Outriders of the Steam Generation

Walking up on the moor yesterday impressed upon me just how much rain we've had recently, because the ground was saturated and there was standing water everywhere. Today has seen another deluge and combined with the fierce winds it's made for a most unpleasant day to be outside. Travelling to and from the office in darkness there has been little opportunity for blipping. I popped out for a sandwich at lunchtime and caught what seemed like the only moment of brightness all day. Seconds after taking this, though, another squally shower passed through and I was forced to abandon any attempt to get more pictures.

It's amazing how often I've taken a random shot and it's ended up serving as an appropriate metaphor for the day. I've felt a bit like this old chimney today, still standing tall and shining quite brightly for its age, but flanked my shiny new things! They still look up to me, but I could no longer do what I do without them.

Whereas the young members of my team were soon back up to speed after the break, it took me all morning to get my head into gear. It was if all they had to do was press their fancy electronic ignition buttons while I had this old steam engine to coax back into life. It needed to be fired up slowly, allowed to reach its running temperature, all the fly wheels and cogs spun up into motion. But, then, once everything was whirring nicely, I was able to get quite a lot done. A number of bugs were fixed and it felt almost as if I'd never been away. They need a bit of tender loving care these old engines but they can still purr along quite sweetly once they have a head of steam up!

I've been quite good about not doing too much typing and the wrist is much improved from a few days ago. I think I need to be careful for a few more days until I can spend more time here catching up with people. Thanks again for all your wonderful feedback. It's so appreciated.