Oddly Productive

It's definitely been an odd week but, I have to confess, a productive one.  A lot of time, quite a bit of thought and, I admit, even the occasional dream over the last two or three weeks has been devoted to something called GenoPro.  This is a genealogy program that has been lurking on my computer virtually unused, for a number of years.  One of the reasons it has remained unused is because I'd never really taken the trouble to find out just what it is capable of.

Now I have examined it more closely than ever before I can see that, quite apart from the obvious capability of producing family tree 'pictures' (which was the reason I got it in the first place), the latest version is able to build them up in family groups and link them together one by one, so that hundreds of characters can be detailed in just one computer file, and displayed on up to a thousand separate pages.  While it isn't my plan to swap my existing database for this program, I've been working my way through my records making sure that I have entered the basic information for each person I've researched in my family tree.  It's been a revealing exercise in the vagaries of personal discipline, as key data readily available is now revealed as being missing in countless examples - more work for the dark winter evenings!

Alongside this, of course, there has been work to distract me.  Having said that, though, this has been statistically one of the most straightforward weeks I've known.  It's a reflection of the partial nature of the nation's recovery from recession that in three of the last five weeks there has been one day in which I've done no work at all.  This week it was Monday, which enabled me to carry on quite freely with the family history stuff I've noted above.  No work at all, that is, until about 3.30pm, when I was sent to Stevenage to load up lots of heavy boxes of printed matter for a conference that took place in Glasgow later in the week.

Tuesday was therefore a long day, made longer by my inability to sleep.  I woke for the second time at 2.30 and decided that, rather than try once more to resume my slumbers, I might as well dress and get under way.  As a result, my plans for breakfast were adjusted, and I stopped at the Nightowl truck-stop outside Carlisle instead of Markham Moor as I'd originally intended.  Arriving in the narrow street next to the office where I was supposed to deliver, I had to wait for a truck that was blocking the road making a delivery before I could drive round the final corner.  While I did so, a phone call from my office passed on a request for me to take some of the boxes on board to the exhibition centre first.  The overall effect of this delay was that it was an hour later that I finally got away from the city centre, and could enjoy the freedom of an unhurried journey home.

A few months ago I began listening to the weekly podcasts produced by the church at Kirkmuirhill, not far from the M74, midway between Glasgow and Carlisle, and I'd resolved that next time I was passing I would go and take a look at the village for myself.  Despite the fact that the weather wasn't ideal, I did so, but the picture I took was but a pale imitation of the one on their website. 

The rest of the week was uninspiring.  The calendar month finished with a journey to an insurance office in Norwich, delayed by a diversion to the hospital in King's Lynn, and Thursday found me sampling the delights of Hampshire with deliveries in Romsey and Southampton. 

By Friday, I was quite ready for a lazy day, and a journey to one of the farthest corners of Oxfordshire suited my mood nicely.  Whether it was fatigue I couldn't say, but even the normal hitches and frustrations didn't seem to bother me.  First of all it took me quite a while driving up and down the busy High Street of Ware to find the collection point.  Then, to my surprise SatNav asked if I wanted to use a toll road in my journey - an offer for which I could see no justification, so I ignored it.  As I drove along, listening to the radio, it occurred to me that this 'fastest route' that I was following seemed to include a lot of little-used country lanes.  My delivery made, I set course for home and again was offered a route using a toll road.  This time I decided to sample this delight, and very soon found that I had to pay 40p to cross the Thames at Pangbourne.  Soon afterwards I was on the motorway, all thoughts of slow back-lanes far behind me, and the weekend to which to look forward.

Today, though busy, has been relaxing, with a breakfast event to start, followed by a discussion on the theme of 'friendship' and, after shopping, getting the van cleaned and the tyres and tracking checked, I was off to watch a football match.  This week I decided to visit a local team playing in the United Counties League, and watched Potton United lose 3-1 to Oadby Town, despite the visitors' goalkeeper being sent off after only a quarter of an hour!  With so many events clamouring for attention on Saturdays this was my first match since the end of September, but I do intend to watch an FA Vase tie in two weeks' time.  More news here as it happens!