Thursday and Friday, gone. Odd moments of memorable stuff like a good open forum session, a nephews girlfriend announcing she is pregnant, an Indian take away, a zoom coffee meeting and the delivery of a new kitchen bin. I managed to train once, and order my months drugs apart from that the kitchen got cleaned and my washing done. How boring I hear you say, and you would be right. It is the grinding effect of confinement and the mundanity of everyday COVID life. I used to think that I should not discount the generative power of everyday life but now I am not convinced that this is true. I did have a the delights of discovering my that my hot wire saw will cut art foam. I need to see my clinical supervisor and spend some time doing the work I need to do to keep me balanced. So while I sort that out I am focusing on losing weight by the Sunday weight in. If I can dip under 95 kilos I will step from being obese to just over weight according to my phone. Now who would not want to achieve this?
Wednesday and the full excitement of the bins being emptied is almost unbearable. Nothing exciting to look forward to, not even a good drain rodding to contemplate. Before breakfast I give the shed a final layer of paint on its patched up internals. A glimmer of energy as the window cleaners turn up and leave almost as soon as they arrive. I watch the paint dry and overcome with the frantic activity decide to have breakfast. Post breakfast the paint is still not dry so I insulate the last lengths of the new pipe work, there is no end to the fun. The paint dries and I reorder the shed to a working and training space but do neither. Instead I attend an open forum session that I had almost forgotten I was having so much fun. It was to be the last of these open forums for this group of clinicians, so I get my Wednesday lunchtimes back. In a flurry of professionalism I change in to a proper shirt with a collar and everything to attend another meeting with a small group of managers I am working with over the next three years to establish Enabling Environments in approved premises. The meeting is relatively short but productive as we agree a way to work together over the next few months hitting one or two objectives along the way. After the meeting there is a flurry of emails and things to respond to. Something tangible to do and pointers to the future. At last the flow stops and I take my chance to pay the bill for our recent re-piping of the heating system. Time to pack and close the shed and settle down to the evening. Dinner and a documentary about T.E. Lawrence full of historians playing psychologist and pretending to know what the man thought, although in fairness T.E. Lawrence wrote a lot of letters and accounts of his time in Arabia. So as the historians take a dead man apart I write the blog. Tomorrow I have my Open Forum to host, some hobby foam to arrive along with a new kitchen bin, I don’t know how I contain myself.
Tuesday, all work and no training. Today was “mend the shed” day. So it was a quick bagel breakfast and then the gathering of the tools. I measured up, cut new lengths of lapping and preplaced the screws. Then it was off to the shed to fix them to the back wall. What a pain in the arse that was due to the fact that I had to reach between two sheds to hand screw the screws in at the far end of the new pieces. But I finally go them in place and ran sealant along the tops and sides.
Finally got the battens in position and sealed.
All that was left to do was to paint the new sections and then I could move inside to do the wood filling required. While I was at it I painted the side of the shed that takes the most weather. At this point it was time to stop the work and participate in an on line work meeting. A regular update meeting to share information and to plan for future meetings. A speedy lunch and then it was back to the shed repairs.
Outside done now for the inside.
I moved inside and scrapped away the rotten wood and then got to work filling the gaps with wood filler.
Not pretty but hopefully more sound.
The final step was to begin to paint the affected area. However the wood filler does not take the paint well so a couple of coats are put on and left to dry properly over night. More oats tomorrow, and then I get my shed back to work in. Hopefully the shed will see me through the coming winter.
The shed is left to dry over night.
I finally pack the shed away and put away the tools till tomorrow. Time to do the domestic chores like putting out the bins. There was time to catch some rugby before the Great British Bake Off. What got me was the following programme which was Sandi Tostig working with a group of dyslexics and others who have trouble with reading and writing. It was the second of two programmes that followed their progress as they tried to over come their difficulties. It reminded me what it was like at school avoiding all homework and truanting heavily to avoid being publicly humiliated and written off as thick. Adults mainly pitying, condescending or dismissive was my overwhelming memory of all my school age years. I seem to have turned out reasonably academically well enough, which reinforces my view that there is no big deal to miss school. In fact for quite a lot of children they are probably better off without the standard education experience.
Monday, up, breakfast, pond, shed. The pond was an unintentional diversion as I noticed the pump was not working and ended up culling the pond weed and racking off the floating debris. When I got to the shed it was hours of trying to devise a session record form but for some reason the header and footer functions would not behave themselves. So hours of frustration for very little. A quick lunch of noodles and it was back to the recalcitrant laptop. During a moment of relaxation I discovered that my new hot wire saw will not cleanly cut wax, which is a bit of a blow and scuppers what thought was a good idea. It was about this time that I noticed the shed had started to rot to the extent that new holes were appearing. I headed for Wickes to get wood filer and hardener. No wood hardener, but some wood filler. I head for the nearest B&Q and find they have no wood hardener but I do get to have a call with a friend who I had not talked to for a while. I find that B&Q have got a fungal treatment so I get some and adapt my intended shed intervention. Home and I find the garden guy has trimmed all our hedges and is heading off home. I get into the shed and move stuff around so that I can spray the back wall with the fungus killer. While it starts to dry I get a piece of shed boarding from the garage and stow it ready for tomorrow. My master plan is to patch the back wall with lengths of shed board and seal it. If that goes well then I shall wood fill the holes from the inside and when that is dried get to work with a new layer of wood preserver and paint. The shed closed for the night I retreat to the WiFi in the house and redo the work I had done during the day. I finally get it done and send it with an e-mail to some managers I am meeting on Wednesday. Time for dinner and the second half of a rugby match before setting down to write the blog.
This feels like a day of chore which I will not get back. Tomorrow the chore of shed mending will continue wedged in around a one to one with my programme manager. Hopefully my retreat shed will be weather proof and warmer by the time I’ve finished and ready for a long winter of COVID discontent. Ah death were is thy sting? This time last year I was in my second course of chemo and my hair had fallen out. Now look at my flowing locks!
For four days I have suffered WiFi deprivation. Norfolk equals no WiFi and that means no blog for four days. To add insult to injury the weather was exceedingly wet and very windy. So our outing and abouting was somewhat curtailed as we huddled down in our wooden den amidst the fishing lakes at Woodlakes Park. Apart from one drenched heron and several very bedraggled fishermen pushing barrow loads of fishing kit we saw very little signs of life. At one point in the height of the blow the electricity failed and we had to ring a near bye restaurant to make sure it wasn’t just our little hut that had gone dark. They confirmed that it was across the area and then tried to sell us take away.
Our happy little hut look like this:
The inside of our wooden hut.
Due to the dire weather we spent much time reading so I was able to finish my book on media philosophy. A stimulating read and helpful for the preparation I am doing for a conference debate in November. I came out of the read knowing that I am an analogue being living in a digitally dominated world.
Finally the weather eased enough for us to head out for a trip to Kings Lynn. Kings Lynn has of course its own bit of history but it is surrounded by commercial sites and shopping estates. The cobbled streets were almost empty on a Saturday and the wind whipped along the narrow streets and alleys. We took in the historic bits quite quickly and then sheltered in Baguettes to Go with hot chocolate and sausage rolls.
King Lynn’s moments of historic import.
As it starts to rain we head back to the hut and an evening of reading and fuzzy TV. So we get to Sunday and pack up and drive off waving farewell to the hut. The one thing about the Norfolk hut was the mattress, which was hard and supportive. It made me remember our intention to replace our current jelly like one, which apart from being very large is bloody uncomfortable. By strange twist of fate its the A47 all the way, how boring is that. So home and the usual routine kicks in, pack stuff away, wash stuff, tidy stuff, clamber on the bike and sweat stuff before cooking curry and watching football. At least the heating works. Another six months of COVID should just about see me shoot myself. Thankfully there is a letter from a friend waiting to be read over a cup of coffee and work beckons, which will give me stuff to do. I shall plan my week in my home shed and get Christmas under way. I also intend to go to the gym and up the fight against the flab, I’m fed up with my phone telling me I am obese.
Today was Wednesday Alpaca day. As a treat my partner, my youngest daughter and I went to walk alpacas at a local farm. So today’s blog is unashamedly Alpaca packed.
Social distancing Llama style.
Everything was of course COVID aware and we were reminded by the guide who started our alpaca induction with a brief chat. Of note were, don’t pull your alpaca, they often take ten minutes to go to the toilet, they do not kick but will spit at each other so don’t get caught in the cross fire. So after a brief chat in the pouring rain we were allowed to choose our alpaca.
Meet Illustrious my friend for the day.
My family with Leroy and friend
We walked with our alpacas across the fields, stopping to say hello to the pigs. At one point the alpacas sped up as they knew they were going to get fed. We had all bought packs of tasty alfalfa pellets to feed our new friends and they knew when they would get them. At the first rustle of paper they immediately stuck their noses in the pocket and tried to get the treats. It does not take an alpaca long to eat a bag of treats.
After the feeding we walked our friends back to the starting point and returned them to the farm staff, but of course we took the occasional selfie for the scrapbook.
As a finale the alpacas get more food and the one with my daughter had ideas about getting more than his fair share.
There is always one with an entrepreneurial streak!
At the end of our time we wash our hands and make our way back to the car and then home.
Home and coffee. We go to the garden centre for compost and pick up some pies to take to Norfolk with us tomorrow. We get home again to find my eldest daughter had been busy laying the flooring we ordered for the weights area of the garage. So now the area is looking more usable and the squat rack now sits firm on the floor.
I plant a few of the plants we bought the other day and then retreat in doors fro tea and an evening of Hero’s until its time to blog.
Its Tuesday,which means its all fairy day as we go back to Trentham Gardens to seek the fairies we missed before, so todays blog is all fairies, and no apologies.
Arriving home to a bag of new clothes pegs its time to help my eldest daughter to assemble her new squat rack, which if I am lucky might get to use. So the gym in the garage is coming together. I expect I might move the exercise bike into it in the winter months.
The gym is coming together, next , proper flooring.
Time for tea and to fill my drugs wallet for the week before settling down for the Great British Bake Off whilst writing the blog. Tomorrow is walking alpacas!
Monday and I get up to the smell of bacon and coffee, a good way to wake up. I have breakfast with all my family there and take the opportunity to tease my eldest daughter as she is the only one working today. I find I have a present from my partner with an accompanying note. The present is a surprise and echoes my dandelion clock image of my life line. I am touched by the thought and the note, not for sharing.
My surprise present
We decide that over the next couple of days to do stuff, starting with a trip to Beacon Hill for coffee and fresh air. Before going I order some interlocking flooring tiles for the training area of the garage so the weights do not damage the floor. Pretty blue ones of course. I drive us to the entrance of the park and we set off for the cafe. We find the cafe closed! Sitting at a picnic bench we consult the internet that tells us this cafe is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. We are bemused at its closure, it seems to make no sense looking at the numbers of families that are sitting around the area. We abandon the park, saying farewell to the bear as we go.
A glum bear who can get no buns on Mondays or Tuesdays
I drive us to Bradgate Gate our local deer park that has been going for 800 years. We head for the cafe and settle on coffee and tuna sandwiches. The sun is shining and it is warm, just the excuse needed to have a Magnum ice cream. I sit and watch the small yellow birds seeking the seeds from the pine cones on the tree that we are sitting next to.
Not a tit but possibly a yellow wing or a siskin
We laze for a while and then head off towards the garden centre closer to home to restock and begin to prepare for next spring. We wander around and gather up plants and bulbs making plans on the hoof for the coming seasons. We end up with a trolley full of foliage and head home.
Todays haul to go in the garden for the spring.
I hang my washing out and notice that our clothes peg stock seems to have disappeared so resort to Amazon to put this right. We all sit around with a col drink and I order the tickets for Trentham Gardens tomorrow. We are going to go on the fairy hunt.
One fairy that is not difficult to find.
I change into my cycling gear and head for the shed for an hour of effort. It feels gratifying that I get through the hour. On the way back to the house I notice a large dahlia has come into bloom.
In for dinner with the family and I resist the cheesecake and go for plain strawberries, my major goal is to get my weight down, Oh to be just overweight rather than obese as my phone sees it.
My evening is spent running off the bill for the re-piping and sending a reply to the ombudsman with whom we are still at loggerheads with. It means another review by the ombudsman for a final and legally binding ruling. So that particular chapter is in the lap of the gods now. I am almost past caring now as the reality of the experience of being ill in Jamaica is way outside the comprehension of any “objective” agency. I finally get in the shower and get refreshed before settling down to write the blog.
Sunday and I’ve spent it sorting out the garage and all the storage space. So now the garage is retuned to a training space with several boxes of “stuff” to go to charity, recycle or the dump. In the course of the day I realised that my Imelda Marcus gene is worse than I thought, as the day wore on I found other pairs.
A few more pairs of footwear found during the day
One last pair of slippers that slipped through the net.
All day I have sneezed and constantly dabbed my nose as it ran profusely due to the dust. It finally abated when I sat to watch the football in the evening with the fire one. I had some moments of panic when I could not log onto my blog, for some time it would not let me in. In the end I gave up and went for a shower and a long chat with my youngest daughter who arrived to stay for a couple of days. She had bought loads of retro clothes from the Coventry clothes market. Some really good jackets and coats, all bought by weight.
Finally I get into my website and write the blog. Tomorrow sees my partner and I start a weeks leave, so I expect we will garden and prepare for our three day break in Norfolk later in the week. For now I will settle for a good nights sleep.
I’m knackered! From morning till night I have been moving all the stuff back that we moved to enable the re-piping. So much stuff and some surprises. One of them was the discovery of a child’s teas set given to us by my parents and told not to let the girls play with them. We obviously took the advice they gave as I found them in a tin tucked away. They are German porcelain by EM Bavaria who were well know for making child’s tea sets. This set is 100o, beyond that I do not know, although they are apparently common. No hidden fortune here I’m afraid.
I also discovered that I have the Imelda Marcos shoe gene. It kind of creeps up on you is my excuse, a combination of hoarding and liking shoes to go with clothes. I found I had at least three collections which when put together seemed excessive. See below:
The day to day set
The wardrobe set
The main hoard of shoes that came to light.
What can I say. I seem to like shoes. Most of the ones in the last picture are bound for the shoe recycle or charity shop. Not the colourful ones.
We kept going through the evening and I went off to the garage to begin to clear some space for the longer term rearrangements. First job was to re hook the tool board and get it filled.
Its been a full days graft, my back aches so its time for football and the blog before getting some sleep and start over in the morning. Of course being Sunday its weigh in day, lets hope I earn a Mars bar ice cream.
