On Chocolates, Knees and Outer Mongolia

Amongst other things.

How do you eat a chocolate?  I mean the individually wrapped soft-centered Cadbury's Roses for example (sorry I've no idea what the US equivalent would be,)?  The easiest way is to pop it into one's mouth whole.  That's what I would do if I were in company.  When I'm on my own I bite bits off so that I can make them last right through my mug of coffee which is the only time I would ever eat one.  I used only to eat hard centres but now I eat soft because the hard ones can do too much damage to my molar crowns.  The problem with biting bits off is that the soft centres then run out and invade fingers, desks and anything else they can lay their stickiness on.  This has got to stop!  No more after this tin is empty.  I only had it by accident in any case - bought as a 'spare' present and not used.

John and Sue, Donnie and Cath and the latter's steamer trunks (reminding me very much of The Tourist's Trunk in the first couple of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series) have arrived in China after having left Paisley and travelled by train (except across the North Sea) via Moscow and the Trans-Mongolian Railway.  When they arrived in China Sue emailed to say that she couldn't access her blog.  No.  You can't access anything Google in China.  So the postings are being emailed and posted from here.  If you fancy an amusing ride you can visit it at Gilmour Street to Hung Hom. 

I visited the Royal Mail website this morning.  The first thing that met me was 'postal dates for Christmas'.  Arghhh.  If I'm sending cards from New Zealand to the UK and US I have to send them almost as soon as I arrive at the end of October.  Of course I always leave it later and have to pay accordingly.  Of course there is a wonderful twist to this.  Post early and the card will arrive shortly after because the big rush hasn't started.  By Christmas it will have been mislaid by the recipient who then wonders if their family has been struck off the list.  Post late and it may or may not arrive on time but it will cost a fortune.  I'm just not a Christmas person.  Never have been (as an adult).  Probably never will be.

I woke and rose this morning in the dark.  To me that means it's winter.  Actually it's a balmy 11 deg outside this morning.   It is, however, a wet, miserable, windy morning.  Only 10 sleeps.......  But then look on the bright side:  the garden is full of birds - the Stonechat family seem to have taken up residence - and Sarasate's virtuoso and very amusing violin and piano music is playing on the hifi .

Which brings me to abbreviations.  We all know what hifi is even if we don't know what the abbreviation stands for (high fidelity).  Most of us probably know what wifi is but do you know what it stands for - wireless what?  Wireless nothing actually (although Wireless Fidelity has sometimes been used).  See Wikipedia if you want an explanation.  Now there is MiFi and if you know what that is then you're a more knowledgeable person than I was Gunga Din.

For about 5 or 6 years my right knee has been a bit bothersome with arthritis caused, I presume, by a combination of an accident when I was 16 and being a fencer and fencing coach which really punished that knee.  Yesterday for the first time my left knee mentioned that it was feeling envious and has decided to join the club.  That's an irritation.

I've drunk so much tea and coffee since 0630 that I'm glad I'm not going out today!

I might even manage a blog posting before friends come for dinner.