Back to normal

No 34    Wednesday 14 November 2012

What happened to October? I didn’t produce a blog then.  The probable reason is that, inexplicably, I have been feeling low - not depressed or anything like that but it just seems that the whole day is taken up with ordinary things, mostly domestic ones. Anyway I’m now back to feeling my normal self (or as normal as I ever am).

I went to the supermarket today for my usual shopping expedition and  took advantage of the few reduced price items that were on my shopping list. I find it is a good idea to have a shopping list because then I only buy what is needed and it cuts down the time I have to be in the store. My only complaint is that there seems to be a tendency to pack some things in packages of 2 or more. This is all very well for families or even couples but when I want a Cornish pasty and find they’re in packages of 4 or 6 it is no use to me. In addition the Morrison’s supermarket (which is my nearest) has introduced a system for Christmas whereby if you spend more than £40 for a few weeks you get a £25 discount for Christmas. The problem with this, for me, is that I have never spent £40 in the whole time I have been going there. My average spend is around £28 - so, in effect, I am losing out by being unable to take advantage of this system. These systems, which effectively only reward people with a bigger consumption than I have, mean that people like me are on the losing end of these promotions.

The business of dictating the titles of tracks on CDs, which I mentioned in my last blog, is now virtually complete I still have one double album to do - which found its way to the last spot because the print is quite small and it has a lot of tracks with names which my program won’t recognise. I therefore have to type them in on the keyboard, which takes considerably longer. The current totals on the JB7, and this is before most of my vinyl records have been added, are albums 507 and actual tracks somewhere over 8500. I still have quite a lot of sorting out to do and this includes checking the spelling and arrangement of lots of track names.

A little while ago I decided it was about time I had my eyes checked and replaced my spectacles. I went along to Optical Express (where I had been previously) had my eyes tested and ordered some spectacles to the correct settings. While I was waiting for the order to be completed the company closed their Gloucester branch and it ended up that I had to go to Cheltenham to collect my order. Apart from the time it took and the inconvenience of making the journey it didn’t cost me anything because I have a free pass on the bus - which has recently been renewed for a further 5 years. This covers anywhere in Gloucestershire although my main usage is within Gloucester and even then, if the weather is inclement, I either use a taxi or stay at home!!

Mike