A lot of stuff going on

Bobby (and toy), May 2022

As usual there's been plenty of Buddhist action, including a day retreat in which, among other activities, we started creating a decorated cloth using different types of printing. There were only eight of us there and I'm keen for as many people as possible to make their mark, so we're going to finish it at another session in August. Then on Tuesday the key to our hall wasn't in its usual place and we were unable to contact the key-keeper, so we decamped to a nearby pub for a drink instead. Not so unfortunate, except that next week we have a planned social in a pub, so two in a row. Fortunately we didn't have a visiting speaker, or it would really have been difficult.

I played badminton on Monday for the first time in ages (the Buddhism teacher was away). I haven't been able to go to Thursday badminton for ages either, what with retreats, meetings and other events, but I thought I'd be able to go on the coming Thursday. Then I contacted my refugee guest, who (following a suggestion by Mr M) is likely to be known as Ukraine Jane (although her name isn't Jane). She is still trying to work out how to bring the cat with her, because the bus company she originally found has now changed its mind. I consulted the group I'm part of as a sponsor/host, and got the feedback that a) it's really difficult and b) one family went over to France to pick up their guests and their dog in order to get them into the UK.

When I heard this my initial reaction was that my generosity wouldn't extend this far, but with a bit of time to think, I thought, why not? I spent a bit of time researching and worked out how it could be done, with Jane trying to chase the licence that the cat needs through some bureaucratic British office, and the only day that would work for me was Thursday, so no badminton again. Except that a day is a long time in the Homes for Ukraine scheme, and Jane's parents are going to have to return to Kyiv or lose their jobs and income, and she was starting to think about leaving the cat with them and fetching it later when the licence is certain. Until she found details of someone who is travelling from the UK with supplies in a minibus and offering the return trip to people with pets. So I'm happy with whatever she decides and ready to wait and see if I get to go to badminton on Thursday after all. Then the badminton booker realised it's a Bank Holiday and cancelled the session.

So no badminton on Thursday, and I found out about a different group specifically focussing on this thorny issue of bringing pets from Ukraine. When I joined that one it became very clear that unless Jane gets onto this minibus she's found there's pretty much no other way except going in person to France and bringing the animal back in the car. And even then others have reported administrative nightmares at the port.

A few other things of note: I took up an offer of a free hearing test because everyone in my family who is older than me has hearing loss and I thought it would be interesting. It was carried out in a room off the main waiting area and was almost too noisy to hear any of the test tones, so I don't think I'll be taking them up on any future offers. For what it's worth, my hearing was deemed to be good, so that's nice.

I've been doing more for Mr MXF. I got a lot done on one particular task that involved data collection and organisation, but I stopped doing that and asked Mr MXF to check what I'd done so that if it wasn't quite right I could fix it before going on rather than having to go back and correct everything. While he is thinking about this he has switched me to a new task which involves creating online forms. I went through the phase of not knowing what on earth I was doing, which I find very uncomfortable, and now have grasped the essentials and am quite enjoying it. I like a well-designed form.

Then there was a lot of noise from Pub Next Door's 'garden' - a concrete area with decking which had a marquee when drinking indoors wasn't allowed. I've pieced together what's going on after various conversations with workmen and bar staff - the area has been taken back to bare concrete and the plan is for a new resin floor to be laid, and no more decking. The noise escalated dramatically while they cut tracks in the concrete where cables will be laid for outside lighting, and subsided again for cement mixing. I've become quite friendly with the main builder and we have daily discussions about how the plans have changed. Because the base concrete layer is not level it looks as though some might be paved and the resin area limited to a rectangle in the middle. The marquee is probably going back, and the covered area at the end smartened up.

They also ripped out the drainage that I'd put in at the base of my wall, which showed how counter-productive that had been - rainwater had penetrated behind it and the bricks at the base of the wall were wet. One of the lessons I have learned through the LTRP, which I would do well to remember more often, is that the tradesmen who so confidently diagnose the problem and propose the solution actually know very little more about it than I do.

And pictured is Bobby, my newest boarder from the Guide Dog kennels, who has a naturally sad-looking face. He is a youngster early in his training, but better behaved than most of the other dogs I've looked after. He likes his soft toys but tends to bring me household things that aren't out of reach, and we've had a lovely time so far.