A rare event

Yesterday was freezing white all day long. The lawns, tops of lollipops, shrubs etc. never lost their white coating. We had to go to Kendal in the afternoon to get the results of last week’s CT scan. Before we left the Fox had had to scrape ice off the car windows. We stayed out & had a rare meal out on the way home so it was late by the time we were home. I was surprised to see lumps of white one driveway. Had it snowed while we were out? Then I realised it was the ice the Fox had scraped off the car, still frozen on the driveway. This morning looks even colder, the frost even thicker, though it does seem to be trying to rain.

 

The oncologist hadn’t received a full report of the conclusions of the scan. However, even he could see the tumour had clearly grown & spread further over to the right side as well now. However, he could see no sign of it getting into any major organs yet. That’s what I wanted to hear as I suspect as long as that is the case, I’m likely to be accepted by Christie’s after my phone call appointment next week.

 

As Kendal was in Tier 2 – since midnight it joined the rest of us in Tier 4 – we stopped for a meal. It was a real treat, to have someone else cooking & washing up afterwards. We both had fish, though the Fox had fancied the Steak, Ale & Mushroom Pie. Unfortunately there was none left &, as the restaurant would be closed after that day, the kitchen, due to the change of tiers, didn’t see any point in making fresh pie to throw a large proportion away. Last night they were just using up as much as they could of what was already prepared & available.

 

Nonetheless I enjoyed my cod loin on a bed of crushed new potatoes & topped by buttered spinach. It was accompanied by a chorizo & prawn croquette. The latter was particularly good. It was all encircled with a sharp hollandaise. The Fox had the battered haddock & mushy peas. We both enjoyed our meals so much we were tempted into having the lemon meringue pie afterwards.

 

I couldn’t help overhearing so many people commenting this was probably their last chance for a meal out for a while & were making the most of it. A sense of impending doom as Covid restrictions tightened up, offset any festive spirit the Christmas decorations endeavoured to create.

 

So today we start life in Tier 4. We heard yesterday our new car is ready for collection but we’re not sure if we will be allowed to go to collect it. We hope so. It would be nice to have it before we start the frequent long drives to Manchester if I am accepted by Christie’s.

 

One last thing 

Happy new year

to you all

 

Night lights

The world is white. You are hard pushed to see the green of the lawns through the thick frost. I’ve not dared to look at the thermometer but clearly it’s below freezing.

 

The only things that shine out are the lights in next door’s garden. She has lit up her huge tree green. And, now for Christmas, there are flashing lights on some bush. Personally I don’t see the point of illuminating the garden. I’d sooner leave it as a safe place for nocturnal animals to scurry around.

 

Last night, when I went to take the food rubbish out to the compost bin, I was stopped by that other great light, an enormous moon. I even insisted the Fox should step out into the cold to see it. I gather full moon is due tonight but it certainly was pretty full last night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lavender Hill Mob

Yesterday afternoon we went to the movies with a DVD of “The Lavender Hill Mob”. The Fox chose the film.

 

At first I was disappointed, thinking it was “The Ladykillers”, another excellent Ealing comedy, starring Alec Guiness, but which I have watched so often I’ve got to the stage of being too familiar with it. However, as the film started in South America I realised I was on the wrong film. Even more so when a very young Audrey Hepburn appeared.

 

As the film went on I couldn’t help thinking how more realistically the film caught the feel of life in the 1950s in England. Even filming in black & white seemed appropriate. It was very monochrome time, with any colour being muted. Colour didn’t really arrive in this country until the 1960s. The film seemed a more realistic portrayal of the times than the many documentaries we’ve watched which have purported to give a feel of life in those days. I’ve sometimes ended up thinking they should consult with some of us who lived through those days rather than some of the young social historians they do consult who base their knowledge on books, documents etc. rather than actual experience. Those of us who had school meals then still shudder at what we were fed. In theory, on paper, they were well balanced meals. The reality was they used the cheapest ingredients they could find & then didn’t cook them well. I still wonder where the purple fluff arrived from that seem to pervade cooked cabbage at my school or how they managed to get raw potato to sit on some very watery potatoey liquid & call it mash.

 

As the two main characters, played by Alec Guiness & Stanley Holloway went off to Paris other memories arose. They went up the Eiffel Tower & I was reminded of my first visit to Paris when I had done the same. They descended down the steps rather than use the lift as I had done, both up & down. They seemed endless, a heady sensation.

 

As they tried for a hasty entry onto the ferry to England, they were stopped to go through all the procedures – passports, customs, & then the money. Some of these you still have to contend with as anyone queueing up to get through the formalities to get on a plane will know, as bags are searched for explosives, knives etc. some terrorist may carry. However, these days you no longer have to show how much cash you are carrying. In those days you did. I wonder if that will return now we are entering a post-Brexit world. Hopefully no, as we’ve never encountered such controls when we’ve visited countries out of the EU.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It was lovely to see a young, but unmistakable Sid James. I even recognised a young Alfie Bass.

 

Altogether I really enjoyed the film even though it was interrupted by a phone call, admittedly from a friend ringing to check we’d had a good Christmas. Or maybe it was more a case of getting some of the frustration off her chest as her nearly 90 year old husband had over-indulged over the Christmas period, causing her much anxiety. However, it did not stop us enjoying the film.