In remembrance of times past

Ann and MA when first we met

Yesterday, we had a final vet visit to sign Byron off. He is much improved, and reacted with indignity rather than indifference when she shoved the thermometer up his bum to check his temperature. If it's not the dogs needing attention, it is ourselves, reminders of the passing years. I attended my appointment with the Chiropodist this week, and then Ann had a routine blood test. 

The Chiropodists are a happy family group in Haverhill who kept going through two years of lockdowns. We were chatting about the recession, and how it affected her business. Carol has been forced to raise prices for home care because of the rising fuel costs, but has not increased her charges for those of us still able to walk in, on the Tesco principle of "pile it high and sell it cheap!" She prefers to keep a high footfall at small margins rather than the diminishing returns of increasing her fees, but getting fewer customers. It is a lesson our chancellor should learn in relation to taxing the country. Higher taxes do not equate with greater revenue. Carol went to one lady and said, "that will be thirty pounds." The lady said, is that per foot? Apparently, she had had one home-care chiropodist who charged per foot rather than per visit. If Carol's costs continue to rise with massive inflation, she might be reduced to charging per toe.

How we were - more than 30 years ago

I have been looking at some old photos of myself and Ann from over 30 years ago. How the days have flown - we were so youthful and full of hope. We have done many wonderful things together, including running our poetry magazine, Exile, starting a dating agency, Avalon, getting married and having Edwin, home-schooling him, and moving house a number of times. We have travelled widely and visited many great countries, including our own when we had a caravan. It has been a good life, mostly in harmony and without rancour, and a privilege to have shared it with such a wonderful, imaginative and resourceful person, who could always be relied on to have her "contingencies" whenever things went pear-shaped. Now she is still there, a huge support and strength as my own fades. Our ambitions now are more limited, but not yet completely absent, and we hope to do a little more between us before the day is done.