6/8/12
Home to
Codsall for my mother’s 90th birthday. The houses seem increasingly adorned with vertical drapes and the new, apparently modish, shit coloured window frames.
On the morning of the
birthday she found a large brightly coloured hoola-hoop on the back garden. It
had a label on and seemed to be new. None of the neighbours knew anything about
it and we noticed small holes in the edges. I think it was a gift from the
local fox population, or possibly carried there by the birds. She has been
feeding them steadily every day, for the last fifty years. Over the years their food has improved greatly, they now get all kinds of expensive seed all year round and in the winter tiny, perfectly cut lard sandwiches.
I always
take my cat Maisie, who in human years is 86, for treatment when I’m up there, as
it is so much cheaper than vets in London. Looked up the phone number in my
mother’s book, hunting through a maze of crossings out realised her book is
like a grave yard. Almost everyone in it is dead.
My
mother seemed a bit disturbed before her birthday, worrying about her future.
She also started “de-cluttering” facing up to the possibility of losing her home by offering to unload her treasures on to me. She has some very
nice things but I have noticed in the past that when I bring them back to
my place in London they don’t look right – removed from the context of her
house they lose their shine, and my joy in them.
Later,
when she was feeling better she started congratulating herself on living so
long.
“I must have done something right” she said with satisfaction.
I
mentioned my great grandfather who lived to be 100 although he was hugely fat, smoked and drank heavily.
“It’s the luck of the genes,” I said.
“It wasn’t
genes,” she said, “He was just wicked Irish.”
She received at least 50 cards, not bad going and I gave her lots of parcels. Ever the optimist she wanted a watch from me, and was quite specific; stainless steel face, black strap.
I ordered it from Samuel's on line. It arrived in a very large box with lots of wrapping and two other boxes inside. We opened the final one and there it was - sparkling gold with a brown strap.
She received at least 50 cards, not bad going and I gave her lots of parcels. Ever the optimist she wanted a watch from me, and was quite specific; stainless steel face, black strap.
I ordered it from Samuel's on line. It arrived in a very large box with lots of wrapping and two other boxes inside. We opened the final one and there it was - sparkling gold with a brown strap.