Clean Fan

            On Thursday morning I memorized the first twelve lines of “Transit à Marilou” by Serge Gainsbourg. That puts me just over halfway through the song.

            I worked on my journal.

            Around midday I used a toothbrush and detergent to clean the inside of the back cage of my fan. The result was now my fan is white where it was brown or grey. If one looks very close one can still see a few small stains on parts of the wires but for the most part it looks like new now.

            I had planned on going to Freshco before lunch, but cleaning the fan took longer than I’d expected and so I decided I'd stop there on my way back from my bike ride later.

            I had two pepperoni sticks and some yogourt with honey for lunch.

            I didn’t do my exercises in the afternoon because I knew taking a bike ride and then going to the supermarket would eat into me working on my journal and posting my blog. I left for my ride a little bit early.

            At Freshco I bought four bags of grapes, a whole chicken, a jar of honey, three bags of skim milk, two cans of peaches, a small meat pie, a bottle of olive oil and a pack of toilet paper

            I had a potato, a carrot, a chicken leg and some gravy for dinner while watching two episodes of The Adventures of Robin Hood.

            In the first story a pilgrim just back from the Holy Land, dressed in the same pilgrim’s robes with the cross on the shoulder that King Richard wore a few episodes earlier, stops at a tavern. He has outbursts of anger over the wine and the food and immediately apologizes for his behaviour each time. He goes to the Earl of Huntington’s castle where he sees a monk thrown out . The friar explains that he had spoken favourably of King Richard and it angered the earl. He tells the pilgrim that it is said the only force of fighting men loyal to Richard are Robin Hood and his outlaws. The pilgrim goes to Sherwood Forest and is clearly trying to catch the attention of the outlaws, for as he walks he holds a bag of money and tosses it up and down in his hand. He asks a serf if he can rest in his home and he is welcomed. But when he asks about Robin Hood the man is evasive. When the pilgrim demands to know the serf calls him a sheriff’s spy and tells him to leave. The pilgrim strikes and knocks the man down, then immediately apologizes. The serf calls for help and Little John and another of Robin’s men come running. The pilgrim is taken back to Robin and tells him his name is Peregrinus, which is the name King Richard used in the earlier episode. Peregrinus gets a small talking to for striking the serf but he is treated like all guests. He pays half his purse and is invited to dinner. Before they feast there is an archery contest with a giant bow. All the men come close to the centre of the bulls eye. Only Derwent can’t pull the string with his hands and so he uses both hands and feet and does as well as the others at hitting the target. Robin of course hits the bulls eye. Peregrinus is persuaded to give it a try and he comes as close as Robin. The sheriff comes blindfolded under a flag of truce. He says that he is compiling a list of those loyal to Prince John and offers Robin and his men full pardons if they would serve as foot soldiers. Robin and his men unanimously turn him down. Peregrinus later tells Robin that the list of traitors the sheriff is compiling could be useful to King Richard. Robin disguises himself and goes to Nottingham where he learns that the list will be carried on the Leicester Road to London. Peregrinus asks to come along with Robin to intercept the soldiers and so Robin takes him along with Little John. They get ahead Of the soldiers on the trail and knock a tree down in their way. There are six soldiers and the three outlaws attack, eventually defeating them. When Robin gets the list from one of them he kneels and gives it to Peregrinus, as he knows that he is King Richard.

            This story was obviously supposed to have aired just before the earlier episode which begins with Peregrinus already in Robin Hood’s camps and with Robin and Little John knowing that he is King Richard. It was instead aired several weeks later.

            In the second story Friar Tuck is arrested because the archbishop is coming on behalf of King Richard to learn about the situation in England and the forces of Prince John want an inquisitor to draw confessions from the friar first. Robin also wants an audience with the archbishop to convey to him what is really going on. Little John infiltrates the kitchen of the priory, first by insulting the chef, then fighting him using kitchen tools and finally making friends with him. Robin helps fill out a legal form for a man delivering wine to the archbishop in exchange for coming along. The barrel of wine is delivered to the kitchen but the wine has been drained and Robin is inside. Robin walks inside the barrel to Tuck’s cell. Tuck is taken and tied to the rack and the masked inquisitor comes. As Tuck refuses to speak the stretching begins but quickly Tuck says he’ll confess. He asks to speak in private and so the guards are sent away. Robin takes the inquisitor from behind and puts on his black cloak and hood. When Robin as the inquisitor reads Tuck’s confession to the archbishop it tells how he has rebelled against Prince John to serve King Richard and to serve the poor that are oppressed by Prince John. The abbot wants to throw Robin in the dungeon but the archbishop insists on taking Robin and Tuck into his own custody. Outside of the priory the archbishop releases Robin and Tuck, telling them that King Richard will hear the whole story.