2008 — 28 Jan: Monday, and still foggy?
Just (midnight and a bit) got back from an enjoyable meeting of the Dinner Party Club. Of course, the fog, ice, and gritting detracted a little from the pleasure, as did my failure to obey Mrs Dominatrix in the sat nav box. Still, the motorway1 was quite pleasantly unbusy. And the iPod behaved itself.
The meandering red line more or less shows my route (having removed a couple of the diverting diversions). "A" to "B" indeed! Just remember this is still all rather new territory to me. (Literally, in the case of Romsey.) Yes, I know I should have gone up Luzborough Lane (indeed I did, until I found a roundabout I could turn round on!) All these road names I don't yet know... I shall just have to go out more in daylight to familiarise myself. And I recall Christa many times complaining how poorly roads in the UK were visibly identified.
Cheeky brother... department
He emailed with the temerity to criticise Friday's picture of Highclere Castle.
Thanks for that. Just off to dinner. Enjoyed the castle... shame2 you don't have image stabilisation!!! Maybe next lens? Nice composition though!
Dammit, Janet! Doesn't anyone realise a) it was taken at extreme telephoto zoom, b) it was blowing a gale up there, c) this is just a part of the overall image, and d) yes, I do have an image stabiliser on the lens, but there are limits to its ability to compensate? Time for bed, I suspect.
Now what?
Well, I've allowed myself a rare lie-in. It's now 10:21 and I haven't even made the first cuppa! Disgraceful sloth or lingering tiredness from the trek yesterday, who dare say? Still, I suppose us retired chaps have a mild excuse. Waxing slightly more philosophical, I observe this grieving business / process (whatever) has its up days and down days. Returning to an empty house after a day of companionship — I've concluded — tends, quite naturally I'm sure, to the "down" direction. "Keeping busy" is easy enough (there's plenty to do, after all) but at the moment as Carol remarked in her recent note to me "Keeping busy doesn't erase anything, but it gives you less time to dwell on it while the repair work is going on and limits opportunities to fall into the slough of despond." (I worked in Slough once!)
Is it a bird?
Now have a go at this one, John! It's a Robinson 44 Clipper II, I gather. Source. The four-seat Model R44 is the world's most popular helicopter, according to its manufacturer.
What about this for a vista, Christa?
I really wish you could have seen this with us yesterday, my love... You'd have loved it, I know. And for my puzzled sister-in-law in NZ: where was I standing when I took this one? Clue, it was first settled about 3,800 years ago during the early Bronze Age, and (1,300 years or so later) an Iron Age hill-fort was constructed there.
Step by tottering step... department
A subheading that applies both to our walk yesterday, and to my current back-burner probate-related activities. If — as I am currently finding — solicitors require so much care when you set about proving who you are and where you live, then how come there's so much fraud going on everywhere? Don't I have an honest face? Or did I fail to make the correct undisclosed donation to my MP? Still, thanks to Richard3 (from our bank) for certifying that I am who I am, that I (still) live where I've lived for 26 years, and for offering to do me a couple of certified copies of Christa's will (as the local solicitor changed his mind about doing that) tomorrow morning. So that should help me set ERNIE on to the straight and narrow, at least.
Trouble, right here in River City!
According to a nice, young (incredibly young!) policewoman who has just (20:20) knocked on my door, our little estate suffered a burglary earlier today. "Was I in? Did I notice anything or anyone suspicious hanging around sometime between 8 a.m. and about 3 p.m.?" (I didn't, as it happens.) Well, that will be one in the eye for dear Mama for the next phone call! Tell you what, though. I won't be leaving the car on the drive with its engine running in future! What with this, and US secret satellites descending inexorably as their orbits decay... is it still safe to go out?