The Cat & The Tortoise

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

“Miss JV was asking after you and specifically told me to tell you that she had to put down her cat” said the Mhinisteir two Sundays ago. He had just come through the door . I had to miss church that Sunday due to ill health.

I forgot all about Miss JV and her cat until Thursday last week when I decided to give her a wee ring. The phone rang for a very long time. Just as I was about to ring off, a quite hello came on the other side.

It was Miss JV. I told her how sorry I was to hear about her cat. What she said next put the fear of God in me!. She said “I can’t believe you have rang me at precisely this time because it was exactly at this time six weeks ago that I had to put the cat down”. Miss JV was very grateful that I rang to enquire about her well being. She said I was too kind but I see it as my duty as a vicar’s wife to empathise and sympathise.

She also has a pet tortoise that is 52 years old! She was concerned that there will be no one to look after it upon her translation. At that point I almost volunteered to look after it! I am so relieved that I didn’t allow my emotions to get the better of me! The Mhinisteir was even more relieved when I told him about it!

End Of Quest (I hope!)

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

I think we might have found the one!

The new cleaner came to the vicarage right on time. After the initial brief, she just got on with the cleaning for the next 2 hours.

Once again, the vicarage is now sparkling.

I was afraid that it would be all too much for her as she is an older person and the vicarage is quite big with lots of nooks and crannies. I am not being ageist. Apologies if I sound like one but as a much younger person, I struggle to go up and down the stairs with a large hoover! )

However, she says that she is very happy and has already promised to come again next week!

Bliss!

Today’s News

Photo by Artem Saranin on Pexels.com

Hello and welcome! I am still struggling to come up with daily content for this blog. There is plenty happening in life as a vicar’s wife front but my mind seems to be tired. I know I can take a break from blogging but I also know through some of the lovely messages that I have received in the past that I have a small group of ardent fans whom I would hate to disappoint. Furthermore it is also good discipline for me to sit down and write something every day even if it is boring…..

Something exciting happened last week. I almost became a victim of fraud (yet again). This time someone tried to enter my details in some payment app. It was a very scary experience as this person had been trying to get in touch by telephone. The question is how much do they know about me? Anyway, the card got cancelled yet again! It is such an inconvenience but I cannot complain because no money was taken out.

Now to the boring news. Yesterday I read in Times2 – the Times of London’s supplement that the domestic goddess and I have something in common. We both use the online supermarket Ocado and Method’s Wild Rhubarb all purpose cleaner. Big deal🙄!!!! I am not a fan of Nigella Lawson. I don’t hate her but I struggle with her oohs and aahs🤣.

A Happy Ending…

Photo by murat soyluoglu on Pexels.com

I’m just continuing from where I left behind…..

The garage kindly recommended a tow truck company that we were able to use. They were very prompt in arriving. They even brought along a card machine for the payment! How efficient is that?

The garage had to order in the part that needed replacing which wasn’t going to happen until the following week. As mentioned in my earlier blogpost , they had no courtesy car either!

Thankfully, the parishioners were very helpful with transportation. Some even offered the Mhinisteir the use of their cars.

The car was fixed the following week and the Mhinisteir was reunited with it the same day!

Dear Oh Dear!

Photo by vectors icon on Pexels.com

Britain has got a new Prime Minister (yes, another one!). His name is Rishi Sunak. He is the third Prime Minister in seven weeks! I don’t really know what else to say😀!

The Day AA Came to the Vicarage!

Photo by Claiton Luis Moraes on Pexels.com

As I was washing up in the kitchen, I saw the Mhinisteir park the car in a hurry. I thought it was odd because the Mhinisteir NEVER does anything in a hurry. He also got out of the car very quickly. Again this was something that he never did. I went to the door to let him in and find out how the funeral that he had gone to do had went. It was a tricky funeral. Before I opened my mouth, I looked at this face – something was wrong so I let him speak. “Something is wrong with the car” he said. “It is a miracle that I even made it home” he added.

It was almost 4pm and the garage would be closing soon. In any case, there was no way the car was going anywhere. Before he phoned the garage for advise, I suggested ringing the AA (Automobile Association). Actually ours is Green Flag. He phoned the garage and they told him the same to phone Green Flag.

They promised to be with us within the hour. An hour and a half had passed but still no sign of Green Flag. The Mhinisteir rang them again and was told that they had already been which they had not! It transpired that they had tried to but couldn’t get up the muddy track that leads to the vicarage. Wish they had phoned to keep us informed! Anyway, they were sending a smaller vehicle which should be with us in an hour’s time.

The Mhinisteir found the the Green Flag mechanic to be very helpful. Sadly, he wasn’t able to rectify the problem. It needed to go to a garage. It was a Friday night so finding a garage over the weekend was going to be tricky. Thankfully, the Green Flag man was able to recommend a garage that was near us.

The next day, the Mhinisteir rang the garage but was told that he needed to get someone to tow the car to the garage and no they didn’t have a courtesy car!

Does this story have a happy ending?

Stay Tuned (I have always wanted to say that!🤣🤣)

“See You My Lovely!”

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

That was the reply I got from one of my prospective cleaners when arranging for her to come over for a wee meeting! The reply somewhat unsettled me a little because it sounded over familiar. Maybe she was just being friendly but….

I have not met her before but I do look forward to meeting her soon. I had arranged to meet another prospective cleaner last week but the meeting fell through at the last minute. Strangely, I wasn’t disappointed. I did ask her to get in touch to reschedule but she has yet to do so.

The Mhinisteir and I both can’t function in an untidy house so for that reason the house is looking as tidy as possible but boy will I be glad when we find a replacement cleaner!

Phantom Child

Photo by James Sutton on Pexels.com

Recently, I received a text message while I was attending a cathedral event with the Mhinisteir. The message read like this “Hi Mum I’m texting you off a friends phone as my phone has been smashed up. My friends phone battery is going so can you blah blah.….”

Nobody has ever called me Mum. That’s because the Mhinisteir and I have not had the privilege of becoming parents so I immediately knew that it was a scam. However, I couldn’t help wondering how it would feel to have someone call me Mum!

It’s amazing how even a scam text can play havoc with one’s emotions!

2.20am or 4.10am?

Photo by Stas Knop on Pexels.com

Last Saturday was an unusual day. I was home alone from about 8am for about 12 hours. What was I do with myself? With still no word of a new cleaner, there was plenty to do in the vicarage. However I also know through previous experiences that I shouldn’t get carried away and make myself ill.

The morning was spent having a leisurely breakfast with a nice cup of tea and devouring the Saturday Times.

I spent the afternoon on the phone to the family followed by tidying up, cleaning and ironing.

By the time, night came I was afraid of my own shadow (quite literally!) I am okay on my own during the day but the moment night falls I go gaga. I turn on all the lights (what energy crisis??) and make sure that the doors are locked etc. I used to check behind the curtains but I have now stopped that – too much work!

I had just jumped into the shower when I started wondering if the back door was locked so the shower had to be cut short! By the time the Mhinisteir came back, we were both exhausted, me from all the worrying while him from all the meetings and travelling. We headed to bed quite soon after as we had Church the next day.

I got up in the middle of the night to powder my nose and decided to check the time to see how long more I had before I had to get up again? The clock said 4.10am or so I thought but having had a closer look I realised that it was only 2.20am which was wonderful.

As I walked back to the bedroom, I started thinking about a newspaper article that I had read about young people not being able to tell the time from an analog clock and so schools having to use digital clocks. Needless to say I couldn’t go back to sleep after that!

The Day I Googled A Rude Word!

Photo by PhotoMIX Company on Pexels.com

Britain has yet another new Chancellor (finance minister). His name is Jeremy Hunt. He used to be health secretary and later went on to be foreign secretary in previous governments.

In a world that seems to be obsessed with bad language, radio presenters and others often mixup his surname with a rude word. How is that even possible? I of course have never come across this word. Actually, I don’t do rude words and only know the world famous four letter word which I have never used in any shape or form in my whole life ! I know it is hard to believe but in the kind of Protestant Christianity that I was brought up in, rude words were a BIG no no!

Anyway, I decided to google it. My heart was racing as I felt that I was doing something wrong but curiosity got the better of me.

I am quite certain that there will be no next time!