Day off!

[nineveh_uk]

At the end of last week I felt really tired and was staggering badly through the working days, so when I was tired over the weekend and still tired on Monday, I decided that I needed an extra day off and having no meetings on Friday duly booked one. Naturally, by Thursday evening I was feeling a lot better than the previous week, but I'm not going to complain about that.

The great thing about a Day Off is that it is extra, with no feeling of obligation or trying to fit things in. So today I have:

* Got up late. This was very nice, especially as having been woken by some warm nights I had taken Nytol to make sure I slept better and thus slept until 8'clock albeit with some really weird dreams. I read some of the commercially published translation of the novel of The Untamed/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. Reader, as a book it is pretty fun*, but as a translation it is dreadful, and I can tell that without speaking a word of Chinese. But more on that another post.

* Got up eventually to watch the women's mass start biathlon race. I'm not as big a biathlon fan as a cross-country ski one, but it is unquestionably a sport that reaches its peak at major championships when the panic sets in on the shooting range.

* Moved the car to take its chances with roof tiles rather than tree branches on account of Storm Eunice (it is fine, as is everything here but someone's dull bush. But it was very, very windy). Also watched jets land in the wind at Heathrow.** Best performer of those I saw was EgyptAir, who looked like they were in a dead calm. I shall never worry about my plane being buffeted on a mildly breezy day again.

* Ironed to the men's biathlon. Farewell, biathlon, it was a good Games. Plus now I have fresh pillowcases.

* Cut out some of a new lino cut print design to various other bits of Olympics. I keep forgetting how hard I find it on my shoulders at the moment, but I like the design.

* Made the venison ragout part of Tom Kitchin's venison ragout lasagne. I should love to have it in lasagne form, which I have looked at in the recipe book in my parents' kitchen and salivated over, but that's just a bit too much effort for me at the moment. The deconstructed version certainly smells like it will be delicious with papardelle.

Plus receiving a supermarket delivery and cleaning half the bathroom. Not bad going really. And I still have the weekend to go.


* I could wish I had read it without having seen the TV series, for such moments as "hang on, third person POV, have you just skipped blithely over our protagonist doing a little light grave-robbing?" and wondering how on earth things were going to work out.

** I am now imagining the MJN Air version of this...

Comments

[caulkhead]

That sounds like an excellent day off.

In re the Olympics, found myself wondering today why nobody has yet founded a snowcannon manufacturer named "Snowflake Generation". Think of the internet hits!

[nineveh_uk]

That is a brilliant name. You should go on Dragons' Den immediately!

[legionseagle]

Don't, they're awful. I used to be afficated to an inventors group who met at the Library on the first Wed of the month and several of them had stories about the weeding out process for Dragon's Den.

[nineveh_uk]

That's a pity.

[legionseagle]

The wonderful way Jerry was managing to answer questions posted by people chatting in real time, avoid being blown off the top of his van, fend off the MSM demanding interviews and manage to throw in expert commentary and critique with a full mixture of fanboy enthusiasm ("and another Emirates A380 has just crossed the Essex coast!") was absolutely unmissable. Even when I'd switch off temporarily I'd get someone on my twitter feed posting something like, "AND QATAR AIR IS COMING IN FOR ITS THIRD GO ROUND YOU MAGNIFICENT MAD BASTARDS!" and I'd have to log on again.

[nineveh_uk]

Not to mention at one point an ITV film crew! He was multitasking with great enthusiasm and efficiency.

I rather regret that THE Qatar final attempt (landing?) happened at a point I wasn't watching.

[legionseagle]

They landed admirably after he had been speculating for the entire approach whether the first officer had handed over to the captain or even to a Three Letter Acronym I could only assume meant "Chief Flying Officer" or equivalent (Admiral along for the ride? IDK) and less than a second later the whole field was swept by a gust so violent that the lamp-posts were practically swaying. And then he made a point of saying "Well done that man or woman." Did you hear the bit where he was explaining to Channel 4 News they could interview him but they'd have to climb over the wooden bit of the fence?

[nineveh_uk]

Thank you! I am glad they didn't have to divert to Marseilles or similar. He did have a nice appreciation for the pilots.

I caught that channel 4 bit!

[antisoppist]

On Flightradar24 I was watching a plane last night that was supposed to be landing at Leeds Bradford but after circling for ages was heading north. I hope the people didn't end up too far away or in snowbound Edinburgh. There was a woman on the news who was on the EasyJet flight that gave up on Gatwick (I think) and went back to Toulouse because Amsterdam and Paris wouldn't let them land either. She had very nice wallpaper in Toulouse.

[white_hart]

That sounds like an excellent day off!

[nineveh_uk]

It was. Not least for the sheer pleasure of knowing I didn't have to do anything.

[owl]

There's something very charming about half the UK becoming plane spotters for the day. And concur on the MJN Air version!

[legionseagle]

Jerry at one point was very amused to note that Paddy Power were taking an interest, so he did indeed do a bit of pastiche race commentary, don't know if you heard it?

[owl]

No, I didn't hear that piece. Sounds like he was having a great time.

[legionseagle]

He played a blinder and I hope he's picked up a whopping load of subscriptions off the back of it.

[mrs_redboots]

That sounds like a happily productive day!