Burns Supper and Ceilidh

Traditionally a Burns Supper would be celebrated on the anniversary of the Bard's birth, 25th January 1759. The official Burns site warns one should 'Be prepared to enjoy yourself beyond all expectation', and I have to say I did tonight!

In the hall there were 10 tables with 8 guests to a table. We all stood and recited the Selkirk Grace:

Some hae meat and canna eat
Some hae nane that want it
But we hae meat
And we can eat
Sae let the Lord be thank it

then clapped to the beat as the piper in full traditional scottish dress led the chef carrying the haggis into the hall and up to where our lady Chairman waited to address the haggis. (You can find the words on the Burns' site - follow this link )

The event was hosted by a local church. I went along with one of my neighbours and a couple of friends. Nary a man amongst us, but we didn't let that hold us back when it came to joining in the Scottish country dancing, adding much confusion and consequent fun and merriment! "I had four sex changes in that dance" Barbara giggled as we reclaimed our seats after one particularly energetic reel.

The evening began fairly early - 6.30 - and ended at 10 pm after a full and enjoyable programme of entertainment. The meal consisted of the traditional haggis, neeps and tatties (haggis, mashed swede and mashed potato) followed by trifle and shortbread. There was a small jug of whisky on every table. Hector Gilchrist gave a little talk about Robert Burns' life, singing some of the songs the Bard composed and accompanying himself on the guitar. We sang along to some traditional Scottish ballads - Mairi's Wedding, the Skye Boat Song and Westering Home amongst them. Altogether much fun and frivolity.

Spring has sprung!

Here are the crocuses blooming beautifully in the garden. Over the allotment I did a bit of weeding and helped unload a delivery of organic compost. The bags were suprisingly warm.

Have a nice day y'all

The day didn't get off to a great start - somewhat overcast, and the meter reader knocked at the door whilst I was still swanning about in my nightclothes. After he'd left I had a bath and refocused, and the day got better.

The mild, dry weather tempted me over the allotment where I had a nice chat with one of the regulars. I'd heard he'd been very poorly, and it was good to see him looking fit and well. I pulled some leeks, picked some sprouts and some gorgeous purple sprouting broccoli, did a little weeding and then began to walk home for lunch. In town I found a debit card lying in the street, took it into the issuing bank and approached a young man in a suit. "Do you work here?" I asked him. "I try to" he said. Smiling at his disarmingly modest response, I handed him the card, explained how I'd come by it and asked if he could contact the cardholder to let her know it was safe. He thanked me and assured me he would be very glad to do so. I carried on my way feeling in a very mellow, peaceful mood, glad when I resisted the temptation to pick up a KFC.

Further along my way, a little out of town a lady stopped me and asked about the Spiritualist Church - she had seen a sign pointing to it and had walked down the road but not found it, and wondered what it was. I explained that the Spiritualist Church is about speaking with those who have 'passed over' via a medium. Was that what she was looking for? From her expression I could clearly see it wasn't, so I spoke about being a christian and hearing from God in church, and that we'd love to have her in our church. She asked about the church - she works in the local nursing home on Sundays and was wondering if there were church meetings at other times. I told her about our midweek meetings in each other's houses and gave her my phone number. She explained she is church of England and I was able to tell her where the local C of E church is. As we parted she said, "You've made my day!" I felt really good after the encounter - it made my day, too! My only regret was that I hadn't done the obvious: I had neither asked her name nor asked for her telephone number.

I walked on and as I was about to enter the street where I live, a car drew up alongside me and the young lady driving asked me for directions to the local doctor's surgery. Again I was able to help. Doesn't that feel good, when we are in the right place at the right time with the right information to be able to help someone!

Pyrex Bowls - Design Fault

I began buying stuff for my 'bottom drawer' when I was 15. One of the items purchased was a set of Pyrex dishes: - a Pyrex mixing bowl and three pudding basins, variously 2 pint, 1½ pint and 1 pint. This set accompanied me to college and through various moves, and it is hard to imagine cooking without them. The large mixing bowl and the 1 pint basin have survived 38 years, but recently I've had to replace the other 2 sizes with their nearest metric equivalent. On the original bowls, the Pyrex trademark in the bottom of the bowl is detectable to your fingers only on the outside, leaving the inside of the bowl smooth. This sensible design has been abandoned - on the newest bowl, Pyrex is embossed in the bottom of the basin. I have to ask - what were they thinking? Whisking or stirring with a metal implement now provides a percussion accompaniment to the task and sounds like it may adversely affect the working life of the electric whisk. Then with the risk of sticky substances adhering to the letters, you have to pay particular attention to ensuring that the bowl is fully cleaned after use.

I'm not usually one to stand in the way of progress, but in this instance I have to say that the new design is significantly inferior to the old.

New Me

I got a new haircut today. Put myself in the hands of the stylist and here is the finished result. I asked the stylist to take a photo with my phone camera - and looking at the photo, I've just noticed that a man I was totally unaware of appears to be taking a photo of me with HIS phone at the same time! How very odd! By the way, I didn't really go for a 'blue rinse' - not sure where that blue is coming from.

Corduroy Corner

Back in November last year I received an invitation to join a national medical research project. Involving 500,000 people aged 40 – 69 from all around the UK, “UK Biobank” has been set up to support a diverse range of research intended to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of illness, and the promotion of health throughout society.

Taking part involves a single visit of about 90 minutes to the local UK Biobank Assessment Centre where you first of all sit in front of a computer screen and answer some questions on health and lifestyle, then move around the centre from one standard medical test to another – providing blood and urine samples, being weighed and measured and having your relevant medical history taken along with a record of any prescription or over-the-counter drugs you take on a regular basis.

I agreed to join the study and my appointment was on 21st January, in Reading (about 20 miles from the Wingfield Ward). I was given special leave to go (escorted by a friend).

It seems the invitations were sent out by postcode area, and I found myself sat between a small group of people from my neighbourhood, including a lady I knew from when we served together as School Governors back in the mid to late 1980’s. Besides her and myself, there were three men of similar age, height and build, all wearing similar clothes (corduroy trousers, a casual shirt and woollen jumper). She was chatting with a couple of these men and that was how I discovered they all lived within a stone’s throw of me.

(Having noted the corduroy trousers there, I thought no more of it until today’s meeting of the Spirituality Project group, where once again I found myself sat beside another man of that ‘certain age’ where corduroy trousers, a casual shirt and woollen jumper are the fashion choice). I’m starting to seriously consider whether I need to rush out and buy Vic some cords so that he can get in the spirit of the neighbourhood.

Self sufficiency – v – Social Skills

As a child I was very self-sufficient – a ‘loner’. I looked to have one special friend with whom I could share my world when I ventured out into the realm beyond self-sufficiency. These days that isn’t regarded as a healthy option for children who, from nursery school onwards, are encouraged to enlarge their social circles. Putting all your emotional eggs in one relationship as I did time and time again was a sure way to get hurt (as long as that relationship was with another human being).

Looking back down the years, I can recognise how inadequate my social skills were as a child, and although I’ve since learned how to demonstrate love and respect for myself and for other people (which I believe to be at the heart of social skills), it doesn’t always come naturally and even at 53 there are times when I let myself down. Here’s a very recent example from my sojourn in Wingfield Ward.

When I meet someone I take to, I give them a little card with my contact details and blog address as my way of offering the hand of friendship. Few people respond, but one person subsequently offered this conversational gambit:
“I read your blog.”
I was delighted and wanted to know more - but did I say so? Nope. My response:
“Oh, it’s been quite boring lately – degenerated to the level of ‘what I had for breakfast'. Some of the earlier articles were more interesting”
This killed the conversation dead. If I could rewind, I would now respond,
“What did you think of it?” I really would like to know.

Another bad habit: making assumptions. Someone hands me some deeply personal information and (in the words of one of my closest friends) I ‘throw it back in their face’. An example: a person I respect and like spoke of having been adopted and I tossed this into a conversation about parenting. This, I suspect, is me playing the role of psychotherapist – trying to help someone see the link between their emotional past and their present difficulty – and it doesn’t take a huge step from there to realise that it is myself I’m trying to help; trying through another’s life to find the key to unlock the door to ‘freedom’ in my own life. Eckhart Tolle’s book, A New Earth, has a lot to say about ego playing roles and the strife this gets us into. Can recommend it if you haven't read it.

Occasionally though, this child of love gets it right! Occasionally the love and respect I feel for another simply oozes out and I see the difference it makes! Hallelujah!