06:30 I switch on my smartphone. There are no messages from Sarah, our daughter in Australia. Yesterday she told us that one of hers and Francis's 8-year-old twins Lily had been very poorly and that she was going to test her for COVID in the morning. Let's hope that "no news is good news" - I think she would have texted us if the test had proved positive. So fingers crossed.
I get up early to feed our other daughter Alison's 2 cats and her tank of tiny marine fish - Lois and I are staying the week in the crumbling Victorian mansion in Headley, Hampshire, where Alison's family live. We're "pet-sitting" while they are all away in Wales, staying in a little village called Llanthony.
Today, Ali posted on social media a few pictures of the charming holiday cottage - "The Old Smithy" - that they're renting for the week. It's apparently in a secluded valley and has no wifi and no signal for their mobiles, and no TV, so it's a pretty complete "detox" from the technical online world for Ali and Ed and their 3 children, Josie (15), Rosalind (13) and Isaac (11).
And I can imagine that's going to be quite a struggle for all of them - oh dear!!!!
Ed relaxing in the garden of "The Old Smithy" in Llanthony
Llanthony, the village where our daughter Alison and her family are staying this week
I think I pass the test this morning, and both cats and all the little fish appear to start their day with a smile on their little faces, which is nice. Not actual smiles of course, it's more their body language that convinces me that what I've given them "hits the spot"!
We've told Sarah and Francis that we've been a bit disappointed in the houses in Malvern that we've looked at so far, and Francis explains that we're seeing only the houses that have something wrong with them and so have remained on the market more than a few days. It's such a extreme seller's market at the moment that any house that's any good gets snapped up quickly, so unless you get in quick and make an offer fast, you just get to see the houses that buyers aren't impressed with, which makes sense to us on reflection.
As a souvenir, I take a "before" and an "after" picture.
10:00 Lois and I don't have much to do here in between feeding the pets, so after breakfast we go for another walk around the 6.5 acre grounds of this mansion, built by one of Queen Victoria's vice-admirals in the late 19th century.
It's entertaining for Lois and me to imagine the little Victorian children playing make-believe games in the little house, and having tea parties on the wooden tables and chairs outside the front door.
the fish tank before I release some fish food,
with the fish swimming somewhat aimlessly around
...and after I put the food in - a greater level of focus
is seen as the fish seek to find as much food as possible,
and giving me a nice "virtual" smile to show their appreciation, which is nice!
We come across a wooden "Wendy House", which must have been built to amuse the children. I look through the windows and see that it now houses Ed's sets of golf clubs, amongst other random rubbish.
a peep through the window reveals Ed's sets of golf clubs
and other assorted unwanted items
Tremendous fun !!!!!!
11:30 We speak on zoom to Sarah, our daughter in Australia, and also with Francis and their 8-year-old twins Lily and Jessica. During the morning I got a message from Sarah to see that Lily tested negative for COVID, and so she must just be suffering from a very bad cold.
Lois and I can remember how Sarah herself used to suffer very badly from colds when she was around Lily's age, and that she also suffered from croup. Many's the night we used to boil kettles in her room - this seemed to have a beneficial effect.
Lily is subdued, but she stays around to talk to us, which is nice. And Francis gives us his tips on house-hunting. Lois and I are looking to move to Malvern, the town where Francis and Sarah are also hoping to settle when they return to the UK after their 6 years down under.
Oh dear, what a crazy market it is at the moment !!!!!
20:00 Oh dear - Lois and I have no live TV feed of course, and there's nothing particular from last week's shows that we want to watch on BBC iPlayer - or "Ay-playah" as I call it, so there's nothing for it but to look on the Netflix pay-to-view channel, which the family subscribe to.
Luckily the channel doesn't ask us for a password, because we haven't got one, of course. Lois chooses the "Romantic films" category and we watch a film called "The Duchess".
The cats are still out in the garden, so we decide to settle down in the living-room with the fish in Alison's fish tank, and watch the film to the end. I have to say the fish don't take a lot of interest in the film, however, but I suppose they've still got a lot of swimming to do, which is a pity! When we go to bed we always switch the fish's light off so that they can get some sleep, so they've got to pack a lot of swimming in before that time, so fair enough perhaps!
Young Georgiana (Keira Knightley) finds herself married to the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes), who's mainly interested in getting her to produce a male heir, but unfortunately she produces 2 daughters. The duke is essentially a boring, taciturn man whose only lasting interest seems to be his two dogs. In his spare time he also sleeps with servant-girls and also with Georgiana's best, and only, friend, Lady Elizabeth "Bess" Foster (Hayley Atwell).
the Duke and Devonshire's wedding night,
as the Duke starts to peel off several layers of the Duchess's clothes
Poor Georgiana!!!! No wonder she decides to dally with dashing young Whig (Liberal) politician Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper). Unfortunately, of course, society at that time permitted married men to "play away", but disapproved of married women who try to do the same. The old double standard, as Lois comments.
the Duchess meets the charming Whig politician Charles Grey,
who becomes her lover - but still no interest from the fish-tank, I notice:
what madness !!!!
Luckily Lois has read a book about the Duchess so she has numerous comments to make about the film's many historical inaccuracies, which it is nice to pick up on - how refreshing!
The film is anxious to present the Duchess as a victim, Lois notes, which is fair enough, but in doing so it glosses over some of her weaknesses, like her gambling addiction. Also, in real life the Duchess suffered some illness that gave her facial/bodily disfigurement, but again the film doesn't go there, so Keira Knightley can stay as lovely as she likes, which is nice for her!
It's time for bed, but before we go, we chat about the Duchess - we're comforted by the fact that at least she had a bit of passion and fun in her life while her affair with Grey lasted. And she got a holiday in France when it was time to have his baby, which was nice too.
Georgiana (Keira Knightley) in bed with her lover,
Charles Grey (Dominic Cooper), during a trip to Bath
Earl Grey is a popular guy in our house because of our love of Earl Grey tea, which is associated with him, although historians can't agree about why, and it may be a totally spurious connection.
It's weird that drinking Earl Grey tea today is the epitome of being "posh" and "middle-class", whereas during the Earl's lifetime, in the 1830's and 1840's, for example, to drink tea flavoured with bergamot was looked on as "disreputable" and "disgusting".
What a crazy world we live in !!!!!
22:00 We switch off the light in the fish tank and go upstairs to bed - zzzzzzzzz !!!!!
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