Yesterday got a bit swallowed up in family runaround business. For some reason my middle granddaughter’s phone contract with Apple is in my name, perhaps because I don’t have any other contracts with Apple whereas her mother has her own and a couple of other family members’ contracts in her name. So, as the middle granddaughter’s phone was due an upgrade, they needed me to go along with them to the phone store with my debit card and my signature. This does not mean that I pay the monthly fee for the new phone but simply that my name is on the documents. So they assure me! I’ll be checking my bank statements!
The whole upgrade business always strikes me as a kind of elaborate scam. They seem to introduce new apps and updated systems that the older models cannot cope with. And of course, if you are a teenager, you absolutely have to have all the latest apps and devices! What happens when the younger generations of our family upgrade their phones is that they pass on the old handsets to Phil and me. We install sims from a company other than Apple and continue using the old handsets in our less demanding way. It’s a generational thing!
After we had sorted the phone, we visited a pet shop so that the smallest members of the family could ooh and aah over rabbits, rats, and other small rodents. We followed that with some shopping in various places. Then everyone came and had refreshments at my house. And suddenly the day had slipped away.
September is slipping away at a furious rate of knots as well. It’s not two minutes since the month began and now it’s the 26th already. The days are getting significantly shorter. Fortunately we still have odd sunny days like today. One of the pessimists I meet when I am out and about told me this morning that I should take advantage of today’s sunshine as tomorrow the rainy season starts. We shall see.
Perhaps the worst thing about the shorter days is not being able to go out for an evening stroll. We had got used to being able to do a circuit of the village after dinner, about 7.30, very good for the digestion. I suppose we could still do so but it’s not quite the same. My milkman told me that he walked up Lark Hill, one of our regular walks, the other evening after sunset. It was pitch black, he told me, and he scared the wits out of dog walkers who were out with torches or using their phones to light the way. Did he not have a torch? Did he not need one?, they asked him. 40 years of walking up Lark Hill, he responded, means he knows the path well. However, in my experience, the path has become so churned up in the last couple of years, between extra walkers and occasional heavy rain, that I need to watch my footing all the way up the hill. Perhaps my milkman’s feet work better than mine.
The petrol station supply problem seem not to have been solved yet. Someone pointed out that even with the extra drivers the government has decided to allow into the country will not necessarily help as they apparently need an extra qualification in addition to the HGV licence if they want to drive tankers. Who knew? Another commentator suggested that until the media started reporting a couple of petrol stations running short of supplies deliveries were in fact going on as usual to most places. Once the media got hold of it, a crisis was manufactured! Maybe so!
Looking at funny side of things:-
“A BBC reporter called Phil McCann delighted social media users on Saturday after he was sent to cover the UK’s petrol shortage.
Reporting from a BP petrol station in Stockport, which had run out of petrol, people were quick to point out that he was clearly the best man for the job, since his name sounds like “fill my can”.
And the estimable Michael Rosen suggests starting rumours about a shortage of books in order to provoke panic buying.
And, on the subject of books, here’s a little cartoon I found amusing:-
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment