Paying attention

I woke up at around 01:00 on Friday morning, cold. This is unusual - not that I might wake up at 01:00, which is more than usual, but that I was cold. I have a wool filled doona and a snuggly blanket on the bed, plus, often, two cats. I am pretty much never cold in bed.

Anyway. I went into the spare bedroom and collected an extra blanket from the wardrobe. Returning to my bed, I put the radio on, as is my habit when awake in the night. BBC World Service. The presenter was telling us that the Queen was "under medical supervision". I pondered this. It could mean almost anything from being given Panadol every two hours (although this might not be noteworthy) to having a doctor at her side at all times. Then he said that various princes, dukes and duchesses were on their way to Scotland. 

I knew what that meant. Members of the royal family do not drop whatever they happen to be doing and all hot foot it off to Scotland at no notice, without there being a very good reason. A major world event was unfolding. I decided I should perhaps pay attention, given that I was awake anyway.

Brandy and Whiskey were very puzzled. If I was awake and paying attention, even if from my bed, this must surely mean it was breakfast time for cats. They took some convincing that Breakfast Time for Cats, though clearly very significant for them, does not constitute a Major World Event. Anyway, I am not getting up and doling out cat biscuits in the middle of the night.

The radio announcer, who broke the news of the Queen's death, just before the World Service cut to BBC1 for the formal announcement, sounded slightly stunned, although he must surely have known it was coming. I knew, and I was in my bed in Australia, just listening to events not observing them.

I got up, and walked into wall-to-wall Queen. Radio, television, news. To be expected, I suppose, but I was pleased, during the course of the day, that I have access to Netflix, Amazon Prime, other sources of televisual content. Sometimes you need something lighter.

I had never noticed that the petrol station in Buninyong has a flagpole and a flag until I went to the Post Office on Friday afternoon and saw the flag at half mast. I assume the flag flies at full mast at other times. I must remember to look.

We are still having trouble convincing Stella's bank that Tony is dead. I took in a copy of his death certificate and happened to get the same person we spoke to on Monday. He was full of apologies but a copy, no matter how well certified, would not do. He needed sight of the original. The certificate of probate also would not do. Original death certificate or nothing - although how you get probate without there being a preceding death is a mystery. The original death certificate is in the flat in East Melbourne where all important documents are kept. The flat is much less likely to be destroyed by a bush fire than either Hill House or Tani.  I will try again next week, original death certificate in hand.

I have put the extra blanket back in the spare wardrobe. It was much too hot in bed with it on, even folded at the bottom of the bed. My feet do not like being hot!

Lindsey and I went to the market yesterday morning, then the mushroom farm. We had a Japanese lesson at lunchtime. We went to visit Stella and Jim in the afternoon. Jim very much enjoyed the lemon meringue cookie that I took in for him. He got meringue all over his beard :-D