Danskcolin: Sunday July 10th 2022

A nice quiet, warm sunny day, with just 45 minutes taken up by thinking about her projected house move to Malvern: a chat with our lawyer son-in-law Ed about how Lois and I might change our wills, and set up trusts, something we know nothing about. But 45 minutes out of the day is not too bad, and Ed has been very helpful as usual.

Otherwise my day's enlivened by Lois coming in from the garden brandishing the biggest cucumber of the season (so far). Phew what whoppers she's been showing me this year haha!

Lois showcases the biggest cucumber of the season (so far)

We need all the "free" food we can get hold of this year, that's for sure - prices are going through the roof.

In Hungary too. Tünde, my Hungarian penfriend has sent me an article helpfully pointing out to its readers the few things over there that haven't gone up in price.

These bargains include: monthly travel passes, new potatoes, Sunday zoo admission tickets for children, blood pressure monitors, rubbish collections and metro journey tickets. This is why, if you're looking for cheap fun in Budapest, then go on a trip to the zoo on a Sunday, send your child in, buy some new potatoes, throw the peel in the rubbish bin and then measure the child's blood pressure.

See? It sort of makes good economic sense, as well as being tremendous fun, doesn't it haha!

On the other side of the coin, the website reports that some of the consumer items that have risen the most in Hungary over the last year include: Trappist cheese (57% more expensive), bread (50%) and kitchen tiles (67%).

And in the latest of its acclaimed series of "supertips" or "pro tips", the website (telex.hu) sensibly cautions its readers that if they're making a cheese sandwich, they should if possible avoid cutting it too close to the kitchen wall, which sort of makes sense too.

You see, you can navigate this crazy situation if you're careful enough!

16:00 Consumer prices rear their ugly heads again when, later, Lois and I are on the patio in the sunshine enjoying a cup of tea and a slice of the Victoria Sponge cake we bought yesterday at the so-called Parish Festival.

we enjoy a cup of tea and a slice of Victoria Sponge on the patio

Lois reads out to me excerpts from her copy

of "The Week" magazine

Lois is reading excerpts to me from her copy of "The Week", the magazine that gives a digest of last week's news from home and abroad.

There's a shock item in it this week about how much Lurpak butter has gone up in price. Lois and I love Lurpak butter. But now, at Sainsbury's, it's £7.20 for a 750g pack, the magazine reports. And some branches of Asda have been putting security tags on it to deter shoplifters, apparently.

What madness !!!!

Lois and I love Lurpak butter, as a quick glance inside our fridge reveals.

Lurpak is even more expensive at our local village convenience store than it is in supermarkets, however, as I discover when I check yesterday's bill: £3.29 for 250g.

What madness !!!! [You've done that one once already! - Ed]

And there's even more shock news that Lois reads me out from "The Week" magazine.

Who knew that the NHS is much more "respectful, inclusive and relevant" when it comes to women, than it is when it's dealing with men, as this letter from a doctor points out.

Is this the reason for the enigma that Lois and I often discuss: the strange fact that there are many more men that want to become women, than vice versa? Well, I think we should be told, and quickly!

What a crazy world we live in !!!!!

20:00 We settle down on the couch to watch a bit of TV, a programme in the Comedy Legends series. This one is all about Steve Martin.

Lois and I had never heard of Steve Martin until we moved to the States for 3 years in 1982. All the other Brits in the office were installing cable tv so we did the same: and we started seeing Martin in the crime thriller "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" on either the Showtime or the HBO channel - I forget which.

We watched the film several times - my god, how young we were! And how young Steve was!!!

Later we saw Martin's stage act, including his expert banjo-playing, juggling, and making-toy-animals-out-of-balloon skills. And I even wore a replica of one of his trademark arrow-through-the-head sets to one of our office lunchtime get-togethers.

What a wild and crazy guy I was in those far-off days haha!

And in tonight’s programme we see a lot of Martin's banjo-playing and a little bit of his juggling, but no balloon creations, which is a pity. But we do see a few excerpts from “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid”, which is nice.

Here we see what must have been a nervous moment in Martin's career, possibly his first ever screen kiss. Fortunately for Martin he was playing opposite the much more experienced Anglo-Australian actress Rachel Ward, which must have been a comfort.

And who can forget the following scene, an object lesson in refusing to tolerate poor standards in a restaurant, no matter how highly the restaurant is rated; and to be sure to complain, no matter what, if only to protect the sensitivities and sensibilities of your "date".

Once again, impeccably, Steve Martin shows us just exactly how you do it, no question about that.