My Year in 2021

2020 was a bad year, and ended on a fairly downbeat note. 2021 was worse, starting under a great deal of stress, recovering just in time to suffer a massive setback, and then ending once again under the shadow of Covid.

My Year in... Blogging 

I didn't set any formal goals for 2021, which means that there wasn't really anything to fall short of. That's probably a good thing, as at the time of writing I've managed a mere 95 posts here and 34 on the Imaginarium, where my usual targets would be 120 and 60.

In all honesty, I fear the Imaginarium is essentially finished with, so don't expect many posts in the future. I would, however, expect more posts on this blog in 2022.

My Year in... Work

The first five months of the year were pretty great for a number of reasons. Indeed, had you asked me in May of this year, I would have told you that I could see myself finishing my career with my current employers.

Then all the fears I implied in my end-of-year round-up from last year came to fruition. And the remainder of the year has basically been a disaster.

And I see no hope of things improving, which is a massive problem.

My Year in... Health

Somehow, we've all made it through 2021 (to present, at least) without a brush with Covid. 2021 also saw the safe, albeit exciting, arrival of Surprise! which was certainly a relief.

That's probably more than we really had any right to expect while in the midst of a pandemic.

My Year in... Gaming

I have been running two campaigns over Teams or Zoom this year. "The Mists of Lamordia" has continued to go well, despite taking far longer than I had intended or hoped. But it is now very definitely in the end-game - I hope to be finished by Easter.

"A Quest for Memory" ran well for a while, but then basically came to a halt for scheduling reasons. My suspicion is that it is now effectively done, as getting the party together is proving impossible, and it is sufficiently low-priority for people that one session was literally forgotten. We'll see - it will either resume soon or it won't resume.

Unfortunately, 2021 was the year in which I fairly definitively fell out of love with gaming. My plan now is to bring the two current campaigns to an end, and then hang up the dice bag. Probably permanently.

My Year in... Band

My band resumed practices late in the year, managed a grand total of two performances, and then had to cancel practices again due to Covid. However, I'm actually reasonably happy about things there - it is likely that we'll resume again early in 2022, and we're likely to have rather more events. I expect many, if not most, of the gala days to resume.

So that one is actually quite hopeful, despite the circumstances.

My Year in... Resolutions

As always, the wrap-up of annual goals, and setting of goals for next year, are handled in another post. And, as has been the pattern recently, it's very much a mixed bag.

My Year in... Travel

We had two holidays in 2021, both of them internal to Scotland - one trip to Dornoch for Dad's 75th birthday celebration, and one to Banff. Other than the arrival of Surprise!, those represent the high point of the year - despite not being particularly restful, they were both highly enjoyable.

I would dearly like to say that I expect that to change in 2022, but the truth is that I don't really expect much to change - we'll probably make one family trip to England, but I can't see us leaving the UK at any time next year.

My Year in... Faith

We finally gave up on remote church in February this year. Fortunately, we were then able to resume attendance in person, and have been going for a few months.

My fear is that this is quite likely to come to a halt again in the nearish future, but I mean to enjoy it while I can.

My Year in... Sadness

2021 saw the death of another much-loved mentor, as my advisor of studies at university passed on. I posted about this at the time - it was certainly sad, but came at the end of a long and happy life, so wasn't a cause for despair.

It also saw the death of Abbie, the last of three very old dogs my parents owned. (Technically, I think they adopted Abbie shortly after I left home, but she was well known to us before then. So it still counts.) She was very old, was in increasingly poor health, and had been much loved for many years, so while it was a sad event, it was also one that could be met with a sense of completion rather than excessive grief.

All in all, we've been extremely lucky.

My Year in... Love

Like so much this year, this has been a mixed bag. Because while we're obviously delighted at the arrival of Surprise!, and while Funsize continues to be a delight, there's no avoiding the fact that having children is hard work, and having two children is at least three times as hard as having one. Further, while Surprise! is a reasonably easy baby in many respects, his sheer size makes for its own challenges.

The other inescapable truth is that the year we've had has been one of enormous stresses. An awful lot of this year has consisted of getting up too early, going to work and dealing with unremitting stress, then stopping work and immediately dealing with children, and getting dinner, and all the rituals of family life... and then doing it all again. Then the weekend comes, and has too often been a case of doing nothing but battling with the kids just to get through. It's been really difficult, and really hasn't been helped by the need to limit contacts, more or less throughout.

The truth is that couples need time together, and they need time apart, and they need time together alone, and for most of this year finding quality time of any of those sorts has been almost impossible. Even such basic things as going out to the cinema, or a meal out, or meeting friends has largely been a no-go, and it so it's no surprise that things have become rather fraught.

Despite all that, we're still here. I'm still remarkably lucky that I'm married to my best friend, and that she continues to tolerate me even now. And in this regard I am hopeful that 2022 will be better than 2021 - now that the kids are that bit older, and especially now that Surprise! has moved past those tricky first six months when he's firmly tethered to Mummy, so we should now be a little more free. Plus, we're getting to the point where we just can't continue to let Covid so completely constrain us, so that will also have to free things up at least a bit.

At least, that's the hope...

My Year... Overall

This has been a really tough year for several reasons, and with many of the usual pressure valves blocked by Covid and other issues. The upshot is the 2021 was the worst year I've had for some time, and coming after 2020 and 2019, that's a bad run. The highlights were very great... but they were also few and far between.

Unfortunately, I don't really believe that things will naturally get better, so I've reached the point where I think there's a need to make them better. Which is potentially difficult, stressful, and really not what I need. But given the alterative, that's where we are.

As always, this will be my final post on this blog for the year, so I'll take the opportunity now to wish anyone still reading a very Happy New Year when it comes. Thanks for sticking with me!

End of Year Update on Goals

Because of the arrival of Surprise!, I didn't set any goals for 2021. That's a good thing, since my informal tracking made for grim reading:

• Books: The full list of books will come in another post. However, I came close to the informal target of 60 books, completed 12 from The List, and indeed completed the UK side of The List. I'm actually reasonably happy with this.
• Weight: This was not only a total failure, but actually worsened by the end of the year.
• Blogging: This has been my least-bloggy year for some time: 95 posts here, and 34 on the Imaginarium, which means that both blogs fell well short of the informal targets I set. It looks like the Imaginarium is done.
• Redecorating the Spare Room: This one was a success at least! In fact, it was more than a success, as in addition to redecorating the spare room I also found time to repaint the living room. Another job done.
• Tadpole #2: Not a goal as such, but certainly the most important aspect of the year, Surprise! arrived safe and sound in April.

And that's that - one at or close to target, two clear successes, and two abject failures. Very much a mixed bag.

For 2022 I'm back to setting goals, and there are five:

• Books: The usual 60 books for the year. It would be nice to complete The List this coming year, but that's not a strict part of the goal - we'll see how that goes.
• Weight: The usual.
• Blogging: I'd like to get back to posting 120 times here in the year. I'm not setting a goal for The Imaginarium.
• Redecorating the Hallway: The next biggest redecoration in the house is the hallway, which is now the room we're least happy with. This will be fairly involved, including stripping wallpaper and repainting, replacing the carpets upstairs and on the stairs, and generally making it better.
• Super Secret Goal: Last, but actually the most important of all, there's a change I need to make, and the sooner the better.

And that's that.

Baking with Funsize #4: Mince Pies

This was a series I meant to start in November, but circumstances got in the way. So you'll have to forgive me - I have a backlog to clear.

Taking a break from the book of baking, these were made to Paul Hollywood's method that I've used before. Unfortunately, this was our least-successful baking effort, as once again Funsize lost interest, and wasn't really keen on the mincemeat filling anyway. A shame, but never mind.

I've concluded that I'm going to have to do these differently in future - I think I'll make up the pastry a day ahead to give it plenty of time to chill, and I also really need a bigger pastry cutter. In terms of flavour these are really nice - better than the previous twice I've made them - but they were rather too stressful to assemble. Of course, it didn't help that I was making them after a very long afternoon in the kitchen, nor that every single space in our kitchen seems to be filled with stuff. That's something to tackle over the holiday.

And that's the final "Baking with Funsize" for now - there will hopefully be another during the Christmas break, but who knows. The next item in the book is "Lace Biscuits with Lime Cream", which does sound really nice...

#58: "The Bloody Ground", by Bernard Cornwell

Baking with Funsize #3: Chocolate and Cherry Cookies

This was a series I meant to start in November, but circumstances got in the way. So you'll have to forgive me - I have a backlog to clear.

The third entry from the Usborne "Children's Book of Baking" was also the most successful so far - whereas previously Funsize lost interest after a while these held her attention, largely due to the opportunity to work with chocolate. They also tasted great, with the only downside being that they vanished far too quickly.

Baking with Funsize #2: Orange Shortbread Stars

This was a series I meant to start in November, but circumstances got in the way. So you'll have to forgive me - I have a backlog to clear.

The second item from the Usborne "Children's Book of Baking" was meant to be shortbread stars but due to the lack of a suitable cutter was actually shortbread flowers:

These were genuinely great - the addition of the orange was the key thing that made these worth doing.

As before, Funsize lost some interest part way through, but that's fine.

Baking with Funsize #1: Gingerbread Flowers

This was a series I meant to start in November, but circumstances got in the way. So you'll have to forgive me - I have a backlog to clear.

Over the past few weeks, Funsize and I have started working through the Usborne "Children's Book of Baking". We've started at the beginning and are going to work through it roughly one item a week (with a pause for Christmas). The first entry are Gingerbread Flowers, although many of them were actually Ginger Ninjas:

They tasted very nice, but that wasn't really the point. The key thing was that Funsize enjoyed her first foray into baking (though she did lose interest for a while in the middle). And daddy enjoyed spending time with his daughter too.

Success!

Experimental Cookery 2021: Sunblush Tomato Risotto

I've generally stayed away from risotto because of the amount of time involved - all that adding of stock and letting it boil away was a distinct negative. But the Hairy Bikers' "One Pot Wonders" has a section on quick carbs, so this seemed a suitable one to try.

This was a simple meal to put together, but was rather time consuming. That wasn't a huge problem, but maybe limits our inclination to have it again. The end result was surprisingly tasty, though, so this was a definite success. And it's another good vegetarian meal to add to the repertoire - as I've mentioned before, that's something I'm glad to have available.

And that's more or less all I have to say about that.

Doctor Who: Flux

LC and I watched the most recent series of "Doctor Who" over the previous couple of weeks. It is a massive improvement over the previous two series, with two very good episodes in there ("War of the Sontarans", and "Village of the Angels"). Oh, and both Yaz and Dan were excellent - in fact, all the secondary characters this time were really good, with the mini-series format really helping with that.

Sadly, despite being a massive improvement isn't the same as it being all that great - too many of the episodes were just a mess of ideas thrown out far too quickly, this incarnation is forever saddled with the manic supply teacher energy of the previous two series, and it doubles down on the terminally awful "Timeless Child" nonsense. But, hey, apart from all that it was good.

I'm rather less happy about the New Year's episode once again featuring Daleks. They've been done to death, and the previous two specials didn't exactly do anything to help. But never mind.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation - Part Two

Remember when I said that MotU:Revelation was a bad show but with a lot of good ideas mixed in to make it worth watching? Well, the second part is much the same, but without the good ideas. Basically, it just sucks.

#52: "Closed Casket", by Sophie Hannah
#53: "Troy", by Stephen Fry
#54: "Incompetnece", by Rob Grant
#55: "Battle Flag", by Bernard Cornwell
#56: "The Time-Travelling Caveman", by Terry Pratchett
#57: "New Spring", by Robert Jordan

The Witcher

Tucked away in my previous post was the fact that I have now finished my read through of the Witcher novels - eight volumes comprising two short story collections, five novels in the 'main' sequence, and then a prequel novel.

They were very much a mixed bag.

I really enjoyed the first two volumes, especially the second. They did have the weakness that most of the stories had already been adapted for the Netflix series, but that was okay - there was enough different here to be interesting, and it also provided useful context for the series.

The main cycle, unfortunately, was very much a case of diminishing returns - I enjoyed the first volume, but a bit less than the short stories, then enjoyed the second less than the first, the third less than the second, found the fourth to be a real slog, and then faced the final volume as an ordeal rather than an enjoyment. Which was a real shame. It did, at least, have an ending that was... different, which is always worth trying.

The prequel volume, "Season of Storms" was actually my favourite out of all the volumes. That was a great way to round out the series, and rather improved my impression of the whole. Which is a good place to end.

Book-keeping

I've read quite a few books lately, and haven't really had chance to capture them here. So here's the update of the count.

I'll note that I'm now almost caught up, which is nice - I'm about 300 pages short of where I 'should' be at this point in the year. Unfortunately, I suspect the weekend will see me slip again, but I'm still hopeful that I might just pull it back by the end of the year. We'll see, I guess.

#47: "Lady of the Lake", by Andrzej Sapkowski
#48: "The Monogram Murders", by Sophie Hannah
#49: "Copperhead", by Bernard Cornwell
#50: "The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants", by Ann Brashares (a book from The List - eight to go)
#51: "Season of Storms", by Andrzej Sapkowski

Experimental Cookery 2021: Pulled Pork

This was motivated by circumstance: we had people coming for dinner, we wanted to serve something nice, but I didn't want to go to a lot of effort. The method comes from the Hairy Bikers' "Meat Feasts", a book I thought I'd like, and use, rather more than I have done.

As expected, this one was nice and easy - apply a dry rub, then roast low and slow for many hours. Then pull it apart. The result was also impressive - no complaints there.

The only thing that was really noteworthy was that the book suggested it would serve 5-8 people, but I think that was a serious underestimate. That said, I also think this probably works best if served to many more people, but alongside some other choices. (And, actually, it would be an ideal addition to my birthday BBQ.)

The upshot is that we'll no doubt have this again, but I won't be cooking it for just us. Which is no bad thing - different meals can have different purposes, after all.

Anyway, good to have a success to report after the last couple of disappointments!

Day 300 Update on... Stuff

The penultimate update for the year...

The last few weeks have been absolutely brutal - work has been crazy, we've all suffered a bout of illness (a cold that just won't clear), and too many other things. Basically, it has just sucked.

• Books: By Day 300 I should expect to have completed 49.315 books. I've finished 46 and am well advanced in two others, so I'm a little more than two books behind. I don't hold out much hope of getting caught up for the ear, but I do expect to complete my allocation on the three sublists that I consider most important, so I'm not too disheartened by that.
• Weight: There has been some progress here, but it amounts to repeating what I did earlier in the year. This is getting tedious.
• Blogging: By this point I would have hoped to have posted around 99 times here and 49 or so over on the Imaginarium. The actual totals are 83 and 28, so I'm miles behind, with no prospect of getting caught up - indeed, I think it's more likely that I'll fall further behind than that I'll catch up at all.
• Redecorating the Spare Room: Done. Additionally, last week I refreshed the paint in the living room, which is both an improvement in general, and also brings it into line with the dining room and, not incidentally, with the various bits of patching that LC had done over the past couple of years (and, indeed, that were the motivation for doing this now).
• Tadpole #2: Done.

And that's that. This remains a poor showing, but it's in line with the rest of the year.

Experimental Cookery 2021: Lentil Bolognese

Meh (again).

This one came from the box in which some chopped tomatoes were packaged, so it's probably not fair to raise the expectations too high. In any case, the meal was quick and easy to put together, with the bulk of the time taken up with simmering.

And it was okay. Not great, or particularly interesting, but it was at least okay. Once we've finished off the three remaining servings I doubt we'll have it again, but I don't particularly resent the time spent making it.

And that's about that, really.

#45: "The Summer Tree", by Guy Gavriel Kay (a book from The List - nine to go)
#46: "Troubled Blood", by Robert Galbraith

Experimental Cookery 2021: Meatball and Pasta Traybake

Meh.

This one came from the Hairy Bikers' "One Pot Wonders". It was quick and easy to put together, and... it was fine. But no more than that - while it was utterly inoffensive I'm afraid there also wasn't anything at all to recommend it.

We won't be having this again. It just didn't inspire.

Who would have thought Jamie Oliver would win the pasta bake contest?

#43: "Firefly: Generations", by Tim Lebbon
#44: "Broken Homes", by Ben Aaronovitch

Backsliding

September was going to be the month when I caught up on things - get the post count on the blog back to where I would like it, get caught up on reading, get everything else motoring. It didn't work out so well.

The fundamental problem is that I'm just too busy - work is in an extremely busy phase (which doesn't look to be ending soon), while the rest of my time is soaked up with family matters. There just isn't time to read or blog.

So it looks like I'll end the month further back on the blog, and if I'm really lucky at the same place on the reading. And don't expect October to be much different.

Practice Resumes

My band finally had our first face-to-face practice back last week, after around eighteen months away. I was pleasantly surprised on two counts: there were twice as many people present as I'd expected (all pipers, though), and it seemed the band hadn't lost just as much over the time away as I had feared. An uncharitable person would note that we didn't have a great standard to slip away from, and relative to even the weakest competing bands there's a lot of truth in that, but then there's a good reason why I'm no longer with a competing band - and the lack of stress and pressure is a huge part of that.

Hopefully, this now marks a permanent return to practices. Also, over the next few weeks we'll hopefully be able to get the bagpipes themselves going (rather than just practice chanters), and we may even start taking on some actually performances - of which the Christmas lights switch-on will be the first.

The Obsession

My birthday BBQ is now firmly established as a tradition, albeit one that doesn't manage to happen every year (the BBQ that is!). In aid of that, for my birthday this year I received an actual book on BBQ cooking, and then a few weeks later I picked up a second. hat second book is an interesting one - it's very much a textbook on the subject and is extremely thorough.

As a consequence of that, I proceeded to spend several weeks gaining an appreciation of just why it is so many people become obsessed with BBQ in all of its forms, as I found myself examining all aspects of BBQ kit, deciding on the four (!) BBQs I wanted to get, all manner of new toys, and so on and so forth.

Fortunately, the upshot is that I have purchased none of these things. There are one or two items I may buy over time, but those are pretty minor, and in the long term I may come to replace our BBQ with another should it eventually wear out. And, finally, I might invest in a portable one, but only if we reach a point where such a thing would be justified - which is very much not the case right now.

In the meantime, we've had a few BBQs, but relatively few this year compared to years past (though, of course, one turned out to be on a rather eventful day!). We're now getting to the end of the season - I'm on the lookout to see if there is one more suitable day for it, but either way I'll be packing it up for the winter come the start of October.

#42: "Rebel", by Bernard Cornwell

Experimental Cookery 2021: Chicken Panzanella

This one doesn't really deserve a post, given just how simple it was, but for completeness if nothing else...

This one came from the Tesco magazine. It was very quick and simple, and came out nicely. There were a couple of cookery stages, one for the chicken and then one for the bread, but it was mostly about assembly of a warm salad.

We concluded that there were several tweaks we would make to this if we had it again - we'd probably use leftover roast chicken (if we had such a thing), less onion, and a little less vinegar. But there were no major changes we would insist on making.

#41: "Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft", from Wizards of the Coast

Day 254: Update on... Stuff

I was away this week, and so was not able to post my update (and didn't have time to compose it before I went). So, here it is...

The last few weeks have been much more normal than the rest of the year, which is good. Though, oddly, they have also featured the disruption of two lots of packing for holidays, and also a bout of illness for Funsize and then Surprise!. Fortunately, it was just a cold, though still fairly horrible for them. Funsize is now fully recovered, thankfully, with Surprise! now very much on the mend.

• Books: By Day 254 I should expect to have completed 41.753 books. I've finished 40 and am halfway through one other, so I'm fairly far behind. I'm now doubting whether I'll hit the planned 60 for the year, though I do expect to complete the 12 from The List. So not all bad.
• Weight: This is in a pretty bad way - the two holidays have caused me to gain weight, and so there's a definite need for a pretty serious bout of dieting. Watch this space.
• Blogging: By this point I would have hoped to have posted around 83 times here and 42 or so over on the Imaginarium. I'm way behind on both blogs, and unlikely to hit my targets on either. A shame.
• Redecorating the Spare Room: Done.
• Tadpole #2: Done.

And that's that. Two complete, two behind and unlikely to complete, and one going in the wrong direction. It's lucky I didn't set any formal goals for the year, because this is a pretty poor showing.

#38: "Warlord", by Bernard Cornwell (a great end to a great series)
#39: "The Notebook", by Nicholas Sparks (a book from The List - ten to go)
#40: "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes", by Suzanne Collins

Experimental Cookery 2021: Greek Salad

Paired with the chicken in the previous post, I put together a Greek salad, also from "Outdoor Cooking". This was slightly different from the ones I've prepared before, which come from "Jamie's Fifteen Minute Meals", though the principle is much the same.

It was quick and easy to prepare, of course - cut up some fruit and veg, dress them quickly, and add the cheese.

It was also very nice, and a great accompaniment to the chicken. This is a very good thing, as one issue with BBQs is that they tend to be extremely meat-heavy, and it's good to have some veg-based sides that are actually worth the eating.

I'm reasonably sure this has now become my method of choice for the Greek Salad - there is very little between it and Jamie's version in terms of effort, but this is a little nicer, I think.

Experimental Cookery 2021: Herby Lemon Chicken Thighs

Chicken is one of those things that I've never dared to cook on the BBQ - because of the need to make sure it is thoroughly cooked through, coupled with the tendency for the BBQ to burn the outside while leaving the inside raw, it's just not something I've risked. And yet, it's such a classic, and something I've quite fancied giving a go.

This Experimental Cookery comes from Tom Kerridge's "Outdoor Cooking", a book which is rapidly becoming a favourite. It's dead easy - create a quick marinade for the chicken, and then stick it on the grill for a while. I did make the mistake of using bone-in rather than boneless chicken, which meant a much longer cooking time, but that was fine.

Ironically, it's probably the safest thing I've ever cooked on th BBQ, on account of using an actual meat thermometer to determine when it was cooked. Which is probably just as well, as there was no physical difference between when I thought it was cooked and when it was actually cooked.

The end result was excellent - we thoroughly enjoyed it. That said, there was too much chicken for two of us, and it just wasn't as good for lunch the next day. But those are quibbles - we'll definitely have this again.

#36: "The Mists of Avalon", by Marion Zimmer Bradley (a book from The List - eleven to go)
#37: "The Massacre of Mankind", by Stephen Baxter

The Irregulars

This was a series that very much intrigued me when I first saw sight of it, but that LC and I have just gotten around to watching recently. In the meantime, the series was cancelled.

Some very quick thoughts:

• It's worth watching, in my opinion, though I can see why others may feel otherwise. Also, it's worth noting that the first episode takes a ridiculously long time to get going - that by itself may be why it was cancelled.
• Don't look for anything remotely faithful to history, the Sherlock Holmes stories, or anythink like that. This is mostly "Beatrice the Vampire Slayer", set in Victorian times. There is one episode, and a few other flashbacks that show us Holmes and Watson doing their thing in happier times, and that's actually a highlight of the show, but it is not the point of the show.
• The show practices colourblind casting, which is mostly a good thing, with one exception. That exception is pretty jarring, but it is also minor enough to ignore.
• Perhaps more unfortunate is that this show indulges in my new least-favourite trope: the 21st century feminist transplanted to a historical setting. As noted, the whole environment isn't remotely faithful to history, so I'll give it a pass here, but there's another rant brewing.
• I can entirely understand why this was cancelled. Truth be told, we'd probably not bother with a second series even if they had produced one.

And that's more or less that. If a Victorian "Beatrice the Vampire Slayer" sounds attractive, give it a watch, and do try to gut it out through those first 25 minutes or so. But otherwise, give it a pass.

The Sharpe Cycle

For the past several years, Bernard Cornwell has been one of my favourite authors, and over that time I've read almost everything he has written (which is a lot). However, until last year I'd mostly stayed away from the Sharpe novels, as the few I'd read had felt rather too close to the TV series, which is good for TV but not so good for the books.

However, having run rather short of things to read, I decided that the time had come to read Sharpe, and so I did. And now I've finished the cycle, just in time for a new book in the series to be published.

It has been an interesting experience, largely because so many of the books are so close to the TV series, and the rest feel very much like they could have come from it. In terms of quality they're really good, though not quite uniformly so - at their best they can be exceptional, at worst they are reasonably enjoyable. I probably enjoyed the final book I read, "Sharpe's Prey", the most, and I didn't really care too much for "Sharpe's Fortress". I don't really know why that might be.

In terms of reading order, I started with "Sharpe's Rifles", the revised starting point of the series (written to tie in with the first episode of the TV series), then proceeded mostly in chronological order (skipping three books I had read some years ago). After getting to the end I skipped back to the five prequel novels Cornwell had written. I don't think I would recommend that order - in hindsight, "Sharpe's Tiger" is probably the place to start.

But I have no complaints. All in all, this was a great series, and stands as a nice companion piece to O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series - they're very different, of course, but deal with two branches of the armed forces in the same, or mostly the same, time frame.

The Paw Patrol Movie

Funsize has a reward jar, in which she collects stars. Having colleced 20 stars, she gets a special treat, and last week she completed her second 20. (In fairness, she should probably be much further advanced. The big problem with this system is that is depends on us remembering to give her stars.) Her special treat, therefore, was to go to see the "Paw Patrol" movie with me on Saturday.

Well... it's a really big toy commercial. The story is pretty basic, making sure to tick all the required boxes. (Humdinger causes problems, the Paw Patrol rush to the aid, one of them has a crisis of confidence but works through it, and they have a mega-happy ending. Also, there's a Kardashian.) But the main thing is that they all get a load of new gear, and there's a few new characters, and so of course there are going to be toys. And apparel, and endless other branded items.

It was all done well enough, I guess. I enjoyed it more than "The Rise of Skywalker", though that isn't saying a great deal. And Funsize loved it.

And that's pretty much that.

Backlog

I've been away for a while, and have been very busy for a while. But I've built up quie a backlog of topics, so hopefully now that I'm back I'll be able to get caught up. We'll see...

#34: "The Witcher: Tower of the Swallow", by Andrzej Sapkowski
#35: "Sharpe's Prey", by Bernard Cornwell

Experimental Cookery 2021: Satay Kebabs (Chicken)

One of LC's favourites from the takeaway is chicken satay, but unfortunately our experiences with this one have been rather hit and miss. Fortunately, though, I found this recipe in the "Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure", and so put it to good use.

This is a fairly quick and simple meal, with one small wrinkle in that the meat needs to be marinaded, preferably overnight. That means that it does require a little planning, though it means there are two simple preparations rather than just one. (The other big thing to recommend about this one is that the book gives several options - beef, pork, and prawns as well as chicken. Which is really great.)

My initial thought when cooking this was to use the BBQ for the chicken. In the event I decided against this, but in hindsight I was right first time. Cooking the chicken skewers on the griddle proved to be slightly more awkward than I had expected and hoped - it worked fine, but the BBQ would just have been better.

Preparing the sauce was simple - put everything in a pan and simmer for a bit.

The end result was great. Nice and tasty, with a good but not excessive amount of kick in both the chicken and the sauce.

All in all, this was a really great meal, and stands to become a new favourite - which actually makes two in the space of a week!

Masters of the Universe: Revelation

The latest "Masters of the Universe" series is an almost perfect example of the He-Man universe - like the old school show form the 80's it has a goodly number of genuinely good ideas, but it's then wrapped up in a whole load of nonsense and the sort of insipid storytelling we should really have come to expect by now. There's a reason "Animaniacs" chose to parody the show's Wheel of Morality...

It's bad, but it's also interesting enough that I'm happy I watched it, if only to rip it off for ideas.

(Incidentally, it's an almost perfect example of what any new D&D show should be.)

That's actually more or less all I have to say about the show, except perhaps to address the backlash from the old school fans.

As far as I can see, much of the backlash is driven by the fact that the show sidelines He-Man in favour of the female characters. Which is, of course, truly horrible - I mean, who could possibly imagine?

That said, there is one thing that the creators did do wrong in all of this: when the trailers dropped, sections of the fandom voiced their unease at what they thought was coming - that He-Man was being sidelined and that this was going to be the Teela show. At which point, the creators loudly and noisily denied this... only for the show to be released and for to indeed be the Teela show.

What the creators should have done is simply told it as it is - that He-Man is, frankly, not a particularly interesting character, that his story has been told to death, and that they wanted to work with other characters instead. And, yes, that that meant bringing Teela to the fore. Just don't lie to the fans, especially when those lies are inevitably going to be revealed.

But that's a minor quibble. And it's not actually as if telling it like it is would really have made all that much difference - let's face it, a very large part of the objection to this being the Teela show, or to the lead Jedi in the new Star Wars films being Rey, or to Rose Tico, or... is rooted in something pretty nasty, and something that really shouldn't be humoured.

(Even there, though, telling it like it is is the right thing to do - if there are toxic elements of fandom that are going to boycott the show because of sexism, it's probably better to say what needs said, and let them have their boycott - you're better off without them anyway.)

Experimental Cookery 2021: Barbecued Meatball and Mozzarella Sub

Tonight we tried our second meal from Tom Kerridge's "Outdoor Cooking", which was pretty much just his version of Subway's best item. On the face of it, there's nothing much to this - meatballs cooked in a tomato sauce and then dropped into a roll, wrapped, and then grilled.

But that is to do a disservice to what was a really great meal. Although there's nothing much to preparing meatballs, it is worth noting that tonight's meatballs were the best we've had - whenever we have them in future this will be my go-to set of ingredients. And the sauce was the perfect mix of rich and hot. Add the cheese and the bread, and it's just a winner.

We'll definitely have this again. But I do think I'll tweak it in a couple of ways - the main one being to try to get the bread more toasted and less soggy. That's probably just a matter of increasing the heat of the BBQ somehow. The only other change I would make is to the quantity - we had one and a half subs each, and that was probably a bit much. I think we'd probably be better with just one each, and possibly a salad or something on the side.

But those are quibbles. This was a really good meal from what is turning out to be a really good book. Recommended.

The Next Doctor

So Jodie Whittaker and, more importantly, Chris Chibnall are leaving "Doctor Who". I wish I was more disappointed by the news, but I'm afraid I'm not - Thirteen, like Six, has been let down really badly by the material and the sooner, and more thoroughly, we move on from this era the better. It's a shame that this means that the first female Doctor hasn't been handled well, but oh well.

The obvious question then turns to: who next?

And for that I have a fairly simple answer: it pretty much has to be Jo Martin. That's the best chance to undo the vandalism that has been done to the show in the last series - explain that the Master was wrong/lying/mad and that the entire story he was weaving is a big pile of mince. Instead, the "memories" Thirteen uncovered of Doctor Ruth were actually echoes of her future self... and then never mention it again.

It also really helps that Jo Martin has experience playing the role and has done well. It would mean shifting to a significantly different take on the character... but after the last few incarnations someone with a more sober demeanour might be refreshing.

That's what I think, anyway.

Lack of an Outlet

I have recently come to the realisation that one consequence of lockdown is that I have, by and large, stopped engaging with my hobbies - by the time I've finished work I tend to find I just can't be bothered with some of them, while others involve spending quite a bit of time sitting at a screen, which after a long day of working from home is the last thing that I want to do.

However, the upshot of that is that there generally hasn't been any great avenue for enjoyment - there's nothing to release the tension. And that's probably one of the reasons things have been such an ordeal of late. (Obviously, another key reason is a complete inability to get any meaningful rest, on account of a 3-year-old and a 3-month-old. And, at present, a heatwave that really isn't helping.)

That's definitely something that needs some consideration. Because while all the various things I'm dealing with are important (and I have an update to the church website to do that is badly overdue...), it is worth considering that there is a need sometimes just to switch off and relax for a bit. And hobbies are intended for exactly that purpose.

That said, it doesn't help that over the course of lockdown I have found that I don't really miss one of the two, and I've become significantly disenchanted with the other...

The BBQ of Many Meats

It's a few weeks old now, but I did manage to host my birthday BBQ this year - we were blessed with some good weather, and the local Covid restrictions had dropped to a sufficiently low level to make this possible. Unfortunately, shortly before the day we learned that one branch of the family couldn't make it due to self-isolation, which meant we weren't able to all get together as had been hoped. A shame.

The BBQ itself went really well. We massively over-catered, of course, but that's par for the course with these events. It was no big deal - the remains either got eaten up over the next couple of days (if cooked) or went in the freezer (if not).

But what marked this BBQ out from the others was that this was the BBQ of Many Meats... although in fairness, several of them ended up not being used.

Specifically, we had:

• Beef, in the form of burgers
• Pork, in the form of sausages
• Venison, in the form of sausages (not used)
• Goat, in the form of burgers (not used on the day - we've since had them, and concluded that while they were nice we probably wouldn't have them again, as they aren't nice enough to justify the extra cost)
• Lamb, in the form of burgers (used) and kebabs (not used)
• Sea bass (not used on the day - have since consumed)
• Prawns (see my Experimental Cookery post)
• Chicken, in the form of drumsticks
• Wild boar, in the form of sausages (these were great)

The most important thing from the BBQ, though, was that everyone had a really good time. I was obviously very happy about that, and it was really great to see (almost) everyone again - it has been far too long since that was last possible.

Game of Thrones rewatch - part two

Last night we reached the end of "Game of Thrones" for the second time. Some thoughts about the second half of the series:

• There is a marked drop in quality after series four, and the further they move from the books the worse it gets. On balance, series 5 is actually better than the two novels it is based on (which, sadly, aren't particularly good). Series 6 is a bit worse, and then series 7 and 8 are massive rush to the end.
• That said, I did enjoy the series almost throughout, with the notable exception of the finale, which just sucks. In particular, the night battle in "The Long Night" is much better on blu-ray, where it is easier to see, and on a second viewing, where it is much easier to follow.
• The series is very much improved by watching it at a fairly quick rate - there is an awful lot of stuff that gets seeded early to pay off later, and over the years it was easy to forget much of it. In particular, Dany's storyline makes much more sense this way - she is warned repeatedly that she won't get the heroes welcome she expects in Westeros, she repeatedly alks about torching various cities before actually doing it, and her treatment of Jon when they first meet is actually that of a tyrant, even before she 'turns'.
• Probably the biggest weakness of the final season is a direct consequence of the rushing - Jon and Dany have barely met and gotten together before he is told of his true parentage. Which means that the impact of that revelation is deeply undercut. If they'd instead gone through a year of hardships, finally gotten together, and pledged undying love and then discovered their relationship it would have been far stronger.
• There are five rulers of the Seven Kingdoms in the course of the show (Bran doesn't count - he only rules six). Of these, Tommen is by far the best on account of merely being useless. Then Robert, and then Joffrey. Cersei is fourth, on account of her explosive act of mass murder at the Sept of Baelor and using the citizens of Kings Landing as human shields. And Daenerys is the worst of all, finally committing the atrocity that her father only dreamed of.

I find it hard to believe I will watch the series again. Like "24", "Babylon 5", and "Battlestar Galactica", it's probably too great an investment of time to justify at this point. Which is something of a shame. But it was definitely worth revisiting now.

Day 200: Update on... Stuff

With one exception the past several weeks have actually been good. Sadly, that exception is so massive as to overshadow everything else, so the overall report card still sucks. Which is a real shame, especially as there is no prospect of things improving.

• Books: By Day 200 I should expect to have completed 32.88 books. Due to finishing up "The Hobbit" yesterday, I'm very slightly ahead. As noted, I've also finished my read-through of Shakespeare, and have thus completed the British side of The List. So that's all good.
• Weight: No change.
• Blogging: By this point I would have hoped to have posted around 65 times here and 33 or so over on the Imaginarium. I'm still somewhat behind here, though not terribly. However, I've barely touched the Imaginarium since the previous update, nor do I expect to blog there very much.
• Redecorating the Spare Room: This was completed last time. I will be taking it off the list in future updates.
• Tadpole #2: This was completed last time. I will be taking it off the list in future updates.

And that's that. Of the three goals that remain active, one is right on target, one is the permanent failure, and the third is somewhere in between.

#31: "The Killings at Kingfisher Hill", by Sophie Hannah

#32: "Sharpe's Trafalgar", by Bernard Cornwell

#33: "The Hobbit", by J.R.R. Tolkien (a book from The List)

Our Revels Now Are Ended

I finished reading the final act of "Pericles, Prince of Tyre" yesterday, and in doing so I finished LC's copy of "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare". That in turn completes the British side of The List - there remain twelve books to read, but those are all taken from the US side.

I must confess, I found Shakespeare's tragedies hard going, largely because I had already read three of the best known (Julius Caesar, MacBeth, Hamlet), and was of course familiar with two others (Romeo & Juliet, King Lear). I very much enjoyed Othello, but the rest seemed mostly to be a grab-bag of lesser lights. Which is a shame. Needless to say, I'm glad now to be done.

#30: "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare" (a book from The List - twelve to go)

A Promise Comes Due, at the Worst-possible Time

A long time ago I made a promise that I now regret, that should England ever get to the final of one of these things I will support them in that final. 

That was a promise made in a different era, when the England team was inevitably hyped beyond their ability, they were frankly a rather unappealing lot, and the management wasn't exactly great. So they'd inevitably do okay for a while, then meet a team that was actually good and go out.

Things have changed somewhat - the hype has dropped somewhat (at least at the outset of the tournament), several of the players are shockingly likeable (indeed, Rashford is the closest to a Leader of the Opposition we have these days), and they have a manager blessed with actual talent, rather than just ego and reputation. All in all, they're not a team I would feel particularly bad about supporting.

(There is the issue of the dive, which isn't good. But it does seem England genuinely were the better team last night, so... Besides, their opponents are Italy. I do wonder, though, what sort of a final we're going to have if all 22 players spend the entire match prone.)

My main concern is two-fold, and is largely a media problem: on the one hand, the various commentators are just insufferable. I really don't understand why we in Scotland have to have this coverage of what is, after all, a rival nation foisted upon us. The other is the knowledge that if England win we will just never hear the end of it.

But the worst thing of all is that this is an England (the country, not the team) that has forced Brexit on the rest of us, and then landed us with the murderous incompetence of Boris Johnson right when we're in the midst of a global pandemic. And if England win, he will of course take full credit. Anything that gives succour to this government really needs to be opposed.

So the timing really, really sucks.

But a promise is a promise. For the duration of the match on Sunday, England have my support.

Thank Goodness That's Over!

At the end of my previous post I noted that I have now finished "The Last Druid", which is the last volume in the long-running Shannara series. I'm very glad to have reached the end.

Alas, I don't really have anything good to say about the book, which was a fairly poor end to a decent, if patchy, series. Basically, it felt like a last-volume by numbers - the author had split his story up into too many disparate threads and didn't have enough pages to really cover them all, so it all meanders for a few hundred pages and then just ends. No climax that brought everything together, no great summing up of the themes of the whole thing, and no great capstone moment - just a generally wrapping up of loose ends, and then we're done.

Such a shame.

(And, unfortunately, that means I now have what will most likely be my "weakest book of the year". Which is itself not the worst thing - if the weakest book is just mediocre, rather than terrible, it means it's been a good year.)

My Mini-rebellion

I have a sandwich for lunch most days. Most days, I cut my sandwich along the diagonal. However, some days I crave variety, and so I cut my sandwich in half horizontally, this being the other accepted way to cut sandwiches. Frankly, that is controversial, as it means I refuse to take a side in the great sandwich wars. It seems I was just born with a heart full of neutrality.

But even I balked at the notion of cutting my sandwiches in half vertically. Some lines are just too serious to cross...

Until today. Feeling rebellious, I had vertically-cut sandwiches.

In my, admittedly limited, defence, the reason for this was that I had slices of two different cheeses in my sandwich, and the only way to get an even balance of both cheeses in each sandwich was a vertical cut. But even saying that leaves me acutely aware of how feeble a defence it truly is.

They tasted fine. But it really was my "running though fields of wheat" moment.

#29: "The Last Druid", by Terry Brooks

Experimental Cookery 2021: Smoky Prawns Cooked in Foil

For Father's Day, and in preparation for the Birthday BBQ, I received a copy of Tom Kerridge's "Outdoor Cooking". This is the first meal I've cooked from it. It amounts to some prawns in a sauce, sealed in a foil packet and left to cook on the BBQ.

In terms of preparation, this meal was quick and easy - build the package and add the prawns, melt together all the parts of the sauce, add the sauce to the prawns, and then cook on the BBQ.

Unfortunately, something then went somewhat wrong - after the appointed time I opened the packet only to discover that the prawns weren't fully cooked. Still, that was easy solved by the application of a few minutes in a frying pan.

Once done, the result was excellent. In the end we had way too much food for the BBQ as a whole, which meant that there were a significant number of prawns left (which was a shame), but everyone who tried them really enjoyed them. They were a good addition to what turned out to be an excellent BBQ (more on that later).

LC and I will definitely be having this again. However, I intend to do far fewer prawns in future, and consequently with less sauce. I'll also use a larger packet, so it can lie flatter on the BBQ, and probably for longer next time. Hopefully that will all lead to more effective cooking - though, ultimately it was an easy fix, so I'm not too concerned.

I'm calling that a win.

Devastated

On Friday I received some really bad news. I had, honestly, been expecting it since September, and had a pretty good idea of how it was all going to play out. But, somehow, knowing this and having time to prepare didn't make it any easier to bear - indeed, it made it harder.

The upshot is that two years of extremely hard work has been made to count for nothing, and there is not a damn thing I can do about it - even if I could change the circumstance that brought this about (which I can't), the damage has now been done and can't be undone.

Friday was a good day. Until it became a really, really bad one.

Triumph and Disaster

Well, that's it. Scotland are out of the Euros, having lost twice and drawn once. Who knows when we'll next make it to the party?

I have no complaints about the exit - we were just beaten by the better team. And while we started the game reasonably well, the stuffing was really knocked out of us by the goal. Bluntly, though, our problem was up front. If you can't score, you're just not going to get anywhere, and we just didn't take anything like enough of our chances.

(Plus, of course, the truth is that it was the game against the Czech Republic that did for us. That was the team we might have had a chance to beat, especially if we had played then as we did against England and at the start against Croatia. Losing that one meant we were really up against it. Oh well.)

One thing that is odd is the reaction to the various results.

It is fair to say that we over-reacted to the draw against England. Yes, it was a good performance, and it was an unexpectedly good result against a much better team, and it kept us alive in the tournament when we could have been out already. And, yes, there was a certain amount of defiance in the face of a punditry that had arrogantly written us off completely. But it was also a 0-0 draw, not really something to get carried away with.

At the same time, the abject despair after the Czech result and, to a lesser extent, the Croatia result were also over the top. Yes, they were losses, yes there were goals that we really shouldn't have lost, and yes we should have actually taken the chances we did have. But it's also worth noting that we weren't actually expected to win either of those matches - both were against higher ranked teams. And, yes, we were lucky to be at the tournament at all.

So that's that. There are some reasons for hope for the future, but in the present there is also reason to be disappointed. Good luck to Wales and England in their next round matches.

#28: "The Diviners", by Margaret Laurence (a book from The List - thirteen to go)

The First Hurdle Cleared

Now that we have been moved to Covid Level 1, it is just barely possible for us to host a family gathering - we're allowed twelve adults outdoors, which means the birthday barbecue is basically ideal. Weather and delta variant permitting, we'll be able to gather for the first time since August. Which is rather nice.

That said, the journey has already been something of an adventure. It started with the meal planning - as I've mentioned before I like the notion of having a small number of foundation items along with a few elaborations, but with it being so long I thought I might go for something a little more involved this time... and I have some very interesting things to debut.

But this past weekend we hit a major hurdle. Our gas canister was nearing its end, and finally reached the end on Friday. This is actually a good thing, as we were in that awkward twilight area where there was some gas but not enough - leaving a judgment call over whether to replace it, get a second canister, or gamble. Better to be sure.

So on Saturday we went to B&Q to get a refill... and only then discovered that there is a major shortage at the moment! Disaster.

That of course prompted a lot of phoning around to try to find stock, as well as looking at other options, including but not limited to replacing the whole BBQ with a charcoal one, hiring in a BBQ and/or gas supply, or just getting takeaway instead.

But, luckily, there's no need - I've been able to find a stockist with actual, well, stock. And so we're now back on track... weather and delta variant permitting.

Surprise!'s Lack of Surprise

Yesterday we celebrated the baptism of Surprise!, which was a very different experience than Funsize's equivalent event - this was the first time we were back in the church building in more than a year, it was a much smaller event (both in the church and the family gathering afterwards), and we're all that much older and tireder than we were then. For all that, it was a lovely event.

The service was, in form at least, pretty much the same as for Funsize. However, where we had several people at the front, this time it was just LC and myself, plus Funsize and Surprise!. When the time came, LC held Surprise! forward, and the minister applied the water, rather than taking the child as would normally be the case.

One of the more surprising elements of the event was Surprise!'s reaction to the whole thing, or rather his complete lack of one - he just happily lay there are the water was applied, as though it was any other day.

After the event we returned home, where it was possible to host a small family gathering - one of the benefits of having a garden in which to host these things. It was a relatively small affair, but nice for all that. It was also the first time we've had any sort of gathering involving both sides of the family for more than a year. Another very welcome sign of things returning slowly towards normal.

Hopes For Our Son

Unlike with Funsize, we weren't asked for any words about our hopes for our son. That's probably just as well, as I'm running short of suitably subtle Pratchett/Tolkien/Babylon 5 references to use.

That said, the truth is that I hope for my son pretty much what every parent hopes for their child: happiness, health, good friends, and self-worth. Everything around that is just about arranging words.

So: I hope he grows up to he happy and healthy. I hope he finds himself surrounded by good friends. I know he will have a loving and supportive family, both immediate and wider.

And, most important of all, I hope he always knows just how loved and treasured he is. Just like his sister.

I Was Wrong

My previous post turned out to be in error. There is one combination of events that would represent an even more Scottish way to be eliminated, though it's massively unlikely...

As a consequence of yesterday's fixtures, the table is pretty open: the Czech Republic and England have both qualified, with four points each, and Croatia and Scotland are each on one point, with those two pairs still to play one another. Additionally, Scotland has the worse goal difference. So when Scotland play Croatia:

• If we lose, we're out. However, Croatia will almost certainly go through.
• If we draw, we're also out. Croatia will almost certainly also be eliminated - they'll be third in the group, but probably not one of the best third-placed teams.
• If we win, we're almost certainly through.

However, there is a permutation where we can actually go through as the second-placed team in the group, but only if the other result falls out just right:

• If England and the Czech Republic draw, they'll both be on five points. Regardless of how we do, Scotland could only manage third at best.
• If England win, they'll top the group on seven points, the Czech Republic will be on four points. And if Scotland also win, and thus get to four points, due to the head-to-head we would therefore be third. (I think, but am not 100% sure, that it is the head-to-head, not goal difference that would determine this.)
• However, if the Czech Republic win, they would top the group on seven points, and England would be on four points. If Scotland also won, we would be on four points, and of course the head-to-head was a draw. So we'd go to goal difference, and then to goals scored.

What that means is that, in the unlikely event that Scotland beat Croatia, and the very unlikely event that the Czech Republic beat England, and if the scores are big enough, it's just barely possible that we could get to second place.

Which means there is a new most-Scottish way to go out:

1. Scotland score early to lead their game 1-0.
2. England suffer an utterly disastrous collapse, and somehow contrive to lose their game 3-0.
3. With minutes to go, all of Scotland is gripped by the impossible fever of knowing that this time we're going to do it, and in fact we'll even make second place!
4. And then Croatia score the equaliser at the death, and in an instant we go from "second" to being out!

But, more likely, we'll revert to form and come ever so close but never quite manage to score.

The Most Scottish Way to Go Out

I think I'd best post this before today's matches go ahead. I think I have found the sequence of results that would be the most Scottish way of being eliminated from Euro 2020:

1. Scotland will play well tonight, but suffer a narrow defeat - 2-1 or something like that. The kind of result that everyone accepts as being just, and the kind of performance to give hope.
2. More importantly, Croatia have a nightmare against the Czech Republic. This results in them failing to win the match and, more importantly, give us hope that we can actually win.
3. This should mean that the winner of our final group would go through as one of the best four third-placed teams, but a draw would eliminate both.
4. Scotland then score early in that final match, and defend manfully for the remainder of the game. Until...
5. With practically the last kick of the ball, Croatia score an equaliser and eliminate us both. Disaster!

All of which isn't without precedent: that's almost exactly how the women's team were eliminated last time...

A Major Milestone

I've noticed this morning that my previous post, about the "Game of Thrones" rewatch, was actually the 2,000th post on the blog. It's funny how that milestone just crept up on me, but it's good that it's not going completely unmarked.

Game of Thrones rewatch

I have been working my way through "Game of Thrones" for the past several weeks, at roughly a rate of an episode a day. I'm now halfway through the fifth season. Some thoughts:

• I tend to split the series into three parts: seasons 1-4 adapt the first three books and are generally excellent, albeit not as good as the books. Season 5 adapts books four and five, and adds some new material (notably involving Dorne, but also sending Sansa to marry Ramsay Bolton). For the most part, this season is good, not as good as 1-4, but better than the (fairly poor) books. That said, the new material is notably poor. Seasons 6-8, of course, move beyond the books, and race towards the end. There is a very noticeable drop in quality.
• Varys' storyline makes no sense. He's apparently working "for the good of the Realm", but he's supporting a Targaryan restoration, when the last Targeryan was "the mad king" and the initial heir is Viserys who really is no better. And then, when Daenerys emerges and makes for a fairly good candidate, he promptly jumps ship to support Jon Snow who (a) doesn't want the jobs, (b) isn't in a position to claim it, and (c) is a poor choice anyway.
• Sansa's storyline in season 5 likewise makes no sense. It's entirely out of character for Littlefinger to sell her off to someone about whom he knows so little.
• The Dorne storyline just sucks. No more really needs to be said about it.
• That said, I remain of the opinion that season 5 remains a step above the novels, which sadly drop horribly in quality after the first three. I'm increasingly inclined to recommend that people read those and then consider them to represent the start of the greatest unfinished fantasy epic ever. I'm somewhat doubtful about whether the series will ever see an end, and even more doubtful about the eventual quality of any end that does emerge.
• I think this is the fourth time I've watched the first few seasons (once on Sky, once when I first go the blu-rays, once with LC, and now), and only the second time for the later ones. That's not terrible, given the relative quality of the series.
• I really hate these blu-rays. Not only did I have difficulties with some data they had stored on the PS3, which meant they didn't want to play properly again, but each disc has several minutes of unskippable nonsense that insists on running every time you load it. When I want to sit down to watch an episode, every extra second I have to wait before hitting the starting credits is an imposition, and these disks have too many. But then, the days of physical media are essentially done, so I guess it matters very little really.

I may well have some more thoughts when I get to the end. We'll see.

Freedom D(el)ay

So, Boris is set to delay "Freedom Day" by another four weeks. Frankly, that's a good thing - we're getting there, but the fact is that the group most likely to go out and mingle are also the group who are still unvaccinated. Far better to wait a few more weeks, vaccinate that last group, and then call it done. It's a frustrating delay, but it's the right thing to do.

That said, the reasons this delay is needed are frankly inexcusable. There are three very obvious lessons from the last year that our government have singularly failed to learn:

1. We live on an island. (That is, GB specifically. Different considerations apply to Northern Ireland, not to mention the other islands that make up the UK.) That means that we have control of our borders that other countries don't enjoy. For goodness sake, close the borders early!
2. If you think you might need to tighten restrictions, or delay relaxing them, you absolutely should have done so several days ago.
3. Every day you delay in taking the necessary steps makes the inevitable pain worse - in terms of lives lost, in terms of the economy, in terms of people's mental health, and in every other way. Get on with it!

And so, once again, we get to a point where it's obvious a delay is needed, we've all known it was coming for about a week, and still the government dithers. And this after the government dithered over adding India to the red list.

I really wish I believed that there would be a reckoning for this. Our government are manifestly incompetent; it would be nice to think they would be replaced in short order.

Euro 2020

So, today marks the start of Scotland's campaign at Euro 2020, our first major tournament (in the men's game) for decades. And today's game represents our best chance of racking up some points... with even one win likely being enough to qualify from the group. This is, already, the big one! (Though the game against England is also "the big one", albeit for very different reasons.)

Honestly, though, I'm not too bothered. We've already over-achieved just by getting to the tournament, so provided we don't suffer any outright humiliations I'm actually happy regardless of the results. Getting out of the group would represent our greatest result ever, and the odds of getting any further than that are minimal anyway, even if the impossible were to happen. So...

Meanwhile...

I've only "seen" two of the matches thus far. Obviously, I was quite glad to see Wales gain a draw in their first match, and wish them well.

As regards England, I thought they gave a perfectly creditable performance - they did what they needed to do, they got themselves a win, and there weren't any glaring weaknesses that I could see. It wasn't a steamroller, but that's fine.

In the past, I've felt that it's been obvious right from the first game that England weren't going to win the thing. Usually, they do okay, win the group by virtue of being by far the biggest team there, progress a few rounds, and then meet a really good team (usually by the quarter-finals; definitely by the semis), and then go out.

I didn't get that feeling this time. I thought that this was a team that, you know, was actually in with a shot. That said, I also didn't get the feeling that this was an invincible team. My gut feeling is that several teams will likely think they're in with a shout of winning this thing, and England are one of them. Which is fair enough.

Scotland, of course, aren't one of the teams with a realistic belief we could win it. But that's fine. I'm jus glad to be there.

#26: "Children of Húrin", by J.R.R. Tolkien

#27: "Sharpe's Fortress", by Bernard Cornwell

Day 150: Update on... Stuff

The past several weeks have been a huge improvement over those before that. A combination of no longer having to wait for Surprise! to arrive, lockdown being significantly eased, and the weather improving has had a hugely beneficial effect. Additionally, finally receiving the vaccine, and some other aches and pains clearing up has been good. All in all, things are in a much happier place now than they were.

• Books: By Day 150 I should expect to have completed 24.65 books. Having already finished book 25, I'm a good way ahead of that target. Additionally, I'm well advanced in my read-through of Shakespeare, which remains on target to conclude in early July.
• Weight: No change.
• Blogging: By this point I would have hoped to have posted 49 times here and 24 or so over on the Imaginarium. Unfortunately I fell a long way behind in April, and have not yet caught up - I expect to have rectified that by the next update, but we'll see.
• Redecorating the Spare Room: All remaining items have now been completed. This is done.
• Tadpole #2: Surprise! arrived two weeks after the previous update. Despite a rather more exciting birth than we might have preferred, the main thing was that everyone came through safe and well, which was indeed the case. This is done.

And that's that - two done, one ahead of plan, one behind but catching up, and one that's behind with no progress to speak of. I'm actually reasonably sanguine about all of that, largely because I deliberately didn't set any goals for the year!

Not Enough Letters

When you get right down to it, English is just a rubbish language.

Here's the problem: one of the single biggest innovations in the development of language was hit upon by the Phoenicians, and it was the notion of using letters to depict sounds, rather than using pictures to depict things. And with that it was suddenly possible to write the word for anything using a combination of only a few distinct letters. (Of course, that's also where we derive the word phonetic, and the idea of "sounding it out" when learnign unfamiliar words.)

So far, so good.

But then you get English, which is an utter nonsense of a language: we have letters where the sounds are modified by other nearby letters ('ch' rather than 'c' and 'h'; or pretty much any word ending in an 'e'); we have a set of mad rules with all manner of exceptions ('i' before 'e', except after 'c'... which is just weird); we have silent letters everywhere...

Fundamentally, we just have too few letters.

(Of course, the downside of that rant is that it also implicitly accepts that Americans are right with their policy of dropping the unnecessary 'u' in words like honour and armour, and replacing 's' with 'z' in words like organisation.)

Anyway, that's my rant for today.

#25: "Baptism of Fire", by Andrez Sapkowski

Fixing "The Rise of Skywalker"

The Star Wars sequel trilogy have not aged well. By my book, "The Rise of Skywalker" remains the best of the bunch, but that's largely because "The Force Awakens" is a Greatest Hits compilation of older films, while "The Last Jedi" is just a mess. Still, "The Rise of Skywalker" has very significant weaknesses.

I've been giving some thought to this, and I have a proposed fix. Though, naturally, it's largely useless - there's no more prospect of this film being redone than the final season of "Game of Thrones".

In my opinion, there are three big problems with "The Rise of Skywalker". The first is the revelation that Rey's parents aren't "nobody" after all, but rather that they all tie into Palpatine's plans... but in a frankly ham-fisted way. Secondly, there's the issue that our heroes' big plan at the end is to send a message calling for help from the galaxy... which they did in "The Last Jedi" and received no response. Finally, there's the problem that Finn basically has nothing to do - apparently, he's Force Sensitive, but this is handled so badly it reads as an unrequited crush on Rey, and even that goes nowhere.

So...

My solution to the Rey thing is actually pretty simple: have her parents be, almost literally, nobody. More specifically, we know that Anakin was conceived through the Force and therefore had no father - it would be easy enough to have Palpatine repeat the same trick to conceive a new child into which he planned to pass his consciousness. Indeed, it would be a fairly small step for him to combine that with Kaminoan cloning techno-magic and eliminate both parents entirely. And thus, instead of being a previously-unmentioned son, all we need is for Rey's 'parents' to be researchers who absconded with the child, and that all ties together.

Regarding the other two issues...

One of the big themes of Star Wars, in all the films, is that complacency kills. The Jedi are brought down because their arrogance blinds them to the danger of Palpatine. Tarkin dies because he doesn't recognise the danger the Rebels pose to the Death Star. The Empire is ultimately undone by the Ewoks.

One of the plot points of the sequel trilogy is the use of child soldiers by the First Order - they have abducted masses of children from the galaxy (apparently including Lando's child, though they neglected to actually mention that in the film), indoctrinate them, give them guns, and call it good. And, to a large extent, those troops are held in place by the force of Phasma's personality - Phasma being dead as of "The Last Jedi".

So...

I would have thought that the solution to both the final plan and to Finn having nothing to do would be for Finn to lead the First Order's Stormtroopers in their own rebellion against Palpatine - and thus the First Order is brought down by its complacency about its own troops.

And this would actually be easy to arrange with minor tweaks to the film: there's a scene early on where the First Order agree to step up their "recruitment" - step one is to add a comment to the effect of "are you sure? We've been seeing many more defections now that Phasma is dead..."

Step two is to reveal that the informant is actually legion - lots of Stormtroopers are leaking information under a single codename (Fulcrum). Then, when Finn and Poe are captured and set for execution, rather than Hux shooting the Stormtroopers, it is they who shoot him in the leg, reveal themselves to be Fulcrum, and then they all flee together. (And then Hux gets shot as the informer without a chance to explain himself, followed by the same arrogant "I've found the leak" statement by Pryde as in the film...)

And that way you get a well-established indication that the Stormtroopers are fit to rebel, and so in goes Finn, back in armour, together with the ex-Stormtroopers from earlier in the film and Jannah and her troupe.

(If they wanted, they could even still have that whole "there are more of us..." scene - there's no reason Lando and Chewie couldn't take the Falcon to try to gather allies. It just shouldn't be something they rely on.)

And that's more or less it - the rest is details. For instance, I would be inclined to name the Final Order flagship "Skywalker", thus making the Rise both literal (in that it is seen rising from Exegol) and thematic (as it rises from captivity back to the light). The Sith dagger shouldn't point to the ruins of the Second Death Star (much less a singular location within that ruin) - you need some other, less contrived, path to that. And, frankly, there should be a massed battle between Jedi and Sith Force Ghosts at the end - with Vader and Anakin being the last two standing.

Or something like that, anyway.

Histories: Done

As of this afternoon I have now completed my read-through of Shakespeare's histories. I now have nine of the tragedies, plus Pericles, still to read, with my hope being that I'll finish up in early July. In the immediate future I'm going to take a couple of days off before starting the next play.

I found the histories rather more interesting than the comedies, largely because the comedies were very formulaic. That said, both the first (King John) and last (Henry VIII) were less enjoyable than any part of the two tetralogies.

However, I do remain convinced of my two previous conclusions:

• Shakespeare very definitely has a small number of "greatest hits" and a lot of lesser works, and those lesser works are generally lesser for a good reason.
• As I've said many times, these are plays and best enjoyed by watching rather than reading. Were it not for its place as the final entry on the UK side of The List, I wouldn't be tackling Shakespeare in this manner, and it's not something I can recommend.

Kane and Abel

As I've mentioned before, one of the great things about The List is that every so often I come across a book that I wouldn't otherwise have read but that I very much enjoyed. "Kane and Abel" is the latest such novel.

The reasons I wouldn't have considered it are probably pretty obvious - being written by a Tory and being about two unabashed capitalists, it was never likely to appeal!

And yet I enjoyed it a great deal. It covers a great sweep of history, moves at a good clip, and has two mostly-sympathic, albeit very definitely flawed, main characters. Granted, it waxes rather nostalgic about the American Dream in a manner that is charmingly naive, but that can be mostly forgiven. Yes, parts of it are a nonsense (albeit much more now than when it was published), but the fantasy wish-fulfilment can probably be excused for the good of the plot.

But what makes the novel work is the parallel tracks of the two main characters and the conflicts between them.

At present, it stands as the candidate for book of the year. Recommended!

#24: "Kane and Abel", by Jeffrey Archer (a book from The List - fourteen to go)

50 Years of Mr Men

Given the avatar I use on this blog, I can hardly let such a prestigious anniversary pass unremarked, can I?

The Mr Men were amongst the books of my early childhood (alongside Thomas, of course). And now they are part, albeit a relatively smaller part, of the childhood of my daughter. That's a win in my book.

Vaccination Day

I had my first dose of the Astrazenica vaccine this morning. So far, so good - my arm is a little sore, but otherwise fine.

I'm extremely glad to have reached this point - it seemed to take an age for the vaccine programme to get to me, but it has at last. Not that it makes a huge difference, as I was always in a low-risk group (due to working from home), and because I'm obviously still bound by the various restrictions. Still, getting the vaccine takes us all that little bit closer to herd immunity and therefore freedom, so it's all to the good.

#23: "A Murder of Quality", by John Le Carré

Aftermath

My after-the-election post - this one has been delayed solely because I wasn't able to find the time to write it. The truth is that I don't think the Scottish election mattered all that much anyway - the by-election in Hartlepool had rather more importance.

Anyway, some thoughts:

The Result: The result was pretty much as expected - the SNP falling just short of a majority, but backed by a slightly-increased Green contingent. Actually, given the voting system and the tactical voting on both constituencies (by unionists) and on the list (by nationalists), it's pretty much certain that this is what we're going to get, give or take a seat or two.

(If you could somehow ban tactical voting, and enforce it - which you shouldn't and can't, respectively - we'd probably see an SNP majority based on the constituencies alone, a much smaller, or even non-existent Green group, and the other three parties slightly diminished. Conversely, a purely proportional system would give us an almost even Yes/No split, with the SNP being almost all of the Yes side, a few Greens, a couple from Alba, and the three unionist parties sharing the remaining seats.)

Anyway, given the rules of the game, the only people who can really feel aggrieved at the result are the Greens - it looks like they should have gained two more seats, but for a bizarre decision by the Electoral Commission. Oh well.

For the parties: The SNP will be quite happy. The Greens will be very happy, apart from the above. The Tories will likewise be quite happy. The Labour party will probably be disappointed, but they never really had a chance to increase their share, and will probably stay pretty much constant for the foreseeable future.

The Lib Dems will be gutted - losing one seat isn't too bad, but it does mean they're no longer considered a party grouping, which has various technical effects. It will be very interesting to see if they feature in the debates next time. If Alba doesn't qualify (and that's probably rightly so), the Lib Dems probably shouldn't either.

For Alba: I think the game is done. They may stick around, but I really can't see them going anywhere now. Come the General Election they'll lose their MPs, come the local elections they'll probably lose their councillors, and it's really hard to see where they go from there.

The only thing that concerns me about that is that it does mean it is effectively impossible to start a new party in Scotland and be successful. That means you now have a five-way choice for your vote, and if you don't agree with any of those five, you're politically homeless... and denied even the hope of representation. (And since there are a great many topics on which all five agree, there's a reasonable chance you may simply be out of luck.)

For me: As I said in my previous post, this was probably my last vote.

The mandate for a second independence referendum: It's actually very simple. We are a representative democracy, and mandates are determined by seats. If a majority of MSPs vote for something that, and that alone, constitutes a mandate.

So the SNP and Greens absolutely have a mandate to attempt to bring about a second independence referendum. (And let's be honest, if it was any other topic, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.)

Of course, the key word there is 'attempt'...

For independence: The dream is dead. This is where Hartlepool comes in.

Regardless of whether it was an SNP majority or a pro-independence majority, the sequence of events was always going to be the same: at some point Nicola Sturgeon will ask for a Section 30 order for a second referendum, and Boris Johnson will say "no". He pretty much has to say no - if he says yes there's a decent chance he'll lose, an then he goes down in history as the PM who lost the union, instead of as the man who delivered Brexit and guided us through the Pandemic. He's not going to do that.

So the key question is what happens then. Now, the last twice this has happened, the answer has been "nothing" - there has been a lot of huffing and puffing, but no election and no real move towards independence. My best guess is that that will happen again - and will always happen again.

But if the Scottish government does try to force the issue, they're still scuppered. Firstly, there will absolutely be a court challenge, which they may well lose. Secondly, even if that doesn't happen, the Westminster government can easily amend the Scotland Act to outlaw any referendum without a Section 30 Order (putting the matter to bed). Thirdly, if they don't want to do that, they can just repeal whatever law it is Holyrood has passed to bring it about - Westminster have retained the right to make whatever changes they want. Either of those latter two options can be done with emergency legislation, taking about a day.

Or Boris could simply shut down Holyrood completely. With any other PM that might be unthinkable, but with Boris...

The thing is, the Tories won Hartlepool, and didn't just win Hartlepool but won it with an outright majority of the vote. Despite everything - the disaster that is Brexit, the horrible death toll from the pandemic, the naked corruption of all that money passed to their cronies, the Arcuri affair, still they voted for Boris.

And it would be deeply disrespectful to suggest that voters didn't know all those things when they voted.

No. Whether it was due to the success of the vaccination programme, or they were grateful for the furlough scheme, or simple loathing of Labour, the fact is that the people of Hartlepool voted Tory in vast, vast numbers.

What that means is that Boris has a large (indeed, expanded) majority in the Commons. And, despite everything, he's still a vote winner. That means that the Tories will back him, and that means he can do basically whatever he wants.

Coupled with that, there's actually very little for him to lose in shutting Holyrood. Sure, 31 Tory MSPs would lose their jobs, but they're not exactly the shining lights of the party. He's not going to lose many votes in Scotland - and even if he does, Scotland is frankly an irrelevance in General Elections (and even moreso if we insist on voting SNP). Given that he's on record as considering devolution to be a disaster, if Holyrood starts to be a real nuisance, he might well just pull the plug.

The bottom line: There won't be another independence referendum in the next five years. There may well not be another set of elections five years from now, but even if there are, they'll be fought on exactly the same issue (singular) with almost exactly the same result.

The whole thing is just profoundly depressing.

#20: "Time of Contempt", by Andrzej Sapkowski
#21: "Sharpe's Triumph", by Bernard Cornwell
#22: "Firefly: The Ghost Machine", by James Lovegrove

Can't Say I Enjoyed That

This morning I dropped Funsize off at nursery and then went in to the polling place and voted. And, for the first time ever, I found myself feeling bad about doing so - although I came to bitterly regret my vote for Labour in 1997, that wasn't until some years later; today I regretted my vote even as I cast it.

Unfortunately, I find myself in a position where I object strongly to at least something being proposed by all of the parties that have any chance of being elected, which meant either wasting my vote or finding a least-worst option. And so, since there is one thing I definitely do want, and I can see only one way that that might happen, that's where the vote went.

Sadly, I can't help the feeling that my chosen government if (when) elected will then proceed to kick the thing I do want into the long grass, and instead focus on all of the things that I find so objectionable. And, of course, they'll use my vote as justification for exactly that. All of which sucks.

We'll see, I guess.

As of right now, though, today was my last vote. The game's a bogey.

Surprise!

I haven't really had any time for blogging in the last week, so this is a rather belated post about a rather belated delivery. You wouldn't expect an overdue baby could end up being a massive surprise, but there it is.

It all started the evening I finished work. It was the weekend, and because of when LC was booked in to be induced we already knew I wasn't going to be back. That evening we had LC's parents over for dinner - a rather nice BBQ (our second of the year). LC was feeling rather uncomfortable, but at this point there was no real indication of what was coming, and so after the meal LC's parents went home, and we got started on our evening routine - LC took Funsize for a bath, while I started with the clean up and washing up.

The washing up was interrupted by LC crying out in pain. At which point I suggested she call the labour ward while I took over Funsize's bath. The advice was that things might be starting to happen, but we should stay home for now.

Next, Funsize was put in front of the TV while LC had a both to try to help with the pain, and I finished the washing up. Oh, and I called LC's parents to come back and collect Funsize "as a precaution at this time".

By the time the washing up was done, LC was out of the bath, but was crying out in considerable pain. I went upstairs to find that her waters had broken. What to do, what to do? (At this point LC snapped at me. Understandably, given the circumstances...)

The assumption at this point was still that we had plenty of time - last time there were hours between the waters breaking and the birth. Still, there was a need to be ready. So I headed downstairs, got Funsize into her shoes and jacket and made sure she had everything she needed. I also, crucially, unlocked the front door.

But I wasn't liking what I was hearing from upstairs, so now I called the Labour Ward...

As I was going through the routine "who are you" questions, I was heading upstairs and put on the speaker phone, whereupon the midwife noted that LC was already pushing, and asked if anything could be seen. "The head!" LC exclaimed.

The midwife then said two terrifying things. Firstly, that the baby was going to be born at home, and secondly that she was going to call an ambulance. Oh, and could I go get some cloths, towels, or similar?

So I did. Meanwhile, LC got down on all fours, and it was time for the midwife to talk us through the birth...

The next few minutes were not something I ever expected to experience. First the top of the head appeared. With the next contraction, the baby had a forehead and some eyes. Then a mouth and chin. "Your next contraction should be your last," said the midwife on the phone. Meanwhile, I was worried - the baby was a distinct purple colour...

At this point an unfamiliar voice came from downstairs. "Hello?" The ambulance had arrived!

I shouted, and up they came, and with enormous relief I moved out of the way to let the professional take my place. And seconds later, our son was born.

Once that was done, everything slowed right down. The ambulance crew moved on to helping LC, and our son was handed to me for some warmth (and to get us out of the way).

I'm not sure whether it was immediately before or immediately after the birth, but LC's parents had arrived by the time I went downstairs. Which had the nice consequence that they, but more importantly Funsize, were able to meet the new arrival right away. (There is a photo, but it's not the best - the baby is cute; me, not so much.)

And then it was off to the hospital. LC's parents took charge of Funsize, but also spent quite a lot of time collecting towels, clearing up, and generally putting the house back in order - by the time I got back home, it was all spotless.

From there, it was all remarkably calm. LC required some stitches, but was in remarkably good health. The baby was likewise entirely healthy (apparently, they're just that colour when first born), and big - 10 pounds, 8 ounces, and a bit. (And she did that with no pain control at all!) One day later, and we were all home.

A few things remain to be said: This was not at all how I expected to spend a Friday night, but it all worked out okay. Funnily enough, while it was all going on I actually found that I wasn't scared - there basically just wasn't time. I just had to do the next thing, then the next, and so on. But I was enormously relieved when the ambulance crew arrived. (When LC went for her bath, I very nearly joked about "The Worst-Case Survival Handbook" having a section on how to deliver a baby. I'm kind of glad I skipped that particular joke!)

I must also, of course, pay tribute to LC, who achieved something remarkable - to deliver at home, without any pain control, to such a large baby, and to come recover so well is extra-ordinary.

And I must also, once again, thank the medical staff involved - the midwifes in the hospital, and especially the one on the phone, and also the ambulance crew. All were brilliant, just when they were needed. Lots of people have congratulated me for my part in all of this, but the truth is that all I actually did was make one phone call at just the right time (and remembered to leave the front door unlocked). In the big picture, that's basically nothing.

Finally, of course, is that the new arrival needs a blog-name. I had been planning to go with Button, on the grounds that there aren't many types of chocolate smaller than a funsize. But under the circumstances another name seems more appropriate. Henceforth, he shall be Kinder Surprise, or just Surprise! (and KS for short).

Welcome to the world wee man!

Experimental Cookery 2021: Quick Chicken Tacos

This is another one from the Tesco magazine (which, oddly, have two nearly identical versions of this in the current issue). The big claims here were that it was quick and simple, and also that it was not an expensive meal.

Sure enough, the preparation was quick and simple - a few minutes to get the chicken in to marinade, and then the next day a little chopping and slicing, and quite a lot of relaxed frying. Then bring it to the table, and watch it very quickly disappear.

This was a great meal, and is likely to become a new favourite. It really was that good.

One thing I will particularly note is that this involved making a quick pickle out of a red onion. That was especially, and surprisingly, nice - I'm inclined to add that as one of the sides should my birthday BBQ take place (which looks promising).

And that's about that.

Seriously, Why Would You Do That?

In Tesco today I bumped into someone from my band, which was nice - good to get a wee catch up, even if only briefly before we both needed to move on. Except that at one point he stuck out a fist expecting to receive a bump.

Gah!

Seriously, why would you do that? Yes, the risk is now very low, and the proposed contact fleeting. But we're still in the midst of a pandemic, and we still need to eliminate those non-essential contacts. And I had my daughter with me, and so have an additional obligation to show a good example. Yet now I have a choice to make.

Actually, it's quite surprising just how quickly attitudes change - eighteen months ago I wouldn't have thought twice about a fist-bump, a high five, or a handshake. Or even, with closer friends, a hug (in a strictly manly way, you understand). And yet suddenly the prospect of even a fleeting contact becomes a huge issue, provoking instant dread and in the longer term a blog post. It's funny.

But hopefully it won't be too long before the vaccine has this thing beaten, and things will go back. This absence of physical contact, while necessary, isn't really a good thing.

#19: "The Poisonwood Bible", by Barbera Kingsolver (a book from The List - fifteen to go)