Yes, I hope normality will soon be here. Battleaxe is still feeling a bit weak and woozy, but better than I did, and normal activities are resuming. Have even been up to London for a day-trip to meet my Brummie friends, the two Sues. My step-daughter Anna came down to visit us – she has just returned home to Bristol today. Blessedly, Saturday was a beautiful sunny day – the best for weeks. While she was here, she signed some forms for us – the applications for Lasting Powers of Attorney. More about that in a minute. Have attended various medical appointments and have more to go. However, I have not written a word of my novel – what will be the third in the series – for well over a month now. Am trying to give myself a break. Maybe I’ll do some this week. Meanwhile, the latest, ‘Death is a Desirable Property,’ is selling well, which is a relief. I have been entertaining myself with pictures of my two novels in fantasy AI settings.
Here’s a rather fuzzy selfie of me and the Sues during our lunch at the Clermont Hotel at Charing Cross, which is of course totally handy for me coming on the train. I did feel a bit wobbly facing the London crowds, but I scarcely had to do anything. The hotel is right by the station. Battleaxe would really recommend the place if you prefer a quieter dining destinatioon, like we do. The old building is elegant, and the restaurant is very comfortable. The food is not excessively expensive, and is good. The service is excellent. Here is the link.
Next, Anna. Here we are at Rock-a-Nore. Look at the blue sky and marvel, because the next day it was back to pouring rain… We three had an excellent lunch at Webbes restaurant. Have been there a few times before and it has never let us down. Quiet, spacious table, and excellent food. I had three oysters plus a hake dish, excellent. Again, not too extortionate. Battleaxe recommends. Here is the link.
You’ll be thinking that Battleaxe does nothing but go out to lunch, and indeed there were two more last week. We met our friends Jan and Tom for lunch at the Conquerer’s March on the Ridge, and I went to our Book Club meeting and lunch at the Isabel Blackman Centre.
So, what’s this Power of Attorney thing? Well, it is recommended that us oldsters sort this out, to enable your spouse and whoever else you trust to act for you if you become very ill or ‘mentally incapable’. You have to have two separate documents, one for property and finance and one for health and welfare. Each document costs £92 to get registered with the Public Guardian or whoever that might be, so for me and Philosopher that is 4 x 92… Lots of people we know have had theirs done by solicitors, which rockets the price up… We did ours ourselves using the on-line forms and guidance which you download and print, because each separate document has to be signed and witnessed numerous times – in a particular order – by every goddam woman and her husband. It is really complicated and confusing, but hopefully, cross fingers, we have managed to do it, and the documents can now be sent off.
Here are two of the AI photos I was talking about. I put four different ones on Facebook and asked friends which one they liked best. Overwhelmingly, they chose the cosy pub, but one person liked the tropical beach…
As usual, I’ll finish with the Amazon link to ‘Death is a Desirable Property’. Reviews so far are excellent but I need a few more if you’ve read it and enjoyed it!
