Stilroamin'

 Dear Marmite

I am sure you would love the trip down the tow path of the canal to the nearest town. I certainly do and as it is my almost daily trip, I get to know the local dogs and recognise some of the boats that moor down there. There are some funny names - "Long in the Tooth" has an elephant with tusks on it. There are others that make me chuckle too.

Stilroamin' is one of the regulars and now we are in the holiday season, the tourist boats make the strip of canal really busy. The feel of the place changes so much over the day and the weather plays a big role in how busy it is too. I have been roaming myself - I could almost call it a holiday, I suppose. First, I popped to Stevenage for a couple of nights. That used to be my old hunting ground before Singapore. Nowadays the post boxes in Stevenage have woolly hats!

Anne, my old friend, took me for a walk round Barton Hills. The last time I went there was with Sammi in a front sling. He must have been less than three months old so that says how long ago that was. It was a memorable walk as I did it with mustard poo stains down my front and legs. I remember rinsing Sammi off with a bottle of water but nothing short of a bath could have cleaned me up. Luckily, Seamus, Mike and Anne saw the funny side of this but my memory of the walk was mostly about me and how uncomfortable I was. 

These days, I am sure Sammi has better control of his bottom end and milk doesn't have such a disastrous affect on him either. My association with that walk has now been broken too. Happy Days!! Barton Hills is a lovely place indeed. They even have woolly thistles there.

I then set off on a trip to Cornwall visiting people associated with Dairy Farm. That meant a lovely lunch stop in Chippenham where Adam prepared a gourmet curry. You must remember Adam. You told him you didn't want to walk with with him. 

This was followed by a few days with Mark down in Falmouth where the sun never shines! I lost at pitch and putt and failed to swim the length of a beach. Seaweed tangled round my arms and legs making swimming not only slow but also very uncomfortable. 

This makes it sound like my time there was terrible. It wasn't. I loved it. On my way back I stopped off at Sarah-Jane's in Exeter - another DFE renunion. Freda who is your age Marms, is still around. She is a poor old thing these days. You must remember her too. She has Fred the pup to keep her company. 

Now I am back in my slightly more sunny part of the UK. I dream of all the places I can go to when COVID is over. The list grows daily. I am not making any plans until travel restrictions are lifted though and I realise that could take some time. 

Love you loads, as always. Keep the selfies coming!

XXX

The Glorious Twelfth!

 Dear Marmite

I had been looking forward to this day for some time. Not only did I have a good friend celebrating her birthday as a true Grouse, I had a sofa delivery and a night out too. I had built this day up to be THE day - a something special day in a calendar of banality.

The sofa delivery happened - sort off. The men with the van that carried my much wanted dark teal, M&S sofa turned up and said that they couldn't get it up my stairs. They dumped the sofa in the garden and left. The sofa weighs 95kg so obviously I couldn't do much with it without help. I ended up dragging it into the hallway to protect it from the rain that started to pour in bucket loads in the afternoon and while I was off on my night out, Nasser magically moved it up to the living area. 

It is now in pride of place and I have to say I am really pleased with it. However, I am not pleased with M&S. The first delivery didn't happen. That was a fiasco. This delivery was more of a dumping than a delivery really; so on a scale of one to ten, I'd give M&S about two. 

I now have most things I need for the house. I'll obviously need to splodge a bit of paint around. In fact, I have already started. I will set out a plan and steadily work my way round the place. The balcony is mostly done and yesterday, before the downpour, I did the post box on the wall outside my garden. This is the first tick on my check list.

Last weekend I moved some plants in the front garden. This area used to be the forecourt of a paint factory and is still concrete two inches below the surface. So to move the plants I wielded a pick axe just so I could get under the roots. Passers-by from the pub commented on the energy and vigour with which I repeatedly flung the axe at the ground. I was sweating and feeling at one with the soil. Unfortunately, my back still feels like the pick axe pounded that rather than the earth. Marms - old age is definitely creeping up on me. Thank God I can now relax on a super comfy sofa!

The John Otway gig in Leighton Buzzard was brilliant. It was my first indoor thing I'd been to since coming back to the UK. The venue - The Crooked Crow Bar - was also not overcrowded - limited ticket sales. The minimal hordes loudly heckled their way through the performance. The banter was almost as clever as the act. I can't wait for my next night out. I loved it.

My social life has taken an upward turn in other ways this week. Binny and Ana came to visit. We did a pub lunch and walk. Danielle brought Ezra-Mae along for entertainment too. It was really nice to catch up. It has made me realise how much I have missed out on with the lockdowns. 

So Marms, life isn't so bad and if you were here I am sure you'd find a spot somewhere near my feet and expect to have the spot behind your ears tickled. I am sure you demand this attention still. 

Hugs all round.

Love you.

XXX

You and I are just the same!

 Dear Marmite

After rather a long time I have found out that my back problems are the same as yours.  We both have crooky backs. I finally got to visit a doctor who said I have degenerative spondylolisthesis so, as from yesterday, I have a physio who is going to get me back to running around again. At least I hope to be jogging round the village at the very least. The village is small so this isn't a very big deal. It is a good goal though.

Rita told me that your back problems were probably caused by doing lots of exercise. I can only imagine that it was those long walks I dragged you on that did you in. For that I am really sorry. I know it has never been in your DNA to run around the place. 

I have also got round to getting decorating stuff to tart up my bedroom. When I have a four-day stretch with nothing else doing, I am going to tackle it. My garden isn't big but it took me a long time to hack it back and beat a path to the back gate the other day. Our rainy summer has made the plants go wild. I have even spied ripe blackberries so on my way back from swimming today I shall be picking them.

Apparently, my front garden was once parking spaces for a paint factory that went up in flames many years ago. The patch at the front has to be attacked with a pick axe any time I want to plant anything. This naturally limits what I put there. 

I made another anticlimactic cake last Monday - chocolate with pears on top - for Danielle, Richard and Ezra-Mae. It might not look top notch but it was certainly enjoyed. Having said this, I did bring it out after a visit to the local. They came to visit me after a walk along the canal and a trip to the Barley Mow. Obviously, Ezra-Mae didn't walk or drink too much and even she enjoyed the cake.

In these strange times I am now paying £10 more for a tank full of petrol than I did when I first got my new car. Thank God I am just a short trip from all the things I usually need. This means I pop around on my bike. Most trips take me down the tow path of the canal so I see big changes in how many boats and people are around. The other day there was a big tail back of narrow boats going through the local lock one at a time!! Most boats are manned by a man who stands around with his hand on the tiller while the women run up and down opening and closing the gates..mmm - this division of labour doesn't seem right to me but it is almost consistently the same in all boats!

Today I swim again. The excitement never ceases!!! Swimming is different though. Half the pool is now open to general sessions so the reverberating noise of splashing and screeching doesn't make for a relaxing swim. Such is life without COVID restrictions plus school holidays.

Must dash... swimming calls.

Hugs all round. Love you.

XXX