Author: Jeff

Posted on

God

I have come to realise that there is a God, and he is a vengeful god.

And I have angered him.

A few years ago, Becky had planta fasciitis, I was sympathetic, but not really appreciative of how painful and debilitating it was until I developed the condition in January ’23.

For the last twelve months, or so, she has been complaining of a frozen shoulder, again my sympathy was not perhaps as fulsome as it might have been.

This week I have had a pain in my neck, right shoulder and right forearm. At times it has been blummin’ painful. Leaning forward to swoosh my face with water when shaving each morning gives me a pain just below my neck, between my shoulder blades. The pain often then moves through my shoulder to a my chest, were my right arm meets my body. A good job it has been on the right not the left, else I may have thought the pain was a heart attack. And my right arm and wrist hurts, particularly when using a mouse, or driving. It seems to be when the weight of my arm is not supported.

I thought it perhaps caused by a trapped nerve, or perhaps even the weight of my enormous brain causing strain on my neck.

But then I had my moment of clarity. I found god. My angry, vengeful deity, punishing me for my lack of sympathy. And since I have had my moment of revelation, the pain has begun to ease a little. However, my god continues to toy with me, periods of pain free clarity are brought to a swift end with a stabbing pain, a reminder of my sins past and present.

In other news, it was Becky’s birthday on Thursday. Just the two of us (getting older and more achy)

Weather wise – the blanket of grey has lifted and we have seen a bit of sun, blue sky but also some rain; and we’ve been able see the Tor again, no longer hidden in murky grey cloud. Its got colder, and is set to get colder still, so I have been enjoying what may be the last few days of my still flowering nasturtiums. And for the record, I gave the lawn a quick mow today, in the warm damp weather it has been growing at a fair old rate for November, and needed a quick trim.

Posted on

Sophie’s Birthday

Monday was Sophie’s birthday – 25 ! It seems hard to believe. She had been home for the weekend, and was home on Monday for her actual birthday. It was lovely to see her, and share her birthday tea (and cake!) before she went home that evening.

On Tuesday, EasyJet flights for Autumn 2025 opened …

… and we booked flights to Lisbon for October half term. We are experimenting on that trip, and not taking any luggage, other than the small carry on rucksack that we are allowed.

And today we booked our flights for Christmas 2025 – we are flying to Pisa, but will then head to Luca for the four days we are staying in Italy. Going out, once again, only basic hand luggage, but we paid an extra £30 for one extra cabin bag on the return flight, for any Christmas goodies we may but. Total cost of this return flight for us both is £140.

Wednesday was depressing as we woke to discover that – somehow – Donald Trump has been voted in as American President for the next four years. A miasma of depression hung over the day, mirroring the grey, damp weather we have had all week. I am beginning to come to turns with it, and accept the result, nothing I can do about it, so why worry?

The weather has been the same for well over a week now – warm (ish – these thngs are relative. Probably better to say not normal November cold), but grey, leaden skies and a dampness in the air (but no rain), We haven’t seen the sun in days, we’ve lived under a blanket of grey. But this has meant my nasturtiums and geraniums continue to flower, providing some much needed colour. (And, to be fair, the trees have looked good, and when they have shed their leaves they carpet the floor with a dry, crunchiness.

And worth noting, for the record as I am sure that at some point in the future I will want to know when, they have finished resurfacing our road and it is now beautiful smooth, silent tarmac. The absence of noise is noticeable.

Posted on

Bulbs, roads, Spain, and more

On Wednesday we returned from a wonderful week in Spain – I shan’t write about it here as I blogged daily on Hap-pea travels whilst we were away. Here is day one: http://hap-pea-travels.co.uk/uncategorized/an-andalusian-adventure-day-1/

On our return, we found that our road was closed for resurfacing, which caused a few problems. Fortunately, we were allowed down to drop off our cases, before parking the cars in the school car park. (Needed to take the Civic for its MOT the next day – sadly it failed, on a number of things, the emissions failure and structural failure led me to believe it wasn’t worth saving, so is booked in to be taken for scrap in two weeks time). The road does open from 3.30pm to 9.30 am, and is open at the weekend, but it is causing a bit of a faff, although when done the smooth, noiseless tarmac should be a bonus.

Since our return it has been unseasonably warm. Not sunny, but mild and mercifully dry and I spent Thursday and Friday getting the bulk of my remaining bulbs planted. I do still have a few more to plant, but they are earmarked for some pots that are still brimming with flowering geraniums and nasturtiums, so until the first frosts come, and turn them into mush, those bulbs are going unplanted. I also used the time to complete the cleaning of the various decks.

Sophie came home yesterday as it is her birthday tomorrow – 25! who could believe it. She and Becky went to the Newt today, and yesterday I fixed the driver side door that wouldn’t open on her car.

So the half term holiday draws to a close. Its been busy, full and fun!

Posted on

… and relax …

Half term has arrived, a chance to chill and relax before we head of to Spain later this week. I was not sleeping in the picture above, merely taking advantage of resting in some warm October after a morning of deck cleaning.

With all the wet weather we have had, the decks had become dangerously slippery and they needed a good scrub. Saturday was rain free so I set to the task, and am pleased with the results. The dry weather, though, could not last and this morning we have had more rain and strong winds, although by the afternoon the rain has pushed through leaving a bright-ish sky.

This morning I booked our various busses, from Nerja to Malaga, and then Malaga to Ronda return. I am very much looking forward to our Andalusian adventure.

Hopefully the rain will stay away, and I can begin to start planting some bulbs tomorrow, although I am reluctant to dig up the front trugg as it is still in flower flower with geraniums.

Becky has happily spent much of the last two days de-bobbling her jumpers. She bought a de-bobbler off Amazon and has happily set to on her knitwear.

Posted on

A busy week (at work)

Its been a busy – but fulfilling – week at work, but that does mean I don’t have much to write about for my blog. I’ve been working hard, getting a lot done, and we inch closer and closer to half term – one more week to do before the break.

The weather remains notable in its constant flux, chaos and change. We have some very wet days – Tuesday was particularly biblical, yesterday (and the photo above is from yesterday) was bright and sunny – a very pleasant afternoon to be running around Kingweston (although it had started with some unexpected rain) and today has been cold, feeling more like November or February than early/mid October. I must confess, I am pleased to be fleeing to the blue skies and warmth of southern Spain in ten days time.

Posted on

A bit of culture

This morning, Becky and I went to the Zig-Zag building (part of the Red Brick building complex) to see the “As Old as the Hills” exhibition, as part of Somerset Art Weeks. What a magnificent space! We climbed the stairs to the top floor of the Zig-Zag building – so named because of its roof – to see an open expanse of the top floor of an old factory, filled with art work. I am in awe of the vision and creativity of those that can create the individual pieces, but also have the imagination to see how they can be displayed in such a wonderful space. It was a soul lifting hour as we wondered around the pieces, and also took in the vantage point to see “hidden Glastonbury” and the fields beyond.

Weather wise, its not been a bad week, with some sun, and trees beginning to change colour, but this afternoon a little mizzle quickly turned to rain, and it has poured down once again, with a river of rainwater running down the road outside. It has been a very wet September and early October – I am increasingly looking forward to fleeing to the warmer climes of southern Spain in a couple of weeks time.

Posted on

Showers, Spanish, and Bulbs

So last Sunday evening, I was brushing my teeth before going to bed, and over the buzz of the toothbrush I could hear a drip, drip, drip. The shower was dripping. Fortunately, I had Monday off as part of an extended exeat weekend, so was able to set too tackling the dripping shower. As I suspected, it was the cartridge. What I did not expect was how expensive it would be to get a replacement. £81 was the cheapest I could find one. Anyway, was able to remove the old one fairly easily (one nut that didn’t, initially want to crack) and then off to Bridgewater through the pouring rain (more of that later) to collect the replacement, which I re-fitted easily, once I’d figured out the order to put the parts back in. And now the shower no longer drips.

In some respects, it was good that I had the shower to fix as the weather on my extra day off was terrible – incessant, heavy rain all day, it really was miserable. We had a dry day on Tuesday, but the rain returned on Wednesday. Yesterday (Saturday) ended up being a lovely day: after a cold start, the sun shone and I enjoyed my afternoon refereeing on pitch 1.

The rain that had been forecast for today has not materialised (yet!) I didn’t run this morning – was still tired when I got up, and the weather forecast now had us dry until 2pm so I decided to have a leisurely start, and then get my (last years) bulbs planted into the lawn. I’m pleased to have got this job done, now need to wait until spring to reap the rewards.

And I’ve begun to re-engage with my Spanish. I have renewed my subscription to News in Slow Spanish – audio only, circa £6 a month – mainly for the “Rooms” where you join other Spanish learners for 20 minutes to chat in Spanish. Is great to practice chatting with other people, I’ve been into a couple of rooms so far, and enjoyed them. 20 minutes is about right – enough time to have a chat, but not too mentally draining! Hasta luego!

Posted on

Grease

Its exeat weekend, which means I had a rare Saturday off yesterday (and, as bonus, I get tomorrow off, too) and what better way to spend it than by taking in some musical theatre at the Bristol Hippodrome. We (Becky, Sophie and I) went to see Grease – it was greats, a wonderful night out. The music and dancing got my toe-tapping, and before the show we had been for a slap-up Greek meal at the Hat Bistro.

On Thursday we had a fleeting visit from Sam, he’s been in London for the last couple of weeks. He got the bus to Bristol, then 376 home, had a quick bite to eat before hoping into his silver dream machine and driving back to Cardiff. Whilst he doesn’t start back for a week or so – the final year of his degree – it was evident whilst we were in Bristol last night that lots of students were there for the first night of their undergraduate adventure. Hope he does some work this year, graduates (I’m sure he will – but two, three years ago, this was not a given!) and starts thinking about a job/career.

The weather over the last week has been good – warm and sunny – but, inevitably, it turned on Friday and we have had a lot of rain over the last three days, typically in big bursts for up to, say, an hour, before clearing up.

I did referee this morning in Somerset County Cup, Vets competition (Pilton v Ashcott, Pilton won) I would say I get wet, not soaked, somehow we missed the massive downpours. Enjoyed the game, I’m thinking maybe referee one Sunday a month? Who knows, will see how things pan out. Everywhere is beginning to look distinctly autumnal as the leaves on the trees begin to change colour.

And after last weeks endeavours, the lawn is tamed and ready for winter. I had hoped to plant some bulbs into it this weekend, but its just been too wet. A job for another day … With the rain, and the (reasonable) warmth, everything is looking verdant and fresh, and growing well. Geraniums still in full flower, nasturtium leaves providing ground cover (and the odd flower) and we have a succession of sunflowers – with a fair number still to bloom – to provide colour and cheer and keep autumn and winter at bay for a little bit longer.

Posted on

Lawn

This week, I have been cutting back the lawn for the winter. During the week, I gave it a strim, then today I gave it another strim before running the mower over it. In the top section (nearest the house) there is now little coverage of anything, so I scattered another packet of wild flower mix in the hope that they come up, not roses, but wild flowers next spring and summer. Later, but not today – here’s hoping for some half decent weather next week, I will begin to plant some of last years bulbs into the lawn.

As is always the case when when I mow it flat, I think it looks better than it did, and doubt whether it is worth letting it go wild, but then I remember what it looks like in February and March, and then again in May and June, and it is worth – providing colour and interest when its needed, if it does then not look so good through July and August.

Still thinking of the garden, I’m pleased with my nasturtiums – even if they are not awash with flower, they are providing healthy green foliage to keep autumn at bay a little longer. These one were virtually dead – stripped of leaves by caterpillars – when returned from Greece, but a little nurturing has seen them burst back into life.

The side of the house still seems full of life, along with the front planter – the geraniums are still going strong, even if everything is beginning to look a little leggy. And we don’t have the same amount of sunflowers as last year, but there is a steady stream of flowering plants to give that little splash of clolour. Alas, there will be no pumpkins from the garden this year – a couple of healthy plants have thrown forth their wonderful big leaves, and plenty of male flowers, but we’ve only had a couple of female flowers, and neither has been successfully pollinated.

The weather this week has been chilly – particularly in the mornings and evenings – and I have succumbed and fired up the heating on a few nights. Wednesday was cold all day, yesterday, after a very chilly start, ended up as a lovely bright, warm, sunny day; sadly today never lived up to its promise, although dry the sun never really won out. I had hoped to sit out for an hour so in the afternoon, reading and soaking up sum late summer sun, but alas, it was not to be.

Posted on

Happy New Year!

So term, and a new school year, has begun and, although only a week in, weather-wise it feels like November. It has been wet, wet, wet – Friday in particular seeing relentless rainfall. Last week, my pic of the week was the Tor shrouded in mist, this week it is the Tor hidden by huge, heavy rainclouds. Its not warm (today we put the winter tog duvet back on!), it certainly hasn’t been a glorious late summer – and the prospect of sunshine and warmth doesn’t feature in the forecast; here’s hoping we get a late burst in early October …

The term has started well, and I’ve quite enjoyed myself most of the time. Perhaps it was the weather, perhaps it was not having the Cathedral service and getting cracking with lessons sooner, or perhaps its just that Year 11 know what they are doing, but we seem to have got back into the swing of things, the rhythms and routines of school life, fairly quickly. (Although yesterday, Saturday, proved to be particularly busy as something came to light that needed resolving …)

I came home on Friday, looking forward to an evening of chilling, slumped in front of the telly with the windows shut and doors bolted against the worst of the rain, only to find Becky’s computer had crashed, and would not start up.

Try as I might (and my computer skills are quite limited) I couldn’t get it up and running, so I dusted off an old machine running Linux and she is currently using that, with limited options – not all “her sites” run on it – and so I ordered a “new” refurbished machine which, annoyingly although bought through Prime, won’t arrive until tomorrow. I am hopeful that it will just plug and play, at least all her Google Chrome tabs.#

Ran again this morning – after yesterday, I was looking forward to it. Curious how in term time running offers me something different than in the holidays: I think it provides a separation, something I do for me, not something I do for the school (plus a chance to see a little of the countryside/somewhere different from my daily “commute” from home to school and back) Again, wasn’t swift today, but also it wasn’t “as difficult” as it has been of late. (And I even stayed dry!)