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The UK Government does not believe that I am still alive. In order to check if I am still breathing, they sent me a form to fill out. Until it is sent back to them, they have stopped the pension that I am entitled to and that I worked for. The form is called a Life Certificate. Clearly it’s the bit between the Birth and Death Certificates.
Being alive is not good enough, I had to get someone of good character and professional standing in the community to vouch for the fact. This is accomplished by that person looking at my ID documents (passport, ID card) and co-signing the form.
The list of people that can sign is full of doctor and lawyer types. At number one is ‘police officer’. I was about to despair – would I have to stop a cop and ask her to witness my existence? Then, I saw number two on the list. ‘Teacher’, it said. ‘KSP’, I thought.
I bribed her with a cake, which I made this morning and which she, subsequently, took to Torsby this afternoon, to go with the flask of coffee she and Jonas would take with them for the journey. And the bribe worked. The form was signed and, hopefully, I will post it back tomorrow.
To make the trip over to me less onerous, she suggested we have lunch at Utsikten in Vagnhärad, somewhere I’d never been before but had seen many times. For one thing, it’s just up the road from where I went for SFI classes and above a park where I’d often mope during breaks in class.
It’s in a prime position. In the summer, the views down to the Trossen are fantastic. Inside, the place is simple and friendly. There were three meals to choose from and each one looked delicious. And very reasonably priced. It made sense that so many people were already eating when we arrived.
I had the fish (lightly crumbed with a curry sauce) while KSP went for the chilli con carne. We both enjoyed our lunch very much. And, of course, KSP was greeted by the scores of people who know her. Honestly, it’s like being with a celebrity.
Speaking of celebrity, KSP asked me if there was an equivalent in English to the Swedish saying “Alla känner apan, men apan känner ingen*”. I couldn’t think of one.
Having supped sufficiently (did I say that lunch was delicious?) we headed up to the churchyard to check on KSP’s family grave. Because tomorrow is All Saints Day but she’ll be in Torsby and won’t be able to light the candle here, she wanted to check that all was good today.
I told her that I thought it looked lovely. She checked the light and all was well.
After dropping me home, she headed off for a charity awards ceremony which she is hoping that Torsby Friskis&Svettis will win. The event is tomorrow, Saturday. Tonight, she and Jonas were going to watch Halloween, the original 1978 horror film, which she claimed she’d only see about 10% because her eyes would be shut for the rest of it.
In the meanwhilst, back at home, I hitched the girls up and took them for a walk around Mount Trosa, given it wasn’t raining. For a change.
They were obviously very excited, although Freya wasn’t best pleased about being on the lead for the whole walk, a result of her being heavily in season at the moment.
All round, an excellent day.
Oh and today, there were an unprecedented 1,203 views. Is Grok stealing my content?
* In English: “Everyone knows the monkey, the monkey knows no one.“
