Pretty manic so far anyway. We’ve had Rootstech. I still haven’t found time to listen to the sessions on my watch list, thank goodness for recordings. My own  #Rootstech short recorded session ‘Where am I? Are you searching in the right place?‘ is now available – along with my sessions from 2024.

I seem to have wasted hours of my life on the phone to ‘utilities’ this week. First trying to understand why my normally stable internet has become decidedly flaky, randomly particularly in the morning. An engineer is booked. Then a utility company I won’t name want to change the smart meters I didn’t want in the first place (they were already installed when I moved in). Trying to arrange an appointment was not without issue. I was asked all the same questions by two different people, ‘Is there a dog?’ ‘Are the meters accessible?’ etc. Having said I had no long term disabilities the first time I was soooooo tempted to say when asked the second time ‘well only the ones I’ve developed in the last two minutes’. I did get a rant in about how I felt smart meters were of zero use to me whatsoever! Watching the meter whirl round won’t make me turn things off, if I don’t need the appliance on it won’t be on in the first place. I quite like to read my own meters so I know what to expect. Hey Ho – old school I guess. Having arranged said appointment by phone, I am still getting texts asking why I haven’t responded to make an appointment. That would be because I already have one – left hand right hand. After all that I felt in need of a lie down in a darkened room.

Then on Friday it was off ‘up north’ – well at least ‘up north’ from here, I had to de-ice the car – ever tried getting the lid off new de-icer? De-icer canisters are by definition are chilly to grasp – the solution involved a knife. The journey was in order to attend the Midland Family History Show in Malvern where I was personing the Devon Family History Society stand, chatting to friends and eating a lot. In-person get togethers are fewer and further between these days, so it made a change and in two weeks’ time we will be doing it all again in Dorset for the Really Useful Show. Now I am safely home. Mostly unpacked and still eating.