There. The snow is gone now. Leastways, it’s gone from here, apart from the very tops of the hills, and if there was any left over on the way to Swansea this morning I was too busy driving to notice it.
Am I sorry? Does the Pope drive a Volvo?
Now, I know that there’s plenty of folks in the Kingdom, and elsewhere, still suffering from the snow and ice, and for that matter, I do know that on the other side of the globe, there are people in Australasia who are suffering mightily from the heat of a Oz summer. I know, too, that people in Haiti are suffering far worse. And I feel for all of them. But, here in my sheltered little valley, it’s not too cold, it’s not raining, and my aches and pains are fading fast. I believe in counting and giving thanks for blessings. You can’t truly relate to the bad things if you don’t recognize and give thanks for the good ones when they come along.
In Sainsbury’s, to my great delight, they’ve resumed selling large packs of frozen shredded cabbage so I grabbed a bag as I passed without thinking at all about what I’d use it for.
“What do you want to buy frozen cabbage for?” Graham asked, with only a trace of scorn in his voice.
“Dunno. I’ll think of something. I’m just glad to have it in the freezer, ready for an inspired moment, that’s all.”
We carried on with our shopping and all the while I was thinking about cabbage and the uses thereof.
“You know that corned beef pie that we got for lunch over the weekend?” I said.
“Yes. And delicious they are, too.”
“Well, how could you fancy that for dinner, with cabbage, carrots, mashed potatoes and a drop of my special gravy?”
“Oooh! I want it, I want it!”
“There you are, then. Told you I’d have an inspired moment with my bag of frozen cabbage.”
“Can we have it tonight?”
“No. It’s fish night. Besides, we got that pie for our lunches.”
“Oh.” All dejected, he sounded. “All right then. Soon, though.”
And he put on his best down-trodden, sad, pouting expression, with shoulders sagged as if bearing all the burdens of the world.
How can you resist?
So, tonight, we’re having corned beef pie, cabbage, carrots, mashed potatoes and a drop of my special gravy. Anything rather than suffer the doleful sighs of a hard-pressed dragon.
