And someone sprayed me with aftershave. In fairness, they were aiming for themselves, but they didn’t think that the wind might blow it past them. It’s a good thing I wear glasses. And that I’m not madly allergic to such things. The smell has sort of worn off now. Ish.

I had a detour into the centre of London, which meant dodging buses, confused tourists, various eejits who don’t bother to look both ways before crossing a road, and Games Lanes (which are not open to bicycles). I am rather hot and sticky. Not as hot and sticky as I was yesterday when I arrived at the Prom (Elgar, Wood, Ravel and Debussy, all wonderful except the Wood which was like a cross between An American in Paris and two cats dancing on a piano with a toddler), but still quite hot and sticky. I’m not looking forward to the commute come next week. I can’t remember exactly what the Games Lanes are doing over Waterloo Bridge, but I’m prepared to bet that it won’t be pretty, since the modus operandi appears to be “add Games Lane, remove bus lane, cars avoid former bus lane and Games Lane and all hell breaks loose”. It is also very evident that if the road is not part of a Games Lane, then there’s been no budget to repair it since about 2008, and the pot holes are ghastly.

I’m off camping tonight until Monday. With a batch of Guides that I don’t know (and a small handful that I do know), and a collection of embroidery threads. I need to go down to the 99p shop to hunt down glowsticks, and then perform the traditional extreme-shower-and-hairwash, so that I do at least start the next three nights clean-ish. I’ll be relying on babywipes until Monday. I’m very much looking forward to camp – Em’s memorial has been started on site, and I want to take pictures. It’ll also be nice to escape some of the Olympic madness (but I should get to see @frogspawn21 on the telly in the opening ceremony regardless: although I’m pretty sure that there’ s not going to be any morris dancers. I’d have heard about it, regardless of this, simply because ‘so and so’ would have been advising. We’ve been asked to dance in the Limpet Village, and may make it for the Paralympics…) I’ll miss N like stink. 

Ceremonials continuing, I did go to see the torch. ‘cos. It was at the end of the street, and it would have been churlish not to. It involved getting up Very Early Indeed. Then I went for a run.

xxx

I am actually at the point, this weekend, where the boring part of the list is done (or needing some further information) and, therefore, I can now enjoy myself and knit whatever I fancy, or sew something, or leaf through various magazines (Mum keeps marking bridal things in Hello), and eat a lovely dinner with N, and watch a film.

I have no idea how this happened. I am even packed and ready for camp next weekend (other than the lack of blanket being packed), and I have made N’s travelcard holder from an old Cheetos packet and some oilcloth. I am Astounded.

Right. Now is the moment to work out how supper needs to be cooked (instant boeuf bourginon from Morrison’s with mashed potato), cook and eat it, possibly with wine, and then wind up some yarn for my next yarny adventures.

xxx

Probably because I’ll get myself in trouble with Girlguiding UK. Which is a pity, but there we go. I am Lying Low at the moment. Well. Apart from the polite, and short, email I just sent pointing out how disappointed I was with the ‘standard’ reply I’d had to the previous email, but that, really, I did need an answer to at least one of the questions that had been ignored.

I’ve got tea now. And Radio 2 is playing Thoroughly Modern Millie. And my waterproofs are being re-waterproofed, and making such a nice comforting noise in the washing machine. I have plans to make two of these when C’s been round to show D & I her Queen’s Guide Award Community Action findings off. The Brownie accounts are done (first draft) for 2011-2012, and there is £13.22 in the tin ready for next term (and more in the bank. Much more. Worry not). I may well tidy up my personal dry laundry, shove Jo’s in her room, and then knit until C arrives. You know. Once the table is tidy and I’ve located my shoes.

I did come here to produce a list, in order to get my brain into some sort of order. The week’s worth of Guiding Furore (worthwhile, but, oh, exhausting), has left me unable to think slightly straight. Plus, N’s doing this all day (yes, he has entered the 6 hour race), which also gives me the space to write something: I just can’t quite blog easily when he’s in the flat. Odd. What with all the rushing about last weekend, learning to spindle spin, going to a baby shower, and not going to Plymouth to collect N from doing this (he and his friends dropped out when the campsite disappeared in a sea of mud more usually found at Glastonbury: it wasn’t so much the conditions for riding as the quantity of mud involved in going back and forth to the tents…), I didn’t really have time to do anything last weekend. So.

• Go through Div C paperwork delivered by other C. Deposit box in Garden Cupboard. Under data protection, do I need to keep, e.g., my own application to become a leader from 2003? So much paperwork that’s entirely out of date… Awaiting response from County. The other stuff is either copies of the Rainbow/Brownie/Guide Programme from 3/4 years ago (so also out of date), or “useful information” which does, indeed, look useful. What to do with the Guiding Ambassador’s badge?
• put laundry away, well that which was dry. Also Jo’s laundry. That way the sitting room is free from drying racks. Rah.
• Put Brownie-min away, prep bag for Friday
• Test Chinese Lanterns for Monday, put matches into bag.
• Hard boil eggs for Monday You know what? It’ll be way more fun with a raw egg….
• Finish the garter-stitch part of J’s baby blanket. Cast on for Bannoffee’s blanket.
• Make at least one baby-restrainer
• Do something useful about sending Olympic goodies to the three people who commented on my Xanga-versary post (from which I deduce that everyone is, actually, fairly fed up with the Olympics). Please could you direct message me your addresses, or say “Oh, Hebe, you HAVE it already”?
• Remember what else it is that I’ve forgotten…

xxx

I cannot wait for this term to be over. I’m hoping that the Div C job will calm down a little once we’ve all got used to having a Div C again, and once the fun of camp and holidays and end of term trips has concluded, and all the niggling jobs that have been hanging over since we previously had a functional Div C (about a year ago – she fell pregnant, and had an awful first trimester, and then her husband was ill, so, really, although she stopped in November, there wasn’t much going on at all) are done, then it should be a little calmer, and more routine.

Bar panics about this, that, and the other. And about QGs. I really will be glad when the current batch have completed, as they are proving distinctly wearing at times. Reading emails on the subject late at night or early in the morning does not help matters. I must learn timing!

So, I’ve skipped morris, I’m propped up in bed, I’ve dealt with a couple of admin tasks, I’ve posted the last June photo-a-day pictures to flickr, and I’m about to knit and hopefully finish a pair of socks (K, I’m really not sure about these. If they prove uncomfortable, I’ll knit something more conventional for you).

xxx