13 January 2024 (Saturday) - Late Shift

Just as I was about to go to bed last night I realised that after four hours soaking in dangerous chemicals yesterday evening the “focking plogol” remained blocked solid. After scattering the contents of the cupboard under the sink all over the floor and subsequently flooding the kitchen I found the problem. The U-bend was bunged up solidly with a huge amount of solidified fat. There must have been a mug-full of rock-solid thick white fat which vaguely smelled of roast lamb. Where did that all come from? It took some shifting.
I slept better knowing that the sink would now drain.
 
Over toast I had my usual look at the Internet. I had a friend request on Facebook from “Rose Marie”; an AI-generated person who sported both a rather impressive of norks though, and a moustache as well. Sadly the moustache wasn’t of the same standard as the norks, but given time it might grow… However I will never know as I deleted the request. I also had a suggestion from Facebook that I might like to follow the antics of Anthony Browne. No – I’d never heard of him either. Apparently he’s the MP for south Cambridgeshire.
There wasn’t much else going on on-line so we got ready for the off.
 
We drove round to Repton; as we turned into the road leading to the field so the dogs started squealing in excitement. Dog club went rather well this morning with the biggest turn-out we’ve had for a long time. I tried counting the dogs, but they wouldn’t stay still. I counted eighteen, but there may well have been more. We had some new people along who seemed to like what was going on, including one lady who lives over the road from the field and had been watching us for months. At first wondering what goes on, and then wondering if she and her dog might join in.
I wore wellies; I got cold feet. I need to get some woolly socks.
 
We must have been a tad late getting out of Dog Club; Steve was playing music from the mystery year but we missed hearing the clues giving what had happened in that year. After two records which I don’t think I’d ever heard before he announced that the year had been 1998.
 
We came home for a cuppa, I paid the money collected at Dog Club into the Repton Centre’s bank account.  Leaving “er indoors TM to put all the stuff back into the kitchen cupboard (which had dried out) I set off to work in daylight, which made a change. As I drove I listened to Steve in the radio, but not for long. Sadly the signal gave out after a few miles (at Bethersden), so I turned over to Ivor Biggun CDs and sang along as I drove to Pembury.
 
I got to work and did what I had to do. I always say I don' t mind working at the weekends, but I think I do really. During a lull in proceedings I finished an e-book. If any of my loyal readers are at a loose end, "Calculating God" by Robert J Sawyer is well worth a read. Like all good fiction, the book poses a rather intriguing "what-if". What if aliens turn up and rather than wanting to meet all the politicians and leaders, they just want to visit the museums like any other tourists. And then it comes up in conversation that not only have the aliens got actual incontrovertible proof of the existence of God, but also all of Earth's religions have all been sucking up to the wrong God?
My Kindle gave me a third award for finishing that e-book. It is getting rather generous with those. I then started on another e-book; an old favourite of mine. More speculative fiction; this one was written years ago. "The Cloud Walker" by Edmond Cooper is an old favourite of mine. Set in a post-apocalyptic future where crackpot religion holds sway, a young lad wants to commit the heresy of flying a kite.
 
As I worked I chuckled. We had two lab assistants with us today. One's been with us for several months and knows me fairly well, the other is quite new. The new one was civil enough, but was treating me in much the way I would politely treat a mate's grandmother. At tea break I took off my lab coat and went to the rest room (we can't eat or drink in a laboratory with blood samples about!). As I went I was conscious that new girl was staring at me. As I walked round the corner I heard the other girl saying "He's covered in tattoos; he'll show you them if you like. And he's got loads of Lego". New girl was much more friendly after that...
 
I got home rather late; “er indoors TM had boiled up stilton soup. That was rather good.

 

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