Yesterday I awoke to a very gloomy day so the weather is definitely on the change. I would be quite happy for a little bit of rain but could do with some extended periods of sunshine. This is because in the course of Meg’s illness, our garden has been severely neglected and, apart from keeping the grass mown and a serious blitz last autumn, I have not managed to do any gardening at all. So I have decided to rectify this by spending a small amount of time each day to focus on the weeds which are rampant both at the front of the house and also on our patio. I am limiting myself to twenty minute sessions each day for both front and back as I know that extended periods of gardening can play havoc with one’s back. I have a little kit which consists of those rubberised and grippy gloves which are so excellent for pulling out weeds by the roots as well as a kneeling mat and one of those forked weeding tools. So yesterday I made a symbolic start at both the front and the rear and am quite pleased with the start I have made. But I need to keep up with a consistent effort each day and rain can get in the way of this of course but I think that slow and steady is the name of the game. The routine this morning will be a little different as I have got myself booked into an appointment to have my eyes checked over by an optician who has treated Meg and myself for at least ten years by now. After that and my son giving me a lift home, I should be back onto my normal Pilates class at the end of the morning.
It looks as though an Israel-Iran ceasefire has begun and may well hold, so the world can breathe a little easier. It may be, though, the Iranians, who had vowed a retaliation against the Americans calibrated their response with a degree of political acumen. They fired off a salvo of missiles in the direction of a huge American base in neighbouring Qatar but gave the Americans due warning. The missiles were all shot down, no lives were lost but from the point of view of Iranian public the authorities could claim a draw and so a ceasefire became much viable. Donald Trump is, of course, claiming all the credit for this and there are a mass of unanswered questions for the analysts to ponder but at least a Middle East conflagration seems to have been averted.
Today was the day when I was scheduled to have my eyes tested. I know the optician very well as he has treated me (and Meg when she was alive) for approximately the last twelve years. The opticians had previously been informed of Meg’s death and I joked with the optician that I had better not have a weep in his presence as it might mess up the eye examination. I was delighted to learn that my eyes had not changed one iota even though the test itself had been delayed by some months so I remain a little long sighted i.e. well within the limits for reading a distant number plate which is test used by the DVLC. Then my son collected me in the car and we collected some milk and a newspaper en route for home. After a gentle chat and a watch of some Politics programmes it was time to walk down for my Pilates class in which I remembered to take my towel with me as well as my mat. There was another gentleman in the class and we vied with each for cracking some jokes. Then my son picked me up to save me a long walk in the sun and I prepared a simple of smoked mackerel on a bed of ‘steamed’ crackers (my way of reducing the carbohydrate count) In the afternoon, I had received a statement from Motability which enabled me to quote a no claims discount on the motor insurance I need to take out before I take over ownership of my son’s car hopefully on Saturday. My son and I had already received a quote from a local broker recommended to us by a friend but this seemed rather on the high side. So I went online to get a quote from a well advertised company only to be rejected at the last moment on account of my age (having just turned 80) I then consulted the web and AgeUK have a special deal (with, as it happens the same insurance company) All seemed to go well with the long application process but, right at the end the screen froze when it said ‘we will be with you in just a heartbeat’. So I repeated the whole exercise and the same thing happened but not before giving me a quote that was 25% cheaper than the first time round. I phoned the company, completing he transaction over the phone and eagerly accepting a quote in which I saved about £300. Whether the system senses that a sale is on the point of being lost and automatically lowers the price I cannot say but I now have the insurance in place, the payment has been made and the relevant insurance documents sitting in the intray of my computer. These dealings have taken up most of the afternoon and hence my gardening activities both to the front and rear of the house have had to be curtailed. Tomorrow is the day when our domestic help calls around and last week I was away in Yorkshire so this is the first time I will have the opportunity of asking her how she felt the funeral actually went. No doubt, she and I will carry on clearing out some of Meg’s things and gradually making space for things but we have made an excellent start so far. As it was her birthday last Saturday and she spent the weekend away with her husband, I wonder what she made of the little Victorian resort of Clevedon where I think she was going. Incidentally, I read again through all of the condolence cards sent by friends, family and acquaintances and noted to myself, wryly, then even the postman had bought and posted a card but not the slightest communication from the managers of the care agency which had looked after Meg for the past year and a half.