Thursday 17 December 2009

Birmingham, quiz, builders and plumbers

It has been pointed out that the frequency of my blogging has decreased somewhat. Well, you know what? my life isn't all that interesting when I'm not learning wild and crazy stuff about dietary assessment, obscure enzymes and epidemiology. If you'd like to know that I did some laundry, went to the Post Office and made two batches of mince pies, then you have a very low boredom threshold.

Birmingham statue, carousel and Town HallIn fact I have been out of the house on more interesting ventures: I went to Birmingham to meet two lovely ex-work colleagues. I went a bit early because the train is cheaper if you don't travel at commuter times. Normally I would have gone to the cinema, but there wasn't really anything I wanted to see, so I went for a wander around the shops. I actually need a new school bag, a cardigan or V-neck jumper, and a particular present for Mr A that I might find in a department store. Shopping isn't among my preferred activities, especially in the run-up to Christmas, so I spent about three hours in shops and bought three pens for myself. They are very nice pens, so that's good.

After I'd met lovely ex-work colleagues, we went for a stroll around the German Market that's an annual fixture around Christmas time in Birmingham city centre, and treated ourselves to a mug of glühwein. Catching up with everything that's been going on brought it home to me that I've been out of work for more than two years - and I don't regret it one bit. Starting a whole new career was a great idea, and I'm continually thanking my lucky stars (and mum and dad) that I'm able to afford it.

Quiz teamMr A and I both attended another quiz with the (old, fat) ex-badminton players and my favourite Bee Lady. They are in line for some mild abuse because a) they like it, and b) they are the ones giving me stick for not blogging. Latest bee fact: the name of the old type of beehive (shaped like a beehive rather than a square box) is a skep. Being winter, there isn't a lot of other bee-related activity to report. As usual, we rated our own quiz abilities a great deal higher than the final score would suggest - we came fourth.

Are you interested in our building/plumbing situation? No, I thought not. Well, I've put in a claim form to the insurance company over the hole in the ceiling and lifted parquet, which means we need two quotes for the work. Alf has been in touch - he's very busy (any decent builder is always very busy) and can't do anything for us until January at the earliest, but he did promise to send a quote. Nothing has arrived so far. I have details for another recommended builder (but he's very busy), and I must now try him too. Meanwhile, the polystyrene balls continue to block the bath tap, and we still have a lovely hole in the living room ceiling, a damp wall, no door to the loft, a towel radiator in its box in the hall, paint, tiles and an unfinished bathroom. It could be a lot worse - the house is warm and we live very well. I cooked braised pheasant at the weekend.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

How did you get on with the epidemiology coursework?