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Life outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
Life outside Ambridge
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Life in Ambridge
THIS POST IS CLOSED "longer off topic comments" - Episode 14 Life Outside Ambridge Have a seat and let's chat.
A cute pic to offset the unrelenting horror taking place in Ambridge at the moment...
ReplyDelete...and elsewhere.
DeleteOur local wildwood centre breeds dormice to release in the wild. I sponsor some. They are lovely.
DeleteAs you say TA is horrible at present and for me has descended into full Eastender mode. Sadly I see little prospect of anything but shouty, weeping, argumentative and general nastiness in the storylines for the foreseeable future. Usually when people describe 'powerful acting/dialogue/story' they mean absolute misery. Not my cup of tea unfortunately.
At present I am celebrating the return of '800 Words' at lunchtimes on BBC. Lovely gentle but compelling storylines without all the 'common' behaviour associated with the residents of the present TV soaps. Excellent writing.
The third series has just started and there is a fourth being aired in Aus and NZ at the moment but sadly the series has been cancelled so no fifth series.
I love 800 words, which I watch, having a break, whilst eating or digesting my lunch. I have seen all the series to date - am I that sad!
DeleteAs to TA- things will turn around, but how + when and who will be be the "hero"? Will it be Oliver?
How sad it has been cancelled.
DeleteI was also very angry, when the TV series "Home Fires" was also cancelled, after just two series. I so enjoyed it and it had so many S/L's to become onging and more intriguing, as time in WW2 advanced. I felt cheated.
Just packing my panniers just now (ooh err Matron...) - off on an awfully big adventure tomorrow! Going to cycle from Glasgow to Dumfries in the Borders, and then from Carlisle to Newcastle along the route of Hadrian's Wall. Staying one night at a friend's near Dumfries but other than that will be relying on my new tent. No idea how long it will take me, but I'm not too fussed to be honest... Wish me good luck - and a following wind!!!
ReplyDelete🚵⛺😨
Impressive! May your wheels stay true, your chain remain on its sprockets, your saddle offer the comfort of a down pillow and may the ghosts of Roman soldiers guard you as you sleep along the route of the Wall. Good luck!
DeleteSounds great GG. Take care + enjoy. 😁
DeleteI hope the following wind you mention, is just the weather.
Looking forward to your diary of your trip 😘
Good luck Gary. Your unrelenting energy and fitness makes me feel exhausted! Lovely scenery there I imagine. Hope the weather stays hospitable. Enjoy. 😁
DeleteI'm impressed Gary.
DeleteWe're off in the opposite direction on Tuesday to Edinburgh visiting daughter and son-in-law. We won't see much of s-i-l as he's playing in the massed pipes and bands for the Tattoo again this year. We're going to watch on Wednesday, a present from both of them to say thank you for the wedding. Unfortunately our carbon footprint will be much bigger than yours as we're travelling by car.
I love the bag-pipes. As I have said previously, I studied in Aberdeen for 4 years so I often saw bag-pipe bands around the city, in many parks + gardens.
DeleteEnjoy the Tatoo, I have never been, but I knew Edinburgh well, at one time in my life. Knowing how the seating is done at the Tatoo, I am not sure how happy I would be sitting there!
I am sure it will be a memorable experience so make the most of it.
My mum always yearned to see the Edinburgh Tattoo and one year I could afford to take her.
DeleteWonderful experience.
I do hope you enjoy C C, a lovely thank you present.
Gary, have a wonderful trip, still an ambition of mine to walk H Wall.
And thank you very much for setting us up with two new blogs before you set off.
Mrs P My exhusband performed at the Edinburgh Tattoo when a young able-seaman. He. with about another hundred men did a display of sailor's hornpipe etc. He had a copy of an Edinburgh newspaper with a lovely (distant) photo of them all perfectly synchronised swinging their legs out to one side on the front page. Ex was about 16 years old then and based in Portsmouth.This was about 1964.
DeleteIn 1987 we were selling our house in Gillingham to move to a four bedroom and one couple came to have a look. The guy said to ex 'I know you' (he was a police detective in Chatham so I got a little worried!!!!) but it turned out he was in the row to ex's left at the Tattoo! Ex got newspaper out and they chatted and the detective was delighted to show his wife a photo of himself in full No 1s (as best uniform is called) as a teenager. Sadly our house wasn't big enough for them either!
Isn't the circularity of life wonderful Spiceycushion ?
Delete✅✅
DeleteGood luck Gary. Fingers crossed the weather is good for you and that the following wind isn’t strong enough to blow your tent down!!
ReplyDeleteNo rain here again today. Supposed to be some overnight so I haven’t watered up. Will see what it’s like in the morning.
Welcome to Sir Ron..... how on earth did you find us after all this time?
I hope you enjoy both sides of the blog.
Bon courage GG, bon voyage et bon retour !
ReplyDeleteOoh how lovely Gary.
ReplyDeleteI hope the weather is really kind.
I always associate the Borders with John Buchan and “The 39 Steps.”
We have stayed near to Dumfries
Love visiting Hadrian’s Wall too .
Those poor Roman soldiers must have felt the cold when they came there in the winter.
I add my welcome to Sir Ron.
It is always good to hear from other Archers’ fans
May I second your GG & Sir Ron comments Lanjan...🤗
DeleteBy the way Sir Ron, which area of the country are you in?
ReplyDeletePtbY, Lanjan & Lady R - many thanks for your kind words.
DeletePtbY - which part of the country am I in? Not far away, just outside Fawcett Magna, a few miles SSW of Borchester. Now, excuse me whilst I leave the Apple Mac for a few hours; I have to go and help Armstrong in the south garden - today we are trimming ivy from the boundary walls.
Are you having us on, Sir Ron ?!
DeleteIf so, most entertaining.
If not, I trust you & Armstrong clear the noxious weed in record time, & celebrate with a double whisky & soda.
Just finished the ivy, Carolyn. Great swathes of it. Armstrong has gone home. Now for the shower and then the 7pm large vodka and tonic and afterwards, together with Lady Norris, a bottle of something crisp and white over dinner on this glorious summer's evening.
DeleteYes, vodka for me, not whisky. Learnt to drink this whilst in Russia but now I take something with it, rather than drink shots as they taught me to do.
Talking of Russia, did you know they had a short-lived radio serial called "Труженики - повседневная история колхоза" (hope you get Cyrillic characters, otherwise it will be garbled characters) which fairly accurately translates as "The toilers - and everyday story of the collective-farm". Sounds familiar?
Oh dear Sir Ron I hope you left some ivy, and especially the older growth which produces flowers. I have just been doing the Butterfly Count and butterflies are apparently vanishing rapidly. Brimstones hibernate in ivy, Holly Blues lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves, and the flowers provide a late source of nectar for many butterflies. I expect you would have room for a few Buddleias on your estate as well. Maybe Lady Norris might like to make butterfly conservation one of her charitable projects. 😊
DeleteJanice, Lady Norris was until recently Chair of our local In-Bloom. She knows her gardens. She also knows butterflies and bees and many other creatures, She is a biologist. So, as we say north of the border, dinna fash yersel', hen! As for me, it's all about management and estate conservation.
DeleteOh! I am impressed. I didn't realise someone from Fawcett Magna would be familiar with the Scots dialect though. You must have inherited an estate in the South! 😉
DeleteForgot to say - got sun-burnt walking along Hadrian's Wall, have you packed your cream??
ReplyDeleteYou bet your sweet derriere I have! 😀
DeleteWishing you a fair wind on your trip Gary and a completely waterproof tent to allow you to get good nights sleep between your days of cycling. Sounds much nicer than the Tour de France!
DeleteBon voyage, GG! Don’t forget the sliced sausage sandwiches! We can’t get the sausage en Angleterre! Loved it when visiting Scotland in my youth!
DeleteMuch discussion on the other blog about Emma and equality in society. I fell it is unfair that the haves and the have nots exist but in my 71 years have never found a solution. At school I read “Animal Farm” and the message has stayed with me that the farmer was deposed and in time the pigs took over the farmhouse and lived in luxury while the horse worked himself to death. It came true in communist countries - the Russian hierarchy for instance had fancy holiday homes on the Black Sea. Scargill who prodded the miners into striking still lives in a posh home in London while at the time miners’ families went without and now most mines are no more. Taxation should be the answer and the raising of the personal allowance has helped the poorest but at the other end the richest live abroad or employ specialist advisers to wriggle out of paying tax so those in the middle bear the brunt of the income the government has to play with. Am not trying to be over political but still cannot find the answer!!🙄
ReplyDeleteI am a bit mystified.
ReplyDeleteLast night, after my good wishes to Gary for his cycling trip, I wrote a (fairly long ) piece about my day at the Golden Wedding celebration I had been dreading. After all your help with the card and gift I though you might like to hear the outcome.
It was there when I first logged in this morning but has now disappeared.
Did Gary, or someone else delete it because it was thought too long and boring?
I did try to make it as amusing as possible, to reveal the horror of a day spent with the most boring, prim and proper couple imaginable ......but it’s gone!
I expect it has just vanished into the ether Archerfile! That has happened to me before, usually because I have accidentally pressed the wrong button!
DeleteI would like to hear about your day.
If you can be bothered please as Janice says repeat your day.
DeleteMe too Archerphile- I want to read your account.
DeleteIf written once, you can do it again.
Please.
An interesting and very difficult topic Ev. I don't know the answer either, and in my earliest work I saw a lot of poverty and the hardship it caused.
ReplyDeleteA balance has to be somehow reached. I think young people starting up businesses should be encouraged as much as possible with tax breaks, and not taxed too heavily as they have to have an incentive to continue, and in the long term a growing business provides work and resources for others.
I think there is something to be said for group or partial ownership. Our Cornish mines also closed, but an attempt to reopen one to mine for lithium via crowdfunding is being made at present, with people able to buy shares for as little as £10 which means basically that local people on low wages or unemployment benefits could invest just £10, which in the longterm may provide work in their area. It is a very high risk longterm venture but if successful could at least in part be owned by the local community.
In response to Ev and Janice re inequality.
DeletePondering this anomaly in society has engaged me throughout my life and I too fail to find any solutions.
However I have come to some conclusions about how individuals deal with and or, come to terms with such inequalities.
And often it does come down to how any particular personality combined with reflective and strategic skills, plus attitudes instilled by parents, plays the cards dealt by life.
Fortune or misfortune.
Play the cards you have in your hand.
Janice's solution on the other blog being an illustration.
Hope you enjoyed your time on the Lizard Mrs P.
DeleteI did Janice, and I wrote about it.
DeleteI did get to have a look around in Helston and liked well enough what I saw.
It has a museum and a cinema, and a few interesting looking buildings, enough for me.
Didn't get to see much of the sea, walked to the nearest little harbour and daughter took me to Porthleven, and Helford.
But spent most of the time at the magnificent house and in the woodland.
In connection with your post earlier today, there is a building plot in Helston, which I saw on line a couple of months ago. I went and had a look and by chance also talked with one of the owners.
I am currently getting myself off to sleep designing my perfect home.
I think designing your own home would be a really lovely thing to do.
DeleteJanice, I have been designing my home since I was sixteen.
DeleteThe first one was underground and I had friends doing aeronautical engineering at Imperial College at the time. I remember asking them how I could allow people to breathe without windows.
The first underground house was built in the nineties I think. There are many now.
And do you know, I have never visited one.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOh dear oh dear oh dear.........
DeleteWell you must put it down to experience Archerphile.
You didn't want to go, but you did despite ongoing concerns.
You did your best with a card and a golden plant, and you must keep on telling yourself that you were kind to Mr A and the couple concerned.
It's over...... and you won't have to do it again.
So WELL DONE !
Gosh Archerfile, your premonitions were correct! You must have been so glad to get home.
DeleteI find weddings a bit like this and have vowed never to go to another! I feel after your long journey you should immediately have been given a drink instead of waiting for your number to be called. Discouraged from going into the house? How ungracious! I don’t know why they bothered to invite anyone. Much better just to go away as we did on our special anniversaries!
DeleteI hope they thanked you for coming, and gave Mr. A some extra cake to take home with him!
DeleteOh Archerphile you deserve a gold clock.
ReplyDeleteYou are more saintly than Shula .
Mr A owes you big time.
I suggest now is the time to pounce and tell him that you have decided to look for a house or bungalow nearer to shops and public transport before you are too old to make a move.
Now I hate to say it but some of us did suggest that you should send a card and wish the couple all the best but decline the invitation but you are a very kind person and didn’t want to disappoint Mr A .
What ,incidentally ,did he think about it all?
I have to say that your account put a smile on my face as I watch the ridiculous situation on TV at the moment.
The injured James Anderson has hobbled in to try to save the Test Match for England.
How stupid is that?
Nine wickets down ,a couple of hundred or so runs to get .
Easy!
Archerphile- given the clipboard and the micro management, you can at least be certain that you will receive a thank you card in the near future.
DeleteOh dear Archerphile, not an experience to be repeated. Mr A owes you, so get in there quick as LanJan says and certainly don't take no for an answer.
DeleteOh dear, I can't find Archerphile's message that several people have responded to. I therefore cannot comment.
DeleteCow Girl - I have just discovered that Dexters have been brought to Painswick Beacon as a reintroduction to improve the area.
ReplyDeleteThis is part of my locality.
Thanks to your sharing of knowledge I understand the why and how.
Dexters another Irish breed , more used for beef now than milk. They can be bad tempered, and have either short or normal length legs.
DeleteEmerald is of course a Kerry, one of the oldest breeds in Europe.
I have never been to an event of any kind, when clipboards have been used to tick off names + guests - how awful esp as the Best Man, Yours not his, was
ReplyDeletenot even recognised.
DeleteI would have walked off and refused to even enter!!
Archerlhile - Well Done for surving this ordeal.
I am off to water, yet again. All my planters are wilting after a sunny day. There was rain in the night, but not much.
ReplyDeleteThankfully the same was at Whalley Bridge.
I am astounded that some have moved back, refusing to move. I so understand that they want to protect their property from looters, but insurance policies should cover this, surely.
I think they are being selfish, putting others at risk.
I have seen that the police are using drones, to watch and patrol the area, so protecting the police personnel.
To add - insurance policies should cover any looting, if the property was left secured.
DeleteI wonder how GG 🚴♀️ is doing?
ReplyDeleteHell fire Archerphile- what a nightmare! All that way to be treated in such a fashion, and no way could I have sat in sunshine with no overhead shade for 5 mins let alone 5 hrs. Thank you for being kind enough to rewrite your post which Mr R and I although appalled by your ordeal also (not unkindly) had a laugh or two at your wonderful descriptions of the detail regarding your hosts and other guests.
ReplyDelete😱 😱just a thought- as you have not been in contact for many years is it to be hoped that neither of your hosts are avid Archers listeners - contributors/ readers of our blog 😂😂😂😂😂😂
I did post a reply to your comment yesterday Lady R, but that has disappeared too!
DeleteWondering if there is something wrong with my iPad touch system that isn’t registering properly. Will check to see if this is still here later on.
My neighbours - it is amazing what I have overheard, when in my garden, over the past 2 days. She has returned, but for how long? He has now not been seen since!
ReplyDeleteIt's like the old weather house, as one appears, the other disappears.
I feel so sorry for you Miriam having neighbours like that. We should be able to have peace in our homes. I really hope they go, and someone nice comes.
DeleteWhat did your neighbours put you through this time Miriam - more shouting and foul language?Thank goodness one of them has disappeared again. 🤞they will decide to call it a day before too long, or maybe they enjoy this kind of relationship it seems some people do 🙄
ReplyDeleteHopefully she has just returned to pack her things!
Delete🙏🏼 🤗 🤞
DeleteAll is fine. Will give an update tomorrow, nothing bad but intersesting.
DeleteThanks.
My goodness. I just dipped in to say hello and discovered so many comments.
ReplyDeleteGary. Have a good time in your little tent. I once stayed in a castle opposite Hadrian’s Wall. The view was magical. The castle was 🥶 cold and is supposed to have a ghost. As I don’t t believe in ghosts it didn’t appear.
Archerphile. What a miserable experience, clipboards and raffles tickets. They must be anal retentive nerds. I imagine them getting up everyday, clipboards at the ready to make to do lists for the day. Not allowing entry into the house smacks of obsessional tidiness. I’ll bet they measured out the warm wine with a measuring tape. 🤬
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Yes that’s exactly what they are like, you should see the annual Christmas round robin we receive!
DeleteHowever, after Lady R’s warning, I have now deleted the post to avoid causing offence to anyone who was there and who might just be an Archers fan blog reader. (Should have thought of that before posting in the first place, really)
Well you only told us the facts Archerphile so rethinking my comment it would after all only be a case of “if the cap fits...” 🤭
DeleteArcherphile I know what you mean about some posts disappearing. I have noticed though that on some occasions when this has happened if leave the blog by double clicking the iPad home button (do not hit sign out at anytime though) and swipe away to close the blog when I reopen it the comment I thought had gone is there and sods law I have sometimes already reposted and so then 2 of same have appeared 🙄
DeleteJust a thought...
Just back from taking Misty for her walk we saw our second Adder, it was in the middle of a 2 foot wide stony track, she had passed it on the grassy verge, but when I saw it , it had its head up ready to strike ,obviously in a vulnerable position as they are not aggressive by nature. I decided not to go across the moor and came back the same way although it was still there it had moved, it was I think seeking out moisture as it had its head in a muddy hole.
ReplyDelete.....and I have not long since returned from blackberry picking.
ReplyDeleteThe blackberries are large and juicy and there are loads of them.
There was also a greengage tree which was full of fruit.
Lovely.
I'm just having my third cup of tea.
DeleteThe cat spent the night out, and I slept through the night ! ! !
Well..... half of the day, as usual.
Archerphile, I'm sorry that you felt the need to delete your informative post.
I think it unlikely that any other guests there. Isn't read it, although I agree it's possible. But then again they might have agreed with all you described.
Correction: any other guests might read it
DeleteGlad I read it before you deleted AP ( but why care about the sensitivities of these tedious people ?) And, yes, agree with others that you should capitalize on this with Mr AP, re moving house ( 6hr. round trip & 5 hrs. around uncongenial people, indifferent wine, clip board led..) I did have a question to which I probably won't get an answer now. When the host realized who Mr AP was & how key he was in the wedding all those yrs. ago, did he make the effort to put down the clip board & have a chat ?
DeleteYes the same question occurred to me.
DeleteAnd was he embarrassed that he didn't recognise Mr AP.
Not really, he exchanged a few pleasantries, noted that it would be our 50th next year then busied himself with his clipboard around other guests.
DeleteHe never once asked how our family were or what are kids are doing, or if we had any grandchildren but to be fair, he did have a lot of other people to chat to!
Maybe so but having invited you both (and particularly Mr A having been Best Man) I find it incomprehensible that 5-10 mins could not be spared, or even looked forward to by your host.
DeleteSir Ron, ( yesterday, 6.39pm), what a couple of 'coincidences' (don't believe in them, rather 'synchronistic incidents'. a) keen on vodka myself b) out at Tate Modern yesterday with Russian friend, seeing MAGNIFICENT Goncharova exhibition, vibrant, colourful, confident & I do believe she inspired the serial you mentioned - quite a few former serfs toiling at harvest time. Alas, didn't see your post until much later, so no Russian friend at hand to translate.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't down vodka on this occasion, though, just white wine with delicious late & extended lunch.
Would today had been equally blissful. Completely wasted trip to Hospital ENT. After waiting over an hr., had the check up, fine, but real objective was to move closer to having the hearing aid implant for left ear, BUT my usual consultant has to be the one who explains the procedure so have to wait for another appt. I know the hearing test showed I was deaf enough ( ' a suitable candidate' as he delicately put it) but this drags on & on while I langusih in any social situation involving more than 2 people, & with any kind of external noise interference.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm feeling jolly sorry for myself, & the vodka & tonic at only 3.19pm isn't dispelling the gloom.
Languish, of course. Grrr...Mr C. was very patient waiting around & is now painting the skirting board in the dervish room - lots of depictions of such in there, plus a Buddha, ( we respect the original impetus of all faiths....) so maybe I should go meditate in there whilst he paints, but there again, the vodka & a sleeping cat prevent.
Deletecarolyn. If I had a magic wand I would wave it in your direction. Vodka and cat sound like a good comfort. 😻🥃
DeleteThank you, Stasia. Am now getting on with supper, 2nd vodka , having washed the dervish room kilim, to match the spruced up room - self pity & disappointment fading !
DeleteCarolyn - sorry to say my interest in Russia was confined to business and politics rather than the Arts. A few years ago I successfully completed Russian A-level with a grade of which I was proud - but Chekov, yccch how utterly boring! Truly so, bored aristocrats living on a dying estate waiting for something to happen (like the Revolution!).
DeleteBut my interest in vodka continues, it was large one tonight, Reyka Icelandic vodka. Next in line is a vodka made on the Isle of Wight, with added rock salt. That should be interesting. Then it is back to good old Stolichnaya.
I so understand the frustration with Carolyn + her ear implant.
ReplyDeleteI too, am getting fed up, waiting for appointments for my 2nd cataract op now looking September at the earliest.
I am at eye-clinic in the morn.purely for eye pressurs and potential glaucoma, clinic. This appointment is now 4 weeks later than the one originally booked in October 2018.
I think that these delays are due to the ongoing GPs and hospital Dr's working to rule, due to their pension fund problems.
I bet they do not know what it is like, living with a minor problem, be it hearing or sight, but can affect life and enjoyment thereof.
PS My vision is fine at the moment with no obvious problems, but how long with this last. I see colours differently with the cataract eye, such as white is cream, as compared to the one already sorted. The sight in that eye is only showing a slight deterioration, at the moment. 👁
I fell at Waterloo Station a few years ago and was taken to St Thomas's. I had to wait in A&E for some time.
DeleteWhen I was seen by an Italian doctor, female, she looked at my history and was very concerned for me. ( I had not hurt myself in the fall, but when apparently senior, it is insisted upon that an ambulance is called). This was at the time that I was having concerns that I might have pernicious anemia but because my blood test had shown a false negative I was not getting the Vitamin B12 injections prescribed.
This young doctor came from a family of thyroid sufferers, had the condition herself and her eight year old daughter had recently been diagnosed.
She understood all too clearly what I was going through, as had my GP in London who had also had an overactive thyroid like PtbY.
This A&E doctor, busy as she was along with the rest of the team took time to write on my behalf, a letter, handwritten, to my GP practice, telling them how they should treat me.
It is not doctors or staff that are responsible for delays.
It is the abritish publics undying belief that our sacred NHS can do no wrong, when in fact the systems used have been ' doing wrong' for decades.
It was a flawed system to start off with since it took no account of future growth in population nor any vision that science as well as improved care would improve lifespan and so increase the numbers needing to be taken care of for very much longer than previously.
Plus the fact that not a single government since 1947 has been willing to raise taxes to fully fund the NHS in the way that it needs.
Rant over
I certainly don't blame the medical staff for delays/mistakes, but the admin side, left hand not knowing what the right is doing ! Poor communication between departments. For instance, I had an appointment cancelled that hadn't even been made in the first place ! Another referral for hearing test that got lost in the system to be sent again months later by the consultant when he found out zilch had happened....
DeleteAlso the numerous reorganisations by the politicians which leave managers so busy managing the changes that they they haven't got time to manage the service.
DeleteMiriam - I hope your second cataract procedure doesn't get delayed any further. I had my second one done six weeks ago. MAGIC! And today I went to the optician for a sight test and to order new specs. Now if only someone would just sort out my osteoarthritic left knee...
DeleteI am glad that your vision is fine at the moment ,Miriam and can understand your frustration but I think you will find that the medical staff do know what it is like for people living with a minor hearing or sight problem.
ReplyDeleteI also sympathise with them because I do not see why they should work overtime and be penalised for doing so.
When I had my 1st cataract op. the nursing staff I talked to, admitted that they had no idea what it was like to have sight problems.
DeleteTo add. When I worked as an NHS pharmacist, I was salaried for 8 hours a day. I often worked 9 and often 10 hours a day,(with travel time of 1.5hrs) knowing I couldn't claim any overtime pay.
DeleteI did this, to provide the best possible care for clients, the nursing + care homes I provided meds for, working with GPs, district + Macmillan nurses. I just wanted to give the best possible pharmacy service I could.
Pharmacist ⭐️ are great Miriam (and many thanks to them and you 👏🏻 for your years of service) we are certainly very lucky in our area. Twice recently though whilst waiting for prescriptions we have witnessed a crate of prescriptions being opened up paperwork removed and meds being prepared to return to stock where after 2 mths they have not been collected - I guess the main reason for this being patients who have to pay the £9 per item and just not able to find the money (?) however surely if you have a serious condition it is vital you have the item(s) prescribed and I have a concern in this respect, or does this show that many of these were considered not particularly necessary by the patient afterwards and therefore just remained uncollected?
DeleteI’m sure you will be able to answer my queries Miriam 🤗
Neighbours are fighting + kicking off again, as expected.
ReplyDeleteSorry can't tell more tonight, as grandnephew in OZ rushed into hosp. today (with Mum).
He has breathing problems again - a worry - but think is only a chest infection and not his heart problem, but can't breathe while trying to feed.
Back tomorrow. Miriam.😀😀
Do hope good news will be yours soon Miriam especially regarding your family.
DeleteAs for next door they need their heads banging together. How can they degrade themselves in this way - they must realise they are being overheard not to mention a lack of respect for your right to peace and quiet in your own home 😡
Lanjan - Totally agree about NHS 'frontline' staff. Of course they know what problems people have! That is their expertise and profession! Fantastic people.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I don't expect enough but am grateful, so grateful, for the NHS. Imagine living a hundred years ago where you only visited a doctor if you had a penny or two spare!
I'm sorry but I dislike people slagging off something that their grandparents' generation did not have and who faced the possibility of dying for what we now would regard as minor ailments , as a consequence of lack of medical care. Yet now we seem to expect a perfect 'quality of life.'
Also, imagine living in the US, and other places, where if you have no insurance you have no doctor's care!
Carolyn - I can't remember when we met if you mentioned hearing aids and/or implants? What is the difference? I wear aids in both ears, for a major lack of hearing in one ear and a minor lack but excessive tinnitus in the other.
Tinnitus is so bad that I have had to get used to going to sleep with the radio on softly, otherwise the 'white noise' drives me mad! Luckily I have an automatic alarm so it turns itself off after an hour then wakes me in the morning at 6am (my usual time!)
I do get fed up with 'everything' being magnified with my NHS aids, so don't wear them at Cubs! When we have our 'chat' at the end of the meeting I have to quickly put them in so as to find out what to prepare for next week. Bit of a drag ! However better than an old 'trumpet!' thingy.
Apropos the NHS again - I heard a speaker on the radio saying that there has been an increase of a million and a half new people registered with the NHS over the last five years. That makes an average for each GP a list of about 2000 patients. I dread my own fantastic doctor retiring. He is absolutely lovely and I have grown old with him, as it were!
He's very quietly spoken and with a thick Sri Lankan accent (even after 30 years!) but he really looks after me!
My mum used to say that mothers didn’t go to the doctor when not enough money but would do so for their children. I was born in the same year as the NHS and am eternally grateful for it. Yes it fails sometimes but on the whole the care we get is amazing.
Delete✔️👏✔️👏✔️👏
DeleteNo NHS on my native island, so we only went to the doctor as a last resort, often when matters were beyond treatment. Childbirth was prohibitively expensive, although this seemed not to deter a penniless sister who liked babies. Visits to the dentist were limited to extractions after long agonies of toothache from decay, as fillings were too expensive and only the well-off had regular check-ups. I believe there is now a free schools dental service and healthcare for the elderly, but otherwise most treatment still has to paid for.
DeleteSpicy, doubt I mentioned any of this when we met, though probably deafness evident ( what ? Eh ? etc.) I have a perfectly efficient hearing aid in the right ear, but can't wear an aid any longer in the left ear, where the hearing was much more impaired anyway because persistent infections caused middle ear perforation. which won't heal. Hope came with the chance of an implant behind the afflicted ear, if hearing assessments showed it was bad enough to justify the expense to the NHS. It is. I'm very grateful for this opportunity, but various screw ups in the system, as touched on above, are causing delays.
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky not to suffer tinnitus, it must be awful.
So very sorry to hear about all these hearing problems and difficulty in getting them treated. My hearing is very good, thank goodness but Mr A suffers from severe tinnitus. Apparently not uncommon in diabetics as the fine hairs in the inner ear which transmit sound become damaged by the disease.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is eyesight. I have spent my whole life with one very shortsighted eye and one long sighted. I have never had proper binocular vision and consciously use one eye for distance and the other for reading and seeing minute objects. The problem now is that the difference between my eyes has become so great with normal ageing that it is no longer possible to make glasses for me without getting double vision. I am also developing a cataract in one eye.
I am seriously thinking of consulting a private specialist and seeking removal of my lenses and replacement with corrective lenses that will restore normal sight. My neighbour had this done earlier in the year and has been able to go without glasses for the first time in 50 years. I think it is worth ‘looking into’ anyway!
I'll say ! It would make such a difference, AP.
DeleteArcherphile- the best thing about having my cataracts removed was, as far as I am concerned, not having to wear spectacles except for reading.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that our conversations on here have turned to hearing, as last week I had a hearing test. Offered free by my opticians. I have recently decided to get night time driving glasses.
I considered my hearing to still be sound.
Apparently the volume is normal but the clarity not so.
I was aware of this but considered it to be my three old and lousy radios.
However I was told that I could be helped by hearing aids.
My greatest problems are hearing soft voices on radio. Solution, a better radio.
An inability to hear elder daughter speaking. Had the problem since she was a small child. A hearing aid won't help.
Hearing anything when with other daughter and family. Since they are all very opinionated and all speak at the same time and I only see them on average half a dozen times a year. A hearing aid not worth it.
I declined until it becomes a problem for me.
Carolyn, I do hope you are allowed your inplant and do so hope it helps you.
Thanks, Mrs P. No question now that I 'qualify' for this - it's the muddles in bureauocracy that are causing the trouble !
DeleteTinitus... I had a friend who suffered from this and found that having Acupuncture was of great benefit, though had to be repeated at 6 monthly intervals, worth giving it a try I would have thought.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that. I had not heard of that treatment. I have tried diet, cutting out caffeine etc but have found that having something else to listen to helps, as well as the hearing aid.
DeleteI have also learnt to 'ignore' it so as long as I don't think about it it's manageable. 🙂
Mr A also tries to ignore the constant whistling in his ears (as he describes it) and finds its better if he has classic music on in the background as he is working or reading.
DeleteI find I can tell when it is bad for him because he becomes quite ‘distant’ and doesn’t respond to my chatter - as though he is concentrating on something else - so I just shut up for a while and try again later.
He says it is also bothersome when he is driving, but usually puts the car radio on to Classic fm or Radio 3, which helps apparently.
Seen today in our local car park.......car reg plate. P 5 TBY.
ReplyDeleteit should be mine!!!
Absolutely!
DeleteYes it should be yours.
DeleteI thought you were telling us that it was ,P tbY!
DeleteI expect Maryellen would say it should belong to her T❤️O❤️B❤️Y ! 🤣
DeleteArcherphile ,with reference to your eye problem.
ReplyDeleteI would certainly initially go to see a private specialist in the first instance .
However if you have no private insurance I think you will find that the cost for private treatment is rather a lot.
I was in a similar position to you.
I decided to go to see a Private Consultant recommended by my Optician about the cataracts the optician thought needed to be removed.
I didn’t think I had a problem because I was driving fine without spectacles. However, the Specialist confirmed that I did need them removed within the year..
He said he could fit me in for the first op in July(I saw him in May) and within a few days I got a letter from the private clinic which was quite a way from where I live , wanting the money up front.
It was much more than I had expected and since I assumed I would be seen within a year with the NHS I decided to revert to them which I did.
I contacted the lovely Specialist and the equally lovely Optician and they seemed to agree with what I was doing .
Had the Specialist said that it was imperative that I had the operation as soon as possible I would have gone ahead and had it done as my eyesight is worth more to me than a few thousand pounds
(Obviously I must have looked like someone who had private insurance,I thought-my posh TKMaxx handbag no doubt)
The Optician sent the referral to my doctor and I am due to go to see the NHS Specialist on 5th September to see whether he is of the same opinion as the first Specialist .
I wasn’t going to mention all this but I thought it might help Archerphile and anyone else in this position.
Further to LJs experience above.
DeleteI cannot remember the length of time it took from referral from optician to having my cataracts removed, but I did not consider it a particularly long time.
I personally did not find the cataracts a huge problem. I considered I could see well enough.
I never considered and was not in a position to consider private treatment and was content to wait for my NHS provider ( London SW ) to get them done.
They were both done within a one year period.
This was around 2008 I think.
I have completed a survey today, sent from Alopecia UK.
It is clear to me from the questions asked that provision of treatment and of wigs within the NHS for Alopecia has considerably changed since my diagnosis approximately sixteen years ago.
Recent withdrawal by my NHS provider of a skin/ bath additive, prescribed when I was first diagnosed with Alopecia, along with the information about the provision of wigs, ( which does not apply to me since I choose not to wear a wig), and the concerns that others have regarding cataracts, confirms to me that the NHS is cutting back in many areas.
Of course we all know this from news reports, but when we experience it as individuals it hits home.
I recognise that I have been fortunate in the past.
Currently I am not personally affected by these cuts, but I do have sympathy with those that do.
We need IMO a national discussion on what we feel we NEED from the NHS and what we WANT to pay for.
I hope that Gary is having better weather then we have in Edinburgh this afternoon, dramatic skies and thunderstorms.
DeleteWe went to the Secret Herb Garden earlier where they have a gin making businesses. There is a large area of garden where they grow the botanicals for the the gin and they have a different flavour of gin for each month of the year. It got me wondering again where Toby gets his botanicals from.
Thank you Lanjan and Mrs P for your advice re cataracts.
DeleteOne of the reasons I’m considering private treatment is because my neighbour found our local hospital will only replace your lenses with standard ones which wouldn’t address my problem of differently sighted eyes.
She had Varifocal lenses fitted in her eyes (amazing isn’t it?) and they mean she doesn’t need glasses for reading or anything now. All she had to buy was some sunglasses!
As I have very short sight in one eye and long in the other I shall need tailored lenses rather than a ‘standard pair’
I have yet to find out the cost, it may well be prohibitive, but I didn’t need to go privately for my excellent hip operation, nor shall I for me knee, so I am willing to cash in my Stash of Premium Bonds if necessary to regain my sight which has been getting steadily worse for some years.
We have never regretted becoming members of Benenden Heath Care @ £10.25 per mth each. As I have mentioned before in 2013 I had both cataract ops privately done at no other cost to me. Currently one can apply to them if NHS longer than 5 weeks. My situation was mum in Care Home 12 miles away both sisters over 100miles away and a non driving spouse so it was an immediate yes from Benenden. You have to attend their nearest participating hospital for your condition but that was not a problem for me and so as not to inconvenience anyone I had local care cars when necessary.
ReplyDeleteIf it is a diagnosis you need and the wait an anxious one up to £1800 available to a member.
On joining immediate 24 hr a day phone access to a Dr and after 6 mths aces all areas as it were which is what I had to do?
One sister and one B-I-L have also been extremely grateful for use of their membership without which it is possible they may not be with us now.
Might be worth a google and a watch of the video 🤔
🙄 “access” all areas (and also no need for the question mark at the end of “ which is what I had to do”.......!)
DeleteNo time to read nor respond to the many posts.
ReplyDeleteMy "glaucoma" clinic hosp appoint this morning - all is fine and just go back in 6 months. I actually saw a consultant today, who is chasing up my next cataract op. but not sure if will speed things up.
My main worry is my 4 month grand- nephew in Oz. He is still in hosp. and is having to be tube fed as he can't feed. Also blood tests have showed problems with cardiac markers, indicating the heart problem might be worsening.
A major worry.
Back tomorrow, as need a stiff Scruff + T.
Pleased for you that your concerns about glaucoma can now be silenced Miriam.
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about your great nephew Miriam, I do hope that things will improve soon.
ReplyDeleteMe too Miriam, so worrying for you, especially being so far away.
Delete✔️ Eyes 🤞 🙏🏼 for great nephew Miriam!
Deletethinking about your little great - nephew Myriam, 💕
DeleteThank you all, for your supportive posts about my grand-nephew. It is so appreciated. I cannot believe I got his age wrong, not 4 months, as said, but still only 11 weeks.
ReplyDeleteNews this morning, is not great. The poor little mite is having to be fed by tube, is now on constant oxygen, due to breathing problems but is stable. If there is no improvement tomorrow (OZ time), he will be transferred to a specialist paedriatic unit, 50 miles away.
I won't know any more news until Friday morning, which is evening in OZ. This time difference doesn't help with news and updates.
It is hard, as I am only a Great Aunty, I don't know always what is happening - I get the abridged version only - but I do understand this + why.
I am not watering tonight, as heavy rain +storms are expected overnight and into tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI did a "top-up" shop today, so I can bunker in, if the weather is as bad as forecast. 🌨⛈⚡
I did my smallest, cheapest ever Sainsbury shop today. Why? Mr A has flown off to Canada to visit relatives for a week and I am on my 800 cal per day diet.
ReplyDeleteI was staggered to loose 6 1/4 pounds in my first week on this diet, then of course it was interrupted for a day at the G. Wedding, but am back to strict counting & weighing all my food again now. So much easier when I only have to cook for myself and thank goodness for a glut of runner beans and cucumbers in the garden......they are practically calorie free!
Good Luck. I so admire you for sticking to 800 cals a day - as I know I couldn't do that.
DeleteKeep going, but also enjoy what you eat.
Well Archerphile you wanted to carry on with your 800 calories a day for longer - but a little drastic to send Mr A to Canada in order to be able to do so 😂 Anyway I send my admiration to you ⭐️
ReplyDeleteGG where are you ? Scotland in dire straights, a months rain in 3 hrs. On the lunchtime news a Lycra and helmeted cyclist was battling along and I wondered.......so long as you are safe and sound 🤞
Like you Miriam I shopped today in order to be able to hunker down for the next couple of days, but thoughts will be with people who do not have this choice.
(🙏🏼 grand nephew - poor little chap 👶)
Lady R - I immediately thought of Gary when I saw the cyclist in the floods! 😆
DeleteI always keep a stock cupboard and have topped up on milk butter and yogurt only have one baking potato but rice always to hand.
ReplyDeleteI pick up my weekly sour dough loaf tomorrow, and the freezer is full.
Good luck with the 800 cal diet Archerphile.
I've been wondering about Gary. Took particular note of weather forecast this morning which said that a band of heavy rain between Glasgow and Edinburgh would be moving north.
ReplyDeleteIf GG still on H wall he is south of this band.
I know that there is another, avid jigsaw lover here, but I am not sure who it is.
ReplyDeleteI have just ordered a 1000pc one called Morning Pandas, which looks intriguing + interesting. I saw this one a while ago, but now seems in short supply, but found on Am.....n, at a good price. One to be put away for later when days are cold + wintry.
It might be me, Miriam.
DeleteI bought four at a local church sale on Saturday.
Yes, put away for winter.
Definitely me Miriam. I currently have a scene of Lynmouth on the dining table and 6 more jigsaws waiting to be done. We always have one on the go and I usually spend an hour after lunch , listening to a radio play whilst working on the puzzle. It’s very relaxing.
DeleteI always buy secondhand ones, either on EBay or at charity shops. Once completed they go back to a charity shop unless it’s a particularly nice one I want to keep.
There are currently around 50 stored under the spare bed!
Weather in Edinburgh was pretty bad yesterday. Black clouds, thunderstorms and heavy showers. We were quite worried as it was yesterday that we had tickets for the Tattoo. Luckily the storms blew over just in time and we had a dry performance which we enjoyed very much.
ReplyDeleteIt made me realise just how much walking son-in-law does at every performance, no wonder he got sore feet and lost half a stone over the three weeks last year.
Wonderful to watch though CC.
DeleteSo glad the rain held off for you.
Miriam ....I love a good jigsaw. But I’m fussy.....i don’t like drawn pictures. I like a proper photograph picture.
ReplyDeleteThere’s one on amazon of just loads of front doors. That looks good. In John Lewis there is one of lots of different coloured pencils lined up.
1000 pieces is the ideal size. Roll on winter, tend to do more of em then.
I like jigsaws too but like a picture. Do you remember the baked bean one? That really would have floored me!!🙄😮🤯😚
ReplyDeleteMy favourite jigsaws are either famous paintings of which I have some Van Goughs, Klimt’s The Kiss, Monet’s Garden at Giverney (very difficult) and some beautiful Dutch masters...or....the Wasgij puzzles of which the picture on the lid is not what you have to reproduce, it’s just a clue to the finished work and they are often very funny and very hard to do. The more difficult a puzzle is, the better we like it!
DeleteI think my favourite was bought as a present for me.
DeleteA map of central London. Not sure how many pieces, probably about 250.
I did it from personal knowledge in less than half an hour and did not have to look at the picture once. And loved it.
Know the centre of my city like the proverbial b of h.
I have just seen, in the news, that clip of a cyclist trying to ride along a flooded road in Scotland that was spoken about yesterday.
ReplyDeletePoor man, but surely a bit foolhardy to try and ride in those conditions,
I sincerely hope our dear Gary is not having to battle through the floods and that his tent has remained waterproof - or better still, that he has had the sense to get back home before the really big storm hits today! 🚵🏻♂️
I also saw that clip and thought of Gary. I do hope it wasn't him.
DeleteAfter 4 days of brilliant sunshine, spectacular torrential rain, searing heat, more torrential rain, even more brilliant sunshine & a LOT of junk food and painkillers I have made it safely back to Glasgow! On the way to Newcastle I took in Moffat, Lockerbie, Dumfries and then along the coast to Annan, Gretna Green and on to Carlisle. Then followed Hadrian's Wall across the country to Newcastle. Never took my tent out of the bag once - stayed in cute little overpriced pubs along the way, including one where Robert Burns had stayed and one where Charles Dickens had stayed. I investigated a few little towns that I had never heard of - Brampton & Hexham spring to mind as being particularly lovely.
ReplyDeleteIn total I cycled 210 miles over the 4 days and had an incredible time whizzing & pootling along deserted country lanes amongst a sea of green. But once I reached Newcastle and realised that there was travel chaos everywhere (particularly in Glasgow!) AND there was comedy atrocious weather on the way, I jumped on the first train home I could find and am now in my jim-jams and feel both smug and content!
Never really want to see another explanatory panel about a bloody Roman ruin again tho'...
Sounds like you had a terrific time and got home in good order. Hats off to you.
DeleteSounds wonderful Gary, a very successful trip, and what a sensible solution to take the train home. And congratulations on achieving your objective.
DeleteI liked Hexham on my short visit there.
Well done Gary! 210 miles in four days is going some! Glad you missed the torrential rain. Staying in pubs definitely beats under 'canvas.' 😃
ReplyDelete"missed the torrential rain"? Spicycushion, at one point my shoes were literally filled to overflowing!!!
DeleteOh but it wasn't you cycling through the floodson the BBC News?.........was it? 🤣🤣
DeleteYou make me feel exhausted GG just reading it. Glad u had such a good time and were sensible an came home early.
ReplyDelete✔️ 👏🏻 🚴♂️ GG
DeleteVery jealous Gary that you have seen all those places and that you were capable of doing it on a bike, well done!
DeleteWell done you,Gary.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned Hexham.
When I was there some years ago I noticed a queue outside a butcher’s so I joined it and asked for whatever it was the locals were buying .
As I recall it was some form of meat pie.and it was really good.
Ha! The butchers is still there Lanjan and it still has a queue outside it!
DeleteFantastic sounding trip Gary, even if you did get just a little bit wet ! I expect it was worthwhile to see all that beautiful countryside and some pretty new towns.
ReplyDelete(Hope the shoes dry out soon!) 😉
Latest news from OZ - a very major concern
ReplyDeletePoor little mite, had a major issue with his breathing, even though he was on oxygen. It turned into a "Code Blue" emergency, to get him breathing again.
He couldn't be transferred to the major pead. unit, as there were no free incubators/beds.
Latest is more hopeful, as he is starting to breathe by himself, so no longer on oxygen, but still needs tube feeding.
It is a worry and I am very concerned.
Such a worry indeed Miriam my thoughts are (and will be) with you as- will many others from your blogger friends. Hope that will help just a little 🙏🏼
DeleteTake care.
I was woken up at 5.00am with a massive storm, thunder, lightning + heavy rain. Since then it has been hot, humid + sunny, not as forecast.
ReplyDeleteHow are all others doing?
Warm and sunny all day here in Hampshire, apart from a sharp downpour at around 4pm.
DeleteIt’s sunny again now but the wind is really getting up and I fear for our fences overnight.
We have had more rain than you then Archerphile in our part of Hampshire although my guess is we are not so very far apart as the crow flies! Wind!!!! all day and going even more crazy as I write. Hope your fences stay upright 🤞
DeleteApologies to all.
ReplyDeleteI haven't gone back, to read the lovely, interesting posts from today, to reply and discuss.
My mind is just elsewhere.
No need to apologise at all, Miriam. We all understand you have much more important concerns than the TA blog! Keeping everything crossed for your little nephew. 🥰
DeleteThanks. 💟
DeleteIs any-one having problems like mine?
ReplyDeleteThis is loads of spiders - small black ones and others with small bodies + long, spindly legs, webs everywhere, which am constantly removing with vacuum.
Then there are the moths, which are appearing, in numbers.
How do I control these?
Any help will be gratefully received.
I didn't phrase that correctly, in that my problems are only relating to the spiders + moths, with which I seem to be inundated with
DeleteWould it be more a case of deterance than control, given the concern about decline in insect numbers?
ReplyDelete...but how?
DeletePlease let me know.