Exploding tyres and other misdemeanours

This tale is part of the long running bike and trailer saga. Danielle had almost got herself sorted for the first day of school - she had gone to Cycle Saviours to make sure the bike was properly hitched to the trailer. I had confirmed that the new inner tubes I bought for her were actually OK - she hadn't screwed the valve tight! Everything was moving in the right direction. I told her we should do a few practice runs to Willen Lake and back but time had run away with us. There was just one more thing to do. Danielle asked to borrow my pump as the front wheel had gone flat again. I cycled the pump over and watched her blow the tyre up. All good. That was until a loud gunshot rang out. The front tyre had exploded - she really did blow it up! The bike, lying on the ground moved at least a foot. BANG! 

I laughed. This was just one more thing to stop Danielle getting sorted. It really was funny after all that had gone before. Wednesday came around and true to her word Danielle brought Ezra-Mae over to my place in good time for school. There are lots of lovely photos of a pristine young girl bristling with excitement. Little does she know this is the next twelve years of her life! As for Danielle and her plans to do 160 miles a month taking the girls to and from school, these fell by the wayside at the first hurdle. She asked me to cycle her bike and the empty trailer home while she stayed at my place. 

As any good grandmother would, I stepped up and helped her out. Half way home, the front tyre went flat. I walked the bike back, got the dog and returned in miserable weather only to find that Danielle had fallen asleep in my spare room. Thursday, Ezra-Mae had a sleepover with me. I collected her from school, we did all sorts of things - we made a present and a card for Danielle's birthday, we read books and looked for Wally. We even watched The Wrong Trousers. I had fun. Ezra-Mae loves her new school - Thank Goodness - she told me that everything was best about it. What a great recommendation! 

Almost the last one left!

Meanwhile... Mattaya, who eats everything, ate a receipt I had put to one side to claim some money back from The Orchard. Uh oh, this wasn't a little misdemeanour. On many levels it was not a good thing to happen. If only Danielle fed her properly! Mattaya has an eye for anything that could be digested. Her tastes go far beyond receipts too. She has a penchant for the unripe tomatoes on the vine. As yet she has not equated green tomatoes with not nice taste!! She eyed Danielle's birthday cake with a relish you would not expect from a thirteen month old.  I made a chocolate cake with caramel topping that seeped down the sides. When I made it, it looked neat. After the topping oozed, the pattern of chocolate buttons spread to a random splurge. Luckily the cake tasted OK or at least Mattaya thought so.

First day at school... the compulsory pic

As with all the times Danielle comes over to my place, she leaves something behind. I joked to Naser and Amira that she would have left something as we waved her goodbye. Upstairs there was a small pink sock. Ah ha, one thing... then we found two yellow socks slightly larger than the pink one and a cardigan - a very large one.. No doubt Danielle and entourage will be back! 

Yay for the blue team!

And in my spare time... I managed a game or two of tennis

Who to trust?

One hundred days have passed since Reform took over my local council. I haven't noticed any difference despite feeling uneasy that those in power haven't got a clue, a plan, or even a presence. I have heard in the media that my council are cracking down on HMOs. Again I haven't seen any action. How come so many inexperienced chancers are running councils up and down the country? One of those Reform council leaders is just 19 years old! Of course I know that it was us who voted them in and it was a protest vote against the establishment that drove voters to an alternative but to what end. 

In the news, one Reform councillor in another constituency lost his job assessing asylum claims for the Foreign Office. Perhaps he was not as trustworthy as we should expect of our leaders. Meanwhile this week, Nige chose an aircraft hanger to announce his plans to stop all illegal immigration. I listened to the highlights of his speech. He sounded reasonable, convincing even. I imagined him supping a pint and holding people's attention in a local pub telling them the way the world should be. Pubs in the UK are the place for putting the world to rights - not aircraft hangers. When people spew forth in front of their fellow drinkers it does no harm to the world.  Then I thought about what Nige said. It wasn't a plan. This speech didn't have a grain of reality in it. It was pie in the sky. Perhaps the recently sacked Reform councillor was his only hope for curbing the influx of the unworthy. Poor Nige, he has lost one string to his bow. 

I have finally got a potential date to meet up with a local police officer who will help us at the orchard. I I was given the name of an officer on 3rd July. I now have a different officer to the original one and we won't be seeing him until October. This has come after much nagging by me. The perpetrators will have had time to flee the country by then. Even now we are still experiencing vandalism on a weekly basis. What do we pay our taxes for? This is very frustrating. The police cannot be trusted to do a very basic job any more. 

My daughter, Danielle is finally pedalling her bike with a trailer attached. The plan is to get Ezra-Mae to the village school without using a car. I have been telling her for some time to get practicing. On Friday, she brought Mattaya over. It took her longer than expected and then when she reached the hump-backed bridge that straddles the canal in my village, the trailer departed company with the bike and Mattaya rolled back down the hill! 

This is funny. It wasn't at the time though. Fortunately help was at hand. Danielle had lots of help getting Mattaya re-hitched to the bike so she could bring her round to my place. Obviously Mums cannot be trusted!!! I previously did this journey with both Mattaya and Ezra-Mae and I didn't lose them! When they set off from my house Danielle looked good on the bike. Even so, I made sure that Danielle called me when she had got home safely. This certainly is a fun way for the girls to get around - especially with the added excitement of possible unhitching or other unforeseen problems. 

Other forms of transport are available

Half a stickman

At the orchard we hosted a very big corporate group this week. They came from miles away to spend a day digging, cutting, painting and mending. What a great job they did too. Danielle brought the girls along and started to make her "Stickman" scarecrow for the festival while everyone was working on bits of the orchard. It was a hectic day entertaining little ones, feeding and watering guests and generally being there. In the end the heavens opened and everyone ran. You can trust British weather to be unpredictable. 

Be asssured

My neighbours... the same as last year.

Earlier on this week I wondered whether I really did have a son as he hadn't been in contact for such a long time, I actually thought he had dropped off the bottom of the Earth. I had no need to worry. He did contact me and the reason being, he needed my help. Awww, how sweet. As a mother, I realise he remembers me when he needs something. So with a tight turn around, he wanted me to critically read parts of his dissertation. I told him I am disappointed that the only time he remembers me is when he needs something from me. 

Be assured, he knows how to get round me - mostly. He is expert at the silver-tongued approach, buttering me up and saying lovely things about me. I pointed out his tactics. He changed tack. He told me I was slightly bonkers and that is why he too is slightly bonkers. Apparently, friends of his tell him he has this trait and he says he gets it from his Mum, like diarrhoea being bonkers runs in the genes! I am not sure the insults worked better than the sycophancy. By the way, I personally think I am the sanest person I know. 

At the same time as this was happening, my publishers needed to have me on hand to get the website up and running. I missed a tennis social to fit in with their timing but I needn't have. They contacted me at 9:30pm and we worked through until 1:40am sorting out hitches. I was exhausted. When I hit the sack, I felt the same as if I had been on a wild night out except it wasn't fun. Through the session, I felt totally computer illiterate. With all the instructions I was given, I couldn't find the right bits to press and pages disappeared without warning. It was a very frustrating evening. I am assured computers confound just to assure us that we are aging.

Having spent this time sorting out the site, I am now a stage closer to the book being published. The website is www.beneaththeregimebeyondthefear.com - it is the book title without punctuation. I decided on the James Joyce approach when I selected the webpage title as I thought it would be easy to remember, especially as I get older by the day! The book just needs an ISBN and then it is good to go. It has taken longer to publish than it did to write. I have been assured all is in hand. Nevertheless, I feel scared!

I have also been assured that my car should be ready by September 5th. I now have my second hire car. The tank has gone back and now I have a 2025 Nissan Qashqai with a sun roof. I am much happier with this car but I was really worried when I got a call late on a Monday afternoon to say that I had to change my car as I had almost exceeded my milage. It wasn't me who had driven too much. It was because the car had almost reached 12,000 miles so it needed to be serviced and sent for auction. They could have explained this to me. I needed more assurance.

As for Danielle,  she is step closer to getting the bike trailer sorted. We went for a short trip Sunday evening as a trial. First go, the trailer departed company with the bike... no big damage! Fortunately. Two little treasurers rolling off into the sunset without pedal power didn't quite happen. Then a little further along the way, the back tyre deflated! We then hitched the trailer to my bike and Danielle walked her bike home. Her plans are to take Ezra-Mae to school in the trailer. This means a short jaunt along the towpath each day. Luckily, Ezra-Mae can now ride without stabilisers. Maybe that is plan B. One way or another she'll get to school

Questionable Customer Service

Everyone did this at the water park

Let me start with my least favourite of high street stores. This is something I never imagined I would be saying. Marks and Sparks have given me a kick in the teeth once more. I looked online to find out the best place to recycle Danielle's and my old clothes. M&S say they give a $5 token towards a future purchase. All good. I get my underwear from Marks so spending that money would not be a frivolous purchase. 

So with bursting bags in hand, I went to M&S at MK Dons. I asked at the till where I should put my parcels of old clothes. The assistant didn't know. She called another assistant who said they don't recycle. I told her they did. I did it once before and it says so online. Unfazed, she said they didn't recycle. No apology, no politeness. Nothing! 

I went next door to H&M. I have never bought anything from that store but the very friendly assistant set up an app, added two vouchers to the app and willingly accepted my packages. So now I have £10 off future purchases that I am happy to offer to anyone who wants to use them. What a difference in the way I was treated. I left the store empty-handed but smiling. 

Also in the vicinity is a JD Sports shop. I thought while I was there, I'd pop in and look at the tennis shoes. The lump I had cut off of my heel had rubbed the inside cushioning and now I have tennis shoes that need replacing as they are wearing out. I walked to an automatic door. It didn't open. At first I thought the shop was closed even though the opening times displayed told me otherwise. A man inside pointed me to another door further away. That automatic door opened. I asked him why his other "automatic" door didn't open automatically. He shrugged. Walked off and disappeared. I found tennis shoes but no one to help me get the right size. They were cheap too.... very questionable customer service. 

Then I could go on at length about the bin men who emptied the food waste bins this week. I looked out of my kitchen window to see them scattered with some separated from their bases. It wasn't long ago my bin was left in bits with noticeable cracks in it. I was made to feel guilty when I requested a replacement. Now I can imagine how it got into such a state. This last week, the bin men only managed partially empty my bin. Tsch.

The NHS have come doubly good. They sent me two letters exactly the same on the same day. They were so good, they sent the same letter twice to make doubly sure I got the message. What a waste!

All this is very frustrating. Don't get me started on my hire car! The windscreen wipers were so dirty they farted when I used them. They dragged across the screen in an excruciating manner which was really distracting. I cleaned them. Noise sorted. However, the car I was given to replace my damaged car is a tank. It has seven gears, guzzles fuel and I really don't enjoy driving in it. I asked for any small car as I don't do much driving. That is what I was given . Good listening, Enterprise! My car won't be repaired until September 5th. The damage done to my stationary vehicle is costing over £6000 to repair. 

At least the car is big enough to fit two child seats and three adults. I had a wonderful time at Box End, which actually feels a bit like a resort in the summer sunshine. Danielle, Sophie, two children and a dog sat around while I did an open water swim in balmy warm water - probably the upside of global warming - a very questionable benefit of using a gas guzzling hire car.

After the swim

Entertaining! 

A week in expectation of something exciting happening

 My insurance company were very good about giving me a hire car. I told them anything small will do as I don't use my car very much. I was given a VW Tiguan which is not small and incidentally drives like a tank. It also has farting windscreen wipers - they were so dirty they could hardly drag themselves across the screen. My complaints with the car are myriad. Mostly it is wider and heavier than my CHR which I love as that is such an easy car to drive. So, with the possibility of travelling the length and breadth of the UK in my other car, I sat tight and waited for the phone call to find out when my car would be collected and taken off for repair. Finally it went on Friday morning. This was a week where I did not want to do too much just in case I missed the call. 

At least sitting tight was good for my garden. I spent time tweaking and tending my dying plants. Next week promises to be another heatwave so I'll expect more casualties in the garden. It was also lovely to have Adrian and Chris visit on their way back home. They came to meet me at the orchard. It is so abundant with fruit, I tried to palm some off on them. Apparently, there is a nationwide glut of fruit. Everyone I offer fruit to says they have already got some from elsewhere. This week I'm off to get some blackberries so I can stew them with apples. 

Close to Danielle's home is a fig tree that is laden with figs and also with wasps burying into the fruit. I have picked a few carefully chosen ones and they are really sweet. I asked the owner if I could take some cuttings. Hopefully we will be able to propagate them at the orchard. 

Diane in thr garden at Wrest Park

I did not forget that Saturday was Singapore's birthday... I expect with 60 years to celebrate it was an especially big one. Happy Birthday! On National Day, I went out and did a very British thing. I went to Wrest Park for the day. Diane volunteers there. Even though it is not too far from my place, it is somewhere I have never visited. Originally owned by the De Grey family, it covers acres of beautifully landscaped gardens. Everywhere you look, there's a view to wow you. Oh, how the other half lived! Diane gave me a guided tour round the grounds and I did the house while she was working. 

Of particular interest in the house is the Chinese wallpaper. You are only allowed to see it when accompanied by a docent. The man who took my group up to the room was so enthusiastic, he didn't notice how his audience were wilting in the heat while he spoke. By the end of the talk, it was almost a personalised tour. The "information" rooms on the ground floor have been nicely laid out and the amount of writing is just about right to keep your interest through the whole exhibition. 

The library...

Something I am drawn to in these old houses is the library. The books we display says something of who we are. So in the mighty room I browsed the books and there were all sorts of incongruent titles - "Soils and Fertilisers" in many volumes by the year. Law books, Swedish books... Apparently they were a job lot to fill the shelves as the original books are of far too greater value to be on display. As the house and surroundings have been the backdrop for lots of films and series. I could almost have had a "Bridgeton" moment. Maybe something exciting happened after all this week.

 

Solace at the bottom of a bottle

My injured 🚗 

 On Friday I hit a nadir. My car was hit as I was leaving Tesco's carpark. Until that point, Friday had started quite well. I had a lovely hit at the tennis club, did my shopping and then my plans for the rest of the day disappeared in an instant. I was tailing a car to the carpark exit when a car pulled out of its parking space and broadsided me. I was a sitting duck. There really was nothing I could do except hope the driver had seen me. 

From that moment on everything changed. I took photos, sorted out insurance details, got home, contacted my insurance company. All this took an age. Because this happened on a Friday lunch time, I have to wait until Monday morning to get the car towed off to be repaired. I was in shock! 

Danielle popped round about 4pm. By that time I had just got my lunch! I had also opened a bottle of wine. This is not my usual habit - I don't eat lunch at 4 and I don't open bottles of wine when it is just me. I really did need a drink. Danielle joined me in a small glass. Then over the evening, on Danielle's advice, I slurped the rest! A whole bottle in one evening! Did I find solace? I'm not sure. I dealt with the delivery of the replacement car that same night and told the man who had delivered it that I wouldn't be driving  til Sunday. 

This was not the only accident this week. On Monday, Danielle, Sophie and baby Mattaya came round for coffee and cake in the garden. I duly obliged - brought the coffee, crocks and cake into the garden and fell over a plant pot. I saw Mattaya moving my way so I stepped to the left and made an involuntary dive into a bush. I still have the scars and bruises. To quote Woody - it wasn't flying, it was falling in style!

So with broken crocks, Danielle and Sophie cleared up, ministered to my injuries and made more coffee while we planned a trip to Bicester and Oxford for Thursday. Danielle wanted to pick up a second-hand bike trailer to wheel the girls around for the school run and I needed to replace a broken mug. This outing had a purpose. The trailer is also a buggy but it is a bit large for town use. It was good, however,  to dump Shadow in as she doesn't walk as far these days. 

The trailer with 🐕 

I cycled without incident to an amateur, outdoor Gilbert and Sullivan event in Stony. I picked my spot, laid out my picnic blanket and set up my picnic. When I got up to buy a drink, a woman sitting in a robust picnic chair told me she couldn't get to standing from the floor any more. Obviously trials and knocks that beset me this week haven't done lasting harm, neither has my my drinking!

A glorious summer evening in Stony

Life's little ironies

I have just returned from a lovely weekend away. I travelled to Kent via the Dartford Crossing both ways where the speed on the M1 and M25 motorway was slower than B roads for long stretches. There is something very wrong with our infrastructure if people cannot travel without excess delay. As I approached the Dartford Tunnel the red-lit road signs said "40mph". If only we could have gone that fast. I went through the tunnel at a maximum of 20mph. This was a Sunday morning, not even a week day.

On the way down to Kent on Friday afternoon the traffic dawdled along the motorway and I noticed that the bridges over the motorway were also chokka. Lorries were lined up and stationary in many places. We hear complaints from the government that we are not productive as a country. While the roads are blocked, we can't be totally productive. Drivers are earning money sitting behind a wheel and going nowhere! 

Despite the slow journey, it was well worth the trip. My friend, Jane, and her family had organised a celebration for a lot of family milestones at Kench Hill country house - and what an amazing place it was. In the grounds were vegetable plots, a polytunnel, fruit trees, animals and playgrounds for children- a mini paradise. 

The house itself was once a nursing home and some of Jane's guests had actually been born there. In fact, I might have gone to the toilet in the very room that David Frost was born in! Now the house is a charity run by Hackney Borough Council for children to holiday in. It was extra nice to be part of such a big gathering of a wonderful family. The circumstances of me being an orphaned, only child who is now divorced made me so aware of how marvellous it is to be part of a very big clan. 

Cliff on the BBQ

The small irony was that Danielle was due to come with me but at the last minute, Ezra-Mae had really bad diarrhoea and sickness so that put the kybosh on that and then Danielle contracted the same bug. I took the lovely cake she had made down to the party and it was very much appreciated by all who had a bit. Basically the cake was one of her chocolate heart attacks on a plate! Talking of plates, Sophie stepped up to the plate in my absence and was Danielle's angel of mercy while I was miles away having fun. Thank you, Sophie!!!

Mattaya trying cheer her sister up