Testing the Patio
It was a lovely sunny day here Up North in Leeds yesterday, and several good people arrived to test out our new patio and see if it worked.
Two of them were the Communist, who was home for the morning from the nursing home, and David who had come round to visit the Communist.
When he first arrived, in a wheelchair taxi, the Communist had somehow slumped down and forward in his chair.
"Can you lift me up a bit?" he asked.
"Not on my own, no," I said. He looked at my mother. "No, no, she can't help, don't even think about it," I said. My mother is very fit but not at all strong. And she's eighty-four, like the Communist.
He has no idea how difficult it is to lift him. He just can't help with it at all these days.
"Couldn't one of the actors help?" he said.
The actress who was in the office yesterday is tiny, and anyway I wasn't going to let a self-employed actress risk hurting her back and being unable to work for the next few months. So I put my foot down.
"No, sorry." I explained why.
Then the Other Communist arrived. The Other Communist has been friends with the Communist since they were both fourteen. He's small, wiry and almost blind. He's also eighty-four, of course.
"I'll help you lift him," he said.
And he did. We lifted the Communist up in his wheelchair and he was much more comfortable.
He sat on the patio and looked at the garden and chatted.
Afterwards, he declared that the morning had been "Lovely. Just lovely".
And the patio worked a treat.
Two of them were the Communist, who was home for the morning from the nursing home, and David who had come round to visit the Communist.
When he first arrived, in a wheelchair taxi, the Communist had somehow slumped down and forward in his chair. "Can you lift me up a bit?" he asked.
"Not on my own, no," I said. He looked at my mother. "No, no, she can't help, don't even think about it," I said. My mother is very fit but not at all strong. And she's eighty-four, like the Communist.
He has no idea how difficult it is to lift him. He just can't help with it at all these days.
"Couldn't one of the actors help?" he said.
The actress who was in the office yesterday is tiny, and anyway I wasn't going to let a self-employed actress risk hurting her back and being unable to work for the next few months. So I put my foot down.
"No, sorry." I explained why.
Then the Other Communist arrived. The Other Communist has been friends with the Communist since they were both fourteen. He's small, wiry and almost blind. He's also eighty-four, of course.
"I'll help you lift him," he said.
And he did. We lifted the Communist up in his wheelchair and he was much more comfortable.
He sat on the patio and looked at the garden and chatted.
Afterwards, he declared that the morning had been "Lovely. Just lovely".
And the patio worked a treat.
posted by Daphne at 5:44 pm
4 Comments:
Great picture! Obviously the two older gentlemen had their traditional Yorkshire flat caps on but where oh where were their obligatory whippets? My whippet - Scargill - never leaves my side. Down boy!...Oh no Scargill! Now I'll have to get a mop!
I'm on the deck staining part of the garden revamp this year..my other half has also decided we're going to Gardeners' World Live at the NEC this Saturday...I'm sure I was washing my hair or something...!
The photo touched my heart.
what a great photo! Looks like the perfect bench for a chat in the sun.
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