Get your own diary at DiaryLand.com! contact me older entries newest entry

Notes

Previous Next

About Me

Ten at ten
30 June 2013 22:00


i) What do you do if you haven't got time to write a blog post? Get someone else to write it for you! OK, that's a slight exaggeration, but I did have a small hand in it. The writer is not sure of my gender which I found quite amusing.

ii) My water heater (immersion) failed last weekend, giving me two days of no hot water. I spent a fair bit of time researching how to replace an immersion heater, until I was reasonably confident I could give it a go (it's only electricity and water; what could possibly go wrong?) before investigating the problem. Turned out to be easier than I thought. The thermal cut-out had, well, cut out. It was just a case of pushing a small button to reset it. Now, this could be because the thermostat had failed and the element had over-heated, but that is for another day.

iii) Incidentally, during my research I read that lime scale does not form at temperatures below 60oC*. So those adverts for low-temperature washing powder and lime-scale remover are self-opposing - if you do one you don't need the other.

*I don't know whether this is true; I'm hoping some scientist person will tell me.

iv) I was (unwittingly and unexpectedly) the subject of a "blast from the past" this week. One of the Cadet Mums asked me if I used to do bell ringing. Turns out she remembers me from 12-15 years ago when she also used to ring. Can't say I remember her, or even where we may have encountered each other. Slightly concerned as to what sort of impression I must have made for her to recognise me after such a long time. A good one, obviously.

v) Amusing comment while walking through Smalltown yesterday. I was stopped and asked "excuse me, is this the centre of town?" Yes it is. I know most town centres have more than a small bakery (closed at the time), a butcher, a newsagent and a small supermarket, but that is as big as Smalltown gets.

vi) The Smalltown swan has six cygnets this year. That seems a lot for a swan - what is the usual number? Oh, between five and seven eggs, apparently. That would be six then.

vii) End of year concert at CGF's school this week. On the whole the standard was pretty good - particularly the singing. The choirs were very good at enunciating the words* (better than the school up the road), and one solo singer was outstanding. From the first note it hit you - "this is very, very good". Not that I know anything.

*The enunciation was so good that, for the first time, I realised that the song "Fields of Gold" is nothing to do with the rural landscape of a province of Indonesia. It's "fields of barley" not "fields of Bali".

viii) A grocer was originally something more akin to what we would now call a wholesaler, rather than a purveyor of everyday items. They sold thing by the gross (geddit?). That explains why there is a Worshipful Company of Grocers; they were more important than small shopkeepers would have been (not that small shopkeepers aren't important).

ix) Smalltown carnival and fete yesterday. I missed the carnival as I was doing something else, but first-aided at the fete*. As these things go, there wasn't a lot there. A few stalls, but no additional attractions to keep the punters. There were quite a few people there at 2.30 and I confidently predicted it would be empty by 3.30 (people spend an hour on average at a fete; most people arrived with the carnival at 2.00 so would be finished by 3.00). A few minor casualties, and a small squidgy thing to hold (parents are making an album of "sproglet and friends" and thought a picture of sproglet with a SJA-peep would be entertaining. Obviously they wanted a photogenic person but used me instead).

*Those who say they would rather die than go to a fete are wrong. No fete is worse than death

x) The fete book stall allowed us to have a free book as we do "such good job". I chose Lingua Latina Occasionibus Omnibus - because it was there and because I'm a geek.

Abeo. Die dulci fruere

previous - next

Recent Entries

What's changed - 21 May 2020
Locked down life - 17 May 2020
Travel Bookings - 15 February 2020
Does anyone know what's going on - 06 September 2019
Family stories - 17 August 2019

about me - read my profile! read other Diar
yLand diaries! recommend my diary to a friend! Get
 your own fun + free diary at DiaryLand.com!