Tag: characters

Holidays 8

We had X over to lunch on Sunday. She made a long trip home earlier this year, going via Hong Kong, Pekin and the Trans-Siberian railway to Moscow. But we didn’t gather that she really enjoyed it very much – she said that the ordinary Russian people seemed to be very frightened of being seen talking to foreigners, so she didn’t really feel very welcome; and the hotel was rather like a prison – your passport was taken away when you were signed in (and it was literally signed in – the young man from Intourist who met them off the train and took them to the hotel – they didn’t know which one, until they got there – actually got a receipt for them!) – and they were given an identity card which had to be shown to get either in or out of the hotel. The last straw was at the Polish border when they were just about to heave signs of relief, only to find themselves hauled out of the train because, owing to the train’s lateness, the witching hour had struck and their visas were a day out of date! However they were allowed to proceed after some anxious moments – and I gathered that X was not contemplating a return trip.

When we reached the camp, it was on the one hand a bit scruffy and ‘tripperish’ and in addition occupied by millions of invisibly small insects which were delighted with us as ‘afters’ to their ordinary lunch – so we were depressed. But walking on the beach came across an old dear who had been helping her 80 yr old husband wheel his fishing boat home on a beach trailer, and stayed to gossip about his catch, their golden wedding trip last Easter, and her opinions of the local camps – from which we returned to make a reconnaissance of this second camp and booked in for this morning. There was this to be said for the old place – it was about the only camp shower I recall which was too hot – the cold supply just couldn’t cope with any regularity with it! We managed to get packed up in time to drive out and park 200 yds down the road next to the church for an 8.45 service – and only missed the first hymn.

[from Big Bend, Texas] Just watched the sun go down – the wind is getting up in the trees and owls are hooting.

We didn’t know it was a service motel – no cooking facilities and expensive hotel attached for dinner etc. Praise be we’d had a super lunch so declined dinner and boiled eggs in the electric jug (laid on for coffee) but the damn things cracked and froth flowed out the top. I added a generous shake of salt to no avail. We were both hysterical by then. I thought I’d never get it clean but we’ve had coffee from the same jug since and it was OK.

[from the Ngamoko Track, NZ] I went up there! Just out from doing the big walk round Waikaremoane. 4 days of between 4 and 6 hours walking, including up to the top of the bluffs, and another 50 minutes today to get picked up by water taxi back across the lake. The bush was lovely and we met nice people. My legs held out very well but got a couple of sore blisters – otherwise I’d be ready to keep going… perhaps!

Had the bill for all the travel yesterday, though I haven’t got to pay it yet – and it is fairly shattering. But the main worry is (a) will they be fighting in Bangkok by the time we want to stop there on the way out and (b) will Russia have invaded China by the time we want to go to Hong Kong on the way back – or shall we get to UK and find we can’t get back at all? I don’t think the news is at all happy.

We had an ecstatic letter from X, all about the fun it was walking through her PNG forest, climbing over tree roots and wading rivers up to the armpits! But her house 2 days walk from the nearest village has running water and a loo thanks to having been built for people on a 5-year research scholarship!

Spelling 2

This holiday I will be going to my firends Tracys. From santa I got a grate big torch which will be very useful. and mummy and Daddy gave me a digital waitch.

thank-you for the lovly look and learn binder its very isefull and now wev got are nearly The hole set in one look and learn binder in one Book I’ve got lots of other yummy presents but I think your one is one of the best. Thank you very much on the families behalf. We all enjoyed seeing that board new look and learn folder. We’ve just been to the G.S and it was realy good because it was the pirates of pensants: Im afraid those have to be my last words Good-buy.

Thankyou very much for the cute little coke money box it really usefull seeing that I have just been broken getting out all the money so I can put it in the bank the dominoes a spewcialy good too the very nice presents. Iam just going tyoo sea this new film raiders of the losty ark it sounds exciting now its holidays Iam being realy lucky becase my freind has just invited me to go too on the ferrie with them and go to the Sounds. I have just got this realy cool gun man from father christmas it fires rubber band and boy is it fast. I also got the game conect four have you heard of it if you havent it realy cool and fun and I had bee wanting for a realy long time have a vere happy new year your sincearly love X

Also children were alowed to be in the Mikado (a play by Gilbert and Sulivan) this year so I orditioned and got in seeings mummy and daddy were in it to and I’ve had a wonderful time hope you’r having one too.

thank you for The Gint Blowing Boble! I mean Bubbel Fing and the Sliy putty and clouring book I can slretch the putty 20 ins. We have deen to star treck and it was very exciting

He wrote a letter about a model aeroplane kit that had somehow got warped, it was so full of exuberance: ‘Yoy shud hav seen it, its wins wos all wigly’

Nuisances of life 7

I thought it was exceedingly unjust: the only person there who didn’t drink because he was driving home had his car crashed into the next morning – makes you sick doesn’t it.

We have been having an unadulterated diet of BSE and CJD on the radio, at every time we hear the news (and how often we do seem to hear the same items during the day). I hope that it doesn’t worry you too much. I must say I have been surprised how many mad cows there are. … Our government here seems to vary in their opinions from day to day, first one day banning all semen from Britain, and then issuing statements that we can’t possibly have any trouble because we have never had a case of BSE, and then the next day demanding that supermarkets remove from their shelves all products which contain any beef product from UK, and so on… It’s a gloomy subject to discuss, anyway, especially when I know so little about it, really!

I had forgotten that we had such heavy rain as to be separately memorable on the day we went to lunch with X, who I agree behaved very badly that day. I think he must have had a couple of quick ones while waiting for us, or something. Anyway, nil nisi bonum… he died a couple of years or so ago.

Last Sunday we had the Annual meeting and this week another issue of the monthly mag is due to the printer (and hasn’t been started at lunchtime Wednesday) so there is still no peace for the wicked! And at the moment my attention is slightly divided because I’m illegally taping bits of the Messiah from some records which are due back to the library with a horrifying penalty if they are kept overtime… PS The tape ran out just before the last chorus!

You’ll never believe what our batty son-in-law has done now, pulling a nail out of the wall with a hammer it came away suddenly and he’s concussed himself; evidently he wasn’t too bad the next day but they went to a party in the evening and ‘had a few drinks’ and the next day he doctor sent him off to have x-rays: all clear there but he had to stay in bed two days. Some mothers do have ‘em!

She got home the day before and found a police car outside, evidently someone had broken into the [student] house and pulled al the drawers out and helped himself to a glass of wine and gone off without anything. I hope they don’t miss things later. The police were very impressed with all their chains on doors and things but made a lovely parting remark which didn’t sink in until after they’d left – one of them said looking at their rather odd collection of house plants – ‘you can get out the rest of your pot plants when we’ve gone’!!

Trust

The man on the main road has closed down owing me money – but as he’s now been made the executive manager of something he hopes to be able to pay off all his debts bit-bit; he’s so nice, and his wife, and so believable, but I do have expenses plus plus – and he’s lost all the thousands he put into the set-up thinking it was paying for the land, transfer of deeds, etc. All the same it seems incredible that 3 or 4 adults left it all to the lawyer to arrange without checking before some 4 years were up and all the money used by the lawyer who’s gone bankrupt.

We went to see X but she seemed to have gone away, leaving the usual message visible through the hall window, on the floor: ‘Back in five minutes. Come in, Y.  Z about somewhere.’ I remember her telling me months ago that they never lock any of their doors, but just keep this message where it is easily seen.

Temper

I trust your heart rate has settled – I usually feel het up when I speak off the top of my head voicing strong views – in my old age I usually find it safer to write them – and read again in the cold light of day!! I still find people v. difficult and keep much to myself.

So, at all times of the day and night the poor managers are rushing out to fight any fires as the Fire Service is really not up to it. They came to fight one that was surrounding us on three sides and her brother suggested what they should do and in a fit of pique because they were being ‘organised’ they did quite the opposite. In the course of which they backed one of the two fire trucks into the stone stairs and broke the ladders and pumps!!! They are really rather over-officious and very ready to assert their relatively new-found authority. Another night X went to fight a fire on one of his fields and the Chief Fire Officer was supervising as he put it which meant he was in a private car behind the first truck in mufti and with a woman!!! He also was parked in a private estate road in such a manner that X could not get his own fire cart through to the fire and would not move when asked. X is a colossal man of about 20 stone and 6 ft 5 and although charming when he wishes to be (I haven’t seen it fail on any woman yet) has a temper that has I believe got him into trouble in his younger days. However, he restrained himself from actually manhandling the CFO but gave him some good solid curses instead.

She now works on a telephone exchange and at a bible study discussing patience etc X asked her if she had many difficult people on the phone and what she did about them. Evidently one man had just recently been v. abusive, so she plugged him into ‘dial a prayer’. I’d have loved to see (or hear) his reaction!!

The whole trip went so much beyond our wildest hopes of success, my only regret being my clash with X, who I admire so much when I’m not with her!

Siblings

… feeling absolutely exhausted and unenthused for several months. I got v. worried and trotted along to my doctor, had x blood tests done and the outcome was I ought to get more exercise and move away from my sister (she is a very dominating sort of person).

School memories

Funny you should remember X and her pink and mauve sweaters because when I think back to those days that’s what I remember her wearing – must have made a big impression! I remember X and her suits and that young one that came in our last year or so with the scruffy heels and how I remember her writing ‘Silence is Golden’ on the board and not really appreciating it then. Believe me with three children I certainly do now!!

He has settled wonderfully [at school] and is eating like a horse and working hard – and has also made friends with the other newest boys, so that is good. His first letter was all about playing marbles with his friend who lost his best one down a drain, so they held a funeral service over the drain which was quite an inspired idea!

In Musicianship we spend most of the time clapping hand rhythms!

The mock courts were quite funny. In our one, one of our lecturers was the accused (5 murders to his name) and he played the part v. well. We had exhibits 1-6 each being a trophy he’d taken away – head, hand etc. (made out of potato dipped in jam) except the last which was the thing he’d done it all with – bottle opener. He was sentenced, needless to say, to a lifetime of teaching German!

Significant other 7

X’s wife has upped and left him – taking the girls with her. She’s evidently into women’s revolution (and has put on 300 lbs in 3 years – I can’t believe she was right but even if she’s now 300 lbs it’s more than vast).

I think the last straw was his borrowing a large amount of money at high commission without telling her. Sadly he’s a born liar and I think always has been.

Isn’t it a hoot about X remarrying – I had a lovely long letter from her last week. I have met her new husband and he’s a dear – she says, ‘he’s 70, alas, but then I’m no chicken’! She’s terribly happy and her family delighted.

I really am glad for X he didn’t have to go on lingering like that – there’s still an empty space in the house tho’.

I gave X a small bottle of Aramis Eau de Cologne for Christmas. Very expensive but the best $12 I’ve spent or ages – it’s the most seductive fabulous pong – have you smelt it?

X has told her if she doesn’t go and ‘do’ the garden at their previous home, he’ll get someone to do it and send her the bill! He’s overseas at present I think.

I can’t say too often how important it is to avoid being vindictive – there are invariably 2 sides to every argument. You can try but there will be a lot of frayed bits – SO SAD.

stocking the larder/ self-sufficiency 4

What a productive night – we’ve frozen 1/2 the self-seeded crop of broad beans, ‘done’ the ginger beer, and now I’m writing to you while he cleans the shoes – if we carry on like this we might even reach the elusive goal of ORGANISATION!!!

Did I tell you about the sheep with a head at both ends? The maternity wing of the farm was next door again for a while and one day I saw the head of a lamb arrive. Nothing else happened and the ewe went on grazing in-between pawing the ground a bit, so I phoned the farmer who came down with his dog and crook and chased the poor thing round and round with the lamb twitching its ears and apparently quite interested. Eventually he caught a leg and the ewe dragged him flat on his back, quite some way, (he’s a tidy weight and rising 70) but he couldn’t get it out, its leg was caught. Then his wife drove up the drive immaculate in white and he expected her to join in the tussle as her hand was smaller. She v. reasonably declined until she’d changed, so he drove the poor thing up to the house, where she managed to get it out just when they’d decided they’d have to kill the ewe, so all was well.

Things children say 4

Did I tell you X’s remark when Y went on looking for a good place to picnic for rather a long time? ‘This road is just like God, it goes on and on.’

We were challenged to croquet within half an hour of arrival on a very ‘sporting’ course. About my third turn I aimed at his ball, missed and went into the border. ‘You twit,’ said he in exactly the tone he would have used if addressing his brother. I said, ‘I question whether that is an appropriate way to address a great-uncle, even though I agree with your opinion.’ (You can talk to him like that if you want to; he has a remarkable vocabulary and turn of phrase for his age.) ‘Oh,’ said he, ‘I do apologise’ as it might be someone who has trodden on your toe in the underground by mistake.

I hope the kids don’t remember Christmas, by their comments! X at 8 p.m., ‘I hope I get more presents next year. A bike’s not much’, and Y on opening the wheels and axles I got him to make a go-cart,’ Thank you daddy, did you get these at the dump? Little buggers!

‘Mummy can I have some soil to make goblins for my dolls’ picnic. You know – like the ones daddy made?’ Shades of cannibalism? Not a bit … after much deciphering we worked out that the key words were foil and goblets.