Diversity Compliance; family weekend; vests

Finally got around on Friday to completing the university’s Diversity Compliance online training module and taking the test. In return, I now have this handsome certificate. Additionally, I know know not to hurl abuse at black colleagues or to push disabled people down the stairs. The certificate can join the ranks of the leagues of minor certificates I have gathered over the years (DisplayWrite 4, anyone?), the first of which was probably my First Holy Communion certificate (left). My first chomp on the Lord Jesus was at our parish church in Newbury in 1975. Here I am, wearing my customary coy demure expression.

Drove down to my parents’ place early Saturday morning where Mum and Hannah cooked up a hearty brunch. We looked at some of the reams of old slides and negatives that Hannah has been scanning in and exclaimed over some old photos that evidently never made it into the family albums, including, perhaps not surprisingly, this one (right). Hannah cooked a roast chicken in the evening which went well other than a slight dispute over the correct amount of oil to drizzle/glug over the bird. On the Sunday we went out for a walk locally before going to 'Food for Thought' in Peterchurch for lunch.

My MK landlord has recently seen fit to install new electric heaters in the flat to replace the old bulky storage heaters. In principle this is great, were it not for the impenetrable instructions. Admittedly I have little patience with such things and after my first attempt to programme them was swiftly reduced to recriminations, banging head against the table etc. Ruth visited for the evening a week or so ago and spent half an hour or so in front of one heater with the manual, and eventually managed to programme it after a fashion. There remain three others to do but I was sufficiently grateful just to have heat out of one. It isn't seriously cold yet, but am stockpiling vests, thick socks etc in preparation.