Through foreign eyes

Pat the dog, October 2022

UJ has been settling in nicely, and I find we have quite a lot in common. It was a little disturbing, however, to discover that I am only two years younger than her mother. She came with me to the Mitra ceremony at the Birmingham Buddhist Centre, and she would be interested in coming to our local meetings except that she has a group meeting on Zoom at the same time each week. She has started the dialogue with JobCentre Plus about employment and benefits, and has been exploring the delights of Leamington, including the sports centre, the library and the many charity shops. We went for a long walk with Pat the trainee Guide Dog at the weekend, and happened to meet a couple of Ukrainians from Kyiv with their dog. UJ told me that Leamington seems to have all the benefits of a city but with countryside just 20 minutes walk away. I completely agree.

Her family and many friends are still in Kyiv, and the last couple of weeks have been difficult after Putin decided to send his missiles further into Ukraine. All are well, thankfully. UJ started to inform me more about the political situation there at the same time as the Conservative conference in Birmingham was taking place with the omnishambles that is our Government, and I think Ukraine is winning every sanity point at the moment. But interesting to find that UJ is quite favourably disposed to Boris - I had forgotten that he had led the way in supporting Zelenskyy at the start of the war, although cynically I suspect that was in order to get away from what he was facing at home. The recent bombing of the land bridge linking Russia and the Crimea went down very well with UJ, with jokes and memes appearing almost instantly (e.g. that the bridge could be repaired with that weird long table that Putin used to see foreign diplomatic visitors).

I returned to the periodontist, who pronounced me "healed" at which point I waved my hands and shouted "Hallelujah", an instant later thinking "I hope he isn't a religious man..." My concern disappeared when he replied "Praise the Lord!" in similar vein. Unless he was serious? He wasn't serious. He is quite a funny man. Anyway, I was due to see my usual hygienist the next day, which would have given me a more objective view on how things are, but she was ill and I was brutalised by the main dentist instead. His assessment was not quite as brilliant as the periodontist, but still good, and the consultations about teeth-straightening will start soon.

Meanwhile UJ and I ventured to the town recycling centre with its incredibly cheap charity shop - UJ is every bit as keen on second-hand goods as I am, but our choices are somewhat different. Not surprisingly she is delighted by knick-knacks costing 25p that will be ideal for Christmas present for the folks back home. She pointed out a fancy phone cover for 50p, which would have cost many tens of pounds when new, that was actually made for my phone so I could replace my broken one. We have managed to coordinate a couple of evening meals, with me adding vegetables to her mainly protein/carb combinations. This seems to be my role in a number of settings...

Then I journeyed to London, where I was house sitting for a week while Mr M and Lola II are away on their huge adventure. (They have been reporting in daily, and some of the photos are stunning.) One day I had a lovely time in Kew Gardens with Sister D. Another day I visited the British Library, the Wellcome Collection and the Grant Museum of Zoology at UCL. I'd never been to this museum before, and it is essentially one large room with cabinets around the sides and in the middle containing thousands of specimens, mostly skeletal or preserved in jars but some stuffed examples and a few dissected. The lighting is poor and the cabinets go up to the ceiling so it isn't actually possible to see everything that's there.

Grant Museum of Zoology, October 2022

UJ also went to London for the first time ever, which she told me is her dream destination. On the first day she went to the National Gallery, and reported excitedly that she hadn't realised that all the good museums in London had no entry charge. The next day she was planning to see the Changing of the Guard, join a free walking tour based on Harry Potter, and go to the British Museum. She sent me a message to say that she was coming back on a two-storey bus. It is delightful.

Meanwhile I was present for the installation of the parents' new motorised garage door, which will make the storage of the mobility scooter easier. It went well and looks good, except the workmen didn't bring one of the agreed parts and will have to come back all the way from Luton to install a rubber threshold. Now mum has the bit between her teeth and is coordinating the sale of the car, as well as the choice of scooter, finding a new cleaner, helping the new neighbours to settle in and advising the woman over the road about options for her garage door. And she seems surprised that she is sometimes tired.

Kew Gardens, October 2022