My son is due to visit tomorrow despite the 12 year old testing +ve, although asymptomatic. He had a PCR test yesterday just to be on the safe side and we are awash with LF testing kits. Unfortunately, travel plans will be disrupted due to the Salisbury train crash as the line may well be closed for most of the day. He last came in August, when travel plans were disrupted due to suspected unexploded WW2 ordnance being discovered in a garden next to his local station, so the line into Cardiff was closed for most of the day... ... Sometimes I wonder if some ill-intentioned entity is tapping into our phone calls!
parsley - 16October 31, 2021 at 10:52 PM
Never watched an episode of Bake off. Crap baker. Do watch Strictly! Been away the last couple of days on Oleron, caught up tonight, Rose - what a strong performance, tear in the eye. Love the boys, such a challenge for the choreography, fascinating!
parsley - 16October 31, 2021 at 10:57 PM
Oh la, 🤞Sarnia..
Sarnia - November 1, 2021 at 12:14 AM
But yes!
Lanjan - November 1, 2021 at 8:04 AM
My Canadian grandson who is at present working in London visited me yesterday . He said he had managed to get a longer session in the gym that morning. I said that was probably because we'd turned the clocks back . He looked bemused, checked the all singing all dancing "watch" on his wrist and said he knew nothing about a time change!
Sorry everyone for letting the blogs get a bit too full of late...
MR GG is in hospital yet again - this time he was rushed in on Thursday afternoon with a suspected stroke. Turned out he had more bleeding on the brain that was creating massive pressure and underwent emergency brain surgery on Friday. I am delighted to say that the operation was a success and most of the symptoms he was exhibiting were alleviated almost immediately.
What with the horse incident and then the double pneumonia a few weeks ago and now this he (and I) are absolutely exhausted. This is his fifth stay in hospital this year and he has now underwent 4 operations since April. Poor man is at the end of his tether. It looks like he might be allowed home this evening, but we shall see....
Cheshire Cheese - With regards to COP26 being in Glasgow, can't be bothered with it at all if I'm being honest! So many of my friends live in areas that are now practically under UN control for the next 2 weeks and they find it all a bit creepy how many police and security forces there are 24 hours a day.
On a purely personal level I'm NEVER in the mood to be lectured by people like Princes William & Charles about how I can cut MY carbon footprint - I'm not the one with loads of kids and I'm certainly not taking private planes and helicopters on an almost daily basis. Neither do I have several enormous houses or fleets of cars....
Dear Gary I’m so sorry to hear about yet more Heath crises for your dear husband. It must have been such a very worrying time for you both. I do hope you will take care of yourself as well as Mr GG when he comes home. These periods of illness and operations seem to come in runs don’t they, but I hope you are both through the worst of it now and will be able to have a quiet, uneventful time leading up to Christmas and New Year.
And I must agree with your attitude to this COP 26 meeting. A lot of who should be influential people telling us what must be done but never really getting round to implementing the most important issues. How can anything be properly resolved when the biggest polluting nations in the world are not there.
Sending love, hugs and anything else that might comfort you both. 💕
Dear Gary, So sorry to hear of your husband's medical problems. How worrying for you. I do hope he's on the road to full recovery soon. I don't understand why they don't have these climate conferences online instead of travelling all those miles unnecessarily.
Gary, very best wishes to you and Mr GG. Hospitals are not the most cheerful of places and I hope he does come home soon.
Agree with Anneveggie that the conference could have been conducted online. An irony of these conferences is the carbon footprint of those attending in travelling there.
Oh Gary what an awful time Mr GG (and you too of course have been going through) I do hope Mr GG is home with you now just being together again ❤️ will be a wonderful relief and comfort to you both I’m sure. Sending very warm wishes to you both for much better days ahead.
Thank you Gary for letting us know. We were worried a while back at your absence and fearing for you both. Your latest news is positive and encouraging and like others I very much hope that Mr GG is home with you within a very short time, perhaps today, and that you have a calm few weeks ahead to close this year of worry and concern. All the best to you both.
Gary, how very frightening for you. I think it is so hard for the people like yourself who can only watch and wait. I hope your husband has a speedy recovery, and that you both can then relax. Maybe a short break away would be good, especially with Glascow being in turmoil.
On getting for the bathroom at 5.30 this morning, I was so surpised on looking out, to see a clear starry sky and ice on the road + cars. My big chunky jacket, had its first outing today.
I've just had my winter boots re-soled and heeled. Soon it will be time to switch to boots and warm winter coat, but open-toed sandals are so much more convenient. (I'm weird, I tend not to feel the cold in my legs.)
You are so lucky OWIAS. My feet and legs are the one place I do feel the cold, and suffer most years from chilblains on my toes, which are so dreadfully itchy!
I shall never forget the winter of 1962, when snow went on for months and months. I started my first job that winter and spent hours waiting at bus stops to get to and from work, standing on icy pavements and in deep snow. I had awful chilblains not only on my feet but all up the backs for my legs and they were agony. Thank goodness we don’t seem to get winters like that any more!
I remember Nov. 1981. There was thick snow, temps of -12C, no buses nor trains were running, as diesel + petrol froze. A new niece was born, but couldn't travel to meet + greet her, and is 40 in a few weeks time. I walked 3 miles, to and from in the snow + ice, to get to work, where the heating was very poor. I worked in my coat + boots, to try to keep warm.
I do remember 1962, only because I had to walk to school and our dog, a cocker spaniel, had 5 puppies. These couldn't go out, as they just disappeared under the snow. I remember us kids, dashing out to find them when they escaped into the garden.
I remember the deep snow from the end of December 1962 into February 1963. We were off school for well over a glorious month, there was no way the school bus could get through the lanes. I was out helping my dad dig sheep out of drifts. Our sheepdog was a great help as he seemed to be able to smell them from under the snow. I was 12 and it all seemed like a great adventure.
Poppy and Percy tell me that the best way to get well is to have a cat on one's knee and if there is a human around to help as well then that is a bonus.
This morning I received from a friend via WhatsApp a most moving and totally true account (for many of us) regarding the main focus in our lives today and to rethink as we approach November 11th. Google “Remember Remember” narrated by Mat Wilson and you can then view it on you tube. Very very moving and refocuses the mind on the real value of our lives ✝️ 🌹
November 11th always causes me to reflect. My grandfather was wounded at the Somme and my Dad was involved in the D day landings. I never knew an uncle who died as a POW of the Japanese in Thailand. We owe our freedom to men such as these and thinking of Afghanistan just now, we should thank God and those who sacrificed their life and their youth for that!
I'm pleased to hear that Mr.GG is at home and recovering with nice cat cuddles to enjoy. I too remember the freezing winter of '62. Walking to school with thick ice on the pavements but it all seemed like fun then.
Aargh! This morning all of a sudden our tsps ran dry. I was in the loo and anguished cries of “ Mum, what have you done? We have no water, we have no water!” For once, it wasn’t me but putting two and two together, we are presently subject to 10 weeks of chaos as the gas men are replacing the gas pipes in our close with plastic ones and strong.y suspect they have gone through a water pipe! Sure enough the Southern Water van arrived. I then got on with routine jobs not requiring water and took our boys for a walk! When I got back home still no water so I went to see what was going on and when we could expect restoration. They assured me that the job was well in hand and gave me a complimentary 2 litre bottle of water to be going on with! About half an hour later, hallelujah, we are reconnected! I fear this is the first of many mini disasters! It is possible they may have to dig up the drive if the gas pipe up to the house needs replacing. Although they say they will make it good, it will inevitably leave a scar and the drive was only done about 4 years ago at great expense so I really hope my gas pipe is OK! Early days yet too as they only started on Monday! O me miserum!
It’s in the air Ev 😡 my sister in Cambridgeshire had an electric cut a day or so ago for a number of hours just as it got dark too it was found to be due the house next door currently empty which was having some work done prior to new owners arriving. Luckily my sister saw a van driving away so the electric people investigated in the front garden and there was the evidence. Thank goodness as the team were about to do what you fear dig up the large paved area right outside my sisters windows! 🤞🏼 for you!
There is something, that I have noticed recently, which is now showing a change of times This is that there are so many more aircraft, flying over into airports not too far away, along with the jet traces from 'planes flying over, from distance places, giving wonderful early evening red streaks. I have learnt that a nieces "in-laws" are flying in from Mauritius on Dec. 14th, to meet up with family again, after over 2 years. Also another niece is being flown to Malta, via a private jet on Monday, for just 4 hours. This is to view a villa in need of re-vamping, and to see if the company she works for, with her as Project Manager, gets the contract.
Air traffic travel, is now here to stay again and increase. I wonder why I am bothering, doing my best with re-cycling etc.
I am now using E10 petrol, which is of a little help. My mpg, has gone down quite a lot in a car, just one year old. Is this a way to stop cars being used - as is the expanding enviromental zones around London? Some family members are in a pure turmoil, as to what to do now, as to trying to change cars now, which they just cannot afford to do, but they have no realistic choice.
And Elsa Von de lion (sp?) using a private jet for just 31 miles ! How dare they ! ! ! At least my environmental lobbyist S in L went up to Glasgow by train. He hasn't been in his Washington DC or London Offices for over two years now.
I had to laugh at a story on yahoo news about a lady who had cut her food bills by shopping at places where you could get items near their best before date. She was also keen to cut her carbon footprint and then gaily announced with what she had saved on food the family had been able to travel to Australia and New Zealand. Did they swim, I wondered!??
Yes I saw that article online too Ev - weekly shop £18 from £60 but I still do not understand how even that saving has paid for the many holidays taken to the places you have mentioned and more….😳 particularly as planes are not yet electric!
Lady R - it’s highly unlikely that large planes will be able to fly by electricity . Research into sustainability for air travel is the new position our son has been given now he is back at Airbus in Toulouse. Of course it is vital for the company that they manage to reduce pollution caused by air travel if they are to continue manufacturing aircraft. They are already producing aircraft able to fly on new more environmentally friendly ‘smart’ fuel fitted with new engines designed to run on it. Hydrogen is another line of research, though may only be suitable for small aircraft on short journeys. Rest assured everyone that ‘green’ air travel is top priority for the company and we are proud that our son is in the team appointed to achieve it.
It was a bit of tongue in cheek remark AP 🤣 Although small aircraft may do this I think I heard? Just sitting in Jameson House for my 15 mins post Booster jab. Did not feel a thing what I detest most is the drive here especially the last roundabout managed to get horn blasted probably rightfully- bloody Basingstoke the only drive I can do easily is to the hospital and after 11yrs of doing so I should jolly well hope so🤗
Our booster is now booked for 18th. Katy finishes her isolation today so I look forward to not doing a dog walk tomorrow! It looks as if I escaped infection this time!😊
Yesterday, I had a letter from my surgery to book my covid booster at the clinic on Nov 17th. I rang immetiadley, but this clinic was fully booked. I was told that another appointment would be arranged and then be informed about this, but I am still waiting to hear. I bet that I am far from alone in this dilemma. There are other options to explore, as + when.
I have just finished my 1st Winter jigsaw. This was a relatively, straight-f⁰orward one, to get me going again. I am also reading a new book. This is "The Marlow Murder Club", which is so similar to Richard O's, the Thursday Club, but I am liking this one better. That is so far, as I am only 2/3rds through.
My final comment. If I get even more Christmas catalogues in the post, e-mails as to Buy Now for Christmas along with discount codes, I think I will just scream!! It is only Nov. 5th and Bonfire Night. This is so much more acceprable.
Dudley is doing well. He had a calming pill earlier and has his thunder jacket on which acts like swaddling to keep him calm. He also has chamomile oil on his pillow. Katy is playing soothing music on her phone. Buddy was trembling but is now fast asleep. Normally Dudley runs around barking but just the occasional growl and bark tonight and he is on the sofa next to Katy.
Not been too bad a night here re the firework situation. Mabel has been quite calm in her bed between our armchairs. She has got a pheromone collar on though. Daphne has been barking like mad at any bang but in a house guarding way, not frightened. We’ve also had the telly on louder. Hopefully we won’t get a repeat tomorrow evening.
I chose the Classic FM Pets Playlist, its on again tonight. All was well until somewhere very close - BANGERS ! Higgledy piggledy gardens all adjacent to each other and cottage walls almost touching creating narrow valleys between, it felt as though someone was in the room and shooting a rifle at us. And because it had been very quiet I had allowed the cat out. He was caught in the place between the walls, and Lady looked terrified. I was SO angry. I think I know who the culprit was, and they have two dogs themselves. Selfish selfish people. But I shall contain my anger. He's an ignorant sod !
The cats eyes grew in size and he looked like the cat in Alice. Lady was trembling but I was able to pacify her and although later there were some rumblings in the distance, nothing serious. More tonight possibly.
Bonfire night seems to have been an absolute non-event this year around here. Not a single bang, whoosh, crack or any lights in the sky. Even the local pub, who normally put on a big Guy Fawkes event ( very audible and visible from our cottage) seem to have opted out.
Booster update all ok so far 🤞🏼 just an achy muscle when lifting arm at certain angles 🤗 As I reported the worst part was the journeys even with Sat Nav especially coming back it was a complete disaster all but ending up in Festival Place car park 🤣 just managed to turn in an offshoot as about to drive in. Those B roundabouts are a nightmare and so many of them. I’m hoping I did not drive across a red light whilst desperately checking the signs and I had my navigator with me…..
Not so here but at least last night it was all over by about 9 o’clock. Last year they were still going off after 10! Dudley is a very nervous dog but we see a big improvement in his anxiety. Our first November 5th with him was a nightmare with him running around and getting very distressed. I think that is the worst of it seeing their fear. Gypsy and Buddy were never that bad. We will probably have a repeat performance tonight. Mrs P, I really understand your anger. Last year a woman said on social media that pet owners moan too much and if pets are nervous about fireworks we shouldn’t have the pets! Thus negating all the good things our dogs and cats bring to our lives! How ignorant!!
Bit of a disaster today. I keep the conservatory frost free in winter to protect my pelargoniums but when I went in to do some watering it was like a sauna in there with a temperature of 32C. The thermostat wasn't working and the heater had been on full blast all night. Not good for global warming or our electricity bill! Thankfully Mr. CC managed to fix it, my plants will be disappointed tonight.
Finally some fireworks here tonight not that I particularly wanted them but so strange not to have heard any up to now. (Saving the money for their utility bills maybe 🤣 )
We’ve had an evening of Classic FM which actually has been really nice. Buddy is very relaxed now although earlier very trembly. He picks up on Dudley’s anxiety. Dudley has spent some time wrapped up in his favourite blanket but when the bangs got louder leapt out of it barking but did calm down. Given his anxiety levels he has done well. All is quiet at the moment and hopefully it’s all over for tonight.
Yes Ev, I've got Classic on again this evening too. So far nothing but rumblings in the distance, and hoping it stays that way.
I've had my buyers visiting today. A very pleasant couple who will be moving up from Hampshire ( Wickam ? Not too far from the Portsmouth Winchester Sth' Hampton triangle I believe) We've talked for hours and finished up at the pub for pizzas. I'm relieved that they seem to really like my house and don't want to change or rip anything out, just improve on what I've done. And they are very flexible on timing. So now to find a new home. I'm off to Cornwall tomorrow !
Yes, Mrs P. Hope you find your new house very soon! It’s good to have sold yours and puts you in a good position to buy. Obviously the time is now right for you!
Dudley and I are now tucked up in bed, well he is on top of the duvet! Classic FM is playing by Bluetooth next to my bed. Operating from Katy’s phone. The magic of technology! Don’t know about him but I am totally chilled!!
Wickham! One of our favourite rides Mrs P. Can also pop up the hill from there to Portsdown Hill and wave to my sister and Ev on the IOW 🤗 Good luck with choosing your new home what does your list of must haves include?
We lived on Portsdown Hill in Drayton for a time. It was a married quarter and was near Cosham. If I’d known you were there waving Lady R, I would have waved back!!😉
Thanks for all the good wishes. My house actually sold a month ago, when I was really unwell but before I went into hospital. I've been looking at a bungalow, a retirement place, but wasn't all that enamoured of it. My low offer was rejected and I withdrew.
I realise I'm in a good position, but finding the right home is crucial. My current six years of this mistake has been a miserable time. And the property market is manic and seems likely to continue. On the market and sold within twenty four hours. I had 14 viewings in a four hour slot and on the Monday five offers.
Don’t be rushed into it, Mrs P. You are very lucky your buyers are flexible as so often they are pushing to move and then forcing one into making a bad decision. When we looked at this house we thought on paper it wasn’t what we were looking for but when we saw it we liked the big rooms, the light because of big windows and it’s position in a quiet cul de sac but near to facilities, a boon to me as I no longer drive. I would have liked another bedroom but it does mean we can’t have visitors which suits me nowadays! I don’t mind providing evening meals but not being a morning person find breakfast difficult to cope with! If you can tick most of the boxes, Mrs P, that’s the one!
Need to discuss with my ex estate agent daughter - and her to talk with ex estate agent buyer - about this flexibility as I don't fully understand what the woman explained about their position. The gist of which seems to be that I make the first move, as in I find my property and that then triggers the process of the sale proceeding. A little concerned that daughter will have reservations about this, but we shall see. Up early to make a reasonable start on my long journey to the foot of the UK today.
Well Mrs. P. Have a safe journey, and thrash it out with your daughter. Congratulations on your sale, I thought you had taken your house off the market, what a difference in the house market to a couple of years ago. Obviously, the time is right.:)
Thoroughly deflated today ! Up early, packing in progress, food binned as not suitable to travel, when daughter phoned with suggestions of alternative arrangements, concerned that I look at many alternatives on line before visiting. So, geared up for a long journey, instead a lonely and empty day ahead, as previous arrangements had been cancelled. And the food binned could have been eaten this evening.
Mistral - yes house with one agent for six months and no interest. Poor marketing. I took matters into my own hands after another period off the market, insisted on writing details myself with another agent. One blocked afternoon of viewings and five offers.
But now it's part 11 : finding a new home ! Probably just as fraught.
Mrs P. You have buyers, which is such fantastic news. If they are so earnest to buy, then a compromise can always be found. Follow your instincts and your own heart and talk to your own solicitor and estate agent. Arrangements can be made, to suit both buyer + seller. This is your move, so do it to suit you and your pets. Take Care.
Katy is enjoying her new found freedom after Covid isolation. She took Buddy off today for a walk which included a viewing of a prehistoric site for her PhD writings. First of all though they went to the Garlic Farm for breakfast. They have outside seating so. Buddy was allowed! She then went to the toilet there and always takes him in with her as she fears him being stolen! There was a gap at the bottom of the dividing screen and a lady was in the next cubicle midstream. He poked his head under it being curious about the noise! Katy beat a hasty retreat! He is so nosy!!🐶🐾🐾
Mrs P, sorry you didn’t get your trip to Cornwall. Sure enough you need to look online beforehand but you never know whether your ideal house will be found that way and not when browsing in the estate agent office. Good luck with your search.😊
I sympathise LanJan. I remember how aggrieved I always felt at this time of year. My neighbours were Indian and liked their fireworks very much indeed. Our adjoining patio gardens were no more than ten foot square. Halloween, then the dreaded fifth, then Divali, then ? Well it's almost Christmas now so keep en coming folks ! And that was just my next door neighbours, never mind the rest of the district. Oh ! And don't forget the South African contingent in the flat above who had BBQ S on the balcony above my conservatory as well as fireworks. Aaagghhh !
Had a wonderful post birthday treat yesterday. Younger son treated me (accompanied by two friends and himself ) to a Steam circular trip on The Hampshire Pullman We went to your neck of the woods Archerphile . Passed through Winchester. Lots of photographers en route It lasted for well over six hours and although it was called "a Lunch circular" ,the excellent food and drink lasted for almost the length of the trip. By gum they knew how to travel did the posh folk in the 1920s. The seats were individual comfy arm chairs Even the toilet floor was amazing.
Talking of trains, another incident at the Garlic Farm was that Michael Portillo was there with a film crew. They were also using a drone to film from above which Buddy was not at all keen on! Michael was sorting a fetching pair of yellow trousers!!😊😁😉
Good News. My surgery let me down last week re my Covid booster (clinic was full) and still have not been in contact with me, as to an alternative date. As the on-line booking has changed today, I logged in, and even though no. 238 in the queue, I was all booked in 10 mins later. It is for next Tuesday, 6 months + 3 days, run by a Pharmacy in a church hall. It is not far away and has easy parking - I am happy.
LanJan, when MrNuts and I traveled on the British Pullman we visited several of the toilets as they had mosaic floors, each illustrating different Roman or Greek myths, it was the last leg of a very special holiday celebrating MrNut’s 50th birthday ( Rome then Venice and returning on the Orient Express)
We never did get on the Orient Express so envy you, KP! However we used to enjoy the small steam engine lines in UK and had memorable rides such as Devil’s Punchbowl to Aberystwyth in first class which had a carpet on the floor! The Bridgnorth circular line is also a lovely experience and has views over the West Midlands wildlife park - about the only line in UK where you can see elephants! Of course we have a steam line on the island with a very interesting museum at Havenstreet. There just is something about train travel!
I copied the photo my son took of the lovely mosaic toilet floor. It sounds like the one you described,KP. I don't know if the attachment above will work. The carriage we were in was called Minerva We were in a small compartment of four people. Apparently the Queen Mother loved that train. I bet she did.
I managed to book my Covid booster online really easily yesterday. Couldn’t get through to the surgery. Finally had a stair carpet laid today. Well worth the wait, I love it. Had an afternoon watching new James Bond film for the second time. Just as good and understood it better. All in all, not a bad day. ☺️
I have just listened to John Finnemore's Double Acts on R4 with Julia McKenzie, still laughing. If anyone needs a cheer-up today, give it a go, done me the power of good 😁
Just had a little bit of good news that might interest Spicy We heard today that our youngest (English) Grandson Griff has been selected to join the Hampshire contingent at the next World Scouting Jamboree in South Korea in 2013. He will be following big brother Max who went to the one in Nagasaki a few years ago.
We had thought they wouldn’t select 2 representatives from the same family but he passed all the tests and interviews and will be going as one of the 100 scouts from the 400 who applied. I’m a very proud Grandma!
Well done that boy! I have catered for a selection weekend for contingents and they have some very, very tough tasks to do! Two of my scouts (belonging to my group and Jon's) went to Japan. I told the District Commissioner that if I got a scout to get to a World Jamboree I would retire! Then there were two of them selected, both girls! However I went to Cubs as usual on Monday! So well done grandson. There will be loads of new experiences and friendships to make!
...and thank-you for the Mat Wilson - Remember, Why We Remember - This is so meaningful. I looked back, but I couldn't find the original poster, so please accept my apologies. 🥀🥀
It is only November, but I have just firmed up my Christmas Day plans for this year, with some family members. Now to look at the Christmas Pudding, which was made on Rememberance Sunday 2020. It is still stored in a cold place. I do not know if it has gone mouldy, so might not be edible. This is not yet known, but depending what I find, there is still time to make another one. It's 🤞🤞
I loved hearing Bharti Patel as Harrison's Boss. She also did a previous TA cameo appearance, as Helen's help line person, in the Rob/Helen SL. I am really enjoying Doctors again, where she plays Rhuma the midwife. After a long while, the SL's in Doctors, are now so much more interesting, thought provoking, as there are again, continuing stories involving many characters in many ways, which last over many episodes. I record and then binge watch, as this works for me.
I regret to say I have totally given up on Doctors. I had been watching regularly since the very first episode many years ago. But when they returned after the summer break I watched 2 episodes and decided I really couldn’t bother any more. Some of the characters had become really annoying and irritating (notably Valerie) and I just wasn’t interested in the stories any longer.
I just hope I never get to feel this way about The Archers!
I was sorry to see Lizzie go in Bake off this week but enjoyed seeing her again on “An extra slice”. She is very funny and I wonder whether her potential as a stand up comic has been spotted! Not funny to lose a pet but her account of her pet pig slipping on ice and having to be put down was darkly hilarious. When acquaintances asked whether she now had a supply of bacon she replied “would you eat your dog?” It was just the way she said it! I think we can expect to see Guissepe, Juergen and Chigs in the final and it will be a close run thing!
Oh No! I wish I hadn’t read your post Ev, now I know who got sent home from Bake Off this week, Due to Mr A’s complete non-interest in Bake Off, I have to record the programme and watch it the following Tuesday morning as I am doing the ironing. So far I have managed to avoid finding out the result until I watch the recording. I am very sorry to hear that Lizzie has been sent home. I really liked her, she was a breath of fresh air and good at standing up to Paul’s hard stares! The one I’m not keen on is the Middle Eastern girl who is always so gushy and over-dramatic.
Mind you, I shall have to watch the final live, as there is no chance I shall be able to avoid finding out who wins for several days!
I have deleted 2 posts, as said too much about GBBO, which AP hasn't yet seen. I appreciated this. My "ideal" Final, would be Chantelle, Chigs + Guiseppe. Although Jurgen is a great baker, which I acknowledge totally, I think he can be a bit smug at times, a trait which just annoys me personally!!
Sorry from me too Archerfile. I’ll keep my council next week! Don’t know whether Prue was joking but on An Extra Slice, she said she didn’t know about the sausage rolls on the floor until they showed it! Jurgen is very German says Katy! She has a German friend with the same sort of character but her friend, Fredo is very likeable as well. When we passed through the Kiel Canal on a Fred cruise he waved to us as he lives nearby and took a picture of us standing on our balcony! We couldn’t see him as there was a crowd there but I thought how nice that he had made such an effort for a distant wave! I think Jurgen probably has that nice side too. I don’t think Christelle has the skill to make the final and I was surprised she wasn’t sent home this week! Sorry, Miriam! Archerfile, like your other half, Mike could never stand cooking programs although he loved to cook himself! He didn’t like antique programs either but nowadays with Katy I love to watch Antiques Roadshow and Bargain Hunt. I especially like Anita for her enthusiasm!
Where is everyone these days? I know I haven’t contributed for some time but I usually read the blog and still feel part of this online community. I’ve had shingles seems like forever but at least 7 weeks and am fed up with it. I had the anti viral drugs but it was too late to stop a full blown shingles. I was late to realise what it was, shingles didn’t cross my mind as I’d had the vaccine 3 years ago. No painkiller has really worked so going on low dose of an anti depressant which might control the nerve pain. Here’s hoping. I am thoroughly enjoying Strictly this year. I don’t want any more to go as they all have something to offer and they are so good. I particularly like Rose and the young man with incredibly long legs which he finds difficult to control.
Sorry to hear about this, Soz. I had understood that the vaccine was permanently effective but obviously not! I know that shingles is very painful and hope you get relief very soon! I guess everyone is busy at the weekend enjoying themselves hopefully! I have just been planting narcissus bulbs and was hoping to clear out my shed to put away summer chairs but that will have to go on hold as I have reached my limit on work so will put feet up instead!! Take care!
Soz…..💐. Hope you get some relief soon. Sending you a bunch of virtual flowers. I don’t seem to have much to post that would interest folk. I think the people on strictly are really good this year. Do wonder about the voting though when you see some in the bottom 2. Big accusations in the papers about it all being fixed due to wokeness etc. I’m sorry but I still whizz through the 2 blokes dancing together, just not for me.
Like Ev, the nurse told me that shingles injection was a one off so I had it about three years ago when I had my flu injection! Hopefully Ev the anti-biotics etc will gradually work! The doctor said that my thyroid problems would be investigated by an endochronologist (no idea if that's the correct spelling!) so my appointment is for the 25th of Jan and will be a telephone appointment! Apart from my dermotologists, I haven't seen a doctor for two years! Hopefully I won't have waisted (or wasted away) away by then! However I have had more blisters on me feet and legs. Probably because new tablets would take about 8 weeks to work! Should have stayed on the old ones! I am now down to size 18 and have very little to wear! It's not just the outside that needs clothing either (if you know what I mean) Many of you ladies will note that 18 is a large size but as I am 6 foot tall it doesn't seem that way to me! I have just bought a lovely blouse and a new pair of trousers so I can go the cricket club quiz night next Saturday. (We have won it the past two times so I think we must retire if we win it again. ) However my memory knows the answer then when I go to write it out it is just blank! But at last I can see the old cricket club again whereas I haven't visited it for two years! My brother is moving away from Portland and moving to Devizes. Sadly his ex-wife has now got breast cancer so sisters and I will need two weekend travelling westwards! His ex-wife was our sister for 17 years so all of us (except David!) have some affection for her. I'm knitting a shawl for my neice and it was hell to start. I couldn't count, then got the pattern right after three tries, but now I am on my way! Babies due in January so must get on! Gone off Strictly and Doctors, so have something in common with two posters! Bake off and Mary Berry are two favourites. My son in Frankfurt has sent me the new film Dune. I did try to read it about 50 years ago. Perhaps the film will be much better! Love and best wishes to everyone who has illnesses. Spicy xx
No Spiceycushion, not too much, it's good to hear how you are. I hope you have a good telephone consultation with the endocrinologist. Do write a list of everything that you feel is wrong because your Thyroid covers so much. And if you don't tell them they may not ask the relevant questions. Sorry about yet more blisters. Devizes is one of my options as a town to move to.
Soz
Good to hear from you too after a long silence, but very sorry to hear about the shingles. I've known others who have had it and understand that it is extremely painful. I hope things improve soon. Caroline who used to be on here had it some time back.
Thanks folks for your good wishes. My daughter says she hopes the antidepressants will improve my mood as I’ve been pretty grumpy lately. I expect that is true. As I’ve been sitting down for longer periods I’ve been reading or listening to the news far more. It seems very depressing at the moment or maybe you just concentrate on the bad bits when you don’t feel so well.
I watched some of the Remembrance Service this morning and was pleased to hear David Dimbleby behind the microphone. I miss his measured gravitas on such occasions.
I was a very proud Grand Aunty today. Two were so smartly dressed in their Beavers + Scout outfits, wearing poppies, and taking part in a Remembrance Sunday parade + service. It was lovely.
I bit the bullet today, and looked at the Christmas Pudding which was steamed for 8 hours on Rememberance Sunday, last year. It looks and smells wonderful - so will be worth the risk, to serve it this year. I have checked with family, and all are in agreement.
I agree. He seems lovely. I can’t stand that aliache…can’t spell it. He is so full of himself. Shouting every time they finish a dance, like he’s trying to influence the judges.
Lovely to hear from Soz and Spicy again. So sorry to hear about the singles Soz. My sister in Law had it a couple of years ago and was on strong painkillers for weeks. As they included co-codamol she also had the usual side effect of constipation which, she said, was almost worse than the shingles I have had the vaccination, so I just hope it is effective. I do hope you get some relief with the anti-depressants very soon.
It’s just about impossible to see a doctor in person these days. I had my very overdue annual prescription review last week but only by telephone calls with 2 different GPS which was hopeless. I have to take blood pressure readings for a week before the review and send them to the surgery. I was very worried because my readings were extremely high, dangerously high in fact. The first GP just added a new drug to my régime. A few days later a second GP rang and said to give up the diuretic I have been on for years as they are no longer considered effective and to add another different drug. My repeat prescriptions are now all out of sequence with different drugs being added and taken away but I can’t get any sense out of the receptionists, the GPs or the pharmacy. Life used to be so much easier when you could just go to the surgery for a 10 minute appointment with your regular doctor and get things sorted out face to face.
I think your last sentence Archerphile, applies to most situations today.
The same is true of any transaction in a shop or when seeking a service of some kind, whereby once upon a time........ don't we all remember it well ? ........ the person we were requesting something of would write our details on their sheet of paper and carry out instructions as to their notes. Now we have to wait for the computer to come up with its formula for the recording of details, give those details in the order that the computer wants, and wait around for it to do its computing in order to ' register' us, before any other business can even be attempted. I despair.
I thoroughly agree with both of you. I have not been able to see a doctor at all yet I’ve been given numerous, sometimes very potent, drugs without questions being asked. Diagnosis was by a photograph since then I have had weekly telephone conversations, each time with a different doctor who doesn’t have my notes in front of them ( the lines gone down ) so they rely on my information for background details. Then very swiftly I’m given more drugs to try out and told to take care.. The amount of money being wasted on drugs must be huge. What was once a small, friendly country practice with doctors knowing and understanding most of their patients has been replaced with telephone or computer access to unknown voices prescribing drugs.
Couldn't agree more about GPs. Mr. CC had a sore on his nose that wasn't healing and phoned the GP. He was put through to the triage nurse who arranged a telephone consultation with a doctor. He asked for a photo to be sent in then sent a text to Mr.CC saying he might have cancer and arranged an appointment with the skin specialst GP in the surgery. It turned out it wasn't cancer and all he needed was to moisturise. That was a waste of one doctor's time on a telephone consultation and reviewing the photo and Mr CC had a week of worry unnecessarily. Surely the whole point of triage is to direct the patient to the correct place. Also telling someone they might have cancer by text is not what I would do.
I would agree as regards telephone appointments not being as good as face to face appointments. I have a phone appointment later this week, but it is a routine annual cardiac clinic check up, and as I feel okay I don't mind, BUT our neighbour lost the lower half of one leg because of the time spent on phone appointments and with him trying to send photos online, and then being prescribed antibiotics which were not the answer.
I'm not totally against telephone consultations with a GP, but with strict parameters. During a later lockdown, can't remember which one, I had one with my GP, a woman I always see, however long it may take to see her as she is very popular because she is good. But it was a follow up discussion regarding the change to my medication. I had all the points I needed to make written down before we spoke, and my negotiating points too. We were on the phone for all of three minutes. Done and dusted ! We were both efficient and to the point, and it worked well, but in a different scenario demanding questions and speculation a phone consultation is likely to be most unsatisfactory. And I agree, the suggestion of cancer via text is frankly appalling.
I agree that telephone consultations can be useful and am happy to save my and the GP's time when appropriate. Ideally we would have competent triage staff who would direct people to the most appropriate type of appointment.
Interesting comments today. I was thinking about changing my GP surgery, to one nearer. However, as I have been a client of that surgery, for very, very many years, I am thinking again. I don't want to "go out of the fat, into the fire" - if that is a correct notation. Off for my booster tomorrow.
Spending more time than usual indoors, I’ve been on the internet far too much. The result has been a massive amount of tulip bulbs. I started with just a few but got carried away with colour coordination and so the number of bulbs grew and grew. Fortunately on the farm there are plenty of things such as old baths and broken concrete troughs for me to fill so next spring we should have a very colourful milking parlour, just in time for the next TB tests. Do tulip bulbs go on from year to year? I hope so otherwise it’s been a fairly costly exercise.
They'll be good for a few years, but not last as long as daffodils. I like finding different more unusual varieties of daffodils, especially the very fragrant narcissi. We have recently had a sewage treatment plant put in and my guess is that the bulbs that were there may have been well and truly buried by the digger, so I have, like you, been browsing online and now have about 200 daffodils to plant, and it has done nothing but rain! so only 15 are in the ground so far. The wind hits us here so I try to get shorter varieties, there is a nice short one called Jetfire, yellow with a bright orange trumpet. Hope you recover from the shingles soon. My dad had it once and I know he found it very painful.
When you get to year 3 of the tulip bulbs you could try sprinkling some Miracle gro plant food granules around them. I do that sometimes with the daffodils and they seem to like it.
How is your eye doing? If you want to do more ironing, you are welcolme to do mine! This is the chore I hate most, which is made worse, as I let it just pile up.
I have cut down a lot on ironing, nowadays just bedding, t shirts on front only and tea towels as like to have them folded but am not too fussy! Anything else such as most trousers will de-crease in the airing cupboard. I do like duvet cover etc ironed although was once told by a shop assistant it isn’t needed. Can’t stand creased sheets!
As for housework as an ex-Wren, I let it go and then clean for Captain’s rounds!!
Talking of plants + gardens - does any-one have any experience of a lemon tree, suitable for the UK? Booster done. The place I went to was running fine, but the car parking was chaotic!! I was luckily OK, but there were "car wars" going on, trying to park.
A Christmas present for sister + bro-in-law. She loves making lemon curd, lemon meringue pie etc. and has a green-house. It is just an idea at the moment, as I am stuck for ideas so far.
My understanding Miriam is that although very pretty, the hope of actually harvesting Lemons is pretty remote. Nevertheless it's would be a very thoughtful present, and she might be lucky.
That last was my first on my new IPad. It was a joint Christmas present from my daughters. It took younger and myself until June to get to the Apple store in Bath due to various lockdowns and restrictions, then until Sunday to get to Apple again to set it up. I’m having a dreadful time trying to get my email set up. I had my previous IPad well over ten years ago and somebody helped me set up my email then. The password has been lost in the mists of time and the mobile, for recovery of password or to change it, blew up some years ago. So to reset the password a text is sent to that redundant phone. There is no other way. Both daughters and myself have been trying since Sunday to find another way, Or to find a way of communicating with Google without success. I will eventually have to accept that I have no option but to change my email address. If anyone has any knowledge beyond mine, please speak up.
I can't help at all. I changed my phone about 6 weeks ago in a store. The person I dealt with, transferred all my photos, accounts such as e-mail, and everything else, from the old to the new. All I had to do was log in, and then put passwords in. I was surprised how easy it was. As to an i-pad, I have no experience nor knowledge of this. I wish I could help.
Thanks for the info on bulbs. I will use some Miracle grow granules after a few years and see if it helps. I have bought bigger bulbs from a reputable firm rather than my usual reduced ones from a garden centre. Interesting to see how they flower.
Mrs P I cant help you with your IPad problem. How frustrating. I have a similar issue with my Kindle. I cannot remember my password and cannot access the books that are on it. I’ve been told that I can start again with a new password but that will clear all the books I’ve bought so far, many of which I haven’t read. Janice I hope the rain stops long enough for you to plant all those daffodils. My tulips are waiting until I have a bit more energy or I can persuade someone to fill up these troughs with soil.
Miriam….eye still the same. Still waiting for the op. I’m the same with an old tablet I have. Can’t remember password. I’ve somehow got kindle on it that I get access but that’s it. I gave up trying after a couple of days.
Finally got a price off the shed man yesterday and he’s coming at teatime to look at where shed is going. I can’t wait!!! Well finally be able to move stuff off patio that is covered with a tarpaulin and get the shelves out of the garage, which means we can sort the garage out, which means I can move the pew from the kitchen. Lol. Everything revolves around this blinking shed!! Taken 4 months to get a quote, and to the top of the list for it. Sheds are like gold dust.
PTBY, sheds are close to my heart. I found the receipt for mine, £267, (6'x4'), made by a local timber merchant. I very clearly remember it being erected on 11/9/2001. 9/11 I kept running out to the man in the garden with tea and news, in the end we watched the t.v. together. I still call it my disaster shed. Sadly needs re-roofing now. My son is looking for a shed, can't believe the prices now.
Sheds is an interesting topic. Mine was removed two years ago. I still need to sort my side-gates (moving them forwards also) then hard landscape the area behind. What I am looking at, is a plastic shed, which will need no maintenance, and the roof lets subdued light in.
Everything takes so long nowadays, doesn't it, Miriam. Tomorrow the landscaper is coming back AT LAST to level and surface the area outside my greenhouse which was installed in August! Then I will be able to look for someone to assemble my toolshed, which has been in its box under a seat cover for so long I can't remember who I bought it from. Then all the tools can be moved out of the greenhouse, so that I can actually begin to use it for its intended purpose and the seat cover can go on the swing chair where it belongs. Yesterday Nigel came in to clear the lush, virgin forest of alkanet which had taken over the whole area, ready for C to work on it, strimmed the wildflower garden and planted the collection of tulip and camassia bulbs for the spring. The courtyard shrubs need pruning and the oleanders re-potting, but his last two visits have been spent on the front garden, and I've hardly left the house for the past month because of the bronchitis - just as I was beginning to catch up with the washing, too!
I had a hearing test today and was advised that hearing aids would help. I was told that I could choose to have them on the NHS or privately. It got me wondering why one can have hearing aids on the NHS but not glasses. Doesn't seem logical to me.
What a good point. As a young child, when it became apparant I was very short-sighted, I had to have the NHS glasses available at that time, due to cost restraints. I still have an awful school photo of me, wearing a pair of NHS blue wire ones, age about 7yrs.
I remember my brother having NHS glasses. They were truly awful! My short sightedness didn’t appear until I was mid teens so either too old for them or maybe by then they weren’t available. I had those wingy ones with different colour fillets to put on the frame to go with what you were wearing! Very trendy at the time! I put them on and wondered at the clarity around me! Short sightedness as hearing loss creeps up on you!
Have watched bake off and my lips are sealed! However, I was very surprised at the result!
Apparently where applicable NHS optical vouchers are supplied now - have just googled 😎 I wonder when NHS frames were stopped I remember them displayed on Opticians shelves (not free but very cheap and bland) I’m pretty sure when very young I had a pink wired pair!
I was fortunate not to have the wire NHS framed specs as a child. But I can't give a reason why. And I did wear glasses from the age of seven or eight. My father was the meanest of men, and I'm sure would not have paid for me to have non NHS frames. Perhaps my mother won that particular argument.
CC - I had a hearing test earlier this year and it was confirmed as I thought that my peripheral hearing is not up to scratch. I was told that a hearing aid could help but I was not informed of costs, NHS or otherwise. Perhaps my forceful ' No Thank You ' prevented any further discussion. However sitting at the table with daughter and two of my teenage grandchildren on Sunday and having to ask for a repeat of almost every sentence has brought home to me how much I am missing out on. Perhaps I need to rethink my attitude.
Mrs P: perhaps if they all spoke as clearly in the first place there would be no need for so much repetition. I find it frustrating that I can watch a programme presented by - say - Simon Reeve and thoroughly enjoy it, only to turn to a drama production and not be able to understand a word! People in general, and the younger ones in particular, are so used to rushing about and gabbling all the time I'm not at all sure it's entirely our hearing that is at fault. Many people known to be hard of hearing say they can hear me when other speech is indistinct. I find there is a distressing lack of consonants about these days. One day in the local Co-op a cashier kept looking at me and shouting 'Owp'. I eventually managed to ascertain that this was localspeak for 'Can I help you'. We struggled through the transaction, after which she kept saying, 'ba?', the nearest she could manage to, 'Do you need a bag?' I've been over here since 1964, but am no nearer to understanding English English than I was when I started! Guernsey English is so much slower, more carefully formulated and therefore clearer and easier to understand
Hello Sarnia I am still about too 😄 and have to say how much I agree with your first paragraph most dramas are appalling if only the speech could be as clear and loud as the so called “background” music that nearly bursts eardrums in its intensity 😡
I'm particularly taken with the Curry's ads on commercial channels. These consist of a loud, vibrating, 'boom-ti-boom' background which accompanies fleeting images of indispensable electronic devices while an over-excited voiceover rattles along in - Serbo Croat I think, but it might also be Swahili. I wonder they manage to sell anything as I for one have no idea what they're on about.
I had glasses from the age of 11 years and I hated them but I was blind as a bat without them. However I never did have NHS wire frames. Even though my parents were short of money I had a cheap frame of mainly blue , plastic ones. They often got broken, then I would have a week before I could see again! When I left school at 17 I chose my own frames. My favourite ones were wooden, teak coloured ones, until at 19 years old I wore contact lenses, I went to Vision Express last week and got my new prescription of one navy and one pink glasses now I have stopped wearing contacts. The pink wire frames are exactly the best ones I have ever had. I am delighted! I had a test for a private firm for hearing aids (and especially for my tinnitus) in 2014 and quoted £1850 pounds for each ear. My GP then referred to me to hospital within a few weeks.
They cost me nothing and I have batteries from the hosptital free of charge, every three or four months. They are a very good but still have difficulty when people are talking from another room. Usually people with accents on TV are difficult (Lizzie especially on Bake Off) so I have subtitles on. Maybe I might need a 'refill' but I'll wait a while especially as I have more important things to worry about the NHS for! A friend, who father ran the agency I worked from tutoring, told me that he had a pair of aids from Boots which cost about £3000. When he got to renew them he went to GP, got referred to Audiology and received two free of charge which do the exact same thing!
By the way I had a follow up from Stroke Dept yesterday and I'm signed off! So,despite tablets for blood pressure and blood thinners, I am good! Reassured that the doctor was comforting that I wouldn't have another stroke so I feel fine today.
As a child, OMiaS had black plastic NHS frames with thick bottle lenses (he's very short sighted). Now he has the ultra thin lenses and the frames are far less chunky! He's recently got NHS hearing aids - hurrah! They work fine, until he pulls them out when he takes his mask off, forgets to put them in, or loses the end bit that goes in the ear. Apparently the end bit should be replaced from time to time anyway and is available from Boots. Or should be - currently they're out of stock. Batteries are free from the hospital or Spec Savers. The thing that bothers me is how quickly they run out - at least 1 per aid per week per user. That's an awful lot of batteries the nation gets through in a week.
My current glasses are ultra-thin varifocals. I tried not to think about the price as I paid for them! They nearly went back after a week because I hated them so much! Fortunately the optician was very patient with me, adjusted the arms slightly, and managed to increase my reading width from 1" to 2". As predicted, I did get used to them a few weeks later. Now my laptop only has a slight curve along the bottom edge! OMiaS took to his varifocals without a second thought - perhaps it's all the years of practice with normal lenses.
I'm waiting for a delivery from the local charity shop - a tall, well buil, dark wood bookcase, going for a song. It's to replace a short bookcase in the bedroom so my Cherished Teddies can have a decent home and start to look a little more cherished! I just hope we'll be able to manoevre it through our small lobby area, under the arch and into the hall. Clearing a path through the clutter to get it upstairs and into position is a job for later which will not need to bother the deliverers!
I was one of those who had to wear thick "bottom bottled" glasses as a teenager, and throughout further education. The 1st thing I saved for, when I started earning, was contacts. This was done quicker than expected and I took to them easily. I was lucky, even though these were hard lenses, the only sort available then, and wore contacts for well over 40 years. Cataracts, did me a massive favour, as I only wear reading glasses and driving glasses now, which just tweak things!
If, or should that be when, I need hearing aids, then I will just decide as to what is available. This is then to choose, what would suit me and my life-style. Cost is an important factor, I so ackowledge this, but like vision, hearing is very important to live life to its full extent. Why
As another "Bake Off" fan, I was surprised as to Tuesday's result. However, my ideal 3 are in The Final. This is what I wanted, but didn't think it would actually happen.
Lady R: from his point of view this is only a small job which he couldn't finish when he was here earlier because the greenhouse didn't come until August. He knows that he got my (sizeable) garden budget for the main work in Feb-March and anything else he does now has to come out of general running expenses, so when the opportunity arises he is trying to fit it in on the back of larger contracts nearby. There's a fixed price for disposal of garden rubble whatever the size of the load, and he thought he would have a half load yesterday, to which he was going to add mine. As it happened, he finished up with a full load, so he now has an empty lorry and would have to charge me the full price for an eyeful of stuff, plus the full whack for the journeys to and from the disposal point, which he thought wasn't justified for the amount in question. He'll be back when he starts digging out the next job in a week or two.
It is now two days after my Covid booster, and I have suffered! I had Pfizer after 2 AZ ones, and spent today in bed, with a slight temparature, along with a drippy nose. I just felt so tired + lethargic. Still I caught up on with my subscribed listening, from Sounds..and puss cat curled up beside me. Our pets know when we need a bit of comfort..and so help.
Sorry to hear that you haven't been well since your Covid booster Miriam and hope you are feeling better soon. All 3 of ours were Pfizer which just caused sore arms for a couple of days.
*** FROM PREVIOUS BLOG ***
ReplyDeleteSarnia - October 31, 2021 at 10:47 PM
My son is due to visit tomorrow despite the 12 year old testing +ve, although asymptomatic. He had a PCR test yesterday just to be on the safe side and we are awash with LF testing kits.
Unfortunately, travel plans will be disrupted due to the Salisbury train crash as the line may well be closed for most of the day.
He last came in August, when travel plans were disrupted due to suspected unexploded WW2 ordnance being discovered in a garden next to his local station, so the line into Cardiff was closed for most of the day... ...
Sometimes I wonder if some ill-intentioned entity is tapping into our phone calls!
parsley - 16October 31, 2021 at 10:52 PM
Never watched an episode of Bake off.
Crap baker.
Do watch Strictly!
Been away the last couple of days on Oleron, caught up tonight,
Rose - what a strong performance, tear in the eye. Love the boys, such a challenge for the choreography, fascinating!
parsley - 16October 31, 2021 at 10:57 PM
Oh la, 🤞Sarnia..
Sarnia - November 1, 2021 at 12:14 AM
But yes!
Lanjan - November 1, 2021 at 8:04 AM
My Canadian grandson who is at present working in London visited me yesterday .
He said he had managed to get a longer session in the gym that morning.
I said that was probably because we'd turned the clocks back .
He looked bemused, checked the all singing all dancing "watch" on his wrist and said he knew nothing about a time change!
MrsP AmbridgeNovember 1, 2021 at 9:29 AM
Yet another example of humans de skilling !
Sorry everyone for letting the blogs get a bit too full of late...
ReplyDeleteMR GG is in hospital yet again - this time he was rushed in on Thursday afternoon with a suspected stroke. Turned out he had more bleeding on the brain that was creating massive pressure and underwent emergency brain surgery on Friday. I am delighted to say that the operation was a success and most of the symptoms he was exhibiting were alleviated almost immediately.
What with the horse incident and then the double pneumonia a few weeks ago and now this he (and I) are absolutely exhausted. This is his fifth stay in hospital this year and he has now underwent 4 operations since April. Poor man is at the end of his tether. It looks like he might be allowed home this evening, but we shall see....
Cheshire Cheese - With regards to COP26 being in Glasgow, can't be bothered with it at all if I'm being honest! So many of my friends live in areas that are now practically under UN control for the next 2 weeks and they find it all a bit creepy how many police and security forces there are 24 hours a day.
On a purely personal level I'm NEVER in the mood to be lectured by people like Princes William & Charles about how I can cut MY carbon footprint - I'm not the one with loads of kids and I'm certainly not taking private planes and helicopters on an almost daily basis. Neither do I have several enormous houses or fleets of cars....
Sarnia - I hope your son finally make it to yours today!
ReplyDeleteDear Gary
ReplyDeleteI’m so sorry to hear about yet more Heath crises for your dear husband. It must have been such a very worrying time for you both. I do hope you will take care of yourself as well as Mr GG when he comes home.
These periods of illness and operations seem to come in runs don’t they, but I hope you are both through the worst of it now and will be able to have a quiet, uneventful time leading up to Christmas and New Year.
And I must agree with your attitude to this COP 26 meeting. A lot of who should be influential people telling us what must be done but never really getting round to implementing the most important issues. How can anything be properly resolved when the biggest polluting nations in the world are not there.
Sending love, hugs and anything else that might comfort you both. 💕
GG My deepest and sincere thoughts are with you both.
ReplyDelete🤗🤗🤗
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteTake each day as it comes, as tomorrow is just another day.
DeleteDear Gary, So sorry to hear of your husband's medical problems. How worrying for you. I do hope he's on the road to full recovery soon.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why they don't have these climate conferences online instead of travelling all those miles unnecessarily.
Gary, I hope that the on going health problems of Mr.GG start to resolve soon and you can both get back to a more normal life.
ReplyDeleteGary, very best wishes to you and Mr GG. Hospitals are not the most cheerful of places and I hope he does come home soon.
ReplyDeleteAgree with Anneveggie that the conference could have been conducted online. An irony of these conferences is the carbon footprint of those attending in travelling there.
Oh Gary what an awful time Mr GG (and you too of course have been going through) I do hope Mr GG is home with you now just being together again ❤️ will be a wonderful relief and comfort to you both I’m sure. Sending very warm wishes to you both for much better days ahead.
ReplyDeleteWorrying times for you both : (
ReplyDeleteHere's praying for a swift recovery.
Thank you Gary for letting us know.
ReplyDeleteWe were worried a while back at your absence and fearing for you both.
Your latest news is positive and encouraging and like others I very much hope that Mr GG is home with you within a very short time, perhaps today, and that you have a calm few weeks ahead to close this year of worry and concern.
All the best to you both.
Dear Gary sending both you and Mr G big hugs.
ReplyDeleteGG My heart goes out to you both. These are echoes of my own recent dark times so I travel beside you.
ReplyDeleteGary, how very frightening for you.
ReplyDeleteI think it is so hard for the people like yourself who can only watch and wait.
I hope your husband has a speedy recovery, and that you both can then relax.
Maybe a short break away would be good, especially with Glascow being in turmoil.
Gary, all best wishes to you and Mr G.
ReplyDeleteDear Gary, what a time of it. Bon rétablissement to Mr GG, ❤️❤️to you both, gros bisous.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone.
ReplyDeleteMrGG was indeed allowed home last night and is now being fussed over by me and the cat...
Yay 🧍🐈⬛ 🤩 👏🏻
DeleteGlad to hear that Gary, take care.
ReplyDeleteGood news Gary. A few weeks just chillin would seem like a good plan. 💐💐
ReplyDeleteWishing you and hubbie well. Get the fire lit and just relax.
ReplyDeleteOn getting for the bathroom at 5.30 this morning, I was so surpised on looking out, to see a clear starry sky and ice on the road + cars. My big chunky jacket, had its first outing today.
ReplyDeleteI've just had my winter boots re-soled and heeled. Soon it will be time to switch to boots and warm winter coat, but open-toed sandals are so much more convenient. (I'm weird, I tend not to feel the cold in my legs.)
DeleteYou are so lucky OWIAS. My feet and legs are the one place I do feel the cold, and suffer most years from chilblains on my toes, which are so dreadfully itchy!
DeleteI shall never forget the winter of 1962, when snow went on for months and months.
I started my first job that winter and spent hours waiting at bus stops to get to and from work, standing on icy pavements and in deep snow. I had awful chilblains not only on my feet but all up the backs for my legs and they were agony. Thank goodness we don’t seem to get winters like that any more!
I remember Nov. 1981.
DeleteThere was thick snow, temps of -12C, no buses nor trains were running, as diesel + petrol froze.
A new niece was born, but couldn't travel to meet + greet her, and is 40 in a few weeks time.
I walked 3 miles, to and from in the snow + ice, to get to work, where the heating was very poor. I worked in my coat + boots, to try to keep warm.
I do remember 1962, only because I had to walk to school and our dog, a cocker spaniel, had 5 puppies. These couldn't go out, as they just disappeared under the snow. I remember us kids, dashing out to find them when they escaped into the garden.
DeleteI remember the deep snow from the end of December 1962 into February 1963. We were off school for well over a glorious month, there was no way the school bus could get through the lanes. I was out helping my dad dig sheep out of drifts. Our sheepdog was a great help as he seemed to be able to smell them from under the snow. I was 12 and it all seemed like a great adventure.
DeletePleased to hear that Mr GG is on the mend,Gary .
ReplyDeletePoppy and Percy tell me that the best way to get well is to have a cat on one's knee and if there is a human around to help as well then that is a bonus.
I agree!
DeleteAgree about a purring cat. Second best way is to watch lots of really funny DVDs.
DeleteThis morning I received from a friend via WhatsApp a most moving and totally true account (for many of us) regarding the main focus in our lives today and to rethink as we approach November 11th.
ReplyDeleteGoogle “Remember Remember” narrated by Mat Wilson and you can then view it on you tube. Very very moving and refocuses the mind on the real value of our lives ✝️ 🌹
November 11th always causes me to reflect. My grandfather was wounded at the Somme and my Dad was involved in the D day landings. I never knew an uncle who died as a POW of the Japanese in Thailand. We owe our freedom to men such as these and thinking of Afghanistan just now, we should thank God and those who sacrificed their life and their youth for that!
DeleteTotally agree Ev truly the “ultimate sacrifice” 🕯 🙏🏼
DeleteI'm pleased to hear that Mr.GG is at home and recovering with nice cat cuddles to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI too remember the freezing winter of '62. Walking to school with thick ice on the pavements but it all seemed like fun then.
Aargh! This morning all of a sudden our tsps ran dry. I was in the loo and anguished cries of “ Mum, what have you done? We have no water, we have no water!” For once, it wasn’t me but putting two and two together, we are presently subject to 10 weeks of chaos as the gas men are replacing the gas pipes in our close with plastic ones and strong.y suspect they have gone through a water pipe! Sure enough the Southern Water van arrived. I then got on with routine jobs not requiring water and took our boys for a walk! When I got back home still no water so I went to see what was going on and when we could expect restoration. They assured me that the job was well in hand and gave me a complimentary 2 litre bottle of water to be going on with! About half an hour later, hallelujah, we are reconnected! I fear this is the first of many mini disasters! It is possible they may have to dig up the drive if the gas pipe up to the house needs replacing. Although they say they will make it good, it will inevitably leave a scar and the drive was only done about 4 years ago at great expense so I really hope my gas pipe is OK! Early days yet too as they only started on Monday! O me miserum!
ReplyDeleteIt’s in the air Ev 😡 my sister in Cambridgeshire had an electric cut a day or so ago for a number of hours just as it got dark too it was found to be due the house next door currently empty which was having some work done prior to new owners arriving. Luckily my sister saw a van driving away so the electric people investigated in the front garden and there was the evidence. Thank goodness as the team were about to do what you fear dig up the large paved area right outside my sisters windows!
Delete🤞🏼 for you!
Weren't some of these power cuts, caused by the solar flare, which has recentely happened?
DeleteIt seems S.Wales had this effect.
There is something, that I have noticed recently, which is now showing a change of times This is that there are so many more aircraft, flying over into airports not too far away, along with the jet traces from 'planes flying over, from distance places, giving wonderful early evening red streaks.
ReplyDeleteI have learnt that a nieces "in-laws" are flying in from Mauritius on Dec. 14th, to meet up with family again, after over 2 years.
Also another niece is being flown to Malta, via a private jet on Monday, for just 4 hours. This is to view a villa in need of re-vamping, and to see if the company she works for, with her as Project Manager, gets the contract.
Air traffic travel, is now here to stay again and increase.
I wonder why I am bothering, doing my best with re-cycling etc.
Indeed Miriam. 200 private jets flew in for Cop26 and one of those had a 20car entourage - good start to saving the planet eh!
DeleteExactly.
DeleteI am now using E10 petrol, which is of a little help. My mpg, has gone down quite a lot in a car, just one year old. Is this a way to stop cars being used - as is the expanding enviromental zones around London?
DeleteSome family members are in a pure turmoil, as to what to do now, as to trying to change cars now, which they just cannot afford to do, but they have no realistic choice.
And Elsa Von de lion (sp?) using a private jet for just 31 miles !
DeleteHow dare they ! ! !
At least my environmental lobbyist S in L went up to Glasgow by train.
He hasn't been in his Washington DC or London Offices for over two years now.
As did “The Duchess Of Cambridge” and apparently she also carried her own overnight (?) bag when she disembarked! 😯
DeleteI had to laugh at a story on yahoo news about a lady who had cut her food bills by shopping at places where you could get items near their best before date. She was also keen to cut her carbon footprint and then gaily announced with what she had saved on food the family had been able to travel to Australia and New Zealand. Did they swim, I wondered!??
DeleteYes I saw that article online too Ev - weekly shop £18 from £60 but I still do not understand how even that saving has paid for the many holidays taken to the places you have mentioned and more….😳 particularly as planes are not yet electric!
DeleteLady R - it’s highly unlikely that large planes will be able to fly by electricity .
DeleteResearch into sustainability for air travel is the new position our son has been given now he is back at Airbus in Toulouse. Of course it is vital for the company that they manage to reduce pollution caused by air travel if they are to continue manufacturing aircraft. They are already producing aircraft able to fly on new more environmentally friendly ‘smart’ fuel fitted with new engines designed to run on it. Hydrogen is another line of research, though may only be suitable for small aircraft on short journeys.
Rest assured everyone that ‘green’ air travel is top priority for the company and we are proud that our son is in the team appointed to achieve it.
Interesting information Archerfile
DeleteIt was a bit of tongue in cheek remark AP 🤣
DeleteAlthough small aircraft may do this I think I heard?
Just sitting in Jameson House for my 15 mins post Booster jab.
Did not feel a thing what I detest most is the drive here especially the last roundabout managed to get horn blasted probably rightfully- bloody Basingstoke the only drive I can do easily is to the hospital and after 11yrs of
doing so I should jolly well hope so🤗
Our booster is now booked for 18th. Katy finishes her isolation today so I look forward to not doing a dog walk tomorrow! It looks as if I escaped infection this time!😊
DeleteYesterday, I had a letter from my surgery to book my covid booster at the clinic on Nov 17th. I rang immetiadley, but this clinic was fully booked. I was told that another appointment would be arranged and then be informed about this, but I am still waiting to hear.
ReplyDeleteI bet that I am far from alone in this dilemma. There are other options to explore, as + when.
As my 6 month date is now getting very close, it is the 13th. I am not venturing far, as basicaly, I don't want jeopordise things.
DeleteI have just finished my 1st Winter jigsaw. This was a relatively, straight-f⁰orward one, to get me going again. I am also reading a new book. This is "The Marlow Murder Club", which is so similar to Richard O's, the Thursday Club, but I am liking this one better. That is so far, as I am only 2/3rds through.
ReplyDeleteMy final comment.
DeleteIf I get even more Christmas catalogues in the post, e-mails as to Buy Now for Christmas along with discount codes, I think I will just scream!!
It is only Nov. 5th and Bonfire Night. This is so much more acceprable.
Keep your pets safe. My cat is now huddled in my bed, as fireworks are really getting going.
DeleteVery peaceful here Miriam and has been all week 🙏🏼
DeleteDudley is doing well. He had a calming pill earlier and has his thunder jacket on which acts like swaddling to keep him calm. He also has chamomile oil on his pillow. Katy is playing soothing music on her phone. Buddy was trembling but is now fast asleep. Normally Dudley runs around barking but just the occasional growl and bark tonight and he is on the sofa next to Katy.
DeleteNot been too bad a night here re the firework situation. Mabel has been quite calm in her bed between our armchairs. She has got a pheromone collar on though. Daphne has been barking like mad at any bang but in a house guarding way, not frightened. We’ve also had the telly on louder. Hopefully we won’t get a repeat tomorrow evening.
ReplyDeleteI chose the Classic FM Pets Playlist, its on again tonight.
ReplyDeleteAll was well until somewhere very close - BANGERS !
Higgledy piggledy gardens all adjacent to each other and cottage walls almost touching creating narrow valleys between, it felt as though someone was in the room and shooting a rifle at us.
And because it had been very quiet I had allowed the cat out.
He was caught in the place between the walls, and Lady looked terrified.
I was SO angry.
I think I know who the culprit was, and they have two dogs themselves.
Selfish selfish people.
But I shall contain my anger. He's an ignorant sod !
The cats eyes grew in size and he looked like the cat in Alice.
Lady was trembling but I was able to pacify her and although later there were some rumblings in the distance, nothing serious.
More tonight possibly.
Bonfire night seems to have been an absolute non-event this year around here.
ReplyDeleteNot a single bang, whoosh, crack or any lights in the sky.
Even the local pub, who normally put on a big Guy Fawkes event ( very audible and visible from our cottage) seem to have opted out.
Same here Archerphile nothing all week!
DeleteBooster update all ok so far 🤞🏼 just an achy muscle when lifting arm at certain angles 🤗 As I reported the worst part was the journeys even with Sat Nav especially coming back it was a complete disaster all but ending up in Festival Place car park 🤣 just managed to turn in an offshoot as about to drive in. Those B roundabouts are a nightmare and so many of them. I’m hoping I did not drive across a red light whilst desperately checking the signs and I had my navigator with me…..
I think my driving instructor sent me round every single one of the Basingstokr roundabouts!
DeleteNot so here but at least last night it was all over by about 9 o’clock. Last year they were still going off after 10! Dudley is a very nervous dog but we see a big improvement in his anxiety. Our first November 5th with him was a nightmare with him running around and getting very distressed. I think that is the worst of it seeing their fear. Gypsy and Buddy were never that bad. We will probably have a repeat performance tonight. Mrs P, I really understand your anger. Last year a woman said on social media that pet owners moan too much and if pets are nervous about fireworks we shouldn’t have the pets! Thus negating all the good things our dogs and cats bring to our lives! How ignorant!!
ReplyDeleteBit of a disaster today. I keep the conservatory frost free in winter to protect my pelargoniums but when I went in to do some watering it was like a sauna in there with a temperature of 32C. The thermostat wasn't working and the heater had been on full blast all night. Not good for global warming or our electricity bill! Thankfully Mr. CC managed to fix it, my plants will be disappointed tonight.
ReplyDeleteOh lordy cc!
DeleteFinally some fireworks here tonight not that I particularly wanted them but so strange not to have heard any up to now. (Saving the money for their utility bills maybe 🤣 )
We’ve had an evening of Classic FM which actually has been really nice. Buddy is very relaxed now although earlier very trembly. He picks up on Dudley’s anxiety. Dudley has spent some time wrapped up in his favourite blanket but when the bangs got louder leapt out of it barking but did calm down. Given his anxiety levels he has done well. All is quiet at the moment and hopefully it’s all over for tonight.
DeleteMy favourite Lark Ascending now!
DeleteYes Ev, I've got Classic on again this evening too.
DeleteSo far nothing but rumblings in the distance, and hoping it stays that way.
I've had my buyers visiting today.
A very pleasant couple who will be moving up from Hampshire ( Wickam ? Not too far from the Portsmouth Winchester Sth' Hampton triangle I believe)
We've talked for hours and finished up at the pub for pizzas. I'm relieved that they seem to really like my house and don't want to change or rip anything out, just improve on what I've done.
And they are very flexible on timing.
So now to find a new home.
I'm off to Cornwall tomorrow !
Mrs P….so glad to hear about your house sale. Hope you decide on a new house/area soon. Good luck 🤞
DeleteYes, Mrs P. Hope you find your new house very soon! It’s good to have sold yours and puts you in a good position to buy. Obviously the time is now right for you!
DeleteDudley and I are now tucked up in bed, well he is on top of the duvet! Classic FM is playing by Bluetooth next to my bed. Operating from Katy’s phone. The magic of technology! Don’t know about him but I am totally chilled!!
Wickham! One of our favourite rides Mrs P. Can also pop up the hill from there to Portsdown Hill and wave to my sister and Ev on the IOW 🤗
DeleteGood luck with choosing your new home what does your list of must haves include?
Good luck with the house hunting Mrs P
DeleteWe lived on Portsdown Hill in Drayton for a time. It was a married quarter and was near Cosham. If I’d known you were there waving Lady R, I would have waved back!!😉
DeleteNext time then Ev 🤣 👍
DeleteThanks for all the good wishes.
ReplyDeleteMy house actually sold a month ago, when I was really unwell but before I went into hospital.
I've been looking at a bungalow, a retirement place, but wasn't all that enamoured of it.
My low offer was rejected and I withdrew.
I realise I'm in a good position, but finding the right home is crucial.
My current six years of this mistake has been a miserable time.
And the property market is manic and seems likely to continue. On the market and sold within twenty four hours.
I had 14 viewings in a four hour slot and on the Monday five offers.
Don’t be rushed into it, Mrs P. You are very lucky your buyers are flexible as so often they are pushing to move and then forcing one into making a bad decision. When we looked at this house we thought on paper it wasn’t what we were looking for but when we saw it we liked the big rooms, the light because of big windows and it’s position in a quiet cul de sac but near to facilities, a boon to me as I no longer drive. I would have liked another bedroom but it does mean we can’t have visitors which suits me nowadays! I don’t mind providing evening meals but not being a morning person find breakfast difficult to cope with! If you can tick most of the boxes, Mrs P, that’s the one!
DeleteNeed to discuss with my ex estate agent daughter - and her to talk with ex estate agent buyer - about this flexibility as I don't fully understand what the woman explained about their position. The gist of which seems to be that I make the first move, as in I find my property and that then triggers the process of the sale proceeding.
DeleteA little concerned that daughter will have reservations about this, but we shall see.
Up early to make a reasonable start on my long journey to the foot of the UK today.
Well Mrs. P. Have a safe journey, and thrash it out with your daughter.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your sale, I thought you had taken your house off the market, what a difference in the house market to a couple of years ago. Obviously, the time is right.:)
Thoroughly deflated today !
DeleteUp early, packing in progress, food binned as not suitable to travel, when daughter phoned with suggestions of alternative arrangements, concerned that I look at many alternatives on line before visiting.
So, geared up for a long journey, instead a lonely and empty day ahead, as previous arrangements had been cancelled.
And the food binned could have been eaten this evening.
Mistral - yes house with one agent for six months and no interest. Poor marketing.
I took matters into my own hands after another period off the market, insisted on writing details myself with another agent.
One blocked afternoon of viewings and five offers.
But now it's part 11 : finding a new home !
Probably just as fraught.
Mrs P. You have buyers, which is such fantastic news. If they are so earnest to buy, then a compromise can always be found.
ReplyDeleteFollow your instincts and your own heart and talk to your own solicitor and estate agent. Arrangements can be made, to suit both buyer + seller.
This is your move, so do it to suit you and your pets.
Take Care.
Katy is enjoying her new found freedom after Covid isolation. She took Buddy off today for a walk which included a viewing of a prehistoric site for her PhD writings. First of all though they went to the Garlic Farm for breakfast. They have outside seating so. Buddy was allowed! She then went to the toilet there and always takes him in with her as she fears him being stolen! There was a gap at the bottom of the dividing screen and a lady was in the next cubicle midstream. He poked his head under it being curious about the noise! Katy beat a hasty retreat! He is so nosy!!🐶🐾🐾
ReplyDeleteMrs P, sorry you didn’t get your trip to Cornwall. Sure enough you need to look online beforehand but you never know whether your ideal house will be found that way and not when browsing in the estate agent office. Good luck with your search.😊
All the best to you Mrs P.
ReplyDeleteHope you find your dream home soon.
We have had fireworks since Halloween.they still continue now.
Very noisy even after midnight
I hate them
I sympathise LanJan.
DeleteI remember how aggrieved I always felt at this time of year.
My neighbours were Indian and liked their fireworks very much indeed.
Our adjoining patio gardens were no more than ten foot square.
Halloween, then the dreaded fifth, then Divali, then ? Well it's almost Christmas now so keep en coming folks !
And that was just my next door neighbours, never mind the rest of the district.
Oh ! And don't forget the South African contingent in the flat above who had BBQ S on the balcony above my conservatory as well as fireworks.
Aaagghhh !
Had a wonderful post birthday treat yesterday.
ReplyDeleteYounger son treated me (accompanied by two friends and himself ) to a Steam circular trip on The Hampshire Pullman
We went to your neck of the woods Archerphile .
Passed through Winchester.
Lots of photographers en route
It lasted for well over six hours and although it was called "a Lunch circular" ,the excellent food and drink lasted for almost the length of the trip.
By gum they knew how to travel did the posh folk in the 1920s.
The seats were individual comfy arm chairs
Even the toilet floor was amazing.
That certainly sounds wonderful Lanjan
DeleteSuperb LJ just my style defo the upstairs life ( in my dreams) hence my nom de plume -delusion of grandeur 👸
Delete😂
DeleteSounds wonderful LJ, v envious. Our trip on the Indian Pacific seems a lifetime away.
Talking of trains, another incident at the Garlic Farm was that Michael Portillo was there with a film crew. They were also using a drone to film from above which Buddy was not at all keen on! Michael was sorting a fetching pair of yellow trousers!!😊😁😉
DeleteHe was sporting a pair of……!
DeleteLJ. You made me laugh, commenting about the toilet floor!.
DeleteIt sounds a brilliant trip.
Good News.
ReplyDeleteMy surgery let me down last week re my Covid booster (clinic was full) and still have not been in contact with me, as to an alternative date.
As the on-line booking has changed today, I logged in, and even though no. 238 in the queue, I was all booked in 10 mins later.
It is for next Tuesday, 6 months + 3 days, run by a Pharmacy in a church hall. It is not far away and has easy parking - I am happy.
It's a relief, to know it is soon.
Delete💉 👍 👏🏻 Miriam
DeleteLanJan, when MrNuts and I traveled on the British Pullman we visited several of the toilets as they had mosaic floors, each illustrating different Roman or Greek myths, it was the last leg of a very special holiday celebrating MrNut’s 50th birthday ( Rome then Venice and returning on the Orient Express)
ReplyDeleteWe never did get on the Orient Express so envy you, KP! However we used to enjoy the small steam engine lines in UK and had memorable rides such as Devil’s Punchbowl to Aberystwyth in first class which had a carpet on the floor! The Bridgnorth circular line is also a lovely experience and has views over the West Midlands wildlife park - about the only line in UK where you can see elephants! Of course we have a steam line on the island with a very interesting museum at Havenstreet. There just is something about train travel!
Deletefile:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/12/02/E1EF281E-BF31-4159-8971-53550B43D5D9/IMG_5587.jpeg
ReplyDeleteI copied the photo my son took of the lovely mosaic toilet floor.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the one you described,KP.
I don't know if the attachment above will work.
The carriage we were in was called Minerva
We were in a small compartment of four people.
Apparently the Queen Mother loved that train.
I bet she did.
I managed to book my Covid booster online really easily yesterday. Couldn’t get through to the surgery.
ReplyDeleteFinally had a stair carpet laid today. Well worth the wait, I love it.
Had an afternoon watching new James Bond film for the second time. Just as good and understood it better.
All in all, not a bad day. ☺️
I have just listened to John Finnemore's Double Acts on R4 with Julia McKenzie, still laughing. If anyone needs a cheer-up today, give it a go, done me the power of good 😁
ReplyDeleteWill check that out, thanks
DeleteThanks. Will certainly follow this up...I am subscribed to the latest Charles Parish mystery.
DeleteAlways great value! 'Penguin Diplomacy' and 'A Flock of Tigers' are my favourite episodes.
DeleteJust had a little bit of good news that might interest Spicy
ReplyDeleteWe heard today that our youngest (English) Grandson Griff has been selected to join the Hampshire contingent at the next World Scouting Jamboree in South Korea in 2013.
He will be following big brother Max who went to the one in Nagasaki a few years ago.
We had thought they wouldn’t select 2 representatives from the same family but he passed all the tests and interviews and will be going as one of the 100 scouts from the 400 who applied.
I’m a very proud Grandma!
Rightly proud Archerfile.
DeleteWell done that boy!
DeleteI have catered for a selection weekend for contingents and they have some very, very tough tasks to do!
Two of my scouts (belonging to my group and Jon's) went to Japan. I told the District Commissioner that if I got a scout to get to a World Jamboree I would retire! Then there were two of them selected, both girls!
However I went to Cubs as usual on Monday!
So well done grandson. There will be loads of new experiences and friendships to make!
Sorry, that should be 2023!
ReplyDeleteHad our Covid boosters today, will report on symptoms. Hopefully there won't be too much to report. 🤞
ReplyDeleteIt is great that this booster programme is now being done.
DeleteMistral. Thank-you. I have just downloaded Double Acts. I love John Finnemore, in all he does.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy them as much as I did Miriam.
DeleteNovember 11th 🌹
ReplyDeleteWe shall remember them 🙏🏼🕯and count our many blessings as a result of their sacrifice 😥
...and thank-you for the Mat Wilson - Remember, Why We Remember -
DeleteThis is so meaningful.
I looked back, but I couldn't find the original poster, so please accept my apologies. 🥀🥀
Yes it was me Miriam
DeleteI thought it was, but I didn't spot the original post. Thank-you, in person now. 😀
DeleteIt is only November, but I have just firmed up my Christmas Day plans for this year, with some family members.
ReplyDeleteNow to look at the Christmas Pudding, which was made on Rememberance Sunday 2020. It is still stored in a cold place. I do not know if it has gone mouldy, so might not be edible. This is not yet known, but depending what I find, there is still time to make another one. It's 🤞🤞
PS It had stout, barley wine and rum in it, when it waa steamed for 8 hours. I will look at it tomorrow and then decide as to keep or reject.
DeleteThey only get better with age surely, but then how would I with” kitchen phobia” know!
Delete😂🤣😂
I think you have no worries,Miriam. The booze will have kept it as fresh as a daisy! 🌼🌻🥂
DeleteI loved hearing Bharti Patel as Harrison's Boss. She also did a previous TA cameo appearance, as Helen's help line person, in the Rob/Helen SL.
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying Doctors again, where she plays Rhuma the midwife. After a long while, the SL's in Doctors, are now so much more interesting, thought provoking, as there are again, continuing stories involving many characters in many ways, which last over many episodes. I record and then binge watch, as this works for me.
She was Lizzies counsellor also. .
DeleteShe sounds a bit type cast to me ?
DeleteI regret to say I have totally given up on Doctors.
DeleteI had been watching regularly since the very first episode many years ago. But when they returned after the summer break I watched 2 episodes and decided I really couldn’t bother any more.
Some of the characters had become really annoying and irritating (notably Valerie) and I just wasn’t interested in the stories any longer.
I just hope I never get to feel this way about The Archers!
I was sorry to see Lizzie go in Bake off this week but enjoyed seeing her again on “An extra slice”. She is very funny and I wonder whether her potential as a stand up comic has been spotted! Not funny to lose a pet but her account of her pet pig slipping on ice and having to be put down was darkly hilarious. When acquaintances asked whether she now had a supply of bacon she replied “would you eat your dog?” It was just the way she said it! I think we can expect to see Guissepe, Juergen and Chigs in the final and it will be a close run thing!
ReplyDeleteOh No! I wish I hadn’t read your post Ev, now I know who got sent home from Bake Off this week,
DeleteDue to Mr A’s complete non-interest in Bake Off, I have to record the programme and watch it the following Tuesday morning as I am doing the ironing. So far I have managed to avoid finding out the result until I watch the recording.
I am very sorry to hear that Lizzie has been sent home. I really liked her, she was a breath of fresh air and good at standing up to Paul’s hard stares! The one I’m not keen on is the Middle Eastern girl who is always so gushy and over-dramatic.
Mind you, I shall have to watch the final live, as there is no chance I shall be able to avoid finding out who wins for several days!
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI have deleted 2 posts, as said too much about GBBO, which AP hasn't yet seen. I appreciated this.
DeleteMy "ideal" Final, would be Chantelle, Chigs + Guiseppe. Although Jurgen is a great baker, which I acknowledge totally, I think he can be a bit smug at times, a trait which just annoys me personally!!
Sorry from me too Archerfile. I’ll keep my council next week! Don’t know whether Prue was joking but on An Extra Slice, she said she didn’t know about the sausage rolls on the floor until they showed it! Jurgen is very German says Katy! She has a German friend with the same sort of character but her friend, Fredo is very likeable as well. When we passed through the Kiel Canal on a Fred cruise he waved to us as he lives nearby and took a picture of us standing on our balcony! We couldn’t see him as there was a crowd there but I thought how nice that he had made such an effort for a distant wave! I think Jurgen probably has that nice side too. I don’t think Christelle has the skill to make the final and I was surprised she wasn’t sent home this week! Sorry, Miriam! Archerfile, like your other half, Mike could never stand cooking programs although he loved to cook himself! He didn’t like antique programs either but nowadays with Katy I love to watch Antiques Roadshow and Bargain Hunt. I especially like Anita for her enthusiasm!
DeleteI so wish GG + Hubbie, every good wish and that is all is progressing, in a true and a very positive way.
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts are with them both 🤗 💕 😸
Me too. Hope all well!
DeleteWhere is everyone these days? I know I haven’t contributed for some time but I usually read the blog and still feel part of this online community. I’ve had shingles seems like forever but at least 7 weeks and am fed up with it. I had the anti viral drugs but it was too late to stop a full blown shingles. I was late to realise what it was, shingles didn’t cross my mind as I’d had the vaccine 3 years ago. No painkiller has really worked so going on low dose of an anti depressant which might control the nerve pain. Here’s hoping.
ReplyDeleteI am thoroughly enjoying Strictly this year. I don’t want any more to go as they all have something to offer and they are so good. I particularly like Rose and the young man with incredibly long legs which he finds difficult to control.
Sorry to hear about your shingles Soz. I know how painful it is and hope that the anti depressant helps.
DeleteSorry to hear about this, Soz. I had understood that the vaccine was permanently effective but obviously not! I know that shingles is very painful and hope you get relief very soon! I guess everyone is busy at the weekend enjoying themselves hopefully! I have just been planting narcissus bulbs and was hoping to clear out my shed to put away summer chairs but that will have to go on hold as I have reached my limit on work so will put feet up instead!! Take care!
ReplyDeleteSoz…..💐. Hope you get some relief soon. Sending you a bunch of virtual flowers.
ReplyDeleteI don’t seem to have much to post that would interest folk.
I think the people on strictly are really good this year. Do wonder about the voting though when you see some in the bottom 2. Big accusations in the papers about it all being fixed due to wokeness etc. I’m sorry but I still whizz through the 2 blokes dancing together, just not for me.
Like Ev, the nurse told me that shingles injection was a one off so I had it about three years ago when I had my flu injection! Hopefully Ev the anti-biotics etc will gradually work!
ReplyDeleteThe doctor said that my thyroid problems would be investigated by an endochronologist (no idea if that's the correct spelling!) so my appointment is for the 25th of Jan and will be a telephone appointment! Apart from my dermotologists, I haven't seen a doctor for two years! Hopefully I won't have waisted (or wasted away) away by then! However I have had more blisters on me feet and legs. Probably because new tablets would take about 8 weeks to work! Should have stayed on the old ones!
I am now down to size 18 and have very little to wear! It's not just the outside that needs clothing either (if you know what I mean) Many of you ladies will note that 18 is a large size but as I am 6 foot tall it doesn't seem that way to me!
I have just bought a lovely blouse and a new pair of trousers so I can go the cricket club quiz night next Saturday. (We have won it the past two times so I think we must retire if we win it again. )
However my memory knows the answer then when I go to write it out it is just blank!
But at last I can see the old cricket club again whereas I haven't visited it for two years!
My brother is moving away from Portland and moving to Devizes. Sadly his ex-wife has now got breast cancer so sisters and I will need two weekend travelling westwards! His ex-wife was our sister for 17 years so all of us (except David!) have some affection for her.
I'm knitting a shawl for my neice and it was hell to start. I couldn't count, then got the pattern right after three tries, but now I am on my way! Babies due in January so must get on!
Gone off Strictly and Doctors, so have something in common with two posters! Bake off and Mary Berry are two favourites. My son in Frankfurt has sent me the new film Dune. I did try to read it about 50 years ago. Perhaps the film will be much better!
Love and best wishes to everyone who has illnesses.
Spicy
xx
Sorry!!! Too much!!
DeleteNo Spiceycushion, not too much, it's good to hear how you are.
DeleteI hope you have a good telephone consultation with the endocrinologist.
Do write a list of everything that you feel is wrong because your Thyroid covers so much. And if you don't tell them they may not ask the relevant questions.
Sorry about yet more blisters.
Devizes is one of my options as a town to move to.
Soz
Good to hear from you too after a long silence, but very sorry to hear about the shingles. I've known others who have had it and understand that it is extremely painful. I hope things improve soon.
Caroline who used to be on here had it some time back.
Thanks folks for your good wishes. My daughter says she hopes the antidepressants will improve my mood as I’ve been pretty grumpy lately. I expect that is true. As I’ve been sitting down for longer periods I’ve been reading or listening to the news far more. It seems very depressing at the moment or maybe you just concentrate on the bad bits when you don’t feel so well.
ReplyDeleteI watched some of the Remembrance Service this morning and was pleased to hear David Dimbleby behind the microphone. I miss his measured gravitas on such occasions.
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ReplyDeleteI was a very proud Grand Aunty today.
ReplyDeleteTwo were so smartly dressed in their Beavers + Scout outfits, wearing poppies, and taking part in a Remembrance Sunday parade + service. It was lovely.
I was surprised to realise, just how much they both know and why it felt important for them both, to take part.
DeleteStill about - nothing useful/interesting to say!
ReplyDeleteYou could tell us all about your garden or lack of maitenance (like mine!)
DeleteI bit the bullet today, and looked at the Christmas Pudding which was steamed for 8 hours on Rememberance Sunday, last year.
ReplyDeleteIt looks and smells wonderful - so will be worth the risk, to serve it this year.
I have checked with family, and all are in agreement.
That reminds me Miriam, I need to put some more brandy on my Christmas cake.
DeleteRe Strictly, I've always liked Giovanni but the way he is handling teaching someone deaf to dance has put him up in my estimation.
ReplyDeleteI agree. He seems lovely.
DeleteI can’t stand that aliache…can’t spell it. He is so full of himself. Shouting every time they finish a dance, like he’s trying to influence the judges.
Lovely to hear from Soz and Spicy again.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear about the singles Soz. My sister in Law had it a couple of years ago and was on strong painkillers for weeks. As they included co-codamol she also had the usual side effect of constipation which, she said, was almost worse than the shingles
I have had the vaccination, so I just hope it is effective.
I do hope you get some relief with the anti-depressants very soon.
It’s just about impossible to see a doctor in person these days. I had my very overdue annual prescription review last week but only by telephone calls with 2 different GPS which was hopeless. I have to take blood pressure readings for a week before the review and send them to the surgery.
I was very worried because my readings were extremely high, dangerously high in fact.
The first GP just added a new drug to my régime. A few days later a second GP rang and said to give up the diuretic I have been on for years as they are no longer considered effective and to add another different drug. My repeat prescriptions are now all out of sequence with different drugs being added and taken away but I can’t get any sense out of the receptionists, the GPs or the pharmacy. Life used to be so much easier when you could just go to the surgery for a 10 minute appointment with your regular doctor and get things sorted out face to face.
I think your last sentence Archerphile, applies to most situations today.
ReplyDeleteThe same is true of any transaction in a shop or when seeking a service of some kind, whereby once upon a time........ don't we all remember it well ? ........ the person we were requesting something of would write our details on their sheet of paper and carry out instructions as to their notes. Now we have to wait for the computer to come up with its formula for the recording of details, give those details in the order that the computer wants, and wait around for it to do its computing in order to ' register' us, before any other business can even be attempted.
I despair.
I thoroughly agree with both of you. I have not been able to see a doctor at all yet I’ve been given numerous, sometimes very potent, drugs without questions being asked. Diagnosis was by a photograph since then I have had weekly telephone conversations, each time with a different doctor who doesn’t have my notes in front of them ( the lines gone down ) so they rely on my information for background details. Then very swiftly I’m given more drugs to try out and told to take care..
ReplyDeleteThe amount of money being wasted on drugs must be huge. What was once a small, friendly country practice with doctors knowing and understanding most of their patients has been replaced with telephone or computer access to unknown voices prescribing drugs.
Couldn't agree more about GPs. Mr. CC had a sore on his nose that wasn't healing and phoned the GP. He was put through to the triage nurse who arranged a telephone consultation with a doctor. He asked for a photo to be sent in then sent a text to Mr.CC saying he might have cancer and arranged an appointment with the skin specialst GP in the surgery. It turned out it wasn't cancer and all he needed was to moisturise.
ReplyDeleteThat was a waste of one doctor's time on a telephone consultation and reviewing the photo and Mr CC had a week of worry unnecessarily. Surely the whole point of triage is to direct the patient to the correct place. Also telling someone they might have cancer by text is not what I would do.
I would agree as regards telephone appointments not being as good as face to face appointments. I have a phone appointment later this week, but it is a routine annual cardiac clinic check up, and as I feel okay I don't mind, BUT our neighbour lost the lower half of one leg because of the time spent on phone appointments and with him trying to send photos online, and then being prescribed antibiotics which were not the answer.
ReplyDeleteI'm not totally against telephone consultations with a GP, but with strict parameters.
ReplyDeleteDuring a later lockdown, can't remember which one, I had one with my GP, a woman I always see, however long it may take to see her as she is very popular because she is good.
But it was a follow up discussion regarding the change to my medication.
I had all the points I needed to make written down before we spoke, and my negotiating points too.
We were on the phone for all of three minutes. Done and dusted !
We were both efficient and to the point, and it worked well, but in a different scenario demanding questions and speculation a phone consultation is likely to be most unsatisfactory.
And I agree, the suggestion of cancer via text is frankly appalling.
I agree that telephone consultations can be useful and am happy to save my and the GP's time when appropriate. Ideally we would have competent triage staff who would direct people to the most appropriate type of appointment.
DeleteInteresting comments today. I was thinking about changing my GP surgery, to one nearer. However, as I have been a client of that surgery, for very, very many years, I am thinking again.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to "go out of the fat, into the fire" - if that is a correct notation.
Off for my booster tomorrow.
Spending more time than usual indoors, I’ve been on the internet far too much. The result has been a massive amount of tulip bulbs. I started with just a few but got carried away with colour coordination and so the number of bulbs grew and grew. Fortunately on the farm there are plenty of things such as old baths and broken concrete troughs for me to fill so next spring we should have a very colourful milking parlour, just in time for the next TB tests.
ReplyDeleteDo tulip bulbs go on from year to year? I hope so otherwise it’s been a fairly costly exercise.
They'll be good for a few years, but not last as long as daffodils. I like finding different more unusual varieties of daffodils, especially the very fragrant narcissi. We have recently had a sewage treatment plant put in and my guess is that the bulbs that were there may have been well and truly buried by the digger, so I have, like you, been browsing online and now have about 200 daffodils to plant, and it has done nothing but rain! so only 15 are in the ground so far. The wind hits us here so I try to get shorter varieties, there is a nice short one called Jetfire, yellow with a bright orange trumpet.
DeleteHope you recover from the shingles soon. My dad had it once and I know he found it very painful.
When you get to year 3 of the tulip bulbs you could try sprinkling some Miracle gro plant food granules around them. I do that sometimes with the daffodils and they seem to like it.
DeleteSounds lovely Soz.
ReplyDeleteI think they do repeat, I've had a few that came back for three/four years.
Soz……think tulips are good the first year then gradually fail. Well according to Monty Don.
ReplyDeleteI’ve spent the morning doing a mountain of ironing so I’m having a quiet sit down this aft ……writing Christmas cards!!!
How is your eye doing?
DeleteIf you want to do more ironing, you are welcolme to do mine!
This is the chore I hate most, which is made worse, as I let it just pile up.
I have cut down a lot on ironing, nowadays just bedding, t shirts on front only and tea towels as like to have them folded but am not too fussy! Anything else such as most trousers will de-crease in the airing cupboard. I do like duvet cover etc ironed although was once told by a shop assistant it isn’t needed. Can’t stand creased sheets!
DeleteAs for housework as an ex-Wren, I let it go and then clean for Captain’s rounds!!
Talking of plants + gardens - does any-one have any experience of a lemon tree, suitable for the UK?
ReplyDeleteBooster done. The place I went to was running fine, but the car parking was chaotic!!
I was luckily OK, but there were "car wars" going on, trying to park.
No experience of Lemon trees Miriam, but have always wanted one.
ReplyDeleteAre you intending one for yourself or as a present ?
A Christmas present for sister + bro-in-law. She loves making lemon curd, lemon meringue pie etc. and has a green-house.
DeleteIt is just an idea at the moment, as I am stuck for ideas so far.
My understanding Miriam is that although very pretty, the hope of actually harvesting Lemons is pretty remote.
DeleteNevertheless it's would be a very thoughtful present, and she might be lucky.
That last was my first on my new IPad.
ReplyDeleteIt was a joint Christmas present from my daughters. It took younger and myself until June to get to the Apple store in Bath due to various lockdowns and restrictions, then until Sunday to get to Apple again to set it up.
I’m having a dreadful time trying to get my email set up.
I had my previous IPad well over ten years ago and somebody helped me set up my email then. The password has been lost in the mists of time and the mobile, for recovery of password or to change it, blew up some years ago. So to reset the password a text is sent to that redundant phone.
There is no other way.
Both daughters and myself have been trying since Sunday to find another way, Or to find a way of communicating with Google without success.
I will eventually have to accept that I have no option but to change my email address.
If anyone has any knowledge beyond mine, please speak up.
I can't help at all.
DeleteI changed my phone about 6 weeks ago in a store. The person I dealt with, transferred all my photos, accounts such as e-mail, and everything else, from the old to the new. All I had to do was log in, and then put passwords in. I was surprised how easy it was.
As to an i-pad, I have no experience nor knowledge of this.
I wish I could help.
Thanks for the info on bulbs. I will use some Miracle grow granules after a few years and see if it helps. I have bought bigger bulbs from a reputable firm rather than my usual reduced ones from a garden centre. Interesting to see how they flower.
ReplyDeleteMrs P I cant help you with your IPad problem. How frustrating. I have a similar issue with my Kindle. I cannot remember my password and cannot access the books that are on it. I’ve been told that I can start again with a new password but that will clear all the books I’ve bought so far, many of which I haven’t read.
Janice I hope the rain stops long enough for you to plant all those daffodils. My tulips are waiting until I have a bit more energy or I can persuade someone to fill up these troughs with soil.
Miriam….eye still the same. Still waiting for the op.
ReplyDeleteI’m the same with an old tablet I have. Can’t remember password. I’ve somehow got kindle on it that I get access but that’s it. I gave up trying after a couple of days.
Finally got a price off the shed man yesterday and he’s coming at teatime to look at where shed is going. I can’t wait!!! Well finally be able to move stuff off patio that is covered with a tarpaulin and get the shelves out of the garage, which means we can sort the garage out, which means I can move the pew from the kitchen. Lol. Everything revolves around this blinking shed!! Taken 4 months to get a quote, and to the top of the list for it. Sheds are like gold dust.
PTBY, sheds are close to my heart. I found the receipt for mine, £267, (6'x4'), made by a local timber merchant. I very clearly remember it being erected on 11/9/2001.
ReplyDelete9/11
I kept running out to the man in the garden with tea and news, in the end we watched the t.v. together.
I still call it my disaster shed. Sadly needs re-roofing now.
My son is looking for a shed, can't believe the prices now.
Sheds is an interesting topic. Mine was removed two years ago. I still need to sort my side-gates (moving them forwards also) then hard landscape the area behind.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am looking at, is a plastic shed, which will need no maintenance, and the roof lets subdued light in.
This work should have been done this year, and I still haven't started organising things.
DeleteEverything takes so long nowadays, doesn't it, Miriam. Tomorrow the landscaper is coming back AT LAST to level and surface the area outside my greenhouse which was installed in August! Then I will be able to look for someone to assemble my toolshed, which has been in its box under a seat cover for so long I can't remember who I bought it from. Then all the tools can be moved out of the greenhouse, so that I can actually begin to use it for its intended purpose and the seat cover can go on the swing chair where it belongs.
ReplyDeleteYesterday Nigel came in to clear the lush, virgin forest of alkanet which had taken over the whole area, ready for C to work on it, strimmed the wildflower garden and planted the collection of tulip and camassia bulbs for the spring. The courtyard shrubs need pruning and the oleanders re-potting, but his last two visits have been spent on the front garden, and I've hardly left the house for the past month because of the bronchitis - just as I was beginning to catch up with the washing, too!
Front garden. It actually looks nicer from tje other end but I can't get a pic without a row of bins along the fence.
ReplyDeleteI had a hearing test today and was advised that hearing aids would help. I was told that I could choose to have them on the NHS or privately. It got me wondering why one can have hearing aids on the NHS but not glasses. Doesn't seem logical to me.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good point.
DeleteAs a young child, when it became apparant I was very short-sighted, I had to have the NHS glasses available at that time, due to cost restraints.
I still have an awful school photo of me, wearing a pair of NHS blue wire ones, age about 7yrs.
I remember my brother having NHS glasses. They were truly awful! My short sightedness didn’t appear until I was mid teens so either too old for them or maybe by then they weren’t available. I had those wingy ones with different colour fillets to put on the frame to go with what you were wearing! Very trendy at the time! I put them on and wondered at the clarity around me! Short sightedness as hearing loss creeps up on you!
DeleteHave watched bake off and my lips are sealed! However, I was very surprised at the result!
Apparently where applicable NHS optical vouchers are supplied now - have just googled 😎 I wonder when NHS frames were stopped I remember them displayed on Opticians shelves (not free but very cheap and bland) I’m pretty sure when very young I had a pink wired pair!
DeleteI was fortunate not to have the wire NHS framed specs as a child.
DeleteBut I can't give a reason why. And I did wear glasses from the age of seven or eight.
My father was the meanest of men, and I'm sure would not have paid for me to have non NHS frames. Perhaps my mother won that particular argument.
CC - I had a hearing test earlier this year and it was confirmed as I thought that my peripheral hearing is not up to scratch.
I was told that a hearing aid could help but I was not informed of costs, NHS or otherwise.
Perhaps my forceful ' No Thank You ' prevented any further discussion.
However sitting at the table with daughter and two of my teenage grandchildren on Sunday and having to ask for a repeat of almost every sentence has brought home to me how much I am missing out on.
Perhaps I need to rethink my attitude.
Mrs P: perhaps if they all spoke as clearly in the first place there would be no need for so much repetition. I find it frustrating that I can watch a programme presented by - say - Simon Reeve and thoroughly enjoy it, only to turn to a drama production and not be able to understand a word! People in general, and the younger ones in particular, are so used to rushing about and gabbling all the time I'm not at all sure it's entirely our hearing that is at fault. Many people known to be hard of hearing say they can hear me when other speech is indistinct.
ReplyDeleteI find there is a distressing lack of consonants about these days. One day in the local Co-op a cashier kept looking at me and shouting 'Owp'. I eventually managed to ascertain that this was localspeak for 'Can I help you'. We struggled through the transaction, after which she kept saying, 'ba?', the nearest she could manage to, 'Do you need a bag?'
I've been over here since 1964, but am no nearer to understanding English English than I was when I started! Guernsey English is so much slower, more carefully formulated and therefore clearer and easier to understand
Hello Sarnia I am still about too 😄 and have to say how much I agree with your first paragraph most dramas are appalling if only the speech could be as clear and loud as the so called “background” music that nearly bursts eardrums in its intensity 😡
DeleteI'm particularly taken with the Curry's ads on commercial channels. These consist of a loud, vibrating, 'boom-ti-boom' background which accompanies fleeting images of indispensable electronic devices while an over-excited voiceover rattles along in - Serbo Croat I think, but it might also be Swahili. I wonder they manage to sell anything as I for one have no idea what they're on about.
Delete🤣 Got it in one Sarnia! Well I’ve made it to bed so 🤞 you will now have a good night- what’s left of the it!
DeleteI had glasses from the age of 11 years and I hated them but I was blind as a bat without them. However I never did have NHS wire frames. Even though my parents were short of money I had a cheap frame of mainly blue , plastic ones. They often got broken, then I would have a week before I could see again! When I left school at 17 I chose my own frames. My favourite ones were wooden, teak coloured ones, until at 19 years old I wore contact lenses,
ReplyDeleteI went to Vision Express last week and got my new prescription of one navy and one pink glasses now I have stopped wearing contacts. The pink wire frames are exactly the best ones I have ever had. I am delighted!
I had a test for a private firm for hearing aids (and especially for my tinnitus) in 2014 and quoted £1850 pounds for each ear. My GP then referred to me to hospital within a few weeks.
They cost me nothing and I have batteries from the hosptital free of charge, every three or four months. They are a very good but still have difficulty when people are talking from another room. Usually people with accents on TV are difficult (Lizzie especially on Bake Off) so I have subtitles on. Maybe I might need a 'refill' but I'll wait a while especially as I have more important things to worry about the NHS for!
A friend, who father ran the agency I worked from tutoring, told me that he had a pair of aids from Boots which cost about £3000. When he got to renew them he went to GP, got referred to Audiology and received two free of charge which do the exact same thing!
By the way I had a follow up from Stroke Dept yesterday and I'm signed off! So,despite tablets for blood pressure and blood thinners, I am good! Reassured that the doctor was comforting that I wouldn't have another stroke so I feel fine today.
What great news Spicy so pleased for you 💐
DeleteAs a child, OMiaS had black plastic NHS frames with thick bottle lenses (he's very short sighted). Now he has the ultra thin lenses and the frames are far less chunky! He's recently got NHS hearing aids - hurrah! They work fine, until he pulls them out when he takes his mask off, forgets to put them in, or loses the end bit that goes in the ear. Apparently the end bit should be replaced from time to time anyway and is available from Boots. Or should be - currently they're out of stock. Batteries are free from the hospital or Spec Savers. The thing that bothers me is how quickly they run out - at least 1 per aid per week per user. That's an awful lot of batteries the nation gets through in a week.
ReplyDeleteMy current glasses are ultra-thin varifocals. I tried not to think about the price as I paid for them! They nearly went back after a week because I hated them so much! Fortunately the optician was very patient with me, adjusted the arms slightly, and managed to increase my reading width from 1" to 2". As predicted, I did get used to them a few weeks later. Now my laptop only has a slight curve along the bottom edge! OMiaS took to his varifocals without a second thought - perhaps it's all the years of practice with normal lenses.
I'm waiting for a delivery from the local charity shop - a tall, well buil, dark wood bookcase, going for a song. It's to replace a short bookcase in the bedroom so my Cherished Teddies can have a decent home and start to look a little more cherished! I just hope we'll be able to manoevre it through our small lobby area, under the arch and into the hall. Clearing a path through the clutter to get it upstairs and into position is a job for later which will not need to bother the deliverers!
ReplyDeleteLandscaper cancelled.
ReplyDeleteWhy Sarnia? Cancellation yours or his I wonder…
DeleteI'm looking at the various options for hearing aids. I would like rechargeable ones if possible for convenience and to minimise my battery use.
ReplyDeleteI was one of those who had to wear thick "bottom bottled" glasses as a teenager, and throughout further education.
ReplyDeleteThe 1st thing I saved for, when I started earning, was contacts. This was done quicker than expected and I took to them easily. I was lucky, even though these were hard lenses, the only sort available then, and wore contacts for well over 40 years.
Cataracts, did me a massive favour, as I only wear reading glasses and driving glasses now, which just tweak things!
If, or should that be when, I need hearing aids, then I will just decide as to what is available. This is then to choose, what would suit me and my life-style.
DeleteCost is an important factor, I so ackowledge this, but like vision, hearing is very important to live life to its full extent.
Why
As another "Bake Off" fan, I was surprised as to Tuesday's result. However, my ideal 3 are in The Final. This is what I wanted, but didn't think it would actually happen.
ReplyDeleteI am glued to Strictly Come Dancing, GBBO and also now, Masterchef, The Professionals.
DeleteOoh, I forgot The Archers...🤣🤦♀️🤣🙀 which is why all are here. 🥰
Lady R: from his point of view this is only a small job which he couldn't finish when he was here earlier because the greenhouse didn't come until August. He knows that he got my (sizeable) garden budget for the main work in Feb-March and anything else he does now has to come out of general running expenses, so when the opportunity arises he is trying to fit it in on the back of larger contracts nearby. There's a fixed price for disposal of garden rubble whatever the size of the load, and he thought he would have a half load yesterday, to which he was going to add mine. As it happened, he finished up with a full load, so he now has an empty lorry and would have to charge me the full price for an eyeful of stuff, plus the full whack for the journeys to and from the disposal point, which he thought wasn't justified for the amount in question.
ReplyDeleteHe'll be back when he starts digging out the next job in a week or two.
It is now two days after my Covid booster, and I have suffered! I had Pfizer after 2 AZ ones, and spent today in bed, with a slight temparature, along with a drippy nose. I just felt so tired + lethargic. Still I caught up on with my subscribed listening, from Sounds..and puss cat curled up beside me.
ReplyDeleteOur pets know when we need a bit of comfort..and so help.
Sorry to hear that you haven't been well since your Covid booster Miriam and hope you are feeling better soon. All 3 of ours were Pfizer which just caused sore arms for a couple of days.
DeleteMy daughter was given Pfizer and the second one has resulted in Myocarditis. She is quite poorly.
ReplyDelete