Friday, 25 April 2025

Getting old

Nasty surprise on Easter Sunday: we’d prepared a leg of lamb to feed Sis-in-law Sandra.  I did my usual OCD cooking timetable, but having set the oven at the appointed time, found that it had not heated.  Fortunately, we have a small combi oven in the same column, so lunch was only delayed by half an hour.  We have meanwhile contacted our excellent fettlers of electricals, who sent a chap within a few hours to replace the heating element.  Haven’t had the bill yet…

I was already starting to get nervous about walking on the uneven footways hereabouts.  Sure enough, after a u3a new members’ meeting yesterday, I tripped and fell on the way back to the car park, grazing my knees and cutting the tips of a finger and a thumb.  A young chap of SE Asian appearance rushed to help me: there are some kind people around.  The right knee was already sore following a fall in our holiday flat on the IoW, and it’s a bloody sight sorer now.  I left a trail of blood to the car - which it took me ages to find in the unfamiliar car park.  The 1999 vintage German first aid kit was little help: plenty of gauze, but no plasters or adhesive tape.  (Now remedied.). To add insult to injury, despite thorough preparation of our u3a stall (v. supra) we failed to sign anyone up for the German conversation group we were representing.  

Oh well.  I’ve been out in the garden today doing token watering and weeding.  We’re sort of between seasons at the moment: the bulbs have practically finished, and the roses are starting to bud.  Needless to say, the greenfly are back on the three roses we planted last year, so a suitable product is on the shopping list.  The viburnum at the side of the house will be magnificent in a week or so, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the oriental poppies will do.  We bought some new ones last year, and some of the others appear to have spread or self sown.

Driving hereabouts becomes ever more of a trial.  We’ve just finished two weeks of disruption when a key road to our end of town was closed for work on the gas mains.  Now the main road through the village is being dug up for the same purpose, with single track operation and temporary traffic lights.  The knock-on effects paralyse various other roads - including the one that has just re-opened.  Said road took me about 25 minutes yesterday afternoon cf. the usual 2-3.  Glad I don’t have to use it for work: I expect a resurgence of ‘working from home’ will ensue.

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