As if by magic, this blogpost has published even though I am not sitting in my lair surrounded by my books, scribblings, papers, souvenir beach stones and imperial regalia. No, I am in a big house in the village of Shincliffe, very near the city of Durham which is a hundred and twenty miles north of Sheffield.
The post has been "scheduled" so if I have been killed on the Great North Road then I am in effect speaking to you from beyond the grave. WHOOOOOO!
For the very first time, Shirley's widowed sister Carolyn is currently house-sitting for strangers for two whole weeks. The wealthy owners of the property are away on holiday in India for six weeks. Other arrangements have been made for the following four weeks.
Carolyn doesn't even have to walk a dog. There's just a cat to look after and I suspect the owners also feel happier that responsible adults are living in their house during their Indian vacation.
In case you were thinking otherwise, the owners know that Shirley and I will be staying in their house for two nights. I believe we have been allotted "The Emperor Room" which seems most appropriate in my opinion. As an emperor I will rule with sagacity and benevolence until someone crosses me - then there will be hell to pay.
The weather forecast is not very promising but hey, this is January. What should we expect? There will be better days ahead and spring will spring again. Even now the days are becoming longer. We are a month past the hump of mid-winter.
I have been to Durham before with its magnificent Norman cathedral and I hope to walk there from Shincliffe to pay homage to one of my heroes - Saint Cuthbert who should by rights be England's patron saint. Saint George makes no sense whatsoever. He was not English and he never visited England.
The shrine of St Cuthbert in Durhan Cathedral
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