Five things make a Bank Holiday weekend

Bank Holiday weather

Since I never look forward to Bank Holidays as a time to go out and have fun, I can be philosophical about the way Bank Holiday weather is always disappointing: it's not that the weather is bad, it's just that expectations were too high. Not this year; this year the weather really is bad, not only wet but stormy, not only stormy but cold. I had to ask durham_rambler to close the roof window in my study (he's taller enough to reach it easily). Usually I'm the one who insists on opening windows, but I was cold. In August.

Bank Holiday shopping (groceries)

I placed an order with Ocado - the second since our retuen from holiday, and a little earlier than I might have done, because the Bank Holiday means that there will be no shopping on Monday, and also because this is the last opportunity to order Waitrose products. I'm intrigued by the Guardian's report of this change, which assumes a number of things that just don't apply in my case: that customers are swayed by the speed of delivery, for example (I wish I could book my slot more than 24 hours ahead, later not sooner) and that customers will defect to Waitrose (if only. I used to shop online at Waitrose, but I haven't been able to get a delivery from them since lockdown). Shopping at Ocado on Friday was like the first days of lockdown, so much was out of stock: clearly they have been running down their Waitrose lines, but M & S goods aren't yet available. Despite which, items which I had managed to order were dropped fron the delivery, without substitution (seriously, Ocado, you don't have any interesting bread?). Yes, I know, first world problems, by which I am no worse than disgruntled.

Bank Holiday shopping (treats)

Thoroughly gruntled, though, by a delivery of postage stamps. Buying online from the Royal Mail not only avoids the queues in the Post Office (now situated in the cavernous basement of WH Smith's, and uninviting at best) it also gives you a choice of special issues. Admittedly, you have to buy rather a lot of stamps, but they don't go off, and I shall be able to stick pictures of Roman Britain on all my letters for the foreseeable future. I also have the matching postcards.

On which topic, they've found a 5th century lead chalice covered in Christian graffiti "near Hadrian's Wall" (which means 'at Vindolanda', of course).

Bank Holiday shopping (a surprise)

It's so long since durham_rambler backed the Teacups' Kickstarter that we had quite forgotten about it. So the arrival of their new (and, alas, final) album, In Which ... was a lovely surprise. Their internet presence - like their real life presence - is intermittent, but here's a sample (and if you pay attention, you may notice that it's not a traditional song - Rosie wrote it!):

Watch on YouTube

Bank Holiday outing

We went out to Sunday lunch with J, and we took F with us. This is either wild and reckless behaviour, or a first step out of a seclusion that has lasted too long: I have no idea which. J and F have constituted themselves a bubble, so we were only two households at far ends of the dining table; J was part of the extended family in residence at Auchinleck house; in the car the three of us followed advice to wear masks, but drew the line at keeping the windows open (though we ran air conditioning and did not recycle the air). Foolhardiness or excessive caution? Who knows?