Friday, January 10

We're still enjoying our little holiday at Jamie's although I'm surprised at how much I miss being surrounded by my technology toys.  Of course, I've brought my iPad with me but I spend an inordinate amount each day on the desktop computer and enjoy listening to podcasts through my headphones.  Being out of my regular routine is unsettling. 

The other thing we notice is how much quieter it is in Hadspen than it is in Dilston, yet Hadspen is so much closer to the city.  At Dilston, we can hear the noise of traffic on the highway, and Alan next door has every mechanical gardening tool known to man.  When he's out in the garden he moves from his mower, to his whipper-snipper to his chainsaw to his mulcher, and so on.  We're surrounded by 5 acre blocks and everyone seems to be an enthusiast for adapting the environment.  At this time of the year, we live with the windows open so every noise is a distraction.

At Hadspen, I think everyone goes off to work in the morning and, when they get home, they shut themselves off from the world, ignoring the neighbours and not impinging on their privacy.

Jamie's off to work so Marilyn and I will head off to Dilston to check the mail and feed the birds.

I'm taking the chance to catch up on my reading; I've found a new series of crime novels by Michael Leese about a fellow with autism who is a consultant to the police.  The main character is written as if he is a super-hero so it is bit hard to take but the basic premise is reasonable: that someone with the characteristics of Aspergers Syndrome might have skills which could be useful to the police.  I'm only half way through the first book and not ready to chuck it in the bin yet.

(Check out my new blog JCpoetryblog.blogspot.com)