Skip to main content

Tipping Point.


Today was one of those glorious days when you (I) go (went) to the tip.

It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for ages. For a long time I’ve had a lots of things stored in my outside cupboard that I needed to get rid of, to create space for me to get further into the cupboard so I can sort out more junk and take that to the tip too. Today only saw the first stage of this master plan, but it was still good to make a small dent on the reorganizing of my flat I'd like to do.

It was perfect going-to-the-tip weather, being suitably drizzly and overcast. We also weren’t the only people with the same destination on our minds, as the slow-moving queue into the recycling centre was testament to. More the one car in front decided to bail out instead of wait, which seemed silly really, as (1) we weren’t stuck there for very long, and (2) it’s counter-intuitive to load your car up rubbish to have to take it home again; rather them than me.

It was satisfying to throw stuff away. It may be sad, but I get a genuine kick out of recycling. There’s the sense you’re doing something right, plus it’s good to know most of what you’re disposing off should come to good use. It’s also fun to throw things over-enthusiastically into skip and hear them smash; I always knew I had a destructive streak.

When I got home, I opened the cupboard again to get to a couple of bin-bags full of Tetra Paks and other extraneous cardboard that until then had been inaccessible, so I could take them to the recycling bins on our estate (not a country-manor sense). It goes to show how long I’ve been meaning to have a clear-out that some of the cartons in there had best-before dates in 2012; you should never rush these things.

Popular posts from this blog

Not The Bayeux One.

The Carole King album Tapestry has been my 'getting-ready-in-the-morning' soundtrack for the past few weeks.  It's been a favourite album ever since I was a student, which makes for a pleasantly gentle way to usher in the start of a day. I've always been a fan of a well-crafted song, which is something of a Carole King hallmark, ever since she started writing with her first husband in the early Sixties. Tapestry may be an unimaginative choice for a favourite LP, as it suggests I haven't delved that far into her career, but it's still an undoubted classic; anything with '(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman', 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?' and 'You've Got A Friend' on it can't really fail; if nothing else, it proves she likes writing songs with long titles.  Next month, she's set to perform the album live in its entirety for the first time at a gig in Hyde Park, which I would have loved to have gone to, if it weren...

Hitchin is Mine.

As of six o’clock tonight, I take over the Hitchin is Yours Twitter account for a week; a stewardship I’m anxious to get right. I’m proud of my hometown. It’s a great place to live, with so much going for it. I've always sold it to my non-Hitchinite friends; so much so, that a lot have gone on to move here. Any town expansion plans are partly my fault. Feel free to picket outside my house. I love its history and architecture. Take St Mary’s Church, for example. The building is beautiful inside and out, and huge for a town of our size. There has been a place of worship on site since the 7 th Century. Much of the present building dates from the 1300s. You wouldn't get that in America. (Don't forget the British Schools Museum too.)  Hitchin is a hive for creative people and a hub for the arts. It boast two theatres, two comedy clubs, a couple of art galleries, a festival for world music and a thriving music scene. This drew...

'Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream..."

While I’ve been practising meditation for quite some time now, I’ve recently taken to using the mindfulness app 'Headspace' . If you’ve never meditated before, or you’re an old hand at it, it’s a great resource, offering daily ten-minute guided meditations that create a sense of progress, rather than stagnating and going through the same process every day. Until I started using the app, I’d often listen to a handful of audio guided meditations I have on my phone in case of a brain emergency. If you see me with my eyes closed and my earphones in on public transport, I’m probably doing this (unless I’m sleeping and using this blog as an elaborate alibi). While the tracks on my phone are great, they can get a little repetitive as I become too familiar with them and start to anticipate everything the person on the recording will say. This is where Headspace is great, as it offers you a daily course with a different focus each day, as well as pl...