w/e 2024-09-08

Shall we try this again? It’s been a busy week, so I have things to write about, so let’s see. I have many notes from events of the past few months which I may try to write up if they don’t end up too vague and maudlin.

Currently my dad is in a nursing home and my mum is at home, not far away. I’ve spent at least half of the past few months there and my sister and I are still alternating our time in Essex.

But, the notes for this week. I saw Martha play live in Bristol, so let’s start with some music:

§ We made one of those life-defining decisions this week: which home powertool battery system to buy into.

We didn’t have any battery-operated power tools but needed some small hedge clippers, particularly for a bit of topiary, where the novelty of cutting it with shears has long since worn off.

Googling and asking around, I got roughly equal numbers of people liking each system. Aside from checking that a system contains tools you might need in future (no idea) the choice appears to be totally based on vibes. It felt like Ryobi and DeWalt were well liked, and it sounded like the former have something good about their batteries (also no idea). And DeWalt’s yellow and black feels a bit too “I’m a RUGGED MAN!!” for me.

So, we now have this dinky one-handed “shear shrubber” (still no idea) and are now a Ryobi family forever. If you belong to a different system, well, it’s been nice knowing you but we can no longer communicate except through an intermediary.

The weather’s mainly been too wet to actually use it though.

§ Unusually we went to the theatre this week, because I noticed a leaflet in the cheese shop that The Cherry Orchard was on in Hereford for a few days. I’d never seen it but had read it a few times and seen and performed bits in acting classes.

It was fine, with a few very good performances. But the audience was small – maybe 30 people? – and I hope they get more for other performances because that’s got to be hard, especially with a play that has quite a large cast.

For reasons the website don’t make clear, this was a new adaptation of the play. I didn’t know the original well enough to spot the differences, except for a few glaringly modern words and phrases – “Not my monkeys, not my circus!” – that stood out unpleasantly.

§ If buying a hedge trimmer wasn’t extravagant enough, this week we also bought a car. We replaced the used Renault ZOE that we only bought in January with a used Kia e-Niro.

Back then we decided that a short-range EV would be ideal for a second car, keeping our petrol Fiat Panda 4x4 for longer journeys as well as the bad conditions it’s great for.

But, but… we loved driving the ZOE, so smooth and quiet and easy. And we realised that, in comparison, the little Panda was not great for long journeys. So we threw caution to the winds, and went back to the nice guys at We Are EV to ask them to keep their eyes open for an e-Niro with our chosen specs. It turns out they’d just got one in, not yet on AutoTrader, and two days later it was sitting in our drive, the ZOE heading back to them in part-exchange (for a second time, apparently).

Although a used car is obviously much cheaper than new, this still feels like Way Too Much Money for a means of transport. The costs of living somewhere very inconvenient. It’s three years old and cost £18,450. On the bright side, that’s a few grand cheaper than they were going for when we were thinking back in January – EV prices have been dropping.

This car feels extremely grown up compared to the others we’ve had. Oodles of fancy gadgets (Apple CarPlay! Heated seats!) and it’s a bit bigger (a larger boot will sometimes be very handy). It feels great to drive and I like it even more than the ZOE. Almost, almost thinking, “Maybe I like driving?” Not that I’ve driven anywhere unfamiliar or stressful or far yet.

It’s only after having had a few cars that I realise how different they all feel to drive, even purely in terms of suspension. The Panda 4x4 bounces merrily over the rough country roads. The ZOE was harder and felt very simple. The e-Niro feels heaver and smoother.

§ Finally, I had a couple of nights in Bristol this week, a tiny little holiday that used the excuse of going to see Martha play to make me do it.

There were some good bits. It was lovely to catch up briefly with T, D and R at their regular Thursday Night Drinks, a tradition of 30+ years. The atmosphere at the Martha gig. And it was mostly great to just walk around the familiar city, as ever, feeling at home, enjoying the relaxed bustle.

But I failed to meet up with some other friends, due to mix ups, and the walking around did get wearing in the end due to the drizzle.

Trying to get home only using public transport was also an error: a train, a rail-replacement bus service, a regular bus, and a 45-minute walk in the rain took four hours, for what could be a 64-mile road journey. Next time maybe I’ll try a bit harder to convince myself that I like driving.

I also felt a bit like I did on a recent day out in London: like I was forcing myself to do too much. When we moved away from London I thought, “Well, it’s not like I did much in London and now I’ll go and cram lots of stuff into brief visits.”

But the best thing about being in cities is, well, just being there. A bit of pottering around, going to cafes, galleries, finding secondhand bookshops, etc. But a full day or more of that, too often, starts to feel forced. If I was living there I might go out for a few hours and then go home. But if I’m only there for a day or two I feel I must go to all the places, see all the things, walk all the streets… and it feels like I’m doing it for the sake of it, and the hours drag on, and I start to wonder what it is I enjoy.

§ Anyway, there are worse things. And it’s just stopped raining.