Friday, 21 July 2023

Another year older…

A pleasant day at home yesterday, with lots of cards, Facebook messages, phone calls and a surprise visit from Imogen, a friend from Woodside Road days, going back almost 40 years.  One never knows how many more birthdays there may be, so I decided to open a 1950 bottle of Sercial, a bone dry white Madeira, that Imogen and Jonathan gave me for my 40th birthday.  Once the copious sediment had settled, it turned out to be remarkably palatable.

Martyn has given me the Panama hat I’ve hankered after for years: the perfect present.  It’s far too good to be a gardening hat, but that’s what I was about during its first outing.  Nothing too strenuous: the usual round of watering and dead-heading.  The old compost bin has gone: at least four people were interested in it, and I gave it to someone who, unlike me, seems to know what she’s doing when it comes to composting.

No cake, but we had our favourite pizza for lunch - crème fraîche, rocket and spinach from the garden on the (home made) base, then smoked and fresh salmon and big prawns.  Then mozzarella.  For supper we had a pork fillet wrapped in prosciutto, sautéed mushrooms and a few leaves of sage, then baked in puff pastry.  We’ve atoned a little today by having a caprese for lunch!

The birthday present I hoped for but didn’t get was a suitable result in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election, but the very slim majority sent a suitable message.  It was held by the Tories because the Labour mayor of London was blamed for the Tory policy of extending the London low emission zone throughout Greater London.  

I do sympathise with people who have to use old cars to get to work into and from the outer suburbs.  Although our diesel Ateca is sufficiently umweltfreundlich, the old Altea wouldn’t stand a chance.  It fires up (when it’s in the mood) with a big puff of black smoke.  Given the mileage we do, it’s not worth changing cars now, so long as we’re allowed to drive the ones we have.  Mine, seven years old, turned 24000 miles recently.  We used to pile on the miles with the drive to Lagrasse, but that’s no longer a factor.   Between them, the two cars barely cover 2000 miles between MoTs.  I suppose that, by taxing both of them, we are helping the government with its headless chicken schemes like barges, Rwanda and cruise ships they can’t find berths for.


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