have a big Sunday lunch!
I had to re-read that to understand what you meant. My first thought was, "Why should running the washing machine at night make you feel emptier?" - then I twigged.
If you listen to running water at night, you'll probably want to feel emptier...
Very nice mooch. My husband bought the camera bag he wanted which means he'll actually be using his new expensive camera more and we've decided on a couple things I need to order from John Lewis as well. This laptop, which has served me well and is still basically fine is too old to update to Windows 11. I was debating between another Windows one or going for a MacBook as I already have an iPhone and iPad. Looking at the options didn't make things much clearer but it looks like I can probably pay a fee for another year of support which'll give me time to decide.
We went to the cafe in a local art gallery which was excellent even though the gallery itself wasn't open today.
Back home now and instead of unpacking I have been watching the recording of yesterday’s Evensong. A different world. Must now go and buy some fresh food and may indulge in a ready meal as I don’t feel like cooking today.
I only had one really good meal whilst away. The hotel meals were OK, especially the huge choice at breakfast, but the best one was a pub lunch, where the side salad of many ingredients was possibly the best I have ever eaten. The group meal at a well-known French chain was disappointing. The French onion soup was fine but the main was steak-frites and very dry. Chocolate tart with ice cream followed. Worse was the noise. I am not normally hard of hearing but in that situation conversation was largely based on guesswork.
Normal life resumes, though not a lot happening in the week ahead.
Back home after a week in Norfolk which included a stay with my Mum. My relationship with her has been difficult the last 10 years but it went OK.
There was some drizzle on the journey home but it’s so dry here our lawn is crispy. Thanks to our lovely neighbour who watered our plants, the whole garden didn’t die while we were away.
Although it's a bit cooler today (19°, it's still very nice (although I was horribly hot when I woke up; overnight temperatures in the teens are Too Hot).
It was an odd sort of day at work: J, who should have been back from holiday, has picked up Covid again, poor chap (although not as badly as he did last time), and was - very wisely - working from home, and occasionally sending in small voice files (in a slightly croaky voice). I Got Everything Done, which was nice, but I'm sure there'll be plenty for me to do tomorrow. Also, there was some sort of internet brainfart in the morning, which basically meant we couldn't get anything done, as things wouldn't upload/download, emails couldn't be sent, phones were off and payments couldn't be made or taken. Luckily it turned out to be a "turn it off and turn it on again" situation.
I pootled over to Tessie's at lunchtime to top up fridge and wine cupboard; with Villa Maria
Sauv Blanc at £2 off, it would have been rude not to. I'm tempted to go back tomorrow and get some more ...
Supper was salads (some because use-by date) because it's still warm enough for me not to want to cook much.
I hope work goes ok today @Piglet and that settling back into normal routine goes smoothly @Puzzler . It sounds as though you've had a lovely time away; you too, @Boogie .
Overcast here this morning and Mr Nen is out for a run. I'm then out for coffee with my book and my journal and then lunch with friends.
Looks like all that nasty hot weather has gone away and we're back to Normal Scottish August - cool, grey and damp (Really Normal would be horizontal rain).
Schedule for this morning is breakfast, rest, and once the buses are propitious, down to the health centre for drugs, on to supermarket for urgent supplies - bread mainly. Less urgent can go on the online order for delivery tomorrow.
We had some Villa Maria sauvignon blanc at the weekend @piglet. We obviously have the same ideas about wine to drink in hot weather.
We have unscheduled rain, which is much needed but I wish it could have turned up tomorrow as it has slightly kyboshed the plans for our son's birthday. Instead of a visit to a National Trust property we're off to play table tennis and then going out for dinner at our favourite Indian restaurant this evening.
I need to go back via a supermarket as the grocery delivery didn't provide soya milk for the second week in a row.
Somewhat overcast here but predicted to reach the dizzy heights of 22 degrees. I have taken a couple of days off this week as nothing is happening in the office.
I’ve been for a walk and put the weekly food delivery away but Mochi has insisted on sitting on me for half an hour so I have achieved nothing else. I might tidy some shelves this afternoon. Master Heavenly the younger is around as he has jury duty but he has been let off today. Dinner at in-laws this evening.
Came back home on Saturday from a week's family camp in Prestatyn with a cold that started that morning. Of the fifty of us who were there fifteen are suffering with it according to the WhatsApp group and there is a lively debate as to whether the Highlands man-flu is more serious than the Welsh version or whether another part of the country beats both.
Down to a frore 21C (70F) in Arkland the Overcast, though there are a few gleams of Sun Shine every now and then, as the Clouds are parted by a not unpleasant east-north-easterly Breeze - the one which usually makes my Ears feel too tight.
A huge new tin of Splendidly Expensive Paint has arrived, but will not be applied (to the Decks) until I can summon up rather higher energy levels than I possess today...
Pilates has been endured, and was quite a challenge, as Herself was on holiday in Italy last week (dodging wildfires, and consuming large amounts of Ice Cream, she says).
Lunch today is therefore Comfort Food, in the form of SOSSIDGES, CHIPS, and BAKED BEANS. I well remember My Old Dad solemnly advising me (when I wor a Lad) to save at least one Chip in order to be able to wipe up the Beanie Juice...sage advice, which I still take heed of today, 70 years later.
We've been walking round Rye, and found not one but two fishing shacks, with very nice fish caught locally. You can see the boats moored up, so it's not from the supermarket. Speaking of which, the local s'market closes on Sundays, as they are a Christian family. So cute.
Comments
Eating ice creams by the river just two minutes from their flat - https://photos.app.goo.gl/FZKFw7rar6aRJS8c8
Just out of curiosity, what language(s) do you use when you're with her?
We had a fairly useful choir practice this morning, with me clattering out an approximation of the tunes on the appliance*.
Unfortunately, our resident guitarist has pranged a clavicle (poor chap!), so the sub-K*ndr*ck ditties will have to go with what J can manage on the aforementioned appliance. Luckily they're not too complicated, unlike some of that sort of thing, so it might not go too badly ...
* how David referred to electronic "organs"
It's a warm and pleasant day (although now verging on Too Hot); I had an amble along the street to Fork Handles to get some drain-clearing stuff and one of those gunk-catching thingies you put in the plughole of the bath. I really ought to do some housework, but can't summon up the energy.
She speaks to us each in our own language. So it's interesting round the dinner table!
Her parents speak German to each other. She speaks English to me and her Papa, Georgian to her Mum. Her parents both speak English to me. I understand German well, but can't speak it.
🙂
Thanks! A typically polyglot European child...
Because I didn't get round to having brunch until early afternoon, I wasn't really hungry until about 8:30, so I cobbled together a bowl of Piglet's Pancetta Pasta, which was just what the doctor ordered.
Memo to self: get more pasta, more pancetta and more Parmesan cheese.
Indeed. I fall into envy at such people. Talented Enkelin!
Yes.
Her English is cute. Her accent depends on where she learned the word.
Northern English from her Dad and us
German from our German friends speaking English to Mr Boogs and I.
Canadian from her friend Rowan (they speak English together).
Occasional Eastern European when it's a shared word eg 'Laptop'.
All the accents can come out in one paragraph!
Hugely looking forward to singing today’s services in Bristol in the beautiful St Mary Redcliffe church. Music listed in Ecclesiantics.
Maybe Wells?
Maybe September to give time to coordinate diaries?
David had organ lessons there when he was a student in Bristol - it's an amazing church. I saw your music list in Eccles - very nice indeed!
It's an absolutely beautiful day here: 20° and glorious sunshine, so I had a little amble by the loch after church, passing the time of day with the ducks and swans. I'm so lucky to have such beauty literally on my doorstep.
Then brunch, and laundry.
I’m resting up this afternoon ( it’s 24 rising to 26 degrees ) before rehearsal at 4 and Evensong at 5.30pm.
Sorry @Boogie, I ‘ll be gone in the morning, back to the East Midlands.
We had a visiting priest at Mass today who treated us to a 20 minute sermon, none of which I could hear properly. At the end of Mass the assistant priest decided to give us a 10 minute harangue on making sure you go to Mass. Not the way to grow your congregation.
I'm off for an afternoon nap!
So far today I have done various bits of housework and tidying. It’s nice to have Master Heavenly the younger here to chat to, though.
Church at 5pm.
The Noise is being made by Neighbours working on the Ark immediately astern of me - it's an elderly Dutch-built tug, being restored and improved by a man and his son who Know What They're Doing as regards cutting, grinding, and welding. It's a Work in Progress, but they're doing well, and I'm looking forward to seeing it completed.
Lunch was Ham Hock, Leek, and Potato Gratin (courtesy of Tess Coe), and there is CHEESE for later.
Interesting to read of the Ship's links with St Mary Redcliffe Church, I've never visited it although we are not that far from Bristol.
I haven't been to church, choosing instead to visit the coffee shop with my book. Mr Nen joined me, having been on projection duty at Our Place. It's pretty hot here and I'm pretty tired of it. Like the gardens and the land generally I am gasping for some proper rain. They were saying on the radio how the trees are shedding their leaves, and even some branches, in an effort to conserve energy.
The chicken is bubbling away in the slow cooker ahead of a roast meal later. That'll make the kitchen even hotter...
After yesterday I am staying in, next to an open window and the occasional welcome waft of air. I have cleaned the bathroom, hemmed a pair of trousers and am on the last dozen rows of the first sleeve of a jumper which has been on the needles since March.
Later I will bake some trout and microwave a veg or two, hence avoiding Hot Stovetop misery.
OTOH, the lack of rain does mean that I've been able to get some much-needed Paint Ing done in the very small doses which are all I can manage now. If we get a fine September, that'll help, but I do sympathise with farmers and gardeners.
We took a friend to Aberystwyth yesterday, and had lovely weather.
Hell! - where the air is pungent with the aroma of roasted behinds!
Hell! - where enormous demons break wind continuously both day and night!
Hell! - where your nether regions are never free of the pricking of little forks!
There's a Circus thread here - see what other horrors you can add to the harangue...
I just nicked the dialogue from The Black Adder - the Archbishop
I thought I'd heard it somewhere before...
We're off to city to the west today for a mooch. Son and husband want to visit a camera shop and I'm aiming for Lakeland and John Lewis. We'll probably do a gallery or something vaguely cultural as well.
Tomorrow is son's birthday so we need to think about how we're going to celebrate that too.
We do the same - and I'm the emptier too 🙂
In our last house we had a similar tariff but the timing device had got somewhat "out of sync" with reality which meant that I could run the machine until about 9am on the cheap tariff. We're now on a tariff which gives us a cheap rate in the middle of Sundays - not really much help to us except for warming the house on cold winter afternoons, as it's too late in the day for the wachine machine and we don't have a big Sunday lunch!
If you listen to running water at night, you'll probably want to feel emptier...
We went to the cafe in a local art gallery which was excellent even though the gallery itself wasn't open today.
I only had one really good meal whilst away. The hotel meals were OK, especially the huge choice at breakfast, but the best one was a pub lunch, where the side salad of many ingredients was possibly the best I have ever eaten. The group meal at a well-known French chain was disappointing. The French onion soup was fine but the main was steak-frites and very dry. Chocolate tart with ice cream followed. Worse was the noise. I am not normally hard of hearing but in that situation conversation was largely based on guesswork.
Normal life resumes, though not a lot happening in the week ahead.
There was some drizzle on the journey home but it’s so dry here our lawn is crispy. Thanks to our lovely neighbour who watered our plants, the whole garden didn’t die while we were away.
It was an odd sort of day at work: J, who should have been back from holiday, has picked up Covid again, poor chap (although not as badly as he did last time), and was - very wisely - working from home, and occasionally sending in small voice files (in a slightly croaky voice). I Got Everything Done, which was nice, but I'm sure there'll be plenty for me to do tomorrow. Also, there was some sort of internet brainfart in the morning, which basically meant we couldn't get anything done, as things wouldn't upload/download, emails couldn't be sent, phones were off and payments couldn't be made or taken. Luckily it turned out to be a "turn it off and turn it on again" situation.
I pootled over to Tessie's at lunchtime to top up fridge and wine cupboard; with Villa Maria
Sauv Blanc at £2 off, it would have been rude not to. I'm tempted to go back tomorrow and get some more ...
Supper was salads (some because use-by date) because it's still warm enough for me not to want to cook much.
Overcast here this morning and Mr Nen is out for a run. I'm then out for coffee with my book and my journal and then lunch with friends.
Schedule for this morning is breakfast, rest, and once the buses are propitious, down to the health centre for drugs, on to supermarket for urgent supplies - bread mainly. Less urgent can go on the online order for delivery tomorrow.
We have unscheduled rain, which is much needed but I wish it could have turned up tomorrow as it has slightly kyboshed the plans for our son's birthday. Instead of a visit to a National Trust property we're off to play table tennis and then going out for dinner at our favourite Indian restaurant this evening.
I need to go back via a supermarket as the grocery delivery didn't provide soya milk for the second week in a row.
I’ve been for a walk and put the weekly food delivery away but Mochi has insisted on sitting on me for half an hour so I have achieved nothing else. I might tidy some shelves this afternoon. Master Heavenly the younger is around as he has jury duty but he has been let off today. Dinner at in-laws this evening.
Oooooh - exciting times!
This morning I took Captain Pyjamas to the cinema to see the Smurfs. He enjoyed it, and I didn't tell him what I thought. (It was crap.)
A huge new tin of Splendidly Expensive Paint has arrived, but will not be applied (to the Decks) until I can summon up rather higher energy levels than I possess today...
Pilates has been endured, and was quite a challenge, as Herself was on holiday in Italy last week (dodging wildfires, and consuming large amounts of Ice Cream, she says).
Lunch today is therefore Comfort Food, in the form of SOSSIDGES, CHIPS, and BAKED BEANS. I well remember My Old Dad solemnly advising me (when I wor a Lad) to save at least one Chip in order to be able to wipe up the Beanie Juice...sage advice, which I still take heed of today, 70 years later.
I have no doubt that the fishes caught and sold are Happy British Fish™...