I had just given De Dawg her 11pm pills when the telephone rang. Who on earth calls at that time of night? It was my neighbour, in a panic, and it took a while to understand what she was saying. It is difficult enough at the best of times but on the telephone it is even worse as I cannot hear her clearly enough as she speaks so quickly that a sentence sounds like one very long word. OK, so I understood that she was frightened - but frightened of what? Oh, she was in town but frightened to come home. Why? The "dood shemesh" - the solar boiler. What about it? "Ani mefahedet" - I am frightened. Why? Turned out she wanted me to go into her bungalow and check the switch/switches for the immersion heater in the water tank as she thought she had left it/them [I could not make out if she was talking in plural or not] switched on. Sure, but where is it/are they? "My father's room". Her father, my beloved landlord, friend, and "brother" David z"l died five years ago but of course it is still his room, but surely the switch/switches would not be actually in his room? "The shower room". Well no switches would be inside the shower room. would they? . Oh. You mean between Abba's room and the shower room. "Yes". Problem is that I cannot get next door on Xanadu as where there used to be a little ramp next to the two steps from the pavement, it does not exist now, but I can just about manage to plonk there in an emergency, and this sounded urgent. So plonk heave, plonk heave, plonk heave - let myself in, found the switches [there were two] and both were off. Switched them on, the red lights came on, switched them off again and the lights went off, so I locked up, and plonk heave, plonk heave, plonk heave came back home. Just got my kecks down as I needed the loo and the telephone rang again. "Can I come home, is it safe for me to come home" - she had gone out earlier this afternoon and thought she had left both switches on. Why she did not telephone me earlier I do not know - but only she could forget whether she had left the switches on and be frightened to go home - frightened of what? That the water tank would have blown up? Sort of reminds me of one of our esteemed members who puts spectacles [and possibly mobile phones] in her Aga... [Sorry Tina but I could not resist that comparison! ]
My charming????? son has the bad habit of phoning me a one in the morning for a chat. He's never got it into his thick skull that unlike him, his mum, much as she loves him, is NOT a night bird and the last thing she wants is to have a chat at what to her is some unearthly hour of the morning!
This neighbour of mine really is something else! She came in earlier while I was in the kitchen getting De Dawg's food ready, asking if I had received the electricity bill - both bungalows being on one main meter in her place with mine as a sub-meter of hers. Well, no, I had not received the electricity bill but angonaminim - I do not get any mail unless she brings it in as for some unknown reason she thinks she is not allowed to get another key cut for the mailbox which we share as both our bungalows are on the one plot so both have the same number. So how could I get the electricity bill if she had not given it to me? Now, you would think that after over 14 years of me living in this bungalow that she would remember that she has a key to the box and I do not, and that she collects all the mail and brings mine in to me. Well, it is obvious, innit. So why did she come in and ask me if I had received the bill? Two minutes after she left she came rushing back in to ask if I had seen her cellphone which she had put down somewhere... ...I think I will start calling her Tina!
Just as long as she don't start cooking her keys, glasses, mobile & slippers she be ok Yes for some strange reason I put my slippers on a baking tray & put in oven, did have lovely warm slipers when I remembered where I put them lol
That is not a strange reason Tina, that is just you being you! Neighbour has left her keys here before now but her cellphone is usually superglued to her hand! As she does not wear glasses she has neither cooked them or left them here. Not sure about slippers though.
