So with the end of summer, a brace of brace yourself posts hits the UK. With bracing winds and torrential downpours wiping away all trace of the remaining barbecues that had been flaming valiantly away this weekend, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the heat of summer was some fevered dream and a long time ago.

Right on cue, every Game of Thrones fan has begun to proudly tell people that Winter Is Coming, confusing the approximately ten percent of the adult population who have no idea what they are talking about but who nod wisely anyway and hope it really was a meteorological reference. (A quick side note, like all statistics readily quoted on the internet, that last statistic was totally made up, but you knew that didn’t you? If you didn’t, better brace yourself)

With that as a background, what I was instead bracing myself for this morning was the joys of another Monday giving a training course for computer beginners in the library. This was week two – with last week having been focussed on teaching people how to use a mouse and how to use a keyboard. Yes, really. This week was more informative, being largely about how to use a web browser (that thing we’ve been delivering the course content in), as well as information on  Data Protection, anti-virus and anti-malware software and how to fill in forms and side step phishing attempts.

Given my pupils have an average age of sixty three, you can imagine my delight when we started on some worksheets designed to help them practice finding out information on the local authority and NHS websites and I found one of them consistently “accidentally” finding herself on a seniors dating website. I wouldn’t have minded but it wasn’t even one I ghost write for..!

Between that and rampaging children, preparations for tomorrow’s Chatterbooks group, customers who didn’t want to leave (all that Winter outside you know, the wind and rain’s rather bracing), and the local Citizen’s Advice Bureau picking a fight with the library service over the air conditioning in their offices… well I’m just glad to get home, prepare a sausage casserole for Lady M, plan some logistics for the weekend with Lady J and remind myself that I need scramble to keep up with some deadlines. Just as well Lady M is mostly working US hours this week, think there will be some late nights… Brace Yourselves.