It is 5 years since the Grenfell fire, a day when we flew back from Greece over the burning block. Chris had mentioned something about a tower block fire, but I had not really taken it in. I don’t think any of us in Greece realised how serious it was at the start. The holiday began with the Manchester Arena bombing.
The morning was very busy. No time for any wet stuff after a very long, very beautiful, very deep and doubtless very meaningful, sleep.
But we needed to get going… the morning was timetabled thus:
- Leave at 09.00
- Pick up Lena and take her (and T and H) to Wallingford for English lessons – 09.30
- Drop T at daycare
- Walk H
- Pick up Lena after her lesson
- Return her to Illis
- Coffee with Ali
- Take Lena to cleaning job
- Home (by 13.00)
- Phew!
Lena found her first English lesson very useful. There were two teachers – one Ukranian and one English. And she met about a dozen Ukrainian contacts, some of whom have not had positive experiences with their English hosts. I believe one or two are now in hotels. They may be have been staying in outlying villages. She also has a pile of homework to do before Wednesday.
Ali is still managing the situation – they get on very well with their guests, but it’s about creating space and family time. And different approaches etc. Apparently Timur’s teeth are not in great condition . (Their departure from Ukraine was delayed by his needing to have teeth out) . Ali puts it down to the amount of sweet stuff he snacks on. She is having to hide Fleur’s special protein bars (at £1.00 each, they are not suitable for a six year old. )
But things are ticking over nicely. They spent some time reorganising a biometrics appointment whilst I was there. Both T and E must have their biometric screening done in order to extend their visas to three full years. All the appointments were both months and miles away – Swindon, Bath , July for example. However, Abingdon has now popped up with appointment offers, so I am taking them on Thursday. The extended visas will mean they can, if a suitable opportunity arises, return to the Ukraine, to visit family, for example, and then return to the UK. Not awfully likely at the moment.
At home, I battled with turning the mattresses and the bed in general. It had a bit of a slippage problem before we moved house and it seems to have returned. Now I have established the cause, I think I need a man who can, rather than a woman who probably can’t. (Update: It gave up the ghost last night and I spent half the night sliding towards the floor and the other half researching IKEA replacement bed frames. And people to assemble them)
My walk with H was very lovely. We met a Greek dog from Zante, a long legged creature, of a friendly disposition.
T enjoyed his day at Day Care though they reported he had refused lunch. He always refuses lunch at home, but I just stick it in front of him. And he then eats (at least some or all of) it. But we don’t often have lunch – here, we have one main meal during the day. We usually eat early evening. Or occasionally around 3.00pm. Then, not again.
Day Care has two Covid positive cases since Friday. They asked if I still wanted to leave him. I decided I would. And I did.
Brenda is really suffering with Covid, still chesty, still coughing, with the dreaded headache hovering. Ali has two friends who have it for the second time. Is this a new wave / variant I wonder?
Once home, I carried out a few jobs and then heard voices outside. I was annoyed to discover Burt esconced in one of our chairs. I have spent a long time trying to keep him and Wendy at arm’s length and out of our space. Now, here he was, in our garden. Talking to T is a complete waste of time as he has no way of remembering.
Flies continue to be irksome, crawling on my legs. it drives me pOtto.
I fed us.
…………
Then we had a super massive row. He has been fiddling again. A few days ago I could not find my glasses. I spent ages looking. They were in his coat pocket. Today, he has fiddled with charging cables again. I reduced them some months ago, from the 4 that I used to leave connected, to 2. Today, of the 2, he wound up my phone cable, and my watch cable is nowhere to be seen. Nowhere. One of my 3 spares no longer works. The other, I cannot find.
I have spent around 3 weeks wondering where the dustpan and brush had got to. Today, he produced them from the shed.
Every day I wake up and … I know he won’t comply, he will require nagging, he will disagree, he will be disagreeable, he will know best, he will be contrary, he will say something , stupid and/ or embarrassing, he won’t understand anything I ask him to do, he will ask the same thing repeatedly, he will never be ready on time. Every day.
Don’t try to walk in my shoes. The experience is a brain crash.
Now, moving on, a police car was parked outside Burt and Wendy’s for a while this evening, around 21.30. There was a police van driving in Underhill earlier today. I wonder if there was a connection between the police, and Burt talking to T in our garden. A waste of time if there was. He has no recall.
Thought for the Day
“Hi lover,” he says to me, completely forgetting what happened before. He knows who I am. He knows that I am the one person who he loves, has always loved. No disease, no person can take that away.”
From The Leisure Seeker – great film
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