24 December 2016

Night is falling and you just can't see, is this illusion or reality?

So, Happy Christmas! Merry festivities. Have a lovely holiday season. All that.

Here's the traditional baubles post. Just in case you thought you'd avoided it. And other musings.







I promise the third one isn't an earring.

So, Rick Parfitt. RIP. What a rocker. Sherlock and I had a singalong earlier.

Mycroft is cooking tomorrow, because I'm working. Sherlock has graciously allowed that John could bike over to see me in the afternoon, providing he returns with any interesting gossip regarding murders, of course. Sherlock has also announced he will make cheese and cranberry parcels for a starter. And they are both currently making a trifle. I'm fairly sure this is partly a gambit on Sherlock's part to stay up late.

Nicky rang earlier and we had a laugh about the year Mum defrosted bread sauce instead of brandy butter and covered the Christmas pudding in it. We all pretended not to notice. Even her. Or she was probably too pissed to notice. There was brandy on it too.

She's doing okay. We'll go and see her between now and New Year.

We're having fish tonight, which is a more Italian tradition. Mycroft and Anthea might go to midnight mass. Well, other people might, too, but they were conspiring about it earlier. Sherlock announced it was stupid, and then proceeded to ask a lot of questions about it. Then got distracted by putting Christmassy stuff under his microscope.

Work has, of course, been manic. Nothing like enforced family get-togethers and cheer to make people decide they'd rather spend the next few years in jail.

The boys have very graciously announced that we will wait to open presents (some presents, Sherlock interjects) until I get home.

Mycroft has helped me to add this:

My present from John!

214 comments:

1 – 200 of 214   Newer›   Newest»
Joolz said...

Happy Christmas Eeeeeeeeeve. :)

I'm going to guess Mycroft, Sherlock, Greg, John.

How sad about Rick, I hadn't heard that yet. So many people this year it's seemed. :(

Best of luck with the cooking, boys, I'm sure it will all be delicious.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow, however you celebrate it, & that the day goes quickly for those who are working. :)

REReader said...

Happy first night of Chanukah and Merry Christmas Eve!

I love your baubles, they are all so pretty--is everyone pleased with how the decorations came out?

I would think that Midnight Mass would be a nice way to mark that it's a special night--but that's easy for me to say, sitting comfortably at home watching the Menorah candles burn! :)

Greg Lestrade said...

They went. And Mrs Hudson, so John and I are home with Sherlock confined to his room, even if he isn't actually sleeping. It's quite peaceful. Odd snore from a dog. Maf purring like a chainsaw.

pandabob said...

Merry Christmas guys, I am sure you will all get more sleep tonight than I did before our 'Christmas Day' on Friday (the kids were up at 1.50am and again at 4 when I gave in and we got up and opened presents) but I hope you have as nice a day as we did and that you're home to join the others on time after work Greg :-)

Good luck with the cooking Mycroft :-)

REReader said...

Sounds lovely! Happy Christmas to all... :) (And/or Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Festivus/seasonal celebration of choice!)

Kestrel337 said...

Lovely baubles! I'm guessing Greg, Mycroft, John, Sherlock. Happy holidays to everyone. Whatever is being celebrated, I hope everyone is safe and warm, well fed and loved.

REReader said...

Oh, right, the baubles! I think I'll go along with Kestrel's votes, but it's getting harder to guess every year!

Merry Christmas, all!

Sarah said...

Happy holidays to everyone. I am having what i consider a proper holiday, meaning spending the day in pajamas, doing exactly as i please.
Yesterday, i managed to see Arrival at the cinema, just before it closed, and i can reccomend it highly to anyone who still has a chance to see it. I think sherlock would enjoy the science in it, and i seem to recall you lads like jeremy renner. Amy Adams is fantastic in the lead role. Lovely cinematography and thoughtful story. 11/10 will buy the dvd to see again.
S

Greg Lestrade said...

What a day.

I hope you all had a good one.

Mycroft cooked a delicious meal, and is currently taking over the world's via a game of monopoly.

REReader said...

Or at least a version of Atlantic City!

Did you all get any particularly perfect gifts?

Greg Lestrade said...

We got Sherlock a t-shirt that has a socket/spanner cross with wings and says 'Curious enough to take it apart, skilled enough to put it back together, clever enough to hide the extra parts when I'm done'. That seemed pretty perfect.

John and the boys bought me some amazing Japanese knives, a new chopping board and a range of coffee.

REReader said...

Absolutely perfect--both lots!

pandabob said...

What lovely presents :-)

Well done with the cooking Mycroft, I love cooking for the whole family at Christmas but the relief once it's all done is amazing isn't it? My reward for cooking this year was to cuddle my baby niece while her parents enjoyed the food which really made my Christmas :-D

Enjoy the rest of the evening guys :-)

Greg Lestrade said...

...right, 2016, you can stop now. Wind down. Give yourself a break.

Just saw the news George Michael has died. This year really can just do one.

Last Christmas indeed.

Kestrel337 said...

I'm ready for this year to be over.

Sounds like a lovely Christmas, even if you had to work part of it. We had the whole family under one roof, 18 people from 4 generations, for the first holiday in a long time. The ages ranged from 18 months to 101 years. Nice, but NOISY.

REReader said...

I'd agree, only I'm not looking forward with much hope to 2017.... :(

Anonymous said...

Happy Holidays, all. I've been busy enough not to have checked in but not so busy that I am not enjoying a bit of a break! I worked a half day AND did Christmas Eve celebrations on Saturday, so have spent Christmas much like Sarah and very happy for it! (I did make it out of my pajamas but just for a long walk, phone calls, and opening one of the better bottles of wine in the house.)

At this point I fear to even *think* about an artist too hard, there's still a week left for this effing year to wreak havoc in. (yes, "in which this effing year may wreak havoc," I know.)

I will guess Greg, John, Mycroft & Sherlock, with a sneaky suspicion that I ought to be switching the first and last.

101 Kestrel!!! That's amazing. I hope your eldest is able to enjoy the hubbub!

Wishing everyone happiness and a peaceful heart. And the energy to hang onto "doing o.k." if that's the kind of year it's been. Be well.

-fA

Greg Lestrade said...

Kestrel - sounds great, I do like a full house.

Danced John around the kitchen to 'Careless Whisper' this morning. George Michael had his demons, but he did a whole lot of good in the world, and I'm sure the press, who vilified him for his lifetime will now throw around the words 'legend' 'superstar' etc. in his death.

Sherlock said...

I made more cheese things, and Lestrade said I should say what I made. So it's Stilton and cranberry sauce in a filo pastry wrap and then you put butter on it too and they're really nice but sometimes they leak out and it's better if they don't. And yesterday I did Camembert ones too but we've run out of that now.

REReader said...

That sounds absolutely delicious, Sherlock! (I'm sure that the more practice you have making them, the less likely they will be to leak out. So you should practice lots. :) )

Greg Lestrade said...

I think they're a bit of a law unto themselves with leaking. Definitely helps not to let your filo dry out though.

John is being sneaky. One of my presents was a small box with a note in, which read. "We're going on a quest..." but verily, he will not telleth me what this quest may be.

REReader said...

Everything with filo dough runs the risk of leaking, tis true!

Ooh, a quest! That sounds intriguing...

John H. D. Watson said...

If I told you, it wouldn't be much of a quest, would it? Quests ought to be surprising, I feel.

Greg Lestrade said...

Just...tell me if I need anything? Like a cudgel. Or a sword. Or a spare pair of pants. Or a magic ring. That sort of thing.

Anonymous said...

I'd think you would always need a spare pair of pants. In case your ...sword... gets a bit sticky after a strenuous quest. (Is that what they are calling it these days?)

Rider

John H. D. Watson said...

Hmm...possibly a utility belt of some sort...

Greg Lestrade said...

...now I'm very intrigued. What sort of utilities might I need? Like...a Batman belt? Or like a builder's tool belt?

John H. D. Watson said...

Well...somewhere in between?

Greg Lestrade said...

I'm going to warn you that I'm an experienced interrogator.

And, unlike most of my suspects, I can tickle you.

John H. D. Watson said...

I'm pretty sure that's against the Geneva Convention. And unknightly behavior.

REReader said...

Princess Leia TOO? What is this curse of 2016?!?!?!

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah, Carrie Fisher certainly seemed heroic, on and off screen. Just like George Michael was, in public and private. The world needed more people like them, not fewer.

REReader said...

Yes, yes, yes. :(

Kestrel337 said...

Saw a thing that said 'Be the hero you lost this year'. I think that's what I'm going to hold onto as we move forward; trying my best to live up to the things I admired in those who've gone before.

Greg Lestrade said...

Sounds like a good philosophy, Kestrel.

Well, went to see Mum today. She looks old. Was her usual self. Beautiful ride down and back though. Cold, frosty, some low mist on the fields.

REReader said...

I don't know why I think relatives I haven't seen for a while will change personalities in the meanwhile, but I always do and they never do.

Glad you had a good ride!

Greg Lestrade said...

So...today's the day I'm putting myself in John's hands for our Quest....

pandabob said...

Ooo good luck with that :-D

I'm sure John has brilliant things planned for you :-)

REReader said...

Have fun questing!

(And then tell us about it, of course... ;) )

Greg Lestrade said...

Well... I don't really know what to say...

John's bought me a bike! An amazing bike. I'll try and get the boys to put up a picture of it if I can. I mean, it's in a bad way now...but it's going to come back to life! It's going to be delivered next week, so I've got to sort out some storage for it, first.

REReader said...

A classic, then!

(Perfect, John! I can see he's gonna have so much fun... :) )

Greg Lestrade said...

Mycroft helped me out and there's now a picture of it on the bottom of the original entry. It's a beauty.

Lancs. Anon said...

That's a unique fixer-upper opportunity! Have fun!

REReader said...

Ooooh, ahhhhhh! (Okay, so I don't know anything about bikes--but I know excitement when I hear it!)

BTW--which bauble goes to which person?

Greg Lestrade said...

Baubles - Mycroft, me, John and Sherlock.

I reckon once the bike is all stripped down and re-done - got to decide on colours, or maybe a lovely shiny silver tank.... it'll look fab. Can also get another seat fitted to the rear mudguard... Going to take a long time though!

pandabob said...

That's going to be a beauty when it's sorted :-)

Anonymous said...

You have a good one there, seems to be mostly complete and tinware like headlights are not too hard to find as reproduction. Instruments are harder though, need to keep an eye out on ebay. Meanwhile there are pushbike speedos that will do 3 digit speeds, fit one of them if you get it running before you find something more 50s. (50s? I'm not good at britbike identification)

I am sure Mycroft already knows which internet forums to lurk on for info about problems and suppliers. Just think of the fun you will have polishing that lot! (And keeping the inevitable oil drips contained. Brit bikes are notorious for never quite keeping the stuff in)

Rider
- looking forward to you discovering the fun of switching between right and left side gearchanges. Not to mention the joys of elderly small drum brakes.

REReader said...

Aha! Only got you and Mycroft reversed. They are all four really lovely baubles!

I should think that all of you will have fun on the rehab--Sherlock and John can learn all about it, even if Mycroft isn't around enough to help a lot.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah - having most of the important bits which make it go was fairly high on the priorities list! I don't mind scraping about for the odds and ends, but didn't fancy trying to find a suitable gearbox to fit in or anything like that.

It's pre-war. Probably 1938. Once I find the chassis number under the dirt and rust I can find out for sure.

It'll just be for pottering about on - maybe doing a few retro runs. At least it's light and easy to put your feet down!

Kestrel337 said...

THAT is a fabulous gift! Well done, John! You're going to have so much fun with that.

Anonymous said...

Where on Earth can it go in a 2nd floor flat? I know a guy who restored a Norton Commando in his bedroom, then found he couldn't get it out because it was angled so he couldn't get it out the door! Had to remove the front end and take it out in pieces...

Someone else did a 70s MZ on the balcony, hauled it up with ropes.

Rider

Joolz said...

What am amazing present - excellent gift buying, John, and fun to make it into a quest too. Anticipation is everything. ;) I'm sure you'll have many happy hours fixing that up, Greg.

Are you off to see the fireworks in high style this evening? Maybe secreted on a top secret rooftop somewhere Mrs H style. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

They guy selling it had a few bikes for sale - well, some were more a pile of rusty parts... some were very nice, just needed a little bit of finishing off. This one seemed like a good starter project.

It will be living downstairs at first - and then I might try and get a garage or something locally. Could even put a shed up on the allotment for it.

I'm on call this evening, so we might venture into town....it'd be nice, now the boys are old enough to stay up and not need carrying home! And it'd be nice to see the last of 2016 off...

Anonymous said...

John is an amazing gift giver. You're going to have a blast, Sherlock is going to learn all sorts of things, it sounds brilliant.

My personal 2016 was better than [my impression of] the world's overall, but I do feel much more celebratory about the turning of the year than usual. Have a good evening everyone, and let's do our utmost to make 2017 a good year in our own circles, at least. And may good fortune and good health accompany all.

-fA

Anonymous said...

I suggest the Christmas present you buy for yourself is a set of Whitworth spanners. Because while it sorta feels SAE ones fit, that's a delusion and a path to hell given that Whitworth bolts can take a bit of finding these days if you round one off.

I suggest you find a good chromer and get that tinware cleaned up and in the coppering tank at the chromers early in case Certain People read up on it and decide they can do it at home.

Rider

REReader said...

Happy New Year's Eve, all! Here's wishing us all a year full of blessings and joy and laughter...

Greg Lestrade said...

Happy New Year to you all! May 2017 treat you and your loved ones kindly.

Anon Without A Name said...

Happy New Year all - I hope we all have a good one :-)

Greg Lestrade said...

Well, Sherlock started the year well, getting to play with a large bonfire and a leaf blower up at the allotments... a pyromaniac is born.

I've checked the batteries in the smoke alarms.

REReader said...

My brother had a thing about bonfires--but he was always mindful that he really didn't want his own possessions to go up in flames!

Anonymous said...

Aren't most kids thrilled by fire? We were. Also well cowed by Promised Dire Consequences if we broke the safety rules, thankfully. Onwards into the year.

-fA

Greg Lestrade said...

Most kids do...but most kids don't immediately begin the in-depth design planning for a flamethrower.

As the conversation turned to the merits of rocket fuel vs. petrol vs. compressed gas, John uttered the words "This doesn't sound very safe."
Sherlock smiled widely and said "Not if you're on the wrong side of it!" and continued plotting...

REReader said...

....No, very true, they mostly do not!

(The thing about fire is that once you've started it, you don't have much control of it. Even with a flamethrower pointed the other way!)

Greg Lestrade said...

For once, I think I've realised my headache is really a migraine at a time and place suitable to take my medication and head it off! (no pun intended)

Some days it's the small victories.

pandabob said...

That is not a small victory it's a massive one of it stops you having to deal with a full tilt migraine :-)

I hope the medication works quickly and you're feeling better :-)

REReader said...

(It's a good pun, though!)

Hurrah for effective migraine medication!

Greg Lestrade said...

Thanks AnonyBob - I usually leave it too long and then when I take the pills they don't work as well. But this time they worked! A revelation. (John does that 'I'd look at you over the top of my glasses if I wore glasses' doctor-look at me when I say things like this, because obviously only an idiot manages to leave these things until too late.) But this time I had 2 sure migraine symptoms before the pain really hit - hot ears and throwing up.

Kestrel337 said...

I imagine it's a bit of a learning curve, figuring out how to time the meds and listen to the signals. Especially if you're like me and really don't like taking more meds than necessary (I'm on enough once or twice daily ones, thanks very much). But I'm glad you figured it out this time, and hope you're feeling significantly better!

Greg Lestrade said...

Getting home early - first win.
Getting home early but freezing - not so good.
Husband welcoming me home with a large mug of coffee which has the large dregs of a bottle of amaretto in it 'to warm me up' - WIN! (well, better than a flamethrower, anyhow.)

REReader said...

A flame thrower would possibly be overkill on the warming front, 'tis true... ;D

Greg Lestrade said...

Needed something warm this morning - getting on a frosty bike saddle isn't my idea of a good way to wake up!

pandabob said...

That sounds very invigorating!!

I hope the evening provides more heat than the morning did ;-)

REReader said...

Unpleasant--but probably effective! (I hope the rest of the day was less ...brisk. :D

Greg Lestrade said...

My new bike is here!! :)

REReader said...

Hooray!

Joolz said...

How does the new bike look now you've given it a basic clean & once over - is it going to be a mammoth task or something easily achievable with a little love & effort? Have you had offers from willing helpers or are you on your own for this one? I'm sure it will be worth it. :)

Enjoy your day everyone. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

It's in a bit of a state, but perfectly do-able. Just don't have that much time to dedicate to it! So it will be slow but sure progress, I hope.

Mycroft has informed John he's now in three-way relationship. Sherlock has shown some interest. John just smiles indulgently, in the way a man might when he knows he only has himself to blame ;)

REReader said...

Sounds like you have a full-family project going, at least part of the time!

Greg Lestrade said...

Text message from my darling husband:
'Don't come in when you get home. Mrs H needs a lift to bridge night and you're already wet.'

...which means I'll be taking Mrs H pillion through the gridlocked tube-strike traffic in the rain...

REReader said...

I'm sure it will be fun for all concerned!

Greg Lestrade said...

Mrs H takes liberties with just where she can 'hold on tight'.

She's also got no patience with other drivers!

REReader said...

So she did have fun, then... ;)

pandabob said...

You can't blame her really Greg, the busy streets are very dangerous and she got to feel secure ;-)

Greg Lestrade said...

Well unfortunately I was trapped under John's cat when she needed fetching, so he had to go and do it. They aren't back yet. I worry for his safety.

REReader said...

All sorts of Danger out there.... ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

Well this morning I've seen things I didn't want to see and heard things I didn't want to hear.

I need a coffee.

pandabob said...

You should also have cake, it sounds like you need it!

Kestrel337 said...

Sorry it was a rough morning. I hope things got better, or that there were at least some bright spots in the day.

REReader said...

And I hope you get some extra hugs tonight (or earlier, if schedules mesh).

REReader said...

I have discovered a show called The Reassembler (with James May, is he someone I should have heard of?) and it is oddly hypnotic....

Greg Lestrade said...

So, place your bets, will it snow tomorrow in London? Sherlock is climbing the walls with excitement.

REReader said...

I hope you get enough snow to be pretty and to play in, and that it afterwards melts neatly away before it gets all dirty!

Kestrel337 said...

And that nobody is driving 7MPH in a 50 zone. Or, you konw, the equivalent thereof. I just keep repeating to myself 'there are no scorpions here'.

Joolz said...

Well, we've had nothing here - very disappointing. :( They're saying we might get some overnight so maybe tomorrow might be better. It's those stupid Welsh hills, they always block us.
How's it been down your end - has Sherlock been happy or are you snow less too?

Greg Lestrade said...

Poured with rain all day, then at about 5pm the snow started pouring down. Not sticking, obviously!

REReader said...

Aw. :(

REReader said...

Hey, Sherlock--have you heard of the bumblebee bat? https://twitter.com/qikipedia/status/819633970921033728

Greg Lestrade said...

Stuff has stopped falling from the sky. So now it's all freezing. Perfect for the morning commute, when it's due to snow again...

But this DI is off work for three days now!

REReader said...

Hurrah for avoiding ice and an even bigger hurrah for days off! :)

Joolz said...

Well, we've woken to white over which is a lovely view :) but it's really thin & only just enough there for it to freeze over & be really slippy & dangerous so that's bad.
Good job you're not having to bike to work in this, Greg.
Maybe you'll have chance to stop in the park & have a snowball fight on your way to school, Sherlock, if John & Greg are both taking you. :)
Be careful how you go everyone.

Greg Lestrade said...

None here. Barely even icy.

pandabob said...

We have snow here for the first time in Mini's three years of life and it's safe to say she hates it!! Slipping and sliding to school made her cry and when she got it in her shoes and a kid on the school run threw a snowball at her I thought the Windows of the houses would crack with the shriek!!

It'll be gone soon enough though I'm sure :-D

Lancs. Anon said...

I got to work (at a school) through horrific snow past lots of accidents and just as I got there it was on the local radio that the school was shut! So I gave one of the cleaners a lift home and away I went. Sorry, Sherlock!

Greg Lestrade said...

It's snowing again now, John and I just finished our run, so we've dived into a cafe. Mycroft is still out in it cos the dogs love trying to bite the snow. Sherlock is incarcerated in a classroom.

Anonymous said...

It got all the way down to 30degC last night. You can send some cold weather this way, I'll even take sleet!

Rider

Joolz said...

Ours disappeared by the time I got to work but at least we had the first 'waking up to whiteness' feeling. Let's hope the weekend brings some to all who want it. :)

Kestrel337 said...

Ah, yes, Pandabob, I do remember my youngest utterly hating snow and winter and being out in the cold. The year her Grandmother gave everyone show-shoes for Christmas was memorable...

Piplover said...

We have a foot of the white stuff here, and last night we had freezing fog, so everything was covered in beautiful frost this morning. You know it's cold when the ice cycles have frost on them!

Piplover said...

Here is a picture of a tree in my front yard this morning. I wish Sherlock could enjoy it in person!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202654081791076&set=pcb.10202654082671098&type=3&theater

Greg Lestrade said...

three days in a row off...so I've been up since 4am.

Made cinnamon buns, for lack of anything better to do!

REReader said...

At least cinnamon rolls are lovely for breakfast! (I hope you got a nap in later to compensate for the too-early morning.)

Greg Lestrade said...

I did have a bit of a nap. Maf made me.

And now we're taking Mycroft back to uni.

REReader said...

Cats do have the power to bend humans to their will. *nods*

Have a good term at uni, Mycroft!

Greg Lestrade said...

..yeah. 'Hilary' is the name of this term. I didn't even know terms had names, apart from the obvious spring/summer/winter!

REReader said...

Terms have names? This must be a UK thing, none of the universities I studied or taught at had that. What do the names signify, did Mycroft tell you?

Greg Lestrade said...

I think it's an Oxford thing. Oxbridge seem to have a lot of 'things'. And it'll probably be to do with a Saint, or the bible. Almost everything is, it seems!

REReader said...

Heh! Well, there's a lot of years of tradition at those institutions, they can have immutable things. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

So very quiet in this flat now.

REReader said...

I'm sure that if you asked Sherlock to up the noise level he'd do his best to oblige... ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

Never a dull moment generally, though. This afternoon someone's found some WW2 ordinance in the Thames, causing traffic chaos as they dredge it out.

Greg Lestrade said...

...ordnance. Obviously. Thanks for the text, Mycroft.

pandabob said...

That sounds like a fun day Greg ;-)

Does the evening offer a more relaxed state or is there mayhem there too?

REReader said...

Equal parts fascinating and frightening, that!

Greg Lestrade said...

Who knows what the evening has in store for me!

Maybe I'll take a year sabbatical and try opening a bakery...

REReader said...

Or a flower shop... ;)

Kestrel337 said...

I'm touched that Mycroft corrected your spelling; it means he's following the blog while he's away at school.

Greg Lestrade said...

Ha, I reckon he's written a code to report spelling errors directly to him.

And probably mentions of his name.

And, er...best of luck to you all, America.

REReader said...

Thanks. (God help us.)

Anonymous said...

I am a teacher, and I needed to watch the inauguration with my students as part of our study of the electoral process. I behaved professionally, but it was so hard to hide my horror. Inside, I was having a bit of a meltdown.
EB

pandabob said...

I'm not a big fan of yours right now DI Lestrade!! That football team of yours are a complete band of robbers ;-)

Greg Lestrade said...

Well it didn't do my blood pressure much good, I'll tell you!

pandabob said...

Mine neither but at least you have something to celebrate ;-)

How goes the day but for the important stuff? ;-)

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah, not bad. Apologies for your high blood pressure not leading to 3 points. ;)

We keep introducing all these ideas of secondary school to Sherlock... it seems as if he is almost looking forward to some parts of it now... but not all of it. And I think we might have some struggles with discipline.

pandabob said...

High school always seems like a scary idea, from the biggest to the tiniest in one huge step!!

I'm sure once he's made the transition he'll love the new opportunities it brings but the lead up to such a big thing is always going to be tricky I guess.

REReader said...

Change is always--I was going to say "alarming," but that's not it. It's more that routine is a solid thing to have under you, and it's discomforting to have it disrupted, especially if you are happy as you are. What sorts of options are you all thinking about? (I don't know so much about UK secondary school--I just know it's a different system than the one we have here--if you can dignify the mess our educational system is at the moment with the word "system"!)

Greg Lestrade said...

Well...it's more up to Mrs H and Sherlock, really. There's one local academy that seems quite good. And there's public schools.

REReader said...

It's nice that he has a good option available if he prefers to keep living at home.

Greg Lestrade said...

Cold, polluted, busy. Who doesn't love London!?

REReader said...

Wasn't it Samuel Johnson who said "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life"? :)

Greg Lestrade said...

He should have tried being a police officer.

And in the middle of it all we had a fire alarm and got evacuated in the freezing fog.

REReader said...

Ugh.

Kestrel337 said...

Real, prank, or practice?

Greg Lestrade said...

Real, but fortunately a false alarm.

REReader said...

If you must have a fire alarm go off, that's the best reason, I think.

Greg Lestrade said...

Sherlock had haggis for school dinners today!

REReader said...

Robbie Burns Day, is it? :)

(Did he like it?)

REReader said...

Oooh! I just saw that Roger Federer made it to the mens' finals in the Australian Open. Are you planning to watch it, John?

Sherlock said...

We did about the holocaust today and a lady came in who was a little girl when it happened and she talked to us about being there and her family and some of them died and we saw some pictures and it was really bad and some people cried but it was important to learn about. And they said people like John and Lestrade might have been caught as well as lots of other people too.

I don't know why some people want to be mean instead of help other people and be nice.

REReader said...

You're perfectly right, Sherlock--it is bad and sad and also important to learn about. And you learned the most important thing from it, too.

My mother was a small baby when the Nazis took over Belgium (where her father was working as a diamond cutter), and she and her parents were caught by the Nazis and put in a detention camp, to wait to be sent to a concentration camp. But because my grandfather was a cutter he had some diamonds--not good ones, they were just some he had practiced on, but he was a very good cutter so they looked much better than they were. And he and my grandmother were able to use the diamonds to bribe a guard and they and a bunch of other Jews were able to escape and get to France--where the Nazis were also in power, so they had to hide until they could get a ship to the US. They were only let in because my grandmother had a brother who was in New York already, so he could vouch for them--some other Jewish refugees were sent back to be killed. And the rest of my grandmother's family--her sisters and her parents--were murdered also; my grandfather was never able to find out exactly what happened to his mother and sisters, there were no witnesses left. So thank you very much for listening and learning and remembering.

Greg Lestrade said...

So there are roughly 1.8 murders in Iceland each year.

Could semi retire there. Not sure about learning the language though.

pandabob said...

How do you murder .8 of a person? ;-)

I'm fairly sure it'd be warmer in Iceland than it is here right now!

John H. D. Watson said...

How do you murder .8 of a person?

Sherlock's probably working that out right now...

Greg Lestrade said...

I'm not sure anyone would notice if only 0.2 of me got up in the morning.

Greg Lestrade said...

Sometimes, all you can do in life is squeeze John so hard he makes a little guinea pig style squeak.

Form a queue.

REReader said...

*queuing up*

Joolz said...

I'm sure the guinea pig squeaker would notice if only 0.2 of you was present, however, he might be okay providing it was the correct bit. ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

One thing I miss about being in uniform - driving the area car (that's the high power car that goes fast.)

One thing I don't miss - trying to drive it through London traffic.

I think we need to go to the bike track again.

REReader said...

What, no howls of dismay from the family? ;)

(Where is Doctor Strange's time-reversing trick when you really need it?)

REReader said...

Oh, hey, it's snowing here in NYC! (Sorry, Sherlock.) The NWS says an inch or two possible--the ground is pretty cold (it's still -2C and was colder overnight) so we may get some lovely brown/black/yellow slush out of it.

But it looks pretty right now.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like everyone's been keeping on despite the various obstacles to perfect bliss- or even just comfortable complacency - since I last raised my head! There's nothing so grounding and strengthening as a good home life. I don't recall - where is the motorcycle overhaul physically located? Did Mrs. Hudson have extra space not inhabited by Mrs. H.'s minions or is it off-site?
- fA

Greg Lestrade said...

The bike is currently located in the basement, annoying security.

As it becomes more....whole and working... I may have to rent a garage.

Although if the Anthenator has read you possibly calling her a 'minion' I probably didn't need to answer that, as you're doubtless sleeping with the fishes now. ;)

REReader said...

That snow the other day? There was a little white on fire escapes and around trees and nothing more. Fizzle! (Which is just the kind of snow I like, being old and grumpy.) (Especially after hearing the news. Nowadays, ANY news, at least out of Washington. Grr.)

Have you started working on the less-whole-and-working bike yet?

Anonymous said...

"The Athenator?" To whom might you be referring? Surely not any highly respected and skilled professional in Mrs. H.'s employ; it sounds like a character from a genre movie heavy on explosions! In any case I'm still functioning so apparently my remarks were not misinterpreted as implying any lack of respect.

(whew!)

-fA

Joolz said...

Maybe she's just lulling you into a false sense of security, fA. ;)
Although, certain people may also find themselves in just as much trouble for using the phrase 'Anthenator' in the first place. ;)

Have a great day everyone.

Greg Lestrade said...

I'm fairly sure my ongoing existence is merely down to her inability to think of a fate bad enough for me.

Anonymous said...

Or she's got a fondness for some of those who'd miss you.

(If persons of such intimidating reputations got fondnesses, that is . . .)

-fA

REReader said...

I rather got the impression that if the bike was in her way, you'd shortly find it miraculously relocated...no muss, no fuss!

Greg Lestrade said...

...There's a cheese bar opening in London. Brie-still(ton) my beating heart, I gouda get me some of that...

Anonymous said...

Mmmmm cheese!

p.s. did you feel any minor disturbance as you published that? As if Mycroft's eyes rolling might have caused just ever so slight a ripple in . . . earth's magnetic field? the ether? some vibrational plane? (Though I'm sure he'd be a fun and knowledgeable companion on a visit to a cheese bar.)

-fA

Greg Lestrade said...

I was going to say Mycroft appreciates a good cheese pun as much as the next man.

Then I realised the next man might be John, who rolled his eyes so hard the earth tilted off it's axis.

REReader said...

:D

(Thanks for the groans/grins, as a counter to the offensiveness of the current US Senate. Grrrrrrrrr.)

Oh, and it is 60F and beautiful today in NYC. Possibly to make up in advance for the 17F and 3-7" of snow we're supposed to get tomorrow... 0_0

REReader said...

Correction: 8"-12". It certainly looks like it. And fun it's going to be getting from here to the hospital where my dad was admitted yesterday for a urinary tract infection...

Anonymous said...

Thought of you this morning RR, as the news did their usual job of making it sound as if New Yorkers might be stranded en masse at work this afternoon, teetering on the brink of the survivalist apocalypse! I'm sure you have good strategies in place, since with your dad in the hospital everyone probably can't just stay home till it melts! (Hope he does well. Being old is no joke.)

-fA

Greg Lestrade said...

Hope your dad is better soon RR.

E had a few flakes here this morning and is so bloody cold I've stopped shivering. Which I think is a sign of hypothermia...

REReader said...

Thanks, fA and L!

Our strategy is to walk. It's just snow--we've had snow before, after all, despite news commentators' memories! Or take a subway--they don't stop for a little snow! (Maybe some of the elevated sections might stop, but only if it gets very, very windy.)

It's really quite a lot of snow, though:
Photo of street
Photo of window

(Sorry for the window and screen in the way--I don't want snow inside the room, my computer is just inches away!)

pandabob said...

We've had flurries of snow today ( which made mini's sponsored welly walk at school even more fun than I expected!) but it's not lying thank goodness. I am jealous of your proper snow RR but not of your need to get out in it. I hope your dad's doing ok.

Do you gents have any half term plans? We're being really naughty here and going away on holiday next week even though our half term is another week away. I'd expect a large fine for three skiving kids if the head teacher hadn't just emailed me to wish us a nice trip :-D

REReader said...

Thanks, pandabob--it's rather unclear at the moment, I have the strong suspicion that the doctors in the hospital today were all interns and residents, they were all very young and so enthusiastic! (Either that or I am getting old...hmmmmmmmm.)

A holiday sounds lovely, have fun with your littles, panda!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a good school, pandabob - they recognize that some of the most important stuff doesn't happen in the school itself!

RR - good luck with the day's trials. Thanks for the photos. We haven't had snow in ages and ages.

Greg - did you enlist your husband in the warming up process?

-fA

Kestrel337 said...

Have fun, Panda family! RR, I hope you get some actual answers soon and that travel isn't too terribly unpleasant. We're deep into Winter Guard season now, and tomorrow is the two-show day that's too far north for the unit to get a bus. I think they've downgraded the freezing rain that was called for...

Hope everyone is doing okay!

Greg Lestrade said...

Been snowing here all last night and this morning. Not settling though.

Trying to arrange going for an off road ride this week, as it's heald team here. Might be a bit cold though!!

Lancs. Anon said...

I don't have healed team until next week so I'm mildly envious. Hope it's a good one!

Greg Lestrade said...

"what do you think I should do with John for Valentine's, Sherlock?"

"there's a thing on YouTube about cannibalism, you could watch that"

...romance, eh? Comes in many shapes and forms

REReader said...

Interesting is interesting! :D

We've got dirty slushy ice all over the place still. And the hospital decided that while my dad might have a UTI, he definitely has the flu. (And so does my mother. And so do I. It is not pleasant.)

Kestrel337 said...

Man, RR, it never rains but it pours. I hope you all feel better soon, and that the testing for flu had changed since I had to have it done.

I've got one home from school today, because there was an increased police presence at the school yesterday. A social media threat, apparently, and that's exactly as much as they've told us. And that not until nearly school release time. Furious doesn't even come close.

Greg Lestrade said...

Spent the morning talking to a woman and her kids whilst the fire brigade fitted one of their arson proof letter boxes to her front door as her ex had threatened to kill them all.

Happy Valentine's...

REReader said...

Kestrel-my dad had some blood tests because they were trying to figure out what was wrong with him, and he tested positive for the flu. On hearing that, and our symptoms, our respective doctors told my mom and me that we have the flu, do the usual things--Tylenol, fluids, rest, etc. (And an unsaid but clear "Please don't come in to my office and give all my other patients the flu!")

What is WRONG with the world? Seriously, what? I hope the rest of your day is better, L, and that you get better info from your child's school, kestrel...

Joolz said...

Oh dear, it's so sad people have to go to such lengths to keep themselves safe. I'm sure they appreciated having you there to reassure them.

I hope the rest of your day went well and you have better plans for your evening that hopefully don't include cannibalism.

Greg Lestrade said...

John sent me a photo of Sherlock with a bunch of flowers almost as big as he was earlier... So off home to see what that's all about.

REReader said...

That mental image has cheered me right up!

Kestrel337 said...

Oh, that's delightful! I hope the rest of your day/evening is more positive and loving than how it started out.

RR, a blood test is MUCH preferable to what I went through. It culminated in the doctor saying to me 'lower your fist, please'.

REReader said...

Kestrel... O_O

So what was the deal with the flowers, L?

Greg Lestrade said...

Sorry, been out getting very muddy on scramblers all morning with a selection of my favourite boys.

Flowers were suggested by John, chosen by Sherlock. Now living on our hearth, as Maf has waged war on any item left on any flat surface above the ground.

REReader said...

Scramblers?

Awwwww for the flowers. :)

Joolz said...

Boy-sized flowers sound very nice, lucky you. :) Did you have/are you having a meal out or a night away perhaps when you both have a free day?

It's great that you got to go out on the bikes again & have fun in the mud. Do you all get to follow the same trails with Sherlock on his own bike?

Anonymous said...

Gosh, Kestrel, that sounds . . . vague. Hope all is resolved by now.

RR, I wish all three of you a quick passage through the flu symptoms. Hope they can give your dad sufficient drugs, fluids, whatever that he's physically more comfortable at the hospital even if mentally he'd rather be home sharing your apartment o' germs.

-fA

Kestrel337 said...

fA, it was some while back. They called it a nasal swab. Sounds benign, doesn't it? Like, a cotton bud rubbed around inside your nostril.

Bit more like the thing the Egyptians did when they were making a mummy. Not a cotton bud. Not a crochet hook either, or so I'm told, but I've got crochet hooks smaller than what they shoved up past my nostril into my sinus passage. I was running a fever, trying not to cough up what was left of my lungs, and generally miserable. Raising my fist was instinctual.

RR, I hope you are feeling better soon, and that everyone recovers soon so your dad can come home.

Greg Lestrade said...

Sherlock does come on the trails with us now - he's very good, although alarmingly fearless.

John and I will try and get away - he's been picking up extra shifts recently, as another Doc is off. Maf doesn't approve. I get claws in my leg if I stretch out on the sofa when he isn't here. I think she thinks it's my fault. I hope it isn't!

Greg Lestrade said...

Saw Lisa, Jo and Tadhg this morning. He is just the cutest kid ever. All big blonde curls and a huge smile.

pandabob said...

That made me smile :-) he must be getting quite big now isn't he? Will soon be lead-a-stray-able I would have thought ;-)

REReader said...

Beat me to it, pandabob, that's just what I was thinking! 🤔

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