A trip across country to see friends

by | Apr 13, 2022 | Latest Post | 0 comments

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I try not to make an entry unless there is something interesting or different to report. Last weekend I went to Peterborough to see an old friend. She is over 80 years of age and has severe back trouble. She has a walker frame which she uses to get around as well as she can, but in going across the Courtyard of the old people’s home where she lives, she was in so much pain that she had to take morphine. In spite of that I noticed there was never a complaint or any trace of self-pity. She is of exceptionally sharp mind if not a bit absent-minded but is most definitely ‘all there’ as we say.

Was a pleasure to meet her and those looking after her who happened to be of the same ilk. It is interesting how like attracts like and that includes a carer.

I can describe Peterborough as one of the most boring and Soulless cities in the UK. I did however visit a very large allotment with about 160 plots and that was an island of peace amidst characterless 1960s housing estates. My friend who is disabled actually has an allotment and has worked out which parts of her are functional, in the right leg in this case , and she can partially dig if someone else takes out the weeds. I enormously admire her courage and her enterprise; many others would have given up some time ago.

We visited a place in Northamptonshire where I was able to meet many old friends, I call them my ‘tribe’, and we had reminiscences going back almost 50 years. One of my friends has a farm or should I say some open pasture that they have converted into a type of farm with geese,  hens etc and they live an entirely rural life and are indeed planning to go off-grid. That is a very good idea if you can get your electrics right.

When we drive home to Somerset we avoid using the M4 motorway and go cross country. It is slightly less economical on petrol but it’s made up for by the absence of traffic and lovely scenery. Ok you get the odd motorist who decides to go slowly not to mention farm equipment and with double lines you cannot overtake. I suppose that’s part of the joy of living in the countryside. Trees coming into bud gave a therapeutic pleasure. We arrived home Monday evening.

We had done 355 miles over 5 days which is not bad. My Volvo loves long distances and the petrol consumption is very good (ghastly at suburban driving speeds).

It does take some time to adjust to being home. After a couple of days I’m really at home and getting back to what I laughingly call normal. When I am away, the entries that must be done on my covid site fall behind so I have to spend an extra few hours catching up. I should not use the word ‘must’ as it is a self-imposed task to keep a Samuel Pepys type record of this last two and a bit disastrous years.

I maintain four sites.  I don’t get paid for any of it. I do it for love and for the possibility of increasing public awareness. I’ve never seen so much evil extant and people seemingly are indifferent to it so the pressure is always on. I will do it until the Internet is switched off or curtailed. Someone down the line my site may be removed but as a re-publisher I would not be in the first line of threat .

I went to see an amazing chiropractor yesterday, I went to see her because of my stomach but it became obvious that she had a great understanding of the human body in general and how it functions. I was there for just over 2-hours and it really seem like half an hour. How time flies if you are enjoying yourself or should I say being fully occupied.

I have started to read a couple of books by C.S. Lewis. One of them is called How to be a Christian. Some of the references are a bit dated because they was written in the post-war period, The points left me with a feeling that the basic essentials of life and living do not change.

I have definitely benefited from a few days away from our home surroundings. I don’t have to do anything spectacular or expensive, it’s just that any change gives me a different set of stimuli and I am refreshed by that.  Time away from the computer is very good.

 

 

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