More padding

Adhisthana, June 2018

I still haven't managed to get round to writing about the Spanish holiday, so here are some more odds and ends that aren't all that exciting.

Saturday

Music group was on Saturday, and it rained a lot. When I got back home the kitchen roof light was leaking again, so I was on to Ulf in a flash. Doors and Windows Ulf came round on Tuesday while I was in (and while the sun was obstinately shining in a cloudless sky). I was going to impersonate a rainstorm with the hosepipe but discovered that the adaptor to connect the tap to the hose was missing, so we had to resort to a watering can. DaW Ulf failed to find where the water could be getting in, but agreed with me that I couldn't just resign myself to putting out buckets every time it rains, nor could he drop everything and come on over. I plan to get the hosepipe working and do the rain impersonation thing, then take photos or video if I manage to get it leaking again.

Sunday

I finally managed to gather two out of the three of us who are planning a trip to the Christmas Markets in Munich (you may remember last year we went to Dusseldorf), and we booked flights and hotel. Then we went to a comedy gig from German Comedy Ambassador Henning Wehn. The most notable thing about that day was that I served a vegetarian stew that had such an explosive effect on my gastrointestinal tract that I had to apologise to my friend in case she was suffering the same consequences (she said she'd had worse).

Monday

I had a Dietetics final year student with me all day on Monday, on her third and last placement. I was so traumatised by my placements when I was doing my degree that I'm almost useless as a supervisor, as there is no way I will pass any criticism or test the students at all. Unfortunately there was almost nothing going on in my department that day, but we couldn't find anything better anywhere else so I printed out a diabetes tutorial and she was happy to play around with that until the afternoon clinic, when two out of the four scheduled patients didn't turn up. Thankfully the last one was a corker and I went through the A-Z of diabetes with someone who'd had a very poor experience in a nearby hospital, and was very happy with what she received with us. Anyway, the student said she'd enjoyed the day and that's what I was after.

On Monday I also received my flu jab, which was OK at the time but gave me a very tender upper arm for 24 hours. Then in the evening my doubles partner behind me mis-hit a shuttle with tremendous force right into the middle of my back. That night I had trouble finding a comfortable sleeping position.

Tuesday

Apart from the visit from DaW Ulf the most notable event on Tuesday was that while doing a bit of poking about on the Open University website, I came across a free online module all about Greek heroic epic poetry (which is distinct from ordinary epic poetry) focussing specifically on 'The Iliad'. By coincidence I happen to be reading The Iliad at the moment, so I had a look at the module, and it was extremely interesting. Although I did O level Latin at school I don't know a word of Greek, ancient or modern, and this tiny little insight into the rhythms and construction of the first seven lines of the poem as a representative sample of the whole work was absolutely fascinating.

It reminded me slightly of one of the more memorable jokes from Sunday night, when Henning was telling us how his extensive study of English grammar at school taught him to conjugate the verb 'to be' correctly: "I was, you were, he/she was, we were, you were, they were." Now he feels that perhaps he needn't have bothered as common usage suggests: "I was, you was, he/she was, we was, you was, they was."

Wednesday

I realise I've spent quite a lot of time writing this blog post when I could have been writing about the holiday, and I haven't even shared my photos yet. Oh well, I'll get round to it eventually. Probably.

On retreat

Adhisthana, June 2018

I had to spend more than a week without WiFi in the end. It's back now, but I have yet to knuckle down and replace the washing machine, which is officially dead.

During this period offline I finally reached a point where I had to take notice of what the bathroom scales were telling me. It's been quite easy to see the numbers creeping upward and do nothing about it, although it's been seven years since my main weight loss event took place so less than a kilogram gained each year isn't too bad. But on Tuesday I couldn't ignore it any longer, and I have embarked on a serious weight loss plan. I have written it all down, and unlike all my recent half-hearted attempts I'm telling everyone. My Tuesday BMI was 25.6 kg/m², and I'm aiming for a BMI of 23.5 kg/m² which requires 5 kg reduction. After one week I had reached 24.9 kg/m² which is excellent, but I don't imagine every week will produce this sort of improvement.

There's been quite a lot of Buddhism recently, which has also helped my resolution in the dietary department with its vegan approach and emphasis on managing the mind. Because it's all about the mind. After just a week on the new diet regime I had stopped craving something sweet after supper, and if the craving is gone it's much easier to stick to the plan.

I went to the Birmingham Buddhist Centre for Buddha day and did some meditating and chatting with interesting people, including a few who I'm starting to get to know. I avoided the formal ceremonial stuff which I don't enjoy but happens at the end so it's easy to leave early. Then the following weekend I went on my first weekend residential Buddhist retreat, at a centre in the Herefordshire countryside. It's where the founder of the particular Buddhist movement that I've become involved with still lives at the age of over ninety, but also contains a number of residential houses for longer stays as well as the rooms let out for weekends. It's a beautiful setting, which is handy because I'd just run out of pictures for this blog.

Meals were vegan, the timetable included meditation, discussion and free time, some of it in silence which suits me very well. People on my more commercial holidays accuse me of being 'anti-social' if I don't want to join in their alcohol-fuelled evening activities, but here you are expected to spend time with your own thoughts. Many of us went for a lovely walk in the glorious weather on Saturday afternoon and I got the chance to chat to the leader of our Tuesday group. There isn't much time for chat on a Tuesday.

Morning meditation was a revelation - 50 minutes starting at 7 a.m., followed by a 10 minute break and then another 30 minutes. I thought I'd have a go at the long one, thinking I could always duck out and skip the following session. Being away from everything with no pressure and nothing to do made it so much easier than trying to silence all the chatter in my mind at home. I sat for the whole 90 minutes both mornings without difficulty.

The theme for study was a tale about a rich man and his wayward son, who represented 'the enlightened mind' and our ordinary minds. We didn't spend overmuch time in study, but I couldn't avoid the formal ceremonial stuff this time. Sitting through it again hasn't changed my mind about it. Altogether the retreat wasn't the transformational experience that others have reported, but I'm planning to do it again. At some point I'll have a go at a week rather than a weekend.

Back home, there's bad news about neighbourly relations with the Pub Next Door. For the first time in the 16 years I have lived here I've had to consult the terms of the pub license. The only thing I've objected to in all that time has been music in the beer garden, and up until Friday there has never been a problem. But they put on a live band, and although the music was good and it only lasted two hours there wasn't a room in my house where it couldn't be heard very clearly. I spoke to the landlord who told me that he was planning to do this every Friday night through the summer. So I have asked our local councillor to clarify some of the terms of the licence, spoken to a couple of the other neighbours, and will decide what to do when the position is clearer.

Some good news though - the new lawnmower blade arrived, I fitted it without a problem and it works a whole lot better than the previous blunt stick of metal.