….from my first day at Post Office Telecommunications HQ. I still remember the rudeness of the woman who did my joining admin. “Mrs Dredge? My name’s David Smith: I was told to report to you.” “Oh yeah? Siddown.” As we went through the admin, she asked me my National Insurance number, which I gave her. Turns to her colleague: “We got a right one here: knows his NI number by heart!”. Charm-free zone doesn’t come close. Glad to say our paths never crossed again.
I went for a stroll round the village yesterday with the u3a Amblers group, which Celia organises. The weather was cold and dull, but dry, and took in our local millionnaires’ row. It is liberally populated by pretentious houses and flash motors: Bentleys, Astons, Range Rovers and Benzes (and the occasional GTI Golf, presumably for the nanny). One feels a need to check that the poor folks are managing to cope. The return walk followed some probably ancient footpaths (‘twittens’ in local parlance).
Friendly bunch of interesting people d’un certain âge, and the knees coped well enough. I was a shade alarmed that I quickly got puffed: I’ve obviously been too inactive for too long. It didn’t help that the zip of my warm jacket had got crushed in the cloakroom door. As it turned out, the second-best anorak plus a thick, lined pullover, and a scarf that Annie knitted for me a few years ago, were just too warm. I worked up a good sweat. Anyway N°1 anorak, which has years left in it, is now at the retoucherie for a new zip - expensive, but a quarter the cost of a replacement coat.
More U3a activity today. We hosted the German conversation group, and read through a piece I’d found on line about the utterances of the Russian orthodox patriarch about the Ukraine invasion. We had some doubts about the objectivity of the interviewee, an academic theologian of a different persuasion. Said patriarch describes the war as a holy one against satanism inspired by sinful western influences such as secularism and pluralism, the work of the devil. The article went on to describe the developing schism in the Orthodox Church. Funny how these followers of Jesus apply such fervour to hate for one another.
The conversation group was rather select: just three of us. Having spent some time finding and editing the text, I feel tempted to set homework for the absentees: Compare and contrast the utterances of Patriarch Kyrill and those of His Majesty’s Government’s front bench.