Back Again
Oops! Having been a bad gremlin and seriously neglected this over the summer it seems I have a fair bit of catching up to do. Most of this is Folk Festivals (which, coincidentally, are mostly the reason I've been busy and neglecting the journal. Circle until dizzy) which I shall try to catch up with in a vaguely organised manner at some point.
Currently I have a weekend of Mons Megging in Otley in front of me (the weather forecast was saying cold and wet but it appears to have perked up a wee bit which is good news for those of us hanging around in tents and hoggers. (Not the fashion choice of most, I will grant you...)) so looking forward to that should the car manage to get me there.
Car is currently heaving along on what looks like it's last legs (Wheels?). It's getting harder and harder to start in the mornings (although once it's going, it goes well), the suspension is creaking and carting 3 people on the flat last night nearly killed it so it looks like a new (well, new to me) car is in the offing. I'll be sad to see this car go as it's been brilliant these last 3 years, especially given how little he cost in the 1st place. I know I complained about his last MOT, but, all added up, he's still cheap. Anyhow, this means that I now have to hunt for a new reliable car. I suspect I will not be that lucky with cost again so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and spend a bit more than my usual couple of hundred quid. I am currently scanning auto trader for small cars that I know to be cheap to insure and generally held to be reliable while occasionally glancing at a brand new Dacia Sandero Access (Apparently the cheapest most reliable new small car you can currently get). I suspect I will not go with the Dacia because I would have to go down the finance route and I dislike the idea of not owning my car outright straight away. Still, t'is a thought. Anyway, I have till November to decide unless the motorised wheelbarrow decides to give up the ghost in the meantime.
Mortimer's practice was fun last week if knackering. Good news is that I managed the whole practice without the knee brace and my knee hasn't even twinged.I think I must have managed to fix it by dancing rapper on it continuously. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) THey're talking about finding me a waistcoat and skirt so I should hopefully be out and dancing with them some time this year provided I can keep getting to practice reasonably regularly. Am also writing down the dances as I do them and revising them on you-tube. Yes, I am a folk dance nerd. Speaking of which, I need to revise the Mons Meg dances for the weekend...
Mabel Gubbins is trotting along nicely. We've got a few events lined up starting with Shrewsbury weekend next for the Morris Fed/Open AGM (I forget which. I'm basically there for the rapper.) and we have 2 beginners with the possibility of a 3rd, one of which has some experience already and is doing well.
All this and I'm dealing with a new cat at home. Sadly Keira died from lymphoma over the summer (while introducing me to inflatable parasites and their use in window dressing) and she is a miss but flatmate has just acquired a new cat. She's 1 year old (cat not flatmate), grey tabby and seems to consist mainly of ears and whiskers. She's a rescue called Ava and although the advert said that she wasn't needy, she does like to lie on you in such a way as to prevent you doing anything else. For instance while I was reading the other day, she lay across both arms then, on finding I could still turn the pages one handed, she stuck her head in the book. Still, she's entertaining enough and we seem to get on.
Ah well, off to Armaleggan practice tonight.
Currently I have a weekend of Mons Megging in Otley in front of me (the weather forecast was saying cold and wet but it appears to have perked up a wee bit which is good news for those of us hanging around in tents and hoggers. (Not the fashion choice of most, I will grant you...)) so looking forward to that should the car manage to get me there.
Car is currently heaving along on what looks like it's last legs (Wheels?). It's getting harder and harder to start in the mornings (although once it's going, it goes well), the suspension is creaking and carting 3 people on the flat last night nearly killed it so it looks like a new (well, new to me) car is in the offing. I'll be sad to see this car go as it's been brilliant these last 3 years, especially given how little he cost in the 1st place. I know I complained about his last MOT, but, all added up, he's still cheap. Anyhow, this means that I now have to hunt for a new reliable car. I suspect I will not be that lucky with cost again so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and spend a bit more than my usual couple of hundred quid. I am currently scanning auto trader for small cars that I know to be cheap to insure and generally held to be reliable while occasionally glancing at a brand new Dacia Sandero Access (Apparently the cheapest most reliable new small car you can currently get). I suspect I will not go with the Dacia because I would have to go down the finance route and I dislike the idea of not owning my car outright straight away. Still, t'is a thought. Anyway, I have till November to decide unless the motorised wheelbarrow decides to give up the ghost in the meantime.
Mortimer's practice was fun last week if knackering. Good news is that I managed the whole practice without the knee brace and my knee hasn't even twinged.I think I must have managed to fix it by dancing rapper on it continuously. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) THey're talking about finding me a waistcoat and skirt so I should hopefully be out and dancing with them some time this year provided I can keep getting to practice reasonably regularly. Am also writing down the dances as I do them and revising them on you-tube. Yes, I am a folk dance nerd. Speaking of which, I need to revise the Mons Meg dances for the weekend...
Mabel Gubbins is trotting along nicely. We've got a few events lined up starting with Shrewsbury weekend next for the Morris Fed/Open AGM (I forget which. I'm basically there for the rapper.) and we have 2 beginners with the possibility of a 3rd, one of which has some experience already and is doing well.
All this and I'm dealing with a new cat at home. Sadly Keira died from lymphoma over the summer (while introducing me to inflatable parasites and their use in window dressing) and she is a miss but flatmate has just acquired a new cat. She's 1 year old (cat not flatmate), grey tabby and seems to consist mainly of ears and whiskers. She's a rescue called Ava and although the advert said that she wasn't needy, she does like to lie on you in such a way as to prevent you doing anything else. For instance while I was reading the other day, she lay across both arms then, on finding I could still turn the pages one handed, she stuck her head in the book. Still, she's entertaining enough and we seem to get on.
Ah well, off to Armaleggan practice tonight.