Grey Day

The mass of swirling light grey cloud now covering the land does not engender hope as another week begins.  The English schools return during this week leaving many a child hoping for a 'Blighty one' in an endeavour to avoid going back.  I am with them!  School had its uses but I never enjoyed it much.  Football in the playground, History, Geography and Art were OK with me, but the enclosed confines, half the class, and the outside world being beyond reach were always irksome.  I rejoiced the day I left, at 14 actually, I was 15 the next day, and then finding work discovered the outside world was not as easy as I had hoped.  And we never played football at lunchtimes.

Anyway, as kids return, none outside my window so probably a Wednesday date for the locals here, the older children are also returning.  Yes indeed Parliament is back!  The grown up children take their place all awaiting orders from the front bench.  Labour, that is the Red Tories, will fill the benches happy to be well paid for obeying orders.  Across the aisle the Blue Tories are still fighting about  anew leader, this makes me wonder if Sunak will bother returning from California for this?  Robert Jenrick, a man who's personality never formed, is one of two leading contenders here,  James Cleverley, once failing Foreign Minister, reduced to failing Home Secretary,  is the other main man.  Kemi Badenoch, another with mixed motives and little positive ideas, is the leading woman though that does not say much.  Six contend for this position, the nation hopes they will all fail.  

The Lib-Dems will rejoice in the largest turn out for generations and quickly turn on one another and make an almighty mess of the opportunity given them.  The handful of SNP remainers are grateful for the £91,000 hand out, plus expenses so they can keep their heating on, and have no desire whatsoever for independence.  MI6, the Special Branch and Nicola have ended the SNP challenge there.

So, as the gathering cloud darkens the room while dark clouds gather over schools and Westminster we await the right wing press attacks on the government that have been subdued and meaningless over the long holidays.  The meaningless will continue however, that is all they have to offer.  

The dark clouds, clouds of a darker grey it must be said, hover threateningly over Tynecastle.  Here, we find the Heart of Midlothian, in spite of the best efforts of Costa Rican internationals, losing games with a zeal akin to a Tory PPE handout.  8 games no win.  Bottom of the league, European games ahead, the manager not yet hanging upside down from the floodlights as he and his coaches ought.  Twitter abounding in explanations from those who understand best the position, though each one failed to make it at that level, and emotional responses to the difficult situation which always help to obtain positive results.  

Yesterday, the sun shone high and long brightening the world and offering a heat pensioners in December would not understand.  Today we are cloud covered, dark and getting darker.  I think I preferred yesterday...

Meters

 

Another day of joy and laughter has been with us.  From walking across the park to post the paperwork that took me ages to understand, collect together and finish, with the bright sunshine hiding behind the clouds which rushed along pushed by the north wind.  The chill cut through me, yet an Englishman or two was seen in Spring outfit determined to enjoy the sun.  

I finished the paperwork only as a break from attempting to post the gas and electric meter readings.  As you know, our government has amended the 'energy cap' by up to 54% and prices, especially for the poorest, are shooting up.  With April the 1st, 'April Fools Day,' being the date for the increase to begin so we are advised to enter the reading NOW!  

Naturally all the energy companies websites have crashed!

I struggled for a bit with the gas man until I saw a link at the bottom, happily an emergency link had been added.  This I completed and sent of my reading.  In a day or two I will check to ensure it has logged in.

The electric is still not logged in.

I logged on, sought the meter page and was immediately offered another site, another name change for them, another new password and a site that does not work!  

Time after time I went through the process, usually to find I had 'timed out' after 5 seconds, or 'we are unable to complete because....' and so on.Even when I got through to amend the password the thing found a reason not to continue!!! 

I love computers.

My electric company blamed the money man Martin.  They blamed him because he came on TV and radio and the press and offered advice about entering the meter details.  Everyone listened, as he always comes over as wise and honest, and the system crashed.  'Martin is bringing the country down' said their website.  Martin was advising how to deal with money making energy company chancers but that appears to pass them by.  

I have given up for now, I will try after nine this evening, maybe later, and see how that goes.

Everything these days goes through the internet, and many companies and government offices are running on Microsoft XP, some even on Win 95!  There is something to be said for pencil and paper you know.  

 

Dreich!

 

Dreich indeed!

Thick, heavy, threatening clouds hung over the empire this morning.  Even the LED street light that brightens up the world at 5 am each morning struggled to peek through the gloom.  By the time I struggled out of bed much later I hoped the gloom would have eased, it had not.  The darkness lay over the country for some time, occasionally breaking into light cloud and pretending there was a sun shining high above and beyond somewhere in the sky.  The clouds lied.

Having spent a fruitful morning staring at the laptop and obtaining nothing whatsoever from my endeavors I took the only possible action, I gave up.  Following a pretend exercise period I then wandered up to Tesco via the park.  The damp drizzle popped out now and again yet the air was mild and my heavy coat appeared needless.  I kept it on mind.  Tesco itself was reasonably busy at that time, and having none of the goods I sought means I must visit Sainsburys again tomorrow.

Do you ever get the idea my life is too exciting?

I wonder if I could get one of these 'Influencers' roles on Instagram?  They are all nobody's, have nothing to offer bar sponsored products that nobody requires, have little talent if any, nothing positive to say and are at best boring.  

Surely, surely I could fit in there?  

I can set up a camera and the world can watch me sitting here at the laptop, benging my head on the desk when it does not do what I wish, drinking tea and expensive whisky, and every so often turning to the camera and promoting, accidentally, an expensive piece of garbage that millions will buy because I say so!  Sounds good to me!

I wonder if I can cope with all that money arriving each month?

 

Market Day Clouds

 

The morning being gray, cloud covering the land and dampness covering the pavements, it is no surprise to see Englishmen out early dressed in T-shirts and shorts.  One lass was making use of tinted sunglasses, not because of bad eyes I note.  What is the matter with these people?  This happens every year, the sun goes in, the temperature drops and the English dress as if on holiday in Majorca!  Had any of these individuals gone to the Arctic for a cruise I suspect they would dress in similar fashion simply because they see the sun shining.  All that fast melting white stuff would possibly not register with them.

The council have spent much time publicising the 'Saturday Market,' and the wide variety of stalls on show.  This happens several times a year in an effort, somewhat vainly, to re-establish the market in a market town.  The sheep and cattle no longer fill the Market space and instead we have on show today the usual fruit and veg, sweets as in picture, and dresses, among other regulars.  The new 'special' stalls sell overpriced cake, candles, smelly stuff and a wide variety of items aimed at women who have too much time and money to waste.  Even the Dinosaurs on show in the shopping centre did not endear me to them, too small for the phone camera to see.  The kids however, including one brain damaged man in a  wheelchair, enjoyed the Pterodactyl eating his hat.  

Interesting to note the many pizza, beer, and fast food stalls did not appear this time, have they gone bust I wonder?  Not that I care, I canny afford them!

Watching Clouds

Faced with an enormous amount of work to do yesterday I took the only possible option and sat in
the park watching clouds.  This did two things, it caused me to cogitate on clouds and getting chilled from forgetting the cold wind.  Just what I wanted.  Thus I had excuses to avoid work.  This I took up along with a whisky bottle.

Clouds still amaze me, this one is huge, looks fragile, like cotton wool yet weighs tons if condensed into a container of some sort.  Had it turned to rain we would have noticed.  Yet it merely floats silently along, not stopping for anything, all the time amending shape according to the wind and joining with any other if required.  I have seen clouds thus joined stretch all across the European landmass  producing no cries of wonder, merely complaints that the sun has been hidden.  Yet such clouds are a wonder and we ignore them.

One thing to cogitate is the difference between a fluffy cloud and an ageing mattress.  This crossed my mind as I sat there as the sharp portions of a broken spring were still sticking in my mind so to speak.  Mattresses ought to last ten years and this one has gone a wee bit past that but I did not expect to be woken that rudely.  Turning it over was little help as while sharp bit do not poke through it is clear they will arrive soon.  More expense, unless I can make this last until Spring, get it?
My eyesight is a problem as my outdoor glasses do not appear to be working any longer that means Specsavers will be visited soon.  Shoes are required, and no doubt lots of tins to store before Brexit leads to starvation.  I looked for money under the bed but found only dust and ageing 'toe-tectors' boots that are not worth much now.

Worse than anything else is the lack of football on the telly!  Not even a National League game on at lunchtime today and BTSport only offer an English game tonight at the same moment BBC Alba offer a re-run of this afternoons Heart of Midlothian v St Mirren game!  Who cares about English stuff when such momentous offerings are available.  Surely a time fault here.  All that's available at the moment is rugby or golf!  BTS also offered baseball this morning, Baseball!  Tsk!

Almost six, Football at last about to start, me? I'm almost asleep waiting...

Short Jaunt

Waking before six at this time of year is not a bad thing in my view, unless like me you have had insufficient sleep yet the brain will not close down.  This dumb approach to life left me spotting this picture first thing and attempting to reproduce the yellowness of the early morning sun, quite something today.  Within a few minutes I was on the bike and racing slowly towards the old railway in an attempt to enjoy cycling when its quiet.

Fifteen minutes later and the cloud was beginning to blot out the sun, typical.  Instead I pondered over the farmer who has sown wheat here and is half way through harvesting the crop.  He has been desperate to sell to a local money grabbing developer for years and once again has put in a bid to erect around 500 houses.  This would fill the space between town and village causing much upset and ruining the old railway as a glimpse of country much loved and required by folks like me.  
Who can blame a farmer for wanting out?  Once Bexit comes and the promises of Brexiteers are seen as hollow regarding the cash farmers would receive, fishermen have just began t understand that also, then food production will be unprofitable and Farmer Jones's all over the shop will be unhappy.  However a strenuous effort by people with talent has opposed this move once again and it may well be that they will succeed in stopping this development.  Several others are ongoing all around this area, the Tories are keen to build on 'green land' as their friends the developers are cashing in and they get something out of it, those with expensive homes get bills and debt while we all lose a green lung.    

Farmer Jones has got the huff once again and forced the Rangers to erect fences ensuring the public do not take their dogs onto his land, something they have been doing to his fallow fields for years.  Behind this one he has also chopped trees and attempted vainly to block the long established path and ensure he is continued to be loved by local residents.  Further up the road a similar large plot was threatened with housebuilding and someone bought the fields and turned them into a decent nature reserve, well it will be in a few years when grown.  That would cost a great deal here however as the area is quite extensive.  

 
How nice to see the bike out in the country again.  Not that I went far, just far enough to wake me up, and then return to do the ironing and have a jolly day with that....any woman willing to lend a hand?

Blue Skies From Now On...

How nice to be out and about in the sunshine.  Most of last week I suffered a bug that took what little strength I have and remained hiding behind the laptop doing only those things that do not require thought.  This is a position I am best at.
Yesterday I was forced out and spent the rest of the day asleep.  Today I was also forced out and dragged myself all the way to St P's and back although the return was healthier that the going for some reason.  Above the skies displayed clouds that appeared to have been squashed flat and spread across the skies, as I returned I noted these were being replaced by puffy 'cotton wool' ones and the hot sun giving the lie to the threat of heavy rain tomorrow.  This ought to arrive late on once I am back home safe under a blanket.

  
As I have done nothing for over a week I have one of those long 'to do' lists which I shall glance at soon.  The problem is so much may as well wait until next year as it has waited that long already.  The 'Spring Clean' began well but has stuttered to a halt.  Things already clean need another go already, dust appears from nowhere in this place, the fridge needs attention and I am positive I attended to it only last May, or was it the year before?  Anyway all these things need doing and I am unable to until later this week.  Hopefully a tragedy, good news, event appears to make me forget all about it until next year again.

  
Also the laptops have been playing up again and now I am in the middle of the muddle clearing this from that and replacing that with this and so on and on and on...  
In between I have been ignoring the media as nothing important is happening, well except Theresa May keeping her job by giving the Northern Ireland DUP party one billion pounds to spend so they will keep her government in power.  However this money may mean the Scots lose out and I wonder in the dozen Scots Tory MPs will stand up and be counted or will they vote against May unless they also get one billion pound for Scotland?  I do hope so.
The fire last week has left many homeless and still struggling to cope, the media have however moved away...

A glance at the media shows how awful the world is.  People say it is getting worse every day but I have began to search the Newspaper Library and a quick glance at the local rag for August and September 1914 revealed similar tales to today.  There are mentions of the war and some of the effects breaking through, adverts aplenty offering things you really don't need, local news, important people crime, murder and assault.  The layout may be unusual but the hack knows what sells his paper, he knows what he can get away with, he knows who to attack and who to support, he knows what the people wish to read! 
It is however hard going online as the words are small, working the buttons not that easy and the thing takes forever to turn a page.  However it is worth having even though it costs money I canny afford.  I will get my moneys worth however...

Sunny Sat

I spent some fifteen or so minutes sitting in the park watching the clouds above change shape and twist and turn as they passed by.  Clouds, as you know, fascinate me.  They are such huge great monstrosities that we take for granted.  Some reach thousands of feet into the air, other cover whole continents, many are dark and foreboding while today most were of the large fluffy type.  This was the nearest to a rain cloud we saw today.  
I was led to wondering what is actually in them?  Water vapour we know but what else fills these Goliaths in the sky?  Reading today about a man visiting Antarctica and learning of the huge icebergs that contain pockets, if that is the right word, of the air, the atmosphere from five to fifteen thousand years ago.  An air breathed by the Sumerians before they learnt to write, an air early man knew as he spread out about the earth.  How different it is today.  How long will we be able to breathe such air as daily it changes content and each change brings more pollution.  Maybe we will require workers to open the old icebergs and release fresh air!

    
With the weather reaching 80% today and nothing in the news bar the Tower aftermath we run out of things to say.  My tired mind has spent much time looking through the village census for 1911 seeking any link to men I cannot trace.  The facts noted are however interesting.  People in their 70's and 80's still claim to be 'Agricultural labourers' a few being pensioners, the over 70's were granted five shillings by Lloyd George in 1909 and this caused Margaret Thatchers father to leave Lloyd Georges Liberal Party and join the Conservatives.  He did not agree with dole to the unemployed nor pensions to the old, this tells us something.  One poor woman had been married twelve years, had given birth to nine children and only two were surviving.  I noted that neither child was listed at home, only an adult Boarder, and wondered about her state of health and mind and where would the children be living?  I never found my lost men but did get an insight into village living in 1911.

      

More 'Roses'

Yesterday I wandered about in the bright sun and chilly wind.  This was just as well as today the weather has been 'fair drookit' and instead I sat here fiddling with the laptop to no avail and making a bad chicken stew.
Maybe I ought to have gone out?

Spring is indeed Springing all around.  Wee flowers are blooming everywhere, Robins, Chaffinch's, Goldfinch's and others are singing all around and the Wood pigeons, the males at least, are up for it already.  The Council planted Daffodils are shining brightly in some places, these are outside the Council offices hmmm, the ones opposite me are only now beginning to open.  Soon we shall see helping themselves to them on the basis that they are planted by the Council!  Help yourself to a Council dustcart also if you feel that way.  

While I admire the bright cheerful colours of small flowers that abound in Spring I do wish they were planted higher up!  Falling over while taking pictures is not my favourite habit but any observer in the Gardens yesterday might have taken a different viewpoint.  They could at least plant them closer to the benches placed all around.

    
While a great deal of effort has gone in to placing information regarding the many trees found in this delightful Garden no effort has been made to enlighten daft folks like me as to the names of these flowers.  This I suspect is because the rich who flourish all around have their own gardens and have made use of such creations for themselves.  Only the ignorant with no more than a dying flowerbox require education.

 
Interestingly few wee beasties are seen around the plants.  No bees or wee flies buzzing around.  No doubt these will arrive soon, once the damp weather moves away somewhere else.  The park had the usual local dwellers, squirrels abound, birds and the scattered white feathers told of the cat which has decided to play in the park, a cat I saw in the distance worrying a squirrel up a tree.

The fact that I have to lower myself to get near the plants, in spite of the telefoto on the camera, does ensure that I shake noticeably when clicking the shutter.  This is seen on many pics that fail to appear here, believe me!  I might by a wee stool to carry with me...

At last, as I left the park I found wee plants placed at a suitable height for people who's fitness is not what it ought to be.  The Robin chattering away was unwilling to show himself for the picture, would you like to see pics of branches and leaves...?

It was a delight to freeze my fingers while in the park as the thought of Spring was encouraging.  The days are getting longer, behind the clouds a sun often pops out, one day it will be there for hours.  When it arrives I will sit in the park reading my books and contemplating those as yet to retire who are slaving away paying for my wee pension.
How delightful!

Another Sunday Night

The beginning of another week.
Last week left me having a near death experience on Wednesday.  Having walked my knees into the ground, and the rest of me also, I spent the day eating and sleeping, I was so tired!  That over I avoided doing anything after that only leaving to visit Sainburys of Friday morning.  The weather was not conducive to wandering the streets either much of the time and I have been frustrated by my inability to go anywhere interesting.
Today I toddled of to St Paul's finding nothing but sky to photograph.  How the clouds change as minutes pass by.  However the number of telephone wires crossing the streets round here make it difficult to picture even good skies as they occur when the view is blocked.  Have these people no thought?
I am sitting here resting my knees, already telling me not to move, as tomorrow I am back at St P's and then work on Tuesday.  I am already looking forward to sleeping all day Wednesday.  I will however be thinking of friends at a family funeral that day, one led by a humanist.  Hmmm...

I have spent much of the day removing photos from this laptop onto an off laptop storage.  Already one GB has been saved and I am only half way down!  So many old pictures which get copied into several places for some reason, I wonder who does that?  I reckon there is more that a GB still to be filed away somewhere.  This old machine is slowing down so I will clean it up but maybe it needs replaced?  Could someone send £500 for a new one?  What...Oh!

Friday

Another day where clouds cover the earth,  Does winter ever end?  No wonder those living in the far north suffer depression and commit suicide!  Imagine six months of darkness!  A couple of months of cold, rain and cloud depress enough quite how they manage up in Lapland beats me.  They do drink a lot it must be said and that cannot be good for them.  No wonder the Vikings long ago loved to move to Scotland as the weather was more acceptable!  That tells you something! 
Yesterday the sun shone brightly as you can see, cheering everyone and allowing the pigeons to think that Spring was on the way and they began to chase the girls through the trees.  This morning they were sitting in the branches of the same trees digesting their breakfast and looking for woolly hats to wear.
Of course this week has been mild and the gutter press are screaming that next week it will be "warmer than Greece."  This does not say much as Greece gets cold in winter also of course and there is much snow on them thar hills.  Hopefully this will actually happen but the press are never reliable sources.
Interestingly the other day I read that Wiki, the source of all knowledge, has banned the use of the 'Daily Mail' as a source grumbling that the 'Mail' is "..not a reliable source."  How right they are!  Will the 'Daily Express' and the 'Sun' follow I wonder?

You can tell nothing else happened here.  
Trapped indoors by housework, trapped indoors by weather, trapped indoors by stiff knees and trapped indoors by laziness!  Not actually in that order.  
I am not getting out and about at the moment, there is little worth reading in the news, little exciting happens and I am not yet finished any of my books. 
My memory is so poor these days I am unsure if i went out this morning or just imagined it.  I think I need a matron here to look after me.  I am beginning to wonder if I should go to bed or just wait until someone phones and tells me what to do next.
Life can be so exciting....

The Day Dawns, Followed by Rain...

The day dawned with the sun climbing above the trees bringing a promise of warmth and light.  I looked forward to a day of ease, sun coming in the window as I burnt my breakfast, a foto of birdies squabbling for bread in the park maybe, green grass and blue skies ahead.
My plan was to wander to the museum to obtain three books I need for a gift, I wish I had remembered them yesterday, then wrap and post then wander aimlessly through the day at my leisure.

It is not to be wondered at that withing two hours as I left Sainsburys carrying a heavy bag of reduced price products the sky began to fall on my head.  Gray clouds covered the land, pigeons headed for better roosts and umbrellas began to be poked into passing pedestrians eyes as I trundled down the road passing glaring early morning eyes.
I noted the pigeon wondering why he lived in this country when the weather was better elsewhere and soon he flew off to sit astride a television aerial atop a house over the way.  Surely thought I this exposes him to more rain?  He ignored my thoughts.
In the shop I was attended to by the unsmiling checkout woman, one who often acts as supervisor.
The unwillingness to smile has been her main feature these past twenty years.  On occasions I have considered telling her a joke but feared she may have a stoke or something, so I desist.  Today as I went home I wondered if it would be possible to create birthday cards and the like with 'Grumpy Checkout Girl' on them?  Surely it would be possible to find appropriate reasons for her not to smile at the people around her, which to be honest would not be difficult when the store was busy.
The rain screwed everything but in between showers I obtained the books from the museum and brought them home to pack.  Naturally there are no suitable envelopes in this house, some fool threw the ragged versions out when painting recently, and now I canny get more till tomorrow!  Bah! 

One bright thing the post brought this morning was a CD.  'Ae Spark o Nature's Fire.'  This is an album of Robbie Burns songs in which Jillian Bain Christie, a soprano sings 14 of his best while my favourite, best looking and brainiest niece accompanies her on the piano.  They have just completed a wee tour of the highlands, stopping off at the 'Edinburgh Fringe' to give two concerts, including one in St Giles Kirk, to rapturous applause (at least from the members of the family who went along!).
While there my sister managed to purchase (nothing free with this lot!) two albums and sent one to me!   I await the bill that follows!  Naturally as this is my favourite, best looking and wisest niece this will be a success and a world beater!  However if Clapton releases another album he might sell more...
(I'll have to stop referring to soprano's as 'those screeching wimmen' from today.  The pianist is great however!)      

Complaining, Something I Never Do!

Round our way Mum's little angels have gone to school.  The streets are now safer, the shops less crowded and indeed much quieter and the museum has a hollow ring to it these days.  The classrooms are very different from my day, computers arrive very early while we had to use pencil and paper! Classes are much smaller and parents complain there is only one teacher and three helpers for a class of twenty something, ha, our class reached 41 at one point but did we grumble, no!  

At secondary I wore the compulsory blazer and gray trousers like everyone else but was very envious of the 'rough' types who wore combat jacket and jeans, the trendy outfit of the time. They got away with this by claiming poverty, which was often true, but an awful loot of it was the brass neck attitude against authority.  It must be said most of those dressed thus were of an intellect deprivation culture also and many will not have risen to the highest positions in the land, if indeed they remain alive!  

This comes to mind as several stories appear in the media whenever school restarts, usually regarding some precious child who insists on wearing the emerald green footwear specifically banned by the school rules or has a pin in her tongue (to give her "confidence"), or hair designed in the latest banned trend. The press make a lot of such stories and the typical response when the spoilt brat is banned is 'serve them right!'  I agree with that.   Instead however of dealing with the dear brat in the making I suggest hammering the parent, usually a single mother with no sense of responsibility determined to do what she wants art all costs.  Occasionally daddy whines about his pet but normally when a man is in the house such things occur less, I wonder why?  

There is in the cases I noted recently no 'poverty' involved, indeed the opposite or they could not afford the trendy footwear, so it is selfish ignoring of the school rules.  Now such rules can indeed be a bit extreme, we were not allowed to smoke in the toilets for instance, but normally it is cheaper for the parents if they pay for the school uniform rather than the latest trend.

Maybe I just hanker for that combat jacket even yet?

You may have noticed the news recently.  Ukraine fighting although peace moves are afoot, ISIS or whatever they are called today killing folks dramatically in Syria/Iraq, drought threatening Ethiopia, problems still in Democratic Congo, Christians facing attacks in northern India, wars and rumours of wars abounding.  The TV offering hour after hour of 'pap' masquerading as worthy viewing, soap operas, cooks, bloody cooks everywhere, crime programmes from forty years ago, mostly American, and little else but drama that is no more than a soap opera with explosions.  So what drew most complaints to the BBC?  A game show!

The Pointless quiz is being repeated, in the way the BBC repeat everything, and 1217 people complained because one episode was missed out!  One quiz show episode missed and over a thousand people complained!  When first run in 2012 they made a mistake.  An answer was given and it was decided this was incorrect, it turns out this was a wrong decision.  A large number of people wrote in to indicate the fault and so to avoid this happening with the repeat they dropped that episode.  However this resulted in a huge amount of complaints!  

What does it say about us I wonder?      

.

Market Day

As I trudged back from the market I sat in the park somewhat surprised by the quietness. Usually the brats whine, skateboarders yell and passersby gossip too loudly.  Today nothing moved bar two crows who flapped sullenly across to the Scots Pine and sat high above occasionally calling to the world their ownership of the park.  Nothing replied to them.  In the distance a pigeon entered a tree to roost, Far off on the other side a walker slowly made their way along, and large puffy clouds moved relentlessly to the east.  Still little sound.  Two children passed asking mum lots of questions about the world in between answering the call of the crows.  Mum did her best to bring them back to reality but with little success.  The rumble of cars as they passed far off threatened to break the serenity, as did a light aircraft as a pilot made up his hours.  
I again was fascinated by the clouds.  Huge clumps, darkened on the flat underside and threatening rain, bright cotton wool reaching thousands of feet into the air above.  Today we were covered in floating islands of such clouds, the sun shining hot between the many breaks, the chill wind revealing itself as the clouds darken the sun.  
Moving here I understand why Constable was so intrigued with clouds.  When in London you had to look straight up between the buildings to see the sky, out here it is all around us.  In Constables time, some 20 miles down the road to the east, there was many more opportunities to note the sky above the flat lands around him.  His sketch pad would have run out of paper today.  

       
With the exhibition up and running I thought I would have more time to myself. Not so!  Not only have I discovered new ways to add to the info already gathered but people ask for information and I sit here looking for what I can find.  This is good PR, better than the PM's anyway, but takes time.  Today for instance I placed a photo on a a website asking for info re the uniform but nothing I attempted would make the thing work!  It took hours of searching the forum, trying different software and lots of rude words before it worked!  Now I notice I have a couple of helpful replies and it feels so much better, but it took time!  Similar but different occurrences already this week including having to rewrite some stuff for the booklet, and here again I stupidly checked facts and discovered more!  Bah!

I need a holiday!

.