Friday March 8th 2023

Mums are wonderful, aren't they! But even mums, especially in these parts, have their "breaking point", as we all found out this week in a "breaking news" story in the local Worcestershire edition of "Onion News".

WORCESTER, WORCESTERSHIRE—Throwing up their arms in resignation, the county’s mothers announced Thursday in a joint statement that they don’t know why they even try.

“We’re just saying, maybe the county should try taking care of itself for once, then they might see it’s not so easy,” said 54-year-old spokes-mother Misty Hepworth, who sighed and shook her head as she issued the statement on behalf of mothers across the county who worked so hard every day, and for what?

“We’re done. We’re through. We just don’t have the energy anymore, okay? At the end of the day, there’s only so much we can do. The county's going to have to figure this one out on their own this time.”

At press time, the county’s offspring had interrupted their mothers to ask for a glass of water.

A bit sad, maybe, but in a way, this is quite a topical story, isn't it, because it's Mother's Day (UK) coming up on Sunday: although only in the UK and Nigeria apparently. That's the UK in a nutshell, isn't it - out of step with the whole rest-of-the-world! [Except for Nigeria, don't forget. - Ed][Yes, except for Nigeria - Colin]

Lois says to say "Hi", by the way!

And thoughts about the imminence of Mother's Day are also the reason that, while Lois is feeling spectacularly relaxed in bed this afternoon during "nap time", I'm just a little bit out of step with her.  I do my best but I can't help feeling slightly "on edge", keeping one ear open in case there's an annoying "door bell moment" when the Argos delivery guy brings my Mother's Day gift to Lois. 

I know it's coming between 2pm and 6pm or some such nonsense, and I've got my so-called dressing gown hanging over a bedside chair "just in case" - but what a madness it all is, isn't it, so-called modern life !!!!!

"Just what are you giving Lois on Sunday, Colin?", I hear you cry. Well, I'm glad you asked, and although this is only semi-confidential, I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it to yourselves at least until Sunday.

I've decided to give her a multi-coloured set of kitchen chopping-boards - Argos have a great offer on these at the moment - you probably got the "notification" yourself, did you?

And before you rush to say, "That's not very romantic, Colin!", I'd just like to point out that this is what Lois herself specifically asked for as her Mother's Day present this year. 

For a few days I've been racking my brains, ever since Lois made the request, because we have our own secret vocabulary of "codewords" to designate any item of a "romantic" nature, but I don't think "chopping board" was ever in our private "lexicon", related words yes, but not "chopping board" exactly. Too late now, anyway, and if it did mean something secret - what can I say but a very loud "oops !!!!" ????? 

My bad anyway haha !!!!!

Fortunately I happen to know that our daughter Alison is giving Lois something a bit more "fun" and less "workaday" for Mother's Day. It's a hydrangea-in-a-box, which also arrived today, this morning actually, from Marks and Spencer's (M&S).

Yes, the hydrangea-in-a-box came this morning in a florist's delivery van - M&S normally subcontract to a local florist, which is nice. We had to open the package up to see what the instructions were, and it evidently needs to be "nurtured" temporarily indoors, before being planted outside at a later date. And we text our daughter Alison to let her know that it's arrived safely.

a typical Marks and Spencers (M&S) flowers delivery 

- they normally subcontract the order to a local florist, which is nice

As a matter of fact Lois then detailed me to "hide it somewhere in the bedroom, Colin!", because we're expecting our other daughter Sarah to arrive tonight for a weekend stay, and we don't want Sarah to feel bad if she herself has forgotten about Mother's Day being on Sunday. This is the family's first "UK Mother's Day" for 7 years, because Sarah and family were living in Australia 2015-2023, where the Aussies celebrate the what-I-call American Mother's Day, which is some time later in the year, I forget when.

Yes, "Hide it somewhere in our bedroom, Colin!", was what Lois said to me this morning, but it's a case of "easier said than done", isn't it, because they kind of stick out and up in all directions, don't they. And Lois is afraid that one of Sarah's 10-year-old daughters may spot it and tell Sarah.

"Hide it somewhere in the bedroom, Colin!" is what

Lois said this morning, but where would you hide

a  sticky-out hydrangea in YOUR bedroom, I wonder!

Yes, where would YOU hide a sticky-out hydrangea in YOUR bedroom? I tried to squash it under the bed, but it started to look crumpled, so I gave that one up. And it's got to be somewhere where a pair of inquisitive ten-year-olds won't spot it.

Answers on a postcard please (and before close of play Friday if you'd be so kind)! It's temporarily in our wardrobe which isn't ideal because it's already tending to get brushed by some of our hanging wardrobe-items, so get those postcards in the post, won't you!

10:00 And much of today "vanishes", for Lois and me, getting the house ready for the arrival of Sarah and the twins - around 6:30pm Sarah texts me to say.

A lot of this is hard slog - dusting, vacuuming etc, but Lois and I enjoy the odd moment of whimsy. And she decides to arrange some of the twins' favourite stuffed toys on the bed they sleep in: it's a whimsical tableau, in which Bluebell Mouse is holding 5 other toys enraptured by some story or other she's reading them out of a children's story book. Awwwwww!!!!

Lois has arranged some of the twins' favourite stuffed toys

in a kind of a "tableau", in which Bluebell Mouse is

holding the other 5 enraptured with a story from a children's story book

Awwwww (again) !!!!!!
 

11:00 Talking of "mothers", today is the 79th anniversary of my own late mother (and late father)'s Wedding Day in the St Giles Registry Office in Oxford, back in 1945, with Victory in Europe (VE) being signed and sealed that very same day, but with the war in the Far East still carrying on for a few more months.

flashback to March 8th 1945: my parents

after they got married, seen here in the back garden

of my maternal grandmother in St Mary's Rd, Cowley, Oxford

My father was still in the Army, and he had to get special leave for the wedding, but I think the atmosphere in the Army was getting more relaxed, as it began to sink in that Germany was defeated.

flashback to 1945: my father, aged 30, at the London and Birmingham 

Railway Station, Euston, London, in front of the familiar Victorian era 

Station Entry Arches, now sadly demolished

Rest in peace, mum and dad! I still play "their tune" (Smoke Gets In Your Eyes) every now and then, while raising a glass to their picture on top of the piano. [How do you do that, Colin - have you got three hands? - Ed]

And talking of "Victory in Europe (VE)", there's more bad news from Hungary that reaches me this morning from Steve, our American brother-in-law.

Lois and I take a special interest in Hungary - we started to learn the language in the 1990's (for a challenge in my case, for a "reward" in Lois's case - I had to bribe her haha!!!), and we visited the country several times in the 1990's and 2000's. 

flashback to 1998, in front of our friend István's house in Pécs, 

Hungary: (from left to right) our British friends "Magyar" Mary 

and "Magyar" Mike, Lois, István, Mária, me

a page from our "Hungary 1998" scrapbook: Lois with our friend

István, and the "slightly-naughty" (in István's words!)

sculpture park near Pécs: Lois "poses" with "a bit of topless woman"

In 1998 Hungary was a joyful place, and people were celebrating finally throwing off those shackles of Russian domination that they had been suffering since the 1940's.

Sadly today, however, Hungary is going through punishing times, thanks to its crazy far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who's doing deals with dictators worldwide, right, left and centre.

Orbán has just done a deal to have Chinese police officers carry out joint-patrols in Hungary with Hungarian policemen - and everybody knows that that's mainly so that the Chinese can monitor and do who-knows-what-else-to any Chinese dissidents who've been unwise enough to seek refuge in the country. Chinese officers are already on duty in Serbia apparently, according to the story in Daily News Hungary.

What's the Hungarian for "Yikes!!!". Oh yes, I think that Tünde, my Hungarian penfriend, once told me that it's just "Yikes!!!" (said in a Hungarian accent), which is easy to remember - but oh dear!

And in further bad news from Hungary today, the country's crazy Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is visiting Donald Trump in Florida in a clear breach of international protocol, because he isn't visiting Joe Biden in the White House. Also in a recent parliamentary session in Budapest, Orbán referred to the murdered Russian dissident Navalny as "a chauvinist" and he refused a request to stand for a minute's silence to remember Navalny's death at the hands of state-sponsored assassins.

Steve has some brighter news for us from Europe, by the way, which is nice. Apparently those Normans, those Viking-descendants who settled in Normandy in Northern France and then conquered England in 1066, weren't very artistically-minded and rarely produced art work or sculptures during the early years of their government of England.

So because of that rarity, it's extra nice that an Italian family who claim descent from a Norman family living in England at the time, are seeking to donate a rare triptych (3-piece sculpture) to a British museum. The sculpture depicts the murder by one of their ancestors of the second Norman king of England, William II, during a hunting expedition in the New Forest, Hampshire in the year 1100. 

The Italian family, whose name is Tirelli, say that their distant ancestor, Walter Tirel, a Viking who came originally from the Orkney Islands, Scotland, but who later settled in Normandy, was the King's killer.

So at last! At last we know "who it was what did it", which is quite a game-changer, isn't it, to put it mildly, after 1124 years of fruitless "police are looking into it" reports!

Is it too late to prosecute Walter? I wonder.... !!!

Everybody knows that King Charles has the authority to grant posthumous pardons, but has he also got the right to initiate posthumous prosecutions (suggested "working title" for the case: The King versus the late, the very late, Mr. Walter Tirel, Gentleman), what do you think?

18:30 The doorbell rings, and no, this time it isn't a delivery, it's the joyful arrival of Sarah and the twins from their home in nearby Alcester. Lois has got a salmon and chunky chips "tea" waiting for them, followed by fruit salad and ice-cream for "pudding".

For once, an evening for Lois and me when the telly isn't switched on, and we just chat with Sarah, while the twins start on some of their "arts and crafts" projects.

22:00 Zzzzzzzzzzz!!!!