1 EAGLETON NOTES: This Week Miscellany

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Friday 28 January 2022

This Week Miscellany

The wind took me by surprise this morning and as I was slightly off balance it blew me into the fishpond. It wasn't even that strong - possibly force 5. It was supposed to be much worse this afternoon and evening but it's all petered out and it's just an ordinary "somewhere below gale force" breeze outside. Sorry, I didn't manage a selfie.

We learned today that The Western Isles has broken new records. We have had the dreichest, dullest  January of anywhere in the UK since records began. No wonder everyone is a bit under the weather and waiting for some signs of Spring.

Wordle. People kept mentioning Wordle to me at the end of last week after being mentioned on the radio and television. Now I'm hooked. Advantages: it's just one game played once every 24 hours. It's a mixture of luck, skill and judgement. Disadvantages: There is no phone app (but it can be played on a phone). Beware a myriad of copies which have sprung up including "Wordle!".

Tai Chi (Not Quite). I’d done all my usual gym exercises this morning when I was persuaded by an ex olympian who runs the Move More class I attend to join a sort of Tai Chi class "just to see what I thought". I had the time before going to visit a friend for coffee so spent 45 minutes discovering that less is more and that it’s far harder than I imagined.

Road Rules UK. Under the existing rules a person crossing a road at a junction gives way to a car turning left. From tomorrow the car must give way to the pedestrian. The stronger must always give way to the weaker is the new rule. I have no problem with that. However, I will predict that the number of cars running into the back of cars turning left and suddenly stopping in the middle of flowing traffic will increase significantly.




36 comments:

  1. Glad you weren't hurt or walking on a sea wall.
    New traffic - pedestrian rules take time to filter into the norm. Pedestrians crossing a street are always in danger no matter the rules.
    Tai chi. I made up a story to do that with so I don't forget what movement I am suppose to be doing. Consider creating your own Tai Chi style story. You can always do both styles, and maybe share your creation.

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    1. Maywyn my 'Tai Chi" was an introductory course and I'm a very long way from doing anything on my own - even if I keep it up.

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  2. I too got shoved slightly off course this morning by the wind, but I was on a lowly fell and the anemometer measured a mere 37mph, nothing compared to what you are likely to endure this weekend.

    Graham, I am SO glad to see that someone else thinks this "give way to pedestrian" idea is a slew of rear-ending accidents waiting to happen. Obviously I do not disagree that the stronger should generally take care of the weak, but this is a case where the 'weak' have a responsibility to behave, well, responsibly. I can see instances of someone deliberately stepping off a curb knowing they are going to force a vehicle to make an emergency stop. Sadly, we live in a time when there is a cretinous minority who will think that funny.

    40 years ago I was involved in exactly that accident - turning into a side road early one morning (and it was a very small residential cul-de-sac so I was going very slowly) when a couple of youngish boys on their way to school stepped right in front of me. I hit the brakes, missed them, but the car behind me ended up in the boot of my beloved mini. By the time we had all got out of our cars the little snots who had caused the accident had scarpered . . .

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    1. Jayne, our wind this morning is gusting 80 mph and my first task is going to be opening the car door. I hope I'm proved wrong about the car ending but I'm not optimistic. I'm glad that you called by.

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  3. I hope that no fish were injured in this rather amusing incident, Graham. I am unabashed foe of selfies, but in this instance I rather wish there had been one! As for pedestrians having the right of way, it is that way here and has been for as long as I can remember. When car meets footslogger the car yields supremacy to the pedestrian - always.

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    1. Fortunately, David, the fish were hiding in the deepest part of the pond and I fell into the shallows. I think that there is a lot of sense in pedestrians having right of way, however, with visibility on many of our urban roads in particular the first a car may know of what is happening is when the car in front indicating a left turn suddenly stops in front of him. The back-ending might in reality be two or three cars behind well out of sight of the pedestrian. I hope I'm wrong (especially, selfishly, if my car is involved!).

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  4. Will people have to give way to fish?

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    1. Definitely, Tasker! No fish were harmed in my excursion into the pond I'm glad to say.

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  5. Sorry you ended up in the fishpond! Wish I could have seen that. I took a Tai Chi course a couple of years ago but had to quit because I was embarrassed that I couldn't keep up and was always going left when I should have been going right. I've always had a problem with left and right and it didn't help that the instructor was in front of the class, facing us, and that just compounded my delima. However, I did enjoy and agree with you that it was harder than it looked.

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    1. Jill I wasn't quick enough to take a selfie or perhaps I should say that I was too quick getting out to take a selfie! I am directionally dyslexic but so were half the people doing it so no one cared. I just found it strangely hard.

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  6. I have also heard a lot about Wordle but I haven't tried it. I am distractable and have plenty of time wasters already so I'll try to limit it to what I have :)

    I have never done tai chi but I know it's great for us. I do some chair yoga at times which is quite pleasant.

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    1. Kylie, like you I can easily be distracted. Wordle is a minor distraction fortunately. I've never done any yoga or anything similar before.

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  7. I still don't know about Wordle yet. The hardest part was to figure out how to play it.

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  8. Sail before steam always sounded very gentlemanly, but I expect it resulted in many (unexplained) losses. Maybe the new 'give way' rules will be similar.

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    1. I hope not, Cro, but I fear a good few back end bumps.

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  9. That is some hectic wind. Hope you weren't hurt. I guess not if you attended fitness classes.

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    1. Diane, wind here is something we have to live with but it's also something that can still take us by surprise occasionally. I wasn't hurt, thank you.

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  10. I know of friends who play wordell, I don't know if I will try it as I'm attempting to read more books so the less distractions the better I guess.

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    1. Amy, I read far too few books these days. I think it would be good if I had fewer distractions too instead of adding new ones. I need more will power.

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  11. I trust you were not hurt by your fall, just a little damp maybe? Had you enjoyed a wee dram on your porridge that morning?

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    1. Thanks, JayCee. I wasn't hurt - just wet. I haven't got to the stage of a dram on my porridge yet! If this weather continues though who knows!

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  12. I tried yoga but it made me dizzy so I had to quit that. Now I do Zumba which is really just dancing around for exercise and, since Covid, I can do that virtually on my computer.
    Sorry about your dip in the pond! Glad you weren't hurt!

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    1. Ellen, I've never tried Yoga. It looks a lot more involved and 'physical' than Tai Chi. I've dried out nor.

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  13. Thanks for flagging up the Wordle game. I will investigate it further. Previously, a "wordle" was a visual way of tracking word use in say an article or a website. Sorry to hear that you were blown into the pond and if I had been there I swear I would not have laughed.

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    1. Yeah right, YP, you'd have laughed along with me and everyone else!

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  14. Well I'm glad at least it was the shallow end of the pool! :o
    Strong winds here too today... I've been staying in for safety! ;)
    Never heard of Wordle before. Went to investigate - solved it in three (feeling rather proud of myself!) (Probably a good thing it's only one word a day!)

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    1. Monica like being blown into the shallow end Wordle is a combination of luck and judgement. I enjoy it though. We are due another named storm at 1700hrs today. Friends were coming for dinner but we may put it off. Getting blown around and soaked on the way takes the fun out of it.

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  15. Like David, I wanted to know how the fish reacted to your unannounced visit in their realm. Good job neither you nor they were hurt.
    Strong wind can be exciting on a walk, but when it gets dangerous and/or just keeps blowing and blowing, chilling one to the bone, I rather stay indoors.

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    1. Meike, the fish were down at the bottom at the other end so they probably were not too concerned. I read that somewhere in the UK had a gust of 147mph yesterday. That's strong. A few people were killed but the storm went through quickly. We have another one coming through today and we are in the centre.

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  16. Hahahahaha! Sorry for laughing, Graham...but your unexpected morning dip does amuse me! A selfie would have been worth more than a 1000 words! (I really am not an awful person..I just have a silly sense of humour!) :)

    Take good care...soon you might be competing in the Olympics! :)

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    1. Lee, there's nothing like some slapstick to cause a laugh. Even I could see the funny side because I wasn't hurt. When it comes to sports I'm one of the least competitive people there is. They are not important to me.

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  17. Oh, I wish I had seen you plunge into the pool. Just to be able to help you out, of course. And get a quick shot if possible. Not in a nasty way of course. I love Tai Chi, marvellous to help with balance. It takes a while to get the hang of it and when you do it feels so harmonious. Stay warm and dry!

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    1. Thanks, Pauline. There's nothing like a good photo of someone falling into something untoward but you'd really have gad to be quick. I was out in a flash!

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  18. Tai chi is really quite hard. But it is not as gentle as it looks, or is reputed to be, at least not if you begin it when you are older. I tried it during lockdown and after a few months I really had to stop, my joints would not stand it.One of my daughters, who is a black belt in a couple of martial arts, also had to stop - after a couple of years - I can't remember the reason but she was seriously upset to have to do so . So I have crossed Tai Chi off my list of great ways to keep fit. Plunging into a pool in one of the worst Januarys on record is also not something I would have thought was good for the health either, but it sounds as if you have done all right and were not affected, (apart from your dignity of course. But hopefully there wasnt anyone there to see you.)

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    1. Jenny, this was a simplified version based on and, I think, as an introduction to, Tai Chi. Even so I found it quite challenging doe a first go. If I ever get to go again I shall be interested to see how long I persevere. I'm really going to the gym for heart/lung exercise though because this has not been a good winter for walking for one reason and another and I'm a bit unfit.

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