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A pointless gesture
Signalling when intending to turn left or right in a car is usually unnecessary when there's no one about, but it's daft when on a bicycle. If there's no one about why run the risk of destabilising the bike and reducing the ability to brake?
As I walked back up the hill on the pavement on my morning walk, an old man on a bicycle came down the hill and stuck out his right arm indicating that he was to turn into a side road. Why? I wondered. Had he not looked behind? Could he not see that he was alone on the road? Who needed to know of his intention? I was too far away to care.
Went for another walk in the afternoon, tripped over a stick and measured my length on the ground. Fortunately, the ground was soft so other than getting leaves stuck to my hands and knees, I suffered no ill effects. I must be more careful; falls like that on hard surfaces result in broken bones. When I got home I put in my rucksack one of the three slings and an old crepe bandage that I found in a cupboard. They might come in useful one day with clumsy folk like me around. I think they were left over from the time my mother broke her wrist falling off a stool she'd climbed on in the kitchen. Kids aren't the only ones to climb on furniture and fall off.
Thought for today
Experience, a comb life gives you after you lose your hair.
Judith Stern, Writer
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1.8.06 21:20
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Grease is the word
There is grease in the kitchen, grease on the arms of chairs. I've never seen so much grease in a house. Some of it is so thick it's easier to remove with a knife than with soap and water or a degreasing agent.
This morning I threw away three jars of jam with use-by-dates ranging from 2002 to 2004, and a jar of undated homemade marmalade labelled with writing I didn't recognise.
I put two tablespoonsful of the marmalade down an outside drain before deciding that it might block the drain or encourage wasps so I poured a basin of water down the drain to flush it down. I discovered that the drain was already blocked. Having donned a pair of gloves I put my right hand into the drain and, with my arm up to my shoulder in the drain, pulled out handfuls of black leaves smelling of the brush cleaner that I'd been emptying down the drain all week.
My effort was rewarded; I cleared the drain. The remaining jam and smelly leaves went into the wheelie bin after I'd washed my arm and T shirt. Tomorrow I must check the other drains.
I also threw away a container of Parmesan cheese that was in the fridge. The use-by-date was Aug 2005. I saw little point removing the lid to see if it smelled off as the stuff normally smells of vomit.
My mother would consider my throwing away the jam and cheese as a waste. Maybe, but she should have eaten them years ago.
Thought for today
When they discover the centre of the universe, a lot of people will be disappointed to discover they are not it.
Bernard Bailey
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2.8.06 21:24
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The naivety of youth
There's a young blackbird in the garden. I spotted it yesterday. It scratches around on the path looking for food and pays me little attention. I have to keep an eye out for it lest I tread on it.
There was an item on the radio this morning about speed limits in rural areas. They are too high. Crashes are due not to speed limits being too high but to brain power of drivers being too low.
As I marched back from my early morning walk I passed the scene of a crash. A small J reg Peugeot had overturned on a narrow double bend. The driver, a young man, must have come down the steep hill too fast, braked, hit a post on the bank which overturned his car. A car travelling uphill had stopped as had a van travelling downhill. Two young men stood forlornly by the upside-down car. The young men in the car, with the road and recent fall of rain, were an accident waiting to happen. As I passed, I heard one of the men in the van say to another that there had been three so far that morning. I presumed he meant crashes so I remarked, crossly, that it had just rained so roads would be slippery, and added 'God, there must be some wallies about.'
I must remember to avoid that road particularly when it could be slippery. However well people drive round those bends they can do nothing to avoid vehicles whose paths are controlled by the laws of physics rather than by their drivers.
Thought for today
There are no dangerous roads, only dangerous drivers.
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3.8.06 21:37
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An aimless existence
The young blackbird remains in the back garden. It seems to have an aimless existence, (reminds me of a nephew of mine); it stands or sometimes sits motionless for a long while. I wonder what the bird equivalent of reading a book is.
I tried to see if it would eat out of my hand and offered it some currants. I slowly moved my hand towards it with the currants on my palm. The bird looked, I thought, interested and moved its head ready to take a currant. However, this was not its intention. It bit me.
Yesterday a cheerful young man came to service the extractor fan in the kitchen. It took him an hour and a half to dismantle, clean and reassemble it. The longest part was cleaning it, it was that filthy.
His appearance surprised me at first; his face was studded and his arms and legs ornately tattooed. A small spike projected under the middle of his lower lip and a large stud hung from one earlobe.
I cannot see why piercings are so popular. When I was a child I used to look at pictures of natives in my father's copies of the National Geographic. I was fascinated by their faces painted in tribal colours, by the bones in their noses, the plaques inserted in their lower lips, the rings round their necks and in their ears. Natives did things like that; civilised people did not. How times have changed.
Thought for today
You know everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects.
Will Rogers, (1879 - 1935) in New York Times, 31 August 1924
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5.8.06 21:28
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Back home
I collected my mother from the care home today. Already I am regretting it. The noise (of her talking books), the mess, the laziness. The past two weeks were peaceful without her. I am back in survival mode and am likely to spend more time walking to get out of the house.
Meanwhile, there is the paperwork for her to do for selling the house to me, and more tidying and sorting. She left the house two weeks ago looking as if she'd bolted. She left a mess. I can see her eventually going back into the care home, or perhaps a different one, but in an organised way once the house is sold and her finances settled. Sheltered accommodation might be a possibility but her failing eyesight might make that unsuitable.
Thought for today
Because of their size, parents may be difficult to discipline properly.
P J O'Rourke, (1947 - ) Modern Manners, 1984
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6.8.06 21:20
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It never rains
It's not often that I wish for rain. Today dark clouds have threatened rain but few drops have fallen. Everywhere is parched. The runner beans have survived on washing-up water and have produced a reasonable crop.
My latest mission is to buy a wireless door bell, one with a rain-proof button that is attached next to the front door. I found one pictured in a catalogue which looks the same sort as the one next door. It has a range of 50m so I hope when it's pressed it doesn't set off the neighbours' one as well.
Another charity is due to collect unwanted items tomorrow. This is useful because the house is still full of such things. My mother and I have filled three large bags and a cardboard box ready for collection. One day the supply of unwanted things will cease but not for a while. The volcano is still active.
Thought for today
What have you learned from the mistakes and misfortunes of other drivers?
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7.8.06 21:46
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Time to stop
How do you persuade a 90 year old that it's time for him to stop driving? His car is currently out of action, said his wife of 85, because it had an accident. The accident, I discovered, was due to the elderly man's crashing it into the back of another vehicle which stopped suddenly behind a bus. The brakes didn't work in the way he expected, added the wife. Sounded to me as if the old boy was driving too closely to the car in front and wasn't paying attention. They weren't sure whether to have the car repaired or to buy a similar second-hand model. I pointed out that the cost of owning a car was high. They would save money by ceasing to own one and travelling by taxis instead.
I wondered if his insurance company would be keen to renew his insurance. The moral of this is, pay attention to the driver behind you. If he or she looks old then increase the distance between your vehicle and the one in front of you.
Define old. Why do people expect to drive until they drop?
Thought for today
To me old age is always fifteen years older than I am.
Bernard Baruch, (1864 - 1965) in Newsweek 29 August 1955
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9.8.06 21:08
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