Win some, lose some - I prefer winning on the whole

We did, admittedly make a mistake. But we hatched a plan to get round it without anyone actually having to admit that. We very much doubted if more than a handful of people would even notice the error, in black and white though it is.

And we'd have got away with it too, if it hadn't been for that pesky Treasurer.

The Secretary and the Chairman (S & Z) politely vie with each other to take responsibility....she was forgetful and later unobservant; I was careless and unobservant. But it was Mr T's fault really, because he gave the paper to the secretary to give to the chairman and then told the chairman that she already had it. So she had 400 copies made of the wrong piece of paper.

I will have 400 copies made of the right piece of paper and a covering letter and we will spend a couple of hours on Monday stuffing envelopes.

Having worked hard this morning, though feeling somewhat dispirited by the end of it, I was pleased to remember the Emergency Russians* I bought in only two days ago. So I cheered myself (and husband) with smoked salmon and melon for lunch.

Last night I arrived home from the service where the Archdeacon made me officially a churchwarden. It has to be done properly as it is a post with legal status, so we all have to Affirm various things, like being faithful and um, diligent or something (in relationship to churchwardenship, no obligation placed as to ones behaviour in other walks of life).

I had left food for Sage and Ro. Leftovers, which was convenient for all. I arrived back to find that they had saved me some, which I hadn't expected but was glad to have. "Would you like some of that soup too, I heated some up and it was nice" enquired the Sage. I was startled. I had assumed it had all been eaten some time ago. I sniffed cautiously and took it outside to the compost heap. I didn't like to tell my beloved how old it actually was, but it had been there over a fortnight, I haven't made soup for a while. It had had something put in front of it in the fridge and been lost to view. It smelled funny, not actually bad but frankly not good either.
I expected us to have a broken night's sleep and for him to be cancelling all engagements today. But no, he's fine. Quite all right. I'm astonished and relieved.

Like many people, I'm a bit casual about sell-by dates. I assume they give a few days in hand, and when you find use-bys on things like Marmite, which keep forever, it rather undermines their credibility. Not having a cat, who is the best judge of food freshness (dogs are useless, they like stinky food), I sniff, taste and err on the cautious side.
I am rigorous about food hygiene, however, and always wash my hands after touching raw meat or fish, never mixing hot food or cold unless it's going to be cooked or eaten at once, being careful about knives and chopping boards - all the things that can spread nasties without you being able to detect them. But mould on cheese or jam? Pff - not for the baby, but how do you build up your immune system unless you test it a bit?


*Emergency Russians = Emergency Rations, as I'm sure you realise. Family saying. I've mentioned it before, 'search this blog' at the top if you want to see that in context, though I'm afraid I didn't explain it, or any other family expression, there.