And so, it’s back to “normal” service. After a fabulous four-week holiday, it’s back to reality as we land with a thud in beautiful downtown Moreton Pinkney. Since we returned we’ve had a film night, a Garden Club annual dinner, snow and floods, an aborted anniversary dining experience and a soul-drenching walk in the sheeting rain with Ms Daisy. It’s great to be back!
Just a day or so after we got back from LA we had the pleasure of another Moreton Pinkney Film Night, this time Six Minutes to Midnight with an all-star cast including Eddie Izzard and Dame Judi Dench. Penny thought it was OK; I had a slightly different opinion. Nevertheless, the fish and chips are always delicious and the company is grand.
While we were away, our lovely house/dog sitter Aleks had texted to tell us that there appeared to be a fairly recent infestation of moles in the back lawn. So, as soon as we got back, we contacted the Mole Man who came and laid a bundle of traps. Earlier this week he came back, removed his armoury and declared our back lawn mole free, (for the time being – terms and conditions apply). He caught two and is confident that’s the end of it. Thankfully, unlike last time, Daisy caught none.
We had the Garden Club annual dinner last week which was, as always, very pleasant. Decent enough food (although the portions were miserly small, I thought) and another great chance to catch up with neighbours you don’t bump into that often, especially now the weather has turned.
We had the pleasure of Storm Bert’s attentions as it blew through on Sunday night leaving downed trees, flooded properties and several months’ worth of rain in a few hours. Thankfully, we had no issues but several of our neighbours did.
As we awakened on Monday morning our phones were soon pinging with news from our favourite and most trustworthy news sources, the village WhatsApp and Facebook feeds.
We soon discovered that the Old Mill at the bottom end of the village had flooded, Stan, the log merchant at the old station at the other end of the village, was flooded and we even had a flooded neighbour near us at the top end of the village. I’ve always imagined that, as we are at possibly the highest point of the village, the danger of us being affected by floods was remote. Still is, no doubt. But one of our nearby neighbours did get flooded this time as the water rushed down off the slightly higher fields at the back. Quelle merde!
Amidst all those news snippets there were also a number of plaintive messages from those on their way to work asking if particular roads were passable. Thankfully, we didn’t have to go anywhere but I feel so sorry for those who were affected – the cleanup is long and tedious as we know from having gone through it with Penny’s folks all those years ago.
Monday was our 52nd wedding anniversary which provides another opportunity to post this historical/hysterical photo.
As my cousin Ellen said, “A true classic never gets old.”
In anticipation of our anniversary I had booked us a table for a celebratory lunch at the Cromwell Cottage restaurant just up the road. With all the flooding in the area I was just about to phone to see if there were open and accessible. Their phone call beat me to it – they were very sorry but they were having to cancel our booking. Yes, they were flooded and yes, they were inaccessible. We still had a great celebratory meal, however. Luckily, my sweetheart is a great cook.
YCNMIU
Last week we included the story of the crypto-entrepreneur who paid $6.2 million for a piece of “art” consisting of a banana and a strip of duct tape. My sister Susie commented that apparently, the young man who bought the installation ate the banana. I guess it must be like those very expensive bottles of wine – are they really that much better than Tesco’s finest? So, does a $6 million banana taste any different from a 35-cent banana? I would imagine not.
Meanwhile, keep breathing, keep happy, keep smiling, keep exercising, be good, be careful, and keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees – we need all the pollinators we can get.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg