I start the day expecting to be driving Lois to her church's Sunday Morning meetings today just outside Tewkesbury - I filled the car up with petrol yesterday, and found a clean pair of socks etc, so that we'll be ready to go off at the usual time: 11:15am.
However, Lois decides, rightly in my view, not to go, but stay at home and log in online instead - her back is in a delicate state at the moment, and those chairs in the Ashchurch Village Hall, where meetings are held, are incredibly painful to sit on, after about the first 10 minutes.
You would not BELIEVE !!!!
flashback to July: a Sunday Morning Meeting in progress
at Ashchurch Village Hall - with only those awful seats to sit on - oh dear!
It's a pity because yesterday we made a special trip over to a local convenience store to buy some bags of fruit and nuts to give to the congregation's flourishing contingent of Iranian Christian refugees. The Iranians really love those fruit-and-nuts bags she gives them to snack on after their lunch at the hall. You would not BELIEVE!
It makes the Iranians sound a bit like animals or birds, but it's a fact that in their culture fruit-and-nuts are a great delicacy. And with their difficult existence, boarded by the Home Office in local hotels and being fed on the cheaper and more horrible dishes in the British "food canon", they are longing for something more familiar when they come out to the services on Sundays, when they can try the lunches provided for them by the British church-members. My goodness, yes!
It's true that many animals and birds like fruit-and-nut combination snacks, but so do people, you may not realise!
If you need convincing, however, do you remember how the snacks "saved" that Hatcher family evening get-together reported originally by Onion News, in a story that subsequently went viral?
LANSDALE, PA—According to delighted reports, 25-year-old
Brian Hatcher spent a most exquisite Saturday evening in the enchanting company
of not only his parents, Mike, 54, and Diane, 53, but also their dear friends
and long-time canasta partners Doug and Trudy Blanchard, both 53.
"I was home for the weekend, and the Blanchards came
over for dinner one night," said Hatcher, describing how his family's
charming neighbours came calling early Friday evening, bearing a selection of
generous gifts that included brownies and exotic ales imported from faraway
Canada. "I hadn't seen them in a couple years."
"They looked good," added Hatcher, referring to
the regal lady and her dignified husband, respectively clad in a stunning
rose-pink tracksuit and a crisp Philadelphia Flyers tee-shirt.
After exchanging formal greetings in the Hatchers' "mudroom",
the guests were ushered to the tastefully appointed dining room table—bedecked
with a dazzling, floral-print tablecloth—where they sat in the intimate glow of
a nearby halogen floor lamp.
And
just as quickly as ceremonious salutations gave way to witty, off-the-cuff
repartee, the sumptuous multicourse fare began to be served.
"Mom put out some snacks," said Hatcher, recalling
the bounteous tray of premium mixed nuts and fruit, and an elegant fan of Townhouse
crackers, set upon the breakfast bar. "Which was good, because I think
everyone was getting pretty hungry."
After everyone had sated themselves upon a glorious meal followed by a lavish dessert
that featured not one, but two of the choicest Turkey Hill ice creams, they
retired to the sitting room for a game of "Scattergories", whereupon the evening
reportedly took a turn toward the bawdy when Doug Blanchard unveiled a
delightfully risqué quip about a particular waitress who had recently served
him, leaving the entire gathering titillated and dizzily gleeful.
Decorum was eventually restored, however, when Mrs.
Hatcher broached the sobering yet engrossing subject of her recent blood work.
Brian Hatcher (25), who welcomed the arrival of his mother's snacks
noticing that the company was getting obviously "pretty hungry"
Time, as is its wont, seemed to pass swiftly, Hatcher
claimed, and before even a soul had noticed, it was nigh on 9:40. At such a
late hour, the evening's honoured guests declared, with a mixture of
satisfaction and reservation, they must "call it a night."
After a succession of farewells and warm embraces, the
distinguished couple made their departure, but not without leaving behind them
a most pleasing collection of memories for all in attendance to cherish.
[story courtesy of Onion News (Local) ]
Some evening, eh? And really all rescued from a potential disaster by some fruit and nut snacks - well done, Mrs Hatcher, for saving the day !!!!
11:00 Anyway, be that as it may, at around 11 am, Lois disappears into the kitchen to log on expectantly to her church's first service, the Bible Hour, but soon the downside of meeting remotely hit her full blast, unfortunately - the variable quality of the audio. She can hear and understand David, this week's visiting preacher, but if anybody else is called on to give a Bible reading or a prayer, it all dissolves into a horrible cacophony that is totally meaningless.
It's a pity for Lois because it devalues the whole experience for her. She always makes a big effort, and it used to be that she felt she was really taking part, because she always sits at the laptop wearing her "meeting hat", and has a glass of wine or sherry and a piece of bread at hand to "partake of" when the church-members in the hall are having the communion part of the service.
And she used to join in all the hymns even. But the poor quality of the audio means that she feels totally on her own for all of that, which is a pity.
12:00 Meanwhile, our daughter Sarah, husband Francis, and 10-year-old twins Lily and Jessica, will soon be setting off to drive the 190-mile journey home to Alcester today after their week camping by Lake Coniston in the English Lake District, up north, near the Scottish border.
It's been a thrilling - and also nostalgic - week for the family. Sarah and Francis have been re-living memories of their 2010 wedding in Brantwood House, former home of Victorian painter John Ruskin. And for young Jessica, it's a dream come true to see the setting of one of her favourite books, Arthur Ransome's 1930's children's novel "Swallows and Amazons", all about a children's camping and sailing holiday at the lake.
Sarah, Francis and the twins taking a ride on the Victorian
steam yacht "The Gondola" around Lake Coniston
Jessica catches her first glimpse of "Wild Cat Island", real name "Peel Island",
where the Walker family camped during their sailing holiday all those years ago,
back in the 1930's, in Arthur Ransome's classic children's novel "Swallows and Amazons"
map of the island in Ransome's book
13:30 I go upstairs to bed for an afternoon nap, and when the second service is over, Lois joins me. It's going to be a warm week, we've been told, which is a bit of a surprise, because the weather's been distinctly autumnal for the last couple of weeks.
Phew - what a scorcher it's going to be !!!! And there are already even bits of blue sky outside this afternoon, which is nice!
shock horror - a bit of blue sky over towards the north there!
I notice that one of our Golden Wedding balloons hanging over the bed, inflated a week ago for our anniversary celebration at our daughter Alison's house in Headley, Hampshire, is starting to shrivel up a bit, just like the ones we hung outside on Alison's terrace a week ago.
the gold anniversary balloon (the left one) is already shrivelling
compared to the white one (on the right). I wonder why?!
It's weird, but balloons don't shrivel at an even rate do they! I wonder if Einstein ever investigated that? Let me know, won't you, if YOU know, and don't forget to quote "chapter and verse" ! I've kept a record of their measurements day by day, in case you need these for the calculations.
When Lois and I first inflated them, they were all pretty much the same size - do you remember?
flashback to last weekend: when we first started inflating the anniversary
balloons they were all pretty much the same size - what's gone wrong?
It wasn't long, however, before some of them started to shrivel a bit - what a crazy world we live in !!! But hopefully, Einstein will be able to shed some light on the issue.
flashback to last weekend: our Golden Wedding celebration at our
daughter Alison's in Hampshire: notice that some of the balloons
are already starting to shrivel
[That's enough about balloons shrivelling at different rates! - Ed]
20:00 After our nap, Lois and I cone downstairs and settle down on the couch with a cup of tea, and a chocolate flapjack each - yum yum!
20:00 After dinner, we decide to wind down for bed by watching the first programme in a new series of "Gone Fishing", presented by ageing (and ailing) comedians and fishing afficionados, Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer.
Today we see them fishing mainly for chub in the River Irfon and the River Wye, in Powys, Wales.
A fascinating episode tonight.
Both men are experiencing "mental issues", as they move through their sixties, they confess this openly. And they discuss some of these issues tonight as they sit waiting for the chub to bite on the river-bank.
And that's why I too love 'Zen Darts', or 'Fantasy Darts' as some people call it (no darts, just the dartboard) - you can notch up some really impressive scores, can't you!
Also this evening, Lois and I learn a bit more about Paul and Bob's dog, Ted, a Patterdale Terrier.
After a day catching exactly zero chub, and relaxing in their accommodation - an impressive Welsh fishing-lodge - Paul and Bob become aware of a lot of noise coming from the floor below, where their dog Ted has his room. It turns out that it's Ted's 10th birthday today, and Ted is having one of his parties.
Who knew - Lois and I didn't! - that Ted is a fan of rap music? Bless him!!!!!!
flashback to 2020, Bob's talking dog, Ted, seen here in happier times,
when he scooped both the TV "Best newcomer" and "Best personality" awards...
... as well as the Gone Fishing award for outstanding achievement.
Well done, Ted!
Lois and I think that in a way that it's a shame Ted is having to celebrate on his own today, and that Paul and Bob can't make the effort to celebrate with him, but can you blame them with that awful rap music blaring out! This is one occasion where we sympathise totally with the no-shows, that's for sure!
And new revelation: the following morning in the fishing lodge, when Bob is making poached eggs in the microwave for himself and Paul, we find out that Bob has a "robot wife".
Who knew?!!! That must be something that's happened since the last series, presumably.
And we hear something tonight of robot wife's typical morning conversations with Bob, as we watch Bob in the fishing lodge, struggling with the poached eggs and the toast for himself and for Paul.
Unfortunately, Bob's robot-wife also has thoughts, which (due to an AI software error perhaps?) she tends to speak out loud, which is a pity. These thoughts are spoken in a lower register, but Bob says he can still hear them.
Oh dear!
Poor Bob !!!!!!!!!
Still, Paul and Bob haven't yet given up hope of catching some chub this weekend, and they decide to leave the River Irfon, and move over to Paul's favourite river, the Upper Wye, where they eventually "bag" 3 chub and a trout, which is nice.
But fascinating stuff, isn't it! [If you say so! - Ed]
22:00 We go to bed - zzzzzzzz !!!!!
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