And another Unfortunates night last night.. at my flat. Paul the Blind man makes his way across town on the bus with Bolt the dog. Given he can’t really see much ( he has still a clear very central area – dead small ) he is reliant on his 4 legged pal to lead him, literally.
Now given Bolt had only been to my flat once before, maybe 6/7 weeks ago… isn’t it quite extraordinary that when their bus stopped in Brentford and they got off.. Bolt immediately led Paul to my flat. I mean it’s not like Paul told him where they were going ( because a dog can’t talk or speak English ) .. yet Bolt just seemed to know, and also remembered the way. I mean there are plenty of humans that would have struggled with route recollection, so how can a labrador be that smart?!

Anyway they got to me, Paul then had to do a almost blind Zoom call to the cub scouts on the subject of Blind Dogs, and then eventually the able bodied Chris arrived.
Between us we made dinner, Paul chopping up salad stuff and not realising a fair bit wasn’t ending up where he hoped it would ( fairly funny really ) , me cooking a chicken ( well that’s literally a first ) and Chris generally doing his bit, including opening wine etc.

The chicken went down well… and I discovered the delights of feeding a very enthusiastic Bolt the scraps. All but the chicken bones there really was zero left at the end. All the plates had even been licked .. and why not! He deserved it. ✅

The conversation varied from the perils/ delights/ pitfalls/ hilarity of online dating ( both Chris and I ) to impending and inevitable total blindness and the gratitude for having just a little sight that works at the moment ( as opposed to feeling sorry for himself for being almost in darkness ) Disability certainly gives Paul and I much common ground – the different but similar challenges we both face, and the anything but certain futures ahead. Happiness isn’t guaranteed, that’s for sure, but for now both of us are laughing quite a lot of the time.

Chris in the meantime has a mixed bag of being probably less in demand work wise ( blimey, that’s gonna be a common thing shortly due to the pandemic ) than he’d like, but being far more in demand date wise than he’d like. Keeping lots of balls in the air at the same time ( and yes, I do relate .. 🤦‍♂️ ) is difficult and complicated. He’s discovered that a mixture of Tantric Sex and baking cakes ( what a combination that is.. am I the first person in the world to write those 2 together…? ) are 2 ingredients that make a killer cocktail for the well heeled ladies of London. Myself, I have come to learn of the voracious sexual demands of women over 40. …
Yes, not common in marriage that one.. but outside that blessed union… blimey it’s an eye opener. Chris realised quickly that it’s better to ‘ choose’ … and he has. It makes life simpler that’s for sure. Even when you are a combination of Sting and Paul Hollywood.

Im not convinced there is much proper social distancing in the online dating world… at all! I think a lot of women out there could be called Super Spreaders… for one reason or another 😳

Anyway, we had a laugh. Still hoping that Deaf Mike is gonna make his first appearance to increase our Club membership by a third.

My talented daughter starts in Oxford University this weekend too. I don’t see enough of her to miss her ( well you’d have to see a lot of someone to qualify for ‘ missing’ ) but of course I’ll try to talk to her as often as I can, and possibly make the odd visit, if that’s allowed. Personally I think kids should go to Uni and forget about home pretty much for 3 years. That’s how you change from child state to adult state. I can’t say I went home a lot when I was in Uni. I even stayed away for most holidays and got various jobs, rather than not have much to do in a quiet village in South Wales. ‘ Helicopter parents’ – that’s what the colleges call the parents that persistently and insistently hover around their children whilst they are supposed to be learning independence… are not a positive ( however good their intentions )

Personally I think that the current students that are in lockdown with strangers/ new friends will look back upon this time with lots of affection. Cmon.. at 19 what would you choose, locked up with 200 other teens like you, or be at home with your parents and irritating younger siblings?
I think i know what MOST would opt for. It’s not gonna be that bad, that’s for sure.

But of course I look to the positives. Cos that’s what I always have to do. Me and Blind Paul both.