The Ordinary

 

Hello everyone. I hope you are all ok. We are good here. We have just returned from church. Today was a Bring and Share Meal at church. Who knew they still happened? You are probably all going to these kinds of things twice a week like Christian versions of 1920s flappers but, as you know, I don't get out much and I was pooped by the time I got home. I kind of accidentally found myself working in the kitchen - washing up and serving drinks - nothing to do with food or anything that needed any culinary skill I hasten to add. The meal was also an "International" meal to reflect the changes happening quite organically in the congregation - we are certainly becoming more diverse. This is obviously excellent but - cards on the table - I don't really like spicy food. It doesn't, as my mother used to say, agree with me. (This was usually accompanied by a trip to the garden so she could "get rid of this wind"). HOH is a bit the same. He came into the church kitchen this morning and just said "Something smells." So he wouldn't really claim to be a gourmet. Still, people with more sophisticated palates enjoyed it and I had a chicken sandwich when we got home so that was nice. 

It's very warm, isn't it? I know everyone else will be chuffed with this but I spent most of last Saturday getting my jumpers out from under the bed and now I have nothing to wear that Isn't going to give me a hot flush. Yesterday, HOH dragged me out of the house to go for a walk. To be fair to Plymouth - it does have some terrific views - see above. What you may have already worked out is that to get up there to see that view, there is a VERY steep walk. For a short while, when I reached the top, I couldn't really see the view because I had purple spots in front of my eyes.

I just wanted to recommend a couple of things while I remember. I know that we were all talking about how maybe we were in that place where we read books that we wanted to read rather than the things that we felt we should be reading. (No, you did say that really!) Anyway, for me, that means a decent murder/crime mystery. If possible, without a red-eyed nun jumping out at people and hitting them with a pointy stick. So I just wanted to recommend these books by Lynne Truss - who I only know from the punctuation book "Eats Shoots and Leaves" which is a much better read than you might think. These are murder mysteries set in Brighton in the 50s. They are a bit over the top but I rather liked that. 

We've been to the pictures a few times - there's quite a bit to see at the moment. If you can find Past Lives anywhere (I'm assuming it may well go to a streaming platform soon) I'd definitely say give it a go. Possibly my film of the year so far and as everyone who has been in a shop recently will know, it'll soon be Christmas, so there is not much of the year left. It's a small, quiet film and quite beautiful and a bit of a change from the majority of cinema experiences at the moment. FOW2 tells me that at her cinema, they are showing SAW 10 (for those not in the know, this comes from something called the Torture Porn genre - it's not Singing in the Rain - let's put it that way) AND they are showing it in the 4DX screen where the chairs move etc. that means that you can physically experience running away from serial killers. Was this what Auguste and Louis Lumière were thinking of when those first lights flickered across the screen? Possibly. If there was money in it.

Also telly. Bake Off is back. I have no idea why I like Bake Off - it just feels nice - that's probably why. I'm also liking Celebrity Race Around the World - although I do think that Harry Judd's Mum is nowhere near getting over him leaving to join McFly when he was 17. Only Connect is in full swing - I love Victoria Coren-Mitchell. If I had idols - which I obviously absolutely do not - she might well be mine. We watched the first two of the Beckham documentary - on Netflix - if you have it. It was totally enjoyable nonsense and the football was glorious to watch. I don't bother with Strictly at all these days. I'm not sure why it gets on my nerves. I love Claudia and Tess but everyone looks like they are about to lick themselves or something. 

You may be wondering why I am bothering you with such ordinary rubbish. I think it's partly because, this weekend, in the middle of all the Israel/Hamas news, I watched a mother who had just seen footage of her naked daughter being paraded around the street in the back of a truck and I felt her heart break. And I have no idea how you live or deal with that. I prayed for her with a sort of "I've no idea God - you have it." vibe. And I wonder at the evil of the world. And - without any level of smugness - I look at my very ordinary, low-level life with telly and books and sofas and beans on toast and watching dogs on beaches and snoozing on Sundays and I thank God and think for the hundredth time that I will embrace the ordinariness. This will certainly include worry, health issues and every other troubling thing but while I can, I should learn to be content, to not compare, to be grateful (not in some kind of Instagram full make-up way) but in a constant tender-hearted way. It is a challenge but I think peace definitely lies in that direction.

Have a good week.