Seek and ye shall find

One of my jobs today was trimming the hedge. This is quite a task. Fortunately I have an effective petrol hedge trimmer which is up to the task (even if I may not be!).

Anyway, part way into the job quite suddenly the handle on the trimmer felt "peculiar". After stopping the engine, a short inspection revealed that a screw had fallen out and that the handle was now well and truly loose. The trimmer was now dangerous to use. My how I cursed!

Before I went to the bit box, I decided to have a look around on the off chance that I would find the missing screw. And... fortunately I found it. So, the proper screw is fitted. It and its mate have been tightened. The hedge has been trimmed. And I have learned that I need to do more than a visual inspection of the hedge trimmer each time I put it away (and get it out to use it).

No harm done, and a nice optimistic story.

Floor heave and rising from the dead!

(Mass was on Saturday 6th August 2011)

I attended mass on Saturday evening and heard, and saw, the most extraordinary thing.

In the announcements, the Priest announced that there had been a problem with "floor heave" and that the baptistry (a part of the church to one side of the alter, where the font is located) was now out of bounds. It is expected to remain so for some time.

After the service, naturally a lot of the congregation went up to have a closer look at what had been described to us. What we saw was quite astonishing. The effected area of the floor was a rectangle at least a metre wide and a little longer. It had risen several inches above the normal floor level. On of the younger lads said it looked like "someone had been trying to rise from the dead". I think he can be forgiven the blasphemy, because that is exactly what it did look like.

The area in question is floored with quarry tiles. They have been arranged in a geometric pattern. The upheaval has broken quite a number of them. That's right - has broken thick quarry tiles. Some of the other members told me that this had happened during the week when a service had been in progress and that the noise (of the tiles breaking) had been frightening. I can quite believe it.

All I can say is, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would find it hard to believe.

The visa is on its way

I've been told by the agent that my visa is on its way and should be with me by 17th August. I'm going to delay buying the bus tickets until a little closer to the date.

In the meanwhile, I have found something interesting which might turn into a different job. I will find out more on Wednesday. There is a slight problem in the the "new job" and the "Trip to Russia" overlap a bit. Still, these problems are there to be dealt with. Should be fun anyway.

Applying for a visa can be stressful

I definitely committed now.

Main booking: I've transferred the money to "the Russians" in Siberia. That makes it pretty difficult for me to back out. It means that I have lessons and accommodation for a month.

Transport: The instructions for applying for a Russian Visa say that I should not book my flights until I have a visa. On the other hand, the requirements for applying for a visa say that I need to have a fixed itinerary (that means airline tickets). Anybody spot the circular argument here? As usual, the answer is to take the risk oneself and pay the money, so I've bought the plane tickets; Heathrow to Moscow Domodedovo to Novosibirsk (LHR --> DME --> OVB). I'm flying InterAvia all the way, so at least I'm not changing carriers, there is plenty of time for the change, and the change all in the same airport, which is the most modern of Moscow's several airports. In for a penny, in for several pounds!

Visa: Always a bit of a challenge. In my case things are complicated a little by being a UK citizen who doesn't live in the UK. Things are also complicated by me not having a regular job. However, with a bit of help from an "agent" and a certain amount of original documentation, I think I have surmounted that obstacle. I hope I will know shortly because I sent the documents, the application forms and my passport registered post yesterday. If things work as I hope, then I should have the passport and visa back in a couple of weeks. It will be all right if it takes a little longer, but I will be biting my fingernails!

The only thing left to do, apart from pack my bags, is organise transport from Ireland to Heathrow. I expect I will use my old friend Eurolines (cheap, and effective but interminable) and stay for a few days in the area to catch my breath.

I think I'm off to Russia - A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

Yes, I'm really off. Forgot to complete and post this entry, originally dated 23rd June 2011.

Agatha Christie on "sociopaths"

More from Agatha Christie's autobiography. Of course, she doesn't use the word "sociopath" (or "psychopath" , or "personality disorder"), but I think that is what she is referring to:

Let us face the thought that what we regard as defects were once qualities. Without ruthlessness, without cruelty, without a complete lack of mercy, perhaps man would not have continued to exist; he would have been wiped out quite soon. The evil man nowadays may be the successful man of the past, He was necessary then, but he is not necessary and is a danger now.

(Christie, Agatha; An Autobiography, Collins, 1977, isbn 0-00-0-216012-9 p439 )

There is much she says which I don't agree with, or is debatable, but she is thought provoking.

"Point of view" from Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie was, and is, an extremely successful writer. Few would argue that she had a certain amount of insight into the behaviour of humanity, even if it was the behaviour of a particular class of people.

I was surprised to come across the following passage in her autobiography:

Point of view. The point of view of a child. We all knew it once but we've travelled so far away from it that it's difficult to get back there again. I remember seeing my own grandson Mathew when he must have been, I suppose, about two and a half. He did not know I was there. I was watching him from the top of the stairs. He walked very carefully down the stairs. He was muttering to himself, saying: 'This is Mathew going down stairs. This is Mathew. Mathew is going down stairs. This is Mathew going down stairs.'

I wonder if we all start life thinking of ourselves, as soon as we can think of ourselves at all, as a separate person, as it were, from the one observing. Did I say to myself once, 'This is Agatha in her party sash going down to the dining-room.' It is as though the body in which we have found our spirit lodged is at first strange to us. An entity, we know its name, we are on terms with it, but are not as yet identified fully with it. We are Agatha going for a walk, Mathew going down stairs. We see ourselves rather than _feel_ ourselves.

And then one day the next stage of life happens. Suddenly it is no longer 'This is Mathew going down stairs.' Suddenly it has become _I_ am going down stairs. The achievement of 'I' is the first step in the progress of a personal life.

(Christie, Agatha; An Autobiography, Collins, 1977, isbn 0-00-0-216012-9 p65 )

I am surprised, because of the insight I think it shows. I won't attempt to relate it to any of the theories of child development or the human psyche, I think that would be to miss the point. Christie says:

• "The achievement of 'I' is the first step in the progress of a personal life."

and I think she has a point.

I wonder if the next steps are:

• "Becoming aware of 'I' and assessing its behaviour and it's effect on others"
• "Taking conscious steps to influence how 'I' think and behave."

It's amazing where one can find insights! Maybe regaining the "child" point of view has even more point than I thought?