Weeknotes #111: A boiler, the NHS and a smaller boat

Recovered, enjoyed exhibitions, and travelled

Week commencing Monday, 3 March 2025

The image shows a colourful poster with the phrase "PRIDE IN SELF" displayed across three horizontal stripes of different colours. The top stripe is red and contains the word "PRIDE", the middle stripe is orange and displays "IN", and the bottom stripe is yellow with the word "SELF". The poster appears to be mounted on a white wall. This poster is part of the "Out on an Island: Pride In Self, Pride In Place" exhibition at Quay Arts Centre on the Isle of Wight. The colour scheme uses warm tones (red, orange, and yellow) that are reminiscent of the pride flag colours, although the poster appears to show only the top three stripes of the traditional six-striped rainbow flag. The design is simple and bold with clear, white lettering against the coloured backgrounds. The exhibition explores themes of LGBTQ+ identity, community, and personal acceptance, particularly in the context of island life on the Isle of Wight.
Out on an Island: Pride In Self, Pride In Place

Quantified Self

  • This week: Stand 7/7; Exercise 4/7 and Move 4/7. (71%). Morning walks: 0/4 (days in the office don’t count). Office days 1/5. Total steps: 48,172

Life

  • I continued to feel unwell for much of the week. Wednesday, I tried to go to my Tai Chi class but my coughing fit on the train to Waterloo persuaded me it would be better to return home.
  • I did do Monday’s pub quiz. We were 4th. That might be the best placing for a long time.
  • Last week I mentioned that I managed to get a GP appointment on Monday. Not only did I do that, I got a walk-up x-ray appointment on the same day and there was nobody else waiting when I arrived. The NHS worked for me.
  • Oh, the excitement: the boiler was serviced. The engineer turned up at just the right moment between two meetings. And tested the carbon monoxide alarm, which, I think, is the first time I’ve ever heard the noise it makes.
  • I did go to the office on Thursday. Lots of meetings about the next phase of work. Nothing concrete yet, but progress is being made.
  • Thursday evening to The Island. A smaller boat than usual on the crossing to Ryde, which meant the 8:20pm sailing felt very busy.
  • Related, we turned-up early for the return voyage on Sunday, and made it on to the boat but it was full.
  • On Friday, I succeeded and presenting my ID to the solicitors and failed to get the carpenter to remove the box surrounding the electricity meter.
  • Saturday, to Newport to see Out on an Island: Pride In Self, Pride In Place, an exhibition to celebrate 20 years of LGBT History Month in the UK. Fascinating. We ended up buying the book (and the lunch at Quay Arts was good too)
  • Sunday, to Hedge End and Sunday lunch with T. The pub he found was excellent and the portions superb.

Media

  • The concluding episode of the new Bergerac was good. I didn’t see it all coming together until the end, which I think is the mark of a good detective series.
  • We’re sticking with Prime Target on Apple TV, even though Edward belief in the maths in spite of all that is going on around him, is annoying.
  • Remember Monday was announced as the UK’s Eurovision entry: What The Hell Just Happened?