It's been for me quite a fortnight, with a variety of surprises. The first was discovering a frog inside the house about to hop up the stairs to the bedroom. For the life of me I couldn't work out how or why it had got there as the journey there from the back door in about 30 feet and mostly over carpet. Moreover I go the distinct impression it was on its way upstairs. I spoke kindly to it but since it didn't turn into a beautiful princess, I gathered it up and returned it to the vicinity of the pond whence I presume it came. Mind you, I am not at all sure what my course of action would have been had it been transformed into a princess, so was rather relieved that it didn't.
The second unexpected visitor was more prosaic but extremely welcome for all that. Pat who I haven't seen for long before the Covid outbreak was on a ramble in the hills behind the house and having forgotten her phone decided to drop in on the off-chance. It all worked very well, and it was good that I was, for once, looking fairly respectable ! Over tea and biscuits we caught up on what has been an action packed lockdown period for them and me.
The third set of visitors were much less interesting but a real surprise for all that. I have always tried to avoid Amazon as I don't approve of big outfits that make life so difficult for small ones - and who don't seem to pay their fair share of taxes. But having got the last chapter of my book (on the Chinese Navy) vetted by an authority back in the US, there were a couple of old books I needed to get in a hurry, I succumbed and went into the Amazon website. They were flagged up immediately and I ordered both. It took seconds. Also they showed some purchases I had made maybe two years ago several of which needed renewing (slippers, secateurs, diary books) so of course I ticked them too. Another ten seconds. And that was it. No card details needed, just an address confirmed for the first of the package. This was about 1600 on a Friday afternoon and I was frankly disbelieving when they said the extras would arrive the following day and the books on Sunday. But so it was. I tell this story not as an advert, though it sounds like it, but more in concern about the relentless efficiency of the outfit which must set an extremely high bar for everyone else to get over, and for the uneasy feelings about how much information about me they must have. One has to make a positive and time-consuming effort not to be sucked into it all.
The last was news of an imminent and totally unexpected arrival rather than a visitor. For the first stage of a family gathering in Cross-in-Hand I was at Burgess Hill, when a phone call came through to Philippa asking us all to take a test for the following morning. Not unnaturally she asked why and her face was an absolute picture when she heard the reason. I had seen that expression before and I guessed the reason seconds before she burst out with it. Grandchild no 4 was on the way ! Absolutely brilliant news. Just tinged with sadness that Cherry wasn't still around to enjoy it too.
The gathering - all of us in the same place for the first time in a long time and virtuously outside was splendid. As was the weather which was totally cooperative.
Other than that a really busy couple of weeks. I finished a chapter for someone in the US about maritime security in the Gulf and the Iranians attacked an Israeli ship with a drone a few hours after I sent it off. That's the trouble with writing about things in real time, they keep changing. Another time issue is dealing with Singapore. I had two workshops/conferences in a row and since they are currently 7 hours ahead of us, that effectively meant working through the night. After a normal day's activity I fund it quite taxing to start logging in for the next day at 0030, two days in a row. I like to think that was the reason why I forgot to silence the old chiming clock that Aunt Ethel used to have. It started going off as I was in full flight to my audience of several hundred. And in my haste to quieten it I knocked it over and it sadly doesn't work any more. An expensive hostage to time !
Otherwise the time that was left over was devoted to walks to the village shop and trying to get control of the garden. Nathan stepped in for Chris and did the hedges but otherwise it's a close battle. Excellent onions though and a row of carrots on the right, plus freebie potatoes dotted around. Little chance of starving to death at any rate.
Off on holiday soon, so there will be a short hiatus before normal service is resumed on 23rd August, all being well.
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