The last day today surely! And so it was. Up at 8, out at 9, back by 10. And a good part of that hour we weren’t working, just chatting with Eddie or Mr K. Felt pretty delighted with ourselves after that, believe me. We drove straight to Mission Market – I’d heard there was a jumble sale on at a church there, + I was right, tho’ it didn’t start till 11. So, we spent the time doing a little shopping at Overwaitea, + then I trotted out to buy some postcards while Val complained to the manager there about some photos we’d had developed there. Naturally, it did no good – he passed the buck on to the developing company. Ah well. On to the jumble sale. We’d thought it wouldn’t be like an East Ham one, with a queue outside, but really there wasn’t much difference – except they didn’t queue properly (damn foreigners!) A good jumble sale, tho’, with quite a bit of stuff. We bought a Pinter play, a piece of material to replace a piece we’d lost from the cabin, + best of all, a really ace T-shirt for Val – like a short-sleeved rugby shirt, with navy blue + yellow stripes, + a white collar, for 25c. Bought a couple of buns outside, then I rang Myrna. It seemed as tho’ it would be difficult to visit so that was ruled out. She didn’t know about Dad tho’, so I had to tell her. Then home + domesticity.
Fire lit, water on, as much as the stove would hold. Val washed virtually everything we had, + then we both took ourselves a bath… in the sink! Oh, before that, I shaved off my beard, one half at a time, + then I left a little clump below my lower lip. Ate hot lunch for the second time running – scrambled eggs + tomatoes on toast – + then when work was done, I tucked Val up in bed for a little while. We ate spaghetti Bolognese in the evening, but first I wasn’t hungry + second I didn’t like it, so I didn’t eat much. Went to North 40 – the band, Tyro, weren’t very special – the lead singer thought he was Mick Jagger (he wasn’t.) So left 12-ish, + drove to eat a hamburger. Got confused in Burger King car park, bumped over a kerb – stuck, one wheel spinning. Called a tow co – very efficient, lifted us out with no fuss. $15 tho’, + no hamburger!
Overwaitea sounds ominous; I don’t suppose obesity was on their mind when they came up with the name. Have always enjoyed jumble sales, and Val’s shirt was an obvious bargain.
Myrna was a lady who used to work in Dad’s toy shop in Stevenage, who had emigrated to Alberta.
And as for my incompetent driving…
Driving is excusable–you’re used to driving on the “wrong” side of the road!