Our new front door will be fitted in mid January while I'm away. The existing one dates from the middle sixties, and at that time, when the first telephone line was run into the property, a hole for the cable was drilled through the wooden door frame to accommodate the GPO line. The little junction box on the frame, although painted red, is still engraved with an original GPO brand marking. It should have been upgraded twice since then, despite new lines and new services being run into the house, but it wasn't - on the 'It ain't broke, no need to try and fix it' principle. If the door installers, however expert in taking out the old door frame, made a mistake, it could damage the incoming line, and leave the house without phone and broadband, something of a worry for Clare. So I asked Ashley if he could help sort out this problem beforehand, as he has a great deal of experience in this field.
He came yesterday evening with all his professional grade tools and we spent several hours together re-routing the cable outside the frame. It was quite a simple task, but difficult to achieve. There were layers of paint to be chipped away to free the line undamaged from its staples, somewhat stronger staples than their modern equivalent, but he was successful, and all still works fine.
I realised as we were sitting drinking tea and eating mince pies at midnight, that it was the first time in the nine years we've known each other, that he'd been in our house. For most of the time over those years we have been too busy to socialise outside the office. At the moment business is slowing down, not just because of the festive season, but because we await further developments which will have a critical impact on where we go from here.
This morning, I walked to the bus station with Clare, where she took the coach to Coventry on her way to Kenilworth for the first time. Usually, she goes by train, but the threat of irregular trains over the holiday weekend was enough to prompt an alternative journey. The trip went smoothly and cost significantly less. I had a few last minute shopping errands to perform, but went to the shops in Canton instead of going into town for a change. I was in any case due to go in later and meet Ashley, but in the end we did what we needed to by email instead. This left me with a free evening, with nothing worth watching on telly, so I settled for a few hours quiet solitude instead. I need to pause and ponder these days before the celebrations begins. I'm so thankful to have a free Advent Four Sunday morning tomorrow, to go to Mass and be on the receiving end before celebrating the Midnight Vigil Mass.
I realised as we were sitting drinking tea and eating mince pies at midnight, that it was the first time in the nine years we've known each other, that he'd been in our house. For most of the time over those years we have been too busy to socialise outside the office. At the moment business is slowing down, not just because of the festive season, but because we await further developments which will have a critical impact on where we go from here.
This morning, I walked to the bus station with Clare, where she took the coach to Coventry on her way to Kenilworth for the first time. Usually, she goes by train, but the threat of irregular trains over the holiday weekend was enough to prompt an alternative journey. The trip went smoothly and cost significantly less. I had a few last minute shopping errands to perform, but went to the shops in Canton instead of going into town for a change. I was in any case due to go in later and meet Ashley, but in the end we did what we needed to by email instead. This left me with a free evening, with nothing worth watching on telly, so I settled for a few hours quiet solitude instead. I need to pause and ponder these days before the celebrations begins. I'm so thankful to have a free Advent Four Sunday morning tomorrow, to go to Mass and be on the receiving end before celebrating the Midnight Vigil Mass.
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