belgianwaffle

Siblings

The Final Lap


Posted in: Boys, Cork, Daniel, Family, Ireland, Michael, Princess, Siblings

It’s all go. I mean not as much all go as it was for my colleague who had an emergency stent fitted the other day, but pretty busy. I have to say we all got a shock when this older but apparently fit and very popular man nearly died on us in the run up to Christmas. Hurrah for modern medicine. He’s safely home and planning a quiet Christmas.

I got into the Huguenot graveyard in the centre of town during the week. It is almost always closed but a man was painting the gate and he let me slip in illicitly. There was a big plaque to Jacques de la Fontaine. I went and looked him up and thanks to the internet, I found a whole book he had written about his life. He had bad times in Cork, unintentionally hilariously described. It was strange to think of this man whose grave I pass daily having a life in Ireland a good 400 years ago. It’s all intimations of mortality around here at the moment. And also, I seem to have put out my lower back. Does this augur well for the ice skating session I have booked for us on St. Stephen’s Day? I think not.

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The return of my first born continues to be a source of delight. She had three friends from primary school around for dinner on Monday. These girls who I have known since they were tiny tots of 4 have turned into beautiful, charming grown up Amazons (all very tall, I must say, something in the water?).

I was chatting to her the other night and asked whether she read the blog. A bit. “You’re funnier on the blog than in real life,” she offered. “I know what you’re thinking, you’re going to put that on the blog. Listen here, I’m more than a content farm.” Meta paragraph right here for you, all the literary tricks are being deployed.

I was amused to hear Mr Waffle talking to Michael the other morning in the kitchen before school. As I was standing in the hall I heard him ask in slightly surprised tones, “Are you following the election in Chile, Michael?” He is, apparently. This slightly nerdish streak in my children means that the Christmas receipt of school reports is generally an occasion for rejoicing and so it was on this occasion. Teachers love children with views on the Chilean elections, it appears.

We’re in Cork for Christmas. It’s quite the logistical challenge, my sister was in Dublin during the week and she brought down our Christmas presents. Like a saint she’s cooking Christmas dinner for us as well. And she took the boys off on Wednesday afternoon to her partner’s parents’ place where they spent a happy afternoon playing magic (don’t ask) with her partner and being fed by his parents. I rejoice as did they.

It was the winter solstice on Tuesday. That makes me think of my father. He was a summer person, always loved the sun and always celebrated the turning of the year with delight and a glass of whiskey. I used to ring him to wish him a happy solstice. It was this time last year that I saw him for the last time. He died on Christmas day. We’re off to Cork today and we’ll celebrate Christmas in my parents’ house tomorrow. I feel a bit sad about it. A little bit strange.

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Where ever you are, I hope that your Christmas is happy and that the logistics do not defeat you. See you in January.

Oh No Redux


Posted in: Boys, Daniel, Michael, Princess, Siblings

So off she went for her PCR at 11.30 this morning and at 8.15 this evening she got her positive result. Alas alack though impressively speedy work by the British testing people, I must say. I spoke briefly to her this morning and she was pretty miserable – in a bad cold kind of way – but not at death’s door.

My sister is a big fan of moonpig which does personalised cards. She went online and got the Princess a card with a personalised message and my sister’s cartoon of a corona virus on the inside. Unfortunately the site kept crashing and my sister had a lot of difficulty with it. This is why the personalised greeting card has, “Get well soon, Caroline!” on the front. The Princess’s name is not Caroline. Funnily enough when I mentioned moonpig at home, both boys said, “Uh oh, data breach,” so perhaps not where you should go for your personalised greeting cards.

In other news, we had online parent-teacher meetings for the boys this evening. This was extremely stressful. I had to be in the office and called in from there and Mr. Waffle and each boy in turn were tuning in from home. The format was five minutes per appointment. It was like academic speed dating. I turned up in other people’s meetings, they turned up in ours, I couldn’t get in to some teachers, the home team couldn’t get in to others. I mean it was better than nothing but I wouldn’t call it a triumph for new technology. On the plus side the teachers love my children. They’re both doing fine, thanks v much. My favourite nugget from the evening was the following: Michael tends to finish his in class economics exercises ahead of the other students and when he’s finished, he pulls out his book from his bag and starts reading, an activity which is apparently tolerated by the economics teacher but he is keen that Michael would stop reading promptly when class recommences. I can imagine.

A Grand Day Out


Posted in: Ireland, Siblings, Work

To be honest, I thought I would be a bit older before this happened; I mean that I would regard a funeral as a social occasion but look, there were extenuating circumstances. My sister came up from Cork late last night. Good and early this morning, we drove out of Dublin to Wicklow to attend the funeral of the wife of my father’s oldest living friend (96 and very sprightly – he and my father were friends for nearly 80 years). The funeral was, of course, very sad for the immediate family. It was a lovely service and both sons gave great speeches.

I was surprised to see a couple I knew in the congregation. It turned out that they were neighbours of one of the dead woman’s sons and, this being Ireland, the husband discovered during the course of the service, that she had actually taught him in school.

We sympathised, we chatted and then it was 11.30 on a beautiful day and my sister and I were both on a day off work and in Wicklow (the garden of Ireland, I’ll have you know). So we went to Powerscourt for a look round and a nice lunch and a long chat. God, I was delighted. You will recall that I was supposed to be in Cork at the weekend but my trip was cancelled due to a late Covid test result. I really didn’t think I would be seeing my sister so soon and for such a pleasant day out.

She dropped me home, tried (and failed) to light the Aga and headed back to Cork. I welcomed the boys home from school and sat down to read the paper. A friend from work called with news that a re-organisation is imminent. He, alas, is being moved and maybe me too for all I know, I will find out more tomorrow. Mildly unsettling.

And in Covid news, it looks like things are going backwards again and case numbers are up. And antigen tests are in. And nightclubs and bars are to close at midnight (to be honest, not a huge deal for me). Alas.

Change and Decay


Posted in: Family, Reading etc., Siblings

My Monday night book club is more than 20 years old. People have dropped in and out over the years. I was off in Brussels myself for 5 years. Shortly before I went away, we got a new member. A friend of a friend. I didn’t really get to know her as I was off in Brussels for most of her tenure and by the time I came back, she’d married an Austrian and moved to Austria.

I remember visiting her once in her family home in the midlands accompanied by my friend. I remember it because they lived in an actual castle, a mock gothic 19th century castle. Freezing, naturally. And as well as being a very nice woman she was also very beautiful and she looked slightly otherworldly standing in the door of her castle welcoming us in (though wearing a warm woolly jumper rather than a diaphanous dress which would have been more in keeping as it was, as indicated above, freezing). She died at the weekend. She had cancer. She was only in her early 50s. I have been rejoicing recently in the many successes of my book club friends. That’s middle age for you. So is this, I suppose.

When my father died, one of his friends wrote to me; a lovely letter with a long description of his friendship with my father in their early university years, nearly 80 years ago. He is almost the last of my father’s circle of friends left alive. He’s in his mid-90s and is in reasonably good nick. His wife died at the weekend. She was in her 80s and had been ill. I feel very sad for him. He has two sons whom he adores and grandchildren too but I’m not sure how long he will last without his wife of more than 50 years.

I’m going to the funeral on Wednesday with my sister. More gloomy updates to follow, doubtless.

More Rugby Than You Were Expecting


Posted in: Boys, Daniel, Michael, Siblings

Update on yesterday. The latest I could change the train with my flexible ticket was one hour before departure. At 15.55, I reluctantly changed my booking to January. At 16.07, my Covid test result came in. Negative, I’m pleased to report. Mr. Waffle and I leapt into the car. The traffic was awful. I intended to buy a last minute ticket in the station to hell with the expense. But the traffic wasn’t moving. And I looked at the train website and it turns out that due to Covid all intercity trains now have to be pre-booked (whatever happened to good old booked?) and you can’t buy tickets in the station any more. And the next train I could book online was 6 which would get me into Cork too late for dinner at 8. Alas alack. We turned around and went home.

Later that evening Daniel’s test came in negative too. And today I am much, much better though not in Cork.

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I see the Dutch are closing all their bars and restaurants in the evening and bringing back masks and social distancing. It did feel very normal when we were there but I see that a surge in cases is the price of normal as the public health doctors keep pointing out in their Cassandra-like way.

I had a quiet day as did Michael (who is currently working his way through “Eminent Victorians” having finished his 1,000 page scifi short story compendium -he has eclectic tastes) but Mr. Waffle and Dan had a day filled with excitement. My brother had got them tickets to the rugby match: Ireland v New Zealand. Due to my brother’s slightly last minute organisational style, it was unclear whether he would arrive in Dublin at 10 or 12 or 3 and whether they would meet him before, after or during the match (they met him during and after, in case you were wondering). Daniel wore his Leinster top to the match on the basis that almost all of the team bar a couple are from Leinster (a sore point for the Munster people, obviously – Cork is in Munster, Dublin is in Leinster, in case there is any confusion on this point).

Anyway, miraculously, Ireland won. When Mr. Waffle and Dan returned from the match they were absolutely ebullient and Daniel gave me a play by play description. They had a fantastic view from their seats in the stadium and it was all tremendously exciting. I texted my brother “When Leinster beat the All Blacks” which I thought was pretty hilarious but he was not amused.

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As I type, it is still unclear whether my brother will be staying the night with us or high tailing it back to Cork this evening. He likes to keep us on our toes.

We’re having a Studio Ghibli phase at the moment. Daniel went out and bought “Spirited Away” with his own money and we all loved it and this evening we watched “My neighbour Totoro” which, though aimed at a more youthful audience, was a delight. The boys had watched it when they were small and they loved it.

I trust your own Saturday was satisfactory.

Dealing with Uncertainty


Posted in: Cork, Ireland, Siblings

Lads, still no sign of my Covid test result. I was supposed to be getting on the Cork train at 3 this afternoon to go for a birthday dinner with my sister. I’ve pushed out the booking to 5 and am checking my phone at 2 second intervals to see are the results in. It’s going really well for me. I mean, even if I have it, knowing would be better than the uncertainty.

Anyway, I feel a bit better than I did yesterday so that’s something. Hold on to your hats and prepare for exciting updates.