What a week indeed… Yes, we went to see that film, along with much more pre-lockdown socialising, but as well as grand-daughter Eve, this post also has exciting news about my daughter and my acquisition of a son-in-law (yes, wow). Then, we have the US election – what an utter nightmare, and of course the on-going omni-shambles of our own so-called government amid the march of Coronavirus. Oh, and we are in the middle of getting a a new car. Enough excitement and trauma? I think so. No wonder Battleaxe has had a bit of trouble sleeping. “Fasten your seatbelts,” says Margo in the film. “It’s going to be a bumpy night.” Too right, says Battleaxe.

Where to start? I’ll leave the US until last, to give them a little more time to actually decide something.
So, a four week lockdown (LD2) started yesterday , and we are all back at home. Well, sort of. Schools etc are still open, and seemingly, lots of shops. In the pre-LD2 days early this week Battleaxe was wildly social – drinks with friends, coffee with women friends, a walk with the WI on a lovely sunny morning, and the Kino in Rye with different friends for the Silver Room Cream Tea screening of All About Eve. It was the first time we had been to the cinema since March, and now it will probably be the last…
The Silver Room at the Kino is very comfortable – all armchairs and little tables. It doesn’t hold that many anyway, but there were only 7 of us – bags of social distance. Needless to say the film is great – Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Marilyn Monroe, George Sanders. Those frocks… those furs…
If we ever get to go to the cinema again, Battleaxe would recommend those screenings. Classic movies, a cup of tea and a scone with jam and cream. What’s not to like.

Anyway, back to the other Eve. We were due to have her to stay next week to give daughter Clara and her partner Steve a bit of a break, but of course lockdown intervened. I called them up on Sunday to discuss the situation, but wait for this – they were at Gretna Green, and getting married the next morning! It was a complete surprise… Don’t get me wrong, Clara and Steve have been together for ages, he is a really excellent man, and we had known a wedding was on the cards… so I am actually very pleased and send them maximum good wishes. Readers, I won’t go into the circumstances here, on this public blog, but it was a bit sudden (oh, don’t worry, no babies in sight). They got married in Victorian costumes – they looked great and it was really quite romantic. So, Battleaxe is now a mother-in-law… Of course, it is just as well they did it when they did – there are no weddings allowed now under lockdown. Here are a few more pictures. They all look very happy.
New car? Yes. I said on this blog back in August how we were having to pay to have my deeply shameful dents and scrapes face-lifted off the side of the poor Skoda Yeti, in preparation for selling it. (Well, by the way, the end result was perfect. If anyone needs their bodywork face-lifted, Battleaxe can recommend… ) Last Friday we decided the time had come, and ended up choosing a Nissan Juke to replace the Yeti. It is the same size as the Yeti, with another high driving position, and a quirky shape. So many of those small SUVs look just the same, and we wanted something we could find in the car park. It has all sorts of bells and whistles, including a Bose sound system, all round cameras and no hand-brake, which will throw us a bit at first… Again, of course, it was just as well we had done the business and bought the thing when we did, because again, there are no more car sales for a bit.
It has to come down from the Nissan factory in Sunderland, we had ordered it just before lockdown struck… and car showrooms have to close. However, we had signed on the dotted line, agreed the valuation of the Skoda etc., so they say they will still get it down here and put it through the workshop so we can have it. We will have to sign all the final paperwork outside in the car park.
Heesh, everything is just such a hassle and a nuisance in these Covid days. I know I should count myself lucky – we know people who are ill and trying to get treatment, people trying to sell their houses…
So, I can’t avoid the US Election any longer. Look, it is now 4.00pm on Friday and the election was held on Tuesday… there are still 6 states still to declare – how can it take so long? As I write, Biden has taken the lead in Georgia and just now Pennsylvania. If he keeps these, he will win, and he is also in the lead in Nevada and Arizona. Needless to say, Trump is not taking this well. He has accused just about everybody and everything of fraud – wild accusations with no evidence. Fortunately, at least some Americans are made of sterner stuff – legal challenges are being thrown out, and doggedly, the counting continues. He made a particularly inflammatory speech a few hours ago which was actually cut off by many of the major broadcast networks. That is not good. But what of Biden – hells teeth, if I was in his shoes I would not want to win…. what a job. I will have to publish this now with the issue still not resolved. Ridiculous….