Today has been a day of eternal waiting but also saw two sessions of morning prayer and organ practice, 3 miles walked, a cross training circuit completed and some wonderful connections made with exciting possibilities.
The B&Q kitchen arrived (or most of it) last week. The oven arrived (eventually) today and we are still hunting down worktop endcaps and plugs but the team are on it with a smile so they will turn up and work will resume on the flat shortly. But first I had to wait in the flat from 0800hrs this morning for a text that was supposed to arrive last night, that would confirm delivery times in a two hour window for today.
The text never came but I was up at 0600hrs and washed and shaved and drugs taken I was down to St Modoc’s for morning prayer and organ practice. I felt really confident as I switched on the pump on the organ and heard her whoosh into life just waiting to play heavenly music. I checked the music, reminded myself of the speed required and the sharps and flats needed then started to play. I played smoothly, I played well. I was reading the music and the brain was talking to the hands. It felt really good except for one thing. It sounded terrible. Like a completely different tune. I tried again. Same again. So I tried again and suddenly realised what the problem was. The brain had got my hands all muddled up so was playing the lower order left hand part on the right hand and the higher order right hand part on the left hand. It was quite freaky to watch especially when I realised that it was actually playing both hands quite well but it shouldn’t of course be doing that. My brain had turned the tune and was playing the tune completely upside down! I don’t even think that I could do such a thing on purpose. But I had to unscramble myself so I tried again but this time spoke audibly and firmly to my brain. NO Archie that is the left hand. Play that part on the lower stave. NO Archie that is the right hand. Play that part on the higher stave. The brain was winning, so I stopped and sat my left hand on my lap and with an extreme degree of focus, playing very slowly, I managed to, eventually, get the right hand to do what I was wanting it to do. At times it was a bit like watching that individual hand with a mind of its own from the Adam’s family but I got it under control. I did the same with the left and got it under control too. Hands together then worked really well. Not perfectly but improved minute by minute. Quite an odd experience.
Back at the flat after a mile walked and after breakfast and with still no text from the delivery company I was back at the computer to answer more emails and get other projects moving forward. I had some leads to follow so followed them. The first was on asking for the Old Brutonian’s Association to put an article in their magazine. I had to produce a 700 word article for them to consider. That was a tough challenge but one that I accepted and was, in the end, quite pleased with my efforts. Just as I sent it off, my mind was reminded of our school moto, ‘Deo Juvante’ ‘With God’s Help’ and as he has most certainly helped on my journey I decided to weave it into my signature for with God’s help I most certainly will Beat the Beast! Deo Juvante BtB!. Then I remembered the school song. Little did I know as a young man, as we belted out the song in the lovely parish church of Bruton filled to the brim wth the school pupils: ‘The Dolphin which we set as our sign, an emblem of kindness and trust to say, whatever fate may proffer ill or benign let us thank God this day!’ that I would be asking my fellow old Brutonians for help in beating what the fickle hand of fate had dealt me while also acknowledging that I thank God for each and every day that I am blessed enough to be given.
I called the oven delivery company for an estimated time for delivery. Not known yet. They would get back to me. Then I received an email with the contact details of an individual producer from a certain programme that might be interested in running my story. It was an exciting email to open, a long shot but worth following up. I framed my proposal and sent it off with a prayer in hot pursuit.
Then I opened a card and received my first formal invitation to go and speak! It was for the Top Ten Club in the village to speak about my career, hobbies and interests to a group of 7 to 12 year old girls! This was probably going to be my toughest challenge yet, but one that I really wanted to accept. I love people, I love young people and their unbounding enthusiasm and zest for life. I get great strength off positive vibes so knew that, while it was going to take some deep thought to keep my talk appropriate for the age range, engaging but also inspiring, I relished the opportunity to encourage these young sponges for minds to explore the wonderful world out there, find what interests them and what they are best at, and to go for it. That they may not be the sportiest or the brainiest or the coolest or the most popular (I certainly wasn’t) but each and every person has something to offer and a place in the world. That they will be really good at something. They just need to engage with the world around them and find their strengths, weaknesses and passions, for to understand all of these and play off them is in itself a strength and a building block for success. So whatever life throws at them, if they can keep their head while all about them are losing theirs, they will find their way in the world and with hard work, dedication and a strategy as the building block and road map towards success, they will succeed at whatever they turn their mind to but it will not be instant. It will take possibly even years of hard work but succeed they will. So don’t give up. Never ever give up!!
I phoned the delivery company again and eventually they gave me a delivery time. 30 minutes time! So I mustered together a quick lunch before receiving the oven. It joined the rest of the kitchen in one of the bedrooms waiting to be assembled. I checked my bus timetable and realised that I had 10 minutes before going to catch the bus to Stirling to collect the end caps from B&Q. So I practised the new organ tune that I was trying to learn before then grabbing my kit and heading for the bus. I was on time. The bus was on time, but the one that I was going to catch was an hour later. They had changed the bus timetables to allow for the changed school run times due to the change in the school day. It was very chilly in the wind and all the café’s were closed. I could go back to the flat or I could walk down the hill to St Modoc’s and do evening prayer and organ practice. I picked up my bags and went to church. It was a much better practice and as it was only early evening I was able to make a little more noise than I normally would at morning and evening prayer. I pulled all the stops out on this little organ and smiled as she rumbled to life. I finished and walked back up to the bus stop. With another miles walked I still had 10 minutes to go before the bus so I sought refuge in the library and bumped into Isobel who gave me a huge hug with the most enormous grin.
The bus arrived and got me to the train on time after a celebratory McDonalds as reward for a good day in the office! Back in Edinburgh I dumped my bags in Allie’s flat and headed straight for the gym to do a quick cross training circuit. With 3.5 miles covered on the bike, cross trainer, running machine, rowing machine and a floor climbed on the stepping machine it was time for home.
A good day and great to see that the noise that we are trying to make is starting to cause some ripples. If you think of yourself walking down a street. When you see a large crowd gathered around a performer, your natural instinct is to want to stop and see what it is that has drawn this huge crowd. If we can start to draw enough of a crowd and start to raise enough money that in itself will start to draw more people to the challenge and encourage further sponsorship, so please keep banging the drum. Hold me in your daily conversation and encourage people to come and join the journey. To like my page, share my page and sponsor me for just £1.00 a month with a guarantee that every penny goes to the 5 charities I support and that they will never get hassled to increase their sponsorship. No phone calls, no emails, no begging letters, just my story on facebook and the website.
Thank you for all your efforts so far. It is starting to bear fruit
Yours aye
Archie
Deo Juvante
BtB!