Friday 11th June - A series of surprises

 This could have been - as they say - 'interesting'

I am a member of a book group. 

(Digression

At the moment we are reading Isabel Allende 'A Long Petal of the Sea' which has been interesting so far; I have to take breaks from it, rather in the way that I used to hide behind the settee when things got too scary in 'Thunderbirds Are Go'; don't get me started on Dt Who and the Weeping Angels as that left me shivering for several weeks.

I took the first break during the graphic descriptions of combat and then the plight of the refugees in the Spanish Civil War. Once I had rebuilt my strength and courage I travelled with the lucky ones on the boat from France to find asylum in Chile.

I'm now taking another break because several of the characters have got themselves into a real romantic tangle and I cannot see how this is going to end except in tragedy and tears; I hope Ms Allende has a plot twist that will save the situation.)

Anyway, the reason for joining the book group is to meet with friends and also broaden my horizons in the choice of books that I read. We meet every six weeks or so, over zoom this past year, but before then in each other's houses, all bringing contributions for a shared supper - sometimes everyone brought cheese, other times everyone seemed to bring cake, but does this matter?

We are coming up to our first 'real' meeting for over a year - such excitement - a shared lunch this time in someone's garden, except that we are all bringing our own picnic. 

The first surprise was that it had crept up on me so quickly. Our grocery order was not as comprehensive as usual as the quartermaster was having an ;off' day when he placed the order. So there was a distinct lack of variety in what was available for a packed lunch. In the end I assembled a hard boiled egg, sliced cooked new potatoes and a handful of frozen peas, dill pickles, lettuce from the garden and a dollop of french dressing into a saladish sort of combination. I found a small pot of stewed apples in the freezer, made up some cold tea and put out a speckly banana. That will do...

I sent an email to the host asking for directions to her house - I sort of know where it is, and I sort of remember a sudden and slightly hidden entrance to the drive somewhere near a bridge on the main road out of town. As this would  be my first time driving the car since about May last year I wanted to reduce the number of unknowns before heading off.

'I've arranged that you can park in my next-door neighbour's drive so that there's room for all'. she said. 

Noted.

I chose my outfit with care, summery, and a huge soft wrap in case of getting cold.

'I thought it was next Friday?' asked Himself as I was about to load up a picnic bag. 

'I'll check if you like,' I grumbled.

It is NEXT Friday. That has saved me from the considerable embarrassment of driving up to a stranger's house, parking my car and ambling next door for a non-existent book group meeting. I also have another week to renew my strength and discover how Victor, Roser, Orfiel, Matias, Felipe and all the others are going to get out of this dreadful fix.