My phone rang at eight o’ clock this morning. Early morning phone calls usually mean that there is some sort of emergency that needs sorting out. In fact, eight o’ clock is a bit late for my daughter to be ringing if she has a childcare emergency. She’s usually already at work at that time of day. Contrary to what some people will tell you, most teachers arrive at school well before the start of the school day and remain there long after the pupils have gone home. 9.00am to 3.30pm is a myth. In my teaching career I never knew more than couple of teachers who arrived just on 9.00, winged it through the day and left as soon as the bell rang to indicate “school’s out”. They were the same ones who grew annoyed if anyone showed an interest and spoke too much in staff meetings and training sessions.
Anyway, my phone rang at eight o’ clock this morning. Not my daughter. An old friend. Goodness! Why was she ringing me at that time of day? Had something awful happened to a mutual acquaintance? “Hello, Ann,” I said. “Is that Amelia?” was the puzzled reply. Amelia is her daughter, her name probably appearing just above mine in the alphabetical list of contacts on my friend’s phone. My friend had pressed the wrong button! Easily done! I was quite looking forward to having a bit of a laugh about it with her husband who often coincides with me at the market in Uppermill on a Wednesday. Today, however, there was no sign of him, possibly because he knew the fishman had gone on holiday!
Cycling to and from the market this morning I found myself wondering, “Heatwave? What heatwave?” Here it was cool, pleasantly cool, not far off a bit too cool. The sun came out later but the weather app suggests a maximum temperature of 19°. Not that I was planning to go out and boost my suntan though! In fact, this temperature is much better for long walks.
According to a study by the Ordinance Survey people - the folk who make the lovely detailed maps - despite many more people getting into the habit of going out walking during the Covid lockdown, three quarters of UK adults can’t read a map:
“Of the 2,000 adults surveyed, more than half (56%) admitted they’d got lost because they couldn’t use a map or follow a phone app correctly, with 39% resorting to calling friends and family, 26% flagging down help, and 10% calling mountain rescue to get home.”
Now, I have been known to turn my map upside down so that it is the same way up as the terrain it displays but basically I can read a map. Phil has grown exasperated on more than one occasion on his way to chess events because the car driver has no idea where he is going and has no map book to consult because he relies on his phone app. It gets bad though when you can’t even follow your phone app correctly! It gets even worse if you need to call mountain rescue!
Getting back to the supposed heatwave (which may be only in London and the Southeast) the newsreader on the Northwest news commented that it must be hot because Owain the dapper weatherman had dispensed with his tie. There is a whole etiquette about what you can and cannot wear to work, leaving people confused in hot weather, largely because we are not used to it in the UK. I was struck by the lady who insisted that she had to wear tights and proper shoes - smart and with a low heel - to attend meetings, even in a heatwave! I thought such rules only applied to ladies on the royal household.
On the list of things that are or are about to be in short supply - French mustard, dairy produce (!), chickpeas, chillis, prawns and even tissues - we must now add kilts, traditional Scottish kilts. Apparently many weddings were postponed because of the pandemic and there has been a huge rush to make up for lost time and get married as soon as possible. This has led to an upsurge in the number of weddings and in the purchase of kilts, presumably mainly in Scotland, and now there is a shortage. I would have thought, however, that if wearing a kilt was so important to you then you would already have one in your wardrobe, precisely for special occasions like weddings! Apparently not! What do I know? And what will we run out of next? Do I need to set up a survivalist cupboard full of stockpiled goods?
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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