Back to School

I celebrated the beginning of the new academic year by taking a test - level 1 Food Safety - Catering. Fortunately I passed.
It would have been a tad embarrassing if I hadn't, as I spent 16 years as a higher level food handler!

Later this month we are launching Afternoon Tea Service, so we thought it would be a good idea if a few of us took some basic food handling qualifications.





For much of the remainder of the day, I was tied up with double-sided sticky tape - making invitations for the first session of the aforementioned Afternoon Tea Service. I needed to have made sufficient to give out to folks this Sunday.

I estimate each card has used at least forty pieces of double-sided tape, so I must have peeled the backing off over a thousand strips so far and I am not finished yet! My thumb can testify to my endeavours!

As the first session is in September the theme will be 'Remembering School Days'.
On the invitation cards, mini 'blackboards' are backed by graph paper. Exercise-book red card provides the foundation.
The KHT caught me ripping the graph paper into strips and was suitably horrified.
"What did it do to deserve such treatment!" she demanded.
"It's just card-making, honey." I informed her.
She did, however, correctly identify the blackboards, which was reassuring from someone who has grown up during the era of smart boards.

Desiring a break from my endeavours, we headed off to join an evening's ringing at Oddington in Gloucestershire. A church very much off the beaten track, that houses the famous Doom painting, depicting the dead rising to be judged.
With judgement illustrated on the whole of the north wall, it would be the perfect place to hold any ringing competition...










The church is famous for not having any electricity, so the practice was scheduled to start and end  half an hour earlier than the traditional ringing time of 7:30 - 9pm.
As this church is about half a mile outside the village, they normally use the more conveniently placed church in the heart of the village. St. Nicholas' is only used for 10 weeks in the summer, and for a carol service at Christmas, when it is decked out with candles.

To our surprise, there were only eight of us, which was a pity as the bells went very well.
While we were ringing the changes on the bells, the KHT had a great time exploring the church in the ever increasing gloom.










Resourceful as ever, she just happened to have a torch in her bag. A copy of the Book of Common Prayer came under intense scrutiny.
"Hey Mum! Can we have books like these in our church?"











Unfortunately, the darkness won and we had to admit defeat just before the keyholder reappeared to lock up for the evening.
There are ringers in there, honest!

Not much to say
Just another 'Odd' day...