A varied life …
It’s been a bitty few days – leaving aside the miasma of politics, the near-death of the United States, the FT’s latest Brexit update which predicts a 5% reduction in GDP over the next 15 years with no discernible benefits (Project Fear becomes Project Fact) and, apparently, His Borisness’s prediction that ‘it will all be over by Christmas’. I have to say that that turn of phrase was so poorly placed – any of us who have been to school (not just to Eton) know how poor a prediction that was in 1914. Ho hum.
What have we done? Well we’ve been to look for ovens, this time coming away from Currys with an AEG which is being delivered next week. We did try John Lewis, but there were far too many maskless old people bumbling around, we didn’t feel safe. So we left. Anyhow … I have taken the old oven out and noticed that it was poorly fitted, so I have sorted the junction box. I will fit the new oven and then we’ll pay a leccy to come in and just check the wiring for old time’s sake. The old one will go on Gumtree for free.
[image error]oven replacement … start of the job
I have also, eventually, fixed the rear alarm light on Doris. It flashes red every few seconds when the alarm is primed … but it doesn’t, because when I was fixing the brake light a year back the wires snapped off the housing (the light is in the reversing light housing) and I couldn’t re-solder the thing back together. VanBitz, who fitted the original (excellent and very loud) alarm quoted me £21 and £4 delivery for a new bulb and wires, which I thought was a bit steep. Three different e-bay LEDs later (£4) and we’re back flashing again. Hurrah!
[image error]blink … blink … blink
I got a phone call from the team I was working with in the MoD (I’ve probably told you this already). I have agreed to run a remote 360 – and yesterday I put out a questionnaire to the team. I am interviewing them all next week at the end of which I hope I can give the boss an update. We’re going to focus on news ways of working … so we’ll see how that goes.
[image error]had another go with the bike, this time with industrial straps
We’ve been exercising (my latest 4.6km is now down to 19.25, don’t you know … getting close to my best over the past 5 years and don’t my knees know it) and scrumping apples and blackberries from the local nature reserve. We have also been considering going away and we might be getting closer to that, certainly a week at a campsite somewhere local might be the answer. I think our longer term plan is six weeks in France, probably from the end of August before we fly off and have a baby in late October (Bex in Seoul). That, like everything of course, is virus dependent.
And we still have a close eye on those we support. My mum has been more fidgety this week, bless her. She’s 87 on Monday, which is a ripe old age. We never thought she would see 80 when she went under the knife for heart surgery and then had the massive stroke in 2012.
Off to Jen and James’s now. Painting a room, I think. That’ll be fun!
Oh … and if you have Amazon Prime and haven’t yet watched The Marvellous Mrs Maisel, please do. The script is as sharp as anything I’ve seen since The West Wing.
Keep safe everyone.
