Tuesday 29 August 2006

I've just finished to watch "Grease". Mark I kept my promise I watched it on my own. We made an arrangement: I won't never ask him to watch Grease with me ( but you can watch it on your own Mark if you want!) he won't never ask me to cook fish in the morning for cooked breakfast. I can cope with sausages and beacon but fish is a bit, just a bit too much.
Anyway, I sang all the songs, subtitles are great! I used to know half of the words. I danced along the music and I enjoyed the 50's. I love the 50's! I wonder Mark if you will ever sing to me: "We got together like ra-ma la-ma la-ma ka ding-a da ding-a dong chang chang-it-ty chang shoo-bop that's the way it should beeeeeeeeeeee Wha oooh yeaaaaaaaaaaah!"

Well this film always cheers me up and I needed today. So I m going to bed smiling hoping to get some sleep. Maybe dreaming about someone singing ra-ma la-ma la-ma to me in a leather jacket and tight jeans will help! Night night everybody e sogni d'oro mio principe azzurro.
Sunday 27th August
Went to St Martin's Church, Dad did a "interactive" sermon, asking the congregation about what evil they saw in the world, my two bits was about the use of "religion" and "morality" to justify evil and foolish deeds. The World Trade Centre attack, the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Middle-East crisis etc.
Went to the caravan park near Verwood with Mum navigating, didn't sleep very well, nearly bright enough to read by and heavy rain.

Monday 28th August
Went to Branksome Chine beach with Mum and Dad, spent the morning on the beach and walked towards Bournemouth pier, stopping off for lunch before heading back. Dad mentioned the fun both he and all his boys had when he was tipping us out of our rubber dingy and helping us back in again and again. Despite the trials of growing up with my disability, I mostly remember the joy and security my parents gave me throughout my life. Slept much better this night, it wasn't so bright.

Tuesday 29th August
Had a quiet morning in and drove back to Exeter, starting out a about 11am, might have done the clock winding in the afternoon except for one little snag in two parts, the appalling traffic. The train strike today combining with the holidaymakers returning home after the bank holiday weekend caused long queues of traffic along most of my route. Many people seemed to regard any clear stretchs of road as a chance to slow down to 20mph below the speed limit to look at the scenery, while the oncoming traffic was too heavy for even the most impatient driver to try and overtake.
After finally getting out of the queues I got a further unpleasant surprise, Topsham Road, one of the major routes in and out of Exeter was closed due to roadworks and the diverted traffic was being fed into my normal route into the city. Apparently the roadworks had started about the same time as I left Exeter on the 24th and would continue until the 3rd of September. Again the train strike had worsened a bad situation.
Decided not to got into work this afternoon, as my normally sunny disposition was somewhat absent, having been unable to stop for lunch for fear of not being able to get back onto the road again afterwards.
Out with the old

Meanwhile, one of my (and Clive's) old abodes has just been blown up:
Sorby Hall

Earnshaw Hall (think Mum might have lived here) is also up for demolition.

Monday 28 August 2006

Our House

We've had an offer accepted on a lovely house round the corner from our current (rented) abode. Huzzah!

Saturday 26 August 2006

Thursday 24th August.
An interesting start to the holiday with me nearly missing last good bus to the train station, so I took a taxi and arrived in good time, despite the wonderful "public transport system" of Surrey. Enjoyed the quiet of an empty house, unfortunately I was out in the garden when Dad sent me a text message, and he was a bit irritated that the message hadn't got passed on, after Mum called him to check where he was. I might have had a problem if Dad hadn't been able to put me and Mark on the car insurance via the renewal number (closes at 8), rather than the customer services (which closed at six).

Friday 25th August.
Drove over to Dartford, got blocked off from the right junction once and briefly stopped by an accident, but thanks to that rare breed, a helpful van driver made good time, for the M25. Went to Hall Place with Nan, enjoyed the gardens and didn't get wet, in the evening visited the Forni household, saw Joanne and Charlotte, attempted to wind Charlotte up about the realities of laundry and ironing. Carlos came in later, rather tired, and probably retreated to bed before Abigail returned with her sleepover friend. We left and I got a nice night's sleep after watering Nan's plant pots.

Saturday 26th August.
Woke up early, 5:30 dratted "wake at dawn" biological clock, decided to tag along with Nan to Crayford helped Nan deliver a floral arrangement form the florist to her church, and then had an amble around the shops while Nan had her hair done. Found a bench to sit on to read for a bit, discovered that the thin layer of mud underfoot was more slippery than I had thought and nearly fell over on trying to get up, got mud on my hand, which may have prompted Nan to go to the garden centre. She bought 3 bags of compost and would have bought a pot but discover she didn't have her coupons with her, did and few other jobs for Nan, including hoovering the stairs and getting down the landing lace curtain for cleaning. Had a nice quiet afternoon in with Nan, and then drove back to Camberley, a bit of windscreen battering rain but otherwise an Ok trip back, despite muffing the exit from the M3 slightly, too used to getting off at the other side.

Sunday 20 August 2006

Friday 18 August 2006

Oooh. Adrian, Emma and Nick are coming to visit. Hurrah!

Thursday 17 August 2006

I can't read my comments boxes at work, but as (somewhat inevitably) the commenters over at Mark Shea's blog have been arguing about evidence for the assumption, he's posted a little more, on that, if anyone's interested.

Wednesday 16 August 2006

Mark Shea posts a snippet from his, as yet unpublished I think, book on Mary, and I post a snippet from his snippet:
I once heard George Weigel remark that John Paul II seemed to him to be the most fearless person he'd ever met. But the source of the fearlessness was not John Paul's experiences under Nazi or Stalinist oppression. It was, said Weigel, because John Paul had really internalized the fact that the worst thing that could possibly happen had already happened: God had been murdered—-and God had brought Easter out of it. John Paul II knew he belonged to a race that had murdered God. He therefore believed in the reality of original sin (which is why he never tried to suggest that we could create Heaven on earth). Indeed, he had personally experienced and witnessed some of the worst horrors human sin has ever wrought. But he also believed in something deeper than sin: the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by which Jesus showed forth how completely He could save the human person from the destruction of sin. He believed in the Assumption of Mary, by which Jesus showed forth how completely He could glorify the human person in perfect freedom and love. In a word, John Paul knew the true dignity both of our origins and of our destiny and refused to let sin blot out that fact about us. While he acknowledged the mystery of sin, he never let sin name any person he met—even those who tried to murder him. He knew that though sin corrupts our humanity, it did not constitute our humanity. And because he knew where we came from, he knew where we were supposed to be going, because by the power of Christ Jesus, one of us is already there in Heaven, sharing fully in the glory of Christ.

Sunday 13 August 2006

Sunday August 13th is Left-Handers Day.

A celebration of the minority of people who can literally claim to be "in their right mind".

Tuesday 1 August 2006

Cleaned my rock collection yesterday, one rock looked spectactular in the bright sunlight, then the sun went in as a downpour started. At least the plants will benefit.

A small bit of good luck today, was taking a shower, phone rings, answerphone picks up before I even start to get out. No message left, 1471-ed, just a telemarketing call.