Tag Archives: weight

Extravagant lifestyle

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Ralph at the Adam, with a bit of Bruce

Over a week since I last posted, which can mean only one of two things: nothing much has happened, or I’ve been extremely busy. Reader, it is the former, although it did seem there was plenty happening at the time. In the last few days I have been getting some exercise in a bid to lose weight before Dot’s food-counting regime goes over the top. Have lost a couple of pounds following walks, mainly in the Mousehold area, and a bit of gardening and clambering around in the loft (where, incidentally, there was no sign of water incursion). Today I walked radically back from Joe’s after a couple of hours’ chess. Brisk wind, but sunny. Dot has been at Barbara’s working on her P4C and should be back shortly. Colin is due to come and survey a couple of garden jobs at around 6pm, and then Dot embarks on a Girls’ Night Out at the Greens, which sadly clashed with our Tuesday Group, and the Tuesday Group lost. A certain member of it suggested that the male members of it should have a Men’s Night Out, but as I can’t imagine anything worse than going out with a crowd of men, I was less than enthusiastic and will be having a Tim’s Night In.

Most of the time I have been catching up with financial matters and e-mails, as well as compiling the rota for St Augustine’s, which is a bit tricky as certain people who shall be nameless forget when they’re going to be away, and then remember just too late. I am in the process of selling some shares to fund our extravagant lifestyle, and I have persuaded KLM to send us our e-tickets, which should have arrived about a month ago. I shall soon have to sort Andrew’s money out.

Our former scanner is no more. It is nailed to the loft. It is a dead scanner. Happily, friend Vicky M had given us a scanner she no longer needs, and I am working out how to make it function properly. It is decidedly promising.I decided to follow some advice I saw online and not load the scanner software but use Image Capture on Snow Leopard. Result! Now I am looking out for someone with a VHS player they don’t need. Ours has bitten the dust following an ejection problem. I know how it feels.

Highlight, possibly, of the past week was the visit of Ralph and Lynne Martin, back for a month from the Seychelles and in the process of selling their house in Hingham. I warned them about the space-time distortion, but they went ahead anyway. Dot and I met Bruce at the station and we walked to the Adam and Eve, mainly along the riverside path. There we met the aforesaid Martins, together with a late-arriving Robin L, and had lunch together. The landlady of the Adam and Eve is Rita, who used to be at the EDP social club, and she amazingly remembered me. An altogether pleasant hour or two, and not a bad pie.

Leaving aside our haircuts, other exciting events included Dot’s having her MX5 folding roof cleaned (after we had navigated through a massive hold-up on Aylsham Road caused by a man sitting in a van surrounded by cones and traffic lights), which gave her a lot of satisfaction. And of course the DCC meeting on Thursday, at which we achieved a full house. Because Matt wants to come on the DCC, I am standing down and will be co-opted on. This will give me an excuse to miss a few meetings by saying I can’t vote, so I might as well not come. This is different to the forthcoming General Election, at which I can vote, but might as well not come.

Avoided losing at chess last night by getting a winning position and agreeing a draw. Well, you never know what’s going to happen, do you?

1 March 2008

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Another picture from last weekend, showing grandson Oliver shortly after an attack by a giant ball, which he eventually defeated. It’s roughly how I feel at the end of a week when I’ve slept badly for three nights and failed to get anywhere with the insurance company. I’ve now written to the chief executive (recorded delivery), but no response yet. Feeling so out of sorts that I had a go at the guy in the building society yesterday when he suggested I wouldn’t have to queue for the one till that was open if I had a different account. On the plus side, I didn’t punch him in the mouth.

March has come in like a lion, with huge storms last night – hail battering at the windows and high winds from the north. It’s calmed down a bit this morning, and the sun is out, but it’s still turbulent, and colder weather is promised for next week. Despite this, it will turn out to be a warmer month than normal. It always does.

On Thursday it was calm and sunny, and while Dot visited her aunt in Hethersett, I went for a four-mile walk from Hethersett to Ketteringham Hall and back. This was a delightful walk over open country that’s quite high for Norfolk, but it did have the drawback of crossing the A11 dual carriageway – and we’re not talking bridge here. I resisted the temptation to thrown myself in front of a truck (not very strong, actually) and was patient enough to cross quite safely. Not something I’d like to do with my grand-daughter Amy, though. Oliver is a different matter: he would be very careful and do exactly what I said. Still, a bit hairy standing in the central reservation waiting for a gap.

Afterwards had lunch at Park Farm with Dot: extremely civilised, with lots of well-behaved elderly people like us (!) . The ancient gentleman before me at the counter had trouble ordering two drinks: he got two halves of lager and then decided he really wanted one half of lager and a glass of wine, which turned out to be white when he wanted red. He was then asked what food he wanted, which threw him completely, and he started looking vaguely towards the restaurant section and muttering to himself. Fortunately, someone else served me at this point, or we might have had the first ever incident of Park Farm screaming.

Dot has been painting a lot over the last week, and is still doing it as I write. The ceiling in the living room is finished, and so are a few walls – I’m not sure how many. I have been trying to get some stuff ready for Paston, but have found it hard to concentrate. Yesterday I went up to have a blood test and forgot the paperwork, which is very unlike me. Happily I knew what the test was for (PSA, of course), and she did the test, allowing me to return later with the correct form.

Lack of social events in the past three days has enabled us to catch up a little with a huge backlog of recorded TV, but we’ve really been sitting in front of the screen too much. Still, my weight is down to under 12 stone, which is encouraging.