22nd December 2013

Sue and I joined a council walk on 23rd November. As it turned out, it was the last one of 2013, as Colin, the organiser’s father, died that morning. We suspected something was amiss, as his mobile repeatedly rang during our amble. He said nothing about his unfortunate circumstances, even during lunch. It wasn’t until he cancelled the next walk by email that we learned of his loss. Sue and I wished him well in our reply and look forward to walking with him again in 2014.

The following week, I took an early morning drive over to King’s Cliffe and met John Lee for a 10.5-mile walk followed by lunch. We parked outside the same public house as the last time we walked in that area, pulled on our boots, and set off on what promised to be a bright and chilly day, perfect for walking. The conversation for the first couple of miles centred on putting things right in the rugby world; we flirted briefly with an analysis of English football before tackling our preparations for Christmas. This turned out to be a very brief discussion, reassuringly thin in substance, with both of us agreeing that expertise lay in the hands and minds of our wives. We then progressed to the interesting and endlessly fascinating subject of allotments, which occupied our minds for quite a few miles before we depressingly turned our thoughts to cricket and sackcloth and ashes. It was strange how the next few miles seemed to drag. We were surprised to come across a field of alpacas and, a little further on, a field of white wallabies and what I took for a flock of kiwis. I kid you not. On our return to the pub, we were further cheered by a hearty beef pie, chips, and peas, washed down with a local brew.
That Friday, Sue and I met Jim and Bridget at Les Olives in Northampton. It is a tapas restaurant that has a well-deserved reputation for authentic dishes. The meal was a precursor to an excellent Steeleye Span concert at the Derngate. Despite the passage of time (I suppose we of that generation mellow and improve with age), the music was just as I remembered when Maddy Prior was one of my pin-ups (for the tonal quality of her voice, of course).

The following week saw me bottling my wine. It had cleared to a crystal brightness in the demi-johns, and on testing, the yeast had converted all the sugars to alcohol (12.5%). I had to drive to Corby to get sufficient bottles from The Range. With quite a lot of wastage, as I didn’t want to disturb the sediment, I filled 30 bottles. I call the brew “Vin-allo.” The name has been chosen appropriately. If, in six months or so, it turns out to be acceptable, it will be known as Vineyard Allotment; if not, it will be called Vinegar Allowance. Sue and I both tried a glass of the white and the red and thought they were quite fresh in taste, but obviously youthful, needing time to acquire a roundness and depth of flavour. We shall see.
That Saturday, Sue travelled to Tenbury Wells, where she met up with her sister. They stayed overnight at Sheila’s (a family friend), finding time to visit old school friends and attend a carol concert. They swapped Christmas presents before returning home. Unfortunately for Philippa, she picked up a festive speeding ticket on the long journey back to Buckfastleigh.

While Sue was away, I attended the Vice Presidents’ luncheon at the rugby club, followed by watching the 1st team beat Newbold Verdon, who were heading the league table at the time. Later that evening, I joined in for a quiz night at the Catholic Club. Our team of ex-rugby-playing Vice Presidents came third and may have done somewhat better had we not been enjoying ourselves earlier in the day. One of our team members helpfully fell asleep during the proceedings.

 

The following day, Nan and I had Sunday lunch at the Red Lion in Welham.

Monday saw me pick Peter up and take him to Papworth Hospital. He had been called for an MRI scan after being very ill about a month ago with extremely high blood pressure. The drive down was uneventful, other than needing to arrive an hour early due to concerns about brain surgery he had undergone in the past. On arrival, I made sure he was checked in, and then I went to the canteen for a coffee. On the route there, I passed several posters discouraging entry if you had suffered from symptoms of flu during the last five days. Hmmmm, I thought.

On my return, Peter was sitting and waiting after having had an X-ray. A technician arrived and took us to an interview room, explaining that the X-rays showed he had clips inside his head from previous surgery. Despite contacting Peter’s GP, Kettering Hospital, and Sheffield Hallam Hospital, they could not find out what the clips were made of. He could not have the scan because, if they were metal, it could be fatal. There was nothing for it; we had to go home. We stopped at Charlotte’s on the way back for a coffee and to eat the sandwiches we had transported to Cambridgeshire and back.

On the 10th of December, it was Lucas’s 7th birthday. Sue, Nan, and I went over to have a family meal in Rothwell to celebrate the event. We enjoyed a nice chilli with the Rothwells and joined in the blowing out of the candles. We didn’t stay too long, as it was school the following morning for the little ones.

The next morning, I joined John Lee in the pub car park in King’s Cliffe for another ramble. We had previously walked routes to the south and west; this time, we were heading east. It was a dank and foggy morning, and much of the delightful countryside was hidden behind a thin curtain of mist. The sun managed to burn through the cloud layer towards the end of our journey, revealing clear blue skies. In one of the small villages we passed through, we came across the grave of Coco the Clown (Nicolai Poliakoff). On our return to the pub, I made a special request for liver, bacon, onions, mashed potato, and mushy peas (just fancied it) and was treated to the addition of Brussels sprouts and carrots, too.

On the drive back, the sore throat I had woken up with that morning was joined by a runny nose (veritably sprinting). By the time I put the car away in the garage, I was running a temperature and feeling rubbish. I took to my bed and didn’t get out of it until the following Saturday afternoon (four days). During that time, I had only two bowls of soup and a sandwich to eat; it took several more days to regain my appetite. Fortunately, I had seen off the more virulent man-flu germs when Sue came down with the less fatal woman-flu; she managed to cope with the much milder version and didn’t need to take to her bed.

On Sunday, Suraj and I went to see the new Hobbit film. It was okay, but there were some scenes that we didn’t recognise from the book, which were included (we think) to fill out the two-hour playing time. I found it confusing.

The Rothwells had a very pleasant trip to London to see Winter Wonderland.

Sarah had been staying at Lee’s over the weekend after finishing university on Friday. Nan and I drove up to Cotgrave to pick her up. On the return journey, we stopped at the Langton Inn for a splendid lunch. Within ten minutes of arriving back at Willow Bank, an excited Charlotte arrived to see her long-missed sister.

The following day, David and Banjo arrived. They had brought cards and presents from relatives “up north.” They arrived late morning, and after a visit to see Nan, we had lunch followed by a walk into town to see the Christmas decorations. On our return, Charlotte and Ellis made an appearance. As expected, little Ellis loved little Banjo, and they were inseparable until they had to leave to pick up Lucas from school.

The next morning, I took David and the hound for a walk around the park. Lunch had been planned to take place at Joules in town at noon. However, Nan had gone AWOL. She was having her “feet done” in town that morning, despite waiting for half an hour in her apartment to take her for lunch, after a phone call from Charlotte asking why we weren’t at Joules, we decided to scour the alleys and roads of Harborough for an errant Gran. Luckily, we found her zooming along Farndon Road in her Batmobile, heading for Willow Bank.

We had lunch in the green outhouse, which doubles as an antique showroom. While waiting for the meal, David enjoyed looking at the exhibits, Ellis loved holding Banjo’s lead (the feeling was not mutual), and somehow, Sarah managed to persuade her dad to buy her a hat. Afterwards, David and Banjo returned home after deviating via Birmingham to visit a man who owed him some money. Last October, he had bought some expensive equipment off the internet, and the gentleman in question had failed to send it. David was going to deliver a personal reminder.

The other day, I accompanied Nan for her diabetes review. She had been doing splendidly since coming to Harborough; all the indicators were improving, and she seemed to be getting fitter and fitter. However, this time things had slipped. She had put on weight, and her blood sugar levels had rocketed. The evidence of cakes and sweet wrappers that the family had been noticing around her apartment had taken its toll. She was given the choice of cutting out the sweet things in life or increasing her tablets. Having now gone through her place and disposed of all sugary items, we shall be keeping a close eye on things. She loves her cakes and sweets and hates the large jar of sugar-free sweets that I bought her a few months ago (she has hardly touched them).

Jamie has been very busy at work. Reassuringly, he informs us that this Christmas’s trade is already up on last year, so hopefully, as the economy improves, so will his job security. Recently, I helped him fix a cracked manifold pipe on his car. I assisted in taking it off and putting it back on after getting it re-welded by a friend of mine. Unfortunately, a couple of days later, his coil pack packed up, and that had to be replaced. He is now running it on a couple of cylinders until after Christmas, when he intends to buy a new car. He has been seeing Harley quite a lot again, and I believe she will be joining us at the Greyhound racing on Boxing Day. His fixed-rate mortgage comes to an end in January, and he has been busy researching deals to replace it. I accompanied him to the HSBC Bank on Saturday morning to see what they were offering. He asked all the right questions, and I wondered why I was there, but it was nice to be asked.

There are only a few days left before Christmas. Presents are hidden all around the house, away from prying grandchildren’s eyes, and for once, I have all my contributions to the festivities sorted and have been for well over a week now (just got to remember where I put them!). It looks like the weather will be far from seasonal; I passed a birch tree in town yesterday with all its leaves still on, and the daytime temperature for the last few days has been in double figures (according to our thermometer). The excitement is growing in proportion to the bank balance reduction. I wonder if I will get that red Ferrari this year?