Two new Piskie bloggers need your attention. They are the Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness and the Dean of the same, Cliff Piper. Bishop Mark has some beautiful photos on his blog but everywhere you turn up there makes for a good photo. Cliff has a thousand fonts to play with, it would seem! Both worth a bookmark though.
Come on all you other bishops… lurking is not healthy – get blogging!
Categories: Blog · Church
Tagged: Blog, SEC Blogger
Normal service will be resumed when the anaesthetic has worn off.
I may be gone for some time.
Please pray for healing for my bits that need healed.
Going in to hospital tomorrow morning, op at 1.45pm and home a few days later when they prise me off the morphine drip. What a lark!
Recuperation is to take 6-8 weeks I am told. Not a happy bunny about that, I can tell you. But that takes us neatly to Advent Sunday which I guess is a good place to start back. And gives me plenty time to catch up on reading and preparing those Christmas services.
And whatever you do, don’t make me laugh – or cough.
Oh, and it is Ward 210 (not 120 as I told everyone who asked today).
It took an outsider, and from Englandshire too, to do the first blog interview with our new Primus David Chillingworth. So there is nothing else for it but to point you in his direction.
The past fortnight have not been good for us in Durham Towers. We are all rather grumpy and with good reason too.
For twas on that Monday morning that the Gas Board came to dig up our street. Neighbours round the corner have just had their pipes renewed and said it was a little inconvenient but you could still get in and out of your driveway with a ramp. Ha! I noticed a fortnight ago that all the men in the street somehow had ramps but none of us women did. Those men who are out all day and only park their cars overnight. Whereas I work from home and am in and out all day long. Despite protestations to the crew from Newcastle and promises made by them, along with excuses, nothing has been done. So I’ve had to park my car away down the road, half on the pavement which is doing no good to my tyres, and watch lorries squeezing past it.
Of course, this all happened just as I moved my study from the peace and tranquility of the garden at the back to the ratatatating of the tar flattener and an assortment of diggers and dumpers at the front. I’ve made them cups of tea, I’ve willingly reversed all the way along the road when I couldn’t get through with nary a grumble, but none of it has done me one iota of good. I still have no access to my driveway.
And my other grumble, while I’m in the mood, is the weather. Oh yes, we have weather here on the east coast and it ain’t good. None of the heatwave that is mentioned every 5 mins in the media – oh no! Heat? Ha! I laugh in your face! We have had a fortnight of haars and chilliness with one slightly sunny hour 2 days ago in the evening. So I am sick and fed up of warnings on what factor suncream to wear, how to stay cool (when we are all in jumpers) and skin cancer scares. It’s pneumonia we’re worried about!
So there! Rant over. And don’t get me started on the amount of coverage Michael Jackson’s death has got…
Blogging is the first draft of history.
Nobel Prize committee, explaining why blogs are now eligible in the writing and newspaper categories.
Me to Virgin call centre (perhaps in Newcastle): I want to swap 2 rooms round in my house. One of them has your cable coming in for the TV and the other room has your cable coming in for my computer. Can you tell me if they are one and the same, please? That is, can I just swap the things they plug into around?
Virgin (perhaps Newcastle): Oh I don’t know. I think they are the same but not sure. Hang on and I’ll put you through to Technical Support.
Virgin Technical Support (perhaps in Delhi): Hello, can I help you?
Me: Yes, (repeat request)
VTS Delhi or thereabouts: Oh no, you can’t just swap them around. They are not the same at all.
Me: But the last person thought they were.
VTS Delhi or somewhere in India: No, they are definitely not the same. Wait and I will put you through to someone else.
Someone else in Bombay: Hello, can I help?
Me: Repeat request.
Someone else: Yes they can be swapped around but you need an engineer to come and do it. That will cost £99.
Me: Is it not just a case of unplugging one and plugging it in the other?
Someone else: No, you need an engineer and it will cost £99.
Me: Thank you, but I don’t think I’ll bother.
One hour later…
Me to Son #1: I can’t believe that Virgin are going to charge me £99 to unplug a cable and carry a box to another room and plug it into something else.
Son #1: I’ll do it for half.
And he did. And no, I’m not paying him.
And it all works fine, as you can see. The plug in my computer right now used to be in my TV Box. It took all of a minute.
Virgin, get your act together!
Categories: Blog
Tagged: Virgin Media
Well, it has been a busy old week and you may have noticed the lack of blogging. Lady Day came and went with not a mention or gorgeous pic. The visit to my new dentist – Pedro, yes Pedro… sigh… came and went with nary a mention. The film group watched The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and cried but not a peep from me. I missed four birthdays – sorry. I joined Slimming World on Monday and haven’t even opened the books yet to find out what I’m meant to be eating – or not. And we had a full church for John Jeffrey’s Memorial service which was incredible. I gathered info from all the Portie churches to do our Holy Week and Easter leaflet with much prompting. Oh, and I did the magazine all by myself but promise to hand over to the new mag group next time. Nearly forgot – also supported Son #1 with his last essay on rewriting Greek tragedy plays, I think. In amongst it all, of course, there was a little Holy Week planning – but more to come.
So there you have my week. And today is my day off and I woke at the crack of dawn. I promise to clean my desk, file a pile, take Son #1 to Costco, and finish my book.
Blogs are often used to criticise. (And there are certain theatre companies who should take heed of that fact in light of a certain Provost’s blog.) The whole world is a critic now and if, like me, you check Google for reviews of goods to purchase or places to go then a lot of companies should take heed.
However, today is a day for praising not criticising. In my planning-for-Holy-Week frenzy this week I thought it would be good to get hold of some little wooden crosses to give out to the children at our Stations of the Cross event on Good Friday morning. I have a great source for the most beautiful holding crosses but as I have heard that some of the mums are bringing all and sundry I knew that was going to be too expensive. All I wanted were some plain little wooden crosses. I googled. And I found this. I got 60 crosses within two days delivered to my door and they are perfect. And you get an invoice too so you can see before you buy. I got the unfinished ones because they were cheaper for that volume and might have to do some sanding before little hands get hold of them, but you can get finished ones for a little more. Great service and I shall be back.
Oh, and you get other shapes too – doves, fishes, stars etc.
Categories: Blog · Church · Events
Tagged: Blog, Wooden crosses
It is that time of year again when the number of blog entries declines in tandem with the increase of Lent preparation.
And just to add to the heady mix of ashes and liturgies and groups and quiet days there are a pile of people needing visiting all of a sudden. So if you see a mad looking woman with purple hair and a little black box dashing by, give her a hug would you?
