We’ve had some excellent Autumnal weather this week – some lovely days with clear and bright blue skies and some foggy evenings. There was even a touch of ground frost on a couple of mornings. A few of the trees in the village have adopted a very festive appearance with leaves coloured more vibrantly than is often the case here. Unfortunately, I have no photos as they threw off most of their leaves in a matter of moments. Instead, I’ll share a photo from our friend Stephen White which those of you who are “friends” with him on Facebook will have already seen.
This week’s challenge for me came on Thursday when I had a meeting in the morning and had to avoid hearing or reading about the result of Game 7 of the World Series played in Cleveland the previous night. Clearly, this was so that I could watch the final game of the series “as live” and enjoy all the emotion to the full.
Do you know how difficult it is to stay completely incommunicado? Especially for one who is a modest technology geek with forty-seven ways of instantly receiving content and information? For up to six hours? Oh, my goodness.
No e-mail, no Facebook, no Twitter, no Snapchat or WeChat or WhatsApp or any other vehicle for disseminating information. No BBC radio and certainly no BBC television news – they’re bound to blurt out the result before I have time to mute or switch off! For goodness sake, I couldn’t even glance at the Guardian (online, or in print) – they have been covering the World Series with a front-page article after each game. Quelle merde!
By the time 2 o’clock rolled around and I was ready to assume my place in the bleachers, I was a nervous wreck. Every time my phone “pinged” with an incoming message or notification, I exhibited a nervous twitch – which social media behemoth was requesting my attention now in an effort to share with me the momentous news and thus spoil my enjoyment? I quickly developed a method – a quick succession of slides and clicks – to remove the potentially offending message from the front screen without catching any of the content. To a passing observer I must have looked a bit demented – staring off screen into the distance while my fingers deleted the offending ping without looking. Hmm, I hope I didn’t actually delete anything of importance?
The love of my life, Ms Playchute, was very understanding and patient with my obsession. She, in fact, saw a post on Facebook in the morning which gave her the result but she very carefully said nothing to me and almost seemed to share my enjoyment. She even popped out to the grocery store in Woodford Halse to pick up some hot dogs and buns so that I could really get into the atmosphere! Not quite Dodger Dogs but very tasty anyway.
And what a game! I was delighted for the Cubs, not specifically because of the 108 year gap between their World Series victories although that was an additional motivation for hoping they might win. Rather, the Cubs were the National League’s representative and my team, the Los Angeles Dodgers are similarly in the National League. If the Dodgers can’t win the Series I would rather a National League team win instead. And this time, the Cubs had eliminated the Dodgers from contention. So, why not hope the Cubs would win.
I was also delighted for our very good friend and former neighbour in Byfield, Pete Taylor who has been a die-hard Cubs fan for as long as he’s known anything about baseball. (Ah, I can feel the collective penny drop for those readers who are not based in the States – it’s baseball we’re talking about!). Yes, the autumn, as well as bringing lovely fall foliage and crisp autumn days (and nights), also brings the end of the baseball season, much to Penny’s delight and my disappointment. Oh well, there’s still the American football to get through.
Much love to you all,
Greg