The Reform Agenda

The week began with immersion in practical genealogy.  I took part in a worldwide indexing marathon organised by FamilySearch.org, the genealogical arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I was one of 116,475 people who took part, and out of a total of almost 10.5 million records indexed in the three-day spell, my 654 is less than a spit in the ocean, but I draw satisfaction from the discovery that this was more than seven times the average per person and that, out of my 24 batches, five were declared 100% accurate, and another ten were 95% or better.

The genealogy theme then continued in full force on Monday morning, as I began a six-week on-line course run by the University of Strathclyde.  What I had rashly estimated as a one-to-two-hour commitment actually occupied about six hours, and my diary has now been amended accordingly!

These two items were heralded in last week's post; the more astute reader might have also detected, hidden away just beneath the surface, a slight disenchantment with the motorhoming side of life at the moment.  Early on in the year I had taken the decision that, to justify its existence in my life, I should make more use of the vehicle than I had last year.  Consequently, I had marked out five distinct slots in April, June, July, August and September, when I would go off somewhere.  Each of the three so far accomplished has brought with it a disappointing dimension, along with the achievement, and the time has come to bring these to light and deal with them.

Quite apart from the parking ticket, which was successfully challenged, the trip to Lincolnshire highlighted the problem of taking my home with me - snail-like - when I go sightseeing.  Soon afterwards I was asked after the church service one Sunday for my advice regarding owning a motorhome and my reply included reference to these events.  Last weekend, that same friend announced that he was on the brink of having a tow-bar fitted to his car and investing in a small caravan for himself and his wife.

Then came the much lamented broken window incurred on my way to Scotland.  I referred this to a local repair company, who undertook to source a replacement and provide a quotation.  In five weeks - or is it six?- I've heard nothing from them as yet.  It was at the end of that trip that I also noticed a damp patch on the floor near the location of the grey-water tank and sought the advice of the manager of the garage where I used to have my work van serviced.  He has some experience of motorhomes and caravans, and had proved a mine of useful advice at the start of last year.  He made some suggestions and undertook further investigation if necessary.  Today, I returned for that further investigation.  We have now located the problem, and through the recommendation of a friend, he was able to direct me to a likely source of the solution, whom I shall try to visit next week.

Two other minor set-backs' occured on my third trip a couple of weeks ago. I had just erected the awning upon my arrival at Hadley Swan - no mean feat as a solo exercise - when a member of staff passed by and pointed out that the awning was meant to be on the hard-standing rather than, as I had positioned it, on the grass beside it.  Sadly, this was an impossibility for me, since I was not equipped with the requisite heavy duty pegs to achieve this.

The awning was slowly and laboriously taken down and re-packed and the carpet rolls so fortuitously obtained free of charge a few weeks ago for its interior were parked beneath the vehicle, having travelled there laying down the centre of the inside, a totally impossible situation while living in the motorhome for a week.  Unfortunately, with my mind focussed on the clearing rain, and the need to avail myself of the toilet-emptying point and grey-water drain before leaving, I totally overlooked the need to load the carpet, and it wasn't until I stopped for coffee some forty miles along my homeward journey that I noticed its absence!

This week has also include a variety of other excitements.  A recent e-mail from BT announced some 'upgrades' to their service.  With the complimentary software protection contract that came with my computer about to expire, it was timely that one of these allows me to incorporate this with my broadband package.  Another benefit is cloud storage, although having installed this thinking that it will save me the minimal payment I'm presently making for the same service, I'm not convinced that it's working as smoothly as what I already have, so I'll probably uninstall this in the coming days.

I've also realised that the spreadsheet applications that have grown 'like Topsy' to monitor my pension investments don't actually meet all my requirements.  At the same time, they're are not doing in the most efficient manner those aspects that are useful.  I've therefore spent a fair proportion of the last couple of days re-designing, re-shaping and, in one case, completely replacing these ... a job that is not quite finished yet.

And today saw the funeral of the husband of one of my fellow-bellringers, who died unexpectedly only a few days after his fiftieth birthday.  The service included the usual mixture of tearful reminiscences tinged with humour and recollection of his life and achievements, as well as two hymns that were more powerfully sung than is often the case on these occasions, and we were pleased to ring the bells half-muffled in tribute afterwards.