This Past Week

I’ve done a few things since last weekend. On Monday, I started with another call to EE to get our new watches sorted out. The data plan on them wasn’t working. They’re supposed to operate independently of the paired iPhone as they’re cellular.

After we corrected the plans, I thought the watches had been set up yesterday, but their technical department said it could take up to four hours to get the pairing done. Well, after eighteen hours, things still were not working. I called EE Tech support again and got a lady on the phone that doesn’t seem too sure of herself. She got confused with the phone numbers, and I wasn’t hopeful that we’d get the issue resolved.

I was wrong! After 45 minutes on the phone with her (most of which was taken up by the system updating), we got our plans sorted out on both of our phones, and we can now make calls from them as we did with our series five ones.

Bro. IAN MAYIn the afternoon, I met up with Michael Strongman and Roy Woods, and we took the Underground across to Southgate in North London for a Lodge Meeting. We took the Underground because both Roy and Michael felt it would be easier than driving across via the M25 or the North Circular. It was a third, which aren’t seen so often, and it was also the first one that I’ve seen. I got to meet some new brothers, which is always welcome. It was certainly worth the journey across town. We had a great festive board afterwards, too. The next meeting should be in April when we might have a double second. As I’m now an officer, I have to ensure that I’m up to speed with everything beforehand.

On the way home, I got a connection at Hounslow East right away, and I got home around 11.20 pm and went straight off to bed!

Tuesday, after work, was more masonic stuff as we held our regular Tuesday Lodge of Instruction at Cole Court. Another late evening for me! An online meeting took up Wednesday evening with Cranford Action Group. As I’m the chair and I also have Zoom software, that was my job for the evening. McMuffinThursday was another long meeting day at Union District Office for our quarterly Company Bus Conference. I grabbed a quick breakfast at McDonald’s first. Although I wouldn’t say I like their burgers, I don’t mind the sausage and egg muffins. Fullers ESBAfter the meeting finished, I headed to the Queen’s Head for a ber or two. Kathy met me after she finished work and we had something to eat. On Friday, after a day at work, I went straight home. We watched a movie called Castles In The Sky, which starred Eddie Izard cast as Robert Watson-Watt. He was one of the leading inventors of RADAR, which made such a positive contribution to the Battle of Britain in World War Two and continues to do so to the present day. Saturday was a day off, and I spent most of it at the computer, although I did call Sky about the current contract and work out if any decent deals were going forward. I took the plunge and ironed a bunch of my shirts, and put them away.

Sunday BreakfastSunday morning, I woke pretty late (for me), around 7.40 am, and I felt pretty drained. I got up, made some coffee, and went back to bed before getting up and making some breakfast.

After breakfast, I caught up on personal emails and planned the week. Going for a walk in the park was part of the planning for Sunday afternoon, but it depended on getting all the home tasks done first!

So that was a fairly average week, with a couple of non-regular extras thrown in. Some travel is on the horizon this coming week, so we’ll see how that goes!

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Sunday

This morning I started as I often do, on days off, with a fresh pot of coffee. Getting out of bed and going to a relatively chilly kitchen serves to wake me up. I bring a mug full back to the bed room and then, whilst it’s cooling down, indulge in some meditation. Just fifteen to twenty minutes, starting with some deep breaths and then onto some mindfulness; scanning down , counting breaths and generally vacating the mind except for the present moments. It’s a good way to recharge a little.

Cafetière
Morning Coffee

I always wake up too early. What is too early though? Walking up early is, in itself, not a bad thing. I can’t think of a more wasteful way to spend a day off then lying in bed for half of it. Sure, it’s good to relax and unwind but, for me, part of that is looking back and feeling that I accomplished something too. It might be a book I finished or an album or podcast I’ve been meaning to listen to or a movie I’ve been promising myself that I’d watch. One of the problems is that there’s never enough hours in the day to do all these things so I’m always playing catch up. Lying in bed dozing wouldn’t help with those goals at all!

Another Three Years

Yesterday was certainly a long day. I was up at 4.30am to get to work for the triennial elections for Workplace and Health & Safety representative. I was keen to make sure that the whole process was as transparent as possible so that none of us could raise any allegations of unfair practices afterwards.

It all went well in. the end, and I won a further three year term, until the end of March 2025.

By the time we had all the counting done and verified and posted onto the noticeboard, and I got everything cleared up and put away, it was after 7pm. Kathy had come to meet me, and was waiting patiently for me to get finished so that we could go and get something to eat.

We waited for a 111 bus to take us to the local pub so we could have a late dinner, as it was rather too late to go home and cook at this time.

 


Cheers!I had been muttering at the Queen’s Head because the Fuller’s ESB had been taken off due to it not being in enough demand to keep it. There’s only two of us going in there and drinking it, and I only go in once or sometimes twice a week as does the other drinker. Between us there is no way we can get through 72 pints before it’s out of condition.

Anyway, On arrival I found that they’d got another of my favourite beers on, and actually one that’s much better as a session ale. That’s Darkstar’s Hophead. It’s only 3.8% ABV against ESB’s 5.5% so it’s a better quaffing ale.

I’ll certainly be going back for some more of those, in fact, I might wander up there this very afternoon if I get all my computer-based work completed by then.

My days are fuelled by coffee, and the beer comes later after work is done!

 

Still, at the Queen’s Head, my appetite was satisfied by their excellent fish, chips and mushy peas and some of the aforementioned Hophead before heading home and an early night after that 4am awakening!

I remember getting into bed and that’s about it.