The London Marathon, sportsman-like behavior, canals

by | Apr 23, 2017 | Latest Post | 3 comments

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The buzz of the London Marathon, which I very much enjoy,  induces in me a hyper multitasking mindset.

Today I have simultaneously:  watched the Marathon on TV, vacuumed the bungalow in which we live, baked a loaf of gluten-free bread,

sipped libations of wine, and written this diary.

a runner helping another exhausted person at his own expense

I have today decided to call myself “the Modern Samuel Pepys” because not many people understand the concept of “The man on the Clapham omnibus”. This phrase was used by a judge in 1912 because he thought that people in Clapham were regarded as sensible levelheaded citizens who were capable of using commonsense. Samuel Pepys was one of the great diaryists; he also observed the effects of the Great Fire of London (1666)

Today was the first day of the year when I let the dough of my bread rise in the greenhouse because there was enough gentle heat to do a good job. Sure enough it has risen to double its size as is the folklore for baking your own bread and is yet another celebration of the coming of the heat of the sun. interestingly, home cooked bread has none of the digestive after-effects of bread bought from a shop and now we do not buy bread from the supermarket. Period. We do make an exception at markets where they sell the real thing but Françoise needs to be gluten-free and most bread is not for reasons of cost.

My wife, Françoise, has been similarly actively engaged. She has discovered what she thinks is rising damp in our bedroom and I cautioned her that we need to distinguish between damp, and rising damp The former is probably because there was too much moisture in the room but again I have to say it attaches itself to the skirting boards in one corner so I will take a watching brief on this one. We will clear away the mould and re-examine it in a month to see whether it has re-appeared.

Françoise has also laid out a wonderful collection of beads. They like everything else has got dusty so she spent some considerable amount of time cleaning them and here is a sample.

She loves wearing beads and people frequently comment on her selection. I think it’s a great way of expressing your individuality because no two strings of beads need to be the same.

We do try to take walks as often as we can, especially when the weather is nice. So off we go again to the Avon and Kennett Canal, 30 min drive and always pleasant. The only problem is there are many cyclists who frequent the canalside path and they do not always have bells so you do need eyes in the back of your head because the bikes go quite fast and an accident would be nasty.

curious barges

German U-boat?

blackcurrent bushes

 

 

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3 Comments

  1. guhnd

    It is said, “there is nothing new under the sun”. I think a lot of knowledge, actually, most of it is recycled but it is the endless permutations and combinations that intrigues me. Even bearing in mind the number of billions of people on the planet we are able to make a unique contribution based on inspiration, time, place, numbers and types of friends, the variables are endless and therefore we can be absolutely sure that we are unique among humankind. I am very happy that other people borrow some of my stuff, not impersonation or wholesale copying but if I act as a catalyst, well that’s what it’s all about.

  2. guhnd

    Yes, I recommend the university of life. I also find that articulating a problem to someone or even writing a diary like I do can cause the solution to pop out without you expecting anything. I think if I gave away every bit of knowledge I had, I would find it at the end I knew more than one I started because the brain is a relational database and loves to work and analyse permutations and combinations. But if you keep it to yourself, nothing happens or you go bonkers

  3. guhnd

    Thank you for that. Yes, there is a lot of second or third hand drivel on the Internet. All I can do is be myself and people either are interested or they are not. I suppose it’s a bit like painting a picture. Just get on with it.

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