09:45 A Saturday zoom call with Sarah, our younger daughter, who lives just outside Perth, Australia, with Francis and their 7-year-old twins Lily and Jessie. It's usually Sunday morning that we talk, but that's no good for either end this time - I've got to do a coronavirus test at the local general hospital tomorrow morning, and Lily and Jessie are going to friend Cameron's 7th birthday party in a local park. Makes sense!
we talk on zoom with our younger daughter Sarah and our 7-year-old
twin granddaughters Lily and Jessie, in Perth, Australia
The family recently bought a "Red Witch" sailing boat, made in Perth mainly for Perth residents, because it's designed to fit under all the bridges on the Swan River. It's "a local boat for local people" haha! And after all, it's no fun having your top sliced off or bent by a low bridge: it puts a "ruddy marvellous" damper on anybody's cruise experience, that's for sure!
the Swan River, Perth, Western Australia
the family's boat - picture taken when it was being refurbished
Last Sunday Francis asked us to suggest names that would channel the "Red Witch" brand and colour, and/or his late mother's name Anne.
Lois and I came up with the suggestions "The Jolly Rioja" (Rioja pronounced like 'Roger'), also "Red Anemone", and "Red Angelica", also, on a lighter note, "The Ruddy Marvellous". However, it seems that Francis has now finally plumped for the prettier but "less unique" name, "Bluebird". What madness!!!!
Later, but only after the zoom call, it occurs to me that the connection could be with Lake Coniston in the English Lake District, where Francis and Sarah got married, and where Donald Campbell made his attempt on the world water speed record in a boat also called "Bluebird". But I'm not 100% sure - the jury's still out on that one.
They're going to be ordering a motor for the boat tomorrow, just as back-up. Makes sense (again) !!!
We exchange news, as usual. Jessie came 5th in the school 1km cross-country race, bless her! Sarah says that petrol prices over there change according to day of the week and the time of day. Cheapest is Monday mornings, so she always makes a point of filling up then, but unfortunately that doesn't quite take her through the whole week, so she has to hunt around for the cheapest petrol station for later in the week: apparently there's an app "Fuelsave" that will find these for you - what a crazy world we live in !!!!!!
10:30 The zoom call ends and Lois and I relax on the couch with a cup of coffee and a digestive biscuit. Then we go for a walk on the local football field.
This morning there's a brief break from the wind and rain that seem to be dominating the weather at the moment. We bump into John and Miriam who live just over the road from us, and some other family groups, some with dogs, who are walking round - nice!
we take a walk on the local football field
16:00 We have a cup of tea and a currant bun on the sofa. I'm thinking about my appointment tomorrow morning at the local general hospital for a coronavirus test.
As usual when I have to visit any hospital I'm more worried about how you pay for the parking than about whether I'm going to end up dying or not - what madness!!! I discover the Saba parking app, which I'm pleased about because it lets me book a space in advance, which is nice. You can print out the parking permit and display it in your car if you want, although the app tells me that the car-park guys will have my reservation to hand in any case.
19:00 Lois's hearing is better in her right ear than her left one, so if we're side by side I try to make sure I'm talking to her right ear - simples! When we watch TV we routinely have the subtitles switched on, but an article in the current issue of the consumer magazine "Which?" suggests that the controls on our TV may be to blame for poor reproduction of dialogue.
I experiment by switching "Surround" on - whatever that is. And I accentuate the treble. So we'll see.
I sit on Lois's right hand, as she reads to me
from the current issue of the consumer magazine "Which?"
20:00 We watch some TV, this week's edition of the comedy news quiz, "Have I Got News for You".
Once again, some interesting but lesser-known news stories surface in tonight's programme. Portugal is a popular holiday destination that the Government have decided to put on their green list, so it has been widely assumed that would-be tourists would be flocking there as soon as the restrictions were lifted.
True, but not quite true - apparently the first planes were filled mostly with British journalists.
Later, one of the journalists involved tweeted:
I don't know - what a crazy world we live in !!!!!
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzzz!!!!!!
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