There's Busy ... and There's Busy!

Regular readers will have spotted the absence of a 'Fourwheeler' post last week.  I think I was just mentally exhausted.  Certainly it wasn't physical exhaustion having just had a week's 'holiday' ... for the second time in a month!  I returned on Saturday afternoon from most of the week in Worcestershire, staying at a campsite between Rhydd, Barnards Green and Hanley Swan.  I rode on a lot of buses, and did quite a bit of walking, mostly in the cities of Worcester and Hereford, and I also visited Upton-upon-Severn, which felt more like a seaside resort than a place by the side of a river.

Upon my return, I was back into the routine of Letchworth life with a bang. I had worked while away on some prayers for the morning service on Sunday; these had to be finalised and then I had an e-mail from the leader of our breakfast gathering on Monday mornings, asking if anyone would be available to organise these for the next three Mondays while he's on holiday. In the absence of any other response, I agreed to fill this gap and the handover had to be that evening, before he left in the early hours of Sunday.

Normality was a welcome relief during the course of the week ... not only from journeying in the motorhome, but also the welcome return of things that had been part of the usual shape of my retirement up to the last couple of months.  Three familiar quiz shows have returned to the TV screen, which for me means a return to my i-Player-watching at meal times.  I did some Welsh exercises the other afternoon and the early sunshine was warm enough one morning to entice me out for a walk around the block ... usually a post-prandial exercise!

There have been a couple of firsts, too, in recent days.  While away, for the first time in my life, I walked through a meadow where a flock of sheep were grazing (I didn't venture to take out my camera on this occasion!) and, one evening this week, my concern about the state of our country moved me for the first time to attend a political meeting in the next town.

Just before leaving for Worcestershire, I had started following an online course about spreadsheet automation, which I completed after my return, and I've signed up for a family history course, offered free online by one of the UK universities, which starts next week.  And, if this isn't quite enough, I'm also taking part this weekend in an international indexing operation to enable more genealogical records to be searchable online.  It sounds like a busy week in prospect, but they're all things I like and enjoy, so although busy, I'm hoping they will be relaxing at the same time.

The great thing about being busy at home is that there is always a background of comfort and distraction, so nothing is really full-on full-time. But talking of relaxing ...

 

The lazy Severn at Upton

"Severn swans a-swimming", Worcester