It looks as if I have a fixation with Hobbits right now. They say that watching Peter Jackson’s films is hobbit-forming and who am I to disagree?<\/p>\n
Later on, I was in bed when I was dreaming but I can’t remember where it figured in or sat in with anything<\/p>\n
Now that’s more like one of my dreams. I can’t remember anything at all about it.<\/p>\n
But I think that I now know what awoke me this morning. Regular readers of this rubbish will recall that every few weeks I complain about a stabbing pain in my right heel, one of the worst pains that I have ever experienced. Every few minutes for about 12 hours there’s the sensation that someone is stabbing a needle into my heel<\/p>\n
A couple of weeks ago it had moved into the sole of my foot but today, it’s started up again this morning, this time right behind the little toe and it really does hurt. Every ten minutes as regular as clockwork and I wonder if it was that which had awoken me.<\/p>\n
And then I had a foot-fest. \u00a8Porthmadog FC who play the 3rd Division had put on line the videos of their recent matches in their League Cup so I sat and watched them.<\/p>\n
First up was Porthmadog cruising home comfortably 3-0 away from home against Pwllheli. They they took on Llanidloes FC and won even more comfortably, 5-2 at home<\/p>\n
Next up was their match against Y Rhyl and there they came unstuck. They managed a 1-1 draw but were knocked out in a penalty shoot-out 6-5.<\/p>\n
Casting around, I managed to watch the next round too as Y Phyl took on Mynydd Y Fflint. That was a bad-tempered match, as it usually is when Y Rhyl are playing but for a third-division match there were bags of quality on view.<\/p>\n
Y Rhyl won 2-0 but the big talking point is how come both clubs ended up still with eleven players each on the field after all of what went on<\/p>\n
Isabelle looked at my foot when she was here, late as usual. She could see nothing but when she touched a certain spot I went through the roof. That hurt, and no mistake, so there’s definitely something going on.<\/p>\n
Breakfast was next, and then I carried on with my book, which I finished this morning.<\/p>\n
The conclusion is that the site was heavily occupied by a cattle-rearing concern also practising subsistence farming, wheat farming and operating a bakery too. But then the buildings abandoned when the farm was either absorbed into a larger unit of else ceased production completely..<\/p>\n
A couple of generations later, it was occupied again for about 50-75 years, but on a much smaller scale and with lesser input from the occupiers.<\/p>\n
The presence of some Germanic pottery shards suggests itself to the author of the report that there might have been some itinerant Germans passing through the site, but to me, I was wondering if it might have been settled by some German soldier in service to the Roman Army who had settled here after his military service had ended.<\/p>\n
Back in here, next job was to deal with my LeClerc order and send it off. It’s the most expensive order that I’ve ever sent, but it includes quite a few Christmassy things, both for me and for others. As well as that, coffee was on special offer so even though I have a pile, I ordered some more.<\/p>\n
For a change, LeClerc had everything that I’d noted down, so it’s my own fault that I forgot the clementines, not theirs<\/p>\n
For much of the day I’ve been writing notes for my radio programme. I’m well into September next year so this talk in my dreams of radio programmes for August is already too late. Anyway, by the time that I’d knocked off for the day, everything had been written ready for dictation tomorrow night.<\/p>\n
That was impressive because there were plenty of interruptions. For a start, my cleaner came in and now I have light-strings hung in the two windows, in the living room and dining area.<\/p>\n
There was also lunch and my hot chocolate break, but finally LeClerc arrived.<\/p>\n
In all the time that I’ve been having stuff delivered, I’ve never ever seen as much as this. There’s no room to put away some of it either so it’s going to have to loiter around for a while. But now I have my chicory, my leeks, my shallots and everything that I need. I might not be ready for Christmas, but I’ll have some phenomenal meals.<\/p>\n
Mince pies too, which I’ll make on Sunday, because he brought the puff pastry sheets. And two kilos of carrots and a broccoli, so I’ve been dicing, blanching and freezing this afternoon too. And so on Sunday, there will be broccoli stalk soup for lunch, made with carrot-blanching water.<\/p>\n
Tea tonight was a lovely vegan salad with air-fried chips and some of those vegan nuggets, followed by ginger cake and soya dessert. Totally delicious, but I’m looking forward now to my Christmas meal<\/p>\n
But the final word tonight goes to my faithful cleaner who went down to the chemist’s for the next month’s medication.
\nAs she was going in, a man was coming out in tears so she asked him what was the matter.
\n"It’s the doctor"<\/em><\/strong> he said. "He told me that I have to take one pill per day for the rest of my life"<\/em><\/strong>
\n"No need to be upset"<\/em><\/strong> said my cleaner. "You should come back in with me and see all of the medication that Mr Hall has to take for the rest of his life too, and he’s not complaining or crying."<\/em><\/strong>
\n"Well, he would if he had my doctor"<\/em><\/strong> said the man
\n"Why’s that"<\/em><\/strong> asked me cleaner
\n"Well, "<\/em><\/strong> said the man, "the chemist has looked at the prescription and only given me four!"<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
