What a difference a day/week makes – last week we were busier than a one-armed paper hanger, this week I have had a decently quiet week. Penelope, on the other hand, has continued in the busier than busy mode she has become accustomed to. She’s been trained up in one enterprise and had an away day this week too.
Penny has decided to volunteer in a local primary school helping some children with their reading. A couple of friends from the gym mentioned that they do this through a voluntary organisation in Oxfordshire and Penny decided to give it a go as well. It will involve two days a week at a particular school in Banbury reading with, I think, three pupils.
In order to volunteer, she had to attend a training day and have her character assessed to determine whether she was a suitable person to be working with children. One of the issues which provided a bit of an issue, oddly enough, was her need to provide evidence of her current address. You would think that would be really easy and for many, if not perhaps most of us, it is – produce a recent bank statement or utility bill showing your name and address. Unfortunately, we are almost entirely a paper-free household and all our bills and statements come via the internet. And, sadly, printing a document from the internet is not acceptable for this purpose – go figure. In addition, most of our bills or statements are either in my name or in our joint names. In the end, she had to go to the Building Society we use to ask them for a printed copy of her most recent bank statement which they happily produced and endorsed for her – apparently, they get this sort of request all the time. At any rate, it has now been determined that she is, indeed, a fit and proper person – I could have told them that!
On Tuesday Penny set off with Daisy to visit a dear friend who lives on the Hampshire/Dorset border. Clearly, this meant I was on my own for a couple of days which I somehow managed to muddle through. Obviously, I missed Penny but I found it alarming to discover that I missed Daisy more! Don’t tell Penny this but every time I came out of my study to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee, visit the loo or whatever, I would inevitably glance at Daisy’s cushion and then, sadly, remember that she wasn’t there to be stroked or made a fuss of! Mind you, we made up for it when they returned on Wednesday afternoon – she was so excited to be home and proceeded to tell me all about the wonderful visit they had! Daisy, that is, of course, not Penny.
The weather has turned quite Autumnal in its feel – where did the summer go? Yesterday was the Autumnal equinox so it’s all downhill from here! We’ve had a pretty decent fruit harvest – the pears and plums have been abundant although, for some reason, the trees with the tastiest of plums and pears, did not produce as bountiful a harvest as the others. Hey ho, there’s still more than plenty to go around. So many pears, for example, that we’ve been able to give large quantities away. On Friday afternoon Penny took a bagful to her friend Jane at the other end of the village. She had Daisy with her who was pulling, anxious to get on with a proper walk – enough of this stopping and delivering goods to friends and neighbours. Later that evening, there was a “thank-you” note on the village Facebook page, thanking the kind neighbour who mysteriously left a bag full of pears on her doorstep. Oops! In her distraction with Daisy pulling on the lead, Penny managed to leave the pears on the wrong doorstep! Oh well, it’s the thought that counts, I suppose. I did suggest that Penny post a reply saying that the pears weren’t intended for the person who found them and would she please take them next door. Sensibly, Penny declined to post such a message.
We enjoyed another Not a Pub Night with our lovely neighbours on Friday evening. It’s always great to see folks and to catch up over a couple of glasses of wine. And, something to look forward to – Moreton Pinkney Film Night returns on 5 October for another season, fish and chips supper included, of course.
YCNMIU
Please don’t be under any illusion – the absence of the YCNMIU section in recent weeks was certainly not due to there being any shortage of opportunities for our politicians to demonstrate that they are completely bonkers! This week’s YCNMIU comes courtesy of our unelected Prime Minister who has decided to press pause on the UK’s progress toward achieving Net Zero in the battle against climate change. He (and his advisers) seem to think there is some electoral advantage to be gained by embracing the climate change deniers which is a bit curious given the reaction and polls since he made his announcements. In any event, the knuckle-sraping, anti-vaxxers, climate change deniers are in his camp already – it’s not likely that his kicking the climate crisis can down the road is going to attract many (if any) additional supporters. Also, since the targets for phasing out gas boilers and petrol and diesel cars are written into law, it will be interesting to see how he is going to attempt to circumvent the statute book on this occasion. Indeed, various organisations have already announced their intention to take the government to court if they press ahead with relaxing these statutory targets. You could not make this shit up.
The BBC web site had this video clip contrasting what the PM said about climate change targets in the past and what he announced this week.
I particular like the way he announced that he is scrapping taxes on meat and taxes designed to discourage you from flying or going on holiday. Interestingly, neither of those “taxes” exist anywhere other than in his imagination. But then again, what’s another lie in the long tradition of lying by Tory Prime Ministers? After all, his lips are moving.
As it happens, Susie Dent’s Word of the Day on Saturday was, as always, quite appropriate:
Finally, I guess it’s true – my reputation for producing award-winning sourdough bread has spread far and wide. Well, from at least one part of the village to another. At the Garden Club coffee morning on Saturday I was approached by a neighbour who asked, in all seriousness, if I was the Sourdough King? I laughed, of course but did concede that I do bake the occasional loaf of sourdough bread from time to time. Naturally, she was after a bit of my starter which I am happy to share, provided I can elicit a promise not to compete against me in the annual show – as I’ve said many times, I only win the sourdough category year after year because no one else enters!
And speaking of good books, I’ve just finished Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver’s most recent. Excellent!
We’re away in Kent for a few days this week with friends. There may or may not be an edition of the Picayune next week for which you can thank me/curse me later.
Meanwhile, keep happy, keep smiling, be good, be careful, and keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg
Well, relegated to second place in his affections! I guess I don’t wag my tail enough at his approach. Is fifty five years of love, affection, laundry, cooking etc not enough??!! Oh the fickleness of man!!