Another week passes

It's been a week when I've thought "It's time I wrote something on the blog" but then realised that nothing interesting has happened. I hesitate to inflict the mundane minutiae of everyday life on my public, but it's my blog so I can do what I like.

I play badminton and go to aerobics

I've been managing to do some serious exercise once or twice a week. I prefer badminton to aerobics, but I'd have to find another suitable club or group of people if I wanted to play badminton twice a week, and that would be tricky. I prefer aerobics to exercising in the gym, or swimming, or cycling, or going for a boring walk on my own. I used to enjoy aerobics a great deal in Manchester, but that was 15 years ago; now it just highlights how old I've become. I look like an idiot trying to follow the moves, and I still bump into people because of going the wrong way the whole time. It cleared my blocked nose, though - I'm not sure how exercise does this, but it's a blessed relief for an hour or two. And there's the benefit of the exercise itself.

I have a cold

Have I mentioned this? I've been ill since the weekend, but it's getting better now. On Wednesday the glands in my neck were sore and at least as big as coconuts but they're down to golf balls now. Stuffed up nose, occasional sneezing and coughing, and a serious amount of self-pity. I hate being ill.

We go next door to evaluate Smurf's 'music in the beer garden' idea.

When we were having a drink last week, Smurf mentioned that he was going to put some speakers out in the beer garden, but he wouldn't want us to be disturbed by the noise, so he was going to make sure the music wasn't intrusive and we could always ring or come round and there wouldn't be a problem, he'd turn it off. After reflecting on this proposal for a minute or two, Mr A and I decided that it was a Very Bad Idea, and gently conveyed this view to Smurf. Later in the week, we were duly invited to see and hear what was involved - a speaker thinly disguised as a rock, sitting on the decking in the garden. We continued to express our reservations about this Very Bad Idea, and it was duly abandoned. Phew. Smurf's business partner Mark privately expressed his gratitude to us later in the week for saving him several hundred quid by squashing the outside broadcasting project.

I do a ton of coursework

This week I concentrated on a 2000 word essay on 'functional foods' and omega 3 essential fatty acids. I must be about halfway through, and it's quite interesting. The evidence in favour of consuming these fatty acids is strong from what I've read so far, although vegans and vegetarians don't appear to suffer too badly considering that vegetable sources are supposed to be vastly inferior compared with eating fish. Another little problem is whether our fish stocks are sustainable if everyone actually eats as much seafood as is recommended. But I've still got work to do on this topic and I may hold different views when I've finished doing the research.

I do Mr A's accounts

Bad mistake to leave it for three months, but I had exams and then didn't get round to it. Doing one month takes about three hours, which I can manage in one go, but this time it's been two miserable days. And I'm not well. Did I mention that I have a cold?

Mr A has an appointment with someone

Off he went on Wednesday, and came back with a load of leaflets after having spoken to someone aged about fifteen. That was actually a big problem, but there's an option to go back but ask for someone a little older. There's also a possibility of six weekly sessions starting after Easter. I'm rather hoping he'll go for it.

We sit on the sofa and watch DVDs

This isn't news as such, but it's what we do in the evenings. We've been watching a compilation of BBC versions of Anthony Trollope classics (The Barchester Chronicles, The Way We Live Now, He Knew He Was Right), The Onedin Line from 1971, The West Wing (just finished Series 4 for the second time round), and Band of Brothers, which is excellent even for someone like me who knows very little about World War II and isn't keen on watching people get killed. In terms of full length films, recently we've seen:

• Jurassic Park 2 (The Lost World) which was pretty awful, but fun
  
• The Darjeeling Limited: so annoying that we couldn't even finish it
• True Romance: very bloody but at least we got to the end
• Borat: which I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish but actually thought it was amazing (not exactly good, but definitely amazing)
• Ice Age 2 (The Meltdown): we're not really the target audience, but it was OK
  
• The Departed: similar to True Romance in terms of body count
• Ratatouille: an odd film but strangely enjoyable
• The Naked Truth, Too Many Crooks and Make Mine Mink (a Terry-Thomas box set): the best one was Make Mine Mink, but even that was a bit silly.

We prepare for a super Easter weekend

Going south on Friday, further south on Saturday, back home on Sunday and a jolly country walk on Monday. Four whole days off, what a treat. I hope it doesn't rain too much.