Hello Old Friend

I received an email from an old friend this morning. That was a very pleasant surprise - I had assumed that that friendship was pretty definitively ended. (There wasn't any drama there. It's just shockingly easy to simply lose contact. The days pile up and become months, the months become years... and then all that's needed is a house move, email address change, or similar, and the connection is gone.)

So, anyway, good to hear from him. Hopefully, that marks a reopening of those lines of communication, rather than just a blip. I really must do better on that front!

#51: "Fantastic Mr Fox", by Roald Dahl (a book for Funsize)

Malaise

On Saturday I finally got caught up on all my tasks, found myself with a little free time, and thought I'd get on with one of the things I'd said to myself I'd do during lockdown... and promptly decided, "nope". After spending so much time in front of a PC all week, I found I just couldn't be bothered at all to sit and do so at the weekend. (Nor, indeed, could I face sitting watching some TV or a movie. Basically it was screens that I was burnt out on.)

Which was a bit of a bummer, since the chances of me getting some more free time any time soon are extremely small. So I guess that project just isn't going to happen.

I do have one more thing that I (well, actually LC) wants to get through during lockdown, and that doesn't require a lot of time. So maybe I'll make some progress on that this weekend. But I wouldn't count on it!

#29: "50 Literature Ideas You Really Need to Know", by John Sutherland

Woes

It has been a difficult few days. Not absurdly so, I should point out - I'm conscious that with all the terrible things going on in the world this barely rates, but still harder than usual. And, naturally, things have decided to go wrong in unison rather than sequentially.

Teeth

In the run-up to my six-monthly check-up I was very worried about my teeth, to the point where I actually feared some of them would be coming out in short order. These fears were essentially dispelled at the check-up, where in fact they were given a clean bill of health. Which was good news, if rather surprising.

Then, last Friday, I bit into a slice of birthday cake and suddenly found myself in significant pain, pain that was then renewed when I bit into my lunchtime apple on Monday. Not good. So yesterday I went back to the dentist and explained the issue...

and there's still very little to see. The dentist did apply something to try to deal with any jangling nerve-endings, but it does seem that things are, actually, basically okay. Still, a stress I could really have done without. Because...

Internet

Our internet stopped working on Monday for no apparent reason. After trying a few things, I concluded that it was probably the router, but by then it was too late to go out and get a new one. So on Tuesday I did just that. But, time being tight, I didn't get a chance to try it until last night.

Surprisingly, the new router made no difference whatsoever to the issue. This is perhaps not the worst thing, since it means we haven't lost another router in fairly quick succession (they seem to last two years, if we're lucky). But it still didn't answer the question.

So I called tech support, and spent in excess of an hour on the phone while the agent worked through his on-screen trouble-shooting process. Painfully. Slowly. (Seriously, he seemed like a nice guy and all, but I really wanted just to shout "Get On With It!" I don't need a lengthy explanation of the test you're about to run - just run the test already!)

Anyway, at the end of all that we didn't get our internet fixed. Grr. We have an engineer booked to come out on Saturday. Though I may just have hit on the solution this morning - unfortunately, I needed the internet to investigate whether my idea might be right.

Shower

We've also had a small problem with our shower, in that some of the plastic fittings in the "riser rail" were cracked. The rail therefore needed replaced. So we ordered the appropriate kit, which arrived on Tuesday. So far, so good.

Alas, while fitting the new kit LC discovered that one of the parts was not quite what we needed. Annoyingly, finding any indication of the exact part we actually need has proven insanely hard. Eventually, we'll have to photograph what we have, what we need, and email customer services. Once the internet is working again...

(In the interim, we do at least have a working shower - the old parts are still useable, if not great and not going to last. Still, annoying.)

The House Move

Perhaps the biggest stress, though, relates to the house move, which is proceeding apace. We had someone visit to discuss some of the factors involved on Saturday, and while I can't discuss the outcomes of that here (until the move is complete, at least), it does mean that our plans are having to change, possibly quite significantly.

Which is okay; it just means that the process isn't going to be as smooth as I'd (maybe foolishly) hoped, and that it's probably going to take a good bit longer than I think LC had hoped.

But one more annoyance I didn't want to deal with, on top of a bunch of other annoyances I don't want to deal with.

Oops

One of my students is competing in the Stirling Mod on Friday, and I had intended to go support him in this. However, last night LC and I were discussing the possibility of going to the theatre this week, and eventually settled on seeing Dara O'Briain at the Edinburgh Playhouse, also this Friday. It wasn't until just after she'd confirmed the booking that I realised I'd been planning to be elsewhere.

Oops.

What was worse, though, was that it then turned out that I had neglected to mention my intention to go to the Mod to LC. I genuinely thought I had done so, but it turns out not.

Oops again. Also, sorry LC!

Anyway, the end result is that we're going to see Dara on Friday. My student will just have to manage without - in truth, our other tutor is going to be setting him up to play anyway, so my role would have been purely ornamental anyway.

Besides, it's worth considering that the band is currently taking too much of my time and concentration. I'm going to need to keep an eye on that for the next few months, given how busy the competition season is likely to get.

I'll let you know how the show is.

Musings on the Cross of St George

One of the things I noticed when we were down South at cousin Rob's wedding was the English flag flying. Now, this may not be entirely surprising, especially to readers in America (if there are any!) - the English flag flying in England? Who would have thought!

But, actually, my experience has been that it's actually not all that common - it's not terribly common to see any flags flying in most of England, and when you do see one it tends to be the Union Flag. In my experience, the Cross of St George seldom makes much of an appearance.

Of course, there's a very easy explanation for the likely cause: it was the last weekend of the Six Nations tournament, and England were in with a good chance of winning. So, not terribly surprising that the pubs would be flying the flag.

Anyway, I was a little surprised to see the flag so prominently. But my reaction to it: good.

The unfortunate thing is, the English flag seems to have been appropriated by some rather unpleasant sorts: the BNP, the EDL, and the like. To the extent, in fact, that the Labour party managed to get themselves in a mess recently by tweeting about "white van man" in Rochester.

And there does often seem to be a reluctance amongst many English folk to engage in any public display of patriotism. Perhaps it is that association with the less-savoury sorts. Or perhaps Oscar Wilde's, "patriotism is the virtue of the vicious", or Samuel Johnson's "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" have sunk in. Or perhaps it's just my impression as an outsider, which is of course limited. But where most Scots are quite comfortable with the Saltire, and the USA is positively festooned with the Stars and Stripes, it does seem that poor St George gets an airing only on sporting occasions.

But, during the Independence debate, Alistair Darling rightly pointed out that the Saltire didn't belong just to the "Yes" camp but to all Scots. And, similarly, the English flag doesn't belong to the BNP and the EDL, and those who would use it for their agendas. It belongs to all Englishmen (and women, of course).

So, frankly, the more reasonable, patriotic English folk fly the flag, the better. Don't let them have it.

(Or do. It's not really my business, either way.)

This Week's Mug: This week, I am using another of the mugs I picked up in France, this time bearing the pictures of those valiant Gauls, Asterix and Obelix. Oh, and their pet Dogmatix. It's a yellow-ish mug that also bears an image of a pyramid and some heiroglyphics, that probably spell out something hugely witty, like "I can't believe you Googled the meaning of this", or something. I picked up this mug while on a trip to the Asterix Park which is... okay, I guess. My strong advice with this park is to make sure you visit it before going to Disneyland - it's good enough in itself, but it pales somewhat by comparison, so if you do this one second it will seem a let-down. Anyway, a nice fun mug for the last week before my holiday.

#14: "Gone With the Wind", by Margaret Mitchell (a Book from The List, and the first candidate for book of the year for 2015)

My Hidden Agenda

When I ask a question, my hidden agenda is this: I don't know the answer, and I would like to know the answer.

That's it. I'm neither a politician nor a lawyer - I'm not trying to score points or lay a clever trap for you, nor am I implying some criticism or demanding that you drop everything and get something done. And neither is the real question something I've not asked but am keeping in reserve.

I don't know the answer, and I would like to know the answer.

You know, just in case you were wondering but didn't want to ask lest I take it the wrong way.

The Dawn Threshold

Today was the first time this year that I left for work during the day. For the past couple of weeks there have been hints that this was coming, but today that threshold was reached. It's funny how much of a difference such a seemingly-minor thing can make.

The next threshold is coming in a few more weeks yet, which is when I get home from work during the day. (Excluding Fridays, of course, when I leave early.)

This Week's Mug: This week'smug is a standard white mug with a wraparound design showing the Colliseum in Rome. I purchased this on my second visit to Rome, some four years ago. It's a nice mug, but it rather pales compared to the souvenir Lady Chocolat has from that trip...

#7: "William Shakespeare's Star Wars: The Empire Striketh Back", by Ian Doescher

Nevermind Then

I've just received an email advertising the Grand Hogmanay Ball at the National Piping Centre.

"Ooh," I thought.

£95 per ticket.

"Ah," I thought.

"Should I Join the Army?"

A young man of my acquaintance asked for some advice yesterday. It transpires that he has recently been laid off from his job (a shame - it had seemed promising), and he was now seriously considering joining the Army with a view to spending four years there, soaking up as much training as possible, and seeing how that would set him up. What did I think?

Well, what I really thought was: oh crap, don't ask me!

But that's not a terribly helpful answer. So, what answer to really give? It's not a clean-cut issue. There are some very significant pros and cons:

Con: Let's not dance around it: the massive, massive downside is the risk. We've lost too many men in Afghanistan, and we're still going to be there for another little while. It looks like there may yet be some sort of a conflict with Iran, which could be very nasty indeed. There's all sorts of sabre-rattling going on over the Falkland Isles. There have been cut-backs in funding of our armed forces, but there don't seem to have been many cut-backs in the demands we place on them.

(Plus, the Tories have traditionally not been averse to making use of our armed forces. So I wouldn't want to assume that the planned withdrawal from Afghanistan implies a reduced risk.)

Pros: The Army is a solid, reputable employer. The pay is decent, the discipline would probably suit this young man pretty well, and the training that is on offer would stand him in good stead. I daresay the experience would do him a world of good (subject to the con...).

And, again, let's not dance around it: the opportunities available for young men in Falkirk, and especially young men without much by way of recognised training or qualifications, are painfully slim. Too many jobs require formal qualifications (or, rather, there are too few that don't), and that's going to get worse rather than better. Faced with several years of bouncing from one job 'opportunity' to another, picking up bits and pieces here and there but no recognised qualifications... the prospect of four years of solid employment looks really attractive.

(Of course, all of this assumes he could get in, which is by no means guaranteed.)

Ultimately, all I could advise him to do was to think about it very carefully. He asked me what I would do in his position, but I couldn't really answer that - my path was always fairly clear from school, to uni, to career; I never faced the problems facing too many of our young people today.

It was flattering to be asked my advice. I hope I was able to help, even if only a little. But, damn, I wish he hadn't!

Ouch!

I twisted my neck this morning, and now it hurts. Not the best possible start to the day.

Still, things are actually a lot better now than they have been. The honeymoon is booked and paid for (as mentioned previously). There was a small issue with getting one of their special offers, but it turned out to be a communications problem, and is now resolved. (But you did not want to be around me on Saturday morning while that problem was ongoing. My poor cactus had to suffer some spectacularly bad language.)

I confirmed last night that the bag on my bagpipes is indeed burst, this being the eighth (or more) time this has happened. The band have been trying out a new bag design, but it's obviously not suitable for my use. I'm not sure why. Anyway, although this may seem like a bad thing, it is actually rather a relief, since it explains the problems I was having last week.

The day invitations for the wedding are now written (with one exception), and should be going out very soon. This leaves the evening invitations as the largest outstanding task, and then there are a bunch of details that need locked down. But, suddenly, it looks like things are coming together, and I may actually be able to enjoy the next 80ish days.

My D&D campaign "The Eberron Code" is on hiatus until after the wedding. I rather miss playing, although I knew I didn't have time to run it during these months. This does give me some time to marshall my thoughts for the next section of the campaign. Additionally, I have a one-off game coming up next month: "Star Wars: Through a Glass Darkly". That should be fun.

The Saturday game hasn't resumed since Christmas. All being well, we'll be meeting up on Saturday, although this is looking increasingly unlikely. I'm still estimating two more sessions between now and the start of April.

In order to reach 999 posts by the 11th of April, I will need to write two posts a day, pretty much every day. This seems extremely unlikely. Surely I don't have enough nonsense to talk about between now and then?