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Hi, Rusty!
I have read Mr. MacDonald-Cooper's obituary. I found it online.
That is nice that your son wishes to honour him by attending one of the services.
Did you know him, too?
Either way, I am sure that your son would appreciate the company.
Our lovely day has disappeared in an absolute torrent of rain!
We were about to go out, but the streaming down the pavement of the water......and the incipient threat of thunder..... changed our minds!
The dog is terrified of thunder!
Yes, quite a reasonable puzzle today!
I have actually finished it !
And I think all is parsed satisfactorily, too!
That makes a change!
Usually, I get stuck somewhere!
A postcard from our eldest grandson - sent the second week of August from Mauritius -has finally arrived!

Hello, Elle!
My son only knew him by fitting his CH system, and told me he was very friendly and highly intelligent.
It was one of the first jobs my son did when he started up on his own and he has never forgotten him.
I only know him by reputation, but there is a short evening service at the church called "reception of the remains" and I shall keep my son company at that.
The funeral takes place the following day.
Note, my son has never tackled a crossword puzzle in his life!
But, nor had I at his age.
We have had little bits of rain but have escaped the forecast storm.
Well done on finishing your puzzle!
I did not think folk sent postcards any more!

Hey, Rusty!
Well, that sounds like a good plan.
The grandkids always send us postcards when they go on holiday!
But our grandson was very disappointed when he came to stay mid August and we were not displaying his postcard.
I rang him today to tell him that it had just arrived!
Not exactly an efficient postal service from Mauritius......
I have just been watching Dr Foster (recorded).
I saw the first series last year, and thought it very good.
The first episode of the second series, though, is somewhat of a walk on the dark side.
I am not sure what to make of the way it is developing?
Our rain has stopped at last......

Hello, Elle!
Your grandson will be be pleased about his card.
I am a bit of a softie regarding cards.
I have Christmas and Father's Day cards still on display around the house.
They mean a lot to me and they are staying up!
Nice to look up from a book or something and see them there.
The girls go to quite a bit of trouble to make them with photographs etc and I shall keep them.
I do not know Dr Foster.
Was he travelling to Gloucester or have I the wrong man?
We seem to have missed out on the storm.
Any power cuts down your way?

Hi, Rusty!
I take Christmas cards down by Twelfth Night!
But we do tend to leave other cards (those from family) - birthdays, Wedding Anniversary cards, Mother's and Father's Day cards - up for quite some time.
As you say, family members have gone to considerable trouble to make / choose / them, and it is nice to see and appreciate them!
Doctor Foster, in the instance, of the TV serial, is a "she"!
But yes, the original Dr, Foster did go to Gloucester "in a shower of rain...."
Cat quite euphoric now he no longer has the "lampshade" on his head!
No power cuts here!

Hello, Elle!
Well, I am pleased it is not only me who is sentimental about cards!
If I see a card it seems to bring whoever sent it closer, somehow!
That is good news about the cat progressing.
I have been digging on YouTube and found a remarkable woman.
Her name is Margaret Hamilton.
She wrote the software code that got Apollo 11 to the Moon.
She was young at the time and took her little girl with her to work at NASA.
She wanted to add code in case an astronaut pressed a wrong button but was overruled by the bosses.
"Astronauts are trained not to make mistakes"
Just before touchdown, on Apollo 13, Jim Lovell pressed a wrong button!
Margaret had to write code to overcome the problem, or the mission would end in disaster.
She did it in 9 hours.
There are a few videos on YouTube about her.
Think I'll see if there are any books about her on Amazon.
Have you ever heard of her?

Good morning, Rusty!
A fine day here, but cold!
Some people are even out in padded coats and scarves!
But if we wear those things now, what additional warm clothes shall we wear when winter "proper" arrives?
I am sticking with "Autumn"......and pretending I am not feeling chilly!
I haven't heard of Margaret Hamilton?
But then my General Knowledge is not as extensive as yours!
You know a lot!
Did you find any books about her on Amazon?
I have more paperwork to sort out today....
What are you up to?

Good morning, Elle.
Great day here (shirt sleeves!).
It is cool but not cold at all.
There is a great photograph of Margaret Hamilton standing beside stacks of paperwork that is as tall as she is.
Like a stack of telephone directories piled high, over 5ft tall.
It is the software code that she wrote to get Apollo 11 to the Moon and back.
It was her who coined the term "software engineer".
I found a children's book about her, called "Margaret and the Moon".
I have not searched properly though.
An amazing lady!
I am off out into the sunshine for a wee while!

Hi, Rusty!
How was your walk?
Where did you get to?
I cannot credit that you are finding it warm enough to go out in your shirt sleeves!
Everyone here is remarking on how cold it is!
We have our central heating on low!
Mind you, I am not complaining (only remarking).
I find this far pleasanter than the heat and humidity we were experiencing over most of the Summer.
Walking is far more pleasant!
Both my daughters have degrees in Computer Science.
My younger daughter classifies herself as a Software Engineer.
(I am no wiser as to what this entails)
I have been very busy this morning.......
I have placed several online orders, and now have to sort out the cat's Insurance claim.
No time yet to look at the crosswords!

Hello, Elle!
I walked a bit of the Nature Trail.
It is not cold here.
Around 13°C.
No central heating on here.
Your younger daughter should know all about Margaret Hamilton, perhaps?
There is a clip of her receiving the highest civilian honour in the USA from President Obama.
I have little clue about software, but I know Margaret wrote "code" and was a genius at coding "workarounds" when the "error!" messages flashed on to the screens at NASA during an Apollo mission.
The astronauts trusted her.
A remarkable young lady!
I have completed my puzzle.
On the easy side today.
I liked 11a, 4d, 8d, and 13d.
Any news from EuroPlayer?