Saturday, 12 October 2013

The art of no conversation ... Friday 11th Oct

After waving off Mrs P and the teenagers this morning I pop round to the outlaws to pick up some hedge cutters. It’s time to put the garden to bed for the winter. I have a cup of tea and a chat with the outlaws, then its back home and out into the garden.

I usually do the front and back hedges twice a year. May and October, is enough to keep them tidy and under control. Though I did have to take the top off mid-summer this year, as they were growing so well. I do the front and bag it up, as well as sweeping up the leaves that have fallen recently. The council tip is only five minutes away and so two journeys today, one for the front and one for the back should suffice. As we refused to pay £35 to the council to empty the garden bin, I reckon even with half-a-dozen trips a year to the tip we’re well in credit. At the tip I say only two words to the guy pointing you to the right skip, and they are “garden rubbish.” After lunch I do the back hedge plus various shrubs. Using the electric hedge cutters is a bit over the top on the shrubs, but very quick and satisfying. I take the view if they survive great, if not we’ll plant something else. Then it’s back to the tip, where I don’t speak to anyone this time.

When the teenagers come in from school, I estimate that from my cup of tea with the outlaws this morning, in the following six hours I’ve only spoken two words to another person, and they were “garden rubbish,” and so hardly count as a conversation. It makes me think about people who live alone and don’t get out much, especially the elderly, and how difficult it must sometimes be for them. Here’s to growing old with someone. Mrs P had better watch out, she’s stuck with me for the foreseeable future.

Yours practising the art of conversation.

Jay

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