Days 38 to 40: Friday 25 April to Sunday 27 April - Knowle, by Ken

Day 38: Friday 25 April

Shane and Marie provide a very good breakfast after which Jane and I set off in the rain for Birmingham City Centre. In spite of having lived and worked there for more than 20 years, I struggled to get my bearings and find the Bull Ring car park. It took a frustrating 20 minutes or so to find a car park – it wasn’t the Bull Ring, it was Selfridge's car park, but it was near enough for our needs.

Walking through Selfridge's department store we saw a sight we thought would make Ella drool.

For Ella

We were looking for a birthday present for Olivia. Jane felt she would enjoy reading The Diary of Ann Franks and some historical novels so we headed for Waterstone’s bookshop. I found myself a seat in a quiet corner while Jane perused books. I made use of Waterstone’s wi-fi to check my email and found an email from Sarah at Down Under Insurance. I held my breath while it opened and was enormously relieved to read they would provide cover. The premium was on a par with the GDP of a small African nation, but there was no choice but to bite the bullet and accept. I gave Sarah a ring to thank her, we were still waiting for DVLA to provide a registration number for Mabel, I tried to persuade Sarah to provide cover on the basis of the chassis number. That wasn’t a starter, she had to have the registration number.

I phoned Pete Maynard at Elite Motorhomes to see if he had any news from DVLA, he hadn’t but called them and phoned me back saying the application hadn’t been logged on DVLA’s system and their turn around time was 10 days. That was disappointing, but we were so relieved at the news on the insurance front we were happy to wait a bit longer to get Mabel.

Back in Knowle Jane and I had a celebratory lunch at the Wilson’s Arms. I had roast beef and all the trimmings from the carvery while Jane went for a Ploughman’s.

Returning to Phil and Kerry’s Jane prepared Macaroni Cheese for tea. Phil was starting the first of four night shifts working on cable diversions for an extension of the Midland Metro in Birmingham City Centre. Kerry, Jane and I had a quiet evening in front of the television.

Day 39: Saturday 26 April

After breakfast Jane and Kerry took Amelia and Martha into Solihull to buy belated birthday presents for the girls while I went shopping for the ingredients for our evening meal – it was my turn to cook and chose the good old English favourite – Bangers and Mash. I bought two varieties of prize-winning pork sausages from Vernon Smith butchers in Bentley Heath.

After my lunch of half a pork pie I started preparing the onion gravy for the evening meal on the premise that preparing it early and allowing it to stand for the afternoon would enhance the flavour. That was a good call, the combination of the sausages and gravy with mash and vegetables was well received.

During the afternoon I tried to apply my mind to the Daily Telegraph crossword, something that was relatively easy for me while I lived here, but struggled through unfamiliarity with the compilers thinking. Meanwhile Phil spent the afternoon in his garage working on his 44 year old Lambretta scooter (one of three scooters he owns) which he is preparing for a scooter rally in early May. His scooter maintenance skills are self-taught and he is highly proficient with many complex refurbishment projects on his own and other scooters to his credit. His Lambretta engine was in pieces as Phil was replacing the clutch and exhaust, the latter requiring different jets in the carburetor.

Phil was working his second night shift, Kerry Jane and I watched Philomena, the movie, following which I watched Match of the Day.

Day 40: Sunday 27 April

After breakfast Kerry and Jane took Amelia and Martha swimming in Knowle, while I tried to catch up on this blog – there’s not been a lot of quiet time recently.

After my lunch of the other half of the pork pie (Jane opted for rolls) I drove to Knowle and Dorridge cricket club to watch the top of the table clash between Liverpool and Chelsea. It was a match Liverpool needed to win to maximise their chances of finishing the season at the top of the Premiership. Ruth and Frank were there when I arrived, John joined us at half-time. Unfortunately for Liverpool a disciplined Chelsea capitalised on Liverpool errors and increasing desperation to win the game 2 – 0.

Dinner was lasagna prepared by Kerry after which we played a game of Pictionary. Martha was particularly good with  imaginative interpretations of Kerry’s sketches.

Phil worked another night shift.