Oh my goodness – it’s been a busy week. Or, at least it seems like it’s been a busy week, even though we’ve not really been anywhere special or significant.
Last Sunday was my sister Sallie and her husband Rod’s last full day with us so we invited the whole fam damily to Sunday lunch. Penelope, Sallie and Nick between them produced a feast of the usual epic proportions – a full and magnificent Sunday Roast for the meat eaters, tuna steak for the pescatarians – and golly it was good. Nick, Lucy & Annabelle came across and Adam, Ava, Jessie and Julieta joined us as well. The lunch was fantastic, the dessert was outstanding, the weather was highly co-operative and it was, all in all, a splendid day. Even Daisy enjoyed herself.
Monday morning we were off bright and early to chauffeur our guests to Heathrow so that they could catch their flight back to Switzerland. I slowed down sufficiently so that they were not injured when we shoved them out of the car and we then sprinted home again to prepare for the next adventure. We spent most of the rest of the day emptying the Guest Wing bedroom and bathroom in preparation for the arrival of builders on Tuesday morning. We are renovating the bathroom (i.e., completely gutting it and starting anew) and improving the bedroom by ripping the ceiling down and installing additional insulation as well as building some cupboards and shelves. It will be great when it’s all finished but my goodness there’s a lot of mess and disruption during the process.
And don’t get me started on choosing wall and floor tiles for the bathroom, not to mention oak flooring for the bedroom! Penny has looked online, we’ve visited half a dozen local suppliers as well as a couple further afield and I’m not sure, as of today, if we are any the wiser. There is simply too much choice! I’m sure we’ll get there in the end and by the end of November or so all this will be but a fading memory. Much like the rest of our memories!
As if any further evidence were required, on Friday morning Penny and I received confirmation that we are, as they say, “losing it.” Penny received an email from a friend across the road asking if we were OK? It turns out we had both completely forgotten that Thursday evening was the first of this season’s Moreton Pinkney Film Nights (complete with fish and chips dinner). Quelle merde! Our kind neighbour had even come across the road to knock on our door just before the film commenced but we were in the back room watching television and didn’t hear her. What makes it more galling is that we had been looking forward to the film – The Duke – with Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren. Quelle merde complète! We’ll find it somewhere else but we also missed the opportunity to catch up with friends and neighbours, many of whom we’ve hardly seen through the summer. Quelle merde totale et complète.
It’s all downhill from here.
Finally, Happy Birthday to our lovely daughter-in-law Brex-Anna, mother of Max, who is another year older today.
And, speaking of Max . . .
Meanwhile, keep happy, keep smiling, be careful, wear a f**king facemask in crowded places and keep your distance. And keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg