Wednesday November 23rd 2022

 A wretchedly wet day in Malvern, but no matter, because Lois and I are "imprisoned" in our new-build home anyway at least till the afternoon, because a rather perfectionist plasterer comes and goes about 6 times throughout the morning touching up his handiwork. He's plastering over the work of yesterday's visitor: the TV-aerial-socket guy, who had to dig into the walls at various points to give us a second aerial socket.

I showcase an example of our perfectionist plasterer's

gallant attempts to "patch up" yesterday's tv-aerial-socket-installer's work

Yes, the plasterer has been tidying up after the tv-aerial-guy, and tomorrow we'll be visited by the painter who will repaint the affected areas that have been re-plastered by the plasterer guy. It's all very horribly reminiscent of the traditional middle-class folk song, "The Gas-man cometh". 

It's quite a long song, but this part of it will give you a flavour:

The song is quite a patronising one, and dates from the 1950's, when middle-class people, faced with work to be done around the house, used to call upon the services of various tradesmen, who always tended to be comically clumsy and inept. The middle class customers, who were dependent on these comic tradesmen's services, seemed at the same time to resent them being so bold and unhelpful as to take the weekend off to be with their families. 

What a crazy world we lived in in those far-off days!

15:00 In the afternoon, as the rain continues to beat down on our windows, we have the pleasure of reading through the menu for Lois's church's Christmas lunch next month at the 15th century Gupshill Manor, Tewkesbury, where Peter, the father of my "new" cousin David (identified a couple of years ago as a relative by a chance DNA test), was manager in the 1950's. 

part of my family tree that includes Peter, manager of Gupshill Manor 

in the 1950's, and father of my "new" cousin David.

It's always cheering to look through a menu. Firstly Lois and I have to decide whether we want 2 or 3 courses: we decide to go for the "two courses, mains plus dessert" option - it's always nice to go out into the cold savouring something sweet, we find.

The jury is still out on our final choices, but  I think I'm leaning towards the sausages - even though they're veggie ones -  and the choc pot. Lois is leaning towards the Beef and the Cheesecake. We tend to avoid the super-traditional turkey and Christmas pudding combination, because it steals the thunder of the actual Christmas meal that we have on Christmas Day itself. But we'll see!

flashback to January 2022: Lois and me outside Gupshill Manor, Tewkesbury

flashback to December 2018 - the last time Lois and I took part

in her church's Christmas meal at Gupshill Manor

Yum yum !!!!!

Lois estimate that this year, unlike 2018 when we last took part, around 40% of her church's local members and attendees are now Iranian Christian refugees, so what, if anything, those guys will want to eat off this rather-British menu remains to be seen. Oh dear!!!

Poor Iranians !!!!!!