Shrewsbury Folk Festival

Cathedral, Rio de Janeiro, April 2019

I've been away again, another festival, this time in Shrewsbury. For once we had a proper hot August Bank Holiday so I sweltered in my tent and in the marquees - the organisers eventually took the sides away from the hottest marquee on Monday to bring the stages down to a more manageable temperature. Still hot though. The music was, as usual, tremendous - highlights were Grace Petrie, Reg Meuross, Daphne's Flight, Winter Wilson and Granny's Attic. And Umai, a wonderful Japanese restaurant in Shrewsbury.

There was lots more to do too - I'm not a fan of the ceilidh but you could dance your heart out, and there were workshops for every instrument known to folk. I don't really take full advantage of the opportunities offered, but for the first time I did get my money's worth from the First Aiders. One eye started to sting and tears flooded down one cheek due to the combination of sun tan lotion and extreme sweatiness. The nice man in the First Aid tent squirted a vial of saline into the offending eye which helped no end. Other than that, everyone survived.

Apart from the festival, I'm still coming to terms with my extra free time, although it seems to be filled with as much activity as before I gave up two days work. A trip to mum and dad, giving blood, my activities with the Buddhists and the badminton club - there must be some extra time somewhere, but I haven't quite discovered it yet. And before you ask, the tax return is still waiting. Any minute now...

Getting on with things

Adhisthana, July 2019

I'm starting to settle into my new working pattern, although it brings new challenges. I'm very happy pottering at home on my own, but how do I make sure that I don't become a recluse? How do I build structure into my week, when there are no fixed points to latch onto after the end of Tuesday? Which of my huge list of potential new avenues of activity should I start on, and how do I maintain momentum? How do I control my access to the kitchen and not gain weight? These are obviously wonderful new challenges to have, but I don't want to end each day thinking it was an opportunity missed. **

So far I've kept myself busy, and I have been impressed by the number of jobs that have been hanging over me for a long time that I have managed to complete. Some very small (cleaning the microwave), some incomplete (I did clean some windows, but not all), some ongoing (the original gardener I contacted isn't available but recommended a different one) and some huge (the living room decoration is complete!!!!) And I can spend more time with mum and dad when they need me. And I'm definitely going to start on the tax return, oh yes, any minute now, I'm definitely going to start on that.

It's not all about jobs, I've also watched several films and a number of episodes of 'Friends' which Lola II lent (gave?) me for my birthday, and even went to the cinema, which felt like a real treat during working hours, even though it was school holidays and so overrun with children.

Ilf returned to finish painting the living room woodwork and hang some pictures for me too, which brings to an end one of the bigger indoor jobs within the LTRP. I can reflect on my achievement now, starting with the garage in 2016 and including the huge kitchen project which lasted from 2016 to 2018. It was a daunting prospect to look forward to and pretty difficult during the work, but I did it, and have learned new skills along the way. Making decisions has become easier rather than procrastinating and agonising for days over the options.

There's more still to do - the shower room and the hall both need attention, and then external painting, and once those jobs are done the last room is the main bedroom where there is nothing structurally wrong but it could do with decoration. So it's not over yet; you can expect ongoing LTRP reports for the foreseeable future.

** Landrover Man and Bee Lady - any tips?

Working hours

August 2019

As I write, I am about to start my new phase of working just under two days a week (instead of just under four days a week). It has been a long time coming, with my team leader and manager making it much more difficult than it needed to be. I put in my application for 'flexible working' back in January, and the meeting that should have taken place within a month of that application actually happened a week ago. That was when, among other things, I discovered that the replacement for the 13.5 hours I am giving up will be 15 hours. Not that it makes much difference, but it would have been nice to know a bit sooner than a week before the change takes place.

I have been busy in every spare minute at work trying to clear some of the clutter that I have accumulated, as I will soon be sharing my office space with someone who might want to put her own clutter somewhere. My new co-worker (I'll have to think of a suitable name for her at some point) is young, and along with her role in diabetes for the Trust she has also been doing a Masters in some aspect of Type 1 Diabetes and exercise - I don't know the details. She has managed to spend a Wednesday afternoon with me in the most complicated pump clinic that I'm involved with, and will be going on a course before starting to deliver the Type 1 education instead of me. It was really difficult deciding what to give up, but it's possible that I can still deliver a course now and then. I'll be meeting with my team to talk about practical arrangements soon.

In Buddhism news, I went on a weekend retreat which is always a source of much flowery photography and usually generates some reserves of patience and equanimity for me to take home. Being on the team for the local Buddhist group has allowed me to make a couple of suggestions for future topics on Tuesdays, but for the next four weeks when we don't rent the usual church hall I will be hosting the group for some study of a short lecture called 'The Taste of Freedom'. I have read it through once and, as usual with anything philosophical or poetical, I can make little sense of it. We'll see whether that changes over the course of four weeks.

Another birthday came and went, and Lola II spent the day with me when my objective was to make use of the many excellent charity shops in Leamington to replace worn out items of clothing and try to find a suitable outfit for an upcoming wedding. We had an excellent lunch at my new favourite cafe (Warwick Street Kitchen since you ask) and I succeeded with getting the whole wedding outfit and a new pair of jeans all for less than Lola II paid for our lunch. I was also hoping to use the latter part of the day to clear some of the excess junk still in my loft, but we didn't manage that. Next time.

And the LTRP continues: Olf and his Sidekick have been busy with the veranda, and I think it is finished though there may be a few small issues that aren't apparent to me - they will be back in a week or so. Sidekick does all the work; Olf drops in and sometimes shouts at him. This makes me uncomfortable and after this job I will try to find another builder. I also tried to engage a gardener who told me he would phone back to arrange to visit, but hasn't. I will pursue this; it's a jungle out there.

What I've been reading

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep
by Joanna Cannon

narrated by Paula Wilcox

"England, 1976. Mrs Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands."

Ultimately unsatisfying, it's as if the author wanted to make the story arc more interesting so she chopped the two timelines into little bits and switched from one to the other so by the end the whole story had probably been told but I had pretty much given up trying to work out what had actually happened. Each character in turn was made to reveal his or her particular secret (which sometimes had nothing to do with the main story) and I carried on hoping that there would be a summary at the end. But there wasn't, and that made me quite cross, so obviously I'm not going to like this book.

The Lie of the Land
by Amanda Craig

"Quentin and Lottie Bredin, like many modern couples, can't afford to divorce. Having lost their jobs in the recession, they can't afford to go on living in London; instead, they must downsize and move their three children to a house in a remote part of Devon."

I was given this by H, unread, because in the first couple of chapters the characters are so unpleasant that it doesn't surprise me that he didn't want to carry on. But I find it difficult to stop reading unless a book is unreadable, and this one isn't. Everyone gradually starts to behave better, the mystery is a fairly good one and redemption of a sort is achieved at the end, so it was worth persisting.

Sailing the Wordly Winds: A Buddhist Way Through the Ups and Downs of Life
by Vajragupta

"Tossed around by gain, buffeted by loss, borne aloft by praise, cast down by blame, how can we not be ground under, lose all direction, confidence, and sense of purpose? This book focuses on the Buddha’s teaching of the worldly winds, how we can learn to navigate them more effectively, so that we can sail safely through life rather than being blown off course, however stormy the weather."

A very Buddhist book which I read during the weekend Retreat that I recently attended which focussed on its subject matter. It's helpful if you're into this sort of thing, which I increasingly am, although still baffled by much of the abstract terminology and concepts of the Buddha's teaching. If I were to pick out one bit in the book that I'm particularly conscious of putting into practice at the moment it would be the reminder to be aware of the difference between control and influence. I cannot control what is going on around me, all I can do is try to influence it. And that helps me to cope with it gracefully.