Another Lifetime to go

8th October 2024

After recovering from my ordeal yesterday, I was planning a more quiet day.

I drove into the apocalypse town of Trowbridge searching for an electrical supply shop. I needed some new twin phono outlet for the patch bay I had in the spare room. The originals were damaged beyond repair, and as my friend Dave my electrician friend was coming over tomorrow I needed parts for him to fit.

Luckily I found the parts, I needed four units, and four they had.

Next stop was Sainsbury’s for some supplies.

 As I drove away, I did something that I thought I would never do, drive on the wrong side of the road. I was shocked, I alway prided myself on being able to adapt my driving to suit the country I’m in. It was only for a few seconds, and  nothing was coming, so I was safe.

I was looking forward to my Indian meal with my old Herman Miller friends. Unfortunately the numbers were a bit depleted, Bob and Ann turned up, I missed Phillip, his added sarcasm and Bob targeted humour was sadly missing, but it was a really pleasant evening anyway.

It is alway difficult to park, it usually means driving around the block a few times hoping for a space. I then did my second driving mistake of the day, driving down a one way street. Fortunately there was no traffic, so I got away again.

7th October 2024

It was the pilgrimage to wales to see my friend Martin. I decided to take the scenic route and cross the old Severn bridge. That decision was the easy part, missing the exit was definitely not in the plan. Now I was going down the wrong road looking for a way to turn round. I drove on for miles eventually ending up at a service station I would have passed if I had gone my usual way. I was now back on the  M4 heading for Newport, but I was in familiar territory.

It takes me two and a half hours to get to Whitney on Wye, then I face several hours of Martin and his dogs. I must have mentioned his two Newfoundlands before, both are the size of small horses with mouths that could easily swallow my head. These are big animals, much too large, and strong from Martin and his wife Liz to handle, but they struggle to keep them under control. Martin’s approach is to shout at them, very loudly. Of course that’s not the best way, the only thing it achieves is ringing in my ears. 

I find a place to sit on a small sofa, a dog then sits next to me, it’s breath warming the side of my face. Liz then bring me a coffee, some welcome refreshments. 

We cover many subjects, including the state of British politics, conflicts in the world, US Presidential election, and most other things Martin has opinions on. I have learned from post confrontations that he had fixed opinions, and to challenge them is at my peril.

Much of out conversations are repetitive, I’ve heard them many times before, most are word for word, but I am tolerant, and respond appropriately.

I was given a wonderful lunch, and the conversations continued well into the afternoon.

Talking is exhausting, and after he had smoked the fifth or sixth “herbal” cigarette, I could see he was getting tired, my cue to make my departure.

By now it was getting dark, now it was another two and a half hours for the return trip.

By the time I unlocked the door of the cottage I had enough. It had been a long day, but I had seen my friend, the purpose of my trip, so I could now relax and prepare myself for another day.

5th October 2024

Another day on my forensic tour of the city and a bit more sadness.

I entered Urban Outfitters, a store that I have bought items from in the past, here and in the US. I was shocked to find it had become a gender less emporium. There were no differences between the men’s and women’s clothes, no separation between ether.

Most of the styles were shapeless and certainly not flattering to either sexes. Even the changing rooms were “Gender neutral “. I can’t get this Gender crap, it has gained so much media attention,and those who push kids into transgender surgery should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity and locked away. There have been lives ruined by all this bollocks.

Continuing my walk, and it coincided with rugby supporters spilling out of the pubs, getting their pre match sustenance.

I noticed that the Bath Shop has become a coffee shop, the Silcox furniture store is a coffee shop, how do their business plans work? And how sustainable are they.

There used to be a small coffee shop in Northumberland passage I used many times. That is no longer there, replaced by another that was established in HongKong. It’s not the same, they don’t even sell bits of cakes, and things that go great with the hot drink. I only went there was to kill a bit of time until I meet my friend Rob for lunch, thankfully the Indian restaurant is still there.

The trip back was a bit arduous, the timetable and the display did on match, and I ended up waiting for over an hour for the bus to arrive.

4th October 2024

I was more successful with bus catching than I was yesterday. It arrived when the screen said it would, so I got to Bath early, and whilst I had some time I walked around town. I went into WH Smiths to look around, and it looked dead and uninspiring. It had the feel of a store closing, not how I remembered it. The greeting cards had taken up a lot of the floor area, and the magazine rack was untidy. The upstairs was not any better, most of the floor is taken up with the post office. As a kid, the store had everything, music, videos, toys and craft supplies, as well as books and magazines. It had an attraction, Smiths was THE news agent, sadly, no more.

Further on my travels I passed people sleeping under a doorway, and opposite was a shop manicuring a young girls finger nails, she was certainly under ten years of age. 

The contrast could not be clearer between the haves, and the have nots.

Working my way up Milsom Street, I stopped at the small shopping arcade, a place I used to go often, it had an Alessi shop that I loved. I alway thought the conversion was done well, but that is a sad place, all the decent shops have gone, it feels unloved, and it must be hard for the places still open.

The one thing that can’t be altered is the architecture, there is a feeling of joy as I walked down Pultney Street, and cut through to Henrietta Park. I followed a number of paths through the avenue of trees. A man was giving his little dog some exercise. All he did was hit a ball with a tennis racquet, and this little blighter would set off after it, proudly bringing it back to its owner, who did the same thing again. Poor dog didn’t realise it was pointless, his owner didn’t want the ball. If the animal was smart, it would grab the ball and run in a different direction, then it would be the owner chasing after it.

I noticed there was a garden of remembrance that I didn’t know was there. I walked around reading all the name plaques attached to the wooden benches positioned around the pathway.

For me it was fitting, I was remembering what Bath was like when I was growing up, when it had a toy shop, three record shops, several art material shops, and a couple hi-fi stores.

Now my memories are as faded as those plaques on the benches.

Bath had lost all the things that stimulated children’s minds that feed their creativity.

Now the streets are lined with endless cafes and restaurants, creativity has been replaced by food, and culture has lost out to mindless social media, oh dear.

3rd October 2024

My first full day in old Blighty, and my first encounter with the local bus service.

It wasn’t good, I had arranged to meet up with my old school friend Steve in Bath.

I had taken pictures of the bus time table by the town bridge, so I was prepared. I arrived early to catch the alleged 10.50 joining an already formed group of people.

There was a lot of extra traffic due to various road closures, so I expected a bit of a delay.

I watched the display that showed bus arrivals, as the time came and went, the particular bus I wanted, disappeared from the board, no explanation, just vanished. it was replaced with another 30 minutes later, the crowd was growing restless. By the time the thing arrived I had been waiting over an hour, meaning that my precise plan had to be adjusted, fortunately there was no timing conflicts.

Steve was the friend that I had back in infant school, the only one I remembered, or could pick out in a line up. We reconnected a few years back through a mutual friend.

He has great comic timing, and his story about a tick on his arse, and his attempts to remove it had us in stitches, much to the amusement of the other customers in the coffee shop.

Afterwards, I headed for the bus station which was crawling with people. The place is poorly designed, queues waiting to board the buses block the paths of anyone wanting to get to the other end of the building. By now the place was filling with school children and students, making things even worse.

Finally the bus arrived and the mass of bodies clambered on board, I even managed to find a seat. The journey back felt long, and I was glad to get back. My feet were hurting, caused, I think by the boots I wore. I don’t think my feet were shaped right for American shoes, nothing like a pair of Russell and Bromley’s.

2nd October 2024

The long flight was uneventful, unless having the battery die in my noise cancelling headphones counted.

With two and a half hours to go, I saw I had a spare one in the case, so I fitted it, only to find it was as dead as the other. It wasn’t the end of the world, almost.

Breakfast arrived an hour before landing, actually it was an insult calling it that. They presented me with a pot of yogurt and a packet of granola and a fig biscuit. I regretted not going premium, at least the food is slightly better.

The landing was a bit heavy, the loose ceiling panel that I observed when I boarded almost dropped down. Boeing are having quality issues, but this doesn’t help their case, I was glad the doors stayed attached though.

The walk to the passport control was not as long as last time. That long walk is an endurance, if you can survive that, you deserve to be let in.

There is another long walk to the bus station, and I even managed to suss out the menu ordering system in the cafe, a result for me.

A two and a half coach journey later it pulled into the Bath bus station.

Nicola was waiting with a smiling face, it was what I wanted to see. A short walk to where Colin had the car, and we then headed for Bradford. It was the first ride in their new Hybrid vehicle, it was a smooth journey.

Nicola had already left some supplies in the fridge including lentil soup and a blackberry and apple crumble, she is a life saver.

As we walked up the steep path to the cottage I noticed some of the foliage had grown back, even though I had applied stuff to kill the roots.

In the cottage itself I was greeted with a dripping kitchen tap. I had been prepared for that, and a button had come off the Eames lounge chair seat. I think the thread that tightened the button had broke, hopefully it’s not too difficult to repair.

I was not impressed with that, so I will be moving that into the bedroom where it will get less use.

After a cup of coffee and a cake, Nicola and Colin left, and I took stock of things I had to do.

I was due to pick up the Shogun from Ryan and Louise who had invited me to dinner, another life savers. 

On my way down I decided I would visit an old school friend who lives by the canal. He had dropped off Facebook: I didn’t know why.

I found his house, knocked at the door, and eventually he answered. He looked a bit dishevelled, but I remembered he alway looked that way. We chatted for a while, he told me he quit Facebook because of many unpleasant comments he received. I was relieved that he hadn’t kicked the bucked, so we made plans to meet up again.

Dinner at Ryan and Louise was fabulous, they worked together and produced a tasty chicken and rice dish.

I didn’t realise that Louise was the reader of the blog, I felt bad that I didn’t mention all the thoughtful things that they had done over the years, especially during the cottage renovation period. So now I will broaden the scope of my daily ramblings to show my appreciation.

I picked up the truck, petrol tank empty(as usual) this will be the last time I will be able to use it, as it will be sold. It’s an expensive beast to run, but it’s had its usage, so I can’t complain.

I tried to get an early night, Kelli didn’t have a good day, hopefully tomorrow will be better.

1st October 2024

“We’ll be in the air for thirty one minutes for this flight into Chicago O’hare” the pilot announced, what he didn’t say was that there was another fifteen on the ground. It was like we were on the highway, we were overtaken by a couple of trucks and a dozen cars. Eventually we disembarked, at the end of an interesting journey. The flight attendant did not want to be there, it was showing on her face, she would have been happier on the cotton fields of the south. 

I guess this was part of the inclusion policy by American Airlines to bring in anyone who isn’t really qualified to do the job as long as they belong to the  Diversity, equity and inclusion culture. I have no problem with that as long as the pilot of my aircraft has been trained, and not used to driving an Uber taxi.

Why do people choose a window seat, then immediately shut the blind? That is one of my pet hates.

The guy next to me wasn’t used to sitting in a seat with a back, because he spent the whole flight leaning forward, so I couldn’t look out the window. Also when reading messages on his phone, he was mouthing the words, all this and I hadn’t even got to Chicago yet.

O’Hare airport is a hive of weirdness, there are a few who still wear masks to match their luggage, the rest are just loud.

I had a chicken sandwich served by a Rasta man, he didn’t look happy, he slinked about like a puma stalking his prey, although he was quick.

There was a few loose ends to finish before we left for the airport, including getting pictures of the coffee table, work doesn’t stop even though I’m going away, it all down to Kelli now.

30th September 2024

Today is when I remember the passing of Michael Elliott, I don’t know why it affects me so much. I think it’s because it was someone I knew who couldn’t face life anymore. Most of us don’t make that choice, we follow a different path that will take us to the same ultimate place.

It was a day of preparation, finishing jobs that I can leave for Kelli to finish, and folding up the pool and pressing it into a storage box. Deflating the floats took longer than inflating them, but they went into another box.

We sold and delivered our latest dresser to someone on the north side of town, that came in under the wire for September leaving it a better month than I thought.

There is some talk on the alternative media about a dockworkers strike starting tomorrow.

It’s about pay, as usual, they want an extra five dollars an hour. The talk was about the knock on effect, because so much comes through the docks, could be devastating.

Kelli was worried about my travel, will I be able to get back?

This is not about me, this is about the whole bloody country, the dumb shits in this government should not let this happen, and I refuse to panic about it.

29th September 2024

It was time to drain the pool. I rigged up the pump with a long hose to start the slow process of emptying the water.

There is a moment of sadness because, for us it’s the end of our excuse to chill.

There was some activity in the garage, Kelli wanted to paint the top of the coffee table.

It was a warm day, maybe even a pool day under different circumstances.

It was a lazy day, I moved some pallets that have been stacked at the side of the garage for a year or so, I hadn’t found the time to break them up. Matt was looking for some that he could use to fence in a space for their puppies to run around now that they are moving in with Georgia.

It was a dirty job, and we only managed to fit three into the back of the truck. Maybe tomorrow we’ll move the other one.

There was drama in Holland in the early hours which included a shooting, a high speed car chase that ended with the two occupants dying.

All this happened fairly close to us, but we heard no police sirens or anything.

Like most of the roads around here they are straight, the one they were on had a tight bend at the end and obviously they didn’t realise that.

Out of a morbid curiosity, we drove along the road and saw the tree they hit, fortunately it was not badly damaged.

Brenda, Matt’s wife was on that road, at around 2.30am when this all happened, she could not sleep and decided to take a drive to the nearest petrol station for some cigarettes and a cup of cocoa, yes it was unusual, but she is from the Netherlands, so quite understandable.

28th September 2024

We had sold the small television unit that we collected from Grand Rapids last week, it was not a quality piece and it was a relief that someone wanted it.

I had a bit of work on it before it was being picked up. That involved loosening the screws that connect with the cam fittings. The top was loose when we collected it, that was due to the screws inserted so tight that the cam fractured when it was tightened. I was hoping to re use one from another joint, but as I loosened the cam it fell apart. I was lucky to find one complete, others I repaired using superglue and baking soda.

I managed to complete that job when Kelli found a free dresser, I couldn’t turn that down, so we set off for the wilds of Holland. It was quite a way out, even past the shooting range. We arrived at a mobile home park, my heart sank. Driving through the myriad of roads we found the home but no dresser, obviously snapped up by some other, but we did find a couple of side tables that we took as consolation.

The next stop was to collect a garden arch on the north side.

Honestly that was a piece of crap, but Kelli wanted it so somehow we squeezed it into the truck, then we had to rush back to meet the buyers of the tv unit.

Quite honestly it wasn’t worth the money we paid for it, although the only work we did was repaint the top. There were some scratches that Kelli matched the colour perfectly.

I spent the rest of the afternoon sanding another dresser to get it ready to be worked on and finished whilst I’m away.