vexations – Filed words

Dowsing 4

He even let X divine for water the other day! It seems a spring was causing the water in the drive which they thought was the soak-away.

A local boy got separated from a school in some local bush and disappeared. Parties were out combing the bush for him. We offered help but they said it was difficult country and they kept to people with knowledge of it. So I tried a dowse, with no knowledge except boy 11, but felt certain I had got a reaction, and X, bless him, in the pouring rain, and I set off in gumboots and macs and drove to the end of a track as near as we could get to the bush I wanted. I was a little taken aback when I saw how wild it was, but we set off and crossed the river as soon as it looked shallow enough. Once I’d got my gumboots full and X just didn’t try but walked in the river in his shoes, it was quicker; after scrambling about 1 1/2 hours upstream and only covering between quarter to half a mile we were soaked through, I’ve never been so wet, and X said there was about 200 more yards and then we’d have to go straight up into the bush (and we hadn’t brought any food) I fear I gave in. Just as well – 2 days later they found his body in quite a different place. We don’t know what happened but he was cremated the next day, and the announcement said ’killed in an accident’ – I suppose he fell. Very sad.

I’ve got a super $32 book on the world’s oil wells which is s’posed to be for ref. only but I begged it from the rather pleasant odd type at the Library – I know he thinks I’m a bit scatty and obviously knows what I’m at as both the dowsing books and oil books are kept in the technical and scientific section. I’ve been stymied for a while as none of my depths coincided with the depths in the book – but I think I’m on the right track again now. Did I tell you X and I are going to look at the place I think there’s a seepage on the surface – one on shore which should be easy to confirm and one near the shore which I’m told you should be able to see from shore as if the water is still you see the bubbles and oil patches on the sea. If I can get a skindiver to go and have a look-see for a reasonable amount I’ll try that but it is about 60ft down.

X was anxious to have another look for her spring at the zoo, and we did a drive around all the local roads to spy out the ground. We found one dead end road which ran up to the top of the hill, roughly where she wanted to go, and we found a gap between the houses to look down about 300 ft onto the playing field where she had dowsed. And I then suggested she should just pop up to a house about another 100 ft up some very steep steps. I had to wait a long time for her, and was just wondering whether she had passed out from the heat, when I heard her again. She had apparently been able to go through the back garden and find some traces of what was probably the same water source. So that was very satisfactory. [And from a later letter] X’s report and map of the zoo water, which went off nine days ago, and had not turned up by Monday. So she started pestering the Post Office, who nowadays have a lot of machinery (computers) to chase up any parcel that goes astray. And at last they rang yesterday to say that it had turned up and was being sent by special delivery, and they were very sorry and would refund her expense. So that was satisfactory for the idea of getting yet another copy of the map and tracing off her streams on it was a despairing thought!

Sad, sad – the latest well on which I’d staked my all, including 500 shares, was reported dry yesterday, so as I was so sure, I’ve resigned, and told the man at DSIR I’m nonplussed. I know something happens, and must try and find another map dowser to advise me what I’m doing wrong; the reactions are so definite I’m still convinced there’s something.

Earwigging

I thoroughly upset X in the middle of the evening. Actually I was talking to Y and uncharitably commenting on the bride’s dress as a bit inappropriate in the circumstances, when X [mother of the bridegroom] came up in time to hear the final part, which she took grave objection to, and found she said ‘very hurtful’. I couldn’t for the life of me see why she should be hurt, but attempts at apology were rejected, and the next day she was to begin with still cutting me dead.

An 8 year old was trying to explain, with great forbearance, to his little sister how 8 pennies were 8 pennies whether they were stretched out or not. The last word came from a small-voiced little sister ‘I’m tired of these pennies’!

Making money 2

Perhaps if they manage to pay off the present bills for the alterations, they’ll try harder not to run them up again. It’d be so much easier to pay it for them, but I fear they’ll only learn the hard way.

I’ve just got a job! It’s waitressing two evenings a week from 6 p.m. to close down about 11 or 12 p.m. It’s not as simple as I’d imagined. Each waitress has between 4 and 7 tables. And we have to do the wine and be able to recommend good ones. Then with the serving the waitresses have do all the garnishing of entrees, cocktails, soups, sweets, fish, meat, side salads etc. Which means knowing which of about 15 unlabelled sauces to put on what and/or whether to put lemon, toast, cream, parsley butter etc. on them! The outfit we wear is blue and white gingham skirts about 18” long! and voluminous short sleeved blouses with a broad black belt, regulation thick pants, lots of leg (regulation pantyhose). I’ll have to smile lots and wiggle my bottom (according to friendly advice from smooth Greek manager and mother-in-law) to get lots of tips!

Our landlord and family are incredible people. He’s a freezing worker and has 4 houses and is building a new one in a posh area – ‘but we’re not toffee-nosed, you know’ says she.

I don’t think I wrote last year, I was feeling really down. The family in the flat would not pay proper rent nor move out! I had to get X to get them out, so they did not pay rent for the last 4 months at all!

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’!!

Fears

She got a birthday invitation today and after looking pleased she suddenly said, ‘No – balloons’ and refuses to consider going, so traumatised is she on the subject! Oh dear. I’ve promise to ask Y’s mum if there’ll be balloons, so we’ll see.

Altho’ sad that yet another old friend has left I feel it was a joy for her – she always worried she would go the way of her mother and aunts with what, I suspect, now is known as Alzheimer’s Disease.

I took the infants to see the animals in the field – poor X strapped in a pushchair nearly went berserk when the 4 calves as high as my hip loomed over her agog to get at our paper bag of goodies – I had to find a young enough couple who knew how to unbuckle the straps to get her out.

I was worried to see from your writing that you look either very tired or not very well at the moment. Try to get a real break in the two weeks off which are coming up. [Amateur graphologist!]

I really think X is fast heading for a full-scale nervous breakdown (to put it politely – my inclination is to say loony bin!). She swears, cusses, kicks and bosses them all and then gives them large unwanted presents so she can claim what she wants from them ’after all I’ve done for you’! Yes, I know I’m a cow but she makes me sick.

We have two couples coming to dinner Saturday night. I’m so bad at entertaining, the very thought of it has removed all my nails on one hand tonight.

You may be infuriated with your doctor’s ‘well you seem to be all right’, but that’s not as bad as my recent doctor who had the absolutely infuriating habit of listening to my dissertation of symptoms (said in a flat, unstressed voice so as not to give emphasis to those that smell of coronary or whatever) and then asking ‘what would you like me to say is wrong with you?’!

Strikes

We haven’t had any proper letters for two days and I suspect the rail strikers – the last straw was when some little jumped up Union man who looks like that rag and bone father on TV said the public could go to hell – why should 4,000 railway men lose their jobs (reduction is numbers of guards on freight trains because they’re in the red, like most firms). At least he put some of his mates’ backs up so it could be a good thing.

Couldn’t agree more about the strike and I think all the staff everywhere are fed up with it. Our people all seem to have stopped bothering about days of action and such like and even the most militant only just sit and mutter together in a corner of the staff canteen at lunch time instead of doing a militant picket or something!

Transport 3

Forgot to tell you of X’s embarrassment last week… We left bridge very late and very dark as usual, having parked the car in a different place to usual. X backed out and with a great flourish turned the car to go down the road – unfortunately he drove down a ditch instead! He got a couple of blokes to help him ‘rock’ it out – all they did was roll the 2^nd wheel into the ditch and car was stuck, almost over. Still more blokes turned up and eventually they managed to push car out of the ditch and to date nothing seems damaged – miraculously!

Apologies

[from a pre-schooler!] I am sorry for being so naughty on Friday. It was a mistake.

Sorry about the erratic typing. This is a new machine just delivered to us and I am trying to break it in a bit as it is very dodgy about the touch and reluctant to move. For a week it just sat and mocked us, as we undid the package and assembled it and found the space bar wouldn’t move. Being a hospital we then had to go through much fuss and bother to get the mechanic to come and fiddle with it. So now we have three typewriters of varying degrees of awfulness plus one that is really round the bend and is reserved for lending to the ward for patients trying to break themselves off some drug or another. But no electric one and my old fingers find it very hard work after a weekend’s intensive weeding!

X seems to be getting into New Age stuff! … She was also fascinated with some ‘art’ by a woman which very heavy ‘magical’ overtones and strange things happened to people who bought it.

I’m not going to read this through – or I’ll miss the post – guess when it doesn’t add up.

It’s not much good saying ‘Sorry I haven’t written for ages’ (tho’ I am) ‘cos it sounds kind of hollow. I do actually start lots of letters, both on paper and in my head! but that’s not a great deal of use as I don’t get around to actually sending them.

Apologies for appalling typing – writing’s worse!

Sorry this is so late – first I didn’t have envelope, then I bought one but couldn’t find your address. I’m also sorry to say the delicious honey we ordered was only available at Christmas, so I’ve ordered an alternative which should arrive within the fortnight – SORRY! I also got some of the photographs I took back and they’re AWFUL! If it’s a ‘good view’ the colour’s wrong e.g. white sky that should be blue! or vice versa. Even those of the kids are not good enough to send.

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).