slow lane life 3

slow lane life 3

Friday 1 September 2017

Realisation

Oh horror - this poor neglected blog hasn't been looked at since April! And now it's September. There will be no readers still patient enough to wait for such a disgracefully long time between posts, but if you are still out there, Gentle Reader, this is for you, and for me.....

So, what's been happening?

Nothing much if, like me, you await a response from your local MP to an email written in early February. I emailed him with questions and concerns about the lack of information regarding EU nationals living in this country and their fears regarding Brexit. (This was at a time when news stories  were appearing regularly of EU citizens - mostly long-term UK residents - receiving notices that they must leave this country.) I outlined my reasons for sharing their fears: a daughter-in-law with an EU (not British) passport, a son with a British passport, and a grandchild with both as well as a Mexican one. The total lack of consistent guidance from the Government as to right-to-stay made it a worrying time.

After an automated response that included these words: "As you may imagine I receive a great number of communications every day but at least you know yours arrived safely" there has been silence from the MP in question. Apparently this is his usual approach to constituents, along with not holding a surgery; an astute way of avoiding bothersome requests when confident that your seat would remain secure even if Paddington Bear was the candidate, so long as Paddington belonged to the 'right' party.

We have all calmed down since then about the spectre of mass deportations, and I have stopped searching the internet for guidance on reclaiming the French passport and citizen status I had as a small child. But the feelings resulting from the Brexit vote have remained, and continue to make me miserable, and I suspect prevented me from blogging or indeed doing very much at all except hole up at home.

On the home front, a small boy, the holder of three passports, continues to grow apace, and will be two later this month. His speech is lively, if largely incomprehensible, and his preference for calling a cat a cow remains strong, even after being introduced to real cows (and sheep, and - oh extra-special joy! enormous tractors) at a recent country fair. "Bye bye, cow!" he says cheerfully, every time a cat clatters through the cat flap to escape his eager attention.


A few weeks ago, I abandoned home and hearth, Gardener and animals, and flew up to Newcastle to see friends, staying for two nights, a really refreshing break. I was warmly welcomed and thoroughly spoiled, felt really loved, and ate far too much. Although it's a long tedious trek to the airport, and far too much hanging about waiting for my gate to be called, the flight itself took less than 50 minutes, and I shall do it again more regularly. Maybe not so much celebratory food next time.

The Gardener is busy; this is his time to complain constantly about things growing too fast, and how he hasn't enough hours in the day to keep up. It's the same theme every summer; I'm used to it now.... But we found time recently to give the cluttered spare room/office a thorough makeover, and have become quite adept at assembling bookcases and shelving units from that well-known Swedish store.

Not so handy at finding our way round it, however; we were almost at the point of abandoning a laden trolley in despair at not being able to locate the way down to the checkouts - except of course we couldn't have found our own way out anyway. We had to be led through the crowded store by a chirpy young assistant, who clearly regarded us as very ancient and helpless. Which was exactly how we were feeling by that point.

Our friend with the doom-laden prognosis visits often, and is an excellent example of how to seize life with both hands and make the most of what is left to her, bravely and usually cheerfully. We took her to Lynmouth (location of the tragic flood of 1952), and up to Lynton via the charming Cliff Railway, ate fish and chips sitting on a bench in the sunshine.



And then we drove home over lovely Exmoor. We seem to have a great many Highland cows (no, not cats) these days, alongside the Exmoor ponies; big placid beasts, a lovely sight.



Now I shall have a good catch up on other blogs and see what you've all been up to. Bye bye, cows cats Gentle Reader!

23 comments:

  1. Oh, welcome back! Whenever you post something one of those little Fairy Lights blinks on in my life.
    My blog languishes, too, though I did waffle-on a bit last week.
    I'll email other news

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    1. What a sweet thing to say! But blogging does get hard sometimes, doesn't it?

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  2. I was thinking about you only the other day and here you are.I too have found it hard to blog, demoralised by the schmozzle of Brexit,Trumpery and all else. Thank goodness for the joys that toddlers bring. Very grounding.

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    1. Yes, there's little point (or indeed time) in feeling hopeless or tragic about the state of the world when a small child is in front of you, telling you something very important, with great urgency and seriousness, and without one intelligible word..... How I love toddlers!

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  3. Huge smile from me all the way from the land of Trumpery! You and yours have been missed. So very happy to hear from you once again.

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    1. Hello Kathie! So much I want to ask Americans, but don't quite dare... Your world looks just as unsettling (polite term) as ours at present - quite bewildering!

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  4. What a bit of joy to see you posting again! I was on the Lynton/Lynmouth Cliff Railway last year and enjoyed it enormously.

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    1. Oh, next time, let me know you're in the vicinity, and perhaps we could meet up!

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  5. It's so very good to hear about what has been going on with you, anxieties notwithstanding. I'd invite all of you over to Canada if I could!

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    1. What a great idea, Danielle! If it were feasible, cats and dog-wise, who knows!!

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  6. Lovely to see your post. I check your blog daily and have been feeling increasingly bereft and concerned. Yours has been a welcome voice in my life (especially since the election in November here in the US) and I have missed it deeply. I am a child of the 50s and it seems things are as worrisome (and borderline insane) as they were then--something I never expected to witness again. Good to have you back--even if only for a single post. :)

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    1. I must keep on blogging then! Sharing worries (and feelings of embarrassment for one's country) helps....

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  7. I was first going to say - I'd trade you one Donald Trump for one Teresa May, but from what I'm reading in The Guardian, that would just be one bad deal for another. I wish my birth in Wiesbaden, Germany had afforded me German citizenship, but unfortunately I was born on the US air force Base there of American parents, so no go there.

    Don't worry about entertaining us on a regular basis. I enjoy the randomness of the blog and my email notifications. ��

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    1. Thanks, Karen - but I shall try harder, and enjoy the unique comradeship of the blogging world. It seems more real, and less insane, than the world we are living in just now.

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  8. Waving back! So glad to have news. Frances sent a whole bouquet of comments this morning too which was lovely. Our bonny lass was three yesterday and I am awaiting her arrival so that parents can get on with the party arrangements. An inflateable slide is promised. I have made Marmite pinwheels because that was what I did for all our birthday parties. What is it with little boys and tractors? I have a well-thumbed lift the flap book somewhere for tractors and other big machines. I will look it out. He'd love it.

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    1. Hello again, Lucille! Don't these years just fly! I'll email you soon; one of these days we shall meet up!

      Anything with big wheels is bound to be a hit, and little cars too - so much for a gender-neutral approach to play!

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  9. Yippee, you've come back to us! In what seems to be such a horrible world period we need little bulletins of normality. I recently introduced a 'no news until breakfast is over' rule as I was so fed up of being made to feel hope-less before the day had even started. It doesn't change anything, just gives me a little window of peace!

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    1. That's a good rule, but after breakfast the bad news is relentless, isn't it!

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  10. lovely to see you amongst my emails!Brexit is a constant worry,daughter is off to university next week,Newcastle as it happens,but is already working out how to do her masters in Sweden to escape this country post Brexit.Glad you are well and enjoying life with your grandson.

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    1. Sensible girl - we all need an escape route, I think!

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  11. How lovely to see you back. Yes - there are readers still out there in the blogging ether. I find summer a hard time to blog - I play catch-up on long dark evenings. I so enjoy your blog (and the ones before) - sporadic posts are fine - whatever suits you. I can relate to what you write - it's a strange world

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    1. Thank you, Sue - and I'm catching up on other blogs too, including yours. Loved your angelica report!

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  12. Lovely to hear from you again. Always enjoy reading your posts. Thank you.

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