The Gay Men’s Pub Quiz

 

I think that I am a Welsh 58 year old gay Bridget Jones..

I don’t quite know what I was expecting but The Gay Men’s Pub Quiz last night proved to be a rather good natured and strangely hilarious affair.

Some 80 Middle aged gay men from all over the UK were marshalled onto zoom by a professionally adept quiz master called Kenneth  , who presumably was well versed in herding cats and sounded as though he had performed centre stage at the Old Vic. 

Like with the RAF yesterday , there was no messing with Kenneth!

With a headteacher’s authority , Kenneth split us into groups quite quickly , so I just had time to check myself in the mirrored oven cover before the get go.

Face washed ( tick)

Hair brushed ( tick) 

Clean shirt checked for food stains ( check) - there was only one small splash of pot noodle..no one would notice ...tee hee

Background looking interesting behind me ( double check ) 

I was ready.

I squirted myself with a blast of Clinique Happy as a gay moral booster, as if it mattered

My group was a nice bunch. Gerry and David, a couple from the Sheffield/ Derbyshire border in their late sixties were a riot. They bantered and bickered gently and told bad jokes throughout the evening so much so that at one stage I had a complete attack of the giggles and corpsed dreadfully throughout one session of questions . Alistair was a gently spoken and smiley  fellow nurse from Chester and Richard was a well spoken but very deaf elderly man from The Isle Of Man. I spied a Zimmer frame in the background of his spare room! which intrigued me. 

Fifty questions were set between a 7.30 start and a 10.30pm finish , but booked into the quiz was the nice opportunity to chat with a luckily nice group of men . 

We came around  6th out of 15 groups which wasn’t bad at all 

I’m not really a gay guy who has to seek the ghetto of a group of gay men , but I really did enjoy the good natured banter of some nice guys with a ribald ( and stereotypically gay)  senses of humour 

Mooching

It’s colder today

I had some lilies delivered. 

They were left on the kitchen wall wrapped in brown paper.

No note.

I’ve put them in the shrimp vase in the kitchen window.

They smell lovely

I feel flu-like today and my arm aches , both normal reactions to the covid jab. So I’ve done little but read and eat pot noodles in bed with my fleece pyjamas on . Subsequently  the cottage became very cold by mid afternoon.

I lit the fire late

And went out to see old Trevor as he passed on his daily constitutional . I promised to take him for his covid jab when he finally gets an appointment .

He’s 95

Tonight I’m taking part in a Gay Mans online Pub Quiz on zoom for the first time which will prove interesting.

The dogs are dozing together on the couch 

The Rainbow Hospital

 

The hospice rang me at home this afternoon with the offer of a first Covid Vaccine.

I jumped at the chance and managed to get the 590 th slot at the newly converted Rainbow ( Enfys in Welsh) Hospital in Llandudno .

From the get-go I was impressed. 

I was ushered to a parking space at Venue Cymru and a huge man in RAF uniform made it clear in no uncertain terms when the queuing “patients” could go in.

The Airforce had taken control of the whole kaboodle and boy did it show.

Within seconds I was ushered through the theatre foyer and was given an information sheet to fill in, seconds later uniformed airmen moved us through to the former conference centre which is the hospital proper where we waited, supported by volunteers, until the vaccinators were ready.

I have not seen inside a Rainbow Hospital before but I was totally blown away by it. 

I could have walked into any district hospital of note rather than what was essentially a field hospital , knocked up by the army in just a few months.

Behind me was a Nigerian Doctor and in front was a community care worker, both caught my eye with the same impressed expression. 

And as we waited the doctor admitted graciously that he felt rather “ humbled and emotional “ by the whole experience and I agreed.

We were seeing the Best of British organisation , military style.

I was shown into a bed space were a clerk completed my paperwork and a nurse gave me the jab and moments later I was led for a sit down before being let out for home

The whole thing from start to finish lasted 30 minutes.

An attractive and cheerful airman bid me goodbye and as I walked to my car, I suddenly felt rather emotional just as the Nigerian doctor admitted to feeling when he and I realised the enormity of the project in front of us

Mobile

 

Ever since my phone fell in the loo ( after I had just enjoyed a robust number two) it has not worked, very well. 

I bit the bullet and rang Tesco Mobile on Monday and the delightful Leanne organised me a new phone with various bells and whistles on it and a monthly tariff much lower than the one I had been enjoying.

She giggled when I told her to treat me as an idiot during her sales pitch 

And did exactly what I asked her.

I have been navigating my new phone today and I must say that

I’d rather be setting the parameters on an ITU ventilator for after four hours, my brain is totally fried and

I’ve had to recover my having a bubble hot bath with my face covered by a wet flannel.

I spoke to Nu today, she’s working on the covid wards now in London  

How do you do long days ? She asked

With difficulty I told her

We swapped laughs and reviews on tv programmes 

She looked tired.

I do miss her.

I saw Pippa from the Rectory earlier today, she was being dragged down the lane by her long legged Mongrel, Meg.She only just managed a controlled stop in order to chat.

Her husband is probably enjoying the most cerebral covid pastimes she told me after the village gossip was over

“ he’s reading the Bible in Greek “ she said proudly 

I opened my mouth but said nothing

How can you follow that ! 

  

Song along

 If you are feeling a bit low watch this

It’s a song by Eurovision stalwarts and it exudes Bonne Amie

It’s what Europe is all about

CROQUE MONSIEUR

 

The time difference between Australia and Wales makes for relaxed chatting a little difficult .

When it’s 8 pm gin time in Trelawnyd it’s 7am coffee time in Sydney but undaunted by this my old friend Nia arranged a meet for both of us but under the strict rules of cooking together .

I’ve never done it before and I must admit it’s great fun 

We chose to make a proper Croque Monsieur from scratch 

She in her high tech, sun kissed antipodean kitchen , me in my slightly chilly but perfectly IKEAn version. 

It was lovely, as neither of us had much news of any note to talk about, so we would share snippets of what was happening in between yells of “How’s your bechimel sauce coming along ? “

“ ohhh I can hear sizzling !”

An hour and a half later, the croques were crumbs and we were reminiscing about the fatly comical kookaburras I remembered watching in her garden only five years ago .

It was lovely 

Our next meet will be in a few weeks time. 

We are going to paint together in acrylics 

An abstract painting 

Sounds like fun

Nia ( front) with my arm around her circa 1980

The rest are my family and friends 

We were in the audience of a production of Oklahoma my Aunt was starring in 

My Study

 

Albert and the old bedroom

I have a spare bedroom in the East Wing of the cottage. 

It’s small and full of clutter at the moment. 

A Victorian copper bedstead and mattress , a book case, an Art Deco grandmother clock, old books, a carpet cleaner. 

This week I’ve decided to make a proper study. 

A simple one, with less fussy walls and decor.

A desk, a chair and the bed complete with an antique french bedspread , I bought last year but never used 

It’s a small room and it needs to be simple 

I need a place with limited distractions, if I am to write

So today, I’ve been shopping 

I’ve not only ordered a new phone , but a desk and an office chair

The paint I already have, the gentle buttercup yellow of the living room.

Not bad a job for my first day of holiday 

SKYFIRE

 

Just sat through two gloriously awful hours of Chinese disaster movie SKYFIRE  

A total homage to those 1970 disaster movies I loved so much as a teen

Dreadful but intensely entertaining