Trying to fit in the short Moonwalk training walks was getting more difficult. Especially when, towards of November 2012, they became longer. All this meant trying to find a longer rote to walk to work. In theory this should have been easy enough to accomplish. In practice it turned out to be quite a faff. Hopefully no one was watching…
27 November 2012
Just after we’d finished eating dinner yesterday all the power went off which was quite annoying, especially as Commando Junior had just gone out to make the coffee. It also meant we were sitting in the gloom wondering what on earth was going on. Luckily I always have candles and tea lights in the house, even if Commando is often heard to moan about all the pretty tea light holders I buy.
Feeling vindicated I went out into the kitchen and got the big jar of tea lights and a few holders. I had literally just set them all out on the coffee table and was poised with a lighter in my hand ready to light the first one when the lights came back on. How annoying. I was quite looking forward to sitting in candlelight for a while. It did make me think about the advent of the new induction hob though. At the moment, with the gas hob, if the power does go out I can always boil a pan of water to make coffee. Once we’re all electric, other than hold a saucepan over the gas fire, we’re done for if we have a long standing power cut. Hmm I never thought of that.
This week the short Moonwalk training walks have gone from forty to forty five minutes so this morning I got up a bit earlier so I’d have time to find a longer route to work. It doesn’t seem that long ago I was trying to find a shorter way. How times have changed. Because I had quite a few failed attempts at shortcuts under my belt that ended up being long routes I thought finding a long way would be a piece of cake but it didn’t really turn out that way.
First I veered off the main road and took the long way round past the Old School to make a start at adding distance. Then, instead of carrying straight on when I got over the Big Bridge, I decided to follow the river and, as a bonus, avoid the crossing at the horrible junction there. When I walked home that way I swear it was longer, then again, maybe I got a little lost that time and I’m pretty sure I was walking slower. Today I pushed my pace in an effort to get my average down by another few seconds and marched past the front of the stadium. A quick stop for a photo and on past the concrete factory and the industrial estate, not anywhere near as pretty as the housing estate with trees and flowers but I was hoping it was going to be longer.
When I got to the level crossing and looked at the WalkJogRun distance I began to think it was actually shorter though. It seemed like no time at all and I’d reached the church, approaching it from a different direction granted, but I knew I wasn’t far from the office and I was still more than ten minutes off my target forty five minutes. I walked around the church. I walked though the cutway leading to the parks. I walked past the office, round the car park, back towards the office and, finally, half way across the office car park and back until I had my whole forty five minutes and almost three miles. What a performance to get some extra distance.
Oh well tomorrow is another day, maybe I’ll walk right up to the end of the New Bridge then and see if that adds enough time. Knowing my luck it will be even quicker. Goodness knows what I’m going to do in a few weeks when the time goes up again and I have to walk for fifty minutes. I may have to walk right into town and back through the parks. I know it seems mad to be trying to make my daily journey longer but it’s the only chance I get to fit the training walks in on a work day.
At work everyone was talking about the little shop on the corner, the one I buy fruit and drinks in. As I walked past I’d noticed it was closed. The doors were open but there were barriers round them and I could see the floor was soaked. The power cuts last night came to mind, perhaps the freezers had defrosted. It was far worse than just a few defrosted freezers though, apparently a water main had burst inside the shop which had caused the sewer to collapse. The whole place was flooded with water and sewage. That can’t have been very nice for the staff to come in to this morning. The shop is going to be closed until February for repairs and cleaning and all the staff have been sent home. As they’re all part time none of them will get any wages either. It seems like a terrible blow right before Christmas and I feel so sorry for them all. They’re always such a cheery, friendly bunch too.
Today was one of those days where I couldn’t seem to achieve anything in the office. Everything I did ended up creating more work rather than less. I sent out lots of emails about the baggage allowance, thinking that was a job done. It wasn’t, I ended up with so many requests for special treatment for instruments and costumes I don’t know where to start, especially as I don’t have the authority to approve anything myself and Arabella is snowed under with the launch and uncontactable at the moment. By lunch time I had a headache. I had the ‘famous actress’ on my case again too, wanting to take lots of copies of her new book with her so she can sell them on the ship. I can’t even begin to say what’s wrong with that, even if the weight on the flight wasn’t a problem. I’ve told her no but I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. I will be so glad when her cruise is over.
Commando phoned this afternoon to say he’d been for a run and it was blowing a gale on the Big Bridge. He said the wind was against him all the way back and to be careful on my way home. When I actually got outside I could tell at once he was right, not only was it frighteningly windy but it was also bitterly cold. I did give it a try, honestly I did. I walked past the church, where the moon was shining eerily through the leafless trees and all the way up to the main road but I thought my face and fingers were going to freeze off, not the best feeling when you already have a headache. In the end I gave up and got the bus. Tomorrow I must try to do better.
