The problem with having a work plan is that you get a bit fixated about doing things and then ticking them off as done, and then after you've wasted an hour of your time playing some daft casual computer game to recover the last thing on your mind is blogging. Especially when some of your fingertips are still sore from a marathon typing bout.
Anyway here's a quick round up. Remember how I signed up for Active Life, the Council's new initiative to get people into their sports centres to get fit? Well rather to my surprise I am making quite good use of it. I swim once a week, and I've also been to the gym three times, which doesn't sound so brilliant but you have to take into account that for a week I couldn't actually get into town because of the weather which made crossing the barriers hazardous. Some of the time the OH was away and the weather so foul that I wasn't even going to try to get to the bus stop. I'm keen to get fit, but not so keen that I'll get soaked to the skin and frozen before I even get to the gym. Some of the tine the barriers were closed anyway. The aim for now is twice a week for the gym and once a week for the swimming so we'll see how it goes.
Meanwhile we exhausted ourselves by having visitors. First up was my friend G who was here for her viva. I think I said it all went well and she passed. We picked her up from her hotel, brought her here for coffee, had a walk on a lovely local beach, and a very relaxed lunch in Kirkwall, so relaxed that there was no time for dessert (Boo!) and then delivered her to the airport for her flight.
On Sunday we had a lunch guest in the shape of one of her viva examiners, who is a very clever and delightful Professor from Italy, currently enjoying a year's sabbatical in Scotland. The program was almost the same as it was for Gillian except that we had lunch here and walked on a different beach. The OH was delighted to have an opportunity to a) show off his cooking skills to someone other than me and b) cook fish, which I don't eat.
It was lovely to see them both and we enjoyed having them but oh! the work, and the stress involved beforehand. We are so out of the habit of entertaining people, except for coffee and cake dates, it's difficult to believe we used to do it on a regular basis, and when we had two young children and both had full time jobs into the bargain. I don't think we'll be doing that again. I suppose what is missing from that last sentence is the phrase 'but we were younger then'!
Well done on the gym use - I wouldn't have gone out in that weather either 😳😳😳
ReplyDeleteI think I may have the pleasure of meeting your friend at some point . . . however, I cannot remember when precisely, so it has to be vague! G not the other one :-)
ReplyDeleteI have now been given the green light on a rather odd dissertation project!
ooo, do tell what the dissertation project is! you can always e-mail if that's better for you.
DeleteAnd I DID have the pleasure of 'meeting' G via video link. Excellent session and most interesting!
DeleteAnd the project? Constructions of Highland identity in the 'light novels' of D E Stevenson. It will look at how she portrays the relevant from several perspectives - as a woman writing for women, as the wife of a member of the 'establishment', and as a woman who subtly challenged the norms!