My dear family & friends
I have just escorted Tigger, our Burmese cat, out of the house with strict instructions not to bring his prey inside no matter how much he thinks we rightly deserve these gifts. This time it was a frog which gave an excellent impression of being dead. I picked it up in a plastic carrier bag and tipped it out under the hedge on the off-chance that it was, in fact, still alive. Frogs can be sneaky like that. Of course, I nearly had a heart attack when the seemingly dead frog almost leapt into my pocket before scurrying away. Best he find another patch because Tigger will get him again if he sticks around.
What I really want to know is which bloody cat stole my hearing aid from the drawer in my bedside table. I searched for the thing most of the weekend, and even took the washing machine apart looking for it. On Monday morning, just when I was pondering owning up to the loss to the NHS hospital, Lucia noticed CharlieBrown staring intensely at the narrow space just under the dishwasher. And sure enough there it was. It had a cat tooth sized whole in it, but it was still working. The hospital has furnished me with a new hearing aid and sent the old one back to the manufacturer for repairs. I was very relieved because these things cost a couple of thousand pounds in the private market.
Lucia remains as busy as ever trying to get the same amount of work done with fewer resources as the recession bites down. Twelve-hour days are not uncommon and she seldom has an entire weekend free. I try to make sure that everything else runs smoothly.
That’s not to say that we haven’t had some fun though. Barbara and Terry (my sister and brother-in-law from Portugal) came to stay with us for a few days over easter allowing us to return some of the hospitality they have shown us so many times in Portugal. Not that we changed our daily routine much: the day, as always, begins by taking the dogs out for a walk along the paths and through the parks and fields around Leamington Spa and Warwick. One day we drove to Croome Park near Worcester to sample the landscape and gardens designed for the Earls of Coventry by Capability Brown. The grand house is not open to the public but is currently being restored after serving first as a school for mentally disabled children after the war, and then as a country pad for the Hare Krishna movement. Like most such properties we had to keep the dogs on lead except in designated areas which I know frustrates them. Finally being unleashed is always met with a burst of energy that sets them sprinting off in whatever direction takes their fancy until I whistle them back. (You can see the pics in the usual place http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/llewellynijones.)
Terry was impressed with my control of the dogs. He describes them thus in his own letter: “The dogs are Edgar, a large and (fortunately) affable Rhodesian Ridgeback, and his hairy companion, Hazel (along with cats, Tigger and Charlie Brown). Both dogs operate under Llewellyn’s strict control. Like the English themselves, the dogs share the peculiar habit of being able to mingle with while largely ignoring their fellows in public spaces.”
We were sorry to see Barbara and Terry go; we enjoyed having them. Just like our own trips to Portugal, our conversation usually continued deep into the night, lubricated by just one more glass of wine. We also managed to eat our way through most of my second batch of biltong while they were here. I’ve now got the third batch on the go.
I met them again later in the week in London to meet with friends and to go to the Picasso exhibition at the National Gallery. The Picasso was interesting. Some of the paintings were absolute gems, but I thought more than a few of them to be complete drivel. But then I’m no great art critic. I did enjoy the short film that put his life into perspective and explained what he was trying to do.
The day after that I went into London again to cast my vote in the South African election at South Africa House. My heart dropped when I saw the queue snaking halfway across Trafalgar Square and was fairly certain that I would be waiting for hours in standard South African tradition. But the efficiency of the election staff was quite something to behold and I made my mark in less than an hour. Occasionally someone would try to get a chorus going of Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika, but the crowd just looked away. Most of these people were there to vote against something rather than for something. I doubt my vote will make a jot of difference to the path South Africa is on, but I had to do it just in case it does.
Having voted, I walked across the Thames and down to Vauxhall for a spot of lunch at Casa Madeira (where else) and pondered what to do with the rest of my day. After lunch I caught the tube to Bond Street, then walked all the way up Marylebone High Street, across Euston Road, through Regents Park, and then down onto the Regents Canal near London Zoo. I followed the canal all the way down to Little Venice in Maida Vale where I dreamed of winning the Euromillions lottery and buying a house here. Then I followed the trunk down to the building developments around Paddington Basin which have turned a worn out industrial area into a sparkling modern metropolis of (very expensive) apartments and office blocks. This is where Marks & Spencer built their new head office, and a very impressive building it is too, vaguely reminiscent of the iconic Lloyds Building in the City. I was fairly shagged out after that so I walked back to Marylebone station and caught the train home.
Edgar and Hazel met me at home with that expectant look that asks if I would now be taking them on their walk which they have so missed for the past two days. I had to decline their invitation. Edgar I think was especially desperate because he hadn’t had a daffodil to wee on for two whole days. Honestly, I don’t think there is a daffodil in Leamington Spa that Edgar hasn’t hosed down. They’re all looking a bit tired and I’m not sure whether that’s due to Edgar’s efforts or whether they’re supposed to look like that now.
I think that about covers all the exciting bits since I last wrote.
And here’s one for my South African correspondents: there’s a blue Mercedes 4X4 driving around Leamington Spa with the registration “KUK 1”. Ja bru.
That’s it for now
Love, light & peace
Llewellyn
One morning in Cornwall ...
