I didn't make the talk this evening as I really wasn't in the mood to be sociable. Instead we spent the evening watching comfort tv while wrapped in a blanket.
Tomorrow we're off to London to spend the day with our son and take him out for a belated 'posh' meal for his birthday.
As usual, grey and dull in Arkland the Dismal, but not quite mild enough in the north wind to do without a Jumper whilst on deck. Some Tidy Ing has been done (including unWonking the Chimney), Wash Ing has been hung out, and Lunch has been consumed (one of Tess Coe's nice Chicken and Potato Bake thingies).
Time for afternoon Pills. O deep joy.
Evening entertainment at the moment is in the form of episodes (on YouTube) of the classic 1960s TV series Dr Finlay's Casebook. Set in about 1928/29, it's a reminder of what Life was like - at least, in rural Scotland - nearly a century ago...
At least we still have the blessings of single malt WHISKY, as drunk by the two Doctors at virtually every opportunity.
Meeting was done and tutorials written. We have had an exciting day as the carpet fitter came and we now have a sparkling new landing and spare room. Mr Heavenly is just ordering a single divan to go in the room and I think he intends to put the shelves up this weekend so he can start using it as a home office as well.
But it has been an all round good day as the new car battery arrived, and a bloke called at the front door offering Mr Heavenly £100 for the old mini on the drive. We regularly have these offers but usually only when I am here. It isn’t worth much and we want rid of it so we let him come back and take it away.
I’m teaching this evening, another introductory session on public health. But first I need to cook dinner which I think will be Thai chicken curry.
Today was an average Wednesday - Captain P's therapy appointment in the morning and theatre workshop in the afternoon, punctuated by Doing The Homework.
I have been knitting the Captain a jumper for A While. I really need to get on with it before it's too small for him to wear Consequently when I took him to play in the park this afternoon, I brought the knitting with me and sat down on a bench with it while he romped about. And after a while found myself surrounded by a whole gaggle of kids who apparently had never seen knitting needles before and were completely fascinated by this activity.
Ha! @la vie en rouge, at least they were children. When I was a theological student in Chicago, I used to knit while reading the required tomes, an activity which engendered many bemused onlookers who were fellow students.
Knitting and reading at the same time??? Now that's next-level multi-tasking!!!
It's definitely beginning to feel a bit autumnal here; although it kept dry today, it's Less Warm.
Because I'd forgotten to think about supper before leaving the house, I just opened a couple of tins (one tuna, one sweetcorn), introduced their contents to some mayonnaise and black pepper and had the resultant concoction for supper with a couple of slices of TOAST.
I shall indulge in some CHOCOLATE BISCUITS and a cup of tea forthwith.
On the train back home after a great day out in London with our son. We went for a walk along the north bank of the Thames from
London Bridge to Canary Wharf stopping at the Prospect of Whitby on the way. We then came back to London Bridge via the river boat. Then on to the meal for his birthday. It was good if not quite as magical as the last time we went about ten years ago. Lovely to see our son and catch up with him.
Back at choir last night ( local choral society). I feel as though I have missed a lot being away one week. One piece is a set of five folk songs. We sang straight through and it was awful - unfamiliar words, odd rhythms. Only two more rehearsals, four and a half hours, and lots more pieces to improve. So different from my Monday choir which achieves near perfection after two rehearsals. Church choir tonight, for Evensong on Sunday, starting with Purcell’s very moving “ Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts” . One of my top choices.
Today is my art group in Cheddar. We are going to be doing frottage, which is like brass rubbing but we are using leaves. 🙂
Is that the process by which you get to really see the intricate structure of the leaves?
Another calm, mostly grey day in Arkland the Noisy, where the Seagulls sound as though they're having a particularly nasty argument with one another.
Shingles Jab has been had (no soreness so far!), and Tess Coe has been visited, because Thursday. The store seemed much busier than usual, but maybe it was because I was an hour or so earlier than normally.
PIZZA for lunch (the Dragon does pizza very well, though I have to be careful not to leave it in too long), with Italian BEER (Birra Moriarty Moretti).
The practice Nurse cheerfully informed me that I have a lot to look forward to in 2026, courtesy of the NHS. Part 2 of the shingles jab in April, followed by the RSV* jab in August (in which month - if I live - I achieve my three-quarters of a century), followed by the next flu jab in October!
*something to do with the respiratory system, not the Bible. I think...
Oh dear. I started preparing tonight's dinner (a sort of not-quite-bolognese) and left it in the lowest heat. I should have stirred it more often: after quite a short time it's burned on a bit. Still salvageable I think.
I’m restocking the freezer. So far this week I have added kedgeree and five portions of bolognese sauce. Today I experimented with a crustless quiche in the air fryer. I precooked a few veg and added some more which didn’t need pre-cooking to the mixture. The timing was trial and error, and in the end I gave it a few seconds in the microwave as I had managed to spill a bit in the base of the air fryer which is still in soak. It was very tasty. My son arrived just as I was dishing out, so there were no left overs for fridge or freezer.
Your leaves are very pretty @Boogie.
I had a shingles jab a year or so ago. They didn't mention anything about a part two. I also had the pneumonia one which made me a bit poorly. Sensible to have all that is on offer I think even so.
Lip reading and bookshop shift have been accomplished. I am now not doing very much for a couple of hours apart from sending a few emails. This evening its my writing group and I haven't been for ages because of diary clashes so I ought to make the effort.
Yoga this morning. I had intended to study this afternoon but after an intensive week at work and lecturing 2 evenings this week, I decided not to spend the afternoon in the office. So I have tidied the hall cabinet, which has drawers of hats, scarves, gloves, etc, and is also a dumping ground.
A china mug with "I'd rather be drinking WINE" written on it, which was a present from D not long after we moved to Fredericton.
My Good China™ (Royal Doulton) was given to a charity shop when I left Canada; in the 31 years we'd had it, its number of outings outnumbered the number of years, but probably not by much, so I really didn't think I could justify the expense of bringing it back over the Pond.
I wouldn't have had space for it in the chateau anyway, and tbh it wasn't really to my taste.
It came from The Source of All Good Things (D's dad's auction rooms), and we accepted it with a good grace. When D's sister (who got married about 6 months before we did) saw it, she said, "oh, he palmed that off on you, did he?" We didn't mind - it would have been even less her style than it was ours!
Still decent weather, although the Nights Are Definitely Drawing In now; it's pretty-much dark by 7 o'clock.
As I'd an appointment to get my nails done (a nice autumnal burgundy), I picked up a microwaveable chicken pasta primavera to have afterwards, and for that sort of thing, it was actually quite nice.
A china mug with "I'd rather be drinking WINE" written on it, which was a present from D not long after we moved to Fredericton.
I love it. I've just had PORT and CHEESE following an astounding piano recital: Llyr Williams playing 13 Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues. All new to me and amazingly intense. Really looking forward to the other 11 next year!
A china mug with "I'd rather be drinking WINE" written on it, which was a present from D not long after we moved to Fredericton.
I love it. I've just had PORT and CHEESE following an astounding piano recital: Llyr Williams playing 13 Shostakovich Preludes and Fugues. All new to me and amazingly intense. Really looking forward to the other 11 next year!
After a rather fraught day yesterday, today was rather calmer, and I got everything done before setting my email auto-reply to "I'm on leave until Monday 27th October" and scarpering.
I haven't had any proper leave since I was in Spain in June, and I'm ready for some serious down-time. I'm not going away; I had thought about it, but left it too late to arrange accommodation, so I'm having a sort of staycation instead. There are Things That Need Doing around the house, so I'm going to try and do them: my clothes and shoes are long overdue for an edit, and there are few other things I ought to get done (or at least make enquiries about getting done).
Some of the St Pete's ladies are having a takeaway curry in the church hall this evening - probably about a dozen of us - so BEER has been purchased and is chilling in the fridge.
I spent the day phoning students and writing a tutorial (study skills and public health in the pandemic).
I had some beef shin in the fridge so I am slow cooking it with onions, garlic and mushrooms and will add dumplings later (and possibly some cream). Mr Heavenly is in the pub after work and I’m waiting for Mochi to get off my knee so I can pour a glass of wine.
Some of the St Pete's ladies are having a takeaway curry in the church hall this evening - probably about a dozen of us - so BEER has been purchased and is chilling in the fridge.
Hurrah, curry and beer - and an excellent use of the hall!
I've had a good day at w*rk - got the things done, and now I have my feet up.
First day of the holidays! (For Captain P at least - most schools were still working today but his was having a teacher training day.)
Husband en rouge has gone to foie gras land for the weekend, so Captain P and I are doing Fun Stuff™ together. This morning we went to an "immersive experience" about the Nasa moon landings. He enjoyed the pictures but was a bit affrighted by the loudness of the soundtrack, especially when the rocket was taking off. Fortunately he was quickly recombobulated by a trip to the creperie, which is his favourite kind of eatery.
He is now asleep, and I am drinking WINE, because there was only one glass left in the bottle and it looked lonely
A Mystery in the North East household. My husband handed me a pair of underpants which he'd found amongst his own laundry when he emptied the washing machine, and assumed must be mine, as they weren't his. I pointed out that I don't wear men's boxer shorts. They are Tesco own-brand, and we are a Marks & Spencer household when it comes to underpinnings.
We are now trying to work out how some random bloke's boxers ended up in our washing machine. Best guess is that they were lurking in a locker in the gym and the NE Man chucked his stuff on top without noticing, then took them home with his own stuff.
But who accidentally leaves their pants in a gym locker and goes home without them? Surely the hypothetical man would notice a certain draughtiness around his nether regions?
Is there a shower at the gym? Could the owner of the unmentionables have taken a shower, put on a clean pair and then forgot to pick up the sweaty ones?
I spent this morning sewing knitted poppies onto net for a display at the Town Hall for Remembrance Day. There were a group of us and it was a bit like a quilting bee in a Victorian novel. This afternoon I made a cake with the intention of taking it to the Repair Cafe a group of us are running tomorrow. However I'm not now going as we are having a family get-together to remember my niece that died last weekend and generally catch up with each other. I'll take the cake along to that instead.
After a somewhat fraught day at work, I had a very pleasant evening listening to two Welsh poets - Rowan Williams and Gwyneth Lewis - reading their poems and then answering questions from the audience.
I spent this morning sewing knitted poppies on to net ...
A very clever lady at St Pete's made a poppies-on-net arrangement that hangs as a lectern frontal for Remembrance Sunday; it's a thing of beauty.
Usual Saturday morning here; choir practice, with J accompanying, as she's playing tomorrow. Unfortunately, she hasn't quite grasped that I'm meant to be running things and kept interrupting, and she's still a bit clueless when it comes to rhythm. Also, we've got yet another unfamiliar Crappy Chorus™, and she didn't seem to get the hang of it at all. It should really be accompanied on the guitar, but our resident guitarist isn't going to be there.
Alas, I'm not going to be much help either, as I'm serving; I really must get myself off the servers' rota, as I'm far more use in the choir.
Then a spot of shopping; there's a ladies' clothes shop which has moved to bigger, better premises on the High Street, so I had a snout around and bought a pair of shoes, which I'm hoping will remain as comfortable as they felt in the shop.
There was also a nice display of classic cars at the Cross; I thought the season for such things was over, but there were some very pretty motors.
Those poppy displays sound lovely. I bet much time and effort go into them.
It was swimming this morning, and then a wedding at church. They had asked for the choir, so with a few people pulled in from other places, we did Rutter's The Lord Bless You and Keep You well.
The hymns were Bind us Together and Lord of the Dance. A bit 'meh' in my mind, but they couple like them, so that is what is important.
Afterwards I had a great chat with our new-ish Rector. Talking about the GAFCON announcement and something else, but I think it is a Dead Horse.
A Mystery in the North East household. My husband handed me a pair of underpants which he'd found amongst his own laundry when he emptied the washing machine, and assumed must be mine, as they weren't his. I pointed out that I don't wear men's boxer shorts. They are Tesco own-brand, and we are a Marks & Spencer household when it comes to underpinnings.
We are now trying to work out how some random bloke's boxers ended up in our washing machine. Best guess is that they were lurking in a locker in the gym and the NE Man chucked his stuff on top without noticing, then took them home with his own stuff.
But who accidentally leaves their pants in a gym locker and goes home without them? Surely the hypothetical man would notice a certain draughtiness around his nether regions?
We went out this morning in search of a second hand real wood bookcase for the landing, and visited the British Heart Foundation furniture store in Cambridge and Emmaus, a social exclusion charity which has a furniture shop in North Cambridge. Alas, there were no bookcases to suit Mr Heavenly’s requirements though I did persuade him to purchase a chair which will combine the function of desk chair and easy chair in the spare room, and he bought a Victorian book on carpentry. I quite fancied a new set of dining chairs but he wasn’t keen. Emmaus has a cafe so I had smashed avocado and poached eggs on toast for lunch, a favourite of mine.
Mr Heavenly has spent the rest of the day putting up shelves/sawing and is as happy as Larry with the prospect of an office. I really should go and sort out a corner of the lounge as part of our clear out.
Or, as Queen Victoria would have said, "There are no other news".
I swam this morning, then did some washing, the rest of the day has been at the URC Wales Synod meeting (yes, I know I'm a Baptist; I go as an ecumenical representative - and I like the URC!).
A Mystery in the North East household. My husband handed me a pair of underpants which he'd found amongst his own laundry when he emptied the washing machine, and assumed must be mine, as they weren't his. I pointed out that I don't wear men's boxer shorts. They are Tesco own-brand, and we are a Marks & Spencer household when it comes to underpinnings.
We are now trying to work out how some random bloke's boxers ended up in our washing machine. Best guess is that they were lurking in a locker in the gym and the NE Man chucked his stuff on top without noticing, then took them home with his own stuff.
But who accidentally leaves their pants in a gym locker and goes home without them? Surely the hypothetical man would notice a certain draughtiness around his nether regions?
What other explanation can there be?
I love this question. We turn up with random strange men's underwear in our wash about twice a year--usually tighty whiteys--which no one here wears. My best guess is that these are my dad's, somehow wafted into our luggage on the last visit--but i think i asked him once and got denials, so who knows? It reminds me of the earliest days in the Vietnamese church, when we routinely found pairs of shoes left behind after worship--sometimes in the dead of winter. You think they'd notice as they walked out through the snow, etc.
I've had a very lazy day; not-quite-finishing the Grauniad crossword, snoozage and then going over to the Golden Chip to get F&C for supper, seeing I hadn't had it last night, and by the time I thought about needing to be fed, I couldn't be bothered to cook.
Played the old joanna for the gospel choir concert this afternoon after rushing around town in the morning, running an errand for an elderly neighbour and borrowing our friends little ones to make it easier for her to admin on her day off. I was properly suited and booted for the "gig" and Mrs Twang was heard to comment to a pal that she could almost fancy me!
The choir were exceedingly grateful and generous - I ended up with decent wine, excellent whisky and a cash donation that Mrs Twang thinks should contribute towards a nice meal/night away. My first thought was to spend it on a decent cd player/radio for the kitchen as the one we inherited from the much lamented mother in law has proved to be a bit pants! I'm assured that father Christmas will be able to rectify the situation.
As mentioned on the prayer thread we went to see my niece L this morning. She wanted to get the aunts and uncles from that side of the family together to explain about her sister's last illness and what happens next. She was so brave and so strong when talking through the events of last weekend. Words can't describe how amazing she is being.
After shopping, washing and collecting my prescription I spent far too much time stressing about what to wear to my grandson’s 18th birthday fancy dress party- eventually solved. I went as Joy Adamson from Born Free, with a lovely lion cub supplied by my granddaughter). A bonus for me was that comfy shoes fitted the part.
It was a lovely occasion, held at my grandchildren’s Dad’s house, but a real blending of several families. Everyone there ( apart from my grandson’s three school friends) was related in some way to everyone else by marriage if not by blood, across four generations and via several second marriages. I probably talked to my ex more than anyone else, mostly about the current state of the C of E!
A brief chat with my son informed me that his family issues have moved on and relationships are still intact, as mentioned elsewhere.
No early service at my church in the morning, but I might make it to one in another of the villages in our group at 11am. Then we are singing Evensong at 6, with a rehearsal at 5pm.
That sounds like a very nice party @Puzzler and an excellent costume. The one time I went to a film themed fancy dress party I went as the bride of Frankenstein in one of my mother's evening dresses with hair frizzed up ala Elsa Lanchester. However my favourite fancy dress party was a Biblical one. Someone was in a flying helmet as Pontius Pilot and two of my friends were a plague of locusts. I didn't know I was going so turned up in my everyday clothes.
I’m glad the party went well. When I was younger I loved going to fancy dress parties, travelling on the underground around London dressed as Alice in Wonderland, Medusa, Cleopatra, Lara Croft (superhero party) or an angel with huge silver wings (I had to walk sideways to get down the hall). I remember a wonderful French themed party in an old house where I went as Edith Piaf and my friend as Coco Chanel. It was an easy theme to dress for and a big party, and in every room you found a Rene and Marie of the Resistance, alongside French maids and even a Renault car.
Lazy day so far and I have no plans beyond a walk. I am still tired from all the evening teaching and we played games online last night with Master Heavenly the younger.
That does sound like it was a good do, @Puzzler - glad you enjoyed it!
I have (hopefully) served for the last time at St Pete's; I was never really comfortable doing it, and I really think I'm more useful in the choir, especially now we've lost C, who's moving back to the Netherlands where her family are, and where her husband has a new job.
We had a bit of a farewell for them this morning which included a large and delicious CAKE, with Scottish and Dutch flags in coloured icing, baked and decorated by a very clever lady in the congregation.
Laundry will probably ensue later; I'm very glad I don't have to depend on good weather for getting my clothes dried, as it's raining.
I've taken the venison out of the freezer and plan to introduce it to the slow-cooker once I've had some breakfast (a couple of BUTTERIES and a cup of tea, I think).
As noted in Ecclesiantics, the Harvest service in the village church was accompanied by a barking dog and the clatter of Duplo Lego. I wish the toys in the children’s corner were silent ones. The singing of five well known hymns was poor for a fairly full church, though another choir member and I did our best.
Cooking a lamb steak now as I don’t want to start cooking after Evensong.
As noted in Ecclesiantics, the Harvest service in the village church was accompanied by a barking dog and the clatter of Duplo Lego. I wish the toys in the children’s corner were silent ones.
Quite an enjoyable Harvest Festival at our church, with a slightly swollen congregation, and the few children present were brought nicely into events by our Assistant Vicar, who is very good indeed at such things. Indeed, in that respect, she is an absolute mistress of her trade.
At a personal level, I have managed to cook myself some very pleasing meals, and I do think I am establishing a routine of sorts. Not yet fully formed, but getting there. I have even done some writing - or, at least, I have been busy editing and have discovered a most annoying plot hole that needs careful darning. It adds to a degree of complexity to something I was already finding hard to explain to the reader. Ah, well. All part of the fun.
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Supper was act II of The Sausage Thing, and now I'm off to finish my glass of WINE.
Tomorrow we're off to London to spend the day with our son and take him out for a belated 'posh' meal for his birthday.
Time for afternoon Pills. O deep joy.
Evening entertainment at the moment is in the form of episodes (on YouTube) of the classic 1960s TV series Dr Finlay's Casebook. Set in about 1928/29, it's a reminder of what Life was like - at least, in rural Scotland - nearly a century ago...
At least we still have the blessings of single malt WHISKY, as drunk by the two Doctors at virtually every opportunity.
But it has been an all round good day as the new car battery arrived, and a bloke called at the front door offering Mr Heavenly £100 for the old mini on the drive. We regularly have these offers but usually only when I am here. It isn’t worth much and we want rid of it so we let him come back and take it away.
I’m teaching this evening, another introductory session on public health. But first I need to cook dinner which I think will be Thai chicken curry.
I have been knitting the Captain a jumper for A While. I really need to get on with it before it's too small for him to wear
It's definitely beginning to feel a bit autumnal here; although it kept dry today, it's Less Warm.
Because I'd forgotten to think about supper before leaving the house, I just opened a couple of tins (one tuna, one sweetcorn), introduced their contents to some mayonnaise and black pepper and had the resultant concoction for supper with a couple of slices of TOAST.
I shall indulge in some CHOCOLATE BISCUITS and a cup of tea forthwith.
London Bridge to Canary Wharf stopping at the Prospect of Whitby on the way. We then came back to London Bridge via the river boat. Then on to the meal for his birthday. It was good if not quite as magical as the last time we went about ten years ago. Lovely to see our son and catch up with him.
Back at choir last night ( local choral society). I feel as though I have missed a lot being away one week. One piece is a set of five folk songs. We sang straight through and it was awful - unfamiliar words, odd rhythms. Only two more rehearsals, four and a half hours, and lots more pieces to improve. So different from my Monday choir which achieves near perfection after two rehearsals. Church choir tonight, for Evensong on Sunday, starting with Purcell’s very moving “ Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts” . One of my top choices.
Is that the process by which you get to really see the intricate structure of the leaves?
Another calm, mostly grey day in Arkland the Noisy, where the Seagulls sound as though they're having a particularly nasty argument with one another.
Shingles Jab has been had (no soreness so far!), and Tess Coe has been visited, because Thursday. The store seemed much busier than usual, but maybe it was because I was an hour or so earlier than normally.
PIZZA for lunch (the Dragon does pizza very well, though I have to be careful not to leave it in too long), with Italian BEER (Birra Moriarty Moretti).
The practice Nurse cheerfully informed me that I have a lot to look forward to in 2026, courtesy of the NHS. Part 2 of the shingles jab in April, followed by the RSV* jab in August (in which month - if I live - I achieve my three-quarters of a century), followed by the next flu jab in October!
*something to do with the respiratory system, not the Bible. I think...
https://photos.app.goo.gl/nKdEkQGa2jJ8efx68
I'm glad you explained because I'd only ever heard it used for an entirely different story of rubbing.
I had a shingles jab a year or so ago. They didn't mention anything about a part two. I also had the pneumonia one which made me a bit poorly. Sensible to have all that is on offer I think even so.
Lip reading and bookshop shift have been accomplished. I am now not doing very much for a couple of hours apart from sending a few emails. This evening its my writing group and I haven't been for ages because of diary clashes so I ought to make the effort.
A china mug with "I'd rather be drinking WINE" written on it, which was a present from D not long after we moved to Fredericton.
My Good China™ (Royal Doulton) was given to a charity shop when I left Canada; in the 31 years we'd had it, its number of outings outnumbered the number of years, but probably not by much, so I really didn't think I could justify the expense of bringing it back over the Pond.
I wouldn't have had space for it in the chateau anyway, and tbh it wasn't really to my taste.
It came from The Source of All Good Things (D's dad's auction rooms), and we accepted it with a good grace. When D's sister (who got married about 6 months before we did) saw it, she said, "oh, he palmed that off on you, did he?" We didn't mind - it would have been even less her style than it was ours!
Still decent weather, although the Nights Are Definitely Drawing In now; it's pretty-much dark by 7 o'clock.
As I'd an appointment to get my nails done (a nice autumnal burgundy), I picked up a microwaveable chicken pasta primavera to have afterwards, and for that sort of thing, it was actually quite nice.
What a day!!!
I haven't had any proper leave since I was in Spain in June, and I'm ready for some serious down-time. I'm not going away; I had thought about it, but left it too late to arrange accommodation, so I'm having a sort of staycation instead. There are Things That Need Doing around the house, so I'm going to try and do them: my clothes and shoes are long overdue for an edit, and there are few other things I ought to get done (or at least make enquiries about getting done).
Some of the St Pete's ladies are having a takeaway curry in the church hall this evening - probably about a dozen of us - so BEER has been purchased and is chilling in the fridge.
I spent the day phoning students and writing a tutorial (study skills and public health in the pandemic).
I had some beef shin in the fridge so I am slow cooking it with onions, garlic and mushrooms and will add dumplings later (and possibly some cream). Mr Heavenly is in the pub after work and I’m waiting for Mochi to get off my knee so I can pour a glass of wine.
Hurrah, curry and beer - and an excellent use of the hall!
I've had a good day at w*rk - got the things done, and now I have my feet up.
Husband en rouge has gone to foie gras land for the weekend, so Captain P and I are doing Fun Stuff™ together. This morning we went to an "immersive experience" about the Nasa moon landings. He enjoyed the pictures but was a bit affrighted by the loudness of the soundtrack, especially when the rocket was taking off. Fortunately he was quickly recombobulated by a trip to the creperie, which is his favourite kind of eatery.
He is now asleep, and I am drinking WINE, because there was only one glass left in the bottle and it looked lonely
We are now trying to work out how some random bloke's boxers ended up in our washing machine. Best guess is that they were lurking in a locker in the gym and the NE Man chucked his stuff on top without noticing, then took them home with his own stuff.
But who accidentally leaves their pants in a gym locker and goes home without them? Surely the hypothetical man would notice a certain draughtiness around his nether regions?
What other explanation can there be?
A very clever lady at St Pete's made a poppies-on-net arrangement that hangs as a lectern frontal for Remembrance Sunday; it's a thing of beauty.
Usual Saturday morning here; choir practice, with J accompanying, as she's playing tomorrow. Unfortunately, she hasn't quite grasped that I'm meant to be running things and kept interrupting, and she's still a bit clueless when it comes to rhythm. Also, we've got yet another unfamiliar Crappy Chorus™, and she didn't seem to get the hang of it at all. It should really be accompanied on the guitar, but our resident guitarist isn't going to be there.
Alas, I'm not going to be much help either, as I'm serving; I really must get myself off the servers' rota, as I'm far more use in the choir.
Then a spot of shopping; there's a ladies' clothes shop which has moved to bigger, better premises on the High Street, so I had a snout around and bought a pair of shoes, which I'm hoping will remain as comfortable as they felt in the shop.
There was also a nice display of classic cars at the Cross; I thought the season for such things was over, but there were some very pretty motors.
There is no other news.
It was swimming this morning, and then a wedding at church. They had asked for the choir, so with a few people pulled in from other places, we did Rutter's The Lord Bless You and Keep You well.
The hymns were Bind us Together and Lord of the Dance. A bit 'meh' in my mind, but they couple like them, so that is what is important.
Afterwards I had a great chat with our new-ish Rector. Talking about the GAFCON announcement and something else, but I think it is a Dead Horse.
You have a secret lover? 😉
Mr Heavenly has spent the rest of the day putting up shelves/sawing and is as happy as Larry with the prospect of an office. I really should go and sort out a corner of the lounge as part of our clear out.
Or, as Queen Victoria would have said, "There are no other news".
I swam this morning, then did some washing, the rest of the day has been at the URC Wales Synod meeting (yes, I know I'm a Baptist; I go as an ecumenical representative - and I like the URC!).
I love this question. We turn up with random strange men's underwear in our wash about twice a year--usually tighty whiteys--which no one here wears. My best guess is that these are my dad's, somehow wafted into our luggage on the last visit--but i think i asked him once and got denials, so who knows? It reminds me of the earliest days in the Vietnamese church, when we routinely found pairs of shoes left behind after worship--sometimes in the dead of winter. You think they'd notice as they walked out through the snow, etc.
The choir were exceedingly grateful and generous - I ended up with decent wine, excellent whisky and a cash donation that Mrs Twang thinks should contribute towards a nice meal/night away. My first thought was to spend it on a decent cd player/radio for the kitchen as the one we inherited from the much lamented mother in law has proved to be a bit pants! I'm assured that father Christmas will be able to rectify the situation.
It was a lovely occasion, held at my grandchildren’s Dad’s house, but a real blending of several families. Everyone there ( apart from my grandson’s three school friends) was related in some way to everyone else by marriage if not by blood, across four generations and via several second marriages. I probably talked to my ex more than anyone else, mostly about the current state of the C of E!
A brief chat with my son informed me that his family issues have moved on and relationships are still intact, as mentioned elsewhere.
No early service at my church in the morning, but I might make it to one in another of the villages in our group at 11am. Then we are singing Evensong at 6, with a rehearsal at 5pm.
Lazy day so far and I have no plans beyond a walk. I am still tired from all the evening teaching and we played games online last night with Master Heavenly the younger.
I have (hopefully) served for the last time at St Pete's; I was never really comfortable doing it, and I really think I'm more useful in the choir, especially now we've lost C, who's moving back to the Netherlands where her family are, and where her husband has a new job.
We had a bit of a farewell for them this morning which included a large and delicious CAKE, with Scottish and Dutch flags in coloured icing, baked and decorated by a very clever lady in the congregation.
Laundry will probably ensue later; I'm very glad I don't have to depend on good weather for getting my clothes dried, as it's raining.
I've taken the venison out of the freezer and plan to introduce it to the slow-cooker once I've had some breakfast (a couple of BUTTERIES and a cup of tea, I think).
Cooking a lamb steak now as I don’t want to start cooking after Evensong.
At a personal level, I have managed to cook myself some very pleasing meals, and I do think I am establishing a routine of sorts. Not yet fully formed, but getting there. I have even done some writing - or, at least, I have been busy editing and have discovered a most annoying plot hole that needs careful darning. It adds to a degree of complexity to something I was already finding hard to explain to the reader. Ah, well. All part of the fun.