The hundred and twentyninth week of the pandemic

Well, continuing on from the end of my last post, NO, I am not spending this Wednesday down some caves, due to Zoli having called it off again. I wish he told me the minimum number he is prepared to take down the caves, now I know that just 2 will not do. It is a real pain that most people I have asked have either already been down these caves and have the geocache, or are ill, or can't take a day off work, or ended up on the afternoon shift that day or just simply not responding to any of my e-mails.

Late roses

Currently, we agreed that we will do it next Tuesday, and in the meantime I will advertise it on the appropriate geocaching forum, just in case we get more bodies. Zoli thought that because I didn't ring, that meant that it was off. Therefore, he didn't do any organising on his part. Let us hope he does that now and we will have at least 4 or more and then it might go ahead. Knowing my luck and acrimonious relationship with that infamous Irishman by the name of Murphy, next week the weather will turn and it will have to be cancelled for that reason. Or, if the forecast is really good for next week, then we are likely to lose Zoli for two weeks, as he wants to go to the Tatra Mountains, rock climbing, hiking etc. If that is the case, it will have to be put off until the second part of October, as we are off to Canada on 24th September. I will report on this one way or another next week.

Pink hibiscus

Now for another rather aggravating bit of news: the car is still not OK. Last Thursday we went to the garage in Gödöllő to have the seat alarm fixed and for the annual service. The weather was still quite hot, so we just hung around in the air conditioned showroom bit, hoping that this will be our last visit relating to this stupid alarm thing. Well, it wasn't. First of all, they forgot the service, so after a couple of hours the car came out, the bill was suspiciously low and when I asked whether that bill includes the service, you could see on their faces that the question in their heads was: What service?, so the car went off for another couple of hours and then when it came out the bill was more than double. We didn't mind, as we had enough of them and it, all we wanted was to get home.

2022 version of my beloved Duster

And then came the really infuriating bit. Having put the safety belts on, the light did not go out and it carried on screaming at us, albeit slightly less aggressively than before. So back we went. They fiddled with it and then we were told that probably it also needs a new belt buckle. Why on earth couldn't they test for that as well? Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!! Mind you, the guy could see the fury behind my eyes, so he twiddled something with the buckle, so that it is a bit higher than before, and thankfully it doesn't scream. On the other hand, it's probably not safe either. We agreed that he will phone when the new buckle had arrived, but he hasn't yet. Needless to say, that if it carries on screaming even after that, we will insist that they disconnect it, like they did before, as they seem to be incapable of diagnosing the problem and we had enough money thrown at it already.

Our grapes, ready for harvest

After all this excitement, we started on a new campaign at home of clearing the rainwater gutters, as we couldn't get anyone else to do it. Thankfully, the Bunkhouse gutter is clear, as it has no trees close to it. The first one was the Southern side of the Farmhouse, which is a bit hairy in the front, as the ladder had to be extended to its maximum, which is nearing 5 metres. It was slow and very tiring, but I did that with Roy's help of standing on the bottom rung and holding the ladder. Next step was the Northern side, which was also pretty full of gunge, but not as hairy as the other side, and after a few hours that was done as well. Finally, on the third day I did the Cottage Southern side, but could not face doing the Northern one, which is in Nelly's absolute jungle, but hopefully, sometime next week I'll have a go at that as well. Apologies for no photos of this gutter clearance, but Roy still has not mastered the art of taking photos with my phone.

Nice big juicy bunches of grapes

While all this was going on, I managed to get Nelly to give me the phone number of the guy who chopped down her trees last year and gave the guy a ring. He was really nice and promised to come over the following morning to have a look at the tree and its situation and give us a quote. This he duly did and quoted 60,000 Ft, which at the current exchange rate is about £135. I said yes straight away and we agreed on either Monday or Thursday the following week.

Other jobs during this time included letting the gas meter reader in to do the annual meter reading, which was quite lucky, as he had been before and we didn't find his piece of paper about it. I also started doing some preparation work for our Canadian trip, which I kept putting off out of superstition, that something will crop up and will stop it. Still, some things had to be done and I printed all the documents and put them in a folder, as well as downloaded the Yettel app, so I can buy data traffic time for roaming
just before we go.

Alex also insisted that I should download Uber, as public transport is so expensive now in Toronto, that it is worth catching an Uber isntead. That wasted a lot of time and was unsuccessful. It turns out that Uber is banned in Hungary and while filling out the form it would not take my postal code, with a notice "no such code". So I gave up and we will either walk or catch a street car, like we always did before, no matter how expensive.

I also had another job to do with telephone calls, but instead of Canada, now I had to deal with post-Brexit UK. I have a dual SIM phone, where one is Hungarian and the other UK. The latter is a "pay as you go" phone, where I put money on it now and again and it works. I occasionally receive calls on it and use it to make calls even more rarely. So I had a letter that if I do not use it within the next 90 days, they'll cancel my number and SIM card. OK, I thought, I have always done this, so it should work even now. No, I was wrong it did not. When they notified all PAYG customers of the post-Brexit changes, the text was a bit hazy on detail, but I took it to mean that either I buy a package that they were offering for using my phone abroad, or carry on without a package, but then it's a lot more expensive. Considering that I make at the most 3 or 4 calls a year, I decided against the package, willing to pay the higher rate. What they didn't tell you, was that you can't use your phone at all, except with these packages, which last only 8 days. Obviously, they were thinking of people being on holiday, not of expats that live abroad.

The packages

Unfortunately, I had no choice but to buy a package, as unless I used my phone within the next 90 days, I was going to lose it. The information in one of the letters was that I have to send an SMS with the word EUMINS to 2345 and that will be facilitated. I would have 100 minutes for £4. Quite reasonable, I thought, no problems. Four times a year I can afford that to hang onto my UK phone. And here comes the very frustrating punchline. There was no way I could do that, unless I already had the package. The classical case of Catch 22. It was also very confusing that there was no information what format the phone number had to be put into - again they were thinking of holidaymakers who could buy this at home before leaving. I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, when I spotted their website that you can do it with the Vodafone app on your phone or online on the desktop PC. And finally, that is what I have done. Not that their website is very user friendly. I had to look for quite a time before I spotted the button I had to click on for buying a EUMIN package for 8 days for £4. I also downloaded the app onto my phone, just in case I'll need it there in future.

Sheila in the pavilion a few years back

Now, having a 100 minutes gave me a chance to call people, whom I haven't called since Brexit, having lost the facility of it costing the same as at home. Having a bad relationship with my old friend Murphy, practically nobody I called was picking up. Linda had a busy week and was away some of the time, and quite a few others were just not picking up. Finally, the vast majority of the 100 minutes was used up by calling Sheila, with whom I had a jolly good natter. I think I still have approximately 10 to 15 minutes left, but it doesn't matter if I can't use it up before Friday, when it finishes. I was very keen to use most of it up, as having been forced to buy one, I was not going to waste my minutes.

The silver birch still intact

And now back to the death sentence on the silver birch. Monday turned out to have a bad forecast, so I thought János would come on Thursday, but then Tuesday became free, so we had the tree cut down yesterday. He arrived today with his younger son and a friend, to get on with it. In the meantime, Roy discovered a few other small jobs that we asked him to do. He is such a lovely guy, that he agreed to do the extra, namely, the final cut down of the pear tree that knocked me off the ladder, chopping down a dead branch on one of our walnut trees and climbing up to the ridge of the Cottage, where a couple of branches of Nelly’s biggest walnut tree had a good go at our tiles. 

Minus a few branches

The work started at 11am and they went around 4:45pm. Roy cooked them a couple of pizzas, which with the exception of the kid, neither of them touched. I felt for them, but understood that they were so knackered that there was a danger of not being able to get up again, if they stopped to eat. Once all bits of the silver birch were down, they did the other little jobs, followed by the laborious chopping up of the big tree into usable chunks. And Roy ate the pizza for tea.

Many branches on the ground

The chopped up silver birch will have to dry for about a couple of years, then we can use it as firewood. The last metre of the trunk remained whole, as the big chainsaw had given up the ghost by then. János will come back sometime, finish it off, and in the meantime Roy and I will use our baby chainsaw to cut some more thin branches up for firewood, and burn the rest on two bonfires: one by the cesspit at the edge of the lane, the other one on Brighton Beach in the back garden. 

The tree giving two fingers

One really lucky outcome of these guys’ visit to us was that I discovered that they do all sorts of building and garden work. I think they will be around here, working for us quite a lot in future. I liked him, his attitude was good, his manner pleasant and his work pretty good. Apparently he does roofing and all related stuff, renovation, painting and decorating etc. 

A busy Roy in the greenery

Roy and I were thinking that the Farmhouse and the Bunkhouse need new rooftiles. The structure of the roof is OK, but the clay tiles were a mistake. The Cottage has second hand, very old, but concrete tiles on it and they are perfect, while the other two have discoloured, cracked and delaminating tiles on them all over the place. Another job that occurred to me was the 10 tins of Swedish paint that we got over two years ago, so that we can repaint all our exterior paintwork on the railings, pillars, eaves and the front gate. Then Roy fell down the stairs and we still haven’t done any of it. 

The stump

This morning Roy and I did a bit of sorting among the piles of thin branches, which the guys piled up in two places, but we thought there might still be a bit of wood for utilising later. I helped and we finished in no time at all. In a way, I was a bit upset all week about the caving not happening, but on the other hand, we have made great strides at sorting a variety of houseld tasks that have been hanging over us for ages. So all in all, it was a brilliant week and we should be happy about it.

The future fuel for the stove

 

The hundred and twentyeighth week of the pandemic

The day after my last post we joined John, our old friend, on a little trip out to the Stadt Restaurant in Budakeszi, for a delightful lunch. He is such good company and we have not seen him for 3 or 4 years. We met at Széll Kálmán tér, which is a major transport hub in Buda, caught the 22A bus and were there in about 25 minutes. This lunch was totally on John, the reason being that once a good few years ago he asked us out to lunch on him, and then forgot it and made us pay for ours. We were too embarrassed to say anything, but later he realised and insisted that he will have to pay next time.

John

I had a Cesar salad, which was heavenly, the boys had pink duck breast, Roy with chips and plum chutney, John with Thai spiced pasta. We all three finished lunch off with a Somlói Galuska, which is a Hungarian speciality, and they did it beautifully. We parted from John where we got off from the bus and took the no. 6 tram home.

They have got as far as the sweet

Earlyish on Friday morning we locked up the flat and departed towards the car first, then Penny Market in Aszód shopping for food and finally got home in the village in reasonable time. We didn't buy too much food, as we were due to come back to BP the following Tuesday, but more about later. Thankfully, with the thunderstorms and cold fronts, the weather got cooler and that made us both sleep better. On the other hand, we must have caught some lurgy from the kids, because both of us started sneezing, coughing and blowing noses frequently. My joints are killing me still, but Roy had the worst of the coughing. I still sneeze a bit, but have not coughed now for a few days.

The delicious Somlói Galuska

Unfortunately the event for which we were returning yesterday has never happened. Originally, I was worried that the lovely guy who was going to be our guide would cancel it due to the unpredictable weather, but finally we postponed it to next Wednesday, due to a lot of people cancelling at the last minute. I think the lurgy we are hopefully and slowly, but coming out of now, caught up with quite a few younger people too.

Salmon roses

 

And what was the event you might want to know? Well, it was a 5-parter geocache, which is down 5 caves, one quite serious, the rest mostly small and easy. The guide was going to be Zoli, who is a big caver himself and also a geocacher, and he kindly offered to bring hats and guide and help us. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather is not going to scupper it next week, as otherwise we are going, no matter how many people cancel.

The deep red after rain

And then came today, which has proved to be a very fruitful day. There was a job we have been unable to deal with for ages, which finally got solved today. There is a tree in between the Farmhouse and the Cottage, which has an aggravating habit of clogging all the rainwater gutters with its tiny seeds by the end of summer. As we had several downpours recently, we could see that at least one of the downpipes was totally blocked. 

A closeüup of one of the salmon roses

 

We have a very tall ladder, and I have no fear of heights, but we thought it would be much more sensible not to send the 74 year old up nearly 5 metres on a wobbly ladder, so we started looking for someone to do it on a commercial basis. No such luck, no amount of trying produced a single soul taking it on. So, today muggins started clearing the gutters in bright sunshine, but as it was an on and off type of day weatherwise, I also got wet a few times.

I am happy to report that with the help of some sticks and the hose, that gutter is now sparkling and has no little seeds clogging it. We still have all the other clogged gutters to clear, but starting with the highest and hardest one and succeeding, that has given us the confidence to deal with the rest of them later on the week. The weather is really crazy, so who knows when it's going to be sunny and when it will pour?

A red beauty

 

Obviously, having the guilty tree cut down, is a bigger problem, but we are working on it. Originally, Pali, our neighbour promised to get a tree surgeon, but he couldn't. There is such a skill shortage in Hungary, that it is almost impossible to get anyone to come and do anything for which you need skill and dedication. Here, the tree is so close to both the Farmhouse and the Cottage, that we need some guys who really know what they are doing, or we might lose a roof or two. The space between them is only about 3 metres wide, so it will need at least 3 guys and a large amount of skill and care.

The climber still has some blooms

As nobody local was to be had, I'll have to start looking further afield. I am not holding my breath, as to get the appropriate skilled labour in these parts, as in most others, I gather, is nigh on impossible nowadays. And before anyone tells me off for having a lovely tree cut down, I must mention that the clogging of the gutters, albeit very annoying and putting my life on the line while clearing them, the bigger worry is that the roots are going to undermine the foundations, which are pretty precarious or non existent underneath our houses.

The salmon floribunda

That's it for today. Sorry about mostly rose photos, but I had not much to photograph really in the last week and while I encouraged Roy to take some photos of me up the ladder, he declined the request on account of being absolutely hopeless at taking photos with a telephone, as well as having the much more important job of securing the bottom of the ladder with his body weight. Next post, hopefully, next week, although probably not on Wednesday, because with a bit of luck I will spend it mostly down some caves or other.

The hundred and twentyseventh week of the pandemic

Day 5 with Elian and Xander was spent near the Slovakian border, or in fact on the other side of the Slovakian border. After Trianon, the lovely old medieval ruin of Somoskő Castle found itself in Czechoslovakia and while the citizens of Somoskő village were only a few dozen metres from it, they had to travel 30 kilometres to the nearest crossing point to visit it.

Roy and the boys in the castle

These two were not the first in the family to visit this place, some years back we went there with Alex, Meaghan and Callum, and we hoped that Elian and Xander would find the place exciting too. I do remember that Alex and Stephen's first visit to Pevensey Castle many years ago managed to fire their imaginations and they not only climbed on everything, but imagined being knights and damsels in distress.

The conquerors of the castle

Well, this time round the first bit repeated itself, albeit only by Xander, who managed to frighten me to death by his mountain goat act on the basalt rocks outside the castle. He seemed to try to storm the castle in a medieval fashion, which he finally had to give up. Watching him descending on a rocky and grassy slope, I suddenly realised that there is nothing to worry about, as he is an expert at gauging the degree of difficulty and danger. 

One of the nooks they kept disappearing into

Inside the castle perhaps they got a bit bored after 20 minutes or so, but until then they looked into and down every hole, tried to climb out of a high window, (stopped by me) and were generally quite boisterous. En route home we visited a Macdonald's, which not only met with the kids' approval, but both Roy and I enjoyed it a lot. Roy and Xander had Big Macs, Elian and I a honey and chicken wrap. We also did some food shopping on the way home and arrived home quite happy.

Xander storming the castle

Sunday's roast chicken was great, although we didn't realise that Xander wished to eat half of it himself. He is not a big boy, but his appetite is that of a grown man. I managed to get them some ice creams and chocolate biscuits, so peace was restored after that.

My favourite squatter of my bed

Two quite distressing events in the country ruffled a few of our feathers, but eventually both had happy endings. The first one was Roy losing his car keys. We spent 48 hours looking for it, Roy not sleeping a wink on the first night, until finally he found it in one corner of the duvet cover on the inside. I am not making any accusations, but the fact that the boys seemed to invade both our beds and live in and on them all day, might have had something to do with it.

Ballon above City Park in BP

The other worry was a warning light on the dashboard of the Duster. It seemed to warn us about having arrived within 1500 kilometres of having to have an oil change. Roy panicked as usual, but thankfully, on Monday morning I managed to ring the garage and they assured us that it is an overcautious sensor that gives reminders this early. Finally, we decided that as the car is due for its yearly service next month, we'll bring it forward to next Thursday and they can do the oil change within the service as well as the seat alarm, for which the part has just arrived, then.

Waiting for food in the Kiosk Restaurant

 

The food arrived and was delicious

On Monday, the 15th August, we left the village and returned to BP. Hannah, Stephen's girlfriend arrived in the early hours of Saturday, and had already spent two nice days with Stephen, living in the flat, going to the Festival where Stephen's gig was apparently a great success and trying to see some nice parts of BP together on Sunday.

Roy's rose duck breast

My pike perch with asparagus

We arrived midday, they took the kids out to the park in the afternoon, while Roy and I had a rest, and we all had a delightful dinner in the Kiosk Restaurant near the Danube in the evening. The food was of gourmand quality, the terrace lovely and the service very good. This was a treat from Stephen, saying thanks for having them. We had a good time, afterwards we caught a no. 2 tram to our favourite funnel cake place, which most of us could only eat in small quantities, due to the big dinner we just had. A walk along the Danube, and some playing on a training circuit in a playground for the kids helped digestion all round. 

Xander, Hannah and Elian eating lángos in the market

Tuesday, being their last day, we went to see the Central Market, bought some lángos for lunch and did some shopping. Roy and I went home after that, as the heat and the crowds really made us tired. The rest of them went to a VR place, which they told us was great fun. Wednesday, their final day of returning home went past in a swish, the massive Mercedes V250d in elegant black arrived to take them to the airport, where as far as I could see, their flight departed late, but not too late and I just had the Messenger message that they landed safely at Gatwick. It was tremendous fun to have the kids, and not only the kids. Hannah's visit was short, but she was an absolute delight to have around. Hope she comes again sometime in the future.

Roy's udon noodles, prawns, veg in Thai sauce

My Pad Thai with prawns, veg, noodles and nuts

After they left the flat felt really quiet and empty, so we decided to go and have lunch in a Thai restaurant we fancied to go to for nearly a year. Originally, we discovered it while waiting for the arrival of Roy's whisky, which was the boys' present for him for his 80th birthday last September. We went to fetch it from the shop, and they told us to hang about until their delivery arrives from the warehouse. There was no point going home, only to turn round and come back again, so we walked about in the area, and there it was: Pad Thai Wokbar. 

Our two pints in the Rizmajer

Well it was delicious, Roy had udon noodles with Thai sauce, vegetables and prawns. I had rice noodles, veg, nuts and prawns. As we didn't order any drinks, we got up, took the bus to Blaha and walked to Rizmajer, which was a discovery last year when Feri was still talking to me, but the beer was gorgeous. We discovered, that to pander to the illiterate boozers of Hungary, they rewrote the funny names to be something more intelligible for morons. Still, the taste was just as good as last year and we both had a pint of a beer called Popcorn, which was dark, bitter and heavy. Just as I like it. They stuck the name IPA on it, but it wasn't an India Pale Ale, but it still tasted good.

A happy Roy in a nice pub

Tomorrow we are going to lunch with our old friend John in the Stadt Restaurant in Budakeszi, that we got to know with Vera and Gábor last year. Following that we are back to Bér, to pick up more plums, do the mowing,  water the plum trees and generally enjoy the peace and quiet after these hectic couple of weeks.

The hundred and twentysixth week of the pandemic

Apologies for the tardiness, but the news that I was busy, would be the understatement of the century. Stephen, Elian and Xander arrived 2 hours late, in the middle of the night. They were quite wound up, so we didn't get to bed until gone midnight.

Just hanging around

Day 1 was quite exciting. We decided to visit that large, modern and fascinating playground they have recently built in the City Park. Stephen had some preparation work for his gig that evening, so it was just Roy, the boys and me. They started on the climbing wall, which was quite easy for them, seasoned rock climbers.

I'm coming

Then we queued up for the Witch's Hat, this time remembering to video it vertically. They did some more climbing on other apparatus, we had ice creams and then got home for lunch. The afternoon activity  was to have a go at the Chair Lift, including Elian, who gave it a miss last time.

The climbing wizard

Grandad stayed  at the bottom, the four of us had return tickets, including a bit of fun at the playground at the top, followed by waffles. We started a game while travelling, first counting how many foreign registrations we can spot, then how many different vehicles we can travel in on Budapest's public transport. 

The happy chappie

I think the country count went quite high, I can only remember the following: H, RO, SRB, A, SK, CZ, I, D, F, UK, CH, PL, UA, B. As for the public transport vehicles, I think these were the ones we had on Tuesday and Wednesday: bus, trolley bus, tram, metro, millennium underground.

Waiting fore the waffles

After all the activities, the boys definitely wanted a funnel cake and we had a few disappointments before we found a really good one at the terminus of the HÉV. The kids had a burger prior to the funnel cake as well, which, of course, made them incapable of finishing their funnel cakes. 

The lángos is a bit hot

Day 2 started with the Zoo. 3 years ago was the last time that they were there, but I haven't been for 10 or 15 years. We used public transport again, then walked through the park, where we spotted lángos. We decided to have it for a snack lunch, which was really delicious.

Peek-a-boo

The Zoo was pretty full of people, but we still saw some interesting stuff. If I remember well, we saw the following animals: ring tailed lemur, hippo, elephant, flamingo, ducks, fish, meerkats, zebra, giraffe, gorilla, orangutan and a tortoise. Stephen and the kids went round the central indoor facility for exhibitions, Roy and I sat that one out. After the Zoo, Stephen took the boys to Superfly, while Roy and I went back to the flat to have a rest. 

The other climbing wizard

Day 3 The heatwave was back in full flow, so we couldn't wait to get out of town, for the cool of the countryside. On Thursday we packed up our gear, the boys' gear, lots of food from the fridge and departed to Bér. We stopped at Tesco and arrived in time for lunch. Unfortunately, the boys managed to kill their new football within a few minutes' arriving by getting it into a rose bush and the thorn has finished it.

Before the football died

We went and picked some plums, played on iPads, watched a bit of TV and got to bed about 10pm. The boys loved their room and especially the teddybears. In the evening Heino and Manet turned up with some plums for us, we had some coffee, wine, crisps and nuts with them and chatted nicely for a couple of hours. We can borrow their very long ladder, which is kind of them, and then I will be able to clear our rainwater gutters myself. Pali could not find anyone who could realiable turn up, so we are rethinking the matter.

The lover of teddybears

Day 4 As I was advised to exhaust the boys at least half a day, I took them on a hike to the andesite columns with a promise of some scrambling on rocks and possibly finding a geocache. Unfortunately the latter was nowhere to be found, but the scrambling was great. We gained the ridge on a completely new route for me. It was a pretty hairy boulder field at about 45 degree steepness, but we managed it.

Climbing up to the andesite columns

On top of the andesite columns

We walked back to Bér on the other side of the ridge, a route that did not receive the approval of the boys. It was overgrown, full of insects and they were getting tired. As I haven't been up there for a good few years, and I was trying to avoid the worsst of the jungle, we had to make a detiour at the end, which included a bit of climb. Finally, we got home through the back gate and by the time I arrived, having fiddled with the padlocks at the gate, the boys were fully engaged with their iPads, which, I was told were charged up to 90% and 83%.

 

On the boulder field

 

Lunch was chicken, peas and mashed potato. Roy is now having a nap, the boys are still on their iPads, but I think we will go geocaching in the village, as soon as the iPads are at 0%.

At the summit

At the summit no.2

PS: Further developments after the above. After lunch I raised the possibility to go geocaching in the village and in its environment. Elian was perfectly occupied with his iPad, but Xander showed some interest in my offer. We drove, so the walking was minimised, considering our state after our morning hike. He loved it and hopefully felt compensated for not finding the one by the andesite columns.

Logging the first cache

On our return I started mowing the grass with the tractor, which also scored a hit with Xander. We altered the seat, so he could mow it with me. I promised him that as soon as he is the legal age, he can do all my tractor mowing if he wishes.

We found the second cache

Finally, we watered the plum trees, and this time Elian helped to water those nearest to the house. All in all an extremely active and exhausting, but brilliant day.

Xander on the tractor

On Grandad's lap, ready for mowing