The Look-Return from the Forbidden Planet

Return from the Forbidden Planet

All this week I have been a little under the weather suffering from a nasty little bug that Steve came back with from France and promptly gave to me. My daughter and son in Law also have it now. The main feature is a horrid cough, well I have ever been a chesty person and anything cold or flu wise will sink to my lungs.

So Steve, who had this first, and therefore knows better than me (thinks he does anyway) has been constantly telling me to take advantage of the time as a rest period from training, and he is right, in that whenever I have picked up a little speed whilst moving around the house, it has brought on a coughing attack. So he as been telling me to sit down quietly, read, write or sew. 

Right then! I had taken delivery of a little jacket that was displayed onone of those annoying adverts that pops up on the side when you look at your FB feed. Actually, and this I swear is the truth, I do not recall ordering it. I did notice it and think it as rather me, though also over the top fussy, a bit Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts club band kind of thing. When I unwrapped it, I was disappointed at the workmanship and again that is me all over. Still it was something I could sit down quietly and address.

When I got a sewing kit out on the table where he was sitting;  my husband gave me ‘The Look’ and seeing that, I explained that the buttons were held on with spit and that I was planning to make sure that they did not fall off at the first wearing. He asked if I had counted how many there were. OK there was a military arrangement of sixteen big shiny buttons on the front. That was interesting on its own because the jacket did not actually fasten anywhere, it was all soft and hang loose, not wild about that. I stitched all of those on securely as well as the two on the epaulets.

I was still thinking about the lack of any functioning fastener, when I caught Steve giving me a more serious version of ‘The Look’. This time there was a slight twist of the mouth and I admit there was indeed just cause. I had put the jacket down at the end of the buttons phase and my imagination had taken a firm hold on my hands. What I was doing as he gave the upgraded ‘WTF are you like version of The Look’ was, that I was actually fastening an imaginary hook into a little embroidered silk loop, trying to see which side of the collar to place the hook and which side to place the tiny silk loop that I was planning to sew them.

My dear long suffering husband of almost forty years (next month) shook his head gently as I then picked up a little black hook and selected a skein of old rose embroidery silk and place the two together. Having painstakingly carefully worked the dainty ‘eyelet’ for the small metal hook, neither can be seen front the front. I did not want the jacket flapping in the breeze.  Job done.

That afternoon I wore the soft coat when we went to Chichesters New Park Cinema to see the most marvelously arty-farty film ‘At Eternity’s Gates’ that is brilliantly acted by Willem Dafoe as my own forever true love, the quite madly, way ahead of his time but utterly exquisite Vincent van Gogh.  Almost every book mark I have ever bought bears one of his works. 

Since I was still not recovered from my bug I had taken a bottle of water, hankies with Olbas Oil to inhale and some sucky-sweets to avoid a coughing fit. What I had not bargained for was the explosion of my emotions over the poor mans tormented life. A couple of times I was sure that I was going to make a complete and utter silly of myself. Indeed, I had to sit out the titles and credits at the end, which is something I like to do, but on this occasion the time was used to mop up my tears before going out into broad day light having attended the 2pm performance.

On the way back to the car park we had to pass the fairly new sculpture of John Keats by Vincent Gray. Keats is sitting on a bench in front of the house where he wrote Eve of St. Agnes, not too many years before his own untimely death from TB. I could not resist sitting down with him for a moment and pestering Steve to photograph me with my mobile phone. You cannot help but notice that dear Mr. Keats is also giving me ‘The Look’! Appraising my little jacket and asking “What planet are you from Madam, and who invited you to sit down with me anyway”?

The book , The Burning Chambers with 586 pages.... kept me quite during the week. It is also Chichester related since the best selling author is local resident Kate Mosse. I think I have read all of her wonderful stories.

Date Afternoon at The Pet Sematary

Steve and I have never even thought about ‘The Date Night’. It must be a modern thing probably, we said one to other, negotiated within a marriage or partnership where one partner feels they would like a few hours where there are no distractions. They hope they will have the full attention of the one they love. I have noticed it being mentioned on social media posts these days by people I know, a few of whom seem like they are not the most likely to have thought it up within their own ‘bond’, if they even have one of those.

My husband and I have nothing like that sort of set in stone assignation. Our lives, work, training and level of exhaustion all rule out anything so solid. Our outings are not a regular thing but generally a last minute arrangement. Steve has just come to the end of a very busy work period where he worked all week long for the last week in March and then had Friday 29^th afternoon off when he came with me to Leather head for the first on my triple swimathons. Very early the next morning he flew out to Marseilles in the South of France to work the series on French Antiques fairs with a group of other transporters and shippers for the clients that they were there to take care of.

Meanwhile back at home I had two more long swims and was helped with support of friends. I was invited for brunch on the Sunday which was Mothers day, by my daughter Jacqueline and her husband Martin and their little dog Louis, who is referred to as my grandson since he knows me as ‘Nanny’, that was a happy and relaxing few hours. Apart from that I had my own company. 

On Monday I had been told on the phone from France to take a rest day by my coach/ husband. There was no choice for me since it was the day My Castle opened for the summer season.  People tell me that I shouldn’t refer to Arundel Castle as My Castle. The reason is that it actually belongs to the Duke of Norfolk. Yet I have been to visit that castle more times than most other local people and therefore I must have some Right of Way of something similar surely. I used the Earls Garden as my bolt hole when I was chief carer for Steve’s mother in her last couple of years. Our cousin Sally would come and sit with her while I hid for a while scribbling poetry notes. I would sit or wander around by Oberon’s Palace or deep in The Stumpery or the greenhouses or in the Fitzalan Chapel or the White Garden. Anyway, that was where I sent my sports rest day, in the main body of the castle and playing in the Keep and the Armory.

Back to my husband. He arrived back from France very late on Tuesday night, it was almost midnight. He was up and out early with a few more pressing days. On Thursday night he ended a twelve hour day arriving home at 8.30 pm. Meanwhile my little car, Marcus who is about seventeen years old and was owned by my daughter for his first few years, decided to throw a wobbly and would not start. He had been playing up all week, even though I talk very nicely to him, understanding of his age and delicate form due to some rust patches. “Please Marcus” or even “Pretty please Marcus pet” slowly lost their charm and by the end of the week, no amount of kind talk would stir him to life. 

On Friday at 2pm I had an appointment with my Acupuncturist Feng, at Harmony Acutherapy clinic in Chichester. I told Steve that I would take a bus but he said that he would be able to finish early and that he could take me over there and do the shopping while I had my treatment. My husband is something of a kitchen Diva and likes to select all his own wares. I only get to do shopping for washing powder, ironing water, water softener, bleach, coffee, etc.

After that he said we would get something to eat and then I could pick a movie. This is an area that he is not allowed to be involved in; he cannot pick the movie…. EVER.

So Friday afternoon I went into Feng Wang, who knows more about my body that should be mentioned in company. He knew about the three long swim days and set about calming my body down starting first with my head…. My family and friends think this is very telling. Then he worked on my poor old overworked and stretched back. Then pretty much everywhere else. If he were a fairy or a wizard and simply waved a wand and said “Soothey woothey wiggley woozy”, and it could not have worked better. But I would have missed quite a lot of the strange treatment that is heavenly. I left feeling light, calm and refreshed.

Steve had come to meet me, and we had a light lunch of salad frizzé followed by steak frites in one of our favourite chains ‘Cote’, just South of Chichester''s ancient Cross. There was time for that because the movie did not start until 4pm.

 

There was no question what we would see. I am one of the group that Stephen King calls ‘His Constant Readers’ We have both read, Pet Sematary, about six months ago and their was absolutely no hesitation when I told Steve that was what we were going to see. He said that was ok and that it was just as well that he remembered everything about it. I said we had read it but actually we had it on Audible on a long journey through Germany, and Switzerland and both thought it was one of Stephen King’s best. Not THE best as far as I am concerned; but right up there close to The Stand, Dreamcatcher, Duma Beach and the Dome.

Of course, we had discussed that it would make a very scary movie at the time that we listened to it on our three day journey in autumn last year. We both thought that we probably would not jump right out of our skins because we knew what was coming. However we both did at the first spot. Then because it had to be so re-written and compressed to squeeze into a two our film, it was blood and bodies and the newly un-dead all over the place and that for me made it less scary.

Steve and I talked afterwards about people who like to go to horror films and I don’t bunch myself in that crowd but I am an SK fan. Maybe, I put forward as an idea, that they are people who do not get enough exercise to raise their heart rate and need to be frightened to give their usual slow heart rate a kick start now and then, Steve just gave me The Look, for that remark. It is a scary movie but I also think that if you have not read on of SK’s books you have missed a lot, for he is a great writer, he is feeder of new idea’s and I like that use of good old boy expressions and the use of other peoples work and music references.

The cast are excellent. The father/husband character is superb and he was in another choice from the next film on my list, Aftermath, Jason Clark. The wife/mother was Amy Seimetz and John Lithgow as Jud the old guy across the road from the house with the Pet Sematary in its grounds. What a little star the happy darling child/super horrendous back from the dead child Ellie was, little Jeté Lawrence. So ghastly, that I had to smile a couple of times that she played it so well. There were less than a dozen people in the cinema at the  twilight showing. Date afternoon over.

Swimathon Triple Challenge April 29th-30th-31st 2019

    Olympic Gold medalist 
Duncan Goodhew

   My husband Steve and I have taken part in the annual National Swimathon event for many years. We have found it a useful part of our triathlon training because there is not often an opportunity to swim 5000 Metres in a normal public session or indeed even a club session which is only one our long. 200 lengths, does take a while.  Without intending to sound biblical; ‘In the beginning’ 1980 0r 1989 I think, it was a very serious event. I remember well that Olympic Gold medalist Duncan Goodhew came along, speaking words of encouragement on poolside the first year we took that challenge.

   It was all very strict and swimmers were set off at ten second intervals in their lane where that had been carefully placed, according to their estimated swim time. Swimmers with a rough similar swim time, swimming together up to six in a lane. That worked well and the group could benefit from swimming together. Fast swimmers in the first lane and gradually working down to slow swimmer or people who were all doing breast stroke. There were lane counters seated at the end of the pool and swimmers were given different coloured hat to make it easy for the person counting to mark them off each time that came back to the starting end.

   When a swimmer reached 50 lengths a pull buoy was held into the water for the swimmer to see and check their own counting, since most people are not very good at holding their concentration whilst swimming a long distance, it's easy to think of something else and when the mind wanders, even just a bit, you can lose count. The same thing would happen on reaching 100 metres and 150 meters and that was most helpful to the swimmers.

    Then each year, you can try to bring your 5000 metre time down, a little at a time and that is very satisfying. Of late, the system seems to have been neglected a little there is no sign of a pre-swim talk advising how to pass the swimmer in front if they tire and start to hold another swimmer up: They should tap the feet on the one in front gently and then at the end of the length the slower swimmer would give way. All very civilized.

   This year a new idea was added to the selection of what was offered to contestants to enter. As usual there was 5000, 2500 and  I think 1250 this year, a stronger event was on offer to be taken on; The Triple Challenge. This would mean doing that swim on all three days that the Swimathon takes place at swimming pools nationwide. Having said that though, most centres only host the Swimathon for two days, hours of the choice of the management.

   And so it came to pass, that my husband and head coach of our club had to drive 38 miles to find a pool where there was the option to swim on the first day.  We headed for the nearest pool we could find and that was Leatherhead Leisure centre with two time choices; 1pm-4pm and then an evening session of 4pm until 7pm.

   Our No.1 swim of the ‘Triple’, that we had entered at Leatherhead on Friday 29th was a total shambles. There appeared not to be much in the way of planning and the staff had obviously not been trained to manage this event well. In fact nobody seemed to be able to answer any questions without looking round for somebody else to provide the answer. What a shame because it is a nice centre. Faster swimmers were given a lane together. The rest were not really worried about much or so it seemed.

   I was put in a lane where there were two faster men doing Front Crwal, then two others doing breaststroke, one other lady and myself made up the six. I did FC. The other lady appeared to alternate FC /BR.  It was VERY rough, with aggressive overtaking, resulting for in some bruising. The young staff had no little or no idea how to manage the event. One staff member strode along poolside about twenty minutes after the appointed start time just shouted , "You can go now"!

   Timing should be precise, to the second, but was not because we all went off together.  So there was a sort of messy mass start. Not a ten second apart start, as there should have been. Timing was left to the swimmers really as the counting was not great but not the staff's fault. The staff did have at least, the Swimathon supplied forms and there were counters doing their best I suppose.

   I was told my time was 2 hours 6 minutes and thirty seconds. I hope it was at least sent in to Swimathon for the results. I doubled up my chances by sending my own in, along with my complaint.  My husband counted for himself and when he had finished he shouted at me how many lengths I had to go. It was sad to see the event go downhill like that. But we did not complain about the staff. Not their fault, just untrained for the task at hand, with no idea how important it might be to some of the swimmers. E.G National age group positions.

         Poolside in Littlehampton Wave, our wonderful new swimming and sports centre

   Thank God and all the angels, on the Saturday and Sunday, I swam at the brand new Littlehampton Wave centre that was run in a much better fashion.  Both days were evening swims, and some of the people who had entered were not present. One of my friends did not feel sufficiently recovered from the bug he had been suffering for a few weeks and my husband had had to go to France working.  Saturday 30th I had a lane to myself as did another friend in the fast lane, that was nice but of course slower without other swimmers to work with. 2 hours 08.

   Sunday 31^st. I swam with two other women the same speed, taking turns in the lead. One of those was only doing the half distance, so I continued swimming with a woman I know well, who was taking the 5000 metre challenge for the first time and was terrified that she would not be able to get through it . I was quite sure that she could and would. We swim roughly the same speed and are both triathletes. We did 2 hour 3 mins 00. We were well counted by another female friend and supervised by a manager also.

   My total for the triple then was 6 hours 17 minutes 30 seconds. My DOB 14 08.39.

I will be 80 in August, so was not sure if I would be in Age group 75-79 for actual age on the day or 80-84 (if age is on Dec 31^st as it is in the triathlon world). I have taken part in the Swimathon many times but really enjoyed the new triple challenge in my 80th year.

Thank you for reading my tale.