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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.
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ReplyDeleteSpicycushion - October 23, 2020 at 5:23 PM
Many Happy Returns Lanjan. And many more. I hope both you and Mr LJ enjoy today despite hospital appointments.
I made a bread pudding yesterday and thought 'I wonder if I could courier some to Mr LJ?' Possibly will be too stcky., but I'm working on it!😁
Miriam - October 23, 2020 at 5:41 PM
That sounds delicious.
MrsP Ambridge - October 23, 2020 at 5:51 PM
My mum used to make bread pudding especially for me, right into her final years. I've never been able to make it sufficiently well, so I haven't had any bread pudding now for over thirty years.
I envy you Spicey
stasia - October 23, 2020 at 6:02 PM
Lanjan. Happy birthday to a proud Lancashire woman.
🥳🤩🍾👏🎂😺
MiriamOctober 23, 2020 at 6:31 PM
A Late Great-Aunty of mine, made a lovely Bread Pudding, the likes of which I have not tasted since.
I remember, a regular poster, gave a recipe for such, which was served at cricket teas. This I would so like to see again. Whoever it was, which I cannot acknowledge, please give the recipe again...
That poster, will know who she/he is.
I wait in anticipation. 😀
I expect it was Spiceycushion Miriam
ReplyDeleteJust a reminder that the clocks go back this weekend! Up here that means that it gets light at about 9.00am & dark about 3.00pm. (If the sun decides to put in an appearance at all, that is...)
ReplyDeleteI just hate the dark evenings, which will now start so much earlier.
DeleteI need to go and find the cooker instruction booklet, as I can never remember how to alter the time, on it.
Plus I will need to reprogram, my CH and hot water (it is a Hive system). It is easy to do, once I have found the instructions...
DeleteLanjan, I hope you are having a lovely birthday 🎂🎉🎈🎁🍾💐
ReplyDeleteI am looking at buying, either a floor or a table lamp, which has, the supposedly light of normal daylight. These look costly, so may I politely ask:-
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have any experience of this type of lamp, and are they worth it?
It is to read, do my knitting and jigsawas by, and to help with the SAD syndrome, which I always have symptoms of, in the Winter months.
Miriam - I have a lamp.
DeleteIt was given to me by the NHS when I attended a sleep Clinic at Guys Hospital.
The instructions were to switch it on when I woke in the morning and to have it on for half an hour to help me wake up.
This was about ten years ago.
I assume it still works, but it's been in its box now for most of those ten years.
Instructions
1. Switch it on when you first wake.
If I were to wake enough to be compos mentos enough to turn on a light beside my bed I wouldn't be attending a sleep clinic !
2. This will enable you to wake and stay awake and then to get out of bed.
I don't wake enough to turn the lamp on. But if I do wake and manage to turn it on I then fall asleep again. Usually for several more hours.
3. This should not increase your electricity bills.
It did.
Enormously !
4. Do not bother to return this lamp ( £140:00 in John Bell and Croyden. I checked ) as we are the NHS and whatever we think you may need, we will find the money to give to you, whether it works or not, because we said in the beginning that all would be free for all your health needs whatever they may be, for ever more.
Amen
5. I believe that my sleep problems of over 25 years are due to my compromised adrenals. But because the NHS does not agree with me it won't test my adrenal functions.
Of course a test would probably cost less than a £140 lamp.
But it wouldn't be as convenient as just sending me off with a large expensive piece of kit with the department having a ticked box on their report.
Miriam, perhaps you will get some other, positive reports.
I have seen the ads for these lamps, and you're right, they are expensive. You used to be able to buy 'daylight' bulbs, useful for reading, crafts etc.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how the light differs from those expensive ones advertised - or from the light from a 'lightbox' used to treat SAD.
I’ve found the best thing is to let as much natural light in as possible which have achieved through having a conservatory. In Ledbury we had one built and there was one here already. Realise it is expensive though and not always possible in some properties. I have a floor light with led lamps which gives off a very cheerful glow so don’t know whether that would help, Miriam.
ReplyDeleteAlert
ReplyDeleteDr Zhivago .... on IPlayer
Aaaaah !
Thanks MrsP, that's tonight's viewing sorted. Never seen it.
DeleteOooooo Gary, that descending clock makes me go all peculiar! Like standing at the top of a spiral staircase and falling down!
ReplyDeleteVery clever but not good for people with vertigo methinks. 🤪 🥺 😂
It makes me feel sick as a dog!
DeleteMrGG uses a SAD lamp. I notice when he doesn't. Don't know if that counts as proof that it works, but as Esscee says above, there's nothing lost by using it.
ReplyDeleteBelated birthday wishes to LanJan, 🎉🎉🥂🥂Hope you enjoyed your G&T!
ReplyDeleteI quite like the clocks going back, can't bear the dark mornings.
ReplyDeleteFind it difficult when they go forward, takes me days to adjust..
Lanjan just catching up with your birthday post. Your birthday outfit sounded great and new highlights a lovely gift from Mr LJ. I do hope the hospital appointments went smoothly and that
ReplyDeletethe fish & chip meals were much enjoyed alongside a big G&T or two 🍸🍸🤗
Mrs P & Archerphile re 🎂 birthdays I can even remember certain birthdays of people I worked with years ago I don’t know why.
ReplyDeleteRegarding bloggers some just have a birthday near to mine or a friend or family member. I don’t think even I remember all that may have crept up in conversation but I like to try 😊
LanJan, Happy Birthday wishes for yesterday 💐🎂 (sorry I didn’t look in). I hope Mr LJ’s appointment went smoothly so you could enjoy the rest of your day together. Lovely idea about the card. We often get old cards out to enjoy again.
ReplyDeleteI am glad we have a few weeks of lighter mornings now as I like to go for a short walk/run at 7ish, but not in the dark. I find the dark evenings quite cosy, but struggle with the January and February mornings.
Enjoy your new puppy, PtbY, hope he’s settling in a tiny bit.
How are the cat and kitten doing, Parsley?
My recipe for Bread Pudding is from a cookery supplement from a magazine in the early 1970s. I cant remember the exact name of it now but it was a bit more 'up-market' than Woman's Own etc!
ReplyDeleteI inherited a set of old brass scales which belonged to my aunt which are in constant use but also have a set of metric weights Jon bought me for my birthday, because he was fed up with mentally converting grams to ounces when I was trying a new recipe! (Well he's got A level Maths!) However you'll have to do the conversions yourselves I'm afraid!
Bread Pudding
12 ounces stale/dried out bread
8 oz dried mixed fruit
3oz suet
2oz caster sugar
1 tablespoon Golden syrup
2 teaspoons of mixed spice
3 oz Demerera sugar.
I use an 8" x 8" roasting/cake tin lined with just a strip of baking parchment.
Method
Break the bread inro a bowl of cold water and leave to soak for at least 2 hours.
(I use the end crusts of the 5 white sliced loaves used the previous week for sandwiches in the cricket tea. Also included brown loaves but not seeded.)
Once soaked I transferred the mixture into a colendar and left it to drain overnight.
Squeeze any excess water out but shouldn't be much if left for a long time draining.
Mix everything EXCEPT the Demerera in a large bowl or food mixer till thoroughly combined.
Pour into baking tin then sprinkle the Demerera sugar evenly over the top of the tin.
Bake for about 1 hour until top is firm and brown. I have a 'slow' oven so usually it's more likely to need an extra 10-15 minutes.
Can be eaten warm with custard or cold in squares/fingers.
It gets very sticky on top on the second day! (That only applies to home so I usually halve quantities or only bake half and freeze the 'raw' mix half. )
There were never any pieces left after the cricket tea!
Thank you Spiceycushion, I knew it was you.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I will give it a try.
Gary- can't believe you've never seen Dr Z, David Lean second masterpiece.
Please give your opinion.
Thank you everyone for the good wishes for yesterday.
ReplyDeleteIt was very kind and meant a lot
Surprisingly I had a really enjoyable day.
It was sunny in the morning so I did a bit of gardening.
Had we not been going to the hospital we would not have gone out anywhere so we got a bit of fresh air.
We went to the hospital in an Uber at lunchtime and were seen on time for the echo scan .
We then went to get Mr LJs monitor fitted before returning home via Uber.
Didn't see a Consultant.
Various 'phone calls and Face Times before sending out for fish and chips.
Then opening of presents and cards plus a large g and t .
Most of them were gin,whisky ,other food and drink ,orchid or posh toiletries related.
Lovely .
My younger son did a flying visit from the north earlier in the week to leave gifts one of which he said was a little extra -nothing much.
It was a canvas picture with the words of "You'll never walk alone " written on
That was when I felt the tears coming.
In spite of what is happening at the moment for us all and what has happened recently to me personally I feel very fortunate
Now like Pierre I have the problem of what to do with the extra 25p I am going to receive each week!
Mr LJs monitor
What a wonderful and thoughtful little extra “nothing much“ gift from your son LJ it has made me tearful just reading about it! So glad your day was a good one despite all current circumstances both personal and world related.
ReplyDeleteExtra 25p such a headache for you LJ now what treat should you buy 😂😂😂 Of course you could save it for the year and then you will have £13 to splash out or hang on and add to your Christmas bonus and you will have the princely sum of £23 ...such a heady amount 🤭
The descending clock at the top of this blog reminds me of a scene from the ballet 'The Red Shoes' which I saw just before lockdown. It was brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThe film version is amazing. Such a good, weird movie.
DeleteI love The Red Shoes, every time I have watched it - which is a lot. 👠
DeleteVery happy to read your upbeat post, Lanjan 😊 What a special day you both managed to have - even the hospital trip wasn't long drawn out ! Opening presents, tasty food, lashings of restorative alcohol, phone & face time contacts, that touching picture from your son - all lit up by bright yellow !
ReplyDeleteAll the best to you both - may the celebrations spill over the rest of this weekend...
Yes. Hospital appointments are not drawn out now. I concur with this, as from my own experience, a few days ago. Do not be afraid to go.
DeleteSpicy - Thanks for the Bread Pudding recipe. I will now copy it and try it out.
ReplyDeleteAs I said, I made marmalade, a few weeks ago, and it is so tasty, but I am biased.
Spicy - what size tin should be used, and what is the oven setting?
DeleteI would love to know, so I get a perfect bake.
The amount given fills a 8" x 8" square tin nicely. The cooked pudding is about 1and 1/2 inches deep. I cook about 200 degrees (180 Fan) but after an hour I check and then add more time on if necessary. If it gets too 'done' the fruit poking up through the top burns before the pudding burns if you see what I mean.
DeleteThanks. I understand about the fruit.
DeleteVery pleased to hear of your 'special day ' LanJan, and that very special nothing much present from your son. What a lovely gift at this time in your life.
ReplyDeleteYes, you are fortunate, as most of us on this blog are.
Well I've had an ' interesting ' day.
I've been without my car since Thursday when I took it in for a service.
I use the business that I bought the car from and they are very good, very kind and thoughtful to elderly single ladies, and extremely gentlemenly.
I had arranged to collect my car before 2.30 today and did so.
Sat and had a long chat with Peter mostly about dogs. The garage is on the southern outskirts of Cheltenham and I went with Lady on the bus, which stops directly outside the garage.
When we left I decided to get some lunch and stopped at a nearby Harvester as my usual places are all closed due to you know what.
After refreshments I drove towards home having decided that I would take Lady to woods at Cranham on the way. We turned off the main road into the woods and found a car park. As I drove into it I realised that it was completely sodden, but it was too late.
I realised with hindsight that I should have reversed immediately but it was too late.
I was bogged down.
After trying unsuccessfully to overcome wheel spin I was about to abandon the situation when a kind cyclist turned up and stopped to help.
He was magnificent but he too failed to get my car out of its mud bath.
So I abandoned the car, walked Lady about a mile back to the main road and waited thirty five minutes for a bus home.
Today I was dressed for town.
Usually I am in dog walking clothes. In fact since February I have been permanently in dog walking clothes and wellingtons with two exceptions when I visited family in Bath.
But we are home now and warm and dry.
I have contacted the RAC and tomorrow my car will be retrieved. And if I have to pay extra to have it dragged out........ then I think I probably deserve it !
What a nightmare, and I thought locking myself out of the house was bad, but nothing in comparison.
DeleteDid you ring your garage, to see if they could help or suggest some-one else?
Oh, Mrs P ! So sorry about your bogging down but you must be cheered by the kind cyclist even though he failed to solve the problem. We once had a similar problem at Quarr Abbey but obviously not as bad as I managed to push it out! Most of the car park is fine but on the outer reaches it is grass prone to muddy! The weather is awful here tonight with wind and rain. We had a Tesco delivery and the poor man was soaked. Some people have awful jobs and can’t imagine having to deliver at night in bad weather. Slots are few at Tesco so we had to opt for a delivery between 8 and 9.
ReplyDeleteSpicy - thank you for not converting the old weights to metric - I only seem able to cook in pounds and ounces so they are perfect for me.
ReplyDeleteMy Mum used to make a fantastic bread pudding but I’ve never had the recipe so this is very welcome - thank you!
I can work in both, but I do prefer lbs + ounces.
DeleteMy pastry + sponge recipes are ingrained in my mind, in these.
Luckily my food scales, does both. I just need to change the dial, to suit whichever recipe I am using.
I still can't do litres, when filling up with petrol...esp. as the car computer still shows miles per gallon (and it is only a week old!)
Do you know Miriam, it wasn't a nightmare, just a bit of inconvenience really.
ReplyDeleteI didn't call the garage because I knew that Peter had gone home. We left at the same time and they will be closed until Monday.
I did call a neighbour who works in the cafe at Prinknash Abbey which was about half a mile from where I was. I thought she might be working today, but was in fact at home and unable to leave as her child is unwell.
Another friend who I might have called had her disabled granddaughter with her today, so I didn't call her either.
And funnily enough as the very kind and helpful cyclist left and wanted to be sure I was ok, I said to him, don't worry I'm not frightened. And it reminded me of a time when I WAS frightened having got myself lost in a small Muslim town in the Sahara. ( as usual I wanted to do it my way, and not as instructed by our tour guide ) But even then it all turned out ok without any serious repercussions.
( Apart from my partner refusing to speak to me for a day or so, due to the embarrassment and humiliation )
Once I got to the bus stop, I did call my family, all of whom are in Cornwall at the moment, as a precaution to anything else going wrong, and told them where I was, so that if I didn't call them from home within two hours, they at least knew where I had been.
Yes Ev, that middle aged cyclist was fantastic, he even had the decency to take his outer layer top off and put it on the drivers seat to prevent his very dirty shorts making my seat dirty. Even though I protested at him doing so.
I offered to go to his local and leave a pint for him, but he said he hadn't had a drink in fifteen years and it wasn't necessary anyway.
As I said.... an interesting day.
Gary what did you think of the film ?
After 2 nights of crying and howling last night was quiet...the reason... it turns out daphne is very cultured, she loves listening to classic fm!!!
ReplyDeleteSo hopefully we’ve cracked it. 🐶👍
You can see why she is distressed initially as she has been used to being with mum and the rest of her litter. She will settle though. We had a lot of trouble with Gypsy as she had been used to sleeping in the bedroom and we wanted her to sleep elsewhere after she had settled in. She got so distressed though and she has an anxious personality that we gave in. Of course we then had to also let Buddy into the bedroom and he immediately settled on Katy’s bed! When Dudley came along he was another bed sleeper and sleeps on my bed or Katy’s given the option! I never thought I would allow this but now I miss him if he isn’t here! Gypsy being blind and old can’t get on the bed but it is sufficient for her to be in the same room. Buddy spreads himself around a bit nowadays and sometimes spends part of the night in my room usually on the dog bed in there. We ruin them! It is much better if they can be trained to sleep in another room especially as your Daphne will be a big dog and might be a liability on your bed! At least ours are small!
DeleteTbh our dogs have never been allowed upstairs or in the dining room.
DeleteBut they do take over the sofa.
Whose her favourite composer PtbY......Poochini ?😊😊🐶🐶
DeleteOr even a tail from Wag-ner.🎼🎹 .
DeleteNo It must be Bach!
DeleteAs long as its not Offenbach😁😁
DeleteMozart - think about it. 😉
Delete🙄🙄😁
DeleteHowlin' Woo(l)f....
DeleteAll very good. I'd only thought of Bach.
DeleteShe may turn out to like Haydn.
DeleteFidolius🎶🎵🎵
DeleteWell, what a lot of news to catch up on....!
ReplyDeleteThis is Molly, looking rather wide-eyed.. she is less fearful than she was, both of them are settling in well & making forays into the outside world, very exciting!
Not today though, as it's v dark & miserable, & p...ing with rain..😠😠
Gorgeous Molly 😊 !
DeleteOh Parsley, those eyes! What a beautiful puss. Can I baby sit her sometime?
DeleteHi Lanjan, belated best wishes for your birthday. Sorry I'm adrift. I am sure you will be able to cope with your increase in pension. I have managed hardly to notice mine!
ReplyDeleteLady has slept in my bedroom, on and off the bed, from the beginning.
ReplyDeleteOver the last year she has on occasion taken herself downstairs after her initial sleep with me, but is always back on my bed when I wake.
The occasions have now become frequent and I am anticipating this to become permanent. But I think she will always continue to be with me in the morning.
My daughter and S in L have always had their dogs downstairs at night.
They inherited the very long, well over six foot, sofa from his parents.
The current black Labrador has always had it as her bed, and takes herself off to that sofa at the utility end of the new house at about nine o'clock each night.
I have observed that Lady is now bedding down for the night at her time of choosing rather than waiting until I go to bed which is much later than her.
Good to hear that Daphne has been helped by the music, whatever the composer.
Hope it continues PtbY.
I also hope that Daphne continues to settle in to her new surroundings. Those transitions can take time and patience.
ReplyDeleteMy Maisie always takes herself off to her bed when she's ready regardless of what time I retire. If she wanted to sleep on my bed I wouldn't mind although she does snore a bit!
Dudley snores but I don’t mind! It’s usually only short bursts !🐶
DeleteMrs P. I hope your car has been recovered, and it went well. At least, it was a dry day today.
ReplyDeleteDaphne + Molly, sound so very delightful. I wish them well.
Who wants to hear "snores" in bed, when there is a Pusscat like mine - constant, loud, throaty purring, snuggled in close...but she is a good HWB!
No car yet But thanks for thinking of me Miriam.
ReplyDeleteNot enough buses today, to make it viable to go.
If the rescue of the car was not successful I would be stuck and given the current situation I wasn't prepared to take the risk.
Tomorrow will be a better day.
Not dry here throughout the day. Sunshine and showers, another reason not to go.
Hope your enjoying the new car Miriam.
My cat has developed a purr. Almost two years since I adopted him. He has always talked. A great deal !
But has only been purring recently.
He also makes it clear now that he wants to be petted and stroked.
I suppose I should understand that he has accepted me as his hooman.
Mine patts me on my face or hands, when she wants pettinf. I was not amused at 6.15am this morning! I was awake early, as still on old time.
DeleteNew car is just great, and I love it - thanks for asking.
*** FIVE OF THE BEST ***
ReplyDeleteLanjan, over to you...Enjoy!
MrsP, hope you get your car back soon. What an annoying thing to happen. Grrrrr. And I didn't get round to watching Dr Z - but it's DEFINITELY on the cards for this week!
ReplyDeleteWhen Pi, our cat, wants petted he just shouts at the top of his lungs and jumps into your lap, or on your head, or on the keyboard, or on your back and purrs at around 200 decibels. He leaves you in no doubt when HE is ready to go to HIS bed either - he gives you a "Paddington stare" and stomps up to the bedroom and lies in a starfish shape right in the centre of the bed. (Where he attempts to remain for the entire night. Usually successfully.)
That is great Gary.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
Just returned from the :hospital where I have been to return Mr LJ's heart monitor so I plan to have an afternoon at leisure and will post my choices later.
Rain! 🌧 🌧 ☔️ ☹️ 😠 🤧
ReplyDeleteSaturday - flu jabs at surgery. 15 mile round car trip but not allowed to park in surgery carpark as it’s needed for queuing patients. Village all double yellow no-parking lines. One small carpark totally full with shoppers. Have to park way out of village and walk in to surgery. In the rain,
Get to surgery, have to queue, distancing, around carpark. In the rain.
Wait about 15 mins. In the rain.
Go in, one at a time, get jabbed, out back door, through sodden garden. In the rain
Have to wait outside for Mr A to go in, be jabbed and emerge. In the rain.
Walk all way back to car. In the rain.
We may not get flu, but we are both sneezing and snuffling today!
Monday - our Covid tester arrived to take our swabs for the ONS survey.
We can stay indoors, but poor woman has to stand outside 2 metres from door, going through 2 longish questionnaires, filling in answers on her mobile, give us swab packs in a basket, wait for us to do swabs & return them.
Guess what? Yes, it’s raining and she is getting very wet!
Bet she has sneezes and snuffles tomorrow too!
Well done, sounds like an endurance test for both of you and the Covid tester, you said the previous one suffered the same fate.
DeleteWhat a game Archerphile! Pity you could not have had a drive through jab as I did. Not all are being done this way at my surgery but I was very impressed with this method even with it not being a wet day (thankfully for the workers and wardens involved)
DeletePoor Survey lady ☔️
I have actually received a letter from the main surgery exhorting me to get a flu jab and explaining in simple language how important it is. Apparently all I have to do is ring the surgery after 10am to make an appointment! Well, I've been doing that for over a month, and if I'm not still 15th in the queue after 20 minutes' wait, the other response is that they're too busy to answer, go away and call back later.
ReplyDeleteI've also received a 'flu invitation in the post from the regional health office. I handed it in at my local pharmacy a week ago and they are to ring me when the time comes.
DeleteMrGG had his flu jab on Sat, he was the only person at the clinic - he had received the automatic appointment via letter over a month ago, no need to phone anyone to confirm or arrange it at all. I'm pretty shocked that it doesn't work that way in the rest of the UK.
DeleteSarnia, I would ring again and be prepared to hold, for however long. Put the 'phone onto speaker, carry on as normal, but make sure it is nearby, so you can answer when you get to No#1, no matter how long.
DeleteIt is important to get jabbed, this year, more than ever.
Mr P had his last week. Got the prescription from the 'toubib', picked it up from the pharmacy, nurse pops round to do the deed. Simples😉
ReplyDeleteMight I suggest to those who have suffered to get their 'flu vaccines this year, or who can't access one, that they jettison the whole dubious idea ? They do not always prevent 'flu, certainly not long term, & , on the contrary, contain ingredients seriously inimical to long term health, such as mercury & aliminium.
ReplyDeleteMay I politely ask - if you are entitled to a 'flu vaccine, have you had one, or do you just not bother? This could be putting yourself and family, at risk of seasonal 'flu.
DeletePutting it politely, what rubbish, Carolyn. Are you one of the anti vaccine brigade? I’m so thankful I didn’t get diphtheria or polio and my daughter avoided measles for example. Opinions like this may well prevent us from overcoming Covid.
ReplyDeleteHave looked up info on mercury and aluminium in vaccine. It is a different type of mercury from the poisonous sort and both are in such small quantities as to not cause any effects and are easily broken down by the body. It is true that in the past the wrong vaccine has been given for the particular strain of flu but nowadays it is much more effective. It gives protection and let’s face it, flu can be very serious and can even kill.
DeleteAbsolutely agree Ev. See my post below. 'Real flu' (not a bad cold) left me bed-ridden for seven days after collapsing on the stairs whilst returning from the bathroom. I laid there for two hours till Jon came home. He and youngest son made up the sofa bed in my 'study' on ground floor and I was there all week. Jon paid for nurse/carer to come in three times that week (he works in the HR dept of a Trust which runs care homes and home carers) to wash and bedbath me. The rest he took care of but mainly preparing soup and cups of tea.
DeleteI wouldn't wish it on an enemy! If I get a mild dose of flu \I can tell you it would be much better than the whole caboodle!
I hope your research is correct Ev. For many years like Carolyn I declined the flu jab, because I live in an area where a mistake was made at the water treatment centre and we were exposed to aluminium and lead poisoning ( lead because the acid leached lead from old lead pipes) and many people had both short and long term effects. So I know aluminium in the system is not good.
DeleteI have a flu jab now, although the only time in my time I have had flu, and it was very very nasty, was when I had had the flu jab. It was apparently a year when the government took a gamble and didn't include so many strains, and left out one that got here. The doctor just said " they can't always get it right".
Carolyn, I once asked my doctor, known him for years, what he thought about the aluminium, mercury etc in the vaccine and he didn't have a clue about what was used in the makeup of the vaccine. They just trust what the pharmaceutical companies give them I think. They are probably too busy to do otherwise.
Having had flu two winters ago spending a week in bed, too weak to even turn over, and pneumonia last winter I am quite anxious to have a flu injection! GP surgery still hasn't received vaccine yet; this a month after first ringing for an appointment!
ReplyDeleteFinally have an appointment with the consultant 7th December, before which I need 3 blood tests at regular intervals to see how medication is tackling the disease. It is impossible to speak to anyone at the hospital. After 11 phones calls and 5 messages (over three weeks) left at the phlebotomy dept (who are supposed to be dealing with consultants blood tests) I finally went back to local phlebotomy clinic and have managed to book two tests at least, the soonest one being 9th Nov! If the consultant tells me off he's going to get an earful! I have discovered I have no way to contact consultant or his secretary, only the clinic through which he works, which means inevitably a recorded message!
To top it all on Friday I went to nearest Aldi (Jon refuses, saying he'd rather shop in just one shop, the nearest) I found that I could not wear mask, glasses and hearing aids all at once! Mask pinged off my left ear as I got out the car and took the hearing aid as well. I didn't find it!
Rang Audiology dept this morning and recorded message gave me all sorts of instructions about attending hospital, getting replacement batteries, repairing aids. Nary a word about lost aids and no way to leave a message. Luckily email address given, so message sent marked 'urgent.' And it will cost me £68 for replacement! To say I'm p**sed off is an understatement!
Still, youngest son visited Saturday, eldest rang Sunday and we played board games on internet and I have middle son here. Mustn't grumble eh?
Tomorrow I am going to the Scout hut to meet with 5 others to plan and allot tasks to prepare meetings for next term. First time I have seen them in the flesh for nearly a year!
Oh Spicycushion, let Jon do the shopping next time. I note that you come from a large family and have one yourself, I'm just curious, which rung is your daughter among the boys? At least you've got some appointments booked. Have fun with the Scouts.
DeleteOh Spicy! If I were you I would be grumbling away like a maniac - what a horrid, annoying, anger-making turn of events. Fingers crossed that blood tests go well, that appointments are forthcoming and that the consultant gives you the good news that you are waiting for.
DeleteAnd bloody well enjoy meeting up with old friends and planning things for the future!!!
Why wouldn’t you be p***ed of Spicy I certainly would be! Punch a few cushions if you are able). It is so frustrating to read or hear of bad Dr / Hospital connections so far we have been extremely fortunate with both during the current situation. Mr R’s Consultant’s secretary answered an email from me in no more than 5 mins last week I do wish everyone could say the same. Wishing you better days 🥰 tomorrow sounds just the ticket!
DeleteThank you both. That's bought a lump to my throat! Daughter is second of four. She and her elder brother were born in Australia, where we lived immediately after ex husband left the RN in 1973. He didn't know what he wanted to do. He was just qualified to fire missiles and not much call for tht in civvy street!
DeleteConsequently oldest two have dual nationality and Alex decided way back in in early 2000s she didn't like the way this country was going so made use of her nationality and emigrated with husbnd and two sons.
My own siblings are very 'spread out' - age wise! I was born Aug 48, brother Aug 50, sister Oct 59, sister Aug 61 and finally baby sister Sep 71! She was born 6 months after I was married and I didn't get married until I was 23!
Strangly first sister was born just after I started Grammar School and baby sister born just after that sister started Grammar school. We teased Mum it was a good job she was mid fifties when baby sister took the 11 plus! 😁
I resisted the vaccine until a few years ago when I got some sort of flu like virus which made me weak and nauseous, so the following year I decided to get vaccinated. Of course it only offers some protection and no one is obliged to go ahead. I decided that I'm at the stage when my body is already quite polluted and if I fell ill it would take a very long time to recover, so on balance I'd rather have a small amount of 'poison' to avoid long term consequences.
ReplyDeleteI have had true 'flu twice. The last was when I was in my early 50's. I wasn't well at work and on the following day, I came to, to find my Dad in my bedroom. My staff at work, were concerned that I wasn't in work, rang me but there was no answer (I only had a downstairs land-line then). They were sensible, looked in the 'phone book, found a number of a person, with the same surname who lived nearby. It was Dad! Mum was out, but he dashed over with the spare key.
DeleteI remember it well, and I was bed bound for 3 days and off work for a further 7 days.
I was much younger and fitter then, (15 years ago?). That memory remains.
My "FIVE OF THE BEST"
ReplyDelete(In no particular order)
1) Old Trafford Cricket Ground before It was ruined when the main pavilion was altered ,two other old pavilions were removed and it became not a Cricket Ground but a "Stadium"
I have spent very many happy hours there in the past
2When my sons were children we went for holidays Scotland two or three times each year.
They loved it so much they both chose to go to University there.
All the holidays were great but one I particularly remember was spent in Moray in the north of Scotland.
The elderly lady owner lived in the main part of the massive beautiful house in its own superb gardens and let part of the house to holiday guests.
We went at Whit, the days were very long and sunny ,there was even a sword used at the battle of Culloden on the library wall and the furnishings were all of an earlier period
The Countyside was lovely
We pretended we were in Nutwood.
It was magical.
3) The Vineyards Hotel and Newlands Cricket Ground,Capetown,South Africa.
Mr LJ and I met in Capetown and returned there for part of our honeymoon.
We haven't been back to South SAfrica for many years but I did love that beautiful.Country.
4) My younger son lives by the side of the River Kent near to Kendal in Cumbria.
The Dales Way runs alongside where he lives.
The views are lovely
The sound of the river is so soothing.
It is so peaceful
5) London-all of it.
I get a buzz wherever I go there .
I particularly like the view across the Thames to the Houses of Parliament
As Samuel Becket said"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life"
A place I do not like now is the village in SW Lancashire where I grew up .
It had a Church ,a Chapel ,a few pubs.a few little shops, lots of fields.
There was a real village community .
Now it is one of "the" places to live if one commutes to Warrington ,Liverpool or Manchester..
Loads of new houses.,larger shops but no soul.
Thank you Lanjan! Will digest and reply properly later...
DeleteBrilliant Lanjan.
ReplyDeleteI could so well sense, your love of the places mentioned, and what they mean to both you + Mr LJ. plus your family, both then and now.
Thank-you, for your very personal - 5 massive likes.
Totally agree with Miriam LJ!
DeleteI adore Scotland and like yourself visited many times in past years.Kendal also gorgeous your sons home sounds idyllic.
Correction Lanajan......
ReplyDeleteSamuel Johnson........
Not Becket.
I expect it was auto ?
Lovely memories to put to a list.
Gary, I think Dr Z was only there for the weekend.
I love the film, but it is an emotional journey for me to watch.
If in a cinema, alone, I can cope but at home I chose to watch it in sections almost like reading the book. I watched about three sessions but when I returned for the next it was not to be found. I am now left with difficult emotions hanging about without resolution.
I know...it's not the end of the world !
From what I have read, this year is the same as others. But is this "fake news"?
ReplyDeleteThe suppliers have (supposedly)plenty of vaccines, enough for all. It is the same old story, supply + distribution, which is more demand and cannot supply quickly enough.
Don't give up..
Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the story with your car
Lanjan.
ReplyDeleteI will certainly go onto a Google Earth, or similar, to look at the places you have spoken about.
I am interested to see them, apart from the Old Trafford cricket ground. I went in my teens/early 20's on quite a few occasions.
Who knows, we could have been sitting nearby. 🏏😁
Yes indeed ,Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteI could say it was a deliberate mistake but it wasn't.
I didn't check and pressed publish before going into the garden to give Sacha cat another "bonding session"
When I came back I read what I had written but you got in there first.
I know nothing about Samuel Beckett and not much more about Samuel Johnson except that quote!
I should have read it back before I pressed publish.
Lanjan, your choices reflect the people and passions in your life. I am only familiar with London, my home for 29 years to where I always returned. Now, after 19 years away the pull is no longer there. Like you, I dislike the place where I was born for personal reasons and have no wish to return.
ReplyDeleteStrangely, I cannot remember, when I last visited London.
DeleteI know I went to the V+A museum and also seeing the state rooms, gardens and art gallery, at Buckingham Palace. My main memory was, how I hated travelling on The Tube!
M’y goodness everyone. So many posts today! I don’t keep my ‘devices’ on all the time so now have loads to catch up with.
ReplyDeleteIn no particular order:
1) Even though arranging our flu jabs and going for them was a bit of a trial, I wouldn’t miss out - (even though I still have a tender place on my arm! ) Our Neighbours are away in Dorset for the week but drove all the way back on Saturday morning to get theirs at 9am, then returned to their holiday cottage - that’s real dedication. I too have had genuine flu and remember it very well, don’t want to go though that again so grateful for the vaccination.
2) Spicy, I am furious on your behalf, and also on Sarnia’s that you are having so much difficulty with your appointments, tests and phone calls. They say ‘The NHS is Working’. Not for everyone it isn’t!
3) Lanjan, what a lovely list of favourite places. They obviously mean so much to you, and your family and evoke wonderful memories. Thank you for sharing them with us. I would certainly agree with Scotland and The Dales Way; never been to to S. Africa or Old Trafford (though I can understand your reasons) but would have to disagree about London. Used to go a lot as a child and young woman but have no desire go go these days. Too big, noisy, polluted, full of people, frightening to go on public transport, and, probably, too many years bring a country bumpkin!
Could feel your very personal passion for the favourite places you describe, Lanjan !
ReplyDeleteHaven't been to SA, but could be enticed; would never go to any sports ground unless at gun point ! Loved the few places in Scotland I've visited, but haven't been to the far north, & the Lake District is stunning.
Feel just as you do about London & there are always new discoveries to be made, alongside the favourite haunts. One of the disadvantages of living in Wales for 4 yrs., 2001-5, was the infrequency of trips to London.Nothing against Wales - it's beautiful.
Thanks for your post - I imagine it's made us all reflect on places that are special to us.
I have been to the both parts of the Northern and Southern Africa continent, quite a few times.
ReplyDeleteI can so understand LJ's love of this country.
I am still so tempted to book an African holiday, for Oct/Nov. 2021 but I am still hesistating, for obvious reasons......will a C19 be available by then? I will not go travelling again, until I get that jab.
Should have known that my critical post on vaccines would bring down an avalanche of 'flu stories !( Have a few myself...)
ReplyDeleteI am entitled, Miriam, but, as I thought was clear, don't trust vaccines. There is so much scientific evidence against them, if not the kind that is upheld by those who promote the jab.
Well, Ev, if telling me I wrote rubbish is 'puttng it politely', I'd like see what your 'rude' response would be !
Like any other discipline, the various branches of science, including medicine, are not in total agreement about what is true or not. There is much that is contradictory. We are all entitled to our views.
I have just put a comment back under Ev's post at about 3pm. I do have the flu jab nowadays , but have avoided it in the past for the reason written above. I am glad I am not the only person who has a good look at what goes into a medicine before taking it !
DeleteSometimes the advantages outweigh the disadvantages though.
DeleteCarolyn, you wouldn’t want to see my rude response! We don’t agree on this but I hope it won’t detract from our virtual time together. We are all entitled to our views after all. Take care and keep safe!😊
Delete*****************
ReplyDelete*****************
Just a friendly "warning", and please let me be VERY clear.
I will not hesitate to remove any posts that go against official health guidelines and/or advice.
I will also not be drawn into any discussion regarding the removal of such posts.
✔️ Gary
DeleteCarolyn is entitled to her views. How we respond is another matter.
DeleteEnough said as you say Gary.
Archerphile 5.04pm
ReplyDeleteI started my working life in London and I loved it, mainly because it was commuting from Tunbridge Wells with a load of teenage and young trainees ready for the Head Office's move to our town. It was fantastic fun. Late night shopping in Oxford Street on Thursdays and travelling to the Houndsditch Warehouse for special presents. So exciting to a girl from the sticks!
Nowadays, like Archerphile, I am scared of the hustle and bustle, the strangeness of the people, so different from where I have been raised.
I go a couple of times a year to the HO of the Genealogy Society, once a year for GCSE Examiners meeting although usually just travel through now to Cambridge, Birmingham or Cardiff next year (possibly!) and of course any 'odd' meetings of strangers at Waterloo Station!
Miriam - re long distance travel. We are waiting to see what happens regarding my youngest son's wedding as Alex in Australia has just told us that Quantas have announced they will not be resuming long-haul flights until late 2021. Rob is getting married in June 21! Botheration!
ReplyDeleteI have been warned..so I will disappear for a couple of days.
ReplyDeleteTake Care, everyone. ☺
As a retired pharmacist, all I wish to say is that, all vaccines go through very rigorous testing, so that they are safe for use.
DeleteIf they do not give a total protection, then a partial one, will give the body's immune system a better chance to respond, so any infection is less severe, with less complications.
I cannot say more, as I could be removed, as a result of the previous warning. 😣😢😢
Miriam, I don't think Gary was warning you .
DeleteCarolyn, Ev I left a comment at 8.15 under Ev's comment at 3pm.
ReplyDeleteAll exactly our experience Esscee, the first one for me the second for Mr R same Consultant for over 10yrs now - he rings twice a year and next time is hoping he can see Mr R for a face to face as it is so long since we have actually met up so 🤞🏼
ReplyDeleteAs I said earlier I wish it could be this way for everyone.
Lanjan I loved your description of your holidays in Scotland. It must have been magical for your children. I too read Rupert the Bear when young. Christmas wasn't complete if we didn't have an RB annual to read.
ReplyDeleteI haven't retrieved my car yet.
ReplyDeleteAgain today it was difficult to arrange because of the distance from home and the fact that the rescue cannot be booked ahead.
I had my Tai Chi class late morning and without the car I had to walk to the leisure centre and home again.
Stroud is spread out at the beginning of each of the five valleys, the opposite of a compact town centre, and some of the bus routes are infrequent and don't match up anyway.
I had hoped to get to the car in the afternoon but was pleased not to have to.
So tomorrow I will try again.
I do have a flue jab and had mine a month ago without problems at the same time as my Vit B12.
However when younger my attitude was that a good bout of flue every couple of years 'cleared out the system '.
I once had Quinsey, far worse than any flue I've ever had.
I've also had pneumonia and although I was hospitalised- over Christmas - I didn't feel I had suffered that much.
Gary, I felt that Carolyn’s post deserved an opposing view as this suspicion that vaccines harm us has been so dangerous. Measles has reared its ugly head again because parents have not had their children vaccinated. In my case, my stepdaughter had it when we lived in Hong Kong. She was very ill and even had the spots in her mouth. Mercifully she came out of it with no ill effects. I had Katy vaccinated as a result of Michaela’s illness. Many years ago my aunt suffered a deterioration in her eyesight because of having measles. I will not say any more but that I don’t regret what I said earlier and feel these attitudes are very harmful. I don’t want to fall out with anyone and recognise that we are all entitled to our own point of view and well, that’s mine!
ReplyDeleteTo be absolutely crystal clear - I am in total agreement with you Ev. 100%, with zero room for doubt on the issue.
DeleteI have neither the tolerance nor the patience to entertain any argument about it. I take advice from, and side with, the overwhelming vast majority of properly qualified, mainstream health experts and regulated professional bodies.
Simply put, I will not allow this blog to become a mouthpiece in any way for quackery and conspiracy theories - especially on health matters. There are countless other places online where those who wish to "debate" such notions can visit.
And if that seems harsh, then it's supposed to. I will not indulge such behaviour.
Well said Ev.
ReplyDeleteEv and Gary, with you 100 %
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLanjan, your list of 5 is lovely and meaningful to you. I wouldn’t step foot in a ruddy cricket ground be it Lancashire 🤮 or South Africa for all the tea in China.
ReplyDeleteWe holidayed in Scotland every year when I was a child, a week in a caravan usually at the same place. We went back to the same town a couple of years ago and I appreciated the area a lot more.
I love a trip to London. Love the underground, but I can only manage a max of 3 nights there. I’m ready for home and peace and quiet after that.
Since I’ve come to travelling late in life, last 4 years, I would deffo be up for a COVID jab if it meant I could go on holiday again.
Hey up ,P tbY ,apart from flying from Blackpool Airport to the Isle of Man for my first honeymoon,I never flew again until I was 51.
ReplyDeleteMy younger son was working in the USA and said he would pay for me to go out to visit him during the Easter holidays.Then he moved to Singapore so I went there and then a friend emigrated to Australia so I went there,then there were cricket tours to Australia and South Africa.....
I am one of the people who love airports,enjoy airline food and love the moment of take off when I know that I can relax.
Get looking at brochures ,P tb Y .
Enjoy anticipating a foreign holiday next year.
I am planning my Scottish first class rail trip which I plan to take when I am old!
Miriam ,if you read this, I know you really want to return to Africa.
Go for it next year.
I love the airport experience too. Everyone seems to moan about having to go there really early and how awful it is. I love people watching whilst in the queues. I’m like a kid in a sweet shop if you can get sat in a cafe with a coffee and see the planes take off.
DeleteI love take off, landing and any turbulence. Like being on a roller coaster.
I know what trip I’d like to do next, but I think it will be a while yet. A cruise from Copenhagen up to St Petersburg. I want to visit the Hermitage.
Ps. Another super night with daphne. Got her weeing and pooing on command outside. Only had one little accident inside which was my fault. I brought her in after playing outside without telling her to wee before coming in.
PtbY
DeleteI agree with you about airports , I find them very exciting places to be. Apart from my awful experience at Terminal 5 last year when my wheelchair assistance failed, I have always found the whole business of flying, well, just exciting! As the plane lifts from the runway I cannot help marvelling how such a large lump of metal with all those humans on board can actually get into the air.
Perhaps it’s coming from such a flying and aeroplane besotted/involved family!
I have never felt the slighted bit anxious, even when learning to fly a glider many years ago .....but I cannot stand near a cliff edge or at the top of a long flight of stairs without shaking and feeling sick.
How very peculiar!
Hoping my next flight will be on an A380 to Dubai, for a final visit before the family have to return to France next year. Sadly I think it is unlikely due to Covid restrictions.
Surprise, surprise - On Saturday I received a letter from the main surgery explaining in simple language the importance of the flu jab and inviting me to attend. Yesterday I phoned for an appointment, and as I was down from 16 to 11 in the queue in a mere 20 minutes, decided to stick it out. With blinding efficiency I finally got through after 50 min only to discover that they weren't taking bookings because the clinic hadn't been authorised yet and was told to ring back in a couple of days. I asked if I could go to a nearer surgery which sometimes has a nurse on duty but they weren't doing flu jabs. I asked if the clinic would be on a Saturday, as that's the only day I can get transport, to which the reply was that sometimes it is but she didn't know.
ReplyDeleteWhen I pointed out that otherwise my jab would cost me £20 in taxis she sounded embarrassed at said she would note my preference for a Saturday appointment, but that was all she could do.
I note that a home visit can be arranged for those who are housebound - which I'm not in the accepted sense - and intend to press for one, but I imagine I'll be told I don't qualify.
Miriam, if you start off at position no 17 and are still there after 15 min would you really be prepared to have your line tied up for 1hr 45min until you reach the end of the queue?
I certainly wouldn’t Sarnia, especially if I was paying full minute by minute rate for the call and not on some free calls scheme!
DeleteCan you use your mobile for unlimited calls and text AP? What’s app too of course is free to people who also have that app. I hardly ever use the house phone now and have just reduced the monthly anytime charge to using just 500 mins a mth free. Have to keep a landline as a handful of close friends do not use mobiles or computers 🙃
DeleteMine are free for under an hour, so I just about made it this time.
ReplyDeleteI am in total agreement with Ev and Gary re vaccines.
ReplyDeleteMiriam, I worked as a layman on a hospital medicines committee and learnt to have the greatest respect for pharmacists, their knowledge and hard work.
Incidentally, I have heard from two consultants that the NHS is so far this season getting fewer cases of Flu than usual. Suspect that the Covid precautions are helping there too.
Did we take the White Ensign down too quickly?
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic job the " Bootnecks" (Royal Marines) and the "Airy Fairies" (Fleet Air Arm) did in dealing with the hijacked ship yesterday.
BZ.
Yes, and in nine minutes! B Z from me too! There we were having a peaceful, lazy Sunday with all that drama going on just off our coast!👏👏
ReplyDeleteBravo Zulu - thanks for explaining my initials.
ReplyDeleteThe last 2 flights I took were in 2006/07, Strasbourg - Turin, both with long delays. I then repeated the same journey several times by train from and back to a small village with a train station. The last time I was on a long distance (for me) journey was to visit London in 2018. Three different trains and three nights at a hotel where I used to live. I'm no in hurry to return.
ReplyDeleteI don't like using my mobile as I find it always gives me a slight buzz in the head, but I like having it for texts, security etc. My landline comes together with the internet and TV connection (which I don't have). It includes 50 hours of calls to Europe, 2 hours inland from the mobile plus unlimited texts per month.
Basia, do you live in the U.K. ?
ReplyDeleteI've always got the impression that you were in France somewhere, Normandy perhaps.
When I was a teenager in the fifties, as a Londoner, the glamorous place to go for a coffee was London Airport. It didn't become Heathrow until some years later.
We would sit in a large, for then, glass box and watch planes descend from the skies.
It was thrilling.
My first trip in a plane was over Portsmouth and Southampton in a light aircraft.
I can't now remember when my first flight in a large aircraft was but there haven't been that many, and each of them have been within Europe. But I have been up in light aircraft several times.
I too love the ' taking off' experience and find it exhilarating and have never had any fear.
I must say the rescue or retrieval off the island was impressive even though we couldn't actually see it. And nine minutes ! Fantastic.
Sarnia, are you able to email your surgery ?
So far I have not had any problems with telephoning mine, but do know that I can email if I cannot get through.
An email from you would spell out your difficulties in words that some person would actually read, rather than a receptionist listening with only half an ear.
Mrs P: e-consult on the Practice website only relates to GP appointments, there is no facility specifically dealing with flu jabs. If I were to ask the same questions via a general email I would surely get the same answer, ie that they are not taking bookings at present because the clinic has not been sanctioned yet. The experience of other patients has been that even if the e-consult system does produce a response within 24 hours as promised, it is not necessarily the right one. When attending to have my dressing changed I have sometimes found my appointment with the nurse double-booked with someone else who applied online for an e-consult with a GP.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I have checked the availability of home visits, and found as suspected that these are only for patients housebound by illness or disability. However, I intend to press my case, as I can't be the only one who has no other access to the surgery other than an expensive journey by taxi.
The place is a shambles!
Yes, clearly it is a shambles Sarnia.
ReplyDeleteAs I said I haven't yet emailed my practice, but I have been told in the past that I can email my GP directly, though I suspect it will not be direct but will instead have to pass via the ' Gatekeepers '.
I wish you the best in pressing your case. You certainly should.
Is it possible that you could get transport with volunteer drivers, Sarnia? You have no other means apart from taxis of getting to your surgery. It really is disgraceful! Maybe Age Concern could advise you.
ReplyDeleteYes, MrsP, Alsace.
ReplyDeleteAh ! Thank you.
DeleteWill look it up .
Ev, at the risk of sounding defeatist, I've tried that avenue before in relation to physio sessions after my various operations. I found that you need to book well in advance and it can be several days before they get back to you to confirm whether a driver is available or not. If the answer is yes, that may not be also for the return journey. The waiting around to see if you need a plan B before accepting the hospital/surgery booking is very stressful. Basically, they are not reliable.
ReplyDeleteAs a PS, I too was anxious about the flu jab when the question first arose as I suffer from multiple and complex chemical allergies, including ammoniated mercury. Were any of these to be present in the vaccine I should be extremely unwell, with some symptoms being very frightening indeed , but luckily, after 10 years I have still not suffered any reactions so far.
ReplyDeleteThat is reassuring to know Sarnia. Thanks.
DeleteI'm late to comment but thank you LanJan for your favourites which I really enjoyed reading.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy air travel like others and miss it so much this year.
I remember my class at secondary school went for an outing to London Airport, as it was called then. It was absolutely thrilling to us to see big planes taking off. How easily we were amused in those days.
My first flight, was at the age of 11. I flew with the British Eagle airline, as an unaccomopanied child. I was in the care of an air hostess (as they were called then) the whole time.
DeleteI flew from Londen to Hawarden (N.Wales) in about 20 mins, and M+D met me off the plane. I remember it well. I still have the enamel British Eagle air hostess, lapel badge, which was given to me. It must be 50+ yrs old, by now. ✈
PS Hawarden Airport does no longer have domestic flights. It is the air-strip which serves the massive Aerospace factory, with the massive transport plans. Occaisionally, The Red Arrows fly by in formation, to use it as a base.
DeleteSarnia.
ReplyDeleteJust a simple thought.
How about writing a letter, marked as "Private + Confidential" to the Practice Manager or perhaps, to even your GP?
Just say your problems, clearly + succinctly, and ask for their help and advice.
It might be worth the cost of a 1st class stamp.
I suggest the Practice Manager, who (if she/he is doing their job correctly) will have to take action + respond, accordingly...and don't forget to say the best way, to contact you directly.
DeleteI have had direct experience, of liasing and working with, surgery Practice Managers.
DeleteThat's all for Today.
I think the answer lies within your brackets, Miriam! Thanks all the same, but as in this particular Practice nobody seems to liaise with anybody I'm not sure I could be bothered to make the effort.
DeleteBack to airlines.
ReplyDeleteDo you remember when we were allowed to go into the cockpit?
When I took early retirement I treated myself to a trip to Australia .
I went via Dubai with Royal Brunei because it was as cheap to go Business Calais
Class with that airline as to go as an ordinary passenger with British Airways.
The only difference was that instead of serving cocktails ,as there was no alcohol I had mocktails.
I was seated across the aisle from the Captain's wife and we got chatting.
Just before we landed at Darwin (it did go all round the show) the stewardess came to me and said that the Captain wondered if I would like to go to the cockpit to see the plane land .
It was amazing.
We were then going to fly to Brisbane and he said that he would see me back there after our stop in Darwin so that I could see us take off .
How exciting
ReplyDeleteI was once invited to hold the controls (must have been on automatic and the pilot was next to me), a colleague took a photograph, I looked absolutely terrified. My first, domestic flight was at the age of two, so I don't remember, the first abroad, alone, at the age of ten, I wasn't much impressed.
ReplyDeleteI sat in the co-pilot seat, in a 4 seater plane, flying over Botswana in S.Africa to go to the Okavanga Delta, for a short stay. This was amazing, as it was such a low flight. I was concerned though, when I realised the Aussie pilot, in the seat beside me, was fast asleep!
DeleteThe other four of my holiday group, were in a different plane, flying in parallel. I have some lovely photos of their plane, plus a "safari" from the air. The landing strip, was a dirt track - but it was so much fun, and very different.
Lanjan. Apologies for being late to your favourite Five.
ReplyDeleteLike PtbY I never intend to step into a cricket ground unless the restaurant is having a dinner party with cocktails. Saw cricket once when I accidentally came across a game being played in South Parks Oxford. A lot of the watchers appeared to be a sleep. Too much beer?
Now South Africa that must have been wonderful. The flora and fauna and of course the wine. For you love 💕 and Mr LJ.
I love Scotland, culturally and linguistically similar to my own.We also share the same sectarianism.
I lived in London for many years and loved it.
I like Manchester and go frequently.
Thank you.
Basia I go through your area when I visit my brother who lives in the Rhine Pfalz.
ReplyDeleteI should have been there twice this year. Missed his birthday.
Beautiful, I love the drive.
Rhineland.
DeleteMy first flight was in the clipper, a small seat each side plane which flew between HMS Daedalus to RNAS Yeovil and then to Culdrose in Cornwall. I was going on draft from Daedalus to Culdrose and knew someone who could arrange a lift for me. The Chief Wren tried to give me a rail warrant and I told her it was all arranged for me to fly. She was very wrong footed by this and wondered how I had managed it! From that day on I loved flying. My job at Culdrose included flying by helicopter to the ranges in South Wales every month or so for the training in weaponry of young pilots. I was a Weapon Analyst. It was a lovely time!
ReplyDeleteWeapon Analyst, what does it involve?
DeleteIt was mainly assessing results of weaponry practice. At the range the pilots fired 2” RP’s, small rockets and their point of impact was fixed by sights from two quadrant huts giving us a direction and the impact was where the two crossed. After several firings we took the points of impact and found the mean point of impact, the average from all of them. The pilots were assessed on these results. The work varied according to where we were employed. At Daedalus we worked on microfilm which was then sent out to ships. Of course this was all forty odd years ago and I would think things have changed immeasurably by now!
DeleteThank you for explaining, to me it sounds very complicated.
DeleteI used to love flying when flitting back and forth to College, but that was decades ago. Now I hate it because of the fuss about my replacement joints. I get treated like a terrorist, with ghastly, spotty women with rubber gloves and bad breath, hands up my trousers and in my bra and knickers, to check they're not full of knives, guns and bombs. It's humiliating. To the last such lady who struggled to find proof that I wasn't lying about the joints I told her I could easily provide that by showing her my scars.
ReplyDeleteThen she let me go, but it was horrible.
Oh Sarnia that happened to me too after my hip op. I know exactly what you mean. Even worse was on the way home from Dubai in January, I set off the alarm and was instantly whisked away in my wheelchair to a curtained off booth. Mr A wasn’t allowed to come with me. In the booth, I was terrified what was going to happen. A veiled woman came in and physically examined me, as you describe, down my back and under my bottom as I sat in the wheelchair and everywhere she could reach from the front! Eventually she was satisfied I wasn’t an elderly terrorist and released me to a very worried Mr A waiting outside with two armed guards!
DeleteLanjan
ReplyDeleteI have never been lucky enough to attend a Test Match but have visited a few County grounds, our 'home' one being Canterbury which had until a few years ago the famous Lime tree inside the boundary. This caused a special 'law' to be written for cricket, "If the ball touches the tree in any way a 4 is awarded." Sadly the tree fell because of disease. The authorities knew it was going, so a replacement had been planted to replace it when the time came.
My first flight was when husband and I flew to Australia on a Jumbo jet in 1973. The flight was 27 hours long with 5 stops! As we flew over the Bay of Bombay, through a violent thunder storm, we were bumping up and down all over the place, people were being sick, then suddenly all the lights went out. I can still see the cabin in darkness with lightening seen through the windows. It was horrendous. After a minute or so the lights came on again.
After the birth of my second child I was so homesick we came home. I wanted to come by sea but there was a very long waiting list so we flew again. Not so bad but I did have a 2 year old and a 3 month old baby to think about.
After that I didn't get on a plane for over 25 years. Then I had to fly to Turkmenistan for eldest son's wedding. I was really doped up courtesy of my GP!
After so many flights to Vienna and Frankfurt I am quite blase (imagine the accent please!) even without any drugs and I love the feeling of 'importance' as I go through all the rigmarole at the airport. I too always get 'checked.' I joke that my own 'padding' must make it look like I have a suicide vest under my clothes!
I only take hand luggage with me to and from Frankfurt now as I have a complete wardrobe out there in 'my' room. One time coming home the security woman asked me to open my small case. There were two large Stollen cakes, 4 bags of a favourite sweets- Nimh 2, 6 packs of goats' cheese slices with fenugreek, chocolate with raspberry creme fillings, amongst other things! The woman looked and said "Ah all food!"
Lady R, in answer to your question miles back - my iPhone is only pay as you go, because I really only have it for WhatsApp. If I have to make a call, it costs me £1 but then I get free surfing and data for the rest of the day.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am rubbish at using it as a phone. If it ever rings (which is very rare as I don’t give my number out to anyone except family) I never know how to answer it and cut callers off, or can’t hear them! I really need lessons in how to use the wretched thing.
Archerphile, I was very upset when I upgraded to an iPhone a few years ago. I hadn't changed the number but got quite a few wrong numbers and I kept tapping instead of swiping whenever it rang and therefore missing calls. Now I really like it, mainly for texts and security, I still prefer the landline. Mine is an old version, the boys upgrade theirs and we get their cast offs.
DeleteMine is an 8 so not that new now. I have been with Vodafone since 1995 and my contract only costs £11 a month which covers all calls and texts. It’s 4G but mostly used at home alongside iPad for surfing the net, orders, radio sometimes tv etc. So not using data then as we have unlimited internet. Had iPad long before phone was very dubious but love it now 🤗
DeleteYes, I was used to
Deletemy iPod and iPad before getting a phone. So I wanted an iPhone as I knew the Apple system and didn’t want to have to learn another one.
I just have the very small old SE model as I only wanted a small phone to fit in my bag. But I now find the keyboard
Is so small that it’s difficult to use & I keep Making mistakes! I shall look for a larger one(secondhand) soon.
Spicycushion,When younger son was a teenager he and I used to "collect " Grounds .
ReplyDeleteThe rule was that we had only to watch part of a match for it to count.
The family went all over the Country mainly watching Lancashire but once he and I went down to Sussex to watch a Game at Eastbourne and then drove up to Scarborough to watch Yorkshire V Lancashire who were starting a Championship Game the next day.
I thought nothing of travelling to Kent from Lancashire on a Sunday to watch a Sunday League match.
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I have at last retrieved my car from the forest.
ReplyDeleteIt took some time for the RAC man to tow it, in stages, out of its muddy bed.
I stood with Lady in the deepening dusk for well over two hours. Cold but not wet, while my rescue team, man and motor, did their work.
Tomorrow it must go to the cleaners.
Glad you have got it safely back Mrs P
ReplyDelete✔️ 👏🏻
DeleteGood to hear that you have your car back, Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteI have been decluttering and took some things to the "isola ecologica" ( ecological island, ie. tip) yesterday and drove past the cemetery.
There were cars parked everywhere, not because of funerals but because it is nearly All Saints' Day and the Day of the Dead ( Nov 1st and 2nd) and in Italy everyone makes sure they go to the cemetery to honour deceased loved ones. They take chrysanthemums, which are only ever taken to graves, never given as gifts. Every grave, both in the ground, which is less frequent, or in high walls, has a ceramic photograph of the deceased.
I read an interesting article on the BBC website this morning, How to live your best life, which mentioned the great chain of life, Whakpapa in Maori culture.
DeleteHilary - I love chrysanths, all the beautiful rich colours, and I don't mind the strong perfume. It reminds me of Autumn really but my mother hated them. She blamed the fact that her father died in 1946 (due to War service, age 42) and the day of his funeral all the wreaths were sent to their house. Mum said it reeked of chysanths and she had never liked them since.
DeleteI don't like chrysanthemums, the smell or the look, or indeed the colours, and did not like them as a child.
ReplyDeleteI should like them because they figured large in my childhood.
An uncle grew and showed them and his and my mother's father was a prizewinning grower also.
Earwigs, many many earwigs is my thought when I see them.
They seem to me to be the most unnatural of flowers.
My 'local,' when in my village, was owned by an ex-County cricketer named Alan Watt who played for Kent just after WW2. His passion was growing prize chrysanths. They were huge and I remember the large garden plot (sadly now a car park) by the side of pub was full of tall single chrysanths, dozens of them, each with a plastic bag tied with an elastic band over the head to prevent damage from earwigs. I'd forgotten about the earwigs!
DeleteThe beautiful displays in the inglenook hearth during autumn were magnificent!
Isn’t it sad that lovingly tended gardens turn into car parks? So many front gardens are now paved over to park the car and I often wonder what they looked like when they were a garden. Oh, well, that’s progress and many of these houses were built in pre car days with no garage or driveway. In our close we have massive front gardens and a narrow road so that a car parked in it means heavy vehicles mounting the pavement. The bungalows were built in the sixties when big front gardens were the fashion but I often think I would prefer smaller front gardens and a wider road! Too late now! We do have a driveway and there was a garage which was knocked down for our extension. The garages were very small for modern cars which have grown in stature!
ReplyDeleteYes it is very sad Ev.
ReplyDeleteBut it is also on the turn.
In the borough I lived in in London I frequently complained to the council for allowing planning permission to convert gardens into parking places.
The result being that the absorbtion of rain water was diminishing annually.
It also resulted in dropped pavements so that there were less spaces on the roads for cars to park.
After a number of years, decades even, that borough, now with the byline ' Londons Greenest Borough ' has decreased considerably the number of P permissions granted and now advises and insists that if a space is given permission certain restrictions on materials used are applied so that water can be absorbed back into the ground.
Perhaps if more people took action and gave their sad thoughts to their local authorities rather than simply bemoaning the fact, society could change.
We are all Stewards of our Planet.
Must confess to being another chrysanth hater. It’s the smell I don’t like. If given as part if a bouquet all the leaves have to be completely removed as they go black in the water and smell really awful.
ReplyDeleteMuch prefer dahlias and have gown dozens of different varieties over the years. There was a magnificent display of them in a recent Gardeners World programme.
My other favourites are fuchsias, both hardy and tub/basket types.
Always have to have a ‘Swingtime’, a trailing red /white double , it was my Mums favourite.
When we lived in Ledbury there was a pub which had been a canal side pub years ago but the canal has now been filled in. A fire station was built and heavily concreted around the building. The cellar of the pub is regularly flooded after heavy rainfall as the water is not absorbed into the ground as it was formerly. Some thought needs to be given to the repercussions of concreting and other ways of sealing the ground. Our rear patio had soil in between the slabs which encouraged weeds. I had it filled between slabs and as it is on a slope sure enough a huge puddle formed at the lower end where my rotary washing line is situated! Last week I had the patio pressure washed and some of the cement was displaced, not much but enough to drain the rain and no puddle! Mike said at the beginning that although it didn’t look as good it was best to leave it for drainage! As usual he was so right! It just showed that a few holes made all the difference and should always be incorporated when paving over!
ReplyDeleteI live in a row of four terraced town houses. We all have a 'driveway' just one car long and the rest of the front was originally a lawn. The other three houses have all changed their lawns into brick laid parking places. I refuse to do that to my lawn. It's a pain to move th emower through the house but I have been concerned for many years that not enough rain is getting down to the earth aound the foundations. About fiiteen to twenty years ago we had a very dry summer and cracks began to appear on the walls. May just have been the house aging but I feel it's all the bricking, decking, paving etc which also is not helping against flooding.
ReplyDeleteGood Afternoon All.
ReplyDeleteI too hate chrysanths. as to me also, they are a "funeral" flower. I arranged the coffin display for Mum, who died in the month of October. I went to the nearest florist to the funeral director, and ordered a "half-coffin" in vibrant autumn colours, to represent the season, and to be delievered to the undertakers. The flowers were gorgeous, but there were a lot of chrysanths. The colours were very vibrant and were what I wanted. I have never had these flowers in my garden or house since.
Mrs P. I am so glad to hear that you now have your car back.
I will say now, that I was very concerned, when you told us about leaving it. I, really thought, that there might have been a possibility of finding it -vandalised. I am so delighted I was wrong!
To add - I rarely say those last 3 words. 😂
Driveways.
I am the only one with such, to take 2 cars yet I am only one house with one car. I am pleased, that no-one nearby, has done the paving over bit. Even though my cul-de-sac has a narrow road, residents park, half on-half off the pavement, and in a very sensible way.
It is the best of both worlds, green lawned front gardens, and careful parking.
All my neighbours and other residents, respect each others space and park accordingly, to leave a route through, for emergency vehicles, delivery vans, the refuse lorry etc.
I am abviously lucky.
Well done to the RAC man ,Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteI too was worried about my car being vandalised, or indeed craned away.
ReplyDeleteI was praying as I walked through the woods towards it, that it would still be there and undamaged.
I was prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best.
I did an RAC survey on line today.
Great praise for the patrol man.
Less for their service staff.
ReplyDeleteChrysanths are all the rage at the moment here. Toussaint is nearly here. Huge choice outside Leclerc today.
Relieved for you, Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteLJ, belated thanks for your list.
Not had the chance to visit any northern cricket grounds, Lord's was my first introduction, the Neville ground in Tunbridge wells was /is lovely, fond memories of the old ground in Westerham... oh dear, previous lives.. 😉
& inevitably, back in lockdown.... 😔
ReplyDelete