World Wide Web Woes

I've just sat down at a large faux-birch IKEA style desk at the Caversham public library. There are three old computers that chug along and I sit somewhat dumbfounded in front of one of them. They keyboard seems to have an issue with the letter 'n': it doesn't like to type it without a good hard smack of the letter. It is all strangely reminicent of our travels across Europe in 1999 when Ange and I would seek out some public internet access to quickly set about composing a group email. In the background, despite it being a library, there is a very loud conversation between an old lady who has lost her keys and the nice gentleman who works here. He's helping her go through her purse as she's a bit hard of sight as well as being hard of hearing.

Why does Ben find himself at the public library to write this blog entry? Well, the move from the arctic flat went very smoothly. Moves are made easy by having hardly any stuff. We are now into our terraced house and it is warm and well furnished with fewer dangers for a growing toddler than the last place. And, while the move went off with hardly a hitch, connecting to the world wide web has not gone nearly as well. Just about everyone over here offers broadband internet. From the grocery store Tesco to the mobile phone companies to the more traditioanl telephone companies and digital tv providers. After limited research, I have opted for the broadband plan offered by our mobile phone provider, Orange. Orange offers a great rate but can't sort you out with connectivity for 10 working days. So, I find myself at the library listening to the conversation with the deaf lady and the library attendant (they've found a set of keys... but they're the wrong one. Very strangely, they're the keys to her scooter?!?) and madly trying to pound out an entry on this keyboard before my time runs out.

We will have internet access from home on December 2. Or maybe later. But probably not sooner. That's what the lady at Orange said. So, the blog will hit full swing again in early December and I will also respond to everyone's email at that time.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with an Anna update... she is now moving with alarming speed. She can stand, even unsupported, though only briefly. And, we may have found another favourite food. Blueberries. We can only afford frozen blueberries here (because fresh ones are about £3 for 100g), which presents an interesting mess dilemma. Anna loves them, but as they become unfrozen, blueberry juice gets everywhere. So, she essentiall stains her lips and mouth and hands with every meals we serve them, leaving her looking like she is slightly hypothermic. Of course, with our new heated house, we know this isn't the case. Certainly, it would have been cause for alarm at the last flat, but we're out of the woods for "freezing in your own house" concerns. So, look out for an interactive blog in December: bananas vs. blueberries. Start the hype, this could be big.

Anna also starts daycare next thursday... which corresponds with me starting work. I'm not sure how I feel about it at the moment. The last few months have been a gift. We'll update 'feelings' later. I surely can't add to the chaos at the library right now by getting emotional.

Epilogue: The old lady has found her keys, thanks to the library attendant, who heard them jingle in her coat. Her 'scooter' isn't a motorcycle, though there were shared looks of concern amongst a few of us when we thought it might be: it is an electric 4-wheel sitting thing with a basket on the front. Phew.

Future early December blogs to look forward to: TV Licenses: Can Ben Fail? and IKEA's in London? How Hard Can That Be To FInd?