Lie down and be counted

At least I think it's asking who is going to be here overnight, but it will probably be the same in any case. We completed our census form tonight. Somehow it feels lighter than it did in other years. I can remembwr worrying as I worked out who would be away from home so as to be sure we got it right. Maybe it is just easier now there are only two of us here. Have there always been so many questions on ethnicity? If not, what were the questions about, not gender which is also fairly noticeable in the questions. Languages interested me, the form is available in 24 languages plus Braille and BSL which latter I was a little intrigued by I must confess, as one who used sign. I also noted that although it asked if I could read, write and understand Scots, it didn't offer that as one of the language options.
I was up early this morning and picked Katy up at 8.30 to run her to Seafield to pick up her car from its service. It's almost impossible to get around Edinburgh these days without hitting road repairs, road closures, one way systems, tramworks, cycleway works and of course the usual raft of utility works exacerbated just now as they install fibre broadband. It took 45 minutes to get to Seafield.
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent so our service this morning was rather different to usual and we were 'ashed'. I hadn't realised until today that apparently 'to ash', is a verb. I'm not convinced.
Suitably penitent, I came home and made a marmalade cake to use up some of the many jars of marmalade in the cupboard. Very tasty it was too.
We watched the last episode of Vera tonight, it's been waiting amongst our recordings for ages.


.... And Shirley Hughes died today. A wonderful writer and illustrator.


Stay safe folks.