the boat that the family have bought, seen here
during its refurbishment by "Stuman"
Earlier today, Sarah and the girls went to a local swimming pool, where they took advantage of the free body-painting service on offer there.
Jessie (left) and Lily, out 7-year-old twin granddaughters,
showcase the body painting they got today at the swimming pool:
Jessie has a dragon on her arm, and Lily has an octopus on her face - what madness!!!!
Lois and I miss them all like crazy: we used to look after the twins two days a week before they moved to Australia. But we have to say, they're certainly having a whale of a time over there, 9000 miles away, that's for sure.
They've been getting quite a bit of rain recently, which is good for their water tank: they're not on any water mains at their house. If the cooler, wetter weather continues then the State Government is likely to approve use of barbecues and pizza ovens, also fireworks etc in back gardens, which is an important factor in observance of Western Australia Day on June 7th. What a crazy world we live in !!!!!
12:00 After a mostly abysmal month of cold, wet weather, there's a change this week: milder, and with more sunshine. For the first time this year we have lunch out on the patio, which makes a nice change.
we have lunch on the patio for the first time this year
16:00 We have tea and a scone on the sofa. I look at my smartphone - there's more interesting chat on the quora web forum about lack of authenticity in films set in medieval times. We've already heard that, if the films were realistic, then a fairly significant proportion of the women shown ought to be visibly pregnant. Also that medieval people would have had really good teeth and would have displayed dazzling smiles - people back then didn't have access to sugary foods and they had to do a lot of vigorous chewing. Makes sense!
Today I see that historical expert Enrico Toro has weighed in, to say that, just as a lot of the women were pregnant at any one time, it stands to reason that in those times there would also have been kids, kids, kids, everywhere you looked.
Toro comments that the medieval demographic pyramid (see above) looked very like it does today in many developing countries.
"In population pyramids based on demographics
studies, Germany's age distribution in the 13th century had the under 13's making up 1/3 of the population and the under 25's forming 55%. This
distribution matches Angola’s today. Median age was 16–18, same as in many African
countries today. Half of the people in a movie that is set in medieval times, ought to be teenagers or younger.
"Since this large amount of kids was not brought by a stork, but made by
human parents, married women age 15 to 45 were pregnant an awful lot: some historians think, for as much as one third of their fertile life. That means that the majority of
women aged 18-45 that you would meet, would be either pregnant or breastfeeding.
"The cities and villages would be filled with people
under 20, with bands of urchins roaming the streets. This is something you would never see in a period
drama or even described in historical novels."
Fascinating stuff !!!!!
20:00 We settle down on the couch to watch a bit of TV, the latest episode in the reality tv-documentary series "Meet the Richardsons", which chronicles the married life of two stand-up comics, Jon Richardson and his wife Lucy Beaumont, who have settled in the quiet Yorkshire town of Hebden Bridge.
This fascinating documentary study of a celebrity couple's marriage is now nearing its end. Lucy devises a "surprise birthday present" for Jon, a down-market version of "The Masked Singer" to take place in the local village hall, with the miserable Jon as a contestant. Something which she knows he will hate, but it will make her happy, which is the important thing - oh dear!
Lucy admits to the cameras, as the day approaches, that she's reeling with anticipation, and is more excited than she was before the couple's wedding, which says something!
It all kind of figures, because Lucy has admitted before, that she married Jon mainly to try and get him to like himself, but that she realised, after many years, that she didn't like him either - oh dear!
Also during this programme tonight, Lucy and Jon have to travel to Salford so that she can record an episode of her new sitcom.
two of the routes the couple could have taken for their trip to Salford
Before the trip the couple have their usual argument about luggage: Jon has a simple small bag, whereas Lucy has packed a large suitcase plus a large carrier bag.
Lucy retorts, that in the suitcase and bag, she's got everything she could possibly need. Plus she packs a big suitcase, she says, because she knows it "pisses him off" - oh dear (again) !!!!
Later, for the documentary film crew, there's some discussion about the couple's different ways of packing. Lucy admits, "I just want to get it all done. I just ram it all in, the way I would load the dishwasher. I just ram it all in and hope for the best".
The film crew ask Lucy what her technique is, and at this point it's unclear whether they're talking to Lucy or to Jon.
In some ways tonight is a bit of a sad episode, because the couple have agreed to leave Hebden Bridge and move to London: it turns out this is very much Lucy's decision. She says, "I think our sex-life will improve. I've felt a bit stilted here [i.e. in Hebden Bridge - Ed], and I haven't felt very sexual. I think going back to London will make me feel like, you know, a woman with a career, and that I'm doing things, and I think it'll kick-start things for us. We'll be going out more, won't we. And we'll be going to theatres and opera."
This is fair enough, Lois and I feel, but what a pity that Jon's reaction to this is typically negative.
The move to London sadly means, also, the end of the current documentary series. Jon is very pleased, of course - he didn't want the film crew installed in their house in the first place - no surprise there!
But Lucy's reaction to this is different. And it speaks volumes about the state of her marriage to Jon. She says, "It's meant much more to me than to him [i.e. to Jon - Ed]. Because, you know, he doesn't enjoy people, things, joy, happiness, whereas you [i.e. the film crew - Ed] have been my lifeline. You've been my safety blanket. Just when I thought, 'I can't carry on any more', you came into my life. Do you know what you've done? You've drowned out the sorrow".
A nice tribute to the film crew, there, from Lucy, but at the same time it's a bit sad when you think how it reflects so badly on her marriage.
Lois and I just hope that the move to London will indeed do the trick for this engaging pair of comics with the troubled marriage, and maybe even kick-start the romance for them.
Fascinating stuff!!!
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzz!!!!
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