I'm sitting in a car showroom waiting area in Glasgow. I'll be here for a couple of hours. My car is having it's annual service, checkup and sat nav update. If I'm lucky the car will have been washed as well. Having just driven down from Lewis yesterday it's a tad dirty. Not that that concerns me overmuchly. There seem to be two sorts of car owner that I know of: those who look after their car but so long as the dirt hasn't significantly altered the weight of the car (and thus the fuel consumption) and those who are fanatical about their car(s). I am definitely the former and my next door neighbour and my son are definitely the latter. It's not just a man thing, by the way, my next door neighbour is a lady. Don't misunderstand though: my car is meticulously looked after mechanically.
I like moments such as this. There are no pressures: no garden, no house distractions and, indeed nothing to do other than read (but there is nowhere to buy a paper between where I am staying and the garage) or write letters or play on my phone or laptop. There is a comfy waiting area and as much coffee as I can drink.
Oddly a few weeks ago I started a post entitled "A Trip To Gisla". Every week I used to drive on a Thursday morning to a wee place of perhaps 6 houses on the other side of the Island to visit a friend of nearly half a century who was in her ninetees. However before I came away I had an exceptionally full couple of weeks and my weekly routine altered as well because my friend died: peacefully in her sleep. The previous day I had had a lovely visit. Although frail my friend had a mind as sharp as a tack. We had had a longer than usual reminisce. So her demise was a significant surprise.
I had started the post trip post because YP has been suggesting for a long time that I show more pictures of the beautiful Island on which I live. After a particularly beautiful drive I saved my dash-cam footage but it will need a lot of editing before it's ready for posting.
I'm away for a routine operation at the moment and then I have a New Zealand 'Family' member visiting and then other friends of many years staying so this might be a thing for afterwards.
(PS: BP is short for Boring Post).
I read it as Blood Pressure warning and assumed that something bad had happened to you. I had to wait until the end to see Boring Post confirmed - it had started to build up as I went along. Enjoy your visito. By the way, I wash my car frequently during the winter as we get a lot of mud on the road around here. I am not, however, fanatical about it, it is just something that has to be done so I can see out, the headlights can do their job and the number plate can be read. I often rinse it down after trips, perhaps that makes me fanatical but it also helps.
ReplyDeleteActually, Rachel, you and I appear to have a pretty much identical approach to car cleaning.
DeleteNot boring. It's good to have things to do. I find as you get older, even the 'boring' things like cleaning are enjoyable, living within the moment. I'm impressed how many bloggers are able to post something every day. I'd rather get on with pruning and video editing at at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tasker. I have enough problems writing posts as infrequently as I do. I love Blogland but I find it quite hard just thinking up subjects for posts. I’m now hoping that as I’m having to do all this on my phone in hospital that I can actually comment.
DeleteBlood pressure sprang to mind when I saw BP warning. I am pretty lackadaisical about washing the car. I drive on dirt roads a lot so it doesn’t stay clean for long. A good rainfall is my principal car- washing agent, and when I visit the dealer for service a free wash is included.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I had the car dealer-serviced yesterday so mine, today, is sparkling too.
DeleteBP = 'Blood Pressure' to me too - mine might have gone up just by reading that warning! (Just kidding - it's been keeping rather steady lately.) Sorry about the loss of your friend - but on the other hand, that seems like a good way to "go"... (Peacefully in one's sleep, after having had a visit from a good friend just recently.)
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Monica it's a good way to go considering many of the alternatives. For some obscure reason I didn't think of BP as blood pressure when I wrote the warning but it has grabbed people's attention.
DeleteSympathies for the loss of you long time friend.
ReplyDeleteThe loss of your candy post might be in your history. I suspect if a link is there, then it will not give you the text. There are keys that can be touched that do weird things to the screen. I'm not sure why. Quora frequently has answers to strange questions. Also, if you search your name, your blog and such, there is a website that archives some blogs despite copyright issues.
I like your description of being in a waiting room.
We've had so many downpours here in Vermont lately, my vehicle stays fairly clean.
Our opinions differ on what is boring. Your posts are never boring.
Thanks for those pointers, Maywyn. I'll do some poking around. The garage showroom waiting area is very pleasant.
DeleteHope the routine op goes well and you enjoy your time with your visitor.
ReplyDelete(Definitely not a boring post)
JayCee, all is well, thank you and I'm back at my friend's for two nights before travelling home on Tuesday.
DeleteYes, I would rate this an "IP" (interesting post!), Graham!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear about your friend's death but glad you have happy memories of your visits with her.
Best of luck with the surgery and I'll be waiting here when you blog again! :)
Thanks, Ellen. All went well and I'm hoping to blog again soon. I had an idea when I was in hospital I just have to see if I can remember it.
DeleteI read BP as something to do with petrol/fuel so was partially correct in that your car was involved. Not a boring post at all - insights into other people's lives are rarely that. I'm sorry your friend died, but it sounds like a peaceful end to a long and fulfilling life.
ReplyDeleteJabblog, it was a good way to go and thank you for your thoughts and your compliment.
DeleteI am sorry to read the news of your good friend. It must have come as quite a shock, being so soon after your visit.
ReplyDeleteI hope your operation goes smoothly. X.
Jules, oddly it would not have been a shock a few months ago but I don't think anyone was expecting it at the particular time it happened. My operation went very smoothly thank you.
DeleteI'm sorry for the loss of your friend. Sudden deaths are hard to take.
ReplyDeleteRed, at least it was peaceful.
DeleteMy condolences for the loss of your good friend. Death can feel sudden even at 90, and I am glad that you saw her so recently and had a meaningful conversation. We never know when we see our friends for the last time, do we.
ReplyDeleteLike Jabblog, I associated BP with petrol (the company formerly known as British Petroleum). Boring posts? Not on this blog!
I hope all goes well with your operation.
Thanks, Meike, for your thoughts. Al''s well and I was 'released' at lunchtime today.
DeleteI'm sorry about your friend, but I hope the visit from your kiwi relative will be nice and that you can both spend time catching up with each other. As for cars, I clean mine every few months but then I'm not a messy person.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy. We will have an enjoyable catch-up. We always do and we have so many mutual friends on the Island.
DeleteGisla is a rather intriguing name.
ReplyDeleteAndrew, I have to admit that I have no idea how the name originated. However I will investigate at some time. I have a book of reminiscences from the earlier years of the last century by the sister of the estate's owner so I hope that I can find something in that. If I do I'll let you know.
DeleteMy cars have an annual clean. I'm insistent about it.
ReplyDeleteCro, I knew that such things would be a top priority of yours.
DeleteI'm afraid I'm in the Really Bad Car Owner category as my car seldom gets washed. When my sons can't stand it anymore, one of them will wash it for me!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy all your visitors, and I'm glad you got to spend some quality time with your friend before she passed. Mxx
Margaret, thanks for your thoughts. I've no idea why I missed this comment earlier but when I opened my blog this morning it opened at this post and your comment. That was really weird even by Blogger's standards.
DeleteI am sorry about the loss of your friend. I am sure you are glad that you had such a nice visit with her before her passing. Graham, YOU boring? NEVER!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words, Kay.
DeleteSorry you have lost a friend, that's never easy. I hope your Kiwi family ( I guess from Napier?) enjoy being away from the horrid weather, especially after the horror of the February cyclone. I'm finding a bit of peer pressure about the cleanliness (or otherwise if I've been down to the farm) of my car since moving here, all my neighbours seem to wash their car at least weekly. Once even vacuums his weekly. I can't figure out how you can make enough mess in one week to warrant that. Hope your op goes well. Oh, and you are never boring.
ReplyDeleteThank, Pauline. I was once called a 'boring old fart' by one of my closest friends and former colleagues and I've never got over it. I live in my car and it's my mess so tuff if someone getting a ride doesn't appreciate it.
DeleteCondolences on the passing of your friend and sad as that news is to receive, you can be happy in that you did regularly visit and had done so just recently. So, your memories should be of happier times. When we were homeowners, I did enjoy car care duties like washing and waxing. As apt dwellers that isn't possible so the cars are driven to the car wash just not often and parking indoors is a factor. I hope the operation goes well and that you enjoy some nice visit with friends and "family." I post far less often than in years past and that way there is always something to write about.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Beatrice. I don't have a very good imagination and I'm not a particularly spontaneous writer but I do try my best. Your subjects are much more spontaneous and random and I like that.
DeleteI'm now back at Anna's after my op and all is well. However I couldn't sign into Google on the Google App on my iphone to make comments despite being signed in to get to the blog. So I'm not sure what I was doing incorrectly. So I shall now try and finish answering comments.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry that you have lost your dear friend, your memories of that last visit will be very special to you. A few years ago I had afternoon tea with my loveliest neighbour, the following morning he went into hospital for surgery on a massive aneurysm and did not regain consciousness after the operation. I still get comfort from remembering our lively discussion on that last occasion.
ReplyDeleteNOTHING you write is ever boring and yes please - photos of your beautiful island are always welcome.
Jayne, thanks for your thoughts and very generous words.
Delete