Strange thoughts and a good deed ... Tuesday 8th Oct

It was fairly busy in the library this morning. At least one chap needed a lot of help. He was trying to get some business cards designed and ordered online, and didn’t really know how to go about it. You would have thought the government Jobseekers group could have helped him. But, no. They provided a poorly designed introductory letter to prospective clients only. Surely some basic understanding of marketing would be of use to those seeking employment. Maybe it’s a step too far for the advisors.

Having read my book through lunch, I find I’m now into the last 100 pages. The end is in sight. Strangely this makes me slow up. Having taken every opportunity recently to read this book, now with the end in sight I’m easing back. One of two reasons springs to mind. One I don’t want to finish it too soon now, I want to prolong the enjoyment. The other is I have no idea what I’m going to read next. It reminds me of when I ride up a steep hill on my bike. I’m all huff and puff at the bottom, but as I near the top and I know I can make it the challenge fades. I’m sure a psychiatrist would have a field day with that explanation.

The eldest is out at work (driving herself), and the youngest is on his xbox, and so I spend some time watching TV with Mrs P in the evening. I feel I may have been neglecting her a bit lately with my reading, and so I sit with her to watch The Great British Bake Off. Halfway through it Mrs P is sound asleep, and I’m watching people make cakes shaped like toadstools and lumps of cheese. It must be my riveting company. Sometimes you do wonder why you bother.

Yours awake.

Jay

Aches and a good book ... Monday 7th Oct

It could be a sign of age, but I seem to go from one ache or pain to another at the moment. The latest is my leg, caused by a combination of being kicked at football last week, and pounding the streets delivering Electoral Register letters. Mrs P and I did a chunk of the deliveries on Saturday, and I could hardly walk afterwards. I had yesterday off, and today I have about two hours of deliveries left to do. I take to the streets gingerly and get through with a modicum of discomfort. Football is definitely off the agenda tonight.

I picked up a book at the library last week. It’s the new Jo Nesbo thriller. I’ve read his others and have got straight into this one. A nice 500 pages in length. It’s strange but when I’ve got a good book on the go I forget about the television. My time is spent working out, how I can grab time, to get on with my book. Time I might have spent doing anything else, gets diverted to the book. The way I know I’m enjoying a book is when, just before putting my light out at night, I skip forward to see what is going to happen next. It is a really annoying habit, as it means I spend the first twenty minutes the next time I read, covering what I’ve already skimmed through. But for some reason it’s a habit I really struggle to break. The other downside of reading a great book is the sense of loss when you have finished it. Suddenly you have all this spare time. Back to the house husbandry I guess.

Yours reading.

Jay

 

 

70's nostalgia ... Friday 4th Oct

I went to a business networking event today. I know what you’re thinking. Since when was being a house husband a business. Well it isn’t, but I am considering re-launching a health and nutrition sideline from a couple of years ago. Now the people at this event are perfectly nice and friendly, and the free lunch - to be honest a key attraction for me - was good, but I really don’t like networking. I can do it but I’d rather not, though it does seem to make the business world go around. The guests were allowed to get their lunch first, which seemed polite. However there was a fixed amount of food there, and so being at the front I was conscious of not wanting to take too much and have others miss out. As it turned out, the people at the back of the line were able to take a lot more as there was plenty left for them. So what seemed like, and was good manners, in letting the guests go first, meant I actually got less to eat than I would have liked. Some reverse psychology at play possibly.

In the afternoon I was back delivering Electoral Register letters, and singing along to 70’s music on the radio, which prompted some strange looks on the street. Who knew there were so many great songs in that decade? After I’ve been out for a couple of hours my shin starts to hurt. I’m not sure if it’s the constant banging up and down on pavements or because i got kicked there on Monday at football. Suffice to say I get zero sympathy at home.

In the evening we pop round to see the folks as it is the old fellow’s birthday, and given the events of earlier this year it’s a milestone we’re glad that he made. A cup of tea and a large lump of gooey chocolate cake, are followed by photos of me and my brother as children. This draws much hilarity from the teenagers and Mrs P, for whilst the 70’s produced great music, it really was the decade that fashion forgot.

Yours glam rocking.

Jay

Average day for a house husband ... Thursday 3rd Oct

I decide to trust the weather forecast and hang the washing out this morning before I go out. Such are the big decisions I have to make as a house husband. The library is quiet this morning, but they do have in a book I’d reserved and so I now have something to read for the next week. One of the few perks of volunteering at the library is seeing what they’ve got coming in, and reserving the ones I’d like. On a bright note the chap who used to regularly come in to use the computers, but whom I hadn’t seen for a couple of months was back. Apparently he’d been on a couple of holidays, the Lake District and a trans Atlantic cruise, which is nice if you can do it.

I get home in time to rescue the washing before the rain comes, which saves me having to turn on the tumble dryer. Well done the weather forecasters. The afternoon consists of dusting, vacuuming, ironing, and then making tea, so basically housework. Then playing with the youngest who was let out early from school again today. A bit of family bonding.

In the evening the eldest was out. She drove herself, which is becoming quite common for us. She started to learn to drive in December in the dark, which has turned out to be a bonus for us, as she is very comfortable with it. In retrospect it has been an unexpected bonus for the Perry household. As it is quiet at home I get the chance to start my book, with a cup of tea to hand. A rare luxury.

Yours taking it easy.

Jay

Thinking of the 70's ... Wednesday 2nd Oct

For someone who has never believed in exercise, for its own sake, I do seem to be getting rather a lot of it at the moment. After a slow start to my day, I get out to do the paper round a bit later than usual this morning. Sometimes I listen to the radio while I’m going around, at the moment its Smooth 70s of preference. But today I decide to go without thinking that maybe I’ll get some thinking done. No chance, as it turns out, because I spend the time day dreaming. It’s amazing how time passes when you’re in a world of your own. I’m not sure Mrs P approves to be honest.

In the afternoon I do a couple more hours delivering electoral canvas letters. For this I do listen to the radio, and the time passes just as easily as it did this morning. I suspect the easy listening nature of Smooth 70s helps. The records also evoke pleasant memories of what seemed like sunny happy days gone by. The world can be a serious place, but there should always be room to daydream and reminisce.

The youngest is out at 2pm as the school has an open evening today. So he is in when I get back which is unusual, and getting on with his homework, which is good to see. I get the ironing done and tea ready for when the eldest and Mrs P get in. Then I’m off to the school open evening myself. I take the opportunity to look around the school and chat with some of the teachers. I am struck by how good the facilities are these days, and how wide the opportunities for the children today are. Maybe not everything used to be better.

Yours reminiscing.

Jay

Impersonating Postman Pat ... Tuesday 1st Oct

Autumn is well and truly with us as the leaves fall from the trees and in the Perry house we put on the heating. If only for an hour, in the evening. Given the price of fuel I expect we might be wearing more to keep warm this winter.

Last year I delivered Electoral Registration letters for the local council, and on Monday I collected this year’s first batch. I then take them home, and lay them out on the front room floor as a map so I can easily pick up the ones I want when I go out. I start with two hours delivering this afternoon. It’s easier to deliver in the daylight. I decide to start with the least salubrious area I have. At least that way I get it out of the way, not that it is really that bad. To be honest it is an easy section to do because a lot of the front doors are only two steps off the pavement, and so I get around it quite quickly. Where you have supposedly better class areas, the drives are longer and the houses are more spread out, and so it takes a lot longer to do. That theory is fine until you come to the third round of deliveries, where after two nil responses you have to knock on doors, and confirm who lives there. Then you might prefer a better area.

Yours Postman Pat.

Jay

American Football road trip ... Monday 30th Sept

Today was spent helping Mrs P with the shopping, visiting the council tip with the weekend’s garden rubbish, and collecting, then sorting electoral register canvas cards from the local town hall (but more of them tomorrow.)  To be honest I spent most of the day feeling pretty jaded. This was as a direct result of the road trip the youngest and I took to Wembley at the weekend, to watch the American Football match they had on.

The game itself was a great spectacle, our views were good and the seats were comfortable. The problem was the game didn’t kick-off until 6pm, and so didn’t finish until after 9pm on a Sunday. Meaning we couldn’t have gotten a train home as they don’t run north out of Euston for us after 9.21pm. This meant we had to drive down, and back. To be fair we had a decent trip down, parked just outside the M25 and got a train in to Wembley and back which worked very well. The London train system was geared up for the match, and it all worked for us. In fact, including a 20 minute train journey back, we were in the car and heading home by 10pm. As a throwback we stopped on the way down for lunch at a Little Chef. I had to be tempted by the Olympic Breakfast, and having been allowed to swap my tomato for another sausage it certainly was Olympic. Added to a pot of tea it was a perfect filler for me. The youngest enjoyed his chicken burger and chips, the service was quick and friendly. You do get what you pay for, and we thoroughly enjoyed what we got.

At Wembley they were selling team merchandise. £70 for an American football shirt, £50 for a hoodie, £20 for a cap, etc ... Not cheap as you can see. I have to say the price of merchandise was the only disappointing thing about our day out. We eventually got home at 1am on Monday morning, having had a good run back up the motorway. They youngest slept a bit and looked slightly more refreshed than me when we woke up this morning. Though that may just be a benefit of his youth. Having said that I did manage to go and play football this evening. Though where I got the energy from, I’ve no idea.

Yours needing sleep.

Jay