Question 2.
’Who is the well known national athletics official in third place?’
Help Blog, Help.
An emergency. I’m desperate. Really, really desperate. I don’t know what to do. I need your advice. My wife twisted her ankle on the last day of the trip to the Dales. Now she is expecting me to help around the house as she is unable to walk. I said I’d pop down to the British Red Cross to hire a set of crutches but she just snorted. ‘What about my trudging’, I said, ‘Have you no thought for others?’ I had to take her to the Co-op this morning for some shopping. Shopping on a Sunday morning? Sacrilege! Sundays are special. Sundays are sacred. No one shops on a Sunday morning. She should know that Sunday morning is set aside in the good book for a long run. Lydiard has written about it extensively. I was beginning to think that she had landed awkwardly on more than just her ankle.
I said that I didn’t think it right that we should add to global warming by driving, but she insisted. She can be so stubborn. I said that the hobble to the bus stop would do her good; she needed some fresh air. I offered to help her up the step onto the bus, but she was adamant. I’ve never been in the Coundon Co-op before; it was quite bright and cheery; I suggested that she could support herself if she pushed the trolley round. I told her she should use this shop more often rather than go into town shopping. It would mean that she would not have to carry all those heavy bags as far, as the bus to and from the Co-op ran very frequently and it did not entail too much walking to the house, only about half a mile at the very most. When we got back, I was ready to go for my trudge but she wanted me to do the breakfast dishes. I ask you; she really was trying it on. I’d already had to get up early to make my own cup of tea to take back to bed. Then she made me go down again and get her one. ‘I hope this does not become a habit’ I told her. I said that I’d run the hot water for the dishes, and she could stand at the sink with her leg on a stool. She said a couple of naughty words. I had to tell her that the man in the Church had said ‘For better and for worse’ and that means doing the housework, even if you take a little more time over it – I don’t mind compromising in such circumstances. So I left her at the sink. I must say that I was a little shocked when I got back about 90 minutes later and she refused to let me in. Quite unreasonable. I went and did a few stretches in the out house until she saw reason. It was a good session; I was pleased with the way it went. It was spoiled however, when my wife continued with her sulk. I did cook lunch for us both on condition she got herself sorted and did the bread making in the afternoon while I had a little nap to recover from my trudge. I must say that I think she enjoyed her beans on toast. Cutting the bread into triangles seemed to really do the trick. It bucked her up. I thought it quite a nice touch on my part. Back to her old chirpy self, she was. I was a little taken aback therefore when she said I should do the vacuuming after lunch. Vacuuming? Me? I said I didn’t think I knew my suck from my blow, and we didn’t want to see the dust go all over. My eye is still quite sore but the doctor said to keep bathing it and the swelling should go down in a couple of days. He said I should still be able to keep on trudging.
So Blog, if you can come over to help for a few days, my wife would be very grateful and she would not feel so guilty about stopping me going for a trudge to help her out.
Yours desperate friend,
Colin
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