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Mixed busyness
Jun. 9th, 2024 05:28 pmMy engagements diary for the past week has been fuller than usual, and the items in it have managed to arrange themselves in pairs that look as if they ought to mean something. Or perhaps that's just me, seeing patterns in everything.
On Tuesday morning we went to a funeral: this was for someone we had both known slightly for a long time, in different contexts. In the evening we went to the residents' association meeting. You could, I suppose, class both of these things as public duties of a faintly social kind.
Wednesday lunchtime took those themes and turned them up to 11: we attended the "mayor making," the ceremonial appointment of the Mayor (our local councillor, with whom we are friendly). In the Town Hall, with full regalia and in the presence of the Mayor's bodyguard (apparently ours is the only Mayor outside the City of London who has a mayoral bodyguard "of this kind", whatever that means), all robes and pikestaffs and much marching in procession. I found myself sitting next to the Clerk of the Parish Council (and supplying him with tissues, because "I always cry at these things...").
Wednesday evening was the Elm Tree quiz, of course. In the absence of the Quizmaster (who has taken his father on a family visit to Jersey) the quiz was set by an aspirant quizmster, and was very ingenious. We came fourth, which didn't win us a prize, but didn't disgrace ourselves.
On Thursday morning we paid a visit to F., whose birthay was looming (it was yesterday). I had managed to find an emergency present after the previous day's ceremony, and she seemed to like it, so that was good. Always fun to visit, and good to have a reason sometimes to remind me of that. File under fun.
Thursday evening's book launch / poetry performance was pure joy. There's a whole post to write about Kate Fox and Bigger on the Inside her show about neuodiversity and Doctor Who - but I need to get cooking instead. It was funny, intriguing, educational, thought-provoking...
There's a PS to this post. Yesterday S. called in for a cup of tea, because she was in Durham for a lecture. If I'd been feeling that my schedule for the past week was packed, this would be a reminder that it's all relative. At least we rarely have more than one thing at a time: S's diary is a constant negotiation about which option to choose, she is permanently double if not treble booked. We were lucky to catch her yesterday (and won't see her when we had expected to next week, because something has come up!).
On Tuesday morning we went to a funeral: this was for someone we had both known slightly for a long time, in different contexts. In the evening we went to the residents' association meeting. You could, I suppose, class both of these things as public duties of a faintly social kind.
Wednesday lunchtime took those themes and turned them up to 11: we attended the "mayor making," the ceremonial appointment of the Mayor (our local councillor, with whom we are friendly). In the Town Hall, with full regalia and in the presence of the Mayor's bodyguard (apparently ours is the only Mayor outside the City of London who has a mayoral bodyguard "of this kind", whatever that means), all robes and pikestaffs and much marching in procession. I found myself sitting next to the Clerk of the Parish Council (and supplying him with tissues, because "I always cry at these things...").
Wednesday evening was the Elm Tree quiz, of course. In the absence of the Quizmaster (who has taken his father on a family visit to Jersey) the quiz was set by an aspirant quizmster, and was very ingenious. We came fourth, which didn't win us a prize, but didn't disgrace ourselves.
On Thursday morning we paid a visit to F., whose birthay was looming (it was yesterday). I had managed to find an emergency present after the previous day's ceremony, and she seemed to like it, so that was good. Always fun to visit, and good to have a reason sometimes to remind me of that. File under fun.
Thursday evening's book launch / poetry performance was pure joy. There's a whole post to write about Kate Fox and Bigger on the Inside her show about neuodiversity and Doctor Who - but I need to get cooking instead. It was funny, intriguing, educational, thought-provoking...
There's a PS to this post. Yesterday S. called in for a cup of tea, because she was in Durham for a lecture. If I'd been feeling that my schedule for the past week was packed, this would be a reminder that it's all relative. At least we rarely have more than one thing at a time: S's diary is a constant negotiation about which option to choose, she is permanently double if not treble booked. We were lucky to catch her yesterday (and won't see her when we had expected to next week, because something has come up!).
