Out and About

 Dear Marmite

You are always in my thoughts and when I am out and about I often wonder what you would think of the places I visit. Over the past week I have been to two National Trust places. I went to Wimpole Hall and then when I was up visiting Sue in Nottinghamshire, I popped into The Workhouse. 

Both visits were really worthwhile and I was blessed with good weather for both of them. Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire is a working farm and has some really beautiful gardens. I actually considered taking some seeds from the plants in the walled garden but my conscience got the better of me. 

Sadly, all over the south of England there is a water shortage and the trees have shed many of their leaves as if it was autumn already. I reckon we should do more sharing of seeds to keep the land in balance.

My garden has suffered. A couple of weekends away over the hottest part of the summer meant that the plants in pots shrivelled. Many of the plants I bought in the Spring have come to nothing. The tree that Sammi pollarded for me last Christmas has fought back and looks remarkably lush considering. I am waiting for a few weeks and then I'll feed the garden with compost and start again with the pots. 

At The Workhouse I was particularly taken with the language that was once used to describe the inmates' mental state. There wasn't the means to deal with poor mental health back then. All of this language is now very much Non PC. It was a tough life for those who gave themselves up to live in and women faired worse as they were still at the mercy of their husbands - they had to leave if their husbands chose to leave or stay if their husbands chose to stay. I imagine the workhouses had more than their share of the mentally ill.

Women didn't have free will. Even the women's management jobs were dependent on their husband's work. The school mistress had to leave when she chose to marry. Such were the times. The Poor Law of 1834 brought these refuges to all over Britain. From my visit, I feel that this one was one of the more enlightened ones. All workhouses were subject to inspection though. Perhaps it is my reading of Dickens that has clouded my perspective.

Naturally visiting Sue meant we talked about the old times. We spent so much time chatting I forgot to take any pictures. - oh silly me. We had a lovely walk across the fields. The views of rolling hills and distant villages is very different from my area - all of Britain gives me that sense of belonging to the land though. A very beautiful part of the country to live in - especially walking along the banks of the River Trent.

I met up with Diane in Flitwick and we had a country jaunt across fields to a pub in Steppingly which is near Woburn. Again, what a lovely walk and the blackberries were there for the picking. So Marms, two walks you might not have been too enthusiastic about even though they were not too long. 

On another note, I had a bit of bad news last Monday. The lump I had cut out of my neck over 6 weeks ago was a squamous cell carcinoma. I was given lots of literature about it. Having lived in the sun for 30 years and having played tennis outside plus all the other active things, I reckon I was a good candidate for getting one. So now I will lather up with the factor 50, wear a wide brimmed hat and stay out of the sun on doctor's advice... 

The offending lump in a jar

Such is getting old - as you well know my wonderful old man. 

Love you

XXX

A very hectic week

 Dear Marmite

Not only did I have Shadow and Lucky around this week, I had accompanying big people as well. My house was full. Sammi came down from Scotland via Cambridge and London. Mohan and Shiv (Sammi's school friends) arrived around the same time and Danielle was also around too with Ezra-Mae. Oh how busy I was. It was lovely though and I sure you would have loved seeing old familiar faces. 

I was expecting Sammi and Mohan around lunch time on Tuesday. However, their cycle trip from London took them literally round the houses and they arrived late afternoon. They were using google to guide them. Nuff said! 

The three of them said goodbye and set off for Oxford on bikes on Thursday morning. Sammi used mine which is a bit dodgy after the accident. He got all the way to Oxford and then nearly back to Silverstone where he had a flat. So it was Mumsie to the rescue. Lucky and I piled into my car and set off in search of Sammi who had found a nice little pub. Just like the old days, I took a few snacks so he wouldn't starve on the homeward trip in the car! This is probably a Mum-thing. I expect all Mums would do the same.

So after 120 miles cycling over three days, Sammi was still fit for the local table tennis club at our village hall. Nasser brought his two brothers along so it was a lively session indeed. Village life is pretty good. Everyone knows each other in my village and although I am not really a table tennis player, I try to hold my own among the men players. They are all lovely people.

The boys and I did a speed quiz in a local MK pub on the Wednesday. Once I had got over the fear of finding an answer quickly, I really started to enjoy myself. Sammi and his friends teamed up with a couple of my brilliant quizzing friends to make up a team that absolutely wapped arse! The last round is a bit scary where the team with the fastest correct answer automatically goes one point in the lead. We were 80+ points clear at this stage and suddenly we slipped down the leader board. All came good in the end though!

Sammi did some baby sitting for Ezra-Mae when he was down here. It was quite a saga. With only a little exaggeration, Sammi reckons Ezra-Mae was on a death wish. At one point she was looking up the nose of a cow as Sammi was trying to extricate her while holding two dogs at arms length from the cows.  He said he carried her home under one arm  muttering rude words at her.  She really is fearless. Sammi on the other hand is permanently traumatised from the experience.

Apart from playing table tennis, picking blackberries and drinking a few bevvies, Sammi and I hit the Scrabble board, played Canasta and Bananagrams each evening. I love games and having him around is a really joy so I am still smiling despite having said goodbye to my beloved son.

I miss you too. Love you as always

xxx

Oh Calamity

 Dear Marmite

I was going to tell you all about my trip to Chippenham and my time with Claude and Pips. I think we had a good time together - they certainly needed lots of fuss. I did lots of exploring - especially the prehistoric bits of the area - Avebury, the Cherhill Horse a hill fort - All these interesting long walks were energy sapping in the intense British summer. The heat felt more like the Middle East than Old Blighty and I had plently of adventures - mostly involving map reading - sad to say. However, all these happy memories were surpassed yesterday afternoon when I went flying! 

Yes, I flew over my handlebars. This was an adventure I can well wait to experience again anytime soon. I had been swimming with Ezra-Mae and Danielle. This is always wonderful as Ezra-Mae just loves the water. Full of the joys etc....I set off on my bike for home which is less than 15 mins away but nearly didn't make it. A boat owning, basket case of inestimable magnitude had tethered his boat to a park bench, moved a lifebelt and its housing to pin the rope in place across the towpath and left the boat. I slowed down but didn't manage to get over the rope without incident. 

The offending boat

Me sunbathing

Twats idea of mooring a boat

I landed on my back with the bike near me. I actually reckoned I bounced pretty well -  with no bone breaks but my body today feels like I have been in the ring with Tyson Fury.  My bike got hurt and my watch is broken. My pride is sore and I still feel so embarrassed being surrounded by lots of people on the tow path all concerned about me.They phoned an ambulance but with waiting times and other people needing support more than me, I said I'd be OK. At one point Danielle told the help line I was 10 years younger than I really am... I love her!

So from my lying down position someone took pictures of the boat and me on my camera, I also have witness phone numbers. Danielle came to the rescue, Hazel - a first aider checked me over and helped me and Dan - a fellow cyclist offered himself as Dan-the-Crutch and helped me along the towpath back to the bridge. All this was rather slow going. The Rusty Duck narrow boat then gave me a lift. This meant that Dan-the-Crutch went back to being a cyclist and pedalled into the sunset - lovely man!!

Nasser and his brothers came to the Galleon to pick up my bike where Danielle, Ezra-Mae and myself sat supping beer... Well, I supped beer, E-M had Cheddars and Danielle had a lemonade - mums-to-be can't drink! Without friends where would I have been? I remember when I got knocked off my bike in bukit Timah - I actually broke my leg that time and I managed to get me and my bike back home. After nearly 12km I am not leaving that bike lying around anywhere!

So today all plans are cancelled. I can't go swimming - I can't move. Today I am angry. My fury knows no bounds. Because of a boat owners crass stupidity, I hurt! I know there are others who have worse. Rachel is in Alicante and there are wildfires close by. The pictures are horrifying.

 

I just want to see the twat that thought it was OK to put a rope across a towpath. I want to thump him. 

And so Marms that is my life this week. It was nice having a face time with you. I think you are doing marvellously even though your body probably hurts more than mine. We also realised you were born in 2006 and so you are a whole year older than I have been saying you are. 

I am thinking of you always and i love you... 

XXX

PS Claude sends his love!

Visiting friends

Dear Marmite

I hope this finds you well. I am currently staying with Claude and Pips. You might remember those two from Singapore. I am sure if they could they would send their love to you. Claude always had a deathwish back then and tried to sniff your bottom just as you were about to sit.  Claude, being a Maltese and having rather short legs, isn't into long walks so yesterday I set off on foot on a very hot day for Lacock. 

This is a near-by village that is used for period dramas. Rachel told me the best route was along the old canal but with OS map in hand, I thought I would make it a round trip. I set off down a bridle path which fizzled out and as a result I built many detours into the outward journey. Some might suggest I got lost.  Google maps didn't help either. It wanted me to walk the 5 plus miles there on the road. After a gazillion or so steps I arrived in the village. The canal trip route home was very straight forward by comparison. It was also quite beautiful. The canal is being re-dug and is not in use for narrow boats. The setting is so quiet and so different from my canal. Long may it last!

I fancied a relaxing beer in some quiet corner of Lacock. No chance!! The place was heaving. You couldn't move for tourists. This was very much my experience the day before when I popped into Bristol on a Park and Ride. All the wharfs have been gentrified and have become a go-to venue for meeting and eating. That is what most of the West of England did that day. They converged on the wharfs in their millions. All the media over here warn of our financial crisis. It certainly didn't seem our country was in the midst of a recession in Bristol.

I have also got replacement epi-pens from the NHS that are not called epi-pens. They are called Jext. They look just the same so I will carry them with me always - Just in case! 

Yesterday on my walk, I had a blackberrying disaster. I picked a bag of beautiful gems and put them in my rucksack. The bag leaked and everything, including my emergency medical bag which turned from orange to purple. I didn't even have my blackberrying walking stick with me. The biggest anf juicest are always just out of reach. This was almost a double disaster!

On the home front disasters abound. Just before I was due to drive down to Chippenham, the lock on my front door became loose. I ended up running up the road and round to the outside of the door wearing nothing but a dressing gown at about 6am in the morning. My front door and back door are quite a way from each other. It wasn't part of my eccentricity that made me take to the streets so early. The company have now ordered a new barrel. Then my boiler system pressure went up too high. Now I am too far away to feel confident it will be OK til I get back. 

What is worse, Rachel has had her own set of disasters so today I am awaiting a visit from a workman to fix a door in her posh kitchen, a workman to fix her internet and possibly someone to fix the downstairs loo. Disasters are contagious, obviously. 

Fingers crossed they don't touch your life.

Love you

XXX

Staying Alive

 Dear Marmite

First of all, I was sad to hear that you are under the weather. Remember, my thoughts are with you. i could advise you to take it easy but then that is what you have always done. I have had a few problems myself. The scar on my neck is healing and this week I have started swimming again. The NHS were really good at sorting that out. 

Unfortunately, my wasp sting has caused far more NHS problems. I know my wasp sting is not life threatening but my allergies are an annoying  and permanent fixture in my life. I have been given two prescriptions that cannot be filled, I have tried to contact my clinic - online as that is the only way - but to no avail. Each time I fill in the webpage to contact my clinic I am adding to someone's workload. I am wasting my time. I am wasting NHS time. All this an inefficiency that costs money. This is annoying - very annoying.

My house has been full too. Diane and Jeremy are slowly getting back to UK life. Each day they set off to do bits to their house and then we see each other in the evenings. Ezra-Mae came for the day on Sunday. All was well - generally. I built a tent out of a sheet and chairs. She climbed on it and the chairs fell on her - oops. There was that and other bumps too numerous to recall - as is the way with toddlers.

I have always believed that children need to be treated like dogs - lots of exercise to tire them out. So with that in mind, Shadow, Ezra-Mae and set off for the playground down the road. She climbed up things, had goes on swings and particularly loved the see-saw. She is a wonderful little whirlwind.

When it came to bedtime, I gave her a shower, put her jimjams on and then it struck her that this was going to be horrible. This was the first time she had gone to bed without Mum or Dad. Her eye welled up and she silently cried. It was heart-breaking. My resolve was tough though - the rubber mallet came out and eventually she succumbed. All this time Shadow sat in the shadows and watched quietly.

The best thing this week is that Britain is on a high - the football for starters. This is the biggest thing since 1966 and it took women to do it. It is fitting that we beat Germany but now we'll need to add words to the old non-PC football song - doo dah, doo dah... I also watched the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. It brought out the nationalist side of me and warmed the cockles of my heart. It was so nice to see so many people gathered together with thighs as large as mine!!! I belong!!!

So that is about all my news. Take care my lovely old man... You are loved by so many.

Love

XXX