Today started off in an interesting way. Last night, during the night, I did a little experiment to see if I could still access Amazon Music on my main MAC computer in view of the fact that I now added a Single Device subscription to my Amazon account. The short answer is that I could, so I decided to expand this line of experiment to see if the same was true of Amazon Music accessed through my iPad. I found out that I could not but it was worth a bit of experimentation in any case. Finally, I played a track on the Macbook (laptop) which I have in the lounge and played a Mozart sonata which is very well known – Rondo Alla Turca or Turkish March. After I played this for about a minute to test that all was playing well, I left Amazon Music and could not believe my ears when the same piece of music could be heard in the distance – coming from our kitchen, actually. The explanation is simple enough but extraordinary in that ClassicFM was playing the same track at exactly the same time. This really was the most extraordinary coincidence but it has happened to me on one other occasionally within my memory. Eventually, we made it to the Waitrose car park and then inside the store where Meg and I treated ourselves to a bowl of porridge (less calories than a round of toast) topped off with blueberries. Two of our regular three old ladies were there, the enemy of sciatica detaining one of our number. Whilst I was feeling in a loquacious mood, I reminisced about life in the 1950’s and how all women used to keep a length of what was then called ‘knicker elastic’ in their handbags. This was because at some time in their lives, all women had experienced the failure when their knicker elastic broke and they could be left with the knickers falling about their ankles in the middle of a shopping street. According to the etiquette of the time, you should step gracefully out of the fallen garment, roll them up neatly and put them into your handbag and then go in search of the nearest lady’s loo (spending a penny in the process to gain access) where you undertake a temporary repair sufficient to get you home. Whist on the subject of knicker elastic, one of the most embarrassing commercial transactions occurred shortly after Meg and I were first married and living in a masionette in Manchester. In the units below us were some little stalls and we hunted out a little Asian lady wo knew kept a haberdashery stall. We asked if she had any knicker elastic and she did indeed have some which she indicated was 1½d a yeard. Actually, we said to her, we only needed a foot for some repair job or other but the lady replied that she would sell us a foot if that is all that we required. She carefully measured out 12″, rolled it up and put it into a little brown paper bag. The price was ½d so we offered her a penny and got ½d by way of change (this is about one fifth of the modern penny, by the way) Even Meg and I felt a little embarrassed by the whole transaction. The other little story that I told was a traveller’s tale when Meg was out in Spain doing an Erasmus trip and I was flying out on my own to join her. The chap occupying the seat next to the window it transpired was a native of Galicia (called a Gallego) and he was a farmer. I was anxious to improve my Spanish so we chatted to each other for the whole of the flight. Towards the end of the flight, the Gallego farmer suddenly put his face close to mine and uttered the immortal words ‘You really have the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen’ The point of this story is that I may have no propensities at ‘pulling’ women but give me a gay Gallego farmer and that is altogether a different cup of tea.
When we came to leave, we had probably been sitting for far too long and Meg was very wobbly on her feet. A very kind stranger assisted Meg and myself getting to the door of the store whilst I went to collect the car into which Meg managed to slump. When I got her inside the house, she fell again (or rarher slithered) so I managed one way or another to get her to her feet and with the aid of a walker got her down as far as our living room. I texted my son with these happenings and I was relieved when my son and his wife popped over to see what assistance they could offer to Meg. Whilst I had the two of them in the house, we made some plans for a joint celebration of our wedding anniversary next Saturday. We have decided as Meg’s condition is a little unstable at the moment to celebrate at home with a Waitrose Indian meal which we will buy from the Droitwich (bigger) store during the week. Meg and I missed church this afternoon for the first time in years but, of course, there are quite a lot of holiday absences at this time of year so we probably will not be missed.
© Mike Hart [2023]