Sunday 21 May 2017

Lunch out.

Well, that's nothing new is it?   Today it was with three friends - L,C and W - set for one o'clock and delicious it was too.   L and C both had roast beef, W had roast pork and I had macaroni cheese (I was going to have salmon but by the time we ordered there was no salmon left; but there is a good veggie menu so I was happy to tuck into that.)
 
Afterwards it was coffee and a chat in the bar.   There were quite a lot of people there that we knew so the atmosphere was friendly.   Up here there is none of that crossing the road rather than asking how you are a few weeks after one has lost one's life partner, it is straight down the middle - tell it as it is, and all the better for it.

Friend L (Lavinia but Win for short) is ninety six years young and as we are all knocking on a bit we got to talking about lavs at the bottom of the garden and jerries under the bed in the night - and of houses with no bathrooms.   We came to the joint conclusion that today's youngsters don't know the half of it.

Then it was home to walk Tess, who was very pleased to see me.   I do feel guilty leaving her alone, but I try to walk her three times a day as far as I can with at least one of the three walks off the lead so that she can chase the rabbits (they are quite safe and they know it).   I need to get out as much as possible.

Tomorrow I go with friend C to buy more knitting wool in the morning and then in the afternoon there is ukulele practice.    I am not very good yet but I am making progress - and that is pleasing.  Playing with the rest of the group makes me keep up and improves my playing no end each week.  When I get a bit better I might put a clip on U Tube!!!

19 comments:

justjill said...

That I have to see ! Sounds like a lovely day. I remember visiting a friend darn sarth who told me I was being too nosy. Just me showing an interest in people.. Fortunately the people up here are similar to the ones you describe.

angryparsnip said...

A star on U Tube, yes please !
I like that you are going out more. Once you move closer you will see more friends everyday for a quick chat here and there.
So happy to hear friends show an interest in you and others.

cheers, parsnip and thehamish

Yorkshire Pudding said...

Jerries under the beds? I know they invaded Poland and Czechoslovakia but I had no idea they were also under people's beds in England. What was your jerry called? Perhaps Hans or Helmut?

Derek Faulkner said...

Sounds like a really good day and just what you need and Tess is not getting left out either. Been a beautiful day's weather down, sunny and warm and looks like a week of it to come as well.

Sue in Suffolk said...

A beautiful sunny day here too. Lovely to hear of your good day.

I can just imagine the horror of a teenager in 2017 faced with a gazunder to use in the night and an elsan in a shed for daytime, with the night-soil lorry coming once a week to collect!! I'm 62 but remember all those things from the late fifties in rural Suffolk.

Rachel Phillips said...

I was at school with girls at the convent who had no running water and had to fetch it from the well. They just haven't lived these days have they! Your lunch with the girls sounds a lot of fun. I am glad for you.x

Tom Stephenson said...

H.I. was brought up with an outside Lav. I had 5 inside to choose from. I want to se the You Tube clip of you and the instrument.

Terra said...

I will definitely watch a clip of you playing the ukelele on YouTube. Ukelele playing is big in the town I live in in coastal California, perhaps because Hawaii is not too far away. Like you I walk my dog 3 times a day, good for both of us.

the veg artist said...

My gran's outside facilities were built over a stream - well, it had running water!!
A bit of Welsh for you too. In Welsh the 'little room outside' is called the Ty Bach. Literally, it means small house. One day a colleague, newly moved to Wales and trying to make an impression with her neighbours, told us that they were thinking of giving their cottage a Welsh name. 'Ty Bach'! I'm afraid we all laughed for about ten minutes before telling her why, but she did see the joke.

Cro Magnon said...

Walking the dog whilst letting your mind run free is great for the soul. Almost as much as having lunch with your pals.

Derek Faulkner said...

In respect of outside loos, most of us of a certain age probably suffered them. Sitting outside in one of them on a bitter cold winter's morning meant there was definitely no taking your time reading the days's paper. Mind you there was newspaper in there, we cut up squares of newspaper and pushed them onto a nail and that was our loo paper.

Maria said...

What are friends for if not to share difficult and happy times together. Tess is lucky to get her walks in that beautiful lane and allowed to chase the rabbits.
Greetings Maria x

thelma said...

Sounds a good lunch and Tess is a lucky girl to go walking so much. Outside loos were all part of the pattern when we were children, now people demand a bathroom plus a couple of 'en-suites' as normal- with the cloakrom that is 4 loos to look after...

Librarian said...

Getting out three times a day is, as you say, good for you as well as for Tess. I am glad the weather and your health are allowing for those walks.
Your gathering with friends always sound so nice. I seem to remember you telling us about your friend in her mid-nineties before. If I make it to that age, I hope I'll still be able to go out for lunch with my friends, and have all my marbles left!

Rachel Phillips said...

We had an outside lav and my mother never wanted an indoor one. She eventually had one put in when she was in her 70s, long after we had all left home.

Rozzie said...

Oh yes, I grew up with the backyard "dunny", complete with passionfruit vine growing over the lattice in front. Plus the "gezunder" of course. Remembering such things makes me smile. And yes, todays kids would be horrified at the thought.

I hope you do post your ukelele playing on Youtube, Weave. I look forward to hearing it!

Heather said...

How good that you have friends and neighbours who can talk naturally to you with none of the awkwardness of people who do not know what to say when you have lost a dear one. Well done with sticking to the ukulele lessons - looking forward to your Utube recital! You, and your older friends, with your busy social lives, are an example to us all to live life to the full. I grew up in my grandmother's house which had an outdoor lav, but we didn't have to go down the garden to it, thank goodness.

The Broad said...

First time I ever saw an outside loo was when I was a young girl living in the Northwest Kingdom of Vermont! We had farmer friends in Peacham and they had one that was actually attached to the house -- a great 'convenience' in sub-zero Fahrenheit winters! It was also the first time I ever had freshly milked milk! Am greatly looking forward to your U Tube presentation!

The Weaver of Grass said...

R.emember the newspaper well Derek, but ours was hung on a piece of string!
Thanks for sharing your memories everyone.