Two reminders of the passage of time today, which, while pleasant in themselves, are two more reminders than we old codgers Lois and me really want, that's for sure. Oh dear!
Lois and I have five grandchildren, and, amazingly, three of them have a birthday today - what are the chances of that happening, eh? Well, not as remote a chance as you might think when you learn that two of them are twins anyway - see?
You do the maths!!!!
flashback to July 9th: our 5 grandchildren
plus our two daughters Alison (leftmost) and Sarah (in sunglasses),
plus Lois and me, plus Sarah's husband Francis (rightmost)
Our daughter Sarah's twins are 10 today, and our daughter Alison's youngest, Isaac, is 13 today. And lucky Isaac, who's soccer-crazy, is today actually in Madrid, getting a tour of the Real Madrid soccer stadium - Lois says she's never seen a lad with such a big grin on his face, and I think she's right. My goodness yes!
our grandson Isaac, who turns 13 today - officially
now a teenager - and the lucky lad gets a tour of Real Madrid's stadium
meanwhile, in Alcester, Lily and Jessica are turning 10 today,
so into double figures, and they have a lovely birthday cake to look forward to
- yum yum!!!!!
flashback to this day in 2013: we celebrate Isaac's 3rd birthday on our patio...
... when a call comes in - Sarah has given birth to twins in Gloucester Royal Hospital
first pictures of the new-born twins
Sarah's twins, Lily and Jessica, on the day they were born
at Gloucester Royal Hospital in 2013
tired but very happy - Sarah in Gloucester Royal Hospital
the day after giving birth to the twins.
If you're a grandparent yourself, you'll know how important a role grandchildren play in grandparents' lives. And their births are always big moments, especially if you're retired like us, and don't have as much to think about generally, although life never stops being busy no matter what, does it. My goodness no! [Stop wittering on! - Ed]
The birth of our very first grandchild, Josie, who'll turn 17 in September, was a big event for Lois and me, that's for sure. And by an extraordinary coincidence, our daughter Alison rang to tell us she was "expecting" on the very day that Lois and I both retired, back in February 2006. I was entitled to retire on my 60th birthday, i.e. in late March 2006, but I'd squirreled away so much leave that I actually retired a whole month early, in February 2006, and Lois decided she'd do the same, even though on paper she still had a few more months to do at her workplace, the local Care Home for Retired Vicars.
10:00 For Lois and me, by contrast, it's shaping up to be a pretty quiet day today, with an afternoon in bed in prospect, although in the morning we have to drive into Grayshott to stock up with more food from Sainsbury's, plus lots of CookShop meals for two from the wine shop.
There's just the two of us rattling around like two peas in a drum again today in this massive but crumbling Victorian mansion built for one of Queen Victoria's vice-admirals, John Parish, in the 1870's.
We've got to keep eating, however, so that, when we're not pleasing ourselves, we have the strength to devote a bit of time to looking after the mansion and extensive 6.5 acre grounds and feeding all the pets - a springer spaniel, 2 cats and a bunch of tropical fish. Poor us!!!!
the huge but crumbling Victorian mansion, built for Vice-Admiral John Parish
in the 1870's, where Lois and I are house-sitting and pet-sitting
for our daughter Alison and her family while they holiday in Spain and Italy
16:00 However there's today's second reminder of the passage of time coming up at 4 o'clock.
I've arranged to chat on the phone to my old friend, "Magyar" Mike, whom I've known for almost exactly 30 years this year.
I first met Mike by chance at a "Hungarian For Beginners" evening-class in Cheltenham in about 1993, and we've been great friends ever since. He happened to sit next to me for the first evening of the course, and I discovered that he was a quiet sort of person, just like me - how weird is that! mike had recently taken early retirement from being a lecturer at a local college, and he was anxious to do more travelling in Europe.
Lois and I had a couple of holidays in Hungary with Mike and his wife, "Magyar" Mary, and a couple of holidays also in France.
flashback to 1994 and my first ever visit to Hungary:
me (left) with my friend "Magyar" Mike: showcasing
our newly-purchased second-hand "excellent worker" medals
from the communist era
"Magyar" Mike with our Hungarian
friend János, on my first ever visit to Hungary in 1994.
Me with János in 1994
flashback to 1998: "Magyar" Mike in happier times -
(from left to right) me, Lois and Mike at a restaurant in Szentendre,
a small town located just outside Budapest. That terrible Hungarian dish,
fish soup, is on the menu - a soup that includes all the mandatory fish bones.
Yikes!
1998: Lois in Szentendre, Hungary
Flashback to 2002: in the small border town of Sopron, Hungary,
close to the Austrian border - (from left to right) "Magyar" Mike, Lois,
close to the Austrian border - (from left to right) "Magyar" Mike, Lois,
"Magyar" Mary (Mike's wife) and our Hungarian friend, Ibolya,
standing in the car park in front of the town’s theatre
"Magyar" Mike in 2010 in France: from left to right: me, Lois, "Magyar" Mike,
and "Magyar" Mary next door to Chinon Castle
Flashback to 2014: "Magyar" Mike in his beloved Cotswolds: from left to right
"Magyar" Mike, Lois, and "Magyar" Mary
2017: "Magyar" Mike (Ieft) and his wife, “Magyar” Mary,
seen here with his grandson Stephen in the Czech Republic
Happy days !!!!!
This afternoon, Mike, who's now in his late 80's, tells us that he has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's, so he can't get around as much as he used to. He and Mary live in a kind of sheltered village complex for old people in his hometown of Nailsworth, Gloucestershire.
Mike and Mary's only child Clare sadly died a couple of years back, but Clare's husband Charles and the two grandsons Stephen and Adam have always taken a big interest in Mike and Mary, which has made a huge difference to their lives.
20:00 Lois disappears upstairs to take part in her church's weekly Bible Class on zoom. I settle down on the couch to watch the local news on my phone, sourcing the influential news website Onion News.
If you live in the Malvern area, do you remember that guy Hank Shafer who can sometimes be seen hanging around in the Barnard's Green area, you know, the guy who everybody has always assumed is a down-and-out?
Well, he's actually been working at a steady office job for years, it's now confirmed, and he seems to have turned over a new leaf also in his private life, which is nice to hear!
BARNARD'S GREEN: Lavishing their co-worker with admiration for his new look, office sources have confirmed Wednesday that local man Hank Schafer has been racking up the compliments after taking a shower.
Receiving a “Wow!” and several whistles from fellow employees, the usually unkempt Schafer was the subject of numerous flattering remarks about his freshly shampooed hair and the intoxicating scent that was reportedly attributable to his generic brand of body wash.
Awestruck onlookers were said to have been completely stunned by Schafer’s transformation from a dishevelled slob to a full-blown “dapper Dan” who had brushed his teeth and combed his hair that day, with many praising his unstained shirt and clean hands.
At press time, sources reported that Schafer’s new groomed look had caught the eyes of higher-ups who immediately gave him a promotion.
Locals are now predicting a bright future for him, which is nice. Do you remember how Lois once gave him a pound coin from a supermarket trolley, because she felt so sorry for him?
Well, those days are over now for Hank, that's for sure. And not before time!
22:00 Lois emerges from her zoom session, and we take a late video call from our daughter Sarah in Alcester. We get to see, and to talk to, our twin granddaughters, Lily and Jessica, who turned 10 today.
Francis, Sarah's husband, took them on a birthday outing to somewhere in Birmingham area today to celebrate the birthday - it was some kind of artificial snow slope, and the twins got to try on skis and do a bit of skiing themselves, and they're both still very excited about the day they've had, which is nice to hear!
22:30 We go to bed - zzzzzzzz!!!!!!
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