Wild, Wet, Windy, and Cold for Good Measure

It is clearly now winter, the weather has turned cold, it is windy, and very wet. I have noticed that my walking has declined, there are now simply less daylight hours to get outside, and even if I was so inclined the driving rain will probably put me off. On the bright side I am spending more time in the gym. I am working quite hard on my end of term essay, more of that later, but going to the gym and exercising hard during the middle of the day is really good. It cleanses the mind, gives me ideas, and makes the afternoon’s work much easier.

To get out of the house we went on spec to the cinema on Friday night, we watched Bridge of Spies newly released that day. Firstly let me thoroughly recommend this film, it is really good entertainment, the two hours in the cinema went really quickly. The story although well known is played with verve, the cinematography is superb as you might expect with the directors and writers. The acting is interesting in that a stage actor and a film actor, take the two main roles, watching the contrasting techniques is fascinating. It really evokes the Cold War era.

This weekend was our grand daughter’s birthday and in addition she was performing in a show. So it was with the rose tinted spectacles of all grandparents that we watched her dressed as a reindeer and Frosty the snowman and sense the gathering excitement as the birthday approached.

So back to that essay, this is the real thing and what I will be marked on at the end of the first term. I have done a huge amount of reading and have many ideas; it is now just a question of getting it down on paper in some sort of structured way. It is a different sort of pressure than work, there is much more personal pride at stake so the pressure is I think more intense. Still onward and upward, it has to be submitted in exactly one week’s time.

To end with an interesting and little known fact. When the first trains travelled between England and Scotland they had to be stopped at the border for the travellers to be searched. This was because the duty on spirits between England and Scotland was different and there were fears that people would be smuggling cheap whisky into Scotland!!!!