Searching for leads...

When the Covid-19 first hit and churches had to close their doors, our local church began by following Youtube services, before experimenting with the wonderful world of Zoom. Later we progressed to hybrid worship (zoom and socially distanced attendance in church). This resulted in the creative use of iPads and computers, as we experimented with new ways of using technology, with varying degrees of success. There is always the hope that the next innovation will be the one that allows smooth transition of screen and sound sharing, free from any technical hiccups.

Then DH has a bright idea...

DH - I am sure I could use your old DSLR as a camera in church for the hybrid worship...

Me - That’s fine. Just don’t ask me where the lead is…

DH - Where is the lead?

Me - I have absolutely no idea!

To show willing I searched for the lead but failed in my efforts to locate it. :(

Weeks pass.

Lockdown 2, afternoon 1

The sun is shining and it is a beautiful afternoon.

I suggested a trip out to the nearby beech woods - an ideal opportunity to use my newer DSLR and 60mm lens, with a view to getting autumnal shots.

Later I go to download my photos. 

Surprisingly this is the first time  I have tried to download  photographs from my DSLR since I had a new computer - which replaced the one where the screen died. 

Oops! NO SD slot in new computer. 

Arghhhh! I am going to HAVE to find the lead, or set up the old computer, which will need to be attached to an old TV, which will then enable the transfer of photos to the new computer via the cloud. Alternatively, I could download them via bluetooth, but I haven't experimented with that yet.

Again I search unsuccessfully for the lead.

Two days later and I still have failed to download my photos. At this rate it will be spring before that happens.

A more comprehensive search is undertaken.

EUREEEEEEKA!

I find the required lead just inches from where I had already searched...

Me - that which was lost has been found! Great rejoicing!

Husband wonders which of the many items that I have misplaced has come to light. I put him out of his misery by confirming that it is the missing lead for the old camera.

Shortly afterwards

Me - Great rejoicing is cancelled. The lead dosen't fit camera..

Husband finds an alternate lead that does fit the camera.

Rejoicing is back on the agenda.

Photos are downloaded.

Happiness is achieved.

A few days later and DH wants to experiment with my old Canon. Unsurprisingly the battery is completely flat.

DH - Where is the charger for the old camera?

Me  - I have absolutely no idea

DH (mystified) - Why do you not have any idea? How can this be?

I do not ask if DH really thinks my brain is full of a detailed plan and cross referencing system for every random thing ever stuffed in a draw or cupboard ever, because he knows the answer. 

(In case you are wondering it is NO!)

I search.

I sigh.

DH hovers

I wonder if DH secretly thinks that hovering produces some sort of magnetic field that will magically bring the charger to the surface...

I decides to disilluion husband

Me - I don’t even know where the charger is for my current camera, let alone one I haven’t really used for 2 years…

DH (still mystified) - How do you charge your camera?

Me - Well the lead won’t be far away, so I will find it when I need it.

Husband silently abandons hope

I  suddenly remember that the last time I saw the charger it was on the chest of drawers, probably relocated there when I was tidying the spare room ahead of guests arriving, which will have been many, many months ago…

I walk into bedroom and immediately find the charger

DH knows better than to ask why I couldn’t have remembered where the charger was half an hour ago that half an hour ago. If he had

would have reminded him that I didn’t know it was there until a moment ago.

Postscript

DH - I tried your camera today. It was the wrong lead...

The fun continues..

Questions

Adrift

Passengers in a sea of uncertainty, at the mercy of the currents of pandemic and politics. 

Biden and Trump wait to discover who will be declared the winner. Thirty years of 'Biden' his time and it looks like this time Biden will be victorious, but he will take the helm of a country that will be deeply divided and damaged. What kind of prize will this poisoned chalice be?

The battle between Democrats and Republicans takes place thousands of miles away, yet the ripples will radiate out to all corners of the world, for no country exists in isolation. Polices of one country are often felt by others. Why did they pick this frail old man to fight their battles for them? What toll will it take on his health?

What does the support for Trump say about racial tensions, and what is it in his policies that strikes a chord with so many of the citizens of America? Much of the world may look on in disbelief - except for us in the UK, where we have our own political disasters unfolding. The opposition choose this vacuum to indulge in infighting and self destruction at a moment when they could have rallied and rebuilt. The word on no-one's lips is Palestine. The failure to resolve and defuse issues from the past result in a Middle Eastern ticking time bomb, with neither side able to compromise.

In my own town, remodelled by a government QANGO over 50 years ago, resentments bubble beneath the surface, covered by a glorious carpet of autumn colour from trees planted by the Development Corporation. 

The threatened intrusion of a new cemetery, in the parkland that runs through the eastern side of town, is the latest controversy. It would provide a peaceful place to go and remember loved ones, but picnics and kite flying will soon be frowned upon if the local council's plans come to pass... Is there nowhere else where townsfolk can rest in peace?
The railway bridge on the edge of town is also under threat - a remnant of the line to Ashchurch, axed by Beeching, and obliterated by the the progressive town town planners of the 1960's. It provides a safe route across the county border between this town and the adjacent village, but no council - parish, town or county - will take responsibility for preserving this structure. Demolition will enable a narrow lane to be transformed into a rat run for articulated lorries for the soon-to-be-opened food warehouse for Amazon - taking mince pies to Maurice and ready meals to Rhonda. At the first threat the local residents rallied and the original planning was withdrawn, but it is anticipated that new plans will be submitted despite the outrage both sides of the border. Demolishing the bridge will provide land for a couple of homes to be built, replacing a safe route with a crossing that is dangerous for both pedestrians and those using the Sustrans cycle route. Why? Money talks.

Meanwhile, covid cases escalate. 

We stay close to home. 

Shopping is delivered. 

Church services revert to Zoom. 

Youth group is in hold until someone unravels the new regulations. 

The roads are quieter, but, unlike the spring few folks venture out in the dark on an evening, content to shut the world out behind their curtains and designer blinds. 

In an Alexa-free household, we turn the heating on ourselves and decide what music we will listen to, grateful to have something in our lives of which we can take control.