Monday 30th October - Quaker Questions

November, any day now...

and the attempt to post something every day.

I'm stacking up a few posts ready for when I am out of inspiration or energy or time...

Meanwhile, as the nights are drawing in and the outside temperatures are falling, I leave you with three of the four "Quaker Questions" to ponder. I came across these years and years ago at a supper with some friends - they are sometimes used in the early meetings of church groups as a form of ice breaker.

From wikipedia

"Quakers use the term Query to refer to a question or series of questions used for reflection and in spiritual exercises.

Friends have used Queries as tools for offering spiritual challenges to the community for much of their history. Queries often take the form of a collection of themed questions that are read at the beginning of a time of worship or reflection.

Many yearly meetings maintain a set of basic queries in their books of Faith and Practice to provide guidance on certain issues over time. Individuals often offer queries from time to time to provide a spiritual challenge to their local community of Friends."

Anyway, here you go. The here are the first three; 

1. Where did you live between the ages of 5 and 12, and what were the winters like?
2. How was your home heated?
3. What was the centre of warmth in your life when you were a child / Who was the centre of warmth in your life when you were a child?

and here's the fourth, if you want to give it some thought...


 When did God become a "warm" being to you, and how did that happen?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumford_fireplace

Sunday 29th October - half term (4)

Variable sort of weather. 790 steps so far

Let's go out!

Let's not.

Wish we had gone out.

Glad we hadn't.

In between the cloudy moments I did some minor gardening. A few years ago we had really successful pots of flowers outside the front door;

which included snapdragons and nemesia. And that silvery stuff which I have to keep looking up its name.

One snap dragon plant remains - it has self-seeded under the gas meter and has made a determined appearance each year. The nemesia also self-seeded and for two years made a cheerful clump in a gap in the driveway near the front door.

This year there were little nemesia plants along the edge of the front grass, in the paving on the other side of the door, and even in the back garden. I gathered all the little shoots and shoved them in a couple of planters, hoping that I got enough of the roots;

I've picked some more brussel sprouts; just one meal left before the stalks go into the compost bin.

The vegetable growing experiment has been quite successful, in that I have enjoyed doing it, and it was partially productive. Next year - yes, there will be a next year! - will start with broad beans, which I find can be sown in winter. The directions said to protect the young seedlings. These are only seeds at the moment.

The plan is to sow some more in November.

I had a great tub of waterlogged soil excavated from the compost bin some months ago. (Unfortunately the tub doesn't have drainage holes, and the cover \i put on wasn't properly rainproof.) I used up a fair amount in repotting last year's outdoor Christmas Tree, ready to decorate in due course. I think I prefer the more subdued effect of the dirty black pot to the garish shiny red one it came in.

It is half past three in GMT, as opposed to half past four in yesterday's BST. Time for a little smackerel of something... I wonder if we have any honey?

This time tomorrow I should have taught two adults and three children, and be having a quick cup of coffee before the after-school pupils arrive.

Saturday 28th October - Half term (3)

More outings, before the half term week comes to an end

Friday - about 7,000 steps

Another sunny day, another walk, this time round East Head at West Wittering.



Why have we never been here before? The tide was almost fully out when we started walking round the head (after an excellent fish-and-chip-lunch). The guide said the walk around the head would take about 45 minutes - maybe that is true when the tide is in, but we walked around a wide sweep of sand, sometimes along sandy strips that only appear at low tide. I took pictures -

we came onto the sand through that gap in the dunes, at the back of the beach huts. They have a great wall of sand blocking the front doors, and will to be dug out the next season

Did I mention the sky was blue?

You would have to zoom in on the picture above to see, but to the right of the white sail of the yacht is the great chalk scar in the cliffs behind Portsmouth, at Portsdown Hill. We could just make out the bobble of the radar system or whatever it is on the top of the cliff.

Most of the sand was firm and easy walking, but there was enough soft sand and shingle to make us glad when we got back to the car. I had plenty of time to rest on the way home, as the traffic queues were tremendous, but the driver found it hard work.


Saturday - 1500 steps

Lunch out again - this time at Camelia Botnar. This is a charitable foundation which provides residential apprenticeships for young people, and gives them employment in the cafe, garden centre, and training them to make the pottery, ironwork, and furniture they sell.  Afterwards, I took the opportunity to visit the church, St George's, at West Grinstead, which advertises "prayer book services and four-part choir". It is a small church, down a long, neatly hedged lane leading you into another, hidden, secretive part of the country. So close to the main A24 road you could almost see it...

The church was locked, with an explanation that the organ was being restored to there were pipes everywhere. We shall have to go back...

Only one more day of the half term left.

Friday 27th October - Half Term (2)

We have been out and about this week.

Sunday - about 10,000 steps

was a day in London. We caught a number 38 bus from Victoria, alighted (posh word!) near the British Museum but avoided the hordes of school children who were sure to be there by walking along to Lambs Conduit street, home of "Persephone Books", one of my favourite shops. We didn't stay long as we had no intention of buying a book to lug around London for the rest of the day. I just wanted to savour the piles of books heaped everywhere around the shop.

We had lunch in the cafe at The Foundling Museum, another great place to visit.

Onwards, getting ever-closer to our intended destination, but pausing at The British Library. They have a Harry Potter Exhibition at the moment,

https://www.bl.uk/whats-on

but we were short of time, so just spent a while browsing the main free exhibition. I was delighted by the music scores on display, including the manuscript of "Sumer is a-cumin in",

https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/sumer-is-icumen-in

Beethoven, Mozart and Bach, hand-written by the composers, and a Richard Rodney Bennet film score.

Thence (another posh word) to St Pancras station, to meet my father, returning from a Rhine Cruise. We hurtled back to Victoria in a taxi, caught the next train home and were joined by my brother and his family for a fish and chip supper later that evening. All very satisfactory!


Monday - about 300 steps

was the duvet day I'd been promising myself for several weeks. It was interrupted at 9am by the surprise arrival of a piano pupil - half term doesn't always register with people who have no connection to school life! I was wake, but still in bed, but threw some clothes on, brushed my hair and taught her lesson. I know she suspected something. I might have gotten away with it, if I hadn't made the same mistake the previous week. 


Tuesday -  about 4,000 steps

was a day for running errands. Things like paying in cheques, buying a few bits and pieces in town, various odd jobs. I did most of my lesson planning for next half of term.


Wednesday - about 7,000 steps

What a beautiful day! We didn't want to stay in again, but also neither of us felt very energetic, so we set off for Chichester Marina. The idea was a mooch around the marina ("flat, made up paths - sounds perfect"), have lunch at the cafe/restaurant and just generally get some fresh air. Perfect choice. The sky was blue, the "plink-plink" of halliards against aluminium masts made a gentle accompaniment to the little wavelets brushing against the shingle shore...


Thursday - about 300 steps

A stay-at-home day. Apart from lunch at "The Frog and Nightgown". There is a circular walk from there, but while is wasn't exactly raining, the air and the ground was all so damp we just came home. I did go and meet with friends in the evening, as I try and do most Thursdays, and got quite a few more rows knitted on my latest jumper. This is an old picture of the completed front. I've done the sleeves, and am most of the way up the back now. But I'm going to have to pull out the front as I've decided I want to make it longer.

Thursday 26th October - Halfterm (1)

The first half of this term was long; just over seven weeks. The next half of this term will be the same, making it about fifteen weeks in all.

So what? I hear all non-school people say! Plenty of 'what', sez I. The children were all pale and crabby and tired in the last week, the teachers were zombified, everyone seemed to be afflicted by coughs, colds, sneezles and Worse (details too disgusting to share).

I think I shall remember the last half term as one in  which No Single Week ever ran according to the timetable. Indeed, several weeks were so shambolic that every day had some schedule-shuffling event.

I'm usually pretty tired by the time half term comes around; the effect of weeks and weeks of 'rising to the challenge' was noticeable this time!

So what do teachers do in all their holidays? I've attended a half day course on 'safeguarding' because I'm involved with children and vulnerable adults at church. I'm part way through a whole load of paperwork and processes to do with more child protection requirements at one of the many schools I work at. I've sent in admin forms for last term's work, and I've planned some of next term's lessons.

Still to do; more lesson planning, Christmas song selection, and maybe even some housework?

What am I doing now, right this minute?

Ah, well, don't tell anyone, but I've made a cup of coffee and gone back to bed for a lazy morning......`

Monday 16th October - Tech Trials and writing letters

He's had a week or so of it, fixing everyone's computer problems.

Now he's got my woes to see to as well...

I'm having a problem with with Gmail not letting me choose which address and name-label I want on emails in the address boxes. I have tried, and tried, to delete defunct addresses from whoever "It" is that auto-completes things when I enter an address when I am creating an email, but "It" won't let me. 

As I understand things, (and I may well be wrong) the fix will involve clearing out ALL the addresses that gmail has clung onto for yonks and yonks. He's printed out a multi-page set of instructions from google and is waiting for a long period of undisturbed time in which to have a go. And another go. And do whatever it takes to get it all sorted out. He's known for persistance in hunting down solutions to problems.

Hey ho. Computers. Pen and Ink was so much simpler.

But then, the last time I sent someone a card written with my fountain pen, the postman left it half in, half out, of the letterbox when he delivered it, and the message was entirely washed away by the rain before the recipient could read it. She said she enjoyed the picture on the front....  I use a biro now to write postcards.

And how about this Christmas card, postmarked December 2016, that came a couple of weeks ago?

Emails are more weatherproof, and tend not to take months to be delivered.

Here's something else that can't be sent by email. 

    Not sure if she could go parcel post either, come to think of it. (By the way, she didn't come via Amazon, just in case you were wondering)

Sunday 15th October - Poem

I've just read this in "The Spectator", written by AnthonyThwaites

Lines on my 87th birthday

Trees that I thought were dead are green again
Suddenly, and so late, miraculously,
Not blighted with ash die-back. What I see
Surprises with a rush of happiness
As if it were not necessary to die
But always be open to capriciousness.

Sunday 15th November - Duvet Days

On Tuesday I had a day off. I got ready for work, made a packed lunch, loaded the teaching bag with stuff and so on, and.... phoned in sick. Not that I was Very Ill - just kind of overcome. It's this cough and cold - it had kept me awake in the night - and it has been dragging on. I thought through the schedule - five piano lessons at one school, three class lessons at another school, four piano lessons back at home, and came to the conclusion that this was just Not Going To Happen.

On Friday, Leo-the-upstairs-cat had a a duvet day. The washed and ready-to-be-put-away duvets are on the spare bed, protected from the cats (as we thought) by being covered with surplus coat hangers. Like this

How determined is that! I reckon we are going to have to buy a baby-sized duvet for her. She SO loves sleeping in a duvet nest if she gets the chance. Now the clean fresh duvet is all furry again - vacuum cleaner to the rescue. Perhaps we should have just got round to putting it away properly.

Today, it is now 11:15 am and I am still in my dressing gown. I did get up at about 8; I might have made it to the 9am church service, and I definitely could have made it to the 10:30 (but I prefer the early-straight-through-the-little-red-prayer-book service and the later-let's-all sing-lots-of-samey-songs service is all loud and modern and I am getting more and more old-fashioned as I grow older and enter my second childhood).

So here I am, still dressed for sleepiness, but the better for two croissants and two cups of Real Coffee. Just got time for a mid-morning nap before lunch.