Scoot

Taraloka, November 2021

I sit surrounded by junk. If only I could just throw it all out, but some of it is important and some of it is useful and I need to go through what has been accumulating for many months and make sense of it all. It has been delightful to unearth a replacement phone charger for the one I lost, and to find the lights I was going to use for my tent over the summer, but all the pension administration is much less attractive and no less necessary.

In the meantime, mum and I have been having adventures with mobility scooters. We went together to try out a second hand one at someone's house, and then to the local shop to have a go on a new one. Mum was slightly nervous but I whizzed about on the pavement. We have learned much - the top speed of different models, how they can be dismantled, the insurance and servicing requirements - but the main barrier to immediate acquisition is storage. The garage would be perfect but the door isn't all that easy to open and close and there is a half-brick lip which is too high for the scooter to drive over. Mum is thinking about a motorised door and a ramp or knocking out the brick lip, and further thinking about making this the accessible route into the house that is needed.

Apart from this I have been enjoying the freedom from volunteering and other responsibilities, meeting Buddhists for walks and meals and films, and badminton is back on the agenda at last. But now I must knuckle down and try to make some impact on the junk that surrounds me.

October 2021