My singing exam seemed to go well: the examiner said he liked my voice, enjoyed listening to it and that I sang with plenty of expression. Then during the aural - my weakest bit - he asked whether I sang in a choir, to which I replied 'Solway Singers and Lanercost Festival Chorus and I sometimes get some solos' to which he said 'good'. I also told him that I was thinking of trying to get more solo work, which again he supported. During the aural - which I don't think was too bad, although I know it wasn't anything like perfect either - I did at least think correctly that the piece which you have to comment on certain aspects of, was Debussy: it was a lovely piece and in fact I'd like to find out what it was. I think Debussy is possibly one of my favourite composers after Mozart, and I keep thinking I'd like to sing some French chanson at some point.
I drove home on a high, to find the house gloriously empty: Husband had taken Son to Drama and left Daughter down the road at a friend's.
They all got back and I suggested going out for a chinese takeaway: Daughter came with me and we were incredibly lazy, because it was still so cold, and went by car. As we returned to our house there was a big white van parked opposite: a heating engineer, hooray! I was so absorbed in looking at the van and hoping that he was coming to repair our boiler that I reversed into Husband's car........ fortunately I only broke a corner of his number plate and made a tiny scrap in the paintwork of my (new) bumper.
The plumber told us the boiler had completely packed up due to the condensate freezing inside it, and that in any case it was undersized for our house, and suggested we may be able to make it an insurance claim. Not being totally convinced, and worried that the insurance wouldn't cover it anyway, we set an insurance claim in motion but have also contacted the boiler manufacturers, Vaillant, who are sending out one of their engineers on Tuesday. I also checked the size and it is undersized: typical of the people who owned the house before us who seemed to do everything on the cheap. It appears to be the right size for a 1 or 2 bed house or flat with one bathroom. Having said that, as Husband said, it still heats the water up and the house gets warm when the heating's on.
We currently are 'cooking the baths', i.e. heating up pans of water on the gas hob and have a medley of electric heaters warming the house. The temperature has indeed risen to a balmy +8 degrees, so it's not as bad as it might be, though apparently we're due more minus temperatures and possibly snow next week. It's quite strange seeing green again after everything looking so pristine and white.
The Cumberland News did what they said and printed a story about me yesterday, which nearly everyone I know seems to have seen. I've seen the News and Star website version, which I have to say I think is a very poor piece of journalism. It's factually inaccurate (refers to issues with the amniotic fluid meaning the baby is small and leading to an early caesarean: all complete rubbish as the issues were over last time I had my hospital appointment, as anyone who has been keeping up with this blog will know, and the caesarean is because I haven't given birth 'naturally' previously: also the baby will be 39 weeks and a few days, i.e. full-term). Otherwise it basically re-hashes the Carlisle Living article, which was far better: and re-uses some of those photos. I've emailed the journalist who has written me up for Woman just so she's forewarned, but I don't feel too worried: after all who ever gets the first picture of the baby and the interview with me after the birth will be 'in the lead' - and it sure as anything won't be Cumberland News or anyone else from CN Group.
I'm a little regretful though that Radio Cumbria phoned me and wanted to speak to me, and I'm going to have to say 'no' I think: it's a pity as I've really enjoyed being on Radio Cumbria and they've been following me all along. I'm going to offer them the first story locally after Woman has published though and I'm out of the exclusivity period.
Husband is busy cooking an upmarket dinner and I'm printing off letters inviting singers to join the Lanercost Festival Chorus as I write, and I need to go to lay the table: so I shall finish here. Next week promises to be exciting with a visit to Holker Hall with ex-work-friend L and the children's nativity plays - oh, and also a new or repaired boiler and hence hot water and heating. I'll keep you posted!
No comments:
Post a Comment