Roundup Month November

November 2009

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
I’m sadly nearing the end of my Cadfael whodunit series which I’m thoroughly enjoying, and will definitely keep for a re-read in some years’ time. The episodes I’ve read this month are “The Heretic’s Apprentice”, “The Confession of Brother Haluin”, “The Potter’s Field”, “The Summer of the Danes” (one of my favourites!) and “The Holy Thief”.
I also had the quarterly issue of the “Permaculture Magazine” in and read most articles – some interesting thoughts on possible energy shortage in the future and inspiring allotment stories.

What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?
We still have the “Merlin” series once a week on iBBC, turning more and more into a comedy and giving us some good laughs. There is also a series of short behind-the-scenes videos available on the Merlin Website which we’ve been watching over dinner, too.
More special were two theatre plays I’ve been seeing together with my SIL Fiona, one right at the beginning of the month and one right at the end: First, we saw “Origins + Lemons”, a play by the Christian playgroup Riding Lights – just five actors and minimum props but an amazing performance with food for thought as well as a good laugh. The play, staged at Egham church, reviewed many well-known Bible stories in the light of the ongoing religion-science conflict. You can see a little rehearsal video of it here.
The other play was a more famous piece: “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, based on the real happenings around the witch trials in the puritan community of Salem/USA in the late 1600s. This is a very emotional tragedy and was incredibly well played by the local amateur playgroup The Runnymede Drama Group, with my BIL Graham in one of the leading roles (atypically as a pastor!) and our niece Eleanor as one of the “afflicted” children. There is a lot of information on the original happenings, including biographies of all the main characters in the play, on this website, and also a link to The Crucible broadway play and movie.

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?
This month was full of activities and events! On the 5th of November of course was Bonfire Night, the annual British celebration of an historical event when one Guy Fawkes intended to blow up Parliament and the King, incidentally also in the late 1600. He didn’t succeed but provided the future generations of the country with a great excuse to have parties, bonfires and fireworks!
So, every year on the closest Saturday we have the “Bonfire and Fireworks Extravaganza” at the Vicarage here in Chertsey. This year there were nearly 400 people in attendance – soup kitchen, BBQ and cakes, a huge bonfire and great fireworks, and a welcome opportunity to meet lots of people I hadn’t seen for a while. The rain held off until all was finished and we only got a little damper on the way home. There are lots of photos on my Facebook, but I think you need to have your own account there (free) and be “Friends” with me to be able to see them. If you haven’t got a Facebook account let me know and I’ll send you an invite…
Next we had a late birthday dinner (yes, for MY birthday!) at Eve’s – lovely roast (and all Petra-diet friendly) and good company, and then a farewell party for David and Margaret, moving into their retirement home at the coast. David used to be one of the Chertsey bellringers for many years and the party, a bring-and-share at the house of our Tower Captain, was after his last practise with us.

What seasonal activities did I do?
Time seems to be flying by – I noticed out of the blue how late in the year it was when somebody asked after the homemade Christmas cards I usually sell on behalf of SfP, the charity crafts group I run. That was at the beginning of the month, and I immediately spent an “emergency session” – all afternoon long – to put together the Christmas card packs and label them to take to church for the first Coffee Morning of the month. It is amazing how much time that takes up…
We have started handbell practice with a view of playing in the Christmas service and maybe at a carol afternoon in one of the old people’s homes in Chertsey. It’s the first time I’m doing this, as it is the first time since we joined St Peter’s that Malcolm, our Tower Captain, has offered this activity, prompted by our new bellringing member Rachel from the US (it was what she did over there, rather than church bell ringing). I find it great fun – we are doing an assortment of Christmas songs and carols – and hope we’ll keep it going…
The 29th of the month was already First Advent Sunday – I can’t believe we are that close to Christmas! I spent the afternoon at practice and evening singing evensong with the choir at Lyne church because I like the traditional Lessons and Carols style of their advent services.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
Freecycle (now called Freegle here but I can’t get used to that) has afforded us a second freezer, now sitting in the shed for trial. It’s quite an old version and missing a couple of drawers, so we don’t know how well it will work, or how energy efficient (or not) it will be, but we could certainly use the extra freezing space!
Plus, Sean got a colour laser printer also from Freegle which needed repairs but now works absolutely fine and has replaced my very old black+white laser printer which had started to play up too often.
And I got some more National Geographics magazines; 4-ring binders; and a pair of outdoor mittens via Freegle; and bought a pair of brandnew “walking socks” from the FARA shop. They are wonderfully warm (although I can’t get used to walking sock-footed, so still wear my sandals over them)…

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
The diet is still going on and beginning to really grate on me now with all the Christmas parties coming up…
A health concern developed in the bathroom: some mildew and even a real mushroom! It is not so very damp in there but on the other hand, there’s no airing – still, this is the first time I’ve seen these here. I’ve been using vinegar to discourage them, and Sean has brought in his heatgun to give them a good singeing – let’s see if it works…

What was going on in garden and allotment?
The garden has died down completely – just a few carrots and cooking radishes left, and the chard is still producing some leaves. I spent some of the nicer days – it was quite mild earlier in the month! - with stints cleaning up the veggie beds for digging in some manure, and some light pruning.
We had some very high winds and the large window we had leaning against the wall (for use in a cold frame to be built for spring) fell over and the glass went into smithereens. Shame…so much for that project.
The allotments look poorly now – there’s still some kale/cavolo nero, as well as parsnips and Jerusalem artichokes going in ours, but other than that everything is ready for clearing and manuring, just as the garden. Haven’t seen Emily since the Bonfire Party!

What new recipes did I try out?
Typical autumnal fare to use up the kale and the squashes!
This one is our firm favourite: Bacon Chestnut Squash Roast
Roast Salmon on Crispy Kale
Cavolo Bero, Pine Nut and Basil Risotto

What were my accomplishments this month?
I’m keeping up-to-date with the Faithbook project and managed a few random digi scrapbook pages, plus I’ve started to put together a new website for myself, called The Coolboxuk Site, on Joomla which is a CMS rather than standard website. This will replace my old website and the various blogs I’m currently running, all in one place. It’s quite different and has lots of possibilities (some limitations, too, I’ve noticed) and should be much easier to maintain for me, and easier to look at all my different things for those of you who like to do that. But – this is only a pre-announcement. It will take a long time to upload all the scrapbook albums and tag them!
Also, I finally got proof of my acceptance into the Church Bellringers' Guild in the form of a certificate - it was signed in March but only given out during the AGM and received in my stead by our Tower Captain Malcolm. It's

What were my disappointments this month?
It was more Sean’s disappointment than mine but I do feel for him, and of course I find thing like this mega annoying on principle: one night somebody vandalized his van, right here in the driveway! One mirror was broken off altogether leaving nothing but holes in the side of the van, on the other the actual mirror was prised out of its frame. He has now replaced both provisionally with mirrors from his old van, which is still living officially off-road at Woodlands.

Anything else noteworthy to include?
Some strange things happened this month, vaguely related to us. The first one was caused by the rough weather and flooding: a canoeist died on the river Dart, on a section that Sean has paddled often, and I’ve paddled it, too (although not in spate conditions!). It was somebody I knew vaguely, and a Facebook friend of Sean’s – so it came us quite a shock as well as a reminder that things do go wrong in canoeing, even for the most experienced!
A few days later I had an appointment at my chiropractor’s to find the carpark full of police cars including a Forensic Team van, and the receptionist in a fluff. Apparently, there had been an armed robbery that morning at the jeweller’s next doors! In quiet Ascot…