The important thing is to write the Minutes before the meeting ...
Seriously, most meetings are fairly routine. I call up last time's Minutes on the computer, change the date and amend as necessary. People can have the Minutes in their email inbox before they get home!
Certain persons may think that to be funny... Not so the Rev J--- H--- late of our presbytery when acting as interim moderator at a nearby church. He really did have the church secretary type the minutes ahead of session meetings. but to be fair, if you want the real record of the deliberations of the session at our own church, you won't find it in the minutes.
When I took over as presbytery clerk my predecessor advised me to write the minutes beforehand then tweak them as necessary. Which was fine until the day I sent the whole presbytery the minutes for the upcoming meeting, not the previous one!
The chair of our local choir committee is useless. The secretary had to ask her three times where she had got to in the agenda as she was wandering so much, then she forgot the last meeting. As it was on Teams she joined us late. Meanwhile the Deputy Chair had galloped ahead, accepting the Minutes and Matters Arising in five minutes instead of twenty.
It has been said that meetings are the practical alternative to work...
Our Place's FatherInCharge is very good at keeping PCC meetings (a) short, and (b) to the point - diversions from the agenda are Not Allowed, unless it's something vital (such as a safeguarding issue) which suddenly arises.
Another lovely autumn day in Arkland the Pleasant, with Sun-Shine and a fresh south-westerly breeze. The painting of Ye Auncient Cuppborde in the wheelhouse has been completed, and celebrated by a time of sittage, contemplation, and quaffage of BEER.
We Shall Pay For It Later You Mark My Words™ as heavy Rain and beasterly easterly Winds are forecast for the weekend.
I had a chat with Neighbour F as he passed by - he's acquired a huge quantity of large Pallets (20 feet by 4 feet, for less than £10 each), and is using the timber both to extend and strengthen his Ark's jetty, and to build a large Shed to house various bits and pieces. I remarked that he was doing a good bit of recycling, but he said 'No! It's upcycling!' - which ISTM is an excellent turn of phrase.
The important thing is to write the Minutes before the meeting ...
Seriously, most meetings are fairly routine. I call up last time's Minutes on the computer, change the date and amend as necessary. People can have the Minutes in their email inbox before they get home!
Certain persons may think that to be funny... Not so the Rev J--- H--- late of our presbytery when acting as interim moderator at a nearby church. He really did have the church secretary type the minutes ahead of session meetings. but to be fair, if you want the real record of the deliberations of the session at our own church, you won't find it in the minutes.
When I took over as presbytery clerk my predecessor advised me to write the minutes beforehand then tweak them as necessary. Which was fine until the day I sent the whole presbytery the minutes for the upcoming meeting, not the previous one!
Ouch! When was this revelation revealed to you?
At the meeting, which shows just how much reading in advance the presbyters had done!
Having emailed my notes to the other lady who was taking minutes, I had an email from her today and we are unanimous in our dischuffedness about the handling of the meeting. We shall have a rant discussion after choir practice on Saturday, and will quite likely be joined in our rantage by one of the gentlemen in the choir, who is also on Vestry.
I've had a rather bothersome day; the printer used by the bosses had run out of ink, and the supplier, who's supposed to know in advance when these things are going to happen, didn't, so they were phoning me and asking me to print things off for them, just when I was in the middle of something else ...
Weather - again, intermittent rain, sometimes on me, sometimes not.
Supper was chickie frickie, because Wednesday, and because why not? I made more than I needed, so some will be reheated tomorrow.
When I went to Tessie's to get the chicken, did I remember that I need to get mayonnaise (for Friday's chips)? No, I did not.
I am also most unchuffed re: a waistcoat I ordered online. The first order arrived (in what is my usual size) and was stupidly too small, so I ordered what was basically two sizes up (and their largest size) and it's still too ******* small.
Annoying about meetings that don't stick to agendas. The good thing about our council meetings is that they do follow procedure for the most part even if people to get a bit heated about items on the agenda from time to time.
Today was my niece's funeral. It went as well as such things can. The crem. was packed, as was the pub afterwards. She was an amazing young woman and it was so poignant to see the cap and gown for the graduation ceremony she'll never attend on the coffin.
We were planning an Outing today - pharmacy, barber, bank, Polish deli - but it's wild and wet - very wet - and windy, and forecast to continue so all day, so maybe tomorrow (though that is supposed to bring sleet).
However, have an idea for a linocut. And a parcel of wool should arrive. What more could you ask for?
Today is art group. We are doing tissue paper poppies so that should be pleasant. Just finishing my breakfast having taken the dogs then I will get going.
The weather looks actually nice today, though I haven't ventured out yet. I rather fancy having a day like the one @Firenze is planning but I have lip-reading class this morning and bookshop shift this afternoon, so I'll be shortly heading out the door. Husband is out this evening so I can catch up with Only Connect which I missed on Monday as our son was here.
A shop I'd never been in before has moved to larger premises and I popped in to have a look. They had a rather nice knitted waistcoat, but I couldn't think what I'd wear it with.
Phoned up today to request an NHS bowel cancer screening kit. According to their website, everyone between 50 and 74 is eligible (if you are over 74, obviously you should just snuff it).
Apparently I'm not eligible until my 54th birthday (only a few weeks away, so won't be much of a delay). But, in that case, why has SWMBO had hers when she's younger? And why's it say 50 on the website?
I got an appointment for a flu jab a few weeks ago, turned up, and once I was seated with my sleeve rolled up, the nurse asked me some basic questions. She then asked me why I was there.
"I'm here because I have an appointment."
"But why do you have an appointment? You don't fit the criteria."
After discussion we concluded that I was eligible as a carer while my late father was ill, and my name must have been imported onto the list from an older list.
After further discussion she decided that she could tick the box saying that I'm a carer for my nonogenarian mother, and she gave me the flu jab.
Yesterday, the NE Man had his appointment. He, too, showed his appointment letter at reception and was sitting with his sleeve rolled up, when the nurse asked him why he was there.
"The NHS sent me this appointment"
"But why did they send it? You don't fit the criteria.
"I had a TIA in May"
"That's not sufficient reason"
After further discussion, the nurse concluded the appointment had been sent in error but she gave him the flu jab anyway.
Both our appointments took far longer than was necessary. Both our appointments tied up a nurse in trying to find a reason to give us the flu jab.
Surely the point at which the decision about the flu jab is made is at the "sending out appointments" rather than the "patient has organised their day around the appointment and has travelled to it" point?
My wife and I do both fit the criteria; our local surgery is very good at organising "vaccination campaign Saturdays" where one is given a very precise time to arrive, is checked in at the back door, is directed to the next available jabber (nurse or doctor), has it done, and then leaves by the front door.
A shop I'd never been in before has moved to larger premises and I popped in to have a look. They had a rather nice knitted waistcoat, but I couldn't think what I'd wear it with.
Do they do mail order? If so, @Piglet should try them!
My wife and I do both fit the criteria; our local surgery is very good at organising "vaccination campaign Saturdays" where one is given a very precise time to arrive, is checked in at the back door, is directed to the next available jabber (nurse or doctor), has it done, and then leaves by the front door.
Our village GP surgery does the same, and it works very well. I generally arrive a few minutes early, because parking, and I've sometimes been in and out before my actual official time.
Another fine, warm, mostly Sun-Shiny day in Arkland the Astonished - 62F in mid-November?? - but (as our local noos online puts it) 'Heavy Rain Is Set To Batter The County', which always makes me think of fish-and-chips...
Speaking of which, lunch is COD MORNAY with Mash n'Peas - another of Tess Coe's Easy Meals For Pore Old Singletons.
The important thing is to write the Minutes before the meeting ...
Seriously, most meetings are fairly routine. I call up last time's Minutes on the computer, change the date and amend as necessary. People can have the Minutes in their email inbox before they get home!
Certain persons may think that to be funny... Not so the Rev J--- H--- late of our presbytery when acting as interim moderator at a nearby church. He really did have the church secretary type the minutes ahead of session meetings. but to be fair, if you want the real record of the deliberations of the session at our own church, you won't find it in the minutes.
When I took over as presbytery clerk my predecessor advised me to write the minutes beforehand then tweak them as necessary. Which was fine until the day I sent the whole presbytery the minutes for the upcoming meeting, not the previous one!
Ouch! When was this revelation revealed to you?
At the meeting, which shows just how much reading in advance the presbyters had done!
I was given a flu jag voucher from work. Then it turned out that the nearest place honouring said voucher was Aberdeen, which is not exactly next door. However I had a hospital appointment there this week, so tried to book the jag. Most places had stopped honouring the voucher as stocks were running low, but an Asda in Bridge of Don could do it, and so the deed has been done. I don’t think any of my colleagues have bothered.
The hospital appointment was to look at a damaged foot which has taken me 3 years to get anyone to look at properly, and the conclusion is that surgery will be required, sooner rather than later, though the surgeon, a very enthusiastic man, wouldn’t commit to any precise time scale.
I turned up at the wrong place within our group surgery for my jabs. The receptionist kindly redirected me, told me not to rush as I could just join the queue. I got there about 15 minutes late but it wasn’t a problem. I was only asked for my DOB then told to proceed. A very slick set up as usual, for flu and Covid.
Not exactly always, but I do find them very comfortable - they keep the torso warm, while leaving the arms unrestricted! The "waist" bit of the name is something of a misnomer in my case, as the longer they are, the better; I have one that comes down to mid-calf, but it's a sleeveless thingie, so consequently is known as a waistcoat.
I emailed the supplier, and got a very nice email back with a return label to take to the post office, and the possibility that they might have mis-sized it. I'm not holding my breath, but you never know.
As Firenze noted, it's been a dreich, wet, miserable day in the Lothians (and rather colder than of late), so I abandoned any ideas about going to Tessie's at lunchtime. I hope it's rather better tomorrow, as there are a few bits & bobs I could do with getting.
Today a friend and I went out for lunch almost on the spur of the moment and very good it was too. The venue has recently been refurbished and the service was excellent. I didn’t need anything else to eat before choir practice and just a light snack afterwards.
How our choir master kept his cool tonight I don’t know. He wanted to abandon one item as it wasn’t good enough but we persuaded him to give it another go. I’m not sure I’ll have any voice left by Sunday Evensong as I am singing in Elijah on Saturday evening.
We've had a most lovely day with Nenlet1 and the GrandNenling. It's a few weeks since we've seen them and the little one has grown and changed and is saying and doing so much more than when we last visited.
Then we were out for a meal at the house of a fairly new couple in the church; their house was fully decorated for Christmas and it was far too much far too early, but a very nice evening apart from that.
I'm out and about all day tomorrow on public transport and suspect I'm going to get Very Wet. I've even bought a small umbrella especially for the occasion (I usually lose them or break them).
I appear to be writing a book. A friend has bought a very nice house and I offered to research and write up its history by was of a house-warming gift. I'm on page 33 (14 font and quite a few photos) and no end in sight yet.
I am thoroughly enjoying the research. Whether she will enjoy reading what I anticipate to be 50 pages of my prose remains to be seen....
What a lovely house-warming gift @North East Quine . I doubt that any of the houses I've lived in would warrant more than a paragraph about their past.
We have storm Claudia here. Pretty wet, though not as wet as I thought it might be and not as windy as I feared. The wind is from the east which isn't particularly usual here. I am slightly worried about the possibility of flooding as the Environment Agency sent me a flood alert. Looking at the figures I think we'll be OK.
Because of the crapness of the weather today is going to be a staying in catching up with things day, but I'm afraid I haven't done a great deal yet.
We had the heavy rain yesterday. Today is occasionally bright, breezy and COLD. When I sallied to the butcher I bought noticeable amounts of oxtail, as I see a lot of Warming Casseroles in the near future.
Tonight however will be kedgeree.
Also finished cutting and printing my 4th go at linocutting, and feel I'm getting the hang of it.
Dull and grey in Arkland the Dismal, with intermittent light Rain - happily, Storm Claudia seems to have passed north of us...
A nothing-doing day for me, as no Shopp Ing needs to be done until tomorrow. I haven't been sleeping at all well lately, so some catching-up has been achieved .
It's been raining here since last night. Of course, today was the one day this month that my team was planning to be in the office! Everyone who was expected arrived, although 2 people were delayed due to a cancelled train (one person using trains, the other picking him up from the station).
I'm now safely home again; waterproofs hanging up to dry; and sat in a chair with tea, book, and one of the remaining date slices I made to take in.
As most of the weather maps I looked at showed a Claudia-free strip along our bit of the south coast we decided that a good use of the morning would be a trip to a garden centre somewhat larger than the local one to do a bit of Christmas gift shopping for the family. Having accomplished most of what we needed to do, we went for lunch at a pub/restaurant between there & home.
It was a lovely meal, as it has been every time we have been there. We should go there more often (it's usually at roughly 6month intervals), but maybe the time lag makes it more of a treat and increases our enjoyment of the food?
(There was plenty of rain, but not the torrents that those further north were probably experiencing)
Enjoy the lino cutting and printing, Firenze, I used to do that (inexpertly) when I was doing textile art.
Pouring down here and my garden office feels like it is at sea being battered by the waves. But at least it is warm (air source heat pump) and not leaking so far.
Work is a mixed bag. On the one hand I have been awarded the senior fellowship I applied for (this is a general one used to progress in higher Ed and carries no future workload or money). On the other hand, the university appears to have screwed up my extra hours allocation and is preventing me from doing some work I need/want to do. I also have a mild depression so I am finding my marking to be quite a slog.
Decidedly colder, but dry and bright here; as I needed to go to Tessie's at lunchtime, I was glad of the absence of rain (although it was beginning to look as though it was thinking about it).
My new headphones for audio-typing arrived (the old ones had more-or-less given up the ghost, as you had to shoogle them about to get the sound to work), and they're HUGE!!! One of my colleagues came in and suggested I might do a side-hustle as a DJ ...
Damp and windy here, but much less inclement than some parts of the UK.
I am now officially Old. The optician has confirmed that I need glasses. I'm quite glad though, because I was fairly sure I couldn't see properly and I would have been really disconcerted if he'd told me that there was nothing wrong with me.
I’ve worn distance glasses since I was 18. I currently have varivocals to help me switch from distance to my computer - I often take them off to read, though. I have occasionally worn contact lenses in my youth but I never liked them and working in an eye casualty really put me off them. “It looks like you have a small corneal ulcer - do you wear contact lenses?” was a common refrain.
Our group leader talked of cancelling our French group because of the weather, but as it was only wet and windy I persuaded her to continue, though two of our members opted out because of concerns related to health problems. We discussed remembrance.
I was again awake for ages in the night but this morning I managed to settle a couple of the problems I had been wrestling with, so hoping for a decent sleep now, as I need all my energy and my wits about me tomorrow.
Apart from a trip to the corner shop aka Waitrose I've stayed in and had my promised lazy day though I did write some notes on Jeremy Bentham ahead of the U3A philosophy group meeting I'm leading next week.
This evening we drank a bottle of wine while catching up with last Saturday's Strictly which was nice and cosy.
I hope the weather is a bit better tomorrow as we're off to a local village's art day. My husband and friends have been working on various bonkers things on the theme Ascending for it and it would be a shame if the weather is too bad for everyone to enjoy it.
Apart from a trip to the corner shop aka Waitrose I've stayed in and had my promised lazy day though I did write some notes on Jeremy Bentham ahead of the U3A philosophy group meeting I'm leading next week.
This evening we drank a bottle of wine while catching up with last Saturday's Strictly which was nice and cosy.
I hope the weather is a bit better tomorrow as we're off to a local village's art day. My husband and friends have been working on various bonkers things on the theme Ascending for it and it would be a shame if the weather is too bad for everyone to enjoy it.
Ah, good old Jeremy Bentham- your post transported me back 45 plus years to the days when I used to walk past his body in the glass case on my way to lectures at University!
A really dismal morning in Arkland the Dreary, with Mist slow to clear - it's still damp and clammy even now...
The Ark's saloon is nice and cosy, though, thanks be to the Dragon (and the Coal). Lunch will be a Ham, Leek, and CHEESE thingy from Tess Coe.
I nipped up to the village Co-Op earlier for a few odds-and-ends, and, in view of Winter approaching, succumbed to the temptation to invest in a bottle of WHISKEY (Irish - note the correct speeling). It is, you understand, purely for Medicinal Porpoises, to Keep The Chill Off.
It's nice and sunny here today. I'm not sure if that will last, but at least the washing is drying. Mr Boogs is in Torquay touring with his band so last night I had a party party! I made potato pie and it was really tasty. Much prosecco was consumed.
So today is a tidying up and recovering day. Finishing preparing the house for the housesitters who are arriving tomorrow. We are off to Germany for the little one's birthday.
This weird weather is beginning to annoy me.
I slept badly last night, from overheating. The overnight temperature was warmer than it has been during daylight hours so far today. I hadn't picked that up from the weather forecast before I went to bed, so hadn't adjusted the bed covers accordingly.
I don't thinkI will have the same problem tonight, although it seems that we will still be in double figures.
BF, what sort of WHISKEY did you get? I'm not a whisk(e)y drinker, but when we were in Northern Ireland, the occasional hot Bushmills (with honey and lemon) went down a treat if the weather was a tad parky!
It's not a bad day here; cool but dry, and it seems the worst of the wind might be past.
Had a little amble to the post office to return the second attempt at buying a long waistcoat (see rant in TICTH). In fairness to the sellers, when I emailed to suggest that their sizing was up the left, they replied with a label to stick on the parcel and a promise to look into the sizing situation, so at least they're trying.
Supper will be the STEAK I bought the other day, with potato salad and lemony, garlicky green beans. And WINE.
My favourite whisky is Talisker but I have to be in the right mood for it; it isn’t my first choice of tipple. Mr Heavenly has a fine selection of whiskies, including Welsh, Japanese and Swedish.
Grey all day here, with almost drizzle. Master Heavenly the Elder stayed overnight on his way to Heathrow as he is off to the US today for a conference on high performance computing. I slept late and have done little other than the laundry and a walk in the almost drizzle. I’m still a little under the weather and suspect I have some kind of virus lingering. I might spend the rest of the day reading; I have a book about death in Ancient Rome. (Once I have finished my current Masters in History I might do one in the Classics)
Lunch was venison burgers, fried egg, and pan fried Brussels and chestnuts.
I had a lovely day out yesterday seeing friends but got very wet on the journey home (which involved two buses) and arrived home soaked and cold. Fortunately Mr Nen had the heating and hot water on so I got straight into the shower and after spaghetti bolognese washed down with red wine I was fine.
Today's weather is better - no rain so far - and I've been out for coffee. Now taking the afternoon to catch up on a few things and have a bit of time out before seeing friends for a meal this evening.
I've worn glasses for some years now - the very idea of contact lenses makes me go faint and wobbly - and have varifocals for general use and an occupational pair for computer and reading. I like wearing glasses and think I look better with them than without them as they give some definition to my pale colouring and makeup-less face. However, I've never quite got used to the feeling of them; I don't put them on first thing in the morning and tend to take them off if I'm particularly tired towards the end of the day so I wander around unable to read things properly or see into the distance...
Mr Nen is currently watching the rugby so there is Much Shouting going on downstairs .
We headed off to a local village to look at their art trail, lots of local artists either selling thing or art installations. My husband was involved in one of those, but due to the wet weather much of it wasn't available, as turning it on shorted out the house's electricity. I bought a rather nice small print of seed heads and a ceramic Christmas tree decoration on our mooch round though.
We left early as I wasn't feeling too great and it was all rather damp and cold.
After some soup for lunch I felt a bit better so we headed into town to buy a frame for my print from the very useful shop that has such things at a very reasonable price. The print is now up in my bathroom and very nice it looks too.
Baked potatoes for tea, washed down with red wine.
Tea was mutton chops with gravy, with roasted parsnips and carrots. I suspect the mutton chops Pepys ate in chop houses were cheaper, as they were then a byproduct of the wool industry not a novelty item bought by foodies.
We dined on a piece of gammon that had been far too long in the freezer.
Nevertheless it tasted perfectly fine, done in the slow cooker, then finished of in the oven with a glaze of marmalade and whisky. Accompaniments were Romanesco cauliflower, baby potatoes and the carrots and onions from the cooking liquor.
Comments
Ouch! When was this revelation revealed to you?
Our Place's FatherInCharge is very good at keeping PCC meetings (a) short, and (b) to the point - diversions from the agenda are Not Allowed, unless it's something vital (such as a safeguarding issue) which suddenly arises.
Another lovely autumn day in Arkland the Pleasant, with Sun-Shine and a fresh south-westerly breeze. The painting of Ye Auncient Cuppborde in the wheelhouse has been completed, and celebrated by a time of sittage, contemplation, and quaffage of BEER.
We Shall Pay For It Later You Mark My Words™ as heavy Rain and beasterly easterly Winds are forecast for the weekend.
I had a chat with Neighbour F as he passed by - he's acquired a huge quantity of large Pallets (20 feet by 4 feet, for less than £10 each), and is using the timber both to extend and strengthen his Ark's jetty, and to build a large Shed to house various bits and pieces. I remarked that he was doing a good bit of recycling, but he said 'No! It's upcycling!' - which ISTM is an excellent turn of phrase.
Lunch is LIVER n'BACON, because use-by date.
At the meeting, which shows just how much reading in advance the presbyters had done!
I've had a rather bothersome day; the printer used by the bosses had run out of ink, and the supplier, who's supposed to know in advance when these things are going to happen, didn't, so they were phoning me and asking me to print things off for them, just when I was in the middle of something else ...
Weather - again, intermittent rain, sometimes on me, sometimes not.
Supper was chickie frickie, because Wednesday, and because why not? I made more than I needed, so some will be reheated tomorrow.
When I went to Tessie's to get the chicken, did I remember that I need to get mayonnaise (for Friday's chips)? No, I did not.
I am also most unchuffed re: a waistcoat I ordered online. The first order arrived (in what is my usual size) and was stupidly too small, so I ordered what was basically two sizes up (and their largest size) and it's still too ******* small.
Bollocks.
Today was my niece's funeral. It went as well as such things can. The crem. was packed, as was the pub afterwards. She was an amazing young woman and it was so poignant to see the cap and gown for the graduation ceremony she'll never attend on the coffin.
However, have an idea for a linocut. And a parcel of wool should arrive. What more could you ask for?
Today is art group. We are doing tissue paper poppies so that should be pleasant. Just finishing my breakfast having taken the dogs then I will get going.
A shop I'd never been in before has moved to larger premises and I popped in to have a look. They had a rather nice knitted waistcoat, but I couldn't think what I'd wear it with.
I got an appointment for a flu jab a few weeks ago, turned up, and once I was seated with my sleeve rolled up, the nurse asked me some basic questions. She then asked me why I was there.
"I'm here because I have an appointment."
"But why do you have an appointment? You don't fit the criteria."
After discussion we concluded that I was eligible as a carer while my late father was ill, and my name must have been imported onto the list from an older list.
After further discussion she decided that she could tick the box saying that I'm a carer for my nonogenarian mother, and she gave me the flu jab.
Yesterday, the NE Man had his appointment. He, too, showed his appointment letter at reception and was sitting with his sleeve rolled up, when the nurse asked him why he was there.
"The NHS sent me this appointment"
"But why did they send it? You don't fit the criteria.
"I had a TIA in May"
"That's not sufficient reason"
After further discussion, the nurse concluded the appointment had been sent in error but she gave him the flu jab anyway.
Both our appointments took far longer than was necessary. Both our appointments tied up a nurse in trying to find a reason to give us the flu jab.
Surely the point at which the decision about the flu jab is made is at the "sending out appointments" rather than the "patient has organised their day around the appointment and has travelled to it" point?
My wife and I do both fit the criteria; our local surgery is very good at organising "vaccination campaign Saturdays" where one is given a very precise time to arrive, is checked in at the back door, is directed to the next available jabber (nurse or doctor), has it done, and then leaves by the front door.
Our village GP surgery does the same, and it works very well. I generally arrive a few minutes early, because parking, and I've sometimes been in and out before my actual official time.
Another fine, warm, mostly Sun-Shiny day in Arkland the Astonished - 62F in mid-November?? - but (as our local noos online puts it) 'Heavy Rain Is Set To Batter The County', which always makes me think of fish-and-chips...
Speaking of which, lunch is COD MORNAY with Mash n'Peas - another of Tess Coe's Easy Meals For Pore Old Singletons.
At the meeting, which shows just how much reading in advance the presbyters had done!
The hospital appointment was to look at a damaged foot which has taken me 3 years to get anyone to look at properly, and the conclusion is that surgery will be required, sooner rather than later, though the surgeon, a very enthusiastic man, wouldn’t commit to any precise time scale.
Not exactly always, but I do find them very comfortable - they keep the torso warm, while leaving the arms unrestricted! The "waist" bit of the name is something of a misnomer in my case, as the longer they are, the better; I have one that comes down to mid-calf, but it's a sleeveless thingie, so consequently is known as a waistcoat.
I emailed the supplier, and got a very nice email back with a return label to take to the post office, and the possibility that they might have mis-sized it. I'm not holding my breath, but you never know.
As Firenze noted, it's been a dreich, wet, miserable day in the Lothians (and rather colder than of late), so I abandoned any ideas about going to Tessie's at lunchtime. I hope it's rather better tomorrow, as there are a few bits & bobs I could do with getting.
Supper was the other half of the chickie frickie.
How our choir master kept his cool tonight I don’t know. He wanted to abandon one item as it wasn’t good enough but we persuaded him to give it another go. I’m not sure I’ll have any voice left by Sunday Evensong as I am singing in Elijah on Saturday evening.
Then we were out for a meal at the house of a fairly new couple in the church; their house was fully decorated for Christmas and it was far too much far too early, but a very nice evening apart from that.
I'm out and about all day tomorrow on public transport and suspect I'm going to get Very Wet. I've even bought a small umbrella especially for the occasion (I usually lose them or break them).
We had an enjoyable evening seeing "Top Hat" (the stage musical) preceded by a good meal in a nearby restaurant.
I feel concerned for folk in places like Porth, Pontypridd and Carmarthen (again).
I am thoroughly enjoying the research. Whether she will enjoy reading what I anticipate to be 50 pages of my prose remains to be seen....
We have storm Claudia here. Pretty wet, though not as wet as I thought it might be and not as windy as I feared. The wind is from the east which isn't particularly usual here. I am slightly worried about the possibility of flooding as the Environment Agency sent me a flood alert. Looking at the figures I think we'll be OK.
Because of the crapness of the weather today is going to be a staying in catching up with things day, but I'm afraid I haven't done a great deal yet.
Tonight however will be kedgeree.
Also finished cutting and printing my 4th go at linocutting, and feel I'm getting the hang of it.
A nothing-doing day for me, as no Shopp Ing needs to be done until tomorrow. I haven't been sleeping at all well lately, so some catching-up has been achieved
PIE n'Chips for lunch, because use-by date.
I'm now safely home again; waterproofs hanging up to dry; and sat in a chair with tea, book, and one of the remaining date slices I made to take in.
It was a lovely meal, as it has been every time we have been there. We should go there more often (it's usually at roughly 6month intervals), but maybe the time lag makes it more of a treat and increases our enjoyment of the food?
(There was plenty of rain, but not the torrents that those further north were probably experiencing)
Pouring down here and my garden office feels like it is at sea being battered by the waves. But at least it is warm (air source heat pump) and not leaking so far.
Work is a mixed bag. On the one hand I have been awarded the senior fellowship I applied for (this is a general one used to progress in higher Ed and carries no future workload or money). On the other hand, the university appears to have screwed up my extra hours allocation and is preventing me from doing some work I need/want to do. I also have a mild depression so I am finding my marking to be quite a slog.
My new headphones for audio-typing arrived (the old ones had more-or-less given up the ghost, as you had to shoogle them about to get the sound to work), and they're HUGE!!! One of my colleagues came in and suggested I might do a side-hustle as a DJ ...
Supper was scampi & chips, because Friday.
I am now officially Old. The optician has confirmed that I need glasses. I'm quite glad though, because I was fairly sure I couldn't see properly and I would have been really disconcerted if he'd told me that there was nothing wrong with me.
I must have become Old at the tender age of 14...in 1965...
I've worn glasses ever since - not the same pair, obviously - but I've never tried contact lenses. Far too much faffing about ISTM.
I was again awake for ages in the night but this morning I managed to settle a couple of the problems I had been wrestling with, so hoping for a decent sleep now, as I need all my energy and my wits about me tomorrow.
This evening we drank a bottle of wine while catching up with last Saturday's Strictly which was nice and cosy.
I hope the weather is a bit better tomorrow as we're off to a local village's art day. My husband and friends have been working on various bonkers things on the theme Ascending for it and it would be a shame if the weather is too bad for everyone to enjoy it.
Ah, good old Jeremy Bentham- your post transported me back 45 plus years to the days when I used to walk past his body in the glass case on my way to lectures at University!
The Ark's saloon is nice and cosy, though, thanks be to the Dragon (and the Coal). Lunch will be a Ham, Leek, and CHEESE thingy from Tess Coe.
I nipped up to the village Co-Op earlier for a few odds-and-ends, and, in view of Winter approaching, succumbed to the temptation to invest in a bottle of WHISKEY (Irish - note the correct speeling). It is, you understand, purely for Medicinal Porpoises, to Keep The Chill Off.
So today is a tidying up and recovering day. Finishing preparing the house for the housesitters who are arriving tomorrow. We are off to Germany for the little one's birthday.
I slept badly last night, from overheating. The overnight temperature was warmer than it has been during daylight hours so far today. I hadn't picked that up from the weather forecast before I went to bed, so hadn't adjusted the bed covers accordingly.
I don't thinkI will have the same problem tonight, although it seems that we will still be in double figures.
BF, what sort of WHISKEY did you get? I'm not a whisk(e)y drinker, but when we were in Northern Ireland, the occasional hot Bushmills (with honey and lemon) went down a treat if the weather was a tad parky!
It's not a bad day here; cool but dry, and it seems the worst of the wind might be past.
Had a little amble to the post office to return the second attempt at buying a long waistcoat (see rant in TICTH). In fairness to the sellers, when I emailed to suggest that their sizing was up the left, they replied with a label to stick on the parcel and a promise to look into the sizing situation, so at least they're trying.
Supper will be the STEAK I bought the other day, with potato salad and lemony, garlicky green beans. And WINE.
In a spirit of austerity, I eschew the use of honey and lemon...
Grey all day here, with almost drizzle. Master Heavenly the Elder stayed overnight on his way to Heathrow as he is off to the US today for a conference on high performance computing. I slept late and have done little other than the laundry and a walk in the almost drizzle. I’m still a little under the weather and suspect I have some kind of virus lingering. I might spend the rest of the day reading; I have a book about death in Ancient Rome. (Once I have finished my current Masters in History I might do one in the Classics)
Lunch was venison burgers, fried egg, and pan fried Brussels and chestnuts.
Today's weather is better - no rain so far - and I've been out for coffee. Now taking the afternoon to catch up on a few things and have a bit of time out before seeing friends for a meal this evening.
I've worn glasses for some years now - the very idea of contact lenses makes me go faint and wobbly - and have varifocals for general use and an occupational pair for computer and reading. I like wearing glasses and think I look better with them than without them as they give some definition to my pale colouring and makeup-less face. However, I've never quite got used to the feeling of them; I don't put them on first thing in the morning and tend to take them off if I'm particularly tired towards the end of the day so I wander around unable to read things properly or see into the distance...
Mr Nen is currently watching the rugby so there is Much Shouting going on downstairs
We left early as I wasn't feeling too great and it was all rather damp and cold.
After some soup for lunch I felt a bit better so we headed into town to buy a frame for my print from the very useful shop that has such things at a very reasonable price. The print is now up in my bathroom and very nice it looks too.
Baked potatoes for tea, washed down with red wine.
Nevertheless it tasted perfectly fine, done in the slow cooker, then finished of in the oven with a glaze of marmalade and whisky. Accompaniments were Romanesco cauliflower, baby potatoes and the carrots and onions from the cooking liquor.