Wednesday 9th was a flying visit over to Green Mount. The British Heart Foundation can apparently only visit on Thursday mornings, between 0830 and 1200h, so I was best placed to deal with them. Preparation involved sorting the “rehoming” list so that it was arranged by room.
I screwed up on the trains! The first one I caught turned out not to stop at Hanborough station – unheard-of! I havered between carrying on to Oxford and catching a cab, or getting off at Charlbury and waiting half an hour for the next train … as the rain had stopped by then, I chose. Charlbury. As so often, the train was delayed by having to wait for a train from Oxford to come off the single-track line, but fortunately only by five minutes, so I was OK to catch the bus from Hanborough station to Freeland turn (the request stop at Cuckoo lane having been abolished some years ago).
Walking across the Common in the damp dark brought back all kinds of memories! I don’t think I’ve done it since I left school in 1973, though it was a daily part of my childhood. Now massively overgrown, and at this time of year the concrete path rather slippery wit fallen leaves, with a cloudy sky (and only tje first night of the New Moon anyway). Still it was something I was glad to do, a part of wrapping up my emotional engagement with 62 years of history in the village.
Up at 0700h on Thursday 10th, so as to be vaguely together for BHF. They arrived about 11, and were both reassuring and competent, so all good. Jane gave me a lift to Hanborough station after lunch, so I was home by 1500h. Exhausted, I slept for a couple of hours, and then for eleven hours overnight (not waking until gone 1030). The cold-type virus (covid test is negative) that I’ve had for over a fortnight is lingering, and leaving me very easily tired.
So this was posted on Saturday 12th, a chilly and rather overcast day, where I’ve largely been sitting in front of the fire. I did manage to label and put away this year’s batch of green tomato chutney, but have been otherwise inert.