Concilio et Labore

I was stood by the bedroom window in the Haweswater Hotel, this morning, admiring a the view out across the reservoir when a small form scattered along the snowy rim of the stone balcony: a red squirrel. Neither my phone not camera was to hand and, as I always like to sleep with the window open, my attempt to discreetly get the Minx's attention was enough to scare the little fellow.

I needn't have worried, though; there were five of them messing about outside stealing the food from the bird table while we had breakfast. (See the first of my extra photos: long-suffering readers of my Blips will know my wildlife photos are rarely worthy of pole-position.)

After breakfast I took the opportunity to take a photo of the stained-glass window that I mentioned in yesterday's Blip (see my other extra Blip). 'Cincilio et Labore' means 'Wisdom and Effort', which seem like a couple of good watchwords to accompany me into my fifty-second year!

After that we drove down to the end of the reservoir and I braved the snow and ice - admittedly far less of both than yesterday - to go down to the shore and take this photo. I think this is road that used to lead into the village. I wonder how many people over the centuries walked this way, the hills in the distance, their homes just ahead of them. 

It's easy to be sentimental and nostalgic, I know, but I still felt a little saddened by the Manchester Corporation's flooding of the villages. 

Anyway, upwards and onwards! A couple of hours in the office, this afternoon, and then home to meet Dan and Abi for a birthday curry. They were on great form, as was the chef, and it would have been the perfect end to my birthday, except that the Minx ands miniMinx drove up later on. It has been a wonderful day.

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Reading: I *finally* finished 'Lincoln In The Bardo', my ninth book of the year. This was nearly a 1 (‘didn’t finish’) after 30 pages but then I saw it won the Man Booker last year, so I stuck with it. It’s very clever but not gripping. I resolved to finish it, yesterday, and read the last 120 pages, which I really enjoyed. In the end, then, a 3.5: finished, enjoyed, might give as a gift to the right person. Next: Grayson Perry’ ‘The Descent Of Man’.