Feeling virtuous

I’m feeling quite virtuous although I’m not entirely sure I should. However, there are times when, after having completed a task that’s been outstanding for a long while, or you’ve accomplished something and are feeling pretty pleased about it, there is nothing wrong with feeling a bit smug.

Mrs PBT’s and I had a long lie in on Saturday morning. We both felt we deserved it, and I certainly needed it, as I haven’t been sleeping too good of late. Something to do with having a few conflicting issues to resolve at work, including covering for a much-missed colleague who felt he had to move on to pastures new.

On Friday night though, I slept like the proverbial log and after surfacing mid-morning we both enjoyed a late breakfast of French toast. Later on, we drove over to the large Tesco superstore at Riverhead, just to the north of Sevenoaks to do some shopping. The store was busier than we would have liked, but with shoppers and store workers all masked up, neither of us felt uncomfortable – apart from having to wear the wretched face coverings, that is.

The virtuous stuff started when we arrive back home, although I’d put the wheels in motion for some of it, a week or so earlier. I’ve always been reluctant to switch energy supplier, especially given the fact that whilst you might get a better deal initially, what happens in subsequent years? Do you need to switch again and again, as all this chopping and changing is not only a faff, it’s also rather time consuming.

This was where the heavily promoted “Look after my Bills” website, came to the rescue. First floated on TV's “Dragons’ Den,” the idea had universal support from all the entrepreneurial “Dragons” that make up the team. This was something of a first, and with my interest sparked I bit the bullet and took the plunge.

The whole process was relatively straight forward, and apart from submitting a couple of meter readings, along with details of current energy suppliers, I am now signed up with a supplier that is offering me dual gas and electricity supply, with a monthly saving of £30. “Look after my Bills” will follow the same process next year, in order to find me the best deal on my energy supplies.

Feeling on a role, I proceeded with a quote received a month or so ago, which will save me £20 a month on home insurance (building and contents), so whilst more time consuming than the energy switch, it was still worth the time I’d put in. With retirement getting closer by the month, every little helps, and £50 a month is not to be sniffed at!

Back to the home front. Last week I dug over approximately two-thirds of our cottage garden wildflower area. It wasn’t the riot of colour we were treated to last year, in fact Mrs PBT’s believes she was sold a pup. Unable, due to lockdown, to access B&M, the source of last year’s wildflower seeds, she bought a rather expensive variety pack online.  Even though I’m sorely tempted, I won’t name the company for legal reasons, but when the pack arrived, I should have smelt a rat.

Now I’m no horticulturalist, but I do know that the genus Festuca denotes different types of grasses, and whilst the pack claimed to contain 19 other plant species, what eventually popped up was largely a mix of grasses, plus some unattractive, tall and spiky plants; "weeds," for want of a better description! There was no sign of the poppies, white campion or even the clovers listed on the pack.

Whether this was due to poor germination – April and May were exceptionally dry if you remember, or just poor harvesting on the part of the seed supplier is unknown, but the company responsible landed us with nothing more than a large and rather unattractive patch of weeds.

They’re all gone now, dug up and dumped in our garden waste bin, awaiting collection by the local authority where they’ll be turned into compost but, after heavy overnight rain, yesterday afternoon’s digging was considerably harder than the previous week’s, and I’m certainly feeling it afterwards.

The main thing is the task is complete and the weather is now doing its worst. This brings me on to the internet and other online tasks I went through yesterday evening. The first of these was to review my Blog List, which details all the many blogs I follow.

The list has steadily evolved over the years, but I review it every so often, to prevent it from becoming too large and cumbersome. It has grown, because I regularly add new blogs which catch my eye and spark my interest. Nearly all are beer related, although the list also includes a gardening/drinking blog, plus one dedicated to walking (another interest of mine).

Conversely there are blogs which, for a variety of reasons, have become moribund.  The owner/writer might have lost interest, moved on to a different niche, their work-life balance may have changed or perhaps they’ve undergone some life-changing event. Over the years I have noticed a fair number of female bloggers who, quite understandably, have discovered that starting a family, leaves very little time for writing, or indeed for visits to the pub, but I’m certain that some of the other reasons listed above, apply equally.

I tend to leave “slumbering” blogs for at least six months before culling them, and there have been cases where I have reinstated a few that have made a sudden reappearance. In such instances, my blog list becomes rather like a revolving door. (I am currently mulling over whether to reinstate Cooking Lager’s blog for the third time.)

Finally, I found time last night to post some topical comments on some of the blogs I follow. This is good etiquette and good manners. All bloggers, me included, appreciate seeing comments appear in relation to posts written. Whether the correspondents agree, or disagree with what is being said is immaterial, as all feedback is good – unless it is insulting, totally off-topic or trolling.

I don’t always get the time to comment as much as I’d like, so yesterday I made time, and I trust that the comments I made will add to the subject or topic raised and will encourage further debate. Those writers who see comments from me, suddenly appearing on their blogs will know what I am referring to but will also understand the time restraints which prevent many of us from contributing as much, or as frequently as we might otherwise like.