Escapism and nostalgia all in one day.

 This morning I listened to the rain on the roof and decided I wasn’t running anywhere. Maybe I would go out later, I thought. (I didn’t!) So, instead, I got up and got organised to put some washing in the machine. It’s just as well I didn’t go anywhere because not long after that I received a message from Granddaughter Number Two: “Oops, I forgot to text you to tell you I’m on the bus to your house. I’m just going through Bottom Mossley!” That put her about 15 minutes away.

The plan had been that she would come round mid-morning to do some baking: - “Show me how to make your lemon icing, please!” Actually I think she wanted to escape from being asked to do things like take the dog for a walk, accept a delivery from the supermarket and so on. With her mother out at work and her stepfather and brother working from home, she would be the go-to person to do such tasks. In fact she plans to come again on Wednesday armed with her laptop so that she can work on some assignments: - “Its too noisy in my house”.

So this morning I fed her coffee and cheese toasties for breakfast and we got on with the day. 

She was banished to the living room while I did my Itakian conversation class by zoom in the kitchen. We had a nostalgic chat about that magical time The 1970s, supposedly to practise the imperfect tense but mostly good fun. We all agreed that back then we thought we could change the world for the better. 

We are rather less optimistic now. 

The chaos continues in Palestine. The huge numbers of people demonstrating in favour of a ceasefire are being described as potentially encouraging terrorist attacks. Some / many of the people at the top are not listening. 

To cheer us up from the doom and gloom, here is a little something from an article about learning to speak Yorkshire dialect:

Test thisen wi’ these Yorkshire phrases:

1. Sumbdy’s got ter keep band in t’ nick.

2. Ah’ve bin laikin fer awmost a wick.

3. Just hark at that! Asta ivver heard owt ser daft?

4. Tha dunt expect mi ter eyt that – it’s clap-cowd.

5. Ah wor flayed ter deeath at fust.

Answers:

1. Somebody has to keep things running smoothly.

2. I’ve been laid off for almost a week.

3. Just listen to that! Have you ever heard anything so daft?

4. You don’t expect me to eat that – it’s stone cold.

5. I was frightened to death at first.

I suspect that there are numerous versions of Yorkshire dialect just as there there are numerous versions of the Manchester accent. 

The evening is getting on. I’ll probably come back to Yorkshire dialect tomorrow. 

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!