thenotsomightyom

Have you ever been camping?

I was a late starter when it came to camping and the love of the great outdoors.

I suspect that because there was a hint of gypsy on my mother’s side of the family that she rebelled against carts and tents.She was a four wall and posh dining aficionado and I never really thought much about it until I realised her horror when  her progeny  delighted in  the outdoor gypsy life  that she would have rather was dead and buried in her progeny’s genes and that she would never see resurface.

Reality, though, was economics.It was a cheap holiday ,my first with my then boyfriend and now a partner in crime of many years.

Wales was our destination,a camp site beloved by  my partner’s family.We were late booking,but we got this lovely flat pitch,away from everyone and with a nice view.

We had bought the tent the previous weekend,it was quite spacious ,although, both of us being quite tall,neither of us were able to stand up in it.Big mistake.

Our first disaster came with putting the poles into the holes to make the structure.There was just far too much tension for the flimsy material.I wasn’t much help because I’d never put up a tent in my whole life.So I watched,concerned that the poles seemed to be stretching the tent material to it’s maximum tension.

It was when I heard the ping and the rip that I realised something was terribly wrong.

“We’ll have to go to a B&B” my partner said  .

I was disappointed and volunteered

“Let me see what I can do.”

I had a sewing kit with me and went down to the camp shop where they had some nylon fishing reel  thread, which I brought back up.I sewed the piece of material and the repair was good enough to hold.

Over the next few days, a few more pings were heard, and a number of repairs were made,but the tent protected us from the elements and we explored the region and the beautiful mountains and scenery.

It was a fun holiday ,and I’m so had we didn’t have to stay in a B&B.

When we got back home,we went to the camp shop and got a full refund on the old tent and bought a new one that we could stand up in and that the poles were not at such a high tension.

“

When do you feel most productive?

I definitely feel more at peace and at ease and, therefore, more productive at Dawn.

It is quiet,there are few distractions and there is plenty of time at the start of the day.

What are your favorite emojis?

A friendly emoji wink,just to say hello and hope all is well with you.

What topics do you like to discuss?

It really didn’t matter what topic she wanted to discuss.No one ever listened to Gabby.

That was reality,every hour of every day was filled with people talking at her.Wanting her to understand what they were saying and how they felt about things.

To some, it was just a game,a game of dominance,a chance to prove how clever they were.To others(more bearable Gabby thought) were those who saw her as the opportunity to talk to someone about whatever was bugging them as normally no one would listen to them. Gabby was their window on their world.

Gabby knew it was a skill to listen but  felt she had perhaps  missed the boat and had forgotten how to talk.

When was the last time you took a risk? How did it work out?

Is doing a risk assessment dangerous work? Of course,because there is a danger in over and under reacting. Never being right.

I assess my risk every day and conclude that I must do something and that there is risk in everything.

Gambling

I don’t bet as a rule, and neither do my brothers and sisters as far as I know.Having one parent who let gambling get a little out of control;should we say;it’s not an attractive prospect.

Nevertheless, I signed up to an app(now defunct) that let me play the stock market.I think I invested about £600 and over a period of about five years lost it all.I’m still nor sure it was a scam.

Truthfully, though, it had its ups and downs ,and I enjoyed using it.If I had some spare cash,I’d try it again.But I don’t and so  I haven’t and now it’s a happy memory.

I enjoyed the cut and thrust of the market in my own small way. I suppose I was careful and didn’t risk anything I couldn’t afford.

To say never is to deny its existence if only to yourself.These places need to be visited in order for them to change.

I admit it ,I live in a pretty cosseted world where I see little real pain and little real cruelty.

There are ,however,many places where abhorrent human behaviour happens.I don’t visit them,but some people do to bear witness and act for change.

I would never say never to visit a place if I could do some good.

The guardian angel everyone thought was a black sheep

I was told as a young girl to stay away from Uncle Graham. He would appear intermittently in our lives.He was a traveller ,an adventurer, and he did not fit in.

My mother,God, rest her soul,was afraid of Uncle Graham.She saw him as a bad influence on her curious, quirky daughter who was close to reaching her teens.

Of course,the fact that everyone disapproved of him made me visit his little condo more when I knew he was around. Unknown to my mother, we texted each other regularly,  and I was probably one of the few people at any given time who knew where he was.It was his safety net.

I was very good at hiding things from my family.They seemed to disapprove of everything I liked or did.

One day, though,I got into a situation way beyond my control.A so-called friend had called at my house, and we had we’d  gone to the local park. There ,we met a group of boys and young men.I knew immediately who they were, and they dealt in drugs.

Stupidly,I didn’t want to look like a sissy,so we laughed and joked with the young men.I suppose hormones kicked in, and I was flattered.One young lad seemed to take a particular interest in me and passed some white tablets into my hand.

“Here, take these,it’ll be amazing! We can go to my flat later”.

Just at that moment,Uncle Graham appeared,looking very dishevelled. All the young lads thought he was drunk and started laughing at him.

I felt the pills in my hand,I knew I did not want to take them.Uncle Graham wondered up to the boys and said to the boys

“You selling good stuff ?”

“What’s it to you, Old Man?”

“Just asking? What’ve you got?”

“Go away,Old Man,you couldn’t  afford what we’ve got?”said the one who had passed me the tablets.

“How much?Your whole stash,including the pills you just passed to that young girl!”

“That’s none of your business,old man!”Said the tall young lad who  was increasingly  agitated.

“Suppose it’s not,but I said how much?It’s a fair question,you’re a businessman, aren’t you?”

“Look it’s ,not for sale…:

“Oh, so you ain’t no businessman then?What are you a pimp?”

At that time, all the other boys started laughing, and I began to get embarrassed.

“Will you sell me the pills,little girl?.”

I saw this as my way out.

“Of course, I wasn’t going to take the stupid things anyway. Twenty dollars”

Uncle Graham reached into his pocket and took out a very dirty twenty dollar bill, and handed it to me.I took it and said to the others.

“See you guys,I’m off to the mall,buy myself a new top,they’ve got a sale on.”

The group of boys and now one girl looked incredulous.

Uncle Graham pottered off in the opposite direction while I made my way around to the gate at the other side of the park,heading towards the mall.

We circled the park ,and when we met up at the gate,Uncle Graham and I smiled at each other.

“Thanks, Uncle Graham,that was very scary.”

“No need to be scared of people like that,they ain’t no good at business are they?Now you owe me a coffee  let’s go to Dino’s Café,your paying!”

I laughed .”No problem, Uncle Graham!”

A Fictitious Non-Eatery

©️GeraldineBanks2024

It was a calorie-less idea. Norm, a young thirty something millionaire chef, had started The Zero as a joke.

It had all begun as the takings from his triple Michelin Star Restaurant in Edgbaston,a suburb of Birmingham, had taken a dive. The old restaurant could no longer support him and his growing family.He had two great children and a pregnant wife. He did not want to let them down ,he knew he had to move fast to avoid getting into debt.

As the building lease was about to be renewed,he terminated it and told his wife that they were moving to London.It was short notice, but Monica was used  to Norm’s ways.She knew whatever he was doing,it would be for the best.

He managed to rent a house for them from a fellow chef who was moving to Australia. Norm worked evenings , cooking for celebrities,it was good money and almost seven days a week.

The personal chef dinners he made for his celebrity clients were inspirational.None of them wanted to eat anything with fat,oil, or starch in it. He would present a meal,but most of it wasn’t eaten.His speciality ,no calorie spritzer, was a great hit with the diners.It was a special recipe that Norm had devised and he wouldn’t divulge to anyone. Yes ,it was no calorie,but it had a rare mushroom in it,known to lift the spirits without I’ll effect.

After a few months of working every evening and looking for premises for his new “Zero” restaurant.Norm found the perfect location.It was a trendy bistro in Soho that, like Norm’s old place  was finding it impossible to make ends meet.

After a fair negotiation,where Norm agreed to take on the remaining five year lease. Norm refurbished the restaurant and with his mate Connor from Birmingham as Maitre D,he set up in business.

Norm knew every no calorie recipe in the book and knew how to combine herbs and gels to make the most amazing dishes.His mushroom spritzer was a real hit and was analysed by the Enviromental Health people from the council and given full approval.People would come in to solely  drink a glass of his spritzer.

There was not a calorie in sight,and Norm expanded his network of “Zeros”. As an aside,he would also buy normal restaurant supplies and do meals for low income and homeless people. After all, it was all tax deductible, and he didn’t want to lose his ability to cook. Still, the money was in the no calorie stuff.