A weekend of accomplishments

C & I had a very pleasant & successful weekend that included the following:

• Got my watch battery fixed, meaning that it will now (hopefully) last for another 3 years. Not bad for €3.50
• Got the house cleaned from top to bottom, so its now in a fit state for going on holiday.
• Arranged cat-sitting with the neighbours.
• Cleaned the front garden, so that the path to the door is not a death-trap of slime & leaves.
• Managed to go shopping both for food & also clothing.
• Watched ‘the Battle of Britain’ on the MGM channel - a 1960’s epic of the valiant RAF vs the dastardly Luftwaffe, where the good guys win! Corking!
• Had Alexander & Rinnike over on Saturday night for a very brief set of games (they needed somewhere to stay, so we offered them the use of our house, on the condition that they play a boardgame with us)
• Arranged the Christmas holidays - over at Alex & Rinnikes
• Found out that the service times of the local Catholic Church here are at 10-30am, but I missed the service, which is a pity as I wanted to go on Remembrance Sunday
• Watched the Cenotaph service & observed the 2 minutes silence
• Watched the Grave of the Fireflies. A horrible anime film about children dying of starvation during WW2. Harrowing, but an interesting counterpoint to the Battle of Britain & suitable watching for the Cenotaph service.
• Went to the Hilversum museum of architecture; apparently houses in Hilversum used to be built with a watchtower, to allow line-of-sight contact with Amsterdam. I want one!
• Spoke with my mother – things are going moderately well back home, and apparently my sister (who had the problems with her eyes) has joined a thespian troupe & is now the leading lady in a sell-out production of Snow White!
• Spoke to my sister in law; she’s still pregnant, but she spend most of Saturday in hospital with her mother – who fell in a Leeds car-park & shattered her elbow joint. It’s a complicated break & its going to take months to heal. Much sympathy & empathic pain.
• Handed out sweets to children who sang us songs. It’s a local tradition (though unfortunately on Remembrance day).
• Weight unchanged at 85 kilos

S