Rose and walked Mix before breakfast and then went out to the barns to search for today’s booty. The box I chose turned out to contain my set of Punch and Judy puppets – something I hadn’t seen since we left Buckhaven almost twenty years ago. I also unearthed a bookcase which we managed to carry up the stairs and install in our bedroom. I also unearthed a large, heavy box which said ‘crystal’ on the exterior. I brought it in carefully for Rachel to unpack. It contained our collection of decanters – and with each of them a memory: one a gift from Rachel’s father to her mother before they were married; one a gift from HMS Glamorgan to Rachel and me after a successful visit to Genoa; one a ship’s decanter given to me for Ianthe, and so on. They are now sitting proudly on a tray on the grand piano – the only problem is that we haven’t as yet unearthed any glasses. At this rate I will be thoroughly moved in by 2015 – but I will enjoy everything I find.
If all of this sounds like a pretty light day, it was – partly because I went with my mother to Gavinton Church at lunch time for the congregational lunch of soup and bread and butter (and cake). I enjoyed the opportunity of getting know some of the folk from the congregation. I left Mum there for the Guild which followed the lunch and I came back to walk Mix before darkness fell and then to continue with the sorting out.
Not for long, however, because this evening we were all invited to Scott and Sue’s for our evening meal. My brother lives at Polworth, ten minutes drive from here. It was a grand meal and a happy evening. We got home just in time for my mother to catch Question Time from Falkirk. I walked the dog and went to bed. Tomorrow is going to be a first for me as Tom is taking me to my first agricultural auction at Kelso and in the evening Rachel and I are going to the Siamese Kitchen for a meal.
Thursdays are still the one day during which I feel a little bit restless. The reason without any doubt is that for many years I have spent Thursdays preparing for my services on Sundays. I looked forward to Thursdays for that very reason. I don’t mean that I started from scratch on Thursday morning and got everything done by the end of the day. I read the texts on Sunday night and then let them percolate though my mind as I walked the dog and drove the car. But Thursday was the day I put it all together. That is something I do miss – not enough to make me volunteer for pulpit supply, I am enjoying sitting in the pew too much for that. But I do miss my working Thursdays. I got an email today inviting me to a fiftieth anniversary celebration of leaving school. It’s not until next year – but that really is quite a thought: fifty years since I left school. That’s not just quite a thought – it is quite an achievement as well.
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