‘Taxi’ service, swim, shower &
shave, hospital appointment, blood test, Catalan lesson, visit to the framers,
a little light shopping. All starting at
6.00 am.
And yesterday, in spite of my
knowledge of myself, I wrote that, “The afternoon can be given up to writing.” As if!
I am not sure that my weariness was because of having done so much
before the morning was out or because of the sheer differences of experience
that the six hours between 6.00 am and midday afforded.
Whatever the reason, by the time
I had had my lunch and sat in my armchair, I knew that my right hand would
search out the remote to recline the seat and drift into that half-waking dreamland
that is a function of relaxation and the sound of Radio 4 playing in the
background.
The only thing that got me up and
doing was the realization that my supplies of tea are getting dangerously
low. Catalonia is not the arid wasteland
of tea-lessness that it once was. I
mean, tea has always been available, but not the British tea (with taste!) that
I have been brought up with. However, my
tea now has the extra need to be decaffeinated because it is an integral part
of the regime laid down by my doctors, by which I am supposed to live - or suffer
the fatal consequences! And decaffeinated
tea is not as easily available here.
That should not be problematic in
this age of the internet where anything and everything is available at the
frenzied pressing of money into the ever-open electronic grasping hands of
Amazon. And, sure enough, there are numerous
suppliers who make decaffeinated tea and it can also be sent to be
Catalonia. The only question is that of
cost. One supplier seemed to offer a
reasonably priced product, but the price of sending it to Catalonia was almost
as much as the product itself!
I have now been to a local
supermarket which caters, in some of its product range, to the British residents.
In the reasonably extensive ‘tea’
section there are indeed two or three makes of British tea, but none, alas,
that are decaffeinated. The range includes
those fruit and herb teas that sound good in theory but invariably fail to
please. At least fail to please me.
It was at the point that I was
almost driven to buy a vegetable tea that I had never seen before, that I
finally noticed the unobtrusive boxes that claimed to be decaffeinated black
tea – the supermarket’s own make. I made
an executive decision and bought half a dozen boxes and thought that having
bought them I would get used to whatever it tasted like – and anyway I also
bought some ‘full-strength’ Earl Grey to make it palatable in the mix that I
usually drink.
And, having just sampled
this new double brew, it is – acceptable.
But that is very much not the adjective that I would use for my blends that
are lying unused in myriad containers, where the mere aroma is intoxicating
enough without the use of boiling water.
I have limited myself to a cup of ‘real’ tea every few days which is
probably a bad idea because it shows up the rather vapid drinks that I try and
pretend are reasonable cups of tea!
And now that I am (more)
refreshed, I could turn to my writing – but Toni has just appeared after an
unsatisfactory day at work and he wants to go out for something to eat for our
evening meal, and I am not so churlish as to refuse. Even if his day of ‘work’ cannot have been as
taxing as mine!
-oOo-
There is a positive and a
negative to be taken from my activity today.
In hospital my blood test result was
exactly in the range where it should be and so, finally, I was given the
go-ahead to change the location of future tests from Bellvitge Hospital to our
local medical centre. At least I think
that is what is going to happen, I have been given a photocopied standard
letter and I will have to take it in to my doctor and take it from there. If nothing else I will be able to go to our
local centre by bike and not have to use the expensive car park in Bellvitge.
The less positive element in the
day is connected with the framers. I
knew that my little ‘project’ had elements that might be problematical, but
when I was in the framers these were brushed aside with a ‘we can do this’
approach that I found stimulating. It didn’t
last. This afternoon I was phoned up by
the actual framer who said that they simply did not have the equipment to
realize my idea. Pity. There are other shops in Castelldefels, but I
might have similar problems there too. I
have not, however, given up. It will
exist!
Now out for an evening meal.
And who knows, after being fed
(no salt, low fat) and watered (0% alcohol) I might feel inclined to, finally,
get on with the writing that I thought would be a simple progression from a
full morning!
Belief and action are not the
same thing.
