Hello all. I hope that you are well and that your life is under control and, if it's not under control, you are managing to enjoy the ride. Most things are much the same, except that I have been hideously busy at work, covering for people on their jolly holidays, etc. I've hardly been on here - reading blogs and Facebook, etc., so apologies if I haven't got back to you. As a naturally nosy person, I miss the interaction.
This morning, at church, I was both "on the coffee" and "on the door". Actually, I wasn't really "on the door"; I was an extra. There were two people welcoming and stopping people who were pretending that they didn't know that you couldn't use the car park on a Sunday. These people creep on, park their cars and then make a run for it, to try and melt into the shoppers in the mall before they can be caught. During the week, we are happy for them to park there, but on a Sunday, not so much. Anyway, this week, because of the way a bit of swapping of the rota flopped, there were only two men available, so I had to pledge to keep myself in the vicinity in case of an emergency of a feminine persuasion. I have no idea what this kind of emergency could be, but I don't really like the sound of it, and I'm not sure that I would have been much help. I'm very glad that, whatever it was, it didn't happen.
Otherwise, this week has been quite normal. I've finished Richard Osman's We Solve Murders, which I enjoyed very much and a memoir of a man I've never heard of called Geoff Dyer, which was a bit odd. I only bought it because the photo on the front had a photo of him with a blow-up Yogi Bear, which took me back. (To be clear, he's about six in this photo - not a fully grown man - that really would be weird) I watched too many episodes of Murder 24/7, which was quite depressing and fell asleep on the couch more times than was good for me, really.
I don't know where you are, but here it is a bit on the warm side. It has even fried some plants we had on our balcony. Here in Plymouth, we don't usually get London temperatures, which is just as well because I am knocking on a bit and, in the words of Peter Kay - "I like it hot - but not this hot."
I'm not sure if I am too old for the global warming that seems to be rushing towards us. I think that I am too old and not robust enough. I feel that about quite a lot of things. Running for buses, Glastonbury, films over two hours long, podcasts about Wellness, TV where women are kept prisoner by men with axes, influencers wanging on about the Menopause and how to reinvent yourself.
I'm not really up for reinventing myself (just in case it involves going on a diet), but I do think that I have to be careful that, being of a certain age, I am more likely to back away from stuff I don't fancy. I'm not talking about skydiving or leading an orphanage full of small children across China. I'm talking more about going to the dentist or packing a suitcase for a week in Malta. If I don't watch my attitude, my desire for a quiet life spent mainly on the sofa can dominate all things.
I'm not saying that I should push myself to do stuff I wouldn't fancy in a million years. For instance, Plymouth hosted Armed Forces Day on Saturday. I don't bother with it myself. It seems to be mainly men in natty moustaches helping children clamber over helicopters while various aeroplanes dive bomb unsuspecting seagulls. It's very popular, especially as it usually finishes with lots of ex-sailors, regretting not being in the Navy any more, drinking copious amounts of beer and running riot on the Barbican late into the night. But not for me, I'm afraid.
I'm watching some Facebook stories at the moment about a friend who is in Marrakesh with her daughter. She is calling it their "adventures". That's lovely, don't you think? She's a woman with a demanding job - she works in a refuge and has strong opinions, but she is still up for stuff. Can I be more courageous?
We had a lady preacher this morning. Blimey. (Look, it may not be a big deal for you, but it's a HUGE deal for where I go to church.) Anyway, she was talking about Joseph. She was saying that he had changed. He had gone from an idiot who rubbed his brothers' noses in his upcoming success to someone who, when he had been given the keys to the Pharaoh's kingdom, did not carouse for seven years and then, when the bad seven years arrived, lock himself in a bunker with wall-to-wall chocolate and Prosecco with his family (and obviously Pharaoh's family). Nope, he had learnt. He was wise, worked hard to prepare for everyone's salvation. He had a few knockbacks while he was learning about wisdom and living a different life, but in the end, he became more of what he was supposed to be. Not perfect (I always thought the trick he pulled with Benjamin's cup was a bit off), but no one can say that he didn't grab his second chance.
In the words of the great Smokey Robinson
"People can change - they always do..."
Well, they don't always, Smokey. But they can.
Earn a reputation for living well
In God’s eyes and the eyes of the people.
Proverbs 3
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