28February1997

28 February 1997
My dear folks,

I shall have to take more care with my letters. Jones points out that the film we saw was about Richard the Fourth, not Richard the Third as reported in my last missive; and that we “whiled” away the time rather than “wiling” it away. It just goes to show the limits of infallibility. More seriously, she thought the letter a mite short of humour & I gathered from a little bird in Germany that a certain niece had remarked on how often I reported on what we ate! However minor, these criticisms have been noted!

So, although we have little new to report, I shall try a different sauce on the food (if my niece will allow the metaphor). We have just returned from a long walk through Hyde Park to Kensington. It was a showery, blustery day following a night of gales. Jones & I took it in turns to visit loos en route, the penalty of drinking numerous cups of tea & coffee. Happily, there are several public “conveniences” located along the route. Our regular is the stop-off at Hyde Park (where the gents has a notice pinned to the wall with a list of do’s & don’ts which one can peruse while seeking relief. The maximum penalty for disturbing other peers is £500.)

Our destination was a sports shop where we hoped to obtain wax to protect our skis. There were no skis on view although a large range of snowboards was visible – the writing on the wall! We were served by a gentleman with a silver ring through his lower lip & more silver dangling from his extremities. In spite of his odd appearance he was perfectly pleasant….no reason why not, I suppose. He could supply us with snowboard wax, he said, if that would do for skis as well. We were sure it would. Our list of things to do includes rubbing down the skis & putting them & the rest of the gear away in the loft.

Forgive a small diversion on matters of diet & health. I was delighted this a.m. to find my blood pressure reading down to normal, as much as I’m aware that these things go up & down. There is clearly much to be said for a week’s skiing. I’d hoped that the scale would be equally positive about my weight but in spite of standing absolutely still on it for half a minute, I couldn’t persuade it to dip fractionally to the mark I’d set myself. I am not discouraged; it will come in time. We are back on the straight & narrow, at least until our trip to the Lake District next week. Jones’s twisted knee, I’m pleased to say, is much improved. This business of mortality is really a pain. I’ve meanwhile had an email from Judy who’s back in London and also creaking – and a long email from Bernie who says Jonathan is back working half days after his heart attack. We count our blessings!

Canadians, I have been checking airline schedules & prices for July. I need to have a word with our roster lady & I would hope to come back to you shortly. The charter flights that offer best value for money assume either six-night or 14-night stays. The question is whether I can fit in a trip to Portugal in July as well as a trip to Canada. I’d love to do both but I’m dubious.

Let me call it a day. I’m back to work Wed, Thur, Fri. Saturday we are off for a week! But I hope to be in touch before then.

Blessings.