Wednesday 30 May 2007

Pugwash Ahoy!!!


G has bought a 17ft boat, he has left it to his father to buy the paint, sand the bloody thing and finely tune the 3 outboard motors which came with it. He has also bought a dinghy to get to it when it is moored. He has applied for a mooring place by letter to Lake Windermere (The only time he has lifted a finger to help) So, at the moment, The Ipanema, is standing loftily at the top of our garden perched on a trailer. They continually climb aboard and "test" the motor. Why is it that anything with a switch, handle,pulley or motor, men will click, roar,drag and rev like there`s no tomorrow?

G has conveniently left for Krakow on a Stag party trip, amazingly has not asked me to pack for him... he`d know better. D is annoyed because he has taken our toiletries with him.



D had a day off as he was rostered in for Saturday, he decided to spend time sanding. He put on goggles and a face mask then used the electric sander. After a while, he went into the back street to open the garage door. J and J two sons of T and J were outside, they began laughing at D, he didn`t know why. He came into the house to look in the mirror, he had taken off the mask and goggles and was covered in black paint, he looked like a panda where the mask and goggles had been.



G comes in from work, and I can`t resist humming the tune to Blue Peter "Ha Ha very funny" he says. I find an old book called Pugwash and the New Ship, how apt. I show G and he replies, "That`s a gay book isn`t it?" I had no idea, apparently the crew were called Master Bates and Seaman Staines etc. Well you learn something every day.



D and I have just returned from a holiday in Devon, I, of course was on my family history trail. I had contacted C.P. of the Stokenham History group to see if she could help me to get back one more generation before my visit. She put me in touch with a man in the Midlands, P.L who amazingly has turned out to be a second cousin. Fortunately he has gone back to 1540 with our ancestors, so needless to say I am thrilled. There are three vicars, mariners and thatchers among them, what a mix.



We called to the village where most of my ancestors came from, the people were very friendly, and lots of them mentioned a local eccentric E.W. in his eighties and very knowledgeable of the local area and on who is married to who, and who should have married whoever, plus local history. One of them had seen him just a few days ago, and saw him chopping branches from roadside trees for his fire. All descriptions of him ended with comments such as "He`s a real eccentric" "You`ll have to set aside at least two hours." "He never gets a bus anywhere, he just roams around here." "There`s no harm in him." etc. Just the man, I enquired where he lived, and couldn`t help but notice the wide eyed expressions. "Oh you`ll find it at the top of the hill, but its covered in bushes and creepers."



D parked the car and commented that he would not be calling in, he`d be next door where they were selling plants. I meandered through the rambling bushes towards a huge detached building, very and grey imposing, but it hadn`t been looked after for a long while. I looked into the porch and a collection of work benches and tools lay in there. No reply, I could hear a radio and an upstairs standard lamp was on. Nobody around at the back either, but through the window I could see lots of sepia photos on a fireplace shelf, I wondered who all of those people were. No reply at the back. I looked down to a deeply sloping garden, a fridge lay on its side at the bottom, no doubt had outlived its usefulness and been launched out of the back door. I was really gutted that I didn`t get to meet the old fella, maybe next year, but he`s no spring chicken and neither am I,(more like an old rooster).



Dartmouth and Totnes are worth a visit, but I wasn`t very impressed with Paignton, a bit run down. All of the villages near where we stayed in West Buckland were beautiful, I can see why people retire there, thatched cottages, peace and quiet. Some of the young holidaymakers are keen on T shirts with slogans, I have always secretly admired folk who sport controversial comments on clothing. Favourites such as Another Day Another Diet. Live long enough to be a Problem to your Children. A Woman`s Work is never done So Why Bother. But I totally draw the line to see I caught crabs at Dartmouth. But one absolutely horrific one was worn by a baby of around 8 months of age, it was black in colour with silver print which read The Condom Ripped.



Went to the care home to see father in law, I took him a flask of oxtail soup and some bread and butter, its his favourite. One of the residents did off with a piece of bread, then left it on the table. Staff were trying to get B into the bathroom, she was being prepared for a hospital visit. They finally got her into the bathroom, locked the door, and she began screaming "Let me out.....help" Another resident on the other side was pulling frantically at the door handle shouting "For F*** sake."



I am sitting near the patio door, a pair of blackbirds have made a nest in the Clematis, they are back and forwards carrying worms wrapped around their beaks. That reminds me, haven`t eaten anything yet, I fancy a cheese sandwich. Has this not put you off food I hear you ask, well no, because I work in a nursery and have to sit eating my dinner while the baby room staff talk about nappies, textures and sick. Just thought I`d share that with you.

Wednesday 2 May 2007

T.V.

















D is annoyed because I have the T.V. controls and am watching customary programme on the Victorians, I am listening to an account of how they employed de-buggers to sort out the problem of infested wooden beds, when they adopt metal ones, the problem ceased, therefore the de-bugger would be jobless. Next I watch A picture of Britain, David Dimbleby speaks of the first travel guide book for the lakes, every traveller made sure that they had a copy when they visited, D sarcastically remarks "In case they needed toilet paper.....I hate these kinds of programmes with a vengeance"


When youngest son P was a kid and interested in making models with clay, he discovered Fimo, made an image of his father holding the TV controls in one hand and a Kit Kat in the other. He also made a model of his brother, G, also in customary pose displaying an offensive gesture. (Photo)

The news is on next Andy and Oliver go for a smoking break 1 hour a day, 5 times a week, the government are considering giving people time off work to kick the habit, why can`t they use their lunch break if they want to smoke......well, can I make a suggestion..I need time off to kick my chocolate habit and I also need therapy for shoe buying. Or how would it work for sex addicts, would they be allowed home for a quick shag. Oh, and while they are at it, therapists could be set up in the pubs

I am enjoying a programme on the Edwardians, there is a section on two men Barr and Stroud, an old sepia photo shows them sitting in deck chairs. They were interested in optical illusions, the person without the T.V. controls quips again "And they are both wearing jam jar bottoms." (large lensed glasses) I give up and hand the controls over to him, Fat Man`s Warning is on, I shuffle through to turn on the computer, check my e mails for Genes or Ancestry messages and wonder if there are still any De-Buggers out there, I have a very large one on my sofa.