A stranger from Oz and other things

Wednesday 30th December 2009

Yesterday had a phone call from someone called Jilly. Jilly Cooper the famous novelist ringing me about my comic novels?! I thought, in desperate hope. But no, it was Jilly Searle an Australian lady who explained she was a friend of Jill and Geoff Sparks, our very old Australian friends, 'Old' in both senses of the word, i.e. we've known them for years and they are knocking on a bit. Though not as much as us I hasten to add in case they read this. 'I arrived from Oz yesterday,' this Jilly Searle said, 'and I leave on Sunday, so can we meet up?' 'How about tomorrow?' I recklessly replied, adding 'but how will we know you?' 'I shall carry an outstanding turquoise bag,' she said. 'And my husband looks like Father Christmas,' I offered, so be sure, in case more than one person carried an outstanding turquoise bag

'Perhaps she's an imposter,' we worried. But, no worries mate, we met up with the outstanding turquoise handbag (which was actually beautiful and I hankered after it) and Jilly Searle at Woods on the Pantiles, Tunbridge Wells, and straight away knew she was dinky di straight. She knew more about our family than possibly we did and we spent a very pleasant hour conversing with this glamorous, very nice lady who was in Tunbridge Wells because her partner, the man she will marry next year, is playing Captain Hook in the Peter Pan pantomime in TW. Those pantomimes are blooming good, so I was impressed. And even more so to learn that he is the actor who plays Alf in 'Home and Away'.

After we had said our fond farewells, we mooched back to Sainsbury's car park in the pouring rain to fill in time eating sandwiches in our car, doing a cryptic crossword and filling up with petrol (the car that is, not us) before going to collect two of my paintings that hadn't sold and couldn't be picked up before 2.30pm. Miles out into the country which ensured a few spats between the driver, Morry, and me in deciding the right lane to turn. Anyway we got there.

When we arrived home, our daughter Janice came round with the balance of my Christmas present - a wonderful-looking book on Science mysteries that I'm dying to read and which arrived late from Amazon despite her paying extra on postage, plus a huge bunch of red and white tulips with notes from the children thanking us for a good Christmas. So, that was a lovely surprise and despite the fog, greyness and drizzle, we've had a very satisfying day. Except that my pictures didn't sell. Humph.