Get a Life

Last night had a wonderful long telephone chat with grandson Elliot (10) in Ireland now that he has had 24 hours to recover from his long weekend cub scout camp at Ennismore on the north western Irish Atlantic coast.

Elliot was able to fill me in with some more detail about the trip that hadn't leaked out via WhatsApp photos from presumably one of the scout leaders to concerned parents and which my daughter had passed on to me during the weekend. Much of it was naturally connected with messing about in and on water, in various crafts. I asked if they had also done any sailing, the answer was no.

Am thrilled that he enjoyed the camp and activities. While he is like a fish when it comes to swimming pools, sports matters are sometimes a bit more tricky. But he mastered it all. So we agreed that (if & when) he's over next summer, we will get out my old inflatable boat which has both an outboard engine and a full set of high-quality sailing gear.

The German-built boat (Metzler) was bought around 1988 and Elliot's Mum and uncle both knew the boat back then when we used it on holidays in Scotland, Northumbria and Brittany. But since about 1990, it has been with me in Germany and seen action in the Med, Adriaticand several Bavarian lakes. However, it is grossly under-used and I have been hoping one day that someone in the family would want it. If I was a few years younger and had my grandchildren here on a regular (weekly!) basis, it would be in full-time use.

Elliot was very interested and wanted some detail, so various photos sent to Mum via WhatsApp. But today I wanted some "action shots" to whet his appetite. So dug out a 3 hour long VHS video of a 1992 holiday to Greece which I digitalised a year or two ago. Sent him some video clips but that holiday only had the motor along. However having made the effort to get the video loaded on to the PC, I took the opportunity to do some back-blipping by taking "screenshots" of the 3-week long holiday and making a storyboard collage of each day and in turn then post to Blip. Individual screenshot photos are in such small size that Blip will not accept them but with lots of photos in a collage, the size exceeds the minimum even if the quality is still very poor.

On the one hand, great fun pouring through it all but a heck of a lot of work. The collages will remain until such time as I get around to scanning the proper camera photos of that holiday.

I seemed to spend all day on it, not a problem early on as it even rained for 10 minutes in the morning, the thunderstorms from the previous night still brewing up.

So I got nothing else done and late evening realised I needed food. As reported on yesterdays Blip, I have lost trust in online recipes and thought I would go for an own Italo-Greco al fresco meal to remind me of that holiday.

Into the garden to plunder what I could - discovered Mr Mole has taken to undermining my rows of carrots and nibbling off the bottom portions. Armed with various bits and pieces, made a tomato, cucumber Greek salad having to use the plastic wrapped "Shepherds Cheese" which is the way cow milk dairies get to market their white crumbly cheese that tries to make out it is Greek sheep milk cheese. I had de-seeded and added a chopped up sweet pepper that I had picked in the garden. I raised them from seed but was troubled they seemed so small and weren't really growing. They are of the long pointed variety. By chance just took a small chunk as a "taster". I nearly exploded and dashed for the milk in the fridge. It was a hot spicy pepper - pepperoni I think in English. Had to pick out the bits in the salad and only once wiped my eyes and yell again on the way to the water tap and to hang my head under it.

Then a packet of penne pasta on the boil while onions, fresh peas, sliced fresh carrots, dill, a tin of tuna, leftover Gazpacho soup and capers met together in a brine of melting butter. I might have added some white wine but somehow didn't want any more acidic ingredients. Was feeling a bit queasy - probably only hunger.

A sprinkling of Parmigiano over the pasta and sauce and sat down for a tray dinner in front of the very late night TV. It has to be said with a Beer/Lemonade as I couldn't find a bottle of Retsina which anywhere only ever seems to taste fantastic when one is in Greece - back home you wouldn't even put it in your tractor fuel tank!

And I was full after barely eating half and feeling very bloated. I then realised it wasn't the wholesome food but my Early Kidney Stone Warning System - my stomach and innards know long before anyone else that there is trouble on the way and simply close up shop - period.

An uncomfortable night but Ok and the first stones appeared in the morning. There must be lots more and larger ones to come. It's my fault or in Brexit language - "it's the fault of the green environmental lobby who have been exuding their Project Fear on Global Warming and telling all us over 60's not to go out in the sun and best of all stay in bed until November and the danger is gone".

I have been following their word to the letter for weeks and thus have not had any of the lawnmowing, strimming, tractor driving, chainsawing vibration that I need on a daily basis to keep my kidneys free.

Hope the snow comes soon and I can start up the snow blower - that shakes, rattles and rolls quite well.