1 May 2011
I am still persona non grata
19 May 2011
The optician had said that because dad has cataracts that he
shouldn’t be driving. However, the House Manager where they live reports that he
is in fact still driving. My eldest sister has contacted the Driver Vehicle
Licence Authority to report that he is dangerous on the road. They want to know
dad’s driving licence number and car reg. How can I find out? Parents aren’t
talking to me. And if they were, they certainly would give me the information
so that I can shop dad to the DVLA.
20. May 2011
My eldest and youngest sisters are flying in. We all plan to
meet up in Cornwall. Yehhh !
25 May 2011
Rumour has it that my parents are going to move again!
31 May 2011
I am still persona non grata with parents.
2 June 2011
My eldest sister rang the House Manager where my parents
live to see if the rumours of the parents moving is true. The House Manager was
a bit cagey at first but said that my parents were moving out next Monday. But
that she had been given strict instructions by my mother not tell anyone,
especially the family. My sister then asked if they were putting the bunting
out! This eased the tension and the House Manager relaxed and spilled the
beans. She also said that dad was too ill to drive but that he still was. House
Manager gave my sister mum and dad’s new address.
Eldest sister plucked up courage to phone mum. Having got an
earful of false allegations about me and why I am still persona non gratia, she
thought it wise not to mention their forthcoming move nor the fact that we were
all meeting up in Cornwall next month,
3 June 2011
My middle sister phoned my mother. The parents are
definitely moving but that they weren’t going to tell anyone. They are moving
because they want a garden. Mum thought she might have told my middle sister
after they had moved and given her their new telephone number. My middle sister
is sworn to secrecy. She is to tell no one, especially me and my two other
sisters. She doesn’t want us lecturing her about moving for the (45th) time. How
she thinks we can lecture I don’t know; she’s not talking to us!
Of course this is not the first time that mum and dad have
moved without telling anyone. In the past we’ve even contacted Social Services
to try and track them down and make sure they were OK.
The really bad news is that they are moving to Budleigh
Salterton. We go to Budleigh quite often.It had has the best tea shop in the
world and we usually park outside where mum and dad will be moving to!
4 June 2011
I went online to check the Estate Agent’s description and went
over to Budleigh Salterton to see the place where the parents are moving.
Theirs is an upstairs flat. (There is no lift and no disabled access. Not sure
how dad will cope.) The other residents are owner occupiers. There is a small
garden which looks as though the people downstairs have taken responsibility
for: bench, flower pots etc. I don’t think they will take too kindly to the
parents sun bathing in front of their bedroom windows. It is surrounded by a high brick wall that looks
like the perimeter wall of a mental hospital for the criminally insane. So,
although we know the address of the flats, at the moment we are unsure which
cell they are in.
Mum and dad’s flat is high enough to look over the wall and
give them an uninterrupted view of the public toilets opposite.
6 June 2011
By chance I met mum’s physiotherapist. When I told her the
latest news she just rolled her eyes. She's never met a couple like them!
Sneaked over to Budleigh Salterton to see if Mum & Dad
had arrived. They had. I took a photo of their car for my eldest sister to
write to the DVLA. Dad had hidden the car away around the back of the public
toilets opposite.
9 June 2011
I went into Exmouth to give the House Manager a box of
"Celebration" chocolates on behalf of us all, as a thank you for the
kindness and patience shown toward mum and dad and as a small compensation for
all she’s had to suffer from mum.
The House Manager said that mum & dad had originally
wanted to move out last Saturday, but that she had said, “No”, because she
would need to be there to supervise the removal men's use of the rear exit.
Mum & dad had moved out with still two months to run on
their lease. This means that they will continue to pay rent on the Exmouth flat
as well as the Budleigh flat until the end of July. The House Manager was very
unhappy because mum and dad left the premises before the removers had finished.
This meant that mum and dad were not able to ensure that the flat was locked
before they left. They said they'd given the key to a friend who was going to
come in and clean the flat after the removers had gone.
Two nights ago the House Manager had received a phone call
from one of the other residents to say that mum & dad had been back to the
flat and discovered that their curtains had been stolen, and that they were
going to call the Police!
The House Manager then then said that mum and dad were going
to come and talk to her about the theft. When I asked "when", she
looked out her office window and said, "Here they are now!"
Unfortunately, the House Manager’s office doesn’t have a secret
back exit so there was nothing for it but to face them. In the corridor, I
found dad and the lady called, Mary, who mum constantly complained about for
"taking over". No sign of mum, but I said "Hello dad, nice
to see you." No response. It was 6 weeks since I last saw him and I was
shocked by the change. He looked frail, tired and shrunken. He seemed very
confused.
The House Manager phoned me later and said that dad had made
no mention of me or ask why I was there. She had told dad that he and mum
were responsible for any losses, eg curtains, because they hadn’t locked up and
hadn’t handed the key in when they left; they should contact the removers or
the cleaning lady, who I suspect was the said, Mary.
Apparently mum had stayed at home so that she could phone my
eldest sister and tell her they’d moved. Mum said she couldn’t phone before to
tell her they were moving because she was too stressed. But now everything is
wonderful. Everything is so lovely, so posh, so lovely, so posh, she kept
repeating. The flat has a washing machine and tumble dryer installed. There are
no problems whatsoever with the stairs. They can manage. Dad is taking car to
the garage tomorrow to get it serviced and see if they will buy it from them
("we’ve got to give the car up"). The garden is lovely (yes, there is patio furniture).
Doctor's surgery is lovely. The view from window is lovely. Shops are just
steps away. Everything is lovely and posh.
Everything is lovely. They said this about all the other
places they’d lived, but ended up hating them and moving again to where
everything is lovely.
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