Saturday, April 10, 2021

Snail and Tortoise


This gate or garage door or whatever faces out toward Finchley Road and was recently repainted. It used to look like this.

I had astonishingly bad timing in choosing yesterday to make silly references to the Queen. Of course I had no idea about Prince Philip when I published that post, but oh well. I can't say I feel any sadness about his death -- he was, after all, 99 years old and led a longer and more interesting life than most of us could hope for. It was kind of refreshing to have someone so ornery and occasionally unpredictable in the monarchy, I'll give him that. I wish he'd made it to 100. It seems a shame to get to 99 and not cross the century line.

Some of the TV channels were "all Prince Philip all the time" yesterday and you could tell they'd been preparing for this event for years. As I told Dave, all those news directors and editors are probably relieved they can finally run those stories they've had stacked up and waiting. (I'm thinking like a journalist here.)

I stayed home yesterday and read my newest book, "The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle," which won the second Newbery Medal back in 1923. I've never read it -- in fact I never saw the movies either, though I know some of the songs from the '60s film because a friend had the record when I was a kid. I was horrified to realize the book is 440 pages long! It goes pretty quickly, but it needs an editor.

Later, I had to go to the Royal Free Hospital for a routine blood test. When I made the appointment online yesterday morning, I was given several options for Friday afternoon, so I grabbed the earliest one at 5:10 p.m. Only after arriving at the hospital did I realize my appointment was actually for Friday, April 23! Bloody hell! Fortunately they squeezed me in.

On the way home, I was stopped on a street in Hampstead by a somewhat shabbily dressed older man wearing a single brown work glove, a la Michael Jackson. "In that garden across the road," he said, pointing, "a pack of snails attacked a tortoise!" I laughed, thinking what the hell is up with this guy, and started to walk away, but he stopped me and proceeded to tell a joke that seemed to last for five hours. I only understood about a third of it, but the punchline was that the tortoise was suffering from shellshock. I laughed again (and escaped successfully), but I must admit I smiled all the way home at the sheer weirdness of the encounter. Maybe he saw me carrying "Doctor Dolittle" and assumed I'd appreciate an animal story.

And as I sat here writing this post, a fox came right up to the back door, sniffed the doorframe and looked inside! "If I could talk to the animals..."

49 comments:

Moving with Mitchell said...

What an interesting day (or couple of days). I'd be shell-shock after that encounter. And how fascinating about the fox. Such beautiful art for a garage door.

Ursula said...

You say "I wish he'd made it to 100. It seems a shame to get to 99 and not cross the century line." Not at all. The man had style. 99 reads so much better than 100. And 1921 - 2021 so much more stylish than, say, 1921 - 2022. And, to satisfy you, 1921 - 2021 amounts to a hundred anyway, doesn't it?

U

Ursula said...

PS Talking about "stylish" and "having style". That gate sure does. WOW!

U

Yorkshire Pudding said...

If reincarnation is really a thing then perhaps the soul of Prince Philip was within the fox that peered in. I guess the TV companies have already prepared a mammoth viewing extravaganza for The Queen's departure. We will hear her story over and over and over again. They even cancelled "The Chase" last night.

Ms. Moon said...

Yes. It's a little hard to get worked up about the death of a 99 year old man. However- the queen must be grieving. He has been by her side forever. She's known him since she was twelve, I think? Even Keith Richards, who is no great fan of the monarchy made a statement on FB which I found very interesting. He said, "Rest in Peace HRH, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. My deepest condolences to Her Majesty, The Queen and to The Royal Family."
Dr. Doolittle is the book I was reading to August that was troubling in its depiction of Africans. Still, it's a charming book.

Debby said...

There is nothing more joyous than an old man with a joke that he finds hilarious and wants to share.

It would be very interesting to know more about the people who own that gate. Is there an artist in the house? Do they hire someone to do it for them?

ellen abbott said...

'bloody hell'...starting to sound like a Brit there. you must look approachable. I've never read Dr. Dolittle either or seen the movie.

Bob said...

I love that gate. What a beautiful work of art and so much nicer than the Mondrian-esque previous look.
You had more patience that I might have had with the jokester on the street, but I think maybe you made his day by listening, and it gave you a lovely story.

Anonymous said...

That gate is so interesting and cool. It makes me wonder what our garage door would look like if I were a painter.
Interesting encounters you had there with the old man and the fox at the door.

Red said...

Even though I'm not interested in royalty I found the information on his life interesting. I knew very little about him.

Ellen D. said...

It was polite of you to stop and listen to the old man. You are a kind soul, Steve.

Linda Sue said...

I was going to advise that you go to the zoo and try your skills, but, no, the zoo is a very sad place. Funny little man with one glove- You do look approachable, you realize. Great that the hospital took your blood, understanding that you had made an effort to get there. Bloody hell indeed!

Sharon said...

Seems you had some pretty interesting timing with your encounters yesterday. It does make you wonder about the magic in the world.
That is quite a change for that gate. I don't know which I like better.

Catalyst said...

My, my. First a librarian, then a horticulturist/botanist, and now it appears he's a zoologist! What's next, I wonder?

Margaret said...

My father found humor in all sorts of dumb jokes and didn't care that he was the only one laughing. I feel the same way about Prince Philip. Too bad he didn't make it to 100, but 99 is a good, long life.

Jennifer said...

I knew when I saw your post title yesterday morning that you hadn't seen the news of PP's death when you wrote it. :) I feel a little sad for the Queen, it must be hard to lose someone you've known and loved for that many years. And at her age, I hope it doesn't lead to her immediate decline, as sometimes happens. She's a tough one, so we'll see.

Shellshocked! Haha! If you can summon the patience, old men with corny dad jokes are kind of nice.

Allison said...

That gate is just lovely. I like this version much better than the last.

Sabine said...

Strange looking gate, I am intrigued but wonder who would want something like that.
I remember feeling a bit disturbed after reading the Dr Doolittle books when I was a kid. Maybe too many talking animals.

John Going Gently said...

The gate gives me the creeps

Janie Junebug said...

I love the gate. I wasn't disturbed by Philip's death. It was expected. He always seemed rather curmudgeonly to me, but definitely handsome when he was young.

Love,
Janie

The Bug said...

I liked the original gate, but the new one is interesting too. I never get approached by strangers (or rarely) - but I think I look kind of rude and mean because I don't WANT to be approached. Ha!

Anonymous said...

What an improvement to the gate. I really didn't like the old paintwork. I live in dread of getting appointment dates and times wrong.

Steve Reed said...

We once had a fox walk INTO the house. They can be quite brazen.

Steve Reed said...

Well, that's true -- he basically made it to 100. He was only two months shy, and having a grave marker that says 1921-2021 would be the goal, right?

Steve Reed said...

It would be just karma for Prince Philip to come back as a fox, the target of British upper-class huntsmen!

Steve Reed said...

They've been married 73 years! It's astonishing, although I wonder how much they interact on a day-to-day basis. It seems like they're often living in separate palaces!

Steve Reed said...

Oh, and yes, earlier editions of Doctor Dolittle were problematic in depicting Africans. My understanding is that this has been corrected in modern versions. (Mine is a 1990s edition so I'll let you know!)

Steve Reed said...

Except when the old men send jokes by e-mail. THAT makes me crazy.

Steve Reed said...

You know, I honestly think I said "bloody hell" even before I moved here, but I definitely say it more now. I have no idea where I picked it up.

Steve Reed said...

I agree -- I like this gate more too! Seems like it might weather better, being mostly black.

Steve Reed said...

You could hire a muralist to decorate your garage door. Not sure how the neighbors might feel about it, though!

Steve Reed said...

Yeah, his origins are particularly intriguing. It always amused me that he's considered Greek royalty yet he has no Greek blood.

Steve Reed said...

Well, he was pretty insistent!

Steve Reed said...

Yeah, I'm so glad they didn't turn me away and make me come back in TWO WEEKS! Who wants an appointment that far out?!

Steve Reed said...

I definitely like the new one better, even though the old one was more colorful.

Steve Reed said...

A comedian? No, probably not.

Steve Reed said...

Yeah, what is it with older guys and bad jokes?! My father-in-law is always e-mailing forwarded jokes from his friends. I just remind myself that it's his way of staying in touch.

Steve Reed said...

Yeah, I wonder how this will affect Elizabeth. I'm sure it is difficult for her, even though we've all seen it coming for ages.

Steve Reed said...

Me too!

Steve Reed said...

The house faces Finchley Road, which is a major north-south artery into London. I guess they just wanted something that would entertain passers-by on what is otherwise a rather dreary road.

Steve Reed said...

I do wonder what inspired it! (And who painted it!)

Steve Reed said...

He was very handsome as a youth -- that German/Danish blood!

Steve Reed said...

I always feel like I look pretty grumpy too, so I have no idea what prompted this guy to engage me in conversation.

Steve Reed said...

It's funny that I made the appointment on a Friday and just assumed it was for that day without even looking at the date! It never occurred to me it would be so far in the future. I mean, if your doctor wants you to get a blood test, why would you wait two weeks to get it done?!

Alphie Soup said...

Greek actually. Elizabeth has the German blood.
Alphie

Ursula said...

"Actually", JJ, and where your history lessons let you down google will be your saviour:

"He is a descendant of the Danish-German house of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg, whose members have provided bespoke royalty to Denmark, Norway and Greece. Philip was himself born Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark on June 10 1921 on Corfu. He certainly has a lot more German than Greek blood and does speak German."

His mother a Battenburg. Yes, really. "Battenberg family, English Mountbatten, a family that rose to international prominence in the 19th and 20th centuries, the name being a revival of a medieval title. The first Battenbergs were a family of German counts that died out about 1314 and whose seat was the castle of Kellerburg, near Battenberg, in Hesse."

It's complicated.

I will also assert that he was not just, as you say, "handsome when he was young". He was one of those men physically attractive in old age - and to the end.

U

Edna B said...

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could talk with the animals? How awesome that would be. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.

Steve Reed said...

When I was young I once said something to my mother about Prince Philip being Greek. She scoffed, "He's about as Greek as I am!" (Needless to say, she isn't Greek.)

Steve Reed said...

It WOULD be wonderful and it would answer a lot of questions!