A week in London

Natural History Museum, London, November 2025

Some time ago I decided that Lola Towers is too big for me. I've lived there for nearly 24 years, and although it's just the way I want it now and it's also in the perfect location, I'm tired of the responsibility of maintaining both it and the garden it comes with. I've kept it in good condition (at least since Mr A departed) but still there's the roof, the boiler, the shower, the paintwork, and everything else that demands attention, let alone the bills for heating a large Victorian house.

Following a logical train of thought with many considerations both of lifestyle and of finance, I talked to mum about the possibility of moving in with her. She seemed to like the idea, so this has been the additional motivation for GRUHI, for giving notice to UJ, and now for an experimental week's stay with mum. Lola Towers bid me farewell during Storm Claudia by letting water into the kitchen through a different part of the ceiling. I put down a towel, left a message for UJ, and set off anyway. It can wait until I get back.

While in London I shopped around for Buddhist communities. The nearest is actually the largest Centre in the UK, the London Buddhist Centre in Bethnal Green. Coming from one of the smallest groups to the largest might not be my best option in terms of getting to know people, so during the week I attended the Saturday morning group at the North London Centre, the Tuesday evening group in Hertford, and the Wednesday evening group in Chelmsford (as well as the Thursday evening meeting at the LBC). None stood out as the perfect venue so I'll keep my options open for the time being, and visit them all again another time.

Apart from Buddhist activity I've obviously spent some quality time with mum - we have cooked (she has been very complementary about the results) and watched a bit of TV together, and I taught her a new card game (after about three rounds she was already beating me). There are also all the jobs that need doing, including sorting out confusing emails, the change in mobile phone contract that Tesco unilaterally imposed, getting rid of a lot more of the paperwork accumulated by dad and generally making myself useful.

On Monday morning I took myself off to the British Museum. I feel such a philistine when I say that it no longer appeals the way it once did. I visited the exhibition about China from prehistory to modern day, and then I looked at the Egyptian mummies, and even though it was OK and mildly interesting, my pleasure was frequently interrupted by the thought that most of the contents of the cases were acquired from indigenous people without their permission, let's say.

In the afternoon I met Lola II and in the evening we met up with Mr M for my last 60th birthday meal (of three), this time at a Venezuelan restaurant. It took me four months to book the first one, and this one took place just ten days short of a year after that. I like to make birthdays last.

On Wednesday we had two notable events. First, a plumber arrived to help us trace a water leak, and by the way fixed the upstairs toilet flush (hooray). The water leak still needs more investigation, unfortunately. Second, two buyers visited to assess the huge collection of books that dad amassed, offered a frankly pitiful amount of money and took them all away. After cleaning the shelves we moved photo albums, cards and ornaments from the dining room to make the room look less bereft, and on my next visit I brought over some books from Lola Towers that I mean to keep.

On Thursday I planned a day out at the Natural History Museum, mainly because Mr MXF and BL2 suggested meeting there for lunch. I've been going there since I was a child, and while some of the exhibits are carefully curated and looked after (a corridor of minerals, endangered birds, the museum's 'Treasures'), the whole experience gave the impression of being just a little bit tired, with missing light bulbs, thick layers of dust and touch screens not working. 

The dinosaur exhibit might once have been cutting edge, but they have filled a gloriously decorated Victorian room with girders and spotlights and made the actual exhibits quite hard to see and the labelling hard to read - one case had white text on an orange background with no lighting and I have no idea what was there. The café staff were probably doing their best, but apparently when an order for decaf tea is taken at the till it isn't passed on (they had to take my receipt away to fulfil my order).

Mr MXF and BL2 were on good form - Mr MXF has succumbed to his genetic heritage and had a mild heart attack, so now he has a stent and a cupboard full of pills but is in good health otherwise. BL2 is enjoying retirement and has discovered U3A. I hope to see more of them next year.

And the saga of UJ as a lodger is at an end - she has finally moved out, although she missed the first flight she had booked, she was hoovering at 1 a.m. and her belongings took a little longer to leave the house, the last few boxes being picked up the following day. I am looking after a few lamps, vases and plants until she returns to collect them. She has returned to Ukraine for Christmas and New Year and intends to come back to the UK next year and find her own place. 

Another busy week

Adhisthana, April 2024

I only managed two days at the retreat centre last week, because on Thursday I joined Lola II and Mr M for Mr MXF's 60th birthday dinner in London. Obviously all my peers are reaching this milestone within the same 12 months, but this is the only event I've signed up for. I'm not all that comfortable with parties, people I don't know well, small talk, and waiting ages before you can start eating because somebody is running late. But Mr MXF is a good egg and I'm glad I went.

A full day competitive cycle ride is due to take place where mum and dad live this week, which is all very exciting but the local roads will be closed and it isn't at all clear how the carers will get to them that day. That was the first job I had to tackle at my last visit to the parents, along with contacting a financial firm, the water company, the electricity and gas supplier, and the next-door neighbour. I also met one of the newest carers while mum went to the hairdresser on her mobility scooter for the first time since hurting her back many months ago.

My volunteering at the retreat centre last week was enlivened by the unexpected appearance of some visitors who turned out to be the original architect of one of the buildings with his wife and a friend. The building won a RIBA award in 1989, long before it was turned into a retreat centre, and he talked about the design and construction in a way that showed he cared a great deal about the project. I was very happy because having to write the monthly blog is quite tricky and this gave me some good material.

All the other parts of the job are stalled, because I received some feedback that the senior team wanted to see things before they are sent out. Not knowing exactly what they wanted to see, I've outlined to them what is lined up but I want some sort of signal that I'm clear to go ahead. Response times from these same senior people can be rather long. And this situation isn't helped by two email messages that I received, one of which came from the email address I'm supposed to be using. I worked out who the sender was for this one, but the other came from the woman who is away. This second message must have been created before she went and scheduled to go out automatically, but I wasn't expecting it and have no idea what else is in store.

I am starting to find the balance in my position between the retreatants who come for a weekend or a week and the community who live there full time. It's a little awkward to be part of neither, but last week I was invited to watch a film with two of the women who live there, so I've started to feel more relaxed.

Needing a break

June 2023

Since finishing my badminton volunteering I haven't been feeling like my usual enthusiastic motivated self. Not eating or sleeping well and just a bit reluctant to get started on three different bits tasks relating to the Buddhist group. It's a shame when Buddhism, which has become so important to me, feels like work.

UJ has gone back home to Kyiv for Easter and the house feels strangely quiet and empty without her. I agreed to play two badminton matches in one week which made me tired and I've been doing a lot of driving too - to mum and dad and to Adhisthana, the retreat centre where I previously volunteering in the kitchen but have offered to do some different work for three days a week for ten weeks. More details of this when it happens, but I needed to spend some time there learning about the role. I wake up at the usual time, so there is a cumulative weariness. 

Mr MXF won an award for something he did, and will be at a big exhibition in May. Despite having done some work around the product and the concept, I still have very little idea of exactly what it is, except that it involves metadata in broadcast media. I even managed to do some proofreading for him, which proves that you can proofread without really knowing what any of the words mean, and we had a quick chat about the exhibition and what role I might have there. Again, more will emerge about this if and when it happens.

I managed to schedule a day with nothing in it at all and quite a few walks and coffees and lunch with friends, so that helped a bit, and I'm about to check out for two weeks on a retreat. I look forward to more rest, more time for reading, walks, good food, and much less chocolate and Wotsits.

So far in February

Adhisthana, May 2023

Lots of stuff since I last wrote, but none of it worthy of more meaningful consideration than a series of bullet points (except perhaps the last, but that's all it's getting).

• I visited my regular dental hygienist on her last day of work at the practice, and was happy to show her the good results of all the treatment I've been having. She was genuinely delighted and offered me a hug. I've never been hugged at the dentist before, so that's a first.
• A call to renew acquaintance with Mr MXF and a new job that involves testing some training materials he's developed. I broke the system within seven minutes simply by uploading a picture of a cake, and he thanked me for finding a weakness he'd never have thought of.
• Film recommendation: All Of Us Strangers, which I went to with UJ. She can cope well when there are subtitles but not so much in the cinema or with accents, so she missed one of the key plot points. I loved this film even more than Poor Things which I also saw with her and which was more of a spectacle and less nuanced. She preferred Poor Things, maybe because it was easier to understand despite being Mad.
• Buddhism: a morning at the Birmingham Centre as well as the usual Tuesday evenings, where we welcomed a visitor from Adhisthana (aka Triratna HQ, the retreat centre where I have been volunteering) and I realised how much I miss having an Order Member here so I can ask those tricky questions. I'm delighted that he'll be coming for two more weeks.
• The music group has started again with a few good arrangements as well as a couple of tedious pop songs. Each month I sigh at having committed to this before setting off anyway, and return with a spring in my step having thoroughly enjoyed myself and wondering how I might fit in some more clarinet and sax playing, and conclude that I'd definitely have to give up something else.
• Shrove Tuesday pancake mask competition - last year was my first attempt at this, but this year the theme was a more difficult one. I managed to put in an entry though. Judging is on 2nd March.
• U3A walking group - I'm enjoying this a great deal, despite Friday's walk being a lot more muddy than expected which made the going a bit tough. The leader slipped over and cut his hand quite badly on barbed wire, another person complained a little too often about the mud, and I accidentally opened a conversation about Brexit that perhaps wasn't appropriate, but we all survived. The U3A board games group is good too.
• Badminton - a match on Thursday left me a bit achy and tired before the difficult walk on Friday. I always end up trying harder and stretching more for a match compared with a club night, and I'm definitely not as young as I was. A couple of times I've left before the club night has ended, which my younger self would have found inconceivable. Still, I'll carry on playing until I can't play any more because walking is good exercise but nowhere near as much fun as swatting a shuttlecock in a big room.
• Visiting parents - the downstairs shower room conversion is going well and looks very nice, although the basin has accidentally been installed about 10cm higher than it should have. What with everyone in the family being short and  in some cases getting shorter this needs to be remedied. Mum and I picked out a new bathroom cabinet, and I put a couple of things no longer needed onto Freecycle.
• The tenth Random Chairs in a Darkened Room Film Festival hosted by Mr M and Lola II took place at the weekend, with six of the eight films being chosen by myself and another friend. Best film (in my opinion): Calvary (2014). It was the usual splendid event with many visitors, lots of food, ice creams and popcorn, wonderful trailers and shorts before the main screening, and I was given a shiny badge to wear designating my status as Guest Curator.

Just like old times

Kew Gardens, October 2022

It's been a week like it was in the old days, when I optimistically used to fill my diary on the basis that I don't have to go to work so I must have lots of time, and then I find that I don't. All the things I've done have been fun or helpful or both, but I need to remember to keep some days free of commitments because I was too tired for badminton and that will not do.

Since the last post I've played in a badminton match, went for a walk with the U3A, and did some work for Mr MXF which consisted of chatting to a young man in the television department of Currys to find out what his knowledge and experience is of HDR, one of the standards used in media and TV. Then with a clear conscience I journeyed south for the Mr MXF Christmas party, which involved playing board games, receiving party bags containing chocolate and toys, dinner, speeches (short ones), Secret Santa, and then back to the MXF/BL2 house to watch Barbie on his new super-TV and sound system.

On my way back north I dropped in on Lola II and Mr M for lunch and a film, next day I went for a dog walk with a friend, board games with U3A, gave blood, fitted in a meeting for coffee with my friend from Brazil who has come home to try and sort out some financial stuff, drove to mum and dad for lunch and admin (ongoing communication with Thames Water in particular) and home in time for a Blues gig at my favourite Temperance bar.

Next day I met Lola II in Oxford, a bit later than planned because she had an senior moment which led to her finding herself at Heathrow airport by mistake. But we had a lovely lunch in a friendly pub and went to the Weston Library again - they have really interesting exhibitions, this time about Chaucer, the Alphabet and John Playford ('The Dancing Master').

Then I was back with the U3A walkers before being visited by Sister D and her husband, who treated me to a poinsettia and a curry and I treated them to an episode of Taskmaster (an old episode) and a bed for the night. They carried on to their destination while I had my Christmas concert. Due to the absence of a few key players I ended up sight reading the 4th clarinet parts which had a few unexpected solos, but I managed not to let the side down.

UJ returned from her trip to Kyiv two weeks ago, but Saturday was the first evening that we were both at home, so we caught up with a couple of the latest Taskmaster episodes. She's off again in about a week and I'm not sure we'll have any other evenings together before she goes. Then there was a coffee morning social with the Buddhists on Sunday morning, two Buddhist-related Zoom meetings as well as the usual Tuesday evening meetings. Thankfully, next week is due to be much quieter.

The new Hoover is a Shark

Knepp, June 2022

Sharknado has arrived at Lola Towers - a modern vacuum cleaner with half the power consumption of the previous one, and I filled its whole cylinder with a single pass through the house. Admittedly it's not a huge cylinder, but I wouldn't be surprised if I picked up a similar amount if I could be bothered to run it round again. So that's been fun, especially unpacking it and fitting it all together - all the bits come together with very satisfying clicks, and allow various unclickings to empty the cylinder and to use it in different modes. It's also a very pleasing shade of purple. UJ received her formal training on Saturday, and the part for the old machine also arrived and fitted perfectly, so that's working again and now I have to decide what to do with it.

I can't remember which -lf I'm up to. Flf maybe? So Flf the electrician and his apprentice sidekick came to replace all the spotlights in the kitchen. Back when I was remodelling I was persuaded to use sealed unit lights, which were difficult to replace until they became completely unavailable. They've all been replaced now with units containing a simple bulb, and we'll put that mistake down to inexperience. Flf and sidekick were very communicative and efficient, and even complimented me on the music playing, so that wins them extra points.

In other news - well, there isn't really any. UJ has gone home for five weeks, I've been south to see mum and dad and north to see H+B, played badminton including losing a match (but not losing as badly as we expected), led our Buddhist group for an evening, and been given a new mission (should I choose to accept it) from Mr MXF. Not that I've started on it; I always regret not recording our conversations but I am definitely intending to do something about it soon.

London, Manchester and York

York Minster, August 2023

Lola II's Belated Birthday events continue, and I invited myself to a long and fancy lunch in London with her and Mr M and also Mr MXF and his daughter. The timing was good because I was due for another orthodontics appointment beforehand, but the aligners they ordered had not arrived. So I enjoyed the lunch before getting fitted with new aligners along with what they call 'buttons' but I call 'cheek gougers'. 

Small, sharp metal nubbins have been welded on to my lower back teeth in order to attach little elastic bands during the night so that vertical pressure can be applied. Immediately after the orthodontics appointment I was due to catch a train, so I arrived in Manchester knowing that I was going to need an immediate remedy (dental wax) to avoid the 'buttons' slicing their way through to the outside of my cheek. Now, a week later, things are settling down.

I enjoyed my brief time in Manchester, during which I happened to revisit some of the haunts of 30 years ago. Much has changed - there are more student flats that I could ever have imagined, the tram system is excellent, and people are just as likely to talk to a stranger as they were back then. I spent a morning at the Manchester Buddhist Centre. watched a very short part of the Pride parade, visited the Museum of Science and Industry (which was much smaller than I remember) and went to see a film as well as a comedy show.

Manchester was a stopover on the way to the main event, which was a couple of days with one of my Buddhist friends who moved from Birmingham to York earlier this year. Coincidentally I had met someone from the York Buddhist community at a recent retreat, and she was able to open the Centre so I could have a look. My friend was keen to show me the wonders of York, and we spent some quality time putting the world to rights.

I came home via Manchester again, enabling me to pay a visit to H+B and the cats. The whole journey was carried out by train, with hardly a hitch despite the train strike on the Saturday (when I wasn't travelling). I found this quite surprising - when I used to be a regular train commuter my recollection is that the majority of trains were cancelled or late on my daily journeys, probably because the ones that were on time didn't make any sort of impression.

UJ was away at the same time as me. She had flown to Spain to visit friends, but had a pretty miserable time - they weren't feeling well when she arrived, so she not only spent her whole holiday with people who weren't up for doing much but she also caught Covid and brought it home with her. We had three days together in the house before I went away again, and during that time her challenge was not to pass it on to me, and mine was not to catch it.

I found a spare kettle and toaster for her room, and made two meals a day for her, and she didn't mind her incarceration too much because she was feeling rough and sleeping a lot of the time. But we made it; my Covid test was negative before I left for my latest adventure - a month of volunteering at Adhisthana, a Buddhist retreat centre, of which no doubt I will write more later.

A fine day out

August 2023

Lola II and Mr M live in London, and unlike many Londoners they make use of the city, going to see performances, galleries and many other interesting events and attractions. Recently they visited a place they thought others might also enjoy, so Lola II invited me and Sister D without telling us where we would be going. She loves surprises.

We started with lunch at a delicious Sri Lankan/South Indian establishment that provided the photo opportunity above. Then Lola II took us to the Fitzrovia Chapel, which used to be part of Middlesex Hospital. The hospital was founded in the 18th century and the chapel was built in 1891. In 2005 the hospital moved to the newly built University College Hospital, and the site was sold for housing development. Somehow the chapel survived - the photo shows just how lucky that was - and was restored between 2013 and 2015. It is peaceful and beautiful, with mosaics on floor and ceiling and 17 types of marble in the decoration. Recommended for a visit.

Fitzrovia Chapel standing alone at the centre of a flattened building site

I'd also like to include a plug for Chiltern Railways. With many train companies coming in for criticism about their reliability and facilities, I find travelling with Chiltern quite enjoyable! On the trip to London the train arrived a minute ahead of schedule and during the journey there were no unnecessary announcements (there are far too many loud and unnecessary announcements on the Virgin West Coast service to Birmingham) and everyone in my vicinity was behaving just as one would want. On the way back I sat next to a very lovely woman from New Zealand, living in Leamington and planning to move to Wales because there are more hills. Of course Chiltern aren't responsible for their customers, but it somehow reflects well on them.

I've been doing quite a bit outside in the garden, and inside working for Mr MXF. The latest job he's given me involves repeated viewing of short films (less than 10 minutes) to record various time points within them. I've done the first and am now waiting for feedback before starting on the second. And still playing badminton, and being a Buddhist, and all the other household things that keep one busy.

Back with a bang

Rivendell, July 2023

Back from my latest retreat and it's taken a while to get around to blogging, although I managed to dry the tent before a week had gone by. Part of the reason is that I went back to Mr MXF asking for a different task - the previous one was too complex for me to fit in between all the other things I'm doing, so it took me an hour or two to remember what I was supposed to be doing and then I had to stop to do something else, and then had to go through the learning curve again. So he's now given me something much easier that's rather fun to do, and so I spent quite a bit of time doing it last week.

But back to the retreat. It was in Sussex so I made a few stops along the way: staying with Sister D, a delicious Ethiopian lunch in Shepherd's Bush with her and Lola II, and then staying with my friend from primary school who lives in Worthing. Arriving at the retreat I set up my tent and reported for the briefing about what my responsibilities were. The main jobs were at the start (welcoming people), and at the end (organising the clearing up). Two team members did all the cooking and another was the creative inspiration for the team - she used me to fetch things and hold other things while she made beautiful objects for the shrine.

There wasn't all that much for me to do in the way of organising because there weren't any complaints about sleeping arrangements or snoring, nobody had forgotten to bring anything essential, and everyone seemed to be getting on pretty well. I was just thinking that this was quite an easy job when the news came in from the team that manage the property that a local water main had burst and there would be no running water for an indeterminate period. That certainly gave me a few things to do, with their help - they supplied bottled water, hand sanitiser and wet wipes, and we organised buckets of water from the pond for flushing the two outside toilets. Within the team we decided that if it continued beyond one night we would have to send everyone home. Thankfully the water was back after 24 hours and everyone survived.

The programme for the retreat was similar to last year. On the last full day we were all given a packed lunch and sent off to spend the day outside. I had some organising to do in advance of the clearing up task, and when I finally got out I decided to do something that was not entirely within the spirit of the retreat, which was to head for the local tea room for tea and cake. It was a lovely walk, and very fine tea and cake, but my rule-bending backfired on me when the caffeine withdrawal headache appeared the next day, and I suspect the tea was not as decaffeinated as it should have been. 

My misfortune continued on the drive home with heavy rain and horrible traffic on the M25, and then there was a loud bang from the nearside front of the car while I was south of Bicester on the M40. In the pouring rain, with a headache, I determined that steering, suspension and brakes were still performing as they should but I came off the motorway to finish the journey just in case. So it took ages. My wonderful garage was still open when I arrived and diagnosed a broken coil spring (now repaired).

UJ wasn't at home when I arrived - she was back in Ukraine for her father's birthday. I thought I'd go to the Buddhist Centre the next day for their regular monthly women's morning, but the activity was too raucous for my post-retreat sensitivities so I ended up sitting quietly in a corner. Then Sunday and Monday were set aside for meeting my cousin and her son who were visiting from Seattle, first in Regent's Park and then at mum and dad's, and then UJ returned next day. Not the recommended approach to easing oneself back into everyday life after the peace and calm of a retreat.

Today I've had two lots of dental experiences. The orthodontist is going to order a whole new series of aligners to replace the ones previously supplied, presumably because my wayward teeth aren't aligning themselves as they are supposed to. Then I experienced a new hygienist who sprayed my face liberally with water while her assistant sucked my tongue and cheek into her poorly-wielded suction tube, and then gave me even more work to do when brushing my teeth. I am not impressed, but feel that I should at least give it a try.

Also not impressed, April 2023

New Year was in June

Sheafhayne Manor, June 2023 (photo credit: Lola II)

Many times, a group of my friends and their partners have gathered in some large house to celebrate the New Year. Up until now, this has always taken place in December and January, but this year we gathered in June and reaped the benefit of warmer weather and light levels that allowed walking beyond 3pm, not to mention the joy of eating dinner outside.

We returned to the house in Devon where we'd spent the last holiday at New Year (2021-22), but with fewer people: only eleven of us this time. I drove with Lola II and Mr M, stopping for lunch on the way and then doing a major supermarket shop for the group before arrival and the process of picking bedrooms - we all chose a different room from the one we'd had before.

Over the week we went on long walks and shorter walks, those who brought bikes went cycling, we cooked for one another and ate out at cafes and restaurants, visited National Trust houses and their gardens, played games and attempted a fiendish jigsaw which remained unfinished at the end of the week when it was time to go home. 

A Buddhist friend of mine who used to live in Stratford before she moved to Devon joined us for one walk. Two of our number revealed that the reason that they had to leave us for two days in the middle was because one of them was going to become Irish on Tuesday afternoon. They drove and sailed all the way back to Ireland, attended the citizenship ceremony and drove and sailed back, then cooked us a barbeque in the evening in a truly heroic fashion. So we were nine Brits, one Australian and one European when we arrived, and eight Brits, one Australian and two Europeans when we departed.

The Bursar and Lola II, Sidmouth promenade

Games played were Pitchstorm, Codenames and the Bucket Game; places visited included coastal towns Beer, Branscombe and Sidmouth; National Trust sites were Montacute House and Killerton, both of which were delightful and included interesting walks as well as interesting properties. Killerton was my favourite, due to the enthusiastic volunteers who were keen to share as much information as you were prepared to listen to, and encouraged interaction to the extent of actually being able to look at books in the library and to play their piano and organ. Luckily our party included a competent pianist (not me) who had been practising tunes for singing back at the Manor. So Killerton was treated to a rendition of Life on Mars on the organ, which was lovely.

Mr MXF was the most enthusiastic cyclist and rode off early every morning to bring back breakfast pastries. Both our Europeans and Lola II and Mr M all brought whisky and Lola II made her signature gulloeblobs consisting of stem ginger in chocolate. The weather was so good that we ate outside nearly every evening. It was a wonderful and relaxing holiday with people who are easy to get along with, and due to the Splitwise app we didn't even need to do the convoluted accounting to work out what everyone owed everyone else.

Sidmouth, June 2023 (photo credit: Lola II)

Not in gainful employment

Vajraloka, May 2022

Time rushes past as though it's got somewhere to go, and it's already May. No momentous announcements, but a succession of interesting activities:

• My 50th blood donation. I got a special thank-you email, and apparently will also get a certificate and a gold donor card through the post. It's probably more than 50, actually, because I've got a few of the blue cardboard wallets with a certificate or two that they used in the Olden Days and maybe didn't make it into the System. Donation has changed quite a lot since then - we are expected to drink a whole lot more water or squash before and after donating, we are encouraged to use our lower body muscles during the process (moving legs and feet, tensing and releasing buttocks), the chairs are reclined for donation and then raised again afterwards, timers are used for everything (how long to disinfect the elbow, how long to wait afterwards before raising the seat), the consent form is much more sensible, we don't get any hot drinks at the end any more, but there are much better snack options.
• Teeth report: the dental hygienist says the state of my gums continues to deteriorate slowly, but at least it's from a much improved level after the horrific surgery. I'm on the 15th set of aligners out of 37 with noticeably straighter teeth, more even interdental space and a much improved bite. So that's good; let's hope it results in no further loss of teeth.
• Music group continues; as usual I'm missing a couple of rehearsals but have forgone a weekend retreat in order to be available for the concert.
• A Buddhist Consultant came to talk to the team supporting our local group, in order to suggest ways to move forward based on what everyone's stated position is. He stayed with me for two days and nights and although he did all the consultancy work I was exhausted by the end of it. Apart from all the visitors we had a big supper, and it was all very nice and now we have to wait for the report. He gave me a couple of ideas of what might be in it and it sounds very promising.
• Lots more contact with Buddhists, including going for a walk, Monday evening study group, Tuesday evening meeting, and a special this week - I got to attend an ordination. These usually take place during a three-month retreat, often in Spain, but this one was in the Birmingham Centre. If I'm honest, it was a bit long and I didn't find it as moving as I'd expected to, but it was at the end of a long day and I was tired. Tomorrow I'm going to the celebration of Buddha Day at the Centre.
• I went to a classical music concert at the local big church with a symphony orchestra playing Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov and a saxophone concerto, so all very dramatic with lots of sweeping strings. It's been a long time since I listened to live classic music and it was great.
• During all the Buddhist consultancy and long Mayday weekend UJ was absent, firstly on a trip to her workplace in London and then on a trip to Scotland to visit Edinburgh. She also went on a coach tour to see Loch Ness and a few other sites and had a pretty good time, although she hadn't realised how big Scotland is and how much driving there would be.
• Dad had his 90th birthday, and Sister D, Lola II and I were there to celebrate along with him and mum. I cooked a milk-free sugar-free allium-free meat-and-fish-free chilli; Sister D and Lola II brought more personal presents for him. When we told him we had come for his birthday he asked us what year it was, and confirmed that yes, he was going to be 90.

Them's the highlights, and have you noticed that there's very little going on with Mr MXF? When I see there's a gap in my diary I plan to do something for him but then I end up filling the gap with something else. I think I may have to admit to myself and to him that I should be sacked.

Hostess with the mostess

Waterperry Gardens, March 2023

Hello, Lola II here. Lola I declared at the start of her London visit that we should write the blog for our latest excitements and, since she writes sooo much of our adventures, I agreed that she should be given a break. So here I am.

The fun begun… The fan began… I went swimming first thing on Wednesday as the dedicated Olympic swimmer that I am. I won’t say any more about my swimming here since I’ve been invited to dedicate a post about the years that have led me to my near-Olympic achievements, so that will come another time.

Lola I arrived in Marylebone station ready for a full day of events. Along with Mr M, we had Indian chaats, starter-sized portions of Indian deliciousness. I can’t normally eat Indian food because of the allium content but chaats often just have diced onion added on top and so it can be easily removed.

Onwards to the Gielgud Theatre to see To Kill A Mockingbird. We love Harper Lee’s 1960’s book but the draw on this occasion was that it had been adapted for the stage by Aaron Sorkin, a master of the word, who wrote one of our favourite television series, The West Wing. The play did not disappoint and was entirely mesmerising from beginning to end. My eyes were certainly glued to the stage. I felt part of the performance, clearly as did those in the audience who gasped when [spoiler alert] Atticus received the call that Tom Robinson was dead.

The previous week Mr M and I had free tickets to be in the audience for a recording of the television show, QI. It was a big disappointment due to one of the panellists but we were happy to give it another go when Lola was enthusiastic about going after the theatre. What to do in the gap between cultural experiences? Cake of course. I led our happy band on an unnecessarily extended walk in the wrong direction until we finally arrived at a Swedish café I had recently experienced for market research purposes. Fact. Crucial cakes purchased, off we went to TV Centre. QI was great. We were compensated for last week’s disappointment with good guests and lots of fun.

Mr M worked on Thursday while Lola I and I played. We collected M&T’s car and then headed off to Ikea to return some items. M&T kindly allow us to use the car whenever we want and it is very handy indeed. We wandered around, with Lola I showing a surprising amount of interest in examining the kitchen-related items. Apart from the trolley having an unnatural tendency to steer left, we had all the fun of browsing exciting colourful items with almost none of the expenditure.

Friday, off we drove to Leamington. I cut Mr M’s hair and trimmed his beard until he looked gorgeous again. Random Cuts, my lockdown-prompted hairdressing service, has survived into these post-Covid times. I have a number of loyal clients, two and a half to be exact – Mr M, Lola II and Mum until she can get back to a real hairdresser (although you’ll always be welcome back, Mumsie!) BL2 & Mr MFX arrived and we created our own pizzas, along with UJ.

Saturday was my purpose for the timing of our weekend. I attended the Read Easy UK Conference with 200 attendees from 57 groups. The bottom line is that our work changes the life of adults who come to us unable to read, and leave being able to be part of the community around them. Gone is the incomprehension, isolation and disadvantage. Heart-warming stuff.

At the end of the day back home in Leamington there were (allium-free, thank you Lola) nibbles and a broccoli & cauliflower quiche with salad and one of my favourite desserts, a chocolate steamed pudding with apricots and chocolate sauce. Politeness prevented me from skipping the main course and jumping to dessert, but having it for breakfast too made up for it.

Sunday morning and the reason why we got BL2 & Mr MFX up there with us… Meccano! Dad had a set from the 1950’s and Lola has stored it for the last decade or so. The little screws and nuts and other bits’n’bobs are beautifully kept in individual gold (they’re yellow but I always remember them as GOLD) cigarette boxes. To think there was a time when people bought their cigarettes in these metal beauties and not in the cardboard packets with hideous pictures of rotting teeth on the front, warning against smoking.

We had a very happy three hours, each constructing an item of our choice. Mr MFX made a motor car, Lola a swing and I made a dentist chair in recognition of Lola’s bravery and ongoing dental exploits. The designs for these came with the Meccano set and are printed on 1950’s thin paper pamphlets that feel like they will disintegrate if you show too much enthusiasm around them. BL2 decided to go off-piste and construct a chicken of her own design. Keeping chickens herself, she was expert on how her end product would look and the only difference between her creation and the real thing was that hers had to have a third leg. With more time I feel sure she would have found a subtler way to balance the head with the bot-bot.

Lunch in the pub next door with Mr M and UJ was lovely. UJ hadn’t had a Sunday Roast before and Lola did an admirable job of preparing UJ for the eventuality of me distracting her in some way in order to steal her Yorkshire pudding. I would not have done that but I do understand the urgency with which Lola briefed her. I admit it is a risk, sitting near me during a Sunday Roast.

We then each went on our merry way after a lovely weekend. Lola was the hostess with the mostess.

Scooting and gaming

View from Funchal botanic gardens, November 2022

Coming back to collect the car after my trip to Madeira I helped mum to make her first excursion on the mobility scooter, down at the park at the bottom of the road. She has since made further forays and reports that so far she is not enjoying the experience at all. The pavements in the neighbourhood are not well maintained and  the hill is steep so she constantly feels as though she will tip off. Nevertheless she is persisting and I hope it will become easier with practice.

Back at home UJ's residence permit arrived, and she has returned (via Lisbon) to Kyiv where her parents still live - I think she has been missing friends and family a great deal. She wants to persuade her parents to move to Poland where they have access to an apartment for the winter, given the harsh conditions that a Ukrainian winter without reliable electricity will bring.

Then I went to Mr MXF's Christmas party. Despite doing very little for him in a highly sporadic and unreliable manner, I was still invited to lunch at a very nice pub followed by board games at a Games Café, where there was much merriment and where Mr MXF's daughter won everything there was to be won, although she had an advantage as she had played most of the games before. Mr MXF has since reassured me that what I've been doing has actually been very profitable...

Somehow time has become a scarce commodity as it's been a week since I returned from a long weekend in Budapest and nothing written beyond brief notes. I've been turned away from a blood donor session because apparently Madeira presents a risk of tropical infection that requires a 28-day wait before donation can be accepted, so I've rebooked for just after Christmas. But I even skipped badminton last night because I just needed to go to bed early, so the account of Budapest will have to wait until next time.

Orchids growing wild in Madeira

Going out, bafflement and idiocy

Vajraloka, May 2022

I've been enjoying being less busy than during the summer, now that I've cut back on all the volunteering. So what I've been doing is much more ordinary, but it's been fun doing some of it with UJ.

We both enjoy watching films at home, but this week we went to the cinema - UJ is pretty good at following the English but she does miss a few bits. She also came with me to the tiny local cafe/music venue for some stand-up live comedy, which was pretty good, and I took her to see one of my Buddhist friends and we had a walk with another to set up a support network so she isn't entirely reliant on me. She's been going swimming and has joined the gym, she volunteers for a local food bank where I think she meets a few other Ukrainians, and she has one other friend locally, but I think life must be a little unexciting for her most of the time.

I went to the same small venue with another friend to to see Tom Robinson - big star at the end of the 1970's but disappeared and emerged many years later as a DJ on BBC 6 Music. His voice and face both show the passing of the years but he is very entertaining and played the hits for us along with a few new songs. Most notable happening for this evening was when someone on the floor above our basement dropped a drink directly above me and a considerable amount found its way through the floorboards onto my head.

I have been given another new project by Mr MXF. I did ask him whether any of the multiple unfinished projects he has given me have actually contributed anything to the greater good, and he reassured me that despite not having finished anything, the work I had done was good enough to bring in work from customers, so that's nice. 

This job is about using a tool called Hugo to build a static website to display the document I'd previously successfully converted to markdown format. If you don't understand any of that, which is very likely, then you will be as baffled as I was when after succeeding (after a fashion) on my laptop I tried to do the same thing using a cloud environment called Gitlab. I managed to create a website, but try as I might I couldn't get it to display my content, not even using the incomprehensible documentation and all the powers of YouTube. We have spent more than an hour on a Zoom call today, which I recorded, and the next step is to review the recording to see if I understand more after the second (or third) time round.

Sister D claimed her second birthday outing, to Batsford Arboretum. The trees were stunning and so was the weather - wind, warm sunshine, pouring rain and almost everything in between. And then it was time to return to London for more house-sitting - yes, Lola II and Mr M are still globe-trotting - but in an uncharacteristically idiotic moment I had driven as far as Uxbridge before realising with a jolt that I hadn't brought the keys, nor the contact details for the local people who had them, and it was already 11 p.m. The only way it could have been worse was if I had followed my initial plan and forgotten the keys while coming by train - but that plan was defeated by strikes. UJ wasn't in the car to witness my incompetence as she has stayed at home in order to meet her JobCentre coach, but she may arrive for more touristic activity at the weekend, strikes permitting.

Arrival

Tiratanaloka, September 2022

I've had absolutely zero time for blogging since coming back from the retreat. It took me three days to get through all the WhatsApp messages and unimportant emails so that I could look at what wonderful and exciting things Lola II and Mr M have been doing in the Far East. I've still got 12 emails that I can't bring myself to engage with, but I'll have to do it soon. And my desk is a mess.

The main thing to report is the splendid news that Ukraine Jane (UJ), my refugee guest, finally made it to Luton on a flight that was only 3 hours late (but that meant we got home at 4 a.m.) There is so much to talk about, but I don't want to overwhelm her so up to now we've covered the recycling bins, kitchen cupboards and the hoover. The thing that really made her day was the fact that I've got a piano - she said that after missing her cat she was missing playing piano next.

Aside from that I've managed to get started on a new job for Mr MXF, which involves converting a large and complex Word document into a different format using an interesting tool called pandoc, at least at the moment that's what I think I'm supposed to be doing. I never can tell with Mr MXF. Plus my car insurance needs renewing, and there are messages from my utility company that I haven't looked at yet, so if I can get those sorted today I'll be ready for my visit to mum and dad tomorrow.

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It's now the day after tomorrow, the parental visit went well and we got closer to choosing a mobility scooter, and I have tackled the outstanding emails. UJ has been settling in - today she has a Zoom piano lesson with her teacher, which warms my heart. She's been to Birmingham to make a start on getting her biometric residence permit, got very lost on the way back from the train station when her phone battery ran out (so she's finally adopted my paper-based A-to-Z of Leamington), texted me excitedly to say there was a squirrel in the garden, and has borrowed my umbrella and my hair dryer (which probably hasn't been used for 20 years except perhaps to dry glue). She's been into Leamington to the JobCentre and around the shops, and asked me where to find second hand clothes, at which point I enthusiastically listed about ten different charity shops.

This is all very positive, although on the second day when I hadn't heard any movement whatever from her room by 12.30 p.m. I actually sent her a message asking if she's OK. We're living in slightly different time zones as I've usually had my lunch before she has had breakfast. But she's asked to come with me to the Birmingham Buddhist Centre tonight where a Mitra ceremony is being held. 

It's very interesting to see your life and community reflected in someone else's eyes - I hadn't really noticed that road signs commonly use yards, which I don't think are used in any other aspect of British life nowadays. She is still going to the wrong side of the car and laughing about it, and told me she'd never seen a letter box in the door of a house until she saw them in the Harry Potter films. And my front door, which caused quite a bit of trouble for my Commonwealth Games guests, is being no less troublesome for UJ. She'll get the hang of it eventually.

The Games - part 2

Victoria Park, August 2022

While all that badminton stuff was going on at the Commonwealth Games, or 'Birmingham 2022' as it was known in the press and on all the logos, Lolatastic life continued apace. There was a bike service, a comedy gig, a stay in hospital, visitors to Lola Towers, the putting up and taking down of the Lola Towers garden extension (aka the tent), a trip to Lockwoods outdoor supplies shop, Ukrainian news, and the Games in Leamington Spa.

On that last subject I would like to direct your attention to two articles in the press. The first article is the more staid, traditional form of reportage by the staid, traditional BBC, especially notable for the quote from the 'general manager' of Pub Next Door. I put his role in quotation marks because to me he seems little more than a teenager, but I expect he's at least 30. The second article is from The Guardian and is much more amusing but no less accurate for that. Bowling in Leamington Spa has never felt more exciting. I happened to pass the main entrance at one point, where I encountered a very jolly volunteer with a megaphone sitting atop a high chair, whose job was to welcome spectators to the park by shouting interesting information about Lawn Bowls and the Commonwealth Games in years gone by.

I've already described some of the disruption in my local area, but that was during preparations leading up to the start. When the event actually began the level of security escalated enormously, particularly at the end of the road, where a number of the huge lens-shaped obstructions that I've seen protecting Parliament were installed a couple of days before the start, and then additionally a large and heavy horizontal barrier was constructed. I regret not taking pictures (I was too busy and kept forgetting), but as well as the orange-and-grey-clad volunteers there were stewards and security in hi-vis, Army chaps in camouflage, ordinary uniformed coppers and policemen WITH GUNS, all milling about at the end of the road as visitors arrived with their tickets for the bowling and residents wandered through with pushchairs and shopping bags and dogs.

My first guests (JW+JD) arrived by car as they were stopping on the way to their holiday in Cornwall, and I made sure to be at the barrier brandishing my resident's credentials otherwise they would have been turned away by a ruthless official in hi-vis jacket. Later in the week I received one of my frequent incorrect delivery attempts (intended for a house in the Road instead of the Street) from an Asda delivery man, wearing an Asda shirt and carrying heavy trays of Asda groceries whose Asda van had not been allowed past the barrier so had to deliver it all by hand.

The evening that the first guests arrived was also the evening that dad was taken to hospital with sepsis. Lola II just happened to be visiting at the time, so she was able to go with him and make sure all was well. He was in hospital for nearly two weeks, but home now.

JW+JD had tickets for the Rugby Sevens, Squash, Badminton, Cricket and Athletics; the next guests to arrive were Lola II and Cousin Y who had tickets for Hockey and were accompanied by Mr M who didn't have tickets for anything. I took up the residents' offer of free tickets for Lawn Bowls so he went to that. JW+JD headed off for Cornwall, Cousin Y went back to London, Lola II and Mr M had an extra night before they went home and then Mr MXF and BL2 arrived ready for Cycling, Diving, Athletics and Lawn Bowls courtesy of another pair of free tickets. By the time they all went home the house seemed very quiet.

While all this was going on, I was also in communication with Ukraine Jane 2, who is from Kherson but taking refuge in Poland. We introduced ourselves to one another, had a short conversation via WhatsApp, applied for the visa, the visa was granted and we worked out when and how she would get here, all within the space of just 8 days. Then two days later she announced she wasn't coming here after all but going to Slovakia for family reasons. And then, the very next day, the first UJ (the one with the cat) got back in touch to ask if the room was still available. I'll be speaking to her soon to find out her current situation.

The only other event of note was the visit to Lockwoods where Lola II wanted to buy some proper waterproof walking boots. Not only did we confuse the shop assistant by both of us being called Lola, but aside from the boot purchase the most notable aspect of the visit was that despite being over 50 years old, Lola II and I learned how to tie our shoelaces in a useful new way.

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.

Happy New Year holiday

Yarcombe, January 2022 (Photo credit: L from family JJL&J)

Happy New Year to my very few but dedicated readers. There's been a break in transmission, not so much because of the holidays but because of a rare interlude when I just haven't felt like sitting down and writing.

One of the reasons may be that some time ago I developed a low-key but significant pain in my left arm (intermittently from forearm to neck), which in the last few days has prevented me from lying down comfortably in almost any position. After ignoring it for as long as possible, it has now become important to work out what is going on, and with only a moment's consideration, I feel fairly sure it's because of how I've been sitting at the computer. Today I switched the mouse to the other side, and more importantly I replaced the exercise ball I've been sitting on with my proper computer chair. My new posture feels much better, so fingers crossed that this is reflected in a less hurty arm.

Christmas with friends in Nottingham was lovely, and I have become a convert to the strange yet delicious combination of champagne and advocaat for Christmas morning, which effectively softens the focus for much of the rest of the day. I'm not a fan of either champagne or advocaat on their own, so it was quite a surprise to find that they taste rather good together. A lot of cheese was given and received, Christmas dinner was at a local curry house, and there's really no more to say about that holiday.

There was uncertainty over whether we could get together for New Year in Devon until the very last minute. Thankfully we went ahead - we were a party of 15 housed in a majestic Grade II listed manor house said to have been owned by Sir Francis Drake. It has been updated since the 16th century and was generally warm with plenty of baths, toilets, showers and hot water, which are the essentials of a comfortable holiday in mid-winter. 

Sheafhayne Manor (Photo credit Mr M)

It was also enormous - 11 bedrooms, 4 staircases, a large lounge, a small lounge and a games room with full size snooker table as well as a huge dining room (with piano), kitchen and many pantries and store cupboards and utility rooms and outbuildings... There was also enough crockery and cutlery for about 100 people, and two working dishwashers. We even discovered a huge 'ballroom' at a lower level containing further delights which we didn't really make use of, what with having plenty of space and things to do in the main house. If I were forced to criticise anything it was that the lighting was a little underpowered for my elderly requirements. Some might complain that the internet access didn't extend beyond the lounge, but that was fine with me. 

In the olden days on holiday with this group of friends there was usually some discussion in the evening about the next day's walk, and a time to set off was determined which might be as early as 9 a.m. ahead of an all-day walk, sometimes requiring a packed lunch and returning home as it was getting dark. Perhaps because we are older, lazier or just simply enjoying a relaxing holiday together two and a half years after having booked it, we tended to get out at around 10.30 a.m. and the walks relied quite heavily on a lunch stop at a pub. 

Disappointingly, on nearly every day where a pub was involved, there was a problem - food was being served only to those who had booked ahead, there was no food at all, the pub was closed. Outside the tourist season it seems that one has to be more organised if one wants to eat, and organisation was not something that bothered us much that week. The weather was also rather warm and quite wet, and therefore extremely muddy until the final day. Views were hindered by mist, and we were definitely not as fit as we used to be. But walking with friends is something that warms my heart, so I enjoyed it all.

Cooking has also changed slightly over the years. We still divide up the evening meals so everyone is responsible for one day, but in the past each team has focussed solely on their day's cooking, and mountains of leftovers accumulate throughout the week. This led to me taking on the task on the last evening to combine everything remaining into a mammoth soup alongside leftovers that couldn't be included (e.g. cheese and biscuits). This time each successive cooking team not only took account of what remained in the fridge, but also made much more appropriate quantities, so I nearly had to buy more provisions to make sure we had enough for soup at the end.

Photo credit: Mr M

Highlights: spending quality time with my lovely friends, the Bucket Game we played after dinner on New Year's Eve which successfully kept us all awake until midnight, and the Key Lime Pie made by Bee Lady 2 (yes, Mr MXF and BL2 were among the company). BL2 estimated the quantity required based on four times the amount she would make for her family of four. Fifteen of us managed to eat just half the amount she had made. I was very impressed to see family JJL&J's daughter (L) eating some of it for breakfast. I thought that was something that only a Lola would do.

Lola II and Mr M very much enjoyed the entertainment provided by more talented company playing their favourite tunes on the piano. I participated in the joint jigsaw puzzles, the first being relatively straightforward and the second being the most fiendishly difficult puzzle I have ever encountered - Starry Night by Van Gogh with every one of the thousand pieces a different and non-traditional shape. I was presented with it to take home, but most of the completed sections disintegrated on the journey and it's taken me over a week just to get back to where we were, about two thirds complete.

I've done a lot of catching up since coming home and nothing of significance except supporting mum to help dad through a nasty bout of illness (not Covid). There's been quite a lot of Buddhist stuff, badminton, walking, jigsaw puzzling and generally enjoying the life of leisure. Next week I'll definitely get back in the saddle with Mr MXF, especially as working at the computer is so much more comfortable now.

Lyme Regis (Photo credit Mr M)