Author: peterb51

25th December 2017

The big day is here. I drove up from Barrington to spend Christmas with Ryan and Louise in Bradford on Avon. The moment I arrived I saw my grandson Marlo with a virtual reality headset fixed to his head. Of course I couldn’t wait to try it myself, so my first experience was riding a virtual rollercoaster. I hate rollercoasters, so this was was up there with having a sharp stick up my arse. I had to keep telling myself it was just a game, but my brain thought differently. After the journey, I was left sweating and exhausted, so then I became an Star Wars X-wing pilot. It was a good job I was not fighting for the resistance, my flying skills were not impressive, I plunged to my death on many occasions.

Joining us for Christmas was Louise’s brother Nick and his fiancé Gina. She had a proper London accent, so it was like having dinner in the Eastenders, but without the drama. As usual Ryan and Louise presented a wonderful spread, including the family recipe for red cabbage, my mum would have been proud.

It was great to have a Christmas without television, we had quizzes and games, and we didn’t miss it at all.

There was plenty of drinks, but after a while it became a little too much, although Nick and Gina never had that restriction.

We finished the evening with Game of Thrones Monopoly, with went on until the early hours. Eventually we declared Amilie the winner,although she only had two properties, and cleaned up the rest of us.

Meanwhile in Michigan, it was snowing, cold, and Kelli was sick of winter already.

I can’t wait to spend this season with all her family next year. As long as we don’t mention religion, politics, race, and gender there must be plenty of other things to talk about.

I am sure that my innocent englishness could open up some wormholes to fall down.

24th December 2017

Christmas Eve means it’s time to deliver presents. I went to visit the newest member of the family, little Ethan. He is what Christmas is all about, happy to be the centre of attention, and to tear wrapping paper into shreds. He is still innocent, and that brings a tear to my eye.

In the evening I decided to walk to the pub for a drink. The Barrington Boar is the centre of the village, a great place for food and local beer.

I didn’t know what I expected, the place was packed, lots of laughter, and full of people. I stood with my beer in hand, but it was surreal, it was like virtual reality where everything was going on around, and I was in the middle, isolated. I was a stranger, and not part of this community, and no one made any attempt to welcome me into it. I guess my expectations were too high, I thought small communities drew people into the heart, but maybe that’s my romantic vision of the English which is not real. I still enjoyed the beer though.

23rd December 2017

Drove into Bath for my first haircut since I got back. Mike, the hairdresser handed me a bucks fizz and toasted my return.

He asked me how many cuts I had in the US, and laying it on a bit thick, I told him only one, but the shampoo and head massage was amazing. I suggested he adopted the same approach, so that all the “old dears” who have been his regulars for thirty-odd years, would have a sensual experience. He joked that he hadn’t had any of his customers die in his chair so far, but I added if he marketed his “magic fingers” approach,he might drum up more trade amongst the older lady set.

The City was very quiet, not the usual frantic crowds getting their last minute presents. There were some areas where the Big Issue sellers out-numbered the shoppers.

I have noticed that a large number of sellers are foreign, possibly Eastern European, now far be it for me to judge, and I am very sympathetic to the plight of the homeless, but how can this happen? Immigrants have to demonstrate some means of support before they are allowed to enter the UK, and those who claim asylum get housing help, so why do we “import” homeless people from abroad ? This bothers me a little.

I had a response from Sean the builder to say he couldn’t do the job in my required time, at this rate it will be a six month project rather than three.

22nd December 2017

I took a long walk around Barrington Court’s grounds, there is a tennis court in need of some loving care, and also a squash court that requires renovation. The National Trust do a good job of keeping the house in good order, but the out buildings are lower down the priority. This would make an ideal community project for the village to work on.

I have never been this inactive since I stopped working, I talk with Kelli every day, and learn of the things she is working on, and wishing I was there to help. My long walks helps me plan my immediate projects, what bits to tear down, material to acquire, new skills to learn, it is exciting, but until I smell the dust, and the paint, and the wood, it is still a dream.

21st December 2017

I have the house to myself for the next seven days as Nicola and Colin are off to Austria. I spent most of the day wrapping presents.

I was surprised at how long it took to cover objects in paper, the number of times the sticky tape stuck to my fingers, and the hairs on the back of my hand, and the pain I endured releasing myself. It was like an endurance, and I can’t believe I used to wait until Christmas Eve to wrap my own children’s presents. I used to discover bits of sticky tape stuck to the table edge at various times of the year, and I used to laugh. Of course being in someone else’s house I had to double check that I hadn’t left anything on their table.

20th December 2017

I drove into Taunton again to finish my Christmas shopping. I decided to use the park and ride they operate. I have been using buses a lot recently, and they all suffer from the same problem, misted-up windows. This problem should not exist today with air conditioning, but the upper deck was dripping. Compared to the old buses I traveled on as a child, these have proper mounded trims and ventilation grills, so I would have thought condensation it would have been a thing of the past.

Soon I was wandering the streets looking for gift ideas. In one toy store I noticed that boxes of lego bricks were displayed behind locked glass doors, and the procedure to remove them is as difficult as getting served in a pub.(I am the invisible man). There are many things that are security protected, from CD’s, clothes and razor blades, this adds to a level of distrust I feel whenever I go into a store with a bag. I feel the suspicion hanging over me like a dark crowd, spoiling the shopping experience. I can see how online shopping is less confrontational.

19th December 2017

Another early start for my trip to Whitney on Wye to see my friend Martin.

He had been dealt a terrible blow several weeks ago when he was diagnosed with growth on his liver. He is waiting for a CT scan to see if it can be operated on. He remains optimistic, albeit under heavy pain killers. I struggle with what to say, without sounding uncaring . I have known him for over twenty years, and watched his health deteriorate. He has suffered physical and mental pain from the age of seven, he often talked about death setting him free, but faced with an uncertain future, he clings to life by the same fingernails as we all would.

Martin was selling me his Mitsubishi Shogun, and this will be my workhorse, enabling the shifting of all the crap from the cottage to the tip in relative comfort.

I then had to drive back to Bath for an important dinner appointment. I realised that time had slipped away, and I had to rely on the power of the Jag to get me there. At times I felt that I was holding on to the steering wheel, with my legs flapping behind like a scarf blowing in the wind.

Dinner was at the Mint Rooms with three of my best ex Herman friends. Due to my lateness I was able to make contact with Helen who took my order.

The main disadvantage of writing a blog is that all my stories have been told, and those who have read them, know everything, so I had nothing left to say.

The evening was great, and Bob even dressed up for the occasion (yes I know,) and wore a festive bow tie. I spent the evening wondering when it was going to spin, or light up.

The meal was wonderful, right up to the point at which I must have bit into a chilli, I kept my cool, and finished off my beer in an attempt to relieve the burn, I know that

Isn’t what you’re supposed to do, but it was a better alternative than licking the window.

18th December 2017

An early start from Barrington for a meeting with Interior Harmony in Bath. I wanted them to quote for the kitchen to give me a comparison with Leekes.

Straight away Leroy wanted to “do it”, in his mild midland drawl. The incentives were hitting me one after another, 2017 prices (no increase) and advertising features (discounts), and, priority treatment (returning customer), so there was a lot going on. I spent an hour with Linda the designer going through appliances I wanted, and the layout, I will wait to see what it will look like, and more importantly the cost.

There is a great difference in attitude between a kitchen supplier, and the builder. The supplier is all over you, making you feel valued, but a builders doesn’t give a shit, after all, you came to him, therefore they can decide if they want to be bothered to respond. This arrogance really makes it difficult to believe what they say.

As Sean, the builder was recommended by friends who have been satisfied with his work,it becomes a disappointment , and tarnishes any future relationship they might have with him.

17th December 2017

I returned to the cottage to complete stripping the ceiling. The air was still thick with dust, and although I cleaned up as I went, a new layer was everywhere.

The rest of the ceiling came down easily, after filling another ten rubble bags, I set about burning the lathes.

The log burner heated up very quickly, sounding like a blast furnace as it consumed the sticks.

As I was staring into the flames, I was thinking about the task ahead, adding new things to the list, new piping, new radiators. I was thinking about the new furniture I have to make. All this seems so far away.

My son Ryan came up to collect all the wood panels from the kitchen units, and take it all to the tip, that was a relief, the clean up had begun.

16th December 2017

It is really dirty job day, and dressed appropriately, I set about the first thing on my list, removing the sink unit.

Usually anything to do with water is a disaster, I can work on a loose piece of pipe and still flood the place. Firstly turn the in-line valve off, easy, just a ninety degree turn with a screwdriver, nope, not easy. After years of non use, it only had one action to make, and it wouldn’t even do that. Eighty degrees was the best it would do, and even that was a huge effort, and drew the first blood of the day. The only course of action was to work quick to minimise the water spill. I had the blanking caps ready, so I started to loosen the pipe nuts. I did expect a bit of trouble with these, but they freed up easily. With the nuts loosened, and a small leakage, I lifted the sink, it wouldn’t move. “Loosen the waste pipe you fool” my brain shouted. Loosened all that, and went to lift the sink again expecting success, but no, now there was an Earth wire between the sink and the pipe. I groped around for a screwdriver and released the screw. At last the sink was free, and I was able to attend to the leaking water. Once all that was done I could break up the base unit and pile it up outside, with the rest.

Now it was on to the next task, removing the kitchen ceiling.

I started in one corner, and was surprised at the thickness of the plaster, and therefore the weight. It was a good decision to wear a hard hat as the lumps of plaster fell about me.

In a couple of hours I had done nearly half the room, and discovered several Lego bricks, that my boys must have lost down the gaps in the floor.