Mixed Blessings

Monday morning saw me at Bristol Airport collecting Simon and Tori, who had just returned from a two week holiday.

 

The first thing I’d heard on the radio when I got up was about the bombs in Turkey.

 

I had been concerned when he said he’d booked a holiday there, I knew there had been bombs previously but what can you say, when it’s already booked?

 

The thing that worried me in the radio report was that it was a bus that had been hit at midnight, around the time I would expect them to go to the airport. I had no idea what resort they were staying at but it could’ve been the bus taking them to the airport they often call at a number of resorts on route.

 

Strangely, I felt quite calm about it and went to see what further news the television could offer. I then became fairly confident from what I heard that they couldn’t have been involved.

 

I feel so sorry for those and their families who were.

 

I picked them up on time from the airport and Simon then had to answer calls and texts from other worried friends and family.

 

Having left Turkey without being involved in the problems there, he then started, what he called, the day from hell.

 

He wanted to leave my house asap, as he was taking Tori to London and then driving on down to Plymouth, where he had a lot of post and paperwork to catch up on. But Tori wanted a cup of tea first.

 

Come on ladies, how many of you know THIS male trait? My son definitely has it, as does my husband, ex husband, son in law, brother in law and step father. It can't just be my family. 

 

You’re going somewhere and we all like to look our best, so it takes us a bit longer than them. This means they have to wait a while. They then get agitated waiting and when you start to make a move downstairs, that’s it! They’re off. Like a rat up a drainpipe, in the car, ignition on and drumming the steering wheel with their fingers.

 

While they were waiting for you ,did they……..Lock the back door? Check the pet’s water and food bowls? Let the dog in, who had wandered off to investigate some bushes and could have spent four hours crying at the unlocked back door? Get the babies feeds together? Switch on the Answerphone? Pick up those vital documents that he is going to need at the Bank/Solicitor/Building Society, where you are going? Of course not! Far more important that he sit in the car, with the engine running, picking his nose.

 

It’s therefore no surprise that as Simon had to wait a few minutes whilst Tori had her tea, a sandwich and a cigarette. they had to come back twice. Once for Tori’s handbag and then  for Simon’s mail!

 

Having got to London Tori wanted to get some food in and Simon drove her to the shops. Trying to park quickly he caught the kerb and split the tyre. He was very lucky to find a back street garage, which he persuaded to fit a replacement, even though the man was just closing. At 6pm on a Bank Holiday I think he was very lucky.

 

At 10.30pm , I gave him a ring to see if he was home yet. No, he was at Exeter, as he had stopped for a break and something to eat.

 

At midnight the phone rang. Where are you I hissed, trying not to wake Mike. He was at the flat. Unfortunately, in his haste he had picked up the spare set of keys to Catherine’s flat in Germany, rather than his own.

 

Simon managed three hours sleep in his car and we had to get up at 6.30 am to drive down to Plymouth with his keys! Thankfully the security guards on the gatehouse are friendly and said he could use their toilet if necessary.

 

Anyway, we had a pleasant day out, apart from all the driving. Had lunch at Cremyll, in Cornwall and went to visit Mike’s father’s grave in Ipplepen, Devon. It was the first time we had got back there since his stepmother’s funeral.

 

The church is 15thC but is covered in a strange rendering, which I think may be Victorian, it doesn’t look right. But there are some lovely old features, including the Rood Screen. There is a royal coat of arms above the door and it’s a big joke in the village. It dates from George I’s time. He upset the locals, I think it may have been to do with the Oath of Allegiance and possibly they were made to display the coat of arms. I forget the exact story. Have a look at the photo and see if you can spot the ‘extras’ the village people added.

 

I’ve told Simon to stay home and have a quiet time for the next day or two, he returns to work next week and I think he needs a rest before then. I know I do!!!