Saturday Supplement

Kind of related to my earlier post, when last Sunday I told Ex Sis in Law about my prospective boarder, there was an infiniTESimal pause by her after I answered her question about how old my prospective boarder is. I could hear the cogs of her brain working as I answered 21. Perhaps she has heard rumours about me?

I wish she had said something like oh, a toyboy then. She said nothing. I don't want another relationship, though I hope the boarder and I get along and it works out. I can go onto Grindr and within thirty minutes have a nice looking 20+ Indian or Asian born guy lined up. It isn't about me and my looks but what I can do for them, but not especially in a short term financial sense. They like a white daddy to...I am not sure why, look after them in some long term way? More than I would have thought seem to genuinely like older men. 

Thursday I had two stiches removed from my scalp by the nurse at my skin cancer general practitioner rooms. She is nice, and was the nurse who took out my last stiches when my blood pressure dropped so low. She remembered me and Ray. I was with her for over an hour that day. There is no glossing over she is a big fat woman. After I told her about my various medical issues and Ray's death, as I was leaving she asked if I wanted a hug. I did and I was enveloped into the body of a large and voluptuous woman. It was really nice, and she said if I am struggling or just want to talk, the medical practice will be there for me. 

My skin cancer doctor, also a woman, had also offered great comfort and care. I am thinking woman can offer people who are grieving much better comfort than men can/do.

I hired a male sex worker for my 70th birthday. It didn’t go as planned

I am not 70, so it is not about me. It was a column written in our newspaper The Age. You can perhaps read it here.

The story is about a 70 year old single but sexually experienced woman who paid an extraordinary amount of money to hire a sex worker, something like AU$1300 for 3 hours, plus a few hundred for a hotel, for her 70th birthday present to herself. It wouldn't be much of a story if it all went well, would it. 

Older women and sex is something that enters my curious mind, curious in both senses. In my opinion she overegged the blancmange. She was trying to buy an emotional experience resulting in sex. She spoke to the bloke before hand more than once. She found they had things in common. She liked the sound of him and liked his looks. She was concerned about how he would react to her 70 year old body, and she should not be. It is a commercial arrangement. She made great preparations at the hotel before his arrival. While it remained all very polite and civilised, she realised it wasn't working and asked him to leave, which he did. 

The next day she called him and asked for a refund, which he did. She took no blame and decided it was his lack of professionalism. Maybe, maybe not. 

But honestly, why did she do it in such a hard and expensive manner? She lived alone so I kind of get why she wouldn't want a sex worker in her home. Why wouldn't she be content with a quick fuck with a hot rent guy for an hour in a motel room? If it was a gay man, it might be over in 30 minutes. I suppose it was a birthday present to herself and she wanted to go the whole hog a romantic experience. I don't think that is something that is you can buy.

The author mentioned a film with a similar theme. I have not heard of the film but it sounds interesting, Good Luck To You, Leo Grande. It stars Emma Thompson, so that is one positive, the second being the male actor Daryl McCormack, is quite attractive. Have you heard of it or seen it? I want to see the film and from my investigations, the easiest way is using YouTube for the cost of $5.

Revisiting history

[Text removed]

Ray complained to me, why is there a password file and an old password file? Why is there an old family address list? Why is there is there an old friend list? Such files take up a few kilobytes of storage, virtually nothing. No harm in keeping them. To my surprise, I came across the phone number, name and address of a guy I had not seen for twenty odd years, which halted for reasons in 2004 when he Ray had a falling out. 

I checked the dead person newspaper electric online system. No death notice for him, but should I phone him? He would be so old. Yeah, well, I did call him. We spoke for an hour and of course I told him about Ray's death. I was surprised that he had forgotten a few things, but it had been twenty years.

We arranged to meet at his place on Tuesday. I had forgotten I was having a skin cancer biopsy on my skull that day but the times didn't conflict. I caught a tram to his place. He remembered me, kind of. He couldn't remember me by looks. I haven't aged a bit since 2004, so that was surprising.  This was strange, we had known each other for such a long time. He asked me how many times we had met and I replied about 100 times (yes, you can read something into that). Slowly he remembered me. This was doing my head in. What is wrong with him? It dawned on me that he had dementia. 

After talking for about two hours, and me repeatedly answering his same questions, with me trying to talk to him about things in the past, I eventually said goodbye, although he wanted me stay longer. I could describe the meeting as successful, but it was rather sad. 

On the whole, I really wish I'd left the past where it was. His self described 'memory problems' are quite bad but I know he has neighbours and a couple of close friends to look after him. In the kitchen there was a banana skin on a bench. At about 5pm, he looked at it and said, This is how I know I had breakfast this morning as I have banana on my cereal. I know him from old. He stays up very late and rises very late. Breakfast was probably about noon. 

And at this point of writing this the same evening, published a few days over a week later, I've collapsed into a crying and sobbing mess. I miss my Ray so much. I hate that he no longer sees life and what will happen. He has missed Harper's second birthday and will miss Lukey's fifth, then in a few days Jo's 17th. Ray always put glitter in birthday cards and people learnt to open their cards with great care, but a spillage of glitter was inevitable. That was his thing and I won't continue his tradition. Ray always looked so forward to things. I cried for Ray, for myself and the person I knew who now has dementia. 

A bit later I called Ray's favourite English sister and she consoled me somewhat and I managed to get a grip on my emotions. I woke the next morning to a lovely poem she sent to me. 

I remembered when Mother's partner died. My grandmother's husband. I remember when the husband of Jenny of Procrastinating Donkey died. I remember the husband of Ursula of Frikos World dying. Those strong and brave women survived the loss and so will I. 

Creatures of the deep and not so deep

Fire Fighting Nephew, his wife and their five year old daughter asked if would like to join them for a birthday outing for their twin two year old boys. Ex Sis in Law who is FFN's mother and her husband joined us. Everyone met here and the eight of us trammed to the aquarium. I need to add this was a few weeks ago. Here are some photos from the outing. We managed to miss the penguins. 

I was so annoyed at the awful wayfinding and signage, I lodged a complaint on the company's website. 

Coral I guess. Ever so pretty. 

This was a massive crocodile, and I mean massive.

From the aquarium terrace.

God knows what this creature is. An eel?

WTF?

Just think of Jaws music. 

Failed but funny

I 've pulled today's post as I am not quite sure about the wisdom of what I've written. Instead you get this piece of crap.

Quora just keeps on giving. It can be a useful site but apparently the algorithm I wasn't asked about presents me with a lot of nonsense. 

I once saw a Japanese tourist in a bank on Piccadilly, which had a nice marble black and white checked floor. He asked if they had a copy of the Yellow Pages, which in those days was huge.

He placed it on the floor and proceeded to take a photograph of it!

Verbal can be just as ridiculous as physical. Three American classics:

Caller: “I’m coming to England. Will it be alright to sit on a leather sofa?”

Operator: “Yes, of course. Why on earth not?”

Caller: “Because of Mad Cow Disease”.

Lady asks a hotel concierge what is a nice day trip from London. He advises her to go to see Windsor Castle. She returns in the evening and he asks if she enjoyed herself. She replies: “Oh, it was just wonderful but why did you build the castle so close to the airport?”

Lastly - “Which side of the river is Tower Bridge on?”

Monday Mural

I'm joining with Sami and others for Monday Mural. 

It is alert, not threatening but not friendly either.

Sir Keef and personal stuffs

The UK election result was not surprising but the numbers who voted Labour are quite astonishing. As happens here, Sunak spoke and conceded defeat and then the new PM Starmer (spell check needs to get used to that name) declared victory. All very civilised and no riots or storming of Westminster. 

I must consult my map. Yes, the second word is UK. The voter turnout of around 60% was very disappointing. Australia has compulsory voting, with a fine if you don't and voting levels will be mid to high 90% voter turnout. And at many polling booths, you can buy a charity fund raising sausage in bread with onions and sauce. It is known as the democracy sausage. 

I know a little about Sir Keef, but it is the first time I have seen Lady Starmer. She is attractive enough but she doesn't look like she has been in a good paddock. Sir Keef looks like he is a boring bureaucrat and that is probably what the UK needs. Someone to sit down and look at the sums and distribution of sums in a very rich country. 

As for me, life remains busy. I had a Saturday brunch which lasted two hours with our Launceston friend, her ex, her ex' mother and my Hair Dresser Friend. It was a lovely catch up. Today I will attend a two year old's birthday party, who is kind of relative. 

I am now on a white diet in preparation for a colonoscopy on Monday. I have to drink the drink tomorrow night and again on Monday morning. Tuesday is lunch with Sister, Bone Doctor and Jo for Jo's 17 birthday. I cannot believe she is so old. Wednesday the painting of the apartment begins and I am terrified of what it will be like, then I have a doctor visit to remove stitches in my scalp where a skin cancer biopsy was taken and get results. Thursday a friend and his partner have invited me for lunch. They will cook. How nice is that. But then nothing until the 21st, a daytime party for my oldest great nephew's fifth birthday. 

The painting and then recarpeting will take two to three weeks, and then my boarder moves in, into Ray's bedroom. I've never done anything like this before and it will be a learning curve. He is 21, gay, born in Australia of Indian/South Asian heritage. He seems ok. He says he will cook and clean for me. That wasn't part of the deal. He is studying food science at a university. He seems like a nice guy and while he isn't effeminate, he does wear very pretty pink finger nails. $200 per week and that is quite cheap for what he gets. I am living in interesting times. 

Don't ask me why I am taking in a boarder as I don't know. I don't really need the money, nor the company. But something made me do it, I know not what.