This Thursday saw the 39th anniversary of my father's plane crash. He and his friend flew two pilots to France from Jersey to collect a plane, and on the way back to the island, my father's plane crashed into the sea, just off the coast of France. They were lucky, obviously because they survived fairly intact, and also because the other plane that had just been collected circled the area for as long as possible, enabling them to eventually be picked up. He has been a wonderful father, and every year I thank my lucky stars that we've had another year with him in our lives.Yesterday, the sun was shining, I was feeling relaxed as I'd just submitted a short story, and had worked through the next module for my assignment, when R got ready to leave for work. "I hope you're going to relax now," he said. "I'm going to lie in the sun and read," said I, intending to do just that.
Two hours later, I did get to sit outside, having moved furniture around in the house, collected J from his Sunday job, and sorted through mountains of paperwork in the shed, in an attempt to gain some sort of control over it all. Now everything (well, pretty much everything) has been placed in a newly labelled file.
Today, I just want to finish editing another short story, then I'm doing nothing, abso-flippin-lutely nothing.
P.S. R has just phoned. He's on his way home and cheerfully looking forward to us planting the carrots in the veg patch. Have you seen how tiny those seeds are? There are millions in a packet. Groan. Maybe I should lock myself back inside the shed?
16 comments:
Why do the best laid plans for R&R always go tits up? I bet if we planned a really busy day we might get the opposite, reverse phychology and all that?
Lock yourself in the shed now before it's too late!
I'm no expert but can't you just scatter the seeds by hand - 15 seconds, job done?
Your father must have had someone "upstairs" looking after him to survive a plane crash into the sea!
I leave that sort of gardening to my other half... his peas are all HIS!
I do water a volunteer tomato plant that came up... no idea if it's cherry or regular...
have a lovely Bank Holiday!!
Well done on doing so well with your writing, Debs :-)
Its great you're doing well! I am so happy for you!
Your father's story is amazing. He was definitely on the right side of lucky that day.
Hope you got all those seeds planted. Or did you hide?:-)
claire p - maybe that's where we're going wrong, so should now plan not to have any free time at all at weekends.
helen - the shed cometh (well, I goeth to the shed!)
troy - R ended up doing it, but I've no idea how, I hid.
My father was very lucky on that day, as were we all not to lose him.
anna - I moved a lavender, and insisted that the greenhouse and everything to do with it is his, whilst the shed is mine.
amanda - thanks, m'dear.
melrox - thanks, I'm really enjoying it, and just wish I could do it instead of going to work.
lane - he certainly was lucky.
I hid (in the shed, where else?) R did the planting.
Goodness, Debs, it's incredible that your dad walked (?) away from that one. No wonder you're glad for the time you've had together.
Isn't it amazing how that 'me' time always gets used up!
Gosh, your father's story is incredible...I'm so glad it had a happy ending!!
Well done on hiding in the shed...I was not so lucky and ended up being roped into some gardening...still, Chris made up for it by then taking me to a beer and sausage festival!!
C x
What an amazing story. You were all very lucky that day - incredible to survive a crash into the sea.
I hope you managed to hide in the shed!
chrish - I still remember waking up that night and hearing some men breaking the news to my mother. Dreadful.
carol - he was so lucky.
Beer and sausage festival? Sounds brilliant fun.
shirley - we were lucky.
I did hide, and wrote, and watched R do the planting.
Wow. There is always a suprise on your blog. Glad there was a happy ending to the story about your dad. I have never planted carrot seeds straight into the ground. I usually start them in newspaper pots and plant them in the garden as established seedlings.
dj - we are so lucky he's still with us after what happened.
I shall have tell R how you plant your carrots, thanks.
Thank heavens your father survived.
What a tale!
So glad you enjoyed your visit to NY.
It is a cool place to live but my heart would be in an English cottage
with my cheerful mutt....
elizabeth - NY was fantastic, we can't wait to go again.
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