test please delete

[NickFitz]

Lunch has been "sweet and smoky" chicken breast pieces in a white bap, with a bag of plain crisps

Quite nice, but I think I prefer the variants with a bit more zing when it comes to these pre-flavoured chicken bits

Lunch has been the same again, but this time in a wholemeal bap. General opinion remains the same: nice enough, but I probably won't bother getting that particular chicken variant again

[NickFitz]

Went to see my Mum, as the rest of the family wanted to. Not really my thing though; I'll prefer to remember her as she was when I last saw her in the hospital with my Dad

[ladymuck]

Evening all, Heathrow calling

Looks nice out, with clear sky and a smattering of cloud. Currently 20 degrees with a chance of rain in the next hour.

I am currently awaiting a stand so I can get off the plane and head home. The bonkers trip is now complete.

[ladymuck]

Got to decide whether I want to go and view my Mum's mortal remains tomorrow. Not at all sure whether I want to or not

I saw my Dad, as he'd died at home. My brother called me while I was driving down on getting the news to see if I wanted to or not. I decided I did but actually regret it as what I saw wasn't the Dad I knew. Not sure I'll make the same decision when my Mum dies.

[NickFitz]

I saw my Dad, as he'd died at home. My brother called me while I was driving down on getting the news to see if I wanted to or not. I decided I did but actually regret it as what I saw wasn't the Dad I knew. Not sure I'll make the same decision when my Mum dies.

Yes, that’s pretty much how I feel about it

[NickFitz]

This evening has been quite good fun, as we (my siblings plus partners and I) met up with a couple of cousins from my Mum's extended family; these ones are from over the water, i.e. the Wirral, and I haven't seen them in about fifteen or twenty years. They're staying at a nice hotel just round the corner, with a good restaurant; so tea has been ham cured in some fancy way, with chips, fried eggs, and pineapple

Plus a couple of pints of locally-brewed ale

Getting to sleep now, ready for a long day of pall-bearing, reading aloud, and wearing a tie

Goodnight all

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

Grey day out, but no rain predicted. Currently 15°C with 20° expected this afternoon. The barometers here are 1012/1019, but it's impossible to say if that's up or down because I don't have previous readings for here. Meanwhile, at home, it's 14°C with 19° expected later

[DoctorStrangelove]

^^^

Morning.

Friday.

Grey.

Sunless.

Dry.

Cool in here at 19.4 deg, 20.5 deg in the kitchen, 19 deg in the leanto, 17.4 deg in the salting house.

1015 mBar, 29.973 in Hg, 761.3 Torr, 14.72 psi, (up from 1010 last night), 75% RH (GDR hair), 73% RH (Lidl electric).

Meanwhile on the 1st of July 2019 there was a musical discussion.

Shirts in the WM.

Shirts out of the WM & pegged out on the line.

Smalls in the WM.

Smalls out of the WM & pegged out on the line despite the foreboding of the clouds.

Shopping trip to Morrisons done dusted washed dried sanitised & put away.

Shirts in off the line & roughly iRoned, now airing upstairs.

Lunch: scrambled egg and poached tomato on Morrisons sunflower & pumpkin seed toasted crust (though it might not have been), bramble jelly & marmalade on slices of rather more toasted toast than usual, red pippy corner yog, 0.91*1.55 pints of good Glengettie tea.

Entertainment: The Infinite Monkey Cage S10: "Does science need war". Of course it does, where else will one get one's Cobalt Thorium G FFS?

TWATO.

Look out! Now the river otters are taking lessons from the sea otters:

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/woman-airl...103648785.html

Doomed etc.

Freecell score: 100% (of 13), running average: 86% (85.52%).

Entertainment: Trucking Hell S3 E10: the one with the leaning artic stuck under a railway bridge, and Merrie towing a bin lorry through the narrow roads of a housing estate, who the feck puts a bin lorry depot in a housing estate? And since it was drivable why not drive the fecking thing to somewhere more accessible?

Tea: Mr Brains faggots with peas & suchlike, a yog, some apricot halves, 0.91*1.55 pints of good Glengettie tea.

Entertainment: PM. Feck me, I wish I'd turned that off.

Police Interceptors intercepting stuff.

Joy of Painting. . strong in this one: an autumn scene.

Joy of Painting. . no at all in this: another black canvas seascape. Dunno why I don't like those.

A look at life: after last week's V bombers, this week it's beds & sleeping. Those spring making machines were impressive.

Dial 999 E35 "Rat trap". Offing a copper is never A Good Idea. It tends to irritate them a tad. Ah, it's about "The Twins" without being explicit about it.

Other stuff.

The last 15 minutes of "Predator" with that Arnie chap.

[ladymuck]

Morning all

Dull and overcast but dry. Currently 17 degrees with a high of 21 expected. The sun might make an appearance this afternoon. Rain may occur overnight, in the wee hours. Barometer at 1018 mBar.

First load of laundry done. Second load in. Whilst no rain is forecast, I don't trust the look of the clouds so it's being draped on airers indoors. Ocado have delivered.

The garden is not as overgrown as I expected but the weeds on the front path have returned with a vengeance. My neighbour did indeed cut the top of one of my hedges, which has saved me a lot of money.

I have looked at work emails and there's no nasty looking meetings coming up next week and no emails that require urgent responses. I think it's all on Slack / Webex, which I refuse to look at until Monday.

I have a call about possible work at Heathrow on Monday, starting September/October. Hopefully the right sort of contract and money will be offered. In the meantime, I'll continue to tout my wares around and see what comes up.

[NickFitz]

Home again!

Well, it all went as well as these things can. My sister had done a great job of organising everything.

We started with a Requiem Mass at one of the local Catholic churches. I did the reading, from Corinthians, and it's fair to say that was a particular high point for a lot of people because, frankly, I'm damn good at it. It helped that the priest and deacon both spoke so quietly as to be almost inaudible even with amplification, while I know how to give it some welly and projection, and could easily have put it over without a PA if necessary

Of course, it was one of the modern translations, which is a shame as you can get a lot more into a phrase like "through a glass, darkly" than "in a mirror, dimly"; but there's no point trying to pick a fight with the Vatican

Then on to the crematorium for the eulogies and committal, which was rather less formal and generally Scouse in tone: Ferry Cross The Mersey on the way in, You'll Never Walk Alone (original Broadway soundtrack version, I think) during the proceedings, and The Leaving of Liverpool to play us out. I did a brief bit about the love of nature she acquired from her own mother, who died when Mum was only eight, and read W.H. Davies's poem Leisure, as she'd told me nigh on fifty years ago that it was one of her favourites

And then to the pub, which put on a very good spread

Very good turnout too, with cousins travelling from as far afield as Blackpool - and they were from my Dad's side of the family! Even my brother's ex-wife came to the crematorium (she had checked in advance that it would be OK with us) because that's the kind of love and respect my Mum inspired in people

Now to decide what to have for tea