08:00 A bad start to the day - it's Lois's turn to get out of bed first and make the 2 cups of tea, but at the moment she's excused the chore of getting the milk bottles in, due to her back problems - she's given me a chit, so it's all official haha!
Unfortunately our regular milkman is back from his week off, and as usual he's "hidden" the milk behind a plant tub - what madness: he's totally crazy !!!!!
Mark is back from his holidays - and up to his old tricks
of "hiding the milk bottles" - what madness! !!!!
Our conclusion: he's come back specially to open up his gym later in the day, presumably for what we assume is his only client so far, Mr so-called "Tall Guy": our neighbour has only just started up his business, so fair enough!
flashback to last month: Mr so-called "Tall Guy" (left) with our neighbour
after they finish their session in the so-called mini-gym,
photographed from our bedroom window - ha!
film star Michael Caine, spiritual leader of Britain's thousands of
"nosy neighbours", here starring as Harry Palmer, in his trademark raincoat,
taking an early breakfast before starting his day's heavy schedule
Michael starts on his heavy daily schedule of monitoring
the superficially mundane activities of his deceptively mild-mannered neighbours
10:00 Gill, my sister in Cambridge, texts me. We recently became aware that we have a cousin we didn't know about - David, a 64-year-old online journalist, who was adopted as a baby.
our mother Hannah ("Nan") and her twin sisters, Babs and,
in particular Joan, who was David's mother
Happy endings all round, not to say "dream endings" as far as David in particular is concerned - thanks to a DNA database, he's found out who his "real family" are after 64 years, which is a game-changer by anybody's standards, to put it mildly!
10:30 Lois goes off for a walk on the local football field, while I go upstairs and do the so-called "List B" of the exercises that Connor, my NHS physiotherapist, has scheduled for me today.
11:25 Lois comes back with the news that the developers have brought a pile-driver in onto the site.
A really odd set of questions tonight, which is reflected in the final (low) scores by both teams. In these circumstances, Lois and I feel really pleased to get 7 questions right that the students strike out on.
Students: back stitch (Queen's), cross stitch (Oxford Brookes)
Students; figure-of-eight
What a crazy world we live in !!!!!!
mine and Gill's "lost cousin", David
I encourage Lois to take her phone with her so she can take pictures and monitor the activities of developers starting work on erecting some horrible blocks of flats on the so-called "extra bit" of the football field. What madness!!
aerial map showcasing the running-track (in red), and
the so-called "extra bit" in white
Those bastards!!!
On a lighter side, Lois finds some blackberries coming ripe in some of the bushes, which is nice, and she manages to fill an old Bertolli margarine spread tub with them - it's the small size (half a pound), but never mind: every little helps haha!
14:00 Lois and I go to bed for 2 hours. We've got lots of time today, because Lois's usual Tuesday zoom Bible-Reading Class is on holiday at the moment, so we can eat as late as we like, although I expect we'll still eat at 6 pm - we're nothing if not creatures of habit haha!!!
the developers have brought in a pile-driver - what madness!!
Lois, on the football field, showcases the blackberries
she has found in the bushes.
(included for comparison purposes) a typical tub of
Bertolli margarine spread, seen here in happier times:
i.e. before it's been used haha!
16:00 We roll out of bed after noticing through the bedroom window that the doors of our neighbour's mini-gym are open and there are some repetitive movements going on inside. Yes it's our neighbour in there, together with Mr. So-called "Tall Guy". Ha! A 4pm to 5pm session!
Of course, now it all begins to make sense!
20\:00 We watch a bit of TV, one of our favourite TV quizzes, University Challenge, the student quiz, this time between Queen Mary College, London and Oxford Brookes University.
1. Name this embroidery stitch:
Colin and Lois: blanket stitch.
2. Name this embroidery stitch:
Colin and Lois: chain stitch
3. A couple of questions on cities in Russia that still bear Communist-era names.
The city on the Volga formerly known as Simbirsk was renamed Ulyanovsk in 1924 in recognition of the political figure better known by what name?
Students: Rasputin [Say what???!!!! - Ed]
Colin and Lois: Lenin
4. Another city with a Communist-era name. A capital of the former German Republic, the city opposite Saratov on the Volga bears the name of which revolutionary born in 1820?
Students: Rasputin (again) [Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???!!! - Ed]
Colin and Lois: Engels
Is this an indication perhaps that knowledge about communism and communists is at last fading into the sort of history that people no longer remember much about? I don't know but I think we should be told!
5. In the 1960's the PAL system was one of two principal television systems that gained widespread adoption in Europe. What was the other system, that was used in France?
Students: [pass]
Colin and Lois: SECAM
6. The Italian word for 'blackberry' spells what English comparative word? The corresponding Italian word is 'piu'.
Students: 'smaller'
Colin and Lois: 'more'
7. In a discussion of the private language argument, Wittgenstein asks us to imagine a conversation between people who each have a personal box containing what insect?
Students: cricket
Colin and Lois: beetle
The above gives an idea of the some of the strange questions we hear tonight. And not surprisingly this is the lowest-scoring game Lois and I have seen for a long time. What madness !!!!!
Wake up, Jeremy. Get some new question-setters, and get them fast !!!!!
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzz!!!!!
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