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Perfection, like happiness, is very relative, and open to interpretation. These days, with so-called celebrities amongst us mere mortals, it seems wedding must be perfect. If they’re not lavish, expensive, and attended by royalty and other celebrities,

When I was in school, so many years ago, our physics teacher also taught us about personal hygiene. He was a bear of a man, and you played up in his class at your peril. Even so, he was one of my favourite teachers and his lessons were always interesting.

The weather here continues to be dull, dreary, dismal. We’ve had copious amounts of fog, even freezing fog, black ice, clouds, rain… What we haven’t had is a sunny day in goodness knows how long. Ok, I know it’s only January, but how long can this

Once a month, on a Thursday though that’s irrelevant, I go to the Bridge Club, meet up with old friends, talk, and play cards. A few months ago, I noted that Bob was missing. I asked after him, to be told he had passed away. Would his children move into

What a difference a day makes. Saturday started calm and dry with no winds. The Ship’s Dog seemed in fine form, so we did our usual short circuit to the trees and grassy area for him to sniff around, eat grass, then detoured on the way home and did the

Weather-wise, it’s déjà vu all over again here; wet and windy and keeping me awake at night. It was forecast, so it’s not a surprise, but I’m sick of it none the less. Thankfully, after last weeks storm, nobody has left out rubbish, so the street is

Around here people play games with their cars. There’s the let’s see how many times I can turn right through a ‘no right turn’ sign, the how many times I can drive the wrong way up the one way street, the lets play tailgating until the car in front pulls

A little while back, I wrote to the local council, then the regional council, and finally the highways people about the parking and access issues that we experience here. Eventually, I had a reply stating that the issue had been resolved, and the matter

All the lovely flowering saplings in the top left of this photo have now gone. Such a shame... Sunday: We had some much appreciated sunshine here and some laundry was quickly hung from the rigging. It’s been ages since I was able to wash, air dry, and

When my car was new, some 10 years ago, I used to spend most Sunday mornings washing it and keeping it clean. I’m always up before my son and cleaning the car early on a Sunday morning usually meant I wouldn’t be ‘bothered’ by the chatterbox who lived 2

The situation in the UK at the moment puts me in mind of Dad’s Army. For those that might not know, this was a sitcom about the British militia called the Home Guard during the second world war, and was broadcast from the late 1960’s to the late 1970’s.

With all the craziness in the shops at present, we have started to ration our supplies. Normally I’d make a batch of green lentil ‘bolognaise’ that would feed 4 so I can freeze half of it, but this time I stretched it to feed 5 and gave myself a smaller

Recently, I’ve had 2 interviews for the same supermarket, different branches. The first interview went very well, so I thought, though I never heard back from them. The supervisor had been on leave, but she’s now supposedly been back for 5 days; no news

Foccacia - made by my son. This week, my car was due its MOT (road worthiness certificate) and previously, the garage had told me that my wiper blades were rubbish; not the words he used but I’m being polite lol. I popped to a large out of town outlet,

This week, I’ve managed to get some supplies in. Usually we have a good stock here, mainly because of winter but also because of Brexit uncertainty. Recently though the supplies have dwindled, mainly due to financial concerns and I was becoming

This week, I’ve mostly been working. Firstly, even though I sent a card, I really want to apologise to Gracie for letting her Birthday pass without me wishing her a Happy Birthday on her page. I’ve posted a belated one but it’s not the same. So sorry…

My second week in work, and I had an ‘Uh oh’ moment. I was told to take rubbish and security tags from each till; simple enough, then told to take the cardboard out to the warehouse. I was pointed in the right direction, asked a man in the area where I

This week there was much confusion regarding my work hours. My colleague was surprised at the hour I arrived on Tuesday, said the manager had said I hadn’t turned up and that she’d gone home. O…K… I hadn’t been able to get onto the system with all my work

I’m now into my fourth week of working at the supermarket. I’d been told by several people that if I can make it past 3 weeks, then I’m okay. Apart from confusion over my hours - fuelled by a colleague rather than management, power plays between the till

The past week has been physically challenging. I’ve been tidying shelves and replenishing stock on shelves that reach from the floor to well over my head height. I can legitimately state that I can’t do the top shelf unless they have a special steps for

This week has been a harder week. Last week I’d worked Tuesday, then Friday, Saturday and Sunday, not too bad but I was then scheduled to work Monday and Tuesday as well. 5 days in a row, admittedly only 4.5 hours a day, but it was exhausting. Tuesday the

This week I had a text from the pharmacy saying my prescription was ready. I wasn’t due my ‘meds’ for my eye, so popped along to see what they had, and finally, picked up the prescription from my neurology appointment earlier in the year. I’ve started

Saturday was a strange day. The day had a muggy feel and by 9am, the temperature was already 16C. I popped to the supermarket for a few items, still no yeast, and enjoyed a relatively fraught-free shop apart from a couple, clearly together, each with a

As a past student of English, I love words. Even as a young child I loved words and books. I was excellent in spelling tests, and I would write short stories too. At the risk of sounding like a nerd, I liked looking up words I’d heard and couldn’t wait to

This weekend, it’s the Deckhand’s Birthday. He’ll be 24. Where does the time go? I always ask if there’s anything he’d like as a gift, and invariably I give him money though this year he decided he’d like a bottle of nice cognac. A certain supermarket had

Long time readers may remember that when I moved into this rental, I commented on the astronomical amount that we had to pay as a deposit. Frankly, it was huge! Today, I came home to a letter and a nice big cheque. Initially I thought it was a bill and my

Sunday past was my first Sunday in the new job. It was great doing most of the ‘picking’ before the customers were allowed in, however it turned out to be too quiet in that after 2 and a half hours, we’d run out of orders. Something to do with a new

This week, I have been mostly dodging the rain. Last Tuesday it was nice, and I quickly hung laundry from the rigging, this week Tuesday was nice too, but all the days in between have been wet and cold. Sunday night, I even put the heating on for an hour

May 2020 has been reported as the hottest on record, and globally, it tied with 2016 as being the hottest May on record. Too hot for my liking. If May was the hottest, surely June is heading for the wettest. We’ve had thunder, lightning, and what feels

I’m seriously starting to suspect that the fallout from this damn virus has been a good excuse to see how much a population can be controlled, and how many excuses they can come up with for job losses, bad service, extra taxes… The list goes on. I did

This week I had a small mishap in the galley. I’d done the washing up, placed the mugs on the side of the draining board (it’s very small) and placed the cutlery and a ladle into the cutlery drainer. I’ve no idea where I brought this ladle from: it’s

This week I have been mostly dodging the rain; walking the Ship’s Dog in between showers, picking the scant blueberries – more are dropping off than are ripening, dashing to work, timing the shopping and laundry… We’ve had the occasional downpour, short

My son beat me today, and I couldn’t be prouder. Many years ago, my sister went to university; she was the first in our family to go, and she passed with a 2:2 (Hons) which is a good average grade. A few years later, I too went as a (very) mature

After Thursday, I’ll have just 4 weeks of my contract to run. After a shaky start I’ve managed to get my pick rate up, though I’m often still in the Red for the day. I have some good picks, some fantastic ones, though usually just in the Red for the day.

This week, I have been mostly shackled in the belly of a rival pirate ship. I did my usual weekend shift though did stay an extra 15 minutes to finish a pick, however the 2 weekday shifts I was asked to stay on. The first day it was an extra hour or two.

This week, I have been, mostly, shattered. I worked an extra 10 hours, making my weekly total 22 hours. It was hard work. I didn’t mind doing it, however the one day I was a tad miffed. It was a day I wasn’t supposed to be in anyway, I did a 6-hour shift,

After almost 7 months, the ‘head’ (bathroom to you landlubbers) has at long last been repaired. I know, I know, there’s been a lockdown and a pandemic, but the landlord had 2 months to sort this out before we went into lockdown and she simply

… I have been mostly hot and bothered. Tuesday night, around midnight, we had some terrific thunder and lightning. We also had a heavy shower, but it did nothing to bring the temperature down and in the morning, there was barely half an inch of rain in

It’s been a busy though productive week. I have one more day to go for this week, but so far have managed to work 2 hours less than planned which given all the extra hours I was scheduled, that’s fine by me. I’ve worked a lot of overtime recently and I

Due to long-term ill-health, and the covid virus, my kid sister has been self-isolating since this all broke out. Her partner has been home for much of this time after his employer gave him compassionate leave to be home with her, to take care of her.

Since my last blog, I’ve been somewhat irritated. I was packing the one day and the picker hadn’t checked the lid was tight on a bleach bottle. Not surprisingly, it leaked! Over my hands, over a couple of items in the tray… I had to do a major clean-up

Since my last blog, I’ve had the great fortune to come into contact with some special people. I don’t know if they were celebrities, or VIP’s of some kind. The first was in my place of work in the vegetable aisle: there were customers aplenty, and three

Today was a good day. For only the second time since I started working at the supermarket, I said no thanks to overtime. With my new contract now started, I’m working an extra 10 hours a week which is quite a lot, I think. I worked an extra hour on

This week, we seem to be returning to panic-buying. One day this week the store I work at was wiped out of pasta. Another day, the toilet roll aisle was well stocked, but by 9am, it was severely depleted. Flour is another, with a colleague stating one

With all the doom and gloom and crazy out there, I thought it would be good to focus on some positives. I love this cooler weather. This morning, away from the shelter and warmth of the trees near my street, there was a light frost on the ground. I was

These past few months I have been staggered, and frankly, deeply disappointed, by the utter contempt shown by MP’s for the general public and for the very rules and laws that they are making and forcing on us including increasing limits on our freedom and

At this time of year, my thoughts turn to Birthday’s for obvious reasons. Let’s just say I’m another year closer to getting my state pension. I should have had it already, but changes… I won’t go there. Anyway, when we were kids my Father was often away

Recently, I had a nice Birthday. I’d booked a ‘day’ off work, and a Sunday roast was planned, and successfully executed. I made half a coffee cake which was sandwiched with coffee butter icing and cherry jam. It was good! My friend in Wales, surprisingly,

Whilst I was born in England, in my heart and soul I am Welsh. In my 60-plus years, I have lived in England for only about 5 years, and my birthplace was really an accident of location and me arriving about a month early. Most of my life, I’ve lived in

With the lockdown for England looming, I’ve noticed certain items in high demand. Toilet rolls and paracetamol are the obvious ones; however, I’ve noticed a huge increase in demand for fizzy drinks, crisps, biscuits, and chocolates. Good to see that

This week I have been mostly good and have resisted the urge to zap customers with my scanner. I feel sure they should be zapped to another dimension where they can experience what it’s like to not be able to get to produce that they want, but as

This past week we’ve been beset by zombies. These poor souls wander the aisles, weaving back and forth, trying to find items to add to their trolley, then try to find their way out with their goods. They may be annoying to some, but we must pity them

Finally!

This week the Deckhand narrowly avoided being keelhauled. He’d made a coffee in the galley and put his full cup of coffee near the breadboard. Usually, he leaves it by the kettle. Anyway, he opened a cupboard, fumbled the marmite jar which leapt out of

Since having my flu shot, and getting very wet and chilled, this pirate has been feeling under the weather. Nothing major, and no high temperature, just not feeling great. My ‘pick rate’ in work slumped a little, and I did go to great pains to state I

Recently, my ‘picking’ has garnered 2 minor complaints. The first was a customer who wanted Cheshire cheese. There was a big empty space on the shelf, and a note stating it was out of stock. This was duly put into the scanner, and the customer requested I

Well, 8 days as far as work is concerned. Part 1: Day 1 – Not too crazy, only a 4-hour shift which was nice. So many customers on the shop floor wanting us to reach things, and also asking questions. Oy! One of our colleagues was playfully jostling

Day 5 – Sunday I was scheduled to work a 6-hour shift instead of my usual 4 hours. Some staff started at 4am, some at 5, and so on. Before 10.30am, we’d finished picking which was fine by me. I could have stayed on, stacked shelves, done some cleaning,

Okay, that’s not as bad as it sounds despite some people thinking I’m a tad weird. As previously mentioned, the Deckhand had bought me a nice steel so I could sharpen my cutlass I mean kitchen knives. I spent a happy hour, approximately, on Christmas Day