an afternoon out

I was out this afternoon, but managed to fit in three hours' weeding first, while keeping an eye on the time so that I did not suddenly realize I'd left five minutes to scrub the earth from under my finger nails and make myself presentable, especially as a friend was giving me a lift.  To be late oneself is bad enough, but to make other people late is worse.  I have nearly finished forking the weeds out from around the wildly suckering stems of the old roses, and the next stretch of bed is less fiddly to get at so with any luck progress will speed up.

I got to my friend's house with several minutes in hand, and then one of my fellow liftees was a quarter of an hour late, so I need not have worried, except that I would still rather not be late myself.  By the time we'd driven up the road to collect the fourth person we found her patiently standing out on the pavement holding a plate of sandwiches.

Our visit was to a Salvation Army citadel.  I have just determinedly ducked an attempt to rope me in as assistant programme secretary, not having the time to take on any extra committees, besides which programme secretary has to be the most nerve racking job on any committee.  I hate ringing people up to ask them to do things, and even when some of them say Yes you still have to worry in case they are ill or have double booked themselves or written the wrong month in their diary or got snowed in.

I don't know who came up with the idea of visiting a Salvation Army citadel, but it was interesting.  I always think of their work with the homeless, or Salvation Army bands, but of course they are a church as well.  The movement was founded as an offshoot of Methodism.  Nowadays their hostels are partly funded by government, meaning the Salvation Army has to tender at intervals for the management contracts, so that theory the Salvation Army could be left owning a hostel but not actually managing it.  I applaud the practical work they do in the community, although I would find the organisation's policy of moving its staff regularly around the country very difficult.  Leeway is now given for children in school approaching critical stages of exams, but essentially they must expect to be on the move every few years.

After the talk we had tea, hence the egg sandwiches, and I passed another milestone of middle age by feeling mildly rebellious and daring at eating a sausage roll and a second piece of flapjack.  I had never bothered with the over 50s health check on the grounds that since I didn't smoke, scarcely drank, took a lot of exercise, was not fat, and knew the rules on fruit and vegetables even if I didn't always quite hit five different ones, there was not a lot of point.  The GP seized his opportunity when I finally went to see him about my endless colds, and so I made the unwelcome discovery that while my chest was apparently as sound as a bell and my blood oxygen level better than his, my cholesterol was too high.  Hey ho.  It's several years since caffeine became something to be carefully rationed from mid afternoon onwards, and now cake is a treat.