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Monthly Re-Caps

February Re-cap

June L

I type up this blog post at midday, at my dining room table, whilst taking a break from thesis writing/research and sorting out resources for my Higher English tutees. There is a light drizzle outside, it’s a bit chilly, and the daffodils are on the verge of bursting their buds and furnishing my flower beds with their lovely bright yellow hue. I can’t believe that tomorrow is March; not that I’m sad about it – I love spring.

February always has been a tough month for me. Our first baby, had it carried to full term, would have been born on or around the 25th of February and so this date – for the past 23 years – has been a tough one to negotiate. To make this date even more emotionally hard is that on the 25th February, 2022, my Mum passed away. The same date. Getting past this first sad anniversary – the last of the firsts – has been tough, but I feel that my family and I are slowly beginning to heal. I miss my Mum ever so much, I called her every single day, but I hold onto the memories we all had – particularly my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary in April 2018, the last major event we could celebrate when we were all well and before my Mum’s cancer diagnosis.

So this past week was tough. Then it got tougher. My husband caught Covid from someone on a very busy and stifling bus ride home from work, and then promptly gave it to me – last week, during my already tough week! However, we are both OK now. I tested negative yesterday although I’m still feeling washed out and have a lingering cough (that is different from my normal lingering cough).

House sale preparation

This month I feel I haven’t achieved much. That’s because the two weeks that we were well were spent in painting, putting all of my books into storage, and generally preparing the house for sale (further!). Do you know how long it took me to pack most of my books away? Three solid days! What didn’t help was my humming and hawing as to which books to keep back – in the end I had to be ruthless. Our store-room was floor to ceiling with my boxes of books….this photo only shows some of them! So now my study upstairs is bereft of bookcases and now just houses my desk and the piano. It feels weird not having them about – and the piles of books all over the floor which were a Health and Safety trip hazard. Oh well, the next time I see them, hopefully we will be in our next house. At least I still have my Anthony Trollopes, Dickens, and Powell/PhD books to keep me going.

As well as clearing three-eighths of my book collection out of the house, we had a group of roofers along to replace loose slates and to de-moss our roof. They just about drove the dogs berserk – who are these strange men in our garden, but they worked solidly over three days and now the house roof looks gleamy and clean (well, as gleamy as slate roofs get). So now, the last thing that needs done is the main bathroom refit which, we have been assured, will happen mid-March.

Reading

To be honest, I haven’t had a time to read much beyond that for my PhD. I have started reading two more books (as seen in my Goodreads sidebar) – I love Barbara Pym and I am listening to Delafield’s Diary of a Provincial Lady on Audible. Absolutely loving Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell – it’s just very long! I have got to page 511, which I think is about half way through. However, whenever I set myself time to sit and read, the dogs think it is playtime and I get no peace at all until I abandon the book and throw a soft ball about the room for the next hour. C’est la vie.

Music

The airing of the Thomas Tallis hymn ‘If You Loved Me’ went live on Youtube on Valentine’s Day (yeah, that’s not the kind of love that the hymn is talking about, however…..). You can see it here. Now we are working on ‘Baba Yetu’ by Christopher Tin – the Lord’s Prayer in Swahili. Absolutely loving practicing this one; I think it will sound amazing when it is all put together.

Music for pleasure-wise, I have been very much into Rachmaninov this past month, especially Piano Concerto number 3. Great to work along to.

TV/ Netflix

Again, I haven’t had much time to indulge myself with time to watch much on the TV screen except for last week, when I had Covid and literally couldn’t do a thing without every muscle aching. So, I watched old re-runs of Neighbours which had just been uploaded onto Freevee. That programme is another of my guilty pleasures; I watched the first episode when I was 14 (when I used to watch it with my Gran and my Mum) and have followed it sporadically since. The storylines are candyfloss and unrealistic but it’s my escape. I’m so glad they are bringing a new series back. When so many things from my youth are now no more, it’s nice to have something that remains, albeit with different characters and weirder storylines.

So, February has been a strange, emotional little month. I’m never sad to see it go – this year is no different. Meteorological spring starts tomorrow – a time to look forward with hope!

Humour

Words or phrases to be banished forever (in my opinion)

June L

I’m still suffering from Covid, so today’s blog is a little more light-hearted. I’m Day 2 now – apparently in three days time I can go outside again.

I’m sure every single person has words or phrases that they absolutely hate/loathe/despise. According to Jessica Kaplan, in an item published in January 2023, there is a new list for 2023 of words that should be banished to the Room 101 of words, some of which I use a lot (I mean, what’s wrong with ‘amazing’? And I’m often asking my tutees if something I have explained to them ‘makes sense’). In contrast, some of the words/phrases on the list I have never heard of before (I thought ‘goat’ was literally the animal and had no idea that it was a complimentary acronym. This Gen Xer can’t get with today’s lingo).

I thought I would compile my own Top 10 list of words and phrases which I cannot abide. Admittedly, some are modern lingo but the phrases I have picked just set my teeth on edge.

  1. ‘Muggy’: how on earth is stuffy, humid weather like a mug? The word even sounds clumsy.
  2. ‘the [something] experience’: urrrghhh. This annoys me so much, especially when used as ‘the student experience’. It’s one of my pet hates. Just call it ‘student life’. I have done several degrees and have only ever thought of them as ‘experiences’ in a negative sense. Like experiencing an all-nighter to reach a deadline and suffering the next day. Not something I would like to repeat.
  3. ‘Like’, like in a sentence filler/emphasiser. ‘Like’: This needs no explanation.
  4. ‘tuck in’ [as in eating]: You don’t tuck your food anywhere so this is a useless phrase.
  5. ‘I know, right?’: assert yourself. Don’t bother looking for validation straight afterwards.
  6. ‘lowkey [something]’: low key? Loki? Eh? What key?
  7. ‘unprecedented’: this seems to have been used in overdrive over the past three years and now I’ve grown fed up with it.
  8. ‘Nom, nom’: when did ‘yum yum’ get shifted for this weird noise?
  9. ‘Mucus’: just because it sounds as gross as it is. Partner this with ‘sputum’ for double the effect. Or phlegm for the treble. Ugh. Having worked in nursing, I get the whole graphic effect when I hear these words.
  10. Vulgarities [any]/swearing/blaspheming: just because I don’t swear and think that the words people use for swear words sound so horrible and aggressive. Also, I find blaspheming distasteful and disrespectful. And, sadly, these types of words appear several times on every page of most modern books and on TV dramas. That’s why I prefer the oldies!

No doubt there will be a new list of June’s most hated words and phrases next year.

General

The ‘Rona has struck…..

June L

After managing to avoid ‘Rona for almost three years – almost being OTT about not contracting it – today I have tested positive for the virus. My husband had tested positive over the weekend and so it was inevitable that I would eventually get it too…… he is good at sharing. Meanwhile, I silently curse the person who passed it onto him, especially as this week marks the first anniversary of my Mum’s passing. I had hoped to have spent some time with my Dad this Friday – that isn’t going to happen now – as well as visiting her grave to put some flowers on it. It’s a tough week as it is, without Rona making an appearance too. However, such is life!

I have been in the high risk category for vaccinations, etc., and had received an informative letter a couple of years ago, from the Scottish Government, which outlined what I should do if I succumbed to Covid as I may be required to have anti-viral treatment. On seeing that my lateral flow test had an extremely faint second line this morning (it actually needn’t have bothered turning up as it was that faint), I called the number I was asked to, and – to cut a long story short – was told by the very nice doctor that I happily wouldn’t need anti-virals and that all I was to do was to sit and enjoy Netflix for a few days. Who am I to disobey doctor’s orders? So, while my husband is whiling away his Rona-induced isolation by feeding his addiction to a Lego Hobbit Playstation game, I will be enjoying either a Gilmore Girls marathon or feeding my Civilization video game addiction whilst feeling ever so slightly guilty that I am not working on my thesis. A hurting head and fever are not conducive to productivity!

I am hoping to be well enough to post on this blog as usual on Thursday. In the meantime, I’m off for my next dose of paracetamol. And to switch on Netflix.