Hat with a red pom pom

The Mhinisteir was recently gifted with a biretta by a friend.

According to Wikipedia, a biretta is a square hat with three or four peaks usually worn by Catholic clergy and by some Anglican and Lutheran clergy.

In the Church of England, in terms of our tradition, the Mhinisteir and I would be considered “high” but we are not Anglo Catholics. I am assuming that a biretta is usually worn by the Anglo Catholics in the CofE so I don’t think the Mhinisteir will have an opportunity to wear it but I have made sure that it is on full display in the vicarage as I think that it was very kind and thoughtful of this clergy friend to present the Mhinisteir with such a precious gift.

ps: According to this friend, only those with a Doctorate in Theology like the Mhinisteir are allowed to wear a biretta with the red pom pom.

Bizarre Power Cut

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The Mhinisteir and I like to unwind by watching old British sitcoms on Britbox for about half an hour before we retire to bed. That is what we were doing when the power went off last Monday night. It was really bizarre. In case you are interested, we were watching Only Fools and Horses for the umpteenth time.

We were quite use to power cuts all year round in highland Scotland but It felt really strange to have a power cut at the end of May in England.

We decided to go to bed since there was no point in trying to do anything else even though I did try to read with a torch but gave up. As I lay in bed, I was beginning to wonder if power cuts are going to become more frequent and normal like in under-developed countries where they only have electricity for a certain period of time each day. I shuddered at that thought but the way the world is right now I wouldn’t be surprised if we went down that route.

We still don’t know the reason for the power cut but it did come back on an hour later. The one thing I dislike about power cuts is that they upset my oven clock and if I don’t reset the clock, the oven doesn’t work!

There are reviews and reviews

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A few months back, I came across a blogger who does food review around our nearest city. I was very excited and started following them. One of the reviews that I really liked was that of a Japanese restaurant near the Cathedral. I told the Mhinisteir about it.

The first time that we tried to visit that restaurant was on our way to our holiday destination. The Mhinisteir rang them to make a reservation but there was no answer. We later found out that they were shut. It didn’t say on their website or anywhere else that they were shut. I wasn’t too keen to give them a second chance but the Mhinisteir thought that it was a bit harsh.

Anyway, some time in April, he managed to find some time around his busy schedule and took me to this Japanese restaurant for lunch. I was excited as the review was very positive.

Upon arrival, I realised that it wasn’t a restaurant but a tiny cafe! Photos can be so deceiving. The Mhinisteir had made a reservation but the waitress was oblivious to it and tried to sit us at the tiny bar. We don’t like sitting at the bar which is precisely why the Mhinisteir specified this when he made the booking.

Thankfully, the waitress managed to find us a tiny table by the window. I found her way too loud. She was heavily tattooed as well (Just saying 😊). The whole service was rushed like as if they were trying to get rid of us ASAP.

The food didn’t live up to the price that we paid. That was when I realised that I had been fooled by the review. It is not that the reviewer was untruthful but that we both have very different standards. Their idea of good food and what constitutes as a restaurant is most definitely different to mine!

Killjoy or Wetblanket?

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This time next week, here in the United Kingdom many will be celebrating Her Majesty the Queen’s platinum jubilee anniversary. We have two days of bank holiday to celebrate Her Majesty’s seventy years of service.

Unfortunately, I will not be among those who will be celebrating. I am all for having a church service to mark this day and to thank God for Her Majesty’s life and reign but it seems very inappropriate to be having a nationwide celebration when many in the country are having to decide between eating and heating.

Personally, I had hoped that HM would have requested the nation to have a subdued celebration in light of all that has happened in the world in the last three years but alas it didn’t happen!

Another broken window!

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For the 3rd time in 2 years, we have a broken window! Once again caused by a small rogue stone that was sent flying when the gardener was cutting the grass. The stone hit one of the vicarage windows and caused the glass in the window to shatter into thousands of pieces.

Thankfully we spotted it quickly and were able to bring it up with the gardener who has graciously agreed to pay for the damage.

Trip to the Cathedral

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One Sunday in early May, the Mhinisteir and I were invited to attend a special evensong in the cathedral followed by light refreshments. I was a little excited about the trip.

Our cathedral is always cold so I decided to add a layer of thermal wear under my spring frock. We had to be there about half an hour before evensong commenced as the Mhinisteir had to robe.

We rarely sit together in church services because he is usually presiding or like on this occasion part of the procession which meant that he together with the rest of the procession were seated away from us.

I managed to sit with someone I know. That worked out well as we had plenty to chat about before the service. It was only when I was there that I realised what a grand event it was as it was attended not only by the local mayor but also by the Queen’s representative.

The cathedral was quite full but very few were wearing masks. I was among the few and kept it on at all times which meant that I didn’t partake in the refreshments.

All in all, it was a good trip to the cathedral especially as the sun was shining.

3 in 1 of what exactly?

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We have almost always only used liquid detergent for laundry but with the rising cost of everything, we have had to re-evaluate our decision making. I have been observing that the large bottle of Persil never lasts for 54 washes as it says on the bottle. Instead, it only lasts us for about 25 washes.

It was during this time that I came across a box of unused pods in the laundry detergent cupboard and started using them. That got me thinking. I realised that with the pods I neither overuse nor underuse detergent.

I duly bought the Persil pods when the liquid detergent ran out and so far I am very pleased with the purchase. However, I have only one question for the producers. It says 3 in 1 pods but nowhere in the pack does it say what the 3 refers to?

No iron?

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Several weeks ago, I read about a woman who hasn’t owned an iron in the last 40 years! In case you are wondering how she irons her clothes, she simply doesn’t. She said that it was not worth her time and money.

For someone who irons even her tea towels I was shocked and still am. Since then I have also been reading of more and more people who don’t own an iron.

Personally, I would be very embarrassed to be seen in an un ironed item of clothing.

Light Humour

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Are you having a bad day? Hope the following will provide you with some light humour.

These appeared in the latest Private Eye in a column called Dumb Britain.

Tipping Point, ITV

Ben Shephard: What kind of animal is a Bavarian mountain hound?

Contestant: A Cat.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Pointless, BBC One

Alexander Armstrong: We are looking for a country that took part in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Contestant: North Korea

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Source: Private Eye Issue 1573, Dumb Britain, Page 18

It better be worth my £5!

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I have done it again! I have once again entered another online short story writing competition. This is the second time I have entered one. After having worked on my short story for 8 weeks, I managed to press the send button on Monday. I had to pay £5 to enter so I sincerely hope that it is money well spent. I almost didn’t make it as there were obstacles along the way so I am pretty chuffed that I persevered.

In case you are wondering, I didn’t win the first one. I made an almighty mess on that one. I got the word count totally wrong. I am not sure how that happened but it did happen and it almost happened again but thankfully I have learnt my lesson now.

I promise not to bore you with more short story writing tales in future blog posts. 😁