A normal weekend in the life of a wandering organist

Sat am:

7am: Fire up puter, reply to emails including one from friend, wondering why friend needs me to take over UK distribution of her books. Start typing out lyrics for Christmas Carol Service booklet I rashly decided to have for 9 Lessons & carols. Have a nice, relaxing bath for about 10 minutes.

Round to Dad’s to find carer has left note to say his bedside lamp has stopped working under 12 hours after I fitted a new bulb. Try bulb in another lamp, find lamp broken. Make mental note to buy new bulb-holder. Find a third lamp, bulb works fine. Scrabble round in drawer, find 3amp fuse for first lamp, change it, bulb works ok. Decide that a 60W filament bulb is a little too much for Dad’s bedside lamp, find a low energy one and find that it’s a screw fitting – we have no screw-fitting lamps in the house. Dad probably bought it by mistake some years back. Mark that bulb as “please take me” for a carer to take away and leave on kitchen table.

Get new hair clipper out to trim Dad’s hair (don’t ask how many mobile hairdressers I tried) and find it says “lubricate first”. Decide to buy clipper oil and some low energy light bulbs. Down to Boot’s (where clippers came from) – no oil. “You can get it online”. Fat use. Try Superdrug – no clippers, let alone oil. Try Wilkinson’s (who still sell shaving soap sticks, thank God!), bulbs but no oil. Assistant finds “Shaving oil” but point out to assistant that it’s for after-shave, to leave you with a chin as soft as a baby’s. Buy bulbs.

Pop next door to Lighthouse shop for a new shade for the table lamp in the sitting room (old one about 40 years old and crumbling), £20 – but silk. Decide I can’t keep shopping round, and there’s a limit to how fussy you can be about lamp-shades.

Back to Dad's, try to order clipper oil online – damn site wants my password, which I have at home. Close computer down and come home after telling Dad we’ll make a hippy of him yet. He laughs.

Home again, order oil for delivery to Boot’s, and realise I’ve left the wrapping on the new lightshade. It’s cellophane, so go back and unwrap it. Make mental note to collect clipper oil from Boot’s tomorrow so I can give Dad his long overdue haircut.

Sat pm:

Lunch – soup and a sandwich.

Put smalls in washing machine – 2 weeks’ load as haven’t had time to do it since last Saturday.

Carry on typing out lyrics for Christmas Carol Service booklet I rashly decided to have for 9 Lessons & carols.

Off out at 1:30 to teach new pupil who has taken on organist’s job without being able to play the organ pedals (parish pressure applied, I believe).

Back by via St Botolph's (to practice voluntary for tomorrow) to flat by 4:30 to take washing out, having shopped for food for tea (fridge defrosted during afternoon as ice-box was getting to be a threat to shipping) and rest of weekend.

Shirts in on a shorter wash so I can iron them this evening when done.

Type another few carols. Shirts out of machine.

Iron 7 shirts.

(Probable) Sunday: Nothing unusual, just a morning service to play and Dad to see to in afternoon. Realise at 5pm it’s too late to pick up clipper oil. (I’ll set a reminder on my phone to stop that one.)

And people at work say “Thank God it’s the weekend”.


So, yes, quite quiet.

[Thanks to Maureen for prompting me to write this.]

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