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House and home

Life in the Slow Lane

(129 Posts)
cortina Sun 28-Apr-13 23:39:31

I grew up in a village where everybody knew everyone else. I met my future wife in a nearby town at the age of seventeen and married at nineteen. We bought our first house in the village, a brownstone cottage with spiders as big as small dogs. My new wife, by now a twenty year old childsnatcher, joined me in our new home. She did a two year probationary period where the locals would only speak to her if I was with her but after that she was accepted and respected.

Most of the village social life was in the pubs, one of which had a thatched roof with wet sacks over the beer barrels. The village elders would have their favourite seat. If you happened to be in their seat when they came in you gave up the seat, nothing needed to be said.

The village had a wide range of Characters. One lovely old chap would come into the pub, go up to the bar and order a pint costing 11d, thats 11d not 11p, go to his favourite seat,take a drink of beer and with a lovely smile would always say " You think you're alright when you Ain't ( = are not ). I thought then and still do what wise words they were, I just wish that I knew what they mean. He was by profession a Bookies Runner. This was before the days of Herge's Adventures of Tinternet.

When we started our family, a daughter and a son,we moved to the city.

Last year I lost my darlng wife after 57 years of hardly ever apart.

I now live in the city in an empty house.

How do you spell Cartharsis? - Is it good for you?

Is Nostalgia a thing of the past? ( Or how the Hell do you get through it )

Today my daughter took myself and my Great grandson to a Meet the Animals farm and lunch, laughter all the way.

Nil Desperandum

Grannylin Wed 01-May-13 23:15:53

Thanks for making me laugh cortina.Off to bed now , don't stay up too late, goodnight smile

cortina Thu 02-May-13 20:34:00

Evenin' all

I shall be quiet for a few days as today I put a classic motorbike onto the back of the motorhome and am going to a Country/Steam show for the weekend.

Hope to meet up with old friends and perhaps get back into getting out and about.

MiceElf Thu 02-May-13 20:51:53

Have a lovely time, Cortina, and tell us all about it when you get back home.

Notso Thu 02-May-13 21:07:04

Classic motorbike? Are you a secret Rocker cortina?

Have a great weekend smile

Gorki Thu 02-May-13 21:26:12

Enjoy yourself,Cortina

liminetta Thu 02-May-13 21:46:26

What can I say to make you feel better? try to think of all the happy memories, and you may smile through your tears.Your sadness has touched my heart. Stay withit, and try to get out of the house more,join anything that keeps you in touch with people. Do NOT sit in an empty house. I know what Ime talking about, believe me.Good luck, Cortina.

cortina Thu 02-May-13 22:07:46

Notso

Up until the traumas of last year I had 3 bikes but common sense told me that I could only ride one at a time so I sold 2 of them with one of them being a Tiger Cub.

In the 60's I worked at the Triumph factory, in the 60's when you knew what the music was about, when it was ok to have a joke with the women who built the wheels.

With reference to the ukelele and the playing of, I am attempting to learn how to play the 'Spoons' via Youtube. How do you feel about a double act to earn a few bob, sorry, Euros.

I am also drawn to Morris Dancing.

My sister has offered to knit me a suit, bells included.

Is this the real world, is this just fantasy

No escape from Reality

merlotgran Thu 02-May-13 22:13:41

A knitted Morris Dancing suit with bells on??? I need another wine to get my head around that grin

Notso Thu 02-May-13 22:19:29

Anyway the wind blows cortina smile

You'll be a bit warm in a knitted Morris Dancing suit and I think I'll just have another wine anyway.

Sel Thu 02-May-13 22:51:47

Ah Cortina a Queen fan too smile I hope this weekend is good for you and that it helps. Your Baba would be so proud of you. I'm thinking though, it might not be such a good idea, the knitted suit with bells included.

cortina Thu 02-May-13 22:54:54

merlotgran and Notso

The suit would have vents built into it.

Must go to Byebyes now, I have a show to go to tomorrrow.

Is this what the 'virtual' section is as apposed to 'real'

Adios

Galen Thu 02-May-13 23:24:24

Hi cortina as a widow of 10 years now, may I say I know how you feel?
It does get better, I promise!
I think posters on here would tell you that I still have a sense of humour and life goes on!
I wish you the very best and can tell you that most people here are very supportive to each other.
My very best wishes to you!smile

cortina Thu 02-May-13 23:50:25

Sel

My Dear,Darling,Daring wife once knitted me a cardigan.

After 2 days she said "I need more wool" I got more wool.

2 days later she said " I need more wool" I got more wool.

2 more days and the cardigan was finished.

You've heard of Double Breasted. This was Triple Breasted. It was so heavy it made my back ache. The hem curled up but it did catch the rain.

She later pulled it apart and made a bedspread.

Can you see why I miss her?

Must go, got to ride a motorbike tomorrow

cortina Mon 06-May-13 21:56:41

May Day Weekend

Back home now after a Good weekend, good weather, good company and a good show, probably one of the best that I have been to.

Felt a bit shaky on the first day but put the bike out for display and was made welcome. Second day a little easier, third day a little more so.

The only thing that I forgot was the way.

So plug in the SatNav which saves reading a map.

I quite like the SatNav lady. She chats to me all the way to the destination but she can be quite strict.

If I ignore 2 direct orders such as ' At the next roundabout take the 3rd exit' and follow that by not responding to ' at the First Opportunity make a U turn ' she gets mardy and she stops talking to me.

Sometimes I feel as if I am listening to a machine.

If she went on Mastermind she would walk it.

One thing that I have learned from the weekend is that our secondhome/motorhome is just as cold and empty as our house.

But I will go again.

Notso Mon 06-May-13 22:04:28

Sounds as though the weekend was a success cortina.

I love your cardigan story smile

LizG Mon 06-May-13 22:28:47

I agree you should write your stories. Writing things out of your system can be helpful and you have an amazing way with words. Not that you want to forget, just lessen the pain a little.

We had a bright red cortina which was sadly a 'Friday Afternoon' car. It was always going wrong and letting us down. Finally the big end went and it was towed ignominiously off the motorway.

janerowena Mon 06-May-13 22:40:46

Mardy! I used to live near Horncastle, I haven't heard that word since 2004 when we moved away. Do you go to Cadwell, Cortina?

glassortwo Mon 06-May-13 22:48:51

cortina glad you had a good weekend, sunshine

Sel Mon 06-May-13 22:48:57

Cortina I was thinking of you today as I visited a country show. There were lots of people there sharing their passions for vintage cars, motor bikes and steam engines. I hoped you were doing something similar and managing to find some pleasure in it.

I loved your description of the sat nav lady - she's very tolerant I find when I contradict her.

It was a big step you took, well done and I'm pleased you've decided you'll do it again. smile

cortina Mon 06-May-13 22:52:17

LizG

Thanks LizG

You have it exactly right.

At some point I will tell you the story of working in a steel works at age 15.

Hunt Mon 06-May-13 23:19:40

We love our Satnav lady. we call her 'Sonia' because she gets 'Sonia' nerves. So glad your weekend was a success.

Grannyknot Mon 06-May-13 23:24:56

Hunt, that's funny. Cortina keep posting your amusing posts. Breath of fresh air.

Notso Tue 07-May-13 06:20:41

Sonia grin

Butty Tue 07-May-13 06:45:29

Seem to have missed out on this thread. gknot - yes, it is a refreshing thread.

Hi Cortina - We had a classic Norton back in the day. Now we have a sat.nav called Prudence. How times change. smile

PRINTMISS Tue 07-May-13 08:02:12

I have enjoyed reading through this thread, and the motor bike is partcularly interesting. I volunteer at Amberley Museum & Heritage Centre, and they have vintage motor and motor cycle shows, and the occasional Harley Davidson weekend. I love to sit and chat with the owners/drives of all the vehicles - I am old enough to be able to do this and they are all very interesting and interested. We started our married life with a motor cycle - a Triumph 125 which was very unreliable, and ended up with a Matchless Square 4 and sidecar - family grew! There was a group of four of us as solo motorcyclists, and we would just pop off for a day. Remember one weekend, when we all decided a weekend away would be good, pulled into a caravan park, where the owner refused to let us have 4 caravans, (one for each couple), as he did not believe we were married, and he was not having "any of that" on his park. Did himself out of money, as the girls then had one caravan, and the boys the other. As I remember it was a fantastic weekend weather-wise, and there was "none of that".