No news really....(J)

No news from England really.

I couldn't get hold of Dad this morning or this evening. England is about 8 hours back from Japan.
He sounded so stressed when I last called, too many people calling and asking about Jane I think. Everyone means well of course, but it's tiring to keep answering the phone.

When Dad had his accident in February Jane got a wonderful Carer called Del to come and look after her for 2 weeks. Del and I stayed in contact by e mail and she said yesterday she'd managed to get into the hospital and see Jane. She was shocked at how she looked.

I'll try Dad again tonight before I go to bed. HE went to hospital on Wednesday for tests to find out why he suddenly fainted in February. He's also started driving the car he bought last week - but my step-aunt Liz says she's already noticed scratches and grass marks on it..so maybe he's already had a close encounter with the verge or hedge...

AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meanwhile close to home:

* I had lunch with a friend today but had to walk about 100 yards from the car to the restaurant. The knee hurts again.

* Two of my students gave me very Japanese homemade foods yesterday - big success with Okaasan. It was wild vegetables and fish paste, burdock and carrot...and some very good cucumber pickles. I am pretty sure Mieko and Sugiko are not on computers and therefore will never read this - so I'll be sure to say a big thankyou to them next week.

* Yujiro and I are dressing up tomorrow like a stylish couple (!!!!!!) and going to a wedding. A ski instructor friend of his is tieing the knot. I hope the food is worth Y13,000 or $130...Okaasan will hopefully eat my students' Japanese foods.

* A student today talked about how her mother's dementia had progressed...the family had first noticed strange behaviour about 7 years ago...and then 3 or 4 years ago it got worse...now her mother often doesn't know who she is! I thanked my lucky stars that we only have late-homecoming/a messy room/repeated stories and allmixed up trash to worry about at the moment.

２００９年６月５日（金）

全くなしのつぶて・・・ 

本当にイギリスからなんの知らせもないのよ。 

今朝も今晩も、父に連絡がつかなかったの。イギリスは日本より約８時間遅いのよ。

ワタシが最後に電話したとき、父は相当ストレスを感じていたようだったわ。あまりにも多くの人々がジェーンのことを電話で聞いてくるんだと思うわ。もちろん皆よかれと思っているのだけれど、電話に答え続けるのは骨の折れることよね。 

二月に父が倒れたとき、ジェーンは２週間彼女の世話をしにくるデルっていう素晴らしい介護人を見つけたの。デルとワタシはeメールで絶えず連絡を取り合ったわ。それで昨日彼女がやっと病院に行ってジェーンに会ったって言ったの。デルはジェーンの様子にショックを受けていたわ。 

今晩休む前に父にもう一度電話してみるわ。父は２月に突然気絶したのはなぜかを見つける検査のために水曜日に病院に行ったの。父は先週買った車も運転し始めたわ－でも義理の叔母リズはもう車にこすったキズと草の跡を見つけたのよ・・・それはたぶん父がとっくに路肩や生け垣に接近していたってことよ・・・ 

ああああああああああ！！！！！！！！！！ 

その間こちら周辺では： 

＊　きょうワタシは友人とのランチに行ったのだけれど、車からレストランまで１００ヤード（９０メートル強）くらい歩かなければならなかったの。膝がまた痛いわ。 

• きのう二人の生徒がとても日本的な手作りの食べ物をくれたの－お義母さんに大当たりよ。それは野草と魚のすり身、ゴボウと人参・・・それにすごくおいしいキュウリの漬け物よ。ミエコさんとスギコさんはコンピューターを使わないはずだから、これを読まないわね－必ず来週二人に心からお礼を言うわ。