Alone again

I survived Nina’s flu! Nina did too. On the advice of the doctor, she stayed home for a full week and I have to give her credit for fighting the urge to break free from her self-imposed house arrest. Quite literally, with the exception of sitting on the front steps of the house to catch some sun for a total of two hours, she did not leave this house for seven days.

It became apparent she would not be fit to leave for her month of fieldwork on October 14^th which would mark one week since getting sick. She was meant to travel with a colleague and their professor to Pantelleria; a miniscule Italian island (83 square kilometers) in the Mediterranean, just off the coast from Tunisia. They rescheduled for the following Sunday.

I slept in the guest room for six nights until the only symptom Nina was still exhibiting was a nagging cough. She slowly started to get better after the weekend and by the following Wednesday (day seven) she went back to school. This, it seems, was a mistake. On Thursday her fever returned and she was low on energy again. We went to a different clinic on Friday.

The receptionist was reluctant to let us in as Nina had the flu. We explained how the previous doctor recommended seeking more medical advice if the flu persisted beyond a week, which the receptionist agreed was correct. However, she rather blatantly insinuated that Nina couldn’t be that sick if she was able to come down to the clinic.

Instead of seeing a doctor we conferred with a nurse, who ended up being far more compassionate, informative and useful than the doctor we had seen the previous week. We learned the flu comes in waves, which is common, and Nina was in good shape all things considered.

She took it easy over the next 48 hours and on Sunday I drove her, and her professor, to the Birmingham airport to see them off. In all honesty, she was not 100% better. She was still coughing and was rather low on energy. I wonder how she will fare in the field where she will have to be rather active. But, missing this trip would have set back her PhD by a good half year and she wasn’t so sick as to justify missing out on 4 weeks of necessary field work.

So I am now living the life of a bachelor. I don’t have any shortage of stuff to get done. I have a bunch of projects I have had sitting on the back burner for too long and now I will have ample time to get to them.

First on the list is painting. We bought paint for our living room walls and had intended on doing the painting just before Nina got sick. Two of the four walls are brown and we are eager to rectify that poor judgment exhibited by a previous tenant. One wall will be painted magnolia to match the other two and the fourth will be an accent wall painted in a deep red to match the curtains and carpet. Each wall will require three coats of paint and that will pretty much dominate my whole next weekend.

Once that is done, I have been commissioned (by Nina) to paint two paintings; one for the wall above the fireplace mantle in the living room and one for the wall above our bed in the bedroom. Since the rooms are so large and we have 10 foot ceilings, I am forced to paint large pieces so they are not lost on the walls. Each of the two canvasses are 3.5 X 2.5 feet.

For the most part I was homebound with Nina over the past week as she was bored silly and I was trying to keep her company. As she was quarantined out of the kitchen, I was also waiting on her and making her meals. Last Sunday I needed some fresh air, exercise and some alone time, so I took a two hour break and walked to, and through, Oadby. Leicester, like many cities, has expanded and gobbled up the small towns that used to be on the outskirts. Oadby is a quaint village on the southeast side of town and about a 25 minute walk from our house. I had been through it before and was amazed at how cute it is, so this time, with the sun shining, I returned with my camera. The following five photos were taken in Oadby and incidentally, this will be the last blog entry with photos for a month as Nina took my camera to Pantelleria.

We have had a decent look at some of the wildlife Leicester has to offer. A few weeks back we were partaking in some of the evening activities offered to the new international students at University of Leicester. The most direct route to the campus involves cutting kiddy corner across Victoria Park. It was dark when we walked back home and were accompanied by a small bat that kept circling our heads from one side of the park to the other.

The following night as we walked through the park we saw a fox. Unfortunately we were only able to see its profile due to the poor lighting, but from our vantage point of a few hundred feet, we were able to clearly see what it was. One side of the park is rough and overgrown which probably makes for a perfect habitat for the red fox.

While staying in the guest bedroom I was awoken one night at 3am from a horrible screeching sound. This room is the only one in our flat that overlooks the back garden. I got out of bed and looked out the window to see two animals fighting. They were both long and lanky, standing on their back feet embracing each other and dancing around the garden making a ruckus. They had short legs, bushy tails and stood around waist high. But in the poor lighting I couldn’t see their colouring more than to know they had dark fur. This went on for a couple more minutes before the one chased the other down the street and they were gone. The next morning I scoured websites about the wildlife of Britain and was able to figure out they were either minks or one of the relatives of the weasel family.

There is a noticeable absence of the winged rats that infest most urban areas. The wretched and diseased pigeon that overran most squares in Amsterdam are not as prevalent here. You do see them, but a fraction as many as I have had to endure previously. I can only hope this is a sign they are on their way to extinction.

As mentioned in my first Leicester blog, the supermarkets are incredible. The selection is ample and, surprisingly, the demand for organic and locally produced food has resulted in grocery stores stocking organic foods as much as possible. It doesn’t seem to matter what you are looking for; vegetables, fruit, coffee, cereal, meat, eggs or milk, there will be at least one organic choice. I have never seen as many organic choices in supermarkets previously (Vancouver or Amsterdam) but here it seems to be common in all the big chains: Sainsbury’s, ASDA and Morrisons (haven’t shopped in Marks & Spensers yet). It’s also common to find a label on the meat and vegetables stating where it comes from and if from the UK, specifically which farm. I like that kind of accountability.

It’s also common in all the grocery stores and some of the DIY (do it yourself) shops to have self-checkouts. These automated machines allow you to scan the items and have a graphic touch-screen that walks you through the process of purchasing items without barcodes. The whole process is very easy and saves on staff as one person monitors the activities on the four automated check-out machines.

Leicester has something I have not seen anywhere else before; movie theatres with two classes of seating/viewing. It makes perfect sense too. On an airplane you can choose to sit in the standard class or get more comfort and amenities for a premium, so why not at the movies too?

In the downtown modern movie complex they have a number of auditoriums like what you would expect at a movie theatre anywhere else. However, they also have one that is in a different class altogether. Although you don’t really get a choice if you want to see a movie there or not as it all comes down to which movie you want to see and which auditorium it is playing in. I ended up reluctantly paying the double price (£6 versus £12) as it was only showing in the “Director’s Lounge”. When I bought my ticket I was asked if I wanted to sit in the front, middle or back as I would be assigned a seat.

I went to the second floor and arrived at two glass doors. Beyond them was a dimly lit lounge with leather couches arranged in small nooks with coffee tables. At the end of the room was a long fully stocked bar. As I approached the bar a lady greeted me and took me into the theatre and to my seat. I could immediately see what the extra £6 was buying me and it was more than worth it. The leather arm chairs had more room than anything I had sat in before. Upon sinking into the seat it slightly reclined. The seats were arranged in pairs with a small space between the sets giving you the feeling of having some privacy. The leg room was more than ample and the theatre was relatively small, creating an intimate feel.

In the right armrest was a drink holder and in the left was a teak tabletop that swiveled 90 degrees over your lap. A few seats over a couple was using theirs to eat some French bread that arrived with an assortment of dips and aiolis.

I went to the bar and ordered a pint of Bulmers cider (my new drink of choice). I looked through the menu and it read more like the appetizer menu at Cactus Club than the food you normally get at a movie theatre. Of course, for the privilege (and price) we were paying, the food was delivered to us at our seats.

I saw the new Bruce Willis movie; Surrogate. It was a poor rip-off of a few other movies and a bit of a bore. But the comfort of the surroundings made it the most pleasant movie experience I can recall. I am surprised I haven’t seen this idea before, I think it would help bring people back to the theatres if they knew they could see a movie in more luxury than most people associate with a theatre. Not to mention with a cocktail or a glass of wine.

Speaking of things unique to Leicester, there is something else. Both Nina and I have been a little shocked at the number of churches we have seen with “To Let or Lease” signs out front! I have seen churches that are no longer being used as churches when I was living in mainland Europe. In Maastricht, in the south of Netherlands, Nina and I went into a church that had been turned into a book store. And in Aachen we had seen an art exhibit in an old church that is now a gallery.

But we had never seen churches actively being advertised as commercial spaces. One little church on the outskirts of Leicester sells beds. Another has been turned into a catering and banquette facility. I am waiting for the day I see a church having a going-out-of-business sale; advertising Hail Marys at two for one.

Living in a new country certainly rewards us with new experiences.