Welcome to Monday

Well, that was a busy weekend! It began well on Friday evening, when I went to see Harry Bird and the Rubber Wellies perform at a house concert. That was splendid in itself, but the evening took a delightful turn.

I was sitting next to Jenny, who is a friend via yoga as well as music. She had seen on my FB page that I was from Uttoxeter. She had been at uni with a chap from there: did I know him? Turns out I did, sort of. He was in the year above me at grammar school, but I definitely know who he was (though I don't think he'd know me). That was a coincidence, but then she said, 'I have another friend from Uttoxeter and she's here. Her name is Jo.' That was when it clicked that the woman who had been standing in front of me earlier in the evening and of whom I had remarked 'She looks just like someone I was at school with,' was, in fact someone I was at school with!

I hadn't seen Jo for VERY long time, but I reintroduced myself and she remembered me instantly. It's a cliche I know, but the years really did roll back. Naturally, we went to the pub after the concert for more catching up. Turns out we'd both moved to Kettering in the 1980s and we discovered our paths had crossed several times over the years, but we'd never realised it.

So that was Friday. On Saturday, I did various chores in the morning, then spent part of the afternoon in the pub (strictly lime and soda) because a couple of friends were playing at the hell that it is a Family Fun Day. The music was great, but Good Lord, the people! There's a sitcom waiting to be written - and yes I know what a snob that makes me sound.

Saturday evening found me strumming my ukulele at a fundraising event, which was hilarious in all sorts of ways, then yesterday I was co-hosting a yoga workshop.

It's all go - thank goodness.

Did you miss me?

Reader, forgive me; it's been over a week since my last submission.

May has been so busy. Work has picked up, which is always good news, but I've also had a ridiculous amount of fun. In chronological order, amongst the stuff that's been going on: coffee and a catch-up with a family friend; folk gig - Harry Bird & The Rubber Wellies, supported by Cernewode; coffee and a catch-up with one of my girl friends; family movie night with pizza and popcorn; singing in a concert; Birdsong at the theatre; teaching at my first co-hosted yoga workshop; indoor surfing at Bedford Flowhouse; Mickey Flannagan gig; coffee and a catch-up with a friend I studied with; cricket and football with my niece, nephews and my brothers, while Grandma kept score; and to top it all, Rush in concert at the LG Arena - best band in the world!

And it's not over yet. I'm planning to go to our local Buddhist meditation centre this evening for a session with Lama Jinpa, a Western Cho Master - don't know what to expect! I have a lunch with 'the girls' booked for Wednesday. Then I'm rounding off the month by going to see Bill Bailey.

Meanwhile, the grass grows up to the windowsills and the dust gathers. Some parts of my house are starting to look like a Miss Haversham theme park. I can't remember where this poem came from, but it seems appropriate to insert it here, with thanks to whoever wrote it:

 

DUST IF YOU MUST

Dust if you must,

But wouldn’t it be better

To paint a picture, write a letter,

Bake a cake or plant a seed,

Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must,

But there’s not much time,

With rivers to swim and mountains to climb,

Music to hear and books to read,

Friends to cherish – a life to lead.

Dust if you must,

But the world’s out there,

The sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair,

A flurry of snow, a shower of rain,

This day will not come round again.

Dust if you must,

But bear in mind,

Old age will come and it’s not kind,

And when you go, as go you must, 

You yourself will make more dust.