5:11 p.m. - 2024-03-27
Lunch at Delevino's

It's been a strange day of highs and lows and in betweens. The rain came and went and although I did get out for a walk with company, I would have much preferred staying in doors to watch the local villagers shuffle past my front window on their trek to the store. There were a few things of noteworthy mention in the real mail and in the electronic mail today.

A confirmation letter from my lawyer arrived to say the amendment to my last will and testament was finalised. I had updated it in haste when I was very ill at the beginning of the pandemic in late 2019. Two beneficiaries have now been removed from it and I feel slightly sad about that fact. One of them was Rui, and it was for the most part personal effects of mine I'd bequeathed her. Her husband had already passed away from covid complications by then, and as he was extremely wealthy, she didn't need any financial support from me. It was just personal effects I knew she liked. She's married again and so much has changed in the last four years that it didn't seem as good an idea as it was at the time to leave her my treasured possessions. By sheer coincidence, I found an email from her sent a few weeks ago that was stuck in my junk folder.

She's now nearly seven months into her pregnancy and all is well. The birth date is expected to be around the 10th June 2024. The main reason she mailed was to say that because of the volatile situation in Hong Kong, she and her husband have applied for citizenship in Australia and hope to be moved there in time for the baby being born. It might be a while before she can contact me again but she would try her best.

The other beneficiary was someone I once knew who I have since found out is no longer around. I was advised at the time that making her a beneficiary may not have been a wise decision as it could have raised old family tensions. At the time it was my wish. I think I feel more sad about that than anything, but I have the feeling that even if she had been around, she may not have accepted all that I had bequeathed her. So all's well that ends well as they say and there won't be any big surprises at my will reading when that day eventually comes. Hopefully not for a long time yet, I have too much love to give to those who deserve it and to those who need it.

First wife called me to say there will be no cream teas until further notice as she is on a health tip for now. She asked if she could accompany me on my morning exercise walk along the riverside, and around the local woods and the village. She has a keen interest in ornithology these days and was sporting a new app called Merlin on her new iPhone 15. The app identifies birds by listening for their calls and song. I never said much to her during the walk as listening apps aren't just listening for bird song, they will pick up everything, so the conversation was polite and to the point.

We'd been walking through woodland which was getting more and more dense until we reached the end of the path leading back to the field for our route home. The local land owner had put up a five foot high fence with a strip of barbed wire across the top. The only option was to climb over it or walk over a mile back the way we had come. I jumped over it easily enough but first wife made a fuss and said it was too difficult. I encouraged her to climb over the fence by stating she'd be walking back the woodland path on her own if she didn't. So she climbed but it all went wrong.

As she was lifting her leg over the fence, her jeans caught on the barbed wire and she lost her balance. I had to quickly grab her to stop her falling five foot onto the hard ground in front of the fence. My left arm and hand ended up between her thighs and I had to grab her butt to get a hold of her. My right arm wrapped around her upper body as her full weight ended up across my chest. It was the nearest thing to a WWF Smackdown wrestling move you ever saw. I pivoted around and managed to gently drop her on both feet without either of us falling over.

We both composed ourselves and she looked at me, smiled and said "we haven't done anything like that together for a long time." I said nothing but did manage a smile. I mean, it wasn't a thing. It's not as if both of us haven't had our hands over every inch of each other a million times before. We were married for twenty years.

Being the complete gentleman that I am, I didn't mention that the barbed wire had torn an L-Shaped flap on the arse of her jeans and her bare butt was visible through the hole. I chuckled like a naughty school boy all the way back to town especially when she said she was feeling a bit more chilly than when we started our walk.

I've also just received an email from an old love as I finish this update. It seems the jungle drums have been beating all the way from The Borders to The Strath. Rumour has it that I was seen in the company of a gorgeous green eyed girl on Monday. It was R's mother and she has suggested we should get together soon to catch up for old times sake. I'm in two minds whether to agree. It was nice enough meeting R again, but her mum is a whole different ball park. I never really stopped being fond of her and even though we were in contact as recently as last Christmas, I have been happy to have that contact from a distance. In person is something I hadn't expected to happen again. I guess it wouldn't be so bad, and lunch at Delevino’s was always something I looked forward to and enjoyed with her.