Crisper

 Early start today for the new school week. Ellie was dropped off looking half-asleep. I sent her straight up to snuggle down with Nana. Once everyone was sufficiently alert to start the day, I went up to shower and dress while Ellie had breakfast. Because it was so cold, I suggested Di stay at home and I would take Ellie to school by myself.

Dropping her off, I set off on my walk. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the low sun was quite blinding. It was a glorious morning to be out walking. Maybe the cold air was keeping people at home, but I didn't see as many walkers and dog-walkers as I would normally expect.

I headed home for breakfast and some more coffee. Meanwhile, Di had decided to return a couple of blouses that were too big. She had also been alerted that her prescription was ready at the Chemist's. That sounded like a cue for another walk - and who was I to ignore it?  Di started on some ironing, and I put my walking shoes back on. The extra coffee somewhat curtailed my walk, but I did post the parcel and pick up the medication for Di.

I exchanged several emails with "The Art Den" (in Sidmouth). We have a number of lovely prints of Sidmouth and it would be nice to show them in pairs. We have one, a gift from Jane and Trevor, which looks west along the Esplanade towards the Millennium Walk and beyond. What we want is a similar picture looking eastwards along the red cliffs. As we will be down in Sidmouth soon, I was trying to ensure they had one available. Unfortunately, to have the picture in a matching frame, will take a few weeks because they are awaiting new a new delivery of the correct frames. We'll drop into the shop anyway and settle up so they can post the framed picture when it is available.

We had an early dinner. We had a night out planned. We headed across to Portsmouth and made our way to the Guildhall. (What a magnificent building that is). 

We had tickets to see Prof. Alice Roberts "Domination: the fall of an Empire and the rise of Another". This was an excellent.  Domination tells the story of how a tiny local cult became one of the greatest cultural and political forces in history. 

Alice Roberts puts the case that the Roman empire lived on in a different form in the church. It is not an original idea she tells the story from the point of view of individual parishes and even buildings. It’s a revelation, like watching those stop-motion films of how a plant grows and blooms. There’s a section about how a Roman villa might transform into a parish, the long barn providing the footprint, the web of relationships providing the social connection, the very tiles and columns providing the building materials. 

I felt sorry for her, however, she clearly had a bad cough and sore throat. In facts she started by say "This presentation is brought to you, courtesy of Chloraseptic", and indeed had to leave the stage at one point with a coughing fit. Despite this, she was upbeat and engaged and it was thoroughly enjoyable evening.