Back and Forth
On Monday evening there was an informal radio club meeting. I took the 4 metre slim-jim along, and found it somewhat sub-optimally resonant. Adjustments will be required.
I was up rather early on Tuesday morning, and heading for Heathrow. The drive wasn't too bad, but my mother's flight had encountered tail-winds and arrived early, so by the time she emerged from customs I was still on the road in queuing traffic. That, of course, meant that I was able to collect her without any tedious waiting around on my part. The drive back home was also beset by traffic queuing, but we were home by about 9am. The day was a bit of a mix of shopping, being badgered about the tidiness (or otherwise) of my house, and catching up on sleep. In the evening I headed out for the other radio club's traditional midsummer direction-finding hunt. This time there were three small transmitters to find, and it took a while.
Wednesday was a more normal day, or as normal as days can be when my mother's staying. Late in the evening some storms arrived, and there was quite a bit of thunder and lightning. A couple more turned up during the night, so that by Thursday morning we'd had over 20mm of rain.
On Thursday I was awake early, so I headed up to the polling station before breakfast, mostly managing to dodge the rain showers along the way. Between breakfast and the morning's Morse practice we put the makings of a stew into the slow cooker. The Morse practice didn't go too badly, for the most part. After it was done we went to the bank and the shops, again mostly dodging the rain. I spent a little time Thursday afternoon trying to sort out a plumbing issue. The rain came back mid-afternoon. A friend came round for an early dinner at about 6pm. Then I went out to the local astronomical society's meeting. The invited speaker hadn't arrived. He'd got as far as Charing Cross, but could get no further; something to do with the thunderstorms and related transport failures. Luckily, at least one of the society's members had an alternative talk prepared.
Today, having checked the referendum result and found it profoundly disappointing, I've spent much of the day trying to avoid the inevitable media frenzy. TV and radio schedules went for a loop. A friend took my mother shopping this morning, and then came for lunch, bringing her not-quite-three grandson with her. We spent a while watching him having fun with a bubble-blowing toy. I took my mother out shopping mid-afternoon. It's been a quiet evening.
I was up rather early on Tuesday morning, and heading for Heathrow. The drive wasn't too bad, but my mother's flight had encountered tail-winds and arrived early, so by the time she emerged from customs I was still on the road in queuing traffic. That, of course, meant that I was able to collect her without any tedious waiting around on my part. The drive back home was also beset by traffic queuing, but we were home by about 9am. The day was a bit of a mix of shopping, being badgered about the tidiness (or otherwise) of my house, and catching up on sleep. In the evening I headed out for the other radio club's traditional midsummer direction-finding hunt. This time there were three small transmitters to find, and it took a while.
Wednesday was a more normal day, or as normal as days can be when my mother's staying. Late in the evening some storms arrived, and there was quite a bit of thunder and lightning. A couple more turned up during the night, so that by Thursday morning we'd had over 20mm of rain.
On Thursday I was awake early, so I headed up to the polling station before breakfast, mostly managing to dodge the rain showers along the way. Between breakfast and the morning's Morse practice we put the makings of a stew into the slow cooker. The Morse practice didn't go too badly, for the most part. After it was done we went to the bank and the shops, again mostly dodging the rain. I spent a little time Thursday afternoon trying to sort out a plumbing issue. The rain came back mid-afternoon. A friend came round for an early dinner at about 6pm. Then I went out to the local astronomical society's meeting. The invited speaker hadn't arrived. He'd got as far as Charing Cross, but could get no further; something to do with the thunderstorms and related transport failures. Luckily, at least one of the society's members had an alternative talk prepared.
Today, having checked the referendum result and found it profoundly disappointing, I've spent much of the day trying to avoid the inevitable media frenzy. TV and radio schedules went for a loop. A friend took my mother shopping this morning, and then came for lunch, bringing her not-quite-three grandson with her. We spent a while watching him having fun with a bubble-blowing toy. I took my mother out shopping mid-afternoon. It's been a quiet evening.