The books are real page-turners. I spent a while hunting for a passage in them while doing my PhD (it caught rather well the way I felt Nonconformist congregations I was looking up felt about children). The thing is I would start reading a likely part and find an hour or so later I had read several chapters. In the end, I established it was in an appendix that my copy did not have!
I enjoyed reading them, BT, and sharing notes written in runes with a select few classmates. (I read the four books - starting with "The Hobbit" - six times, back to back, when I was 14.)
In St Andrew’s Edgerton you sometimes got the feeling that the congregation echoed Beren’s words on the departure of the refugee wagons from Minas Tirith “And there were always too few children in this city;”(Tolkein, 2011, p 764) the smallness of the Junior church seems a sign of threat to long-term survival . Children and the provision for them plays an important part in congregational life.
The fuller reference is Tolkein, J. R. R. (2011). Lord of the Rings. London: Harper Collins. The setting is a city where the population has slowly been getting older and there were empty houses.
I enjoyed reading them, BT, and sharing notes written in runes with a select few classmates. (I read the four books - starting with "The Hobbit" - six times, back to back, when I was 14.)
So did I, at 14, but I've re-read LOTR countless times, to the point where I can open the book(s) at any page, start reading, and know exactly where I am in the saga....
....how Nerdy and/or Geekish is that?
I used also to be able to write in runes, and to repeat a few phrases in Elvish.
O2's website - I want to order a new mobile phone because the old one is broken - but it wonlt complete my order without me using a code to my broken phone - which I can't access - round in circles. Wasted most of today.
Another 'phone company grumble. My telephone/internet "provider" insists on updating my equipment before the penguin on top of my television is set to explode (it was a bad connection -- I may have misunderstood). So I was on the 'phone forever, being shifted from one unintelligible person to another, and now I have to have some technician come and install some equipment I neither want nor requested.
But this doesn't compare with being assaulted at a Jewish funeral reception, Galilit. I think I would have yelled -- loudly -- get your $%#! hands off me!
What would/could a woman do in England? I read the Guardian Bishop's Finger ... there is NOTHING to do. Except hope you can get away, that you do say something and that your Significant Other will get involved
I thought I did well by giving him a bloody good talking to ("Who do you think you are? Do you know me? Have you ever seen me before in your life?"; followed up by "I see you checking if the cookies are Kosher enough for you ... well you have just over a week till Yom Kippor, God help you!"
This after my Significant Other had softened him up by saying "I am not interested in listening to your 'I didn't mean anything. Accept my apologies' because it's really simple ... you don't touch women"
It's hardly assault ...just the price of being a woman on planet Earth.
Told a friend in Cairo who said it happens all the time on the Metro (rail) there. Even though they have women-only carriages there might not be enough room. And anyway he says men on men is just as common?!
What would/could a woman do in England? I read the Guardian Bishop's Finger ... there is NOTHING to do. Except hope you can get away, that you do say something and that your Significant Other will get involved
I thought I did well by giving him a bloody good talking to ("Who do you think you are? Do you know me? Have you ever seen me before in your life?"; followed up by "I see you checking if the cookies are Kosher enough for you ... well you have just over a week till Yom Kippor, God help you!"
This after my Significant Other had softened him up by saying "I am not interested in listening to your 'I didn't mean anything. Accept my apologies' because it's really simple ... you don't touch women"
It's hardly assault ...just the price of being a woman on planet Earth.
Told a friend in Cairo who said it happens all the time on the Metro (rail) there. Even though they have women-only carriages there might not be enough room. And anyway he says men on men is just as common?!
Well, it sounds as though you (and Significant Other) put up a spirited response, without recourse to nail files or pepper spray, so well done.
But, whether or not it's just the sort of thing that happens to a woman on planet Earth, it's still NOT acceptable.
It actually loses something in the translation ... I used ultra-formal language: "And who is My Lord? Has My Lord made my acquaintance? Indeed has My Lord ever seen me before in his life?"
"My Lord" being a bit like "Sir"
Adrenaline, insult, fear and anger sharpen one's grammar like nothing else!
<snip>What would/could a woman do in England? I read the Guardian Bishop's Finger ... there is NOTHING to do. Except hope you can get away, that you do say something and that your Significant Other will get involved<snip>
Well, you could try as a friend did on the Central Line many years ago:
On making the unwelcome discovery of a hand burrowing beneath her skirt she seized the hand, raised it above her head and yelled I found this up my skirt, whose is it?
An alternative would be to say very loudly Does your wife approve of you fondling other women in public? Gosh, how decent of her.
It actually loses something in the translation ... I used ultra-formal language: "And who is My Lord? Has My Lord made my acquaintance? Indeed has My Lord ever seen me before in his life?"
"My Lord" being a bit like "Sir"
Adrenaline, insult, fear and anger sharpen one's grammar like nothing else!
Indeed they do. I bet you sounded splendid, though. Did you put on a really posh accent?
Well, you could try as a friend did on the Central Line many years ago:
On making the unwelcome discovery of a hand burrowing beneath her skirt she seized the hand, raised it above her head and yelled I found this up my skirt, whose is it?
This has just brightened up my particularly rough day - go girl!
Burning them. Although God knows they're so weighty you'd have to do the strongman thing and rip them apart first to get a decent blaze going.
Without Tolkien there'd have been no Fantasy supplement to Chainmail all those years ago. And no fantasy supplement to Chainmail would have meant no D&D, and no D&D would have meant no tabletop RPGs in general. The world would have been a duller place. Though I can understand a railway enthusiast being concerned for the competition for geeks' and nerds' attention.
God gave us Tolkien as his tool to give us fun ways to waste entire weekends.
ask for the same history as given two months ago to be repeated (thought we'd done that and hadn't revised those notes),
don't realise the blood tests they are being handed have been requested by their department,
don't realise that this condition has been treated for over a year already, albeit previously at a different hospital and theoretically this one too;
don't listen to answers;
give advice that goes against the advice given two months ago (and by the previous consultant);
have asked for the same detailed diary and photographic evidence that was requested in June to be repeated for the next two months - without reading the diary or asking for a run down on this;
seem to live on a different planet - not sure which planet allows infinite A&E appointments and have ENT consultants on tap for observations;
are fixated on one issue and not looking at the bigger picture;
are heavily pregnant so will not be there in two months, so three visits to this hospital will mean seeing three different consultants.
It's not even a local hospital, this waste of time has taken all day to achieve and cost a significant amount in travel costs. And the conversation we had could have been done by email and phone.
Two weeks later the inevitable has happened: said consultant's instructions in reducing one medication have been followed, as confirmed in writing, even after receipt of letter from us giving chapter and verse on the three previous attempts. Resulting difficulties in breathing and swallowing, the very things said consultant is supposed to be treating, have returned, slightly earlier than expected, and we spent the day (11:30am to 7:30pm) in A&E dealing with consequences. No, no ENT consultant was available. No surprises there. And, as we predicted at the appointment a fortnight ago, instead of reducing the medication, huge doses today to get breathing under control, and that medication is now increased to 160% of previous dose for the next 5 days, reducing slowly thereafter. Firm instructions from A&E consultant not to attempt to reduce below previous safe dose as this "reduction" has meant far more of the medication has been taken.
I can imagine lots of jumping up and dow and pullin haor out in frustration. So sorry to read all this. Would you like me to send a hammer to bash information into a few heads? I would feel like doing that, I think. Then again, it probably would not help.
@Lothlorien and @Rossweisse - very happy daughter yesterday, back to breathing and swallowing, made a dress for a friend as a Christmas present using fabric from her stash - jade green with butterflies and managed to get out a couple of times. We're going to hit problems from the side effects of a high steroid dose soon-ish, but breathing is always the priority for A&E.
She has an appointment with the lead GP this week, booked months ago, to discuss management of her condition, and we'll have a conversation about how to deal with this situation with the consultant. Part of the issue may be that the GP who was on the team made the wrong referral. That GP is no longer around. We need to write to the consultant today with a copy of the discharge notes, which A&E gave us so we can deal with her, and a bald unemotive account of what happened.
We are making sure we have everything in writing in case it has to go to a formal complaint, but would prefer not to get a note of making complaints on medical records, given the choice.
TICTH our shower! My wife was using it as normal this morning ... but, when she'd finished, it wouldn't turn off. We panicked but I remembered where the main water valve is and turned it off. No shower but now no water at all. Our plumber doesn't work Sundays and I'm reluctant to just call someone out of the blue as I don't want to be ripped off £100s. I'll ask at church to see if anyone has a tame plumber ...
Ck, that is good news re daughter. I hope the breathing etc remain good. Written and unemotive notes sound the way to go. I kn ow someone who had cancer but could shower. Was very muddled mentally, actually did not know what had happened etc. shower meant discharge.
TICTH the food industry. Specifically its tendency to put allergens in foods where they are completely unnecessary. Unless you're making luxury butter pastry, who needs milk in a sausage roll? I know several people who really, really, don't.
Plovers and their defensive tactics; particularly when they've nested by a road that is heavily used by walkers. Clearly not the smartest birds. Just watched a man and a dog on their morning walk get swooped as I arrived at work.
Oh well. We have magpies and snakes on campus too, and plovers tend to keep some distance (so far...), so I'll take them over those 2.
The packers at the supermarket which delivers my online shop: there has been something wrong or broken every week for at least 5 weeks. I keep reporting it/claiming the money back but nothing has changed. (I can't change shops until the delivery pass I paid for runs out. Yes, I would support small local shops if I could, but I have what I hope is a temporary disability which rules that out right now.)
My lawn, which I am at present spiking in order to aerate and reduce sogginess. The work is physically hard even without the stones I keep hitting just beneath the surface!
Repair people who make appointments and fail to show up or call. In this case third handyman who said they would want my business to repair a lawn drip system and never to darken my door or return phone call. One did say after I called him that he now had another job and was to busy. I did once have a repairman not show up and call me a year later and want to know if I still needed work?
The packers at the supermarket which delivers my online shop: there has been something wrong or broken every week for at least 5 weeks. I keep reporting it/claiming the money back but nothing has changed. (I can't change shops until the delivery pass I paid for runs out. Yes, I would support small local shops if I could, but I have what I hope is a temporary disability which rules that out right now.)
Comments
(And how do Nonconformists feel about children - as little darlings, nasty brats or creatures to be ignored if at possible?)
The fuller reference is Tolkein, J. R. R. (2011). Lord of the Rings. London: Harper Collins. The setting is a city where the population has slowly been getting older and there were empty houses.
So did I, at 14, but I've re-read LOTR countless times, to the point where I can open the book(s) at any page, start reading, and know exactly where I am in the saga....
....how Nerdy and/or Geekish is that?
I used also to be able to write in runes, and to repeat a few phrases in Elvish.
O misspent youth! (Or was it?)
IJ
IJ
Hope I never do again!
Surely sexual assault is illegal in your country?
IJ
But this doesn't compare with being assaulted at a Jewish funeral reception, Galilit. I think I would have yelled -- loudly -- get your $%#! hands off me!
What would/could a woman do in England? I read the Guardian Bishop's Finger ... there is NOTHING to do. Except hope you can get away, that you do say something and that your Significant Other will get involved
I thought I did well by giving him a bloody good talking to ("Who do you think you are? Do you know me? Have you ever seen me before in your life?"; followed up by "I see you checking if the cookies are Kosher enough for you ... well you have just over a week till Yom Kippor, God help you!"
This after my Significant Other had softened him up by saying "I am not interested in listening to your 'I didn't mean anything. Accept my apologies' because it's really simple ... you don't touch women"
It's hardly assault ...just the price of being a woman on planet Earth.
Told a friend in Cairo who said it happens all the time on the Metro (rail) there. Even though they have women-only carriages there might not be enough room. And anyway he says men on men is just as common?!
Ball tampering!
Well, it sounds as though you (and Significant Other) put up a spirited response, without recourse to nail files or pepper spray, so well done.
But, whether or not it's just the sort of thing that happens to a woman on planet Earth, it's still NOT acceptable.
IJ
"My Lord" being a bit like "Sir"
Adrenaline, insult, fear and anger sharpen one's grammar like nothing else!
I can think of worse ways to spend one's youth.
That's horrible! It sounds as though both of you handled it well, but one should not have to handle it at all, dammit.
Burning them. Although God knows they're so weighty you'd have to do the strongman thing and rip them apart first to get a decent blaze going.
Well, you could try as a friend did on the Central Line many years ago:
On making the unwelcome discovery of a hand burrowing beneath her skirt she seized the hand, raised it above her head and yelled I found this up my skirt, whose is it?
An alternative would be to say very loudly Does your wife approve of you fondling other women in public? Gosh, how decent of her.
Indeed they do. I bet you sounded splendid, though. Did you put on a really posh accent?
IJ
This has just brightened up my particularly rough day - go girl!
Without Tolkien there'd have been no Fantasy supplement to Chainmail all those years ago. And no fantasy supplement to Chainmail would have meant no D&D, and no D&D would have meant no tabletop RPGs in general. The world would have been a duller place. Though I can understand a railway enthusiast being concerned for the competition for geeks' and nerds' attention.
God gave us Tolkien as his tool to give us fun ways to waste entire weekends.
I thought that was what booze was for.
SIM was corrupted
Not so easily available when you're 14 and can't get a girlfriend.
Two weeks later the inevitable has happened: said consultant's instructions in reducing one medication have been followed, as confirmed in writing, even after receipt of letter from us giving chapter and verse on the three previous attempts. Resulting difficulties in breathing and swallowing, the very things said consultant is supposed to be treating, have returned, slightly earlier than expected, and we spent the day (11:30am to 7:30pm) in A&E dealing with consequences. No, no ENT consultant was available. No surprises there. And, as we predicted at the appointment a fortnight ago, instead of reducing the medication, huge doses today to get breathing under control, and that medication is now increased to 160% of previous dose for the next 5 days, reducing slowly thereafter. Firm instructions from A&E consultant not to attempt to reduce below previous safe dose as this "reduction" has meant far more of the medication has been taken.
As for the LoTR films - I loved the scenery* but the battles were a bit tedious.
* friend and I played spot the location.
She has an appointment with the lead GP this week, booked months ago, to discuss management of her condition, and we'll have a conversation about how to deal with this situation with the consultant. Part of the issue may be that the GP who was on the team made the wrong referral. That GP is no longer around. We need to write to the consultant today with a copy of the discharge notes, which A&E gave us so we can deal with her, and a bald unemotive account of what happened.
We are making sure we have everything in writing in case it has to go to a formal complaint, but would prefer not to get a note of making complaints on medical records, given the choice.
Oh well. We have magpies and snakes on campus too, and plovers tend to keep some distance (so far...), so I'll take them over those 2.
You know that to ward off bad luck, if you see a magpie, the correct thing to do is say "good morning, Mr. Magpie, how are your wife and children?".
Waitrose refund promptly.