Seriously?

The Welshman has just asked if I want to be his friend again on Facebook.

What the HELL is up with everyone?!

That makes two exes, one fling, and a former colleague all getting in touch via social media in the past three weeks. I have no idea quite who dumped whom with the Welshman. I know he dumped me at a ball, then decided he wanted me back, then wandered out in the middle of the night.... then I'm not entirely sure who walked away from whom in the aftermath.

There must be something in the water. There just has to be. Who else is going to pop up? Honestly. It's almost enough to make you stay friends on the social media, blocking them from seeing anything much, just to stop them popping up randomly.

I have 29 mutual friends with The Welshman. 15 are former colleagues (we did work in the same place). One is one of his friends. The rest are all people I introduced him to.

I am inordinately grumpy about this.

xxx

TISWAL*

We had a lovely Brownies last night. We made pin hole viewers from the instructions here(pdf), and they actually worked. Sort of. Well. Having a Very Bright Torch with tons of LEDs to wave around worked. Trying to get Rodney the purple glitter holo pony to project onto the greaseproof paper didn't work so well. I suspect that tracing paper would have worked better. Anyhow. An almost freebie meeting: donating about 2' of greaseproof paper and 2' of tinfoil wasn't going to hurt me, and the rest of the kit we had in the cupboard. Bonza. We also played about with fingerprints, although I'm really not sure what they picked up from that. Still. They dabbed fingers about, and it turns out that Colorbox Ink Pads rinse off with just water. Really. Just water: the white tea towels were still white at the end of the evening. What with that, and little P (our transfer from another pack) not whinging once that I noticed, it was a lovely night.

I've had two actual thank you letters from the three mayors who came to Who Day. Both mayors are from the same political party. I'm wondering if a third will be sent. I'm betting not - that's a different political party. It was funny watching the mayors, one in full morning dress, pottering round, waving semaphore flags to spell out their boroughs, and they ALL displayed their badges proudly at the end of it. I've got a few badges left, some are earmarked for other leaders, I suspect the rest will land up on eBay to boost division funds.

• Settle date for C's First Class presentation need other C to come back from India.
• Finally assemble the Commissioner's Qualification Evidence just need the list of accounts...printer still refuses to print in blue
• Towersey form Weird. The contract says only one adult season ticket, the email from the organisers says two. Paused.
• Letter for parents about Pack Holiday/Camp
• Wrap booties for J, wrap T's train engine.
• Mail W's parcel, C's parcel, J's booties
• Make hat prototypes
• Sizzix out lots of letters (bondaweb'd) for a Brownie activity
• Envelope up Who Day badges
• WAGGGS badges to Jo
• Brownies Accounts n.b. write cheque on behalf of other unit for Who Day
• Who Day Accounts (one last receipt to print! This printing malarkey is going so much better now I've fished out the pen lid which somehow got jammed in the paper feed last weekend. I'd wondered where the pen lid had gone too).
• Finish S's hug
• Bring Brownie Admin up to date
• Pay in cheques

I have remembered the best bit about May Day. The tiny black fluffy puppy, who gambolled and paused, and gambolled and paused across the junction near our second spot, who stopped to sniff, and ran all round his owners and tangled them up with his lead. As K said, he completely upstaged the morris men. He was ridiculously adorably cute and tiny-small-tiny. There was also a lovely labrador called Toby. We were allowed to take turns in looking after Toby. Toby was most interested in heading into the pub, apparently having a good nose for ale.

*Today Is Saturday, Write A List (note, this joke will only make sense in the UK)

GAH

I am beginning to get seriously weirded out by the number of men suddenly popping up wanting to reconnect. In the past week, one member of the softball team and one ex boyfriend on Facebook, and, now, DRAMA!!!! has sent a connection on Linked In. What is this? Some sort of random 2-4 year itch?! 

xxx

Glad Tidings!

The only thing that I cannot find in the flat is my holepunch. I have found the lost hot water bottle and the card (after I'd bought new).

The Time Travelling Day was not a roaring success, but it was Good Enough, with the odd point at which things could have gone better. No major crisises - most of the problem was not having enough people. At least two who'd promised to show up didn't, and a couple more were ill/swopped out of their activities at the last minute. This is what happens.  It was FREEZING cold. Freezing, and so many Brownie parents didn't send them in adequate layers. Sigh. There's very little you can do about that, apart from remembering the thermos for hot ribena, and the heated hand packs. This Brown Owl forgot.

We've had a successful disaster recovery, well: so far, it's successful. The bits I did worked fine. I even wrote some very belated scripts to make it easier next time. We shouldn't need those, though. It's only taken me 3.5 years to get round to writing them, but that's not a problem. They are, at least, written. And some guarantee that the the new system will be in place for the next time round.

T's Thomas the Tank Engine Victor Engine has been dispatched, so we'll have it ready for Friday week when his Ma and Pa are getting married prior to moving to Dubai.

My to do list is nearly manageable.

May Day was fun, if freezing.

I have sown chillis, chives and some form of green broccoli into pots on the windowsill.

I have bought broad beans and cress for Brownies on Friday week. I am shifting the textiles stuff, as I've got a lot of prep to do for that, and I'm not really in the mood. I want to knit.

I have knitted.

Knitting is addictive.  It is good for not killing your colleagues at DR (I dunno. If the files are named, with a date stamp, and the type of backup, it really shouldn't be so hard to find the full backup, should it?). It is good for keeping calm when your friends are, rightly, annoyed about something that you feel you should have control over but, in reality, don't. It is good for making warm things to keep you warm. It is succour when the world is going bonkers and you're Fed Up with April and what it's doing to everyone.

I'm going to have avocado salad with goat's cheese for supper.

xxx

Things that are perturbing me

Where the blue card is.

Where the holepunch went.

Getting stuff out of the shed.

When the advertising banners will arrive.

Whether city sprint will actually ring the doorbell.

Why county events seem to cost £10-£15 when it's perfectly possibly to run an event for £5 per head and, still, apparently, have a little profit (haven't got the expenses for pancake cooking in yet, but I've currently got a £400 surplus and I doubt it's going to be *that* much).

The environmental impact of laminating.

Whether 150-odd Brownies and Guides will enjoy themselves tomorrow.

What the hell we do with the damp canvas tents.

Seriously, where is the hole punch and the blue card?

Also my thermal underwear. D'ove?

Whether we'll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether I like it or not tomorrow.

How I managed to end up running this thing by stealth. All I was meant to do was provide a venue. Lesson learned.

xxx