In which Husband is both lucky and unlucky

We drove the four miles or so to collect GrandDaughter3 from school and back. What we didn't realise was that Husband had left his glasses and phone on the roof of the car.

Amazingly the phone was still there when we got back. The glasses, which would have been on top, had gone but they were part of his 5 pairs for £13 set so no great loss.

He was less fortunate when cutting down saplings trees in the woods. He tripped, fell, rolled down the hill and crashed into a tree. He got up, climbed back up the hill and repeated the process: fall, roll, hit. No lasting damage but a sore ankle for a few days. This was before he got struck with gastroenteritis of course.

As a concession to "I can't face another hill, we'll just go for a short walk," Lobo and I did a 5 kilometre (altogether) wander along one side of the valley to Norea and Dho,  and then back along the other side.

I grumbled to Lobo and later to Younger Son about the misleading signposts. "Whoever wrote those signs should be sacked!"

There was one that said Norea 670m.

We walked quite a distance and then came across another sign that also said Norea 670m. "Well, that's not possible!"

When I was telling YS this he began to smile. "That's the distance above sea level," he said.

Well, honestly. It's in the biggest letters, obviously anyone walking by would assume it was the distance. Yes, it does, if you look closely, tell you in small letters how long it takes to walk there and how far it is to cycle there. Although on looking more closely again that doesn't make sense either. So I stand by my complaint.

* * * * *

Anvilcloud asked in his comment, "What are coopy down toilets?"

To my horror, I was introduced to them on the camp site on my first night on my first trip to France. After that I insisted that I be allowed to check the toilets before we booked in to any other camp sites.

What that helpful poster doesn't mention is the need to keep your clothes raised off the ground and out of the way of where you might pee.

I've looked them up and, apparently, they are very good for you. The squat position you have to take up aligns the colon, encourages bowel movement, and can help with some intestinal problems. It's also more hygienic, not sitting on a seat used by who knows who? And they strengthen your legs.

They're also popular in countries with water shortages because they use night soil, which is then used to fertilise crops.

As for the question, how do old people manage, again there are loads of answers, but maybe it's a third world first world thing: those of us in the first world are often not as flexible as we might be.

It's possible to buy a squatty potty on Amazon, or elsewhere, in the form of a baboo stool that allows you to get into a position similar to the squat but on an ordinary toilet.

I bet you're glad you asked, AnvilCloud!