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Following yesterday’s minor heatwave, today saw the temperature dip right down to beyond freezing. In fact, everything was frozen: the car, the steps, the deck, the girls, some cows. Along with the drop in degrees, the sky turned a very uncommon blue and there were no clouds. This was a sight we’d not seen for a while.
The day was momentous for another reason.
Years ago, I bought a leather messenger bag from a Scottish company called Scaramanga. The bag has served me well, travelling the world with me, carrying essentials like passports, headphones, journal, etc. There was once when the strap broke and I sent the bag back to Scaramanga to be repaired.
That was ten years ago, returning from Paris with Karen. It was pretty devastating. However, it was not long before the bag was returned, as good as new.
Then, a little while ago, I had another couple of problems with the bag. The back ripped open and the strap started splitting. I repaired it with blue gaffer tape. I couldn’t send it to Scaramanga this time because Brexit made it unviable from Sweden – it would have cost as much as a new bag in customs duties.
But, finally, after many thousands of miles, I have retired old faithful and bought a new bag from Saddler.se. It arrived today and I couldn’t be happier. Actually, I’d be happier if my old bag had been repaired but still, I am very happy regardless.
And speaking of cows, Mirinda took the girls for a walk today, in the brilliant sunshine, only to have her way barred by a couple of uncaring bovines. They were lying across a lane, obstructing the car, as Mirinda was heading for a favourite walking spot.
They refused to move. They just lay there chewing their cuds, with not a care in the world. There wasn’t even a glance back at the car, they just stared into space, chew, chew, chewing.
Eventually, Mirinda reversed all the way back to the road. She was very grateful for the reversing camera, given the cattle grid and the deep ravines either side of the narrow lane.
Back at home, I tried my first batch of pickled beetroot. It was perfect. I need to remember that I used apple cider vinegar. It gave them an extra depth of flavour.
Further to yesterday’s post, I see that the BBC has sent a letter to Donald Trump apologising for the editing job on the Panorama programme. They also said they’d not be paying any damages. And, yet again, with Jarndyce v Jarndyce echoing around my head, the only people to benefit from this dead cat distraction, will be the lawyers.
In the meanwhilst, Donald Trump has lowered tariffs in order to reduce the costs of various foodstuffs for Americans. MAGAs are praising him for cheaper groceries. How come they don’t know that he imposed the tariffs in the first place and the groceries have merely returned to pre-Trump days?
