After a refreshing bath and a couple of hours work on the shed supports, I collected Dad’s trophy from Harlequin in Norwich and drove on to Stanton, planning to cut Mum’s hedge. Unfortunately, she had trouble with her car battery and it took several hours to purchase and fit replacement.
Home in time for a late tea and chat with the family and then shaved and changed so as to go straight out to a meeting of the Little Paxton Parish Council, where I fielded some criticism of my recent FOCUS newsletter. Home quite late and tired to bed after a lot of exertion and a late night. It was noticeably cooler again today and that the glorious summer seemed to have come to an end at last.
I was up early again, after a fitful night, and then I treated myself to a nice large Heronshaw bath before getting going on the work at 8am. I was able to spend a couple of hours adding to the shed supports and then had to pack up as the weather was fine in Stanton to help my mother. Once all was away and Heronshaw was ‘put back to sleep ‘, I drove into Norwich and eventually found Harlequin without a map and arrived in time to catch Angie, the manageress, and collect the trophy. It had come out quite well and will be a very good memorial item. I drove on to Mum, stopping off for a McDonald’s hamburger on the way.
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I had been planning to cut Mum’s hedge in the afternoon and had brought back the hedge trimming tool and long extension lead especially, but there was a more urgent task facing me. Her car had failed to start that morning to take her for a blood test and so I had to organise a replacement battery for it. I started the car with ‘jump leads’ from the Range Rover and then drove off to get a new one. The garage concerned could not fit it without delay and so I brought it back to Shepherd’s Grove Park and then the problems really started. The battery support nuts were corroded and eventually, after a couple of hours of struggling, I drilled out one of them and removed it. Mum’s neighbour, Alan, was helping but it was still a struggle. This left no time for the hedge and none either to stay and talk to Mum very much, but it had to be done and she was happier for that.
I learnt that she had fallen off of her chair at the cemetery the other day, which was a bit unfortunate but, apart from feeling stiff, she now seemed to be all right. Home in time for late tea and chat with the family and I had to get shaved and change so as to go straight out to a meeting of the Little Paxton Parish Council. It was a good if rather long winded meeting but I had the slight embarrassment and irritation of them criticising my recent FOCUS newsletter that did not attribute credit to the Parish Council where they felt it was due to them. I disagreed but did not feel it worthwhile to continue the argument. Home quite late and tired to bed after a lot of exertion and a late night. I think it was noticeably cooler again today and I think that the glorious summer has come to an end last.