Making changes

I think it's safe to say I've not instantly found my way around the new software. I had great difficulty with publishing yesterday's blog, hence the rather peculiar way it ended up looking. Somehow I ended up saving in the Fox's blog. It looked fine there. It just wasn't where I wanted the text to be. In my endeavour to copy from one site to the other, odd things happened.

One thing about the new Word package is that there is a tutorial. I suspect I'm going to have to work my way slowly through it. Until then I suspect I'm going to have to go back onto the laptop or do as I'm doing now, write in my blogsite itself even though it's word processing capabilities are fairly basic.

Maybe I'm just a bit downhearted. Once more it's dark, grey & wet. It's 10am & I still feel I need the lights on to see. I hate having to do that.

I'm having a deliberately quiet day today. The Fox has made a spicy cottage pie for dinner. Tomorrow is going to be busy for me. I've a shoulder of lamb to bone & stuff. I'm also proposing to make a cherry pie for afters. I usually make the big meal on New Year's Eve, to sett us in the mood for the festivities nearer midnight. However, this year it's dawned upon me tomorrow is the Bank Holiday, the day we would hope to see family if we had any, the day I wouldn't be working if I was capable of working, so it makes more sense to make the meal that day. It also separates the midnight champagne a bit further from the evening Chateauneuf du Pape.

I confess I'm quite looking forward to things settling down to normality with the end of the holiday season. It's just all a bit much for me these days.

Roll on next week...

First attempts

Over the weekend the Fox gave me a brief introduction to our new computer with all its new software.


Today is the first day I'm on the loose by myself. I confess I'm very nervous of the results. However, while I'm still feeling relatively calm, it's time to have a go. The Fox isn't even immediately available to come to the rescue like my knight in shining armour.


I'm feeling fairly pleased with myself in that I've managed to update my freezer list without any difficulty. Getting back to an appropriate site to write this blog was more of a challenge. I remain anxious as to whether I'll actually manage to publish this blog entry, but I won't know until I try.


Today we're once more off to the Queen Vic, the hospital not a pub. The Fox is due another physio sessions. Despite his moaning & general scepticism of the whole procedure, he has persevered with the exercises he was given last time. He's even beginning to feel there some sign of progress. Neither of us is under any illusion that there will be an instant cure, but if there is some relief, some amelioration of the hip problem, some greater comfort walking or sitting, we will be well pleased. Obviously the deterioration in the actual bones cannot be cured by a few exercises.


After the hospital we're hoping to manage a bit of a food top-up before the New Year. We seem to be running low on a few things, especially fresh veg & non-alcoholic drinks for me. Admittedly I am intending to go mad & partake in a bottle of Château Neuf with the roast lamb I will be making, as well as in a bottle of champagne to accompany the bongs of Big Ben & the arrival of the New Year.


I've just been making a Chicken & Vegetable Pie, ready for dinner tonight. While I made it I listened to some of "Start the Week" on Radio 4. The question of the teaching of history & its value was being raised. It never ceases to amaze me on quiz programmes, how few people seem to have much consciousness of history, even our own British history. I can't help feeling it would be difficult to understand our modern world without understanding some of the history behind it.


I recently read a book about the siege of Malta by the Ottoman Empire against the Knights of St John in the 17^th century. It was towards the end of the Crusades. Even that came as a shock to me in that I tend to think of the crusades as being in a much earlier period, with the likes of Richard the Lionheart in the 12^th century for example. The book has given me a new perspective on Islam/Christian unease of today, in this country as well as the Middle East, Afghanistan & Africa. I can't help feeling without some of the understanding that comes from knowing some of the history, it is difficult to understand the causes of today's problems, let alone try to resolve them.


Or maybe it's just that I love history.

Flavour of Christmas

It’s been a good Christmas. There’s been nothing spectacular. It’s been full of peace & love. The meal turned out to be excellent if I do say myself. Some of the morning was spent in frustration. I discovered the reason why jelly has a date stamp on it. The flavour or ultimate consistency is not spoilt, but it does take a lot of melting. I used up some jelly dated 2009 in the cheesecake. It took well over an hour to dissolve despite using boiling water to start with & then keeping it in a bain marie, full of very hot water, all that time. In the end I strained it through, as though I was decanting a wine. I squeezed out as much liquid as I could, & threw the remaining small jelly gobs out. However, and most importantly, the cheesecake did set & tasted good at the end of the day.

I managed to enjoy half a bottle of Chablis with the meal. I even had half a bottle of prosecco in the evening, without any adverse consequences. I’m now once more back on the non-alcoholic drinks most days.

A large part of the afternoon was spent watching “Calamity Jane”, a lovely film full of laughs & some good songs. I still remain stunned that in the early shots so many people couldn’t recognise the buckskin-clad Doris Day as the beautiful woman she was, & still is by all accounts. I just wish I could look that good.

Boxing Day saw us escape to the local village pub, as much to see a change of faces. At one point a couple of friends joined us. I was somewhat surprised when Lynn commented on my hair & asked where I’d had it done. I duly told her. I assumed she was referring to the new styling I had done not long before Christmas. As the conversation went on, I suddenly realised what she really wanted to know was where I had had my hair dyed. The blondness looked so bright & almost glittery, so natural, with no unnatural looking roots. I had to confess the grey was all natural. I’ve never dyed my hair in my life. A long time my mother told me that God seemed to have the ability to know which colours suit you best & I’ve tended to follow that view. No my “blondness” is the natural greyness that comes with age.

Yesterday got us to the golf club to catch up with other friends’ Christmases. Mrs B, the retired headmistress, had a wonderful time surrounded by all her children & grandchildren, playing all manner of games & quizzes, with ouzo shot forfeits.

Fran & Den had a less successful time. Fran has had another fall & once more she seems in a different world, her memory not there. As for the meal, Den’s attempt at getting crispy crackling on his roast pork, resulted in dried out meat – not the best of meals.

The Fox has already written his about his favourite Christmas gift in his blog.  I’m hoping to tackle the new computer in the next few days – try to get to grips with the new software.  I’m not sure whether I’m looking forward to it or not, but I would be relieved to get on top of the freezer list once more. My bit of paper is already covered with so many add-ons & crossings-out, it’s beginning to be difficult to see what is there.

But now it’s time to turn my attention to the dinner. I’ve been waiting for some puff pastry to thaw sufficiently to wrap it around some sausagemeat, mixed with apple, bacon & herbs to make sausage rolls for dinner – a return to more normal food, reinforcing the normality of the Fox’s special spicy spag bol of yesterday. The pastry should be ready by now.

Nearly there

It’s nearly here. On Saturday we had our roast turkey. And very nice it was too, moist & deliciously tasty. While it cooked, the Christmas tree went up. Now, whenever we are in the lounge, our eyes are attracted to the cheery twinkle of the coloured lights, & their reflections on glittery baubles & tinsel. The lights welcome us home whenever we go out, as the tree sits in the front window.

By Sunday we progressed to actually getting to the Carol Service at our local church – the last couple of years we’ve not felt well enough to get there. The Fox discovered the constant getting up & down to sing the carols was too much for his hip. It didn’t help when we were given the one song sheet between us. My glasses are varifocal which means I need to look out of the bottom half in order to read. If the Fox stood, holding the sheet, at a reasonable height for him to read, then I had to either remove my glasses or crane by neck as far back as I could. If I held the sheet at a reasonable level for me, it hit that level between the Fox’s reading glasses & distance glasses, so he couldn’t read. It got a lot easier when the Fox accepted what his hip was telling him & remained sitting for the service.

I confess that for me, Christmas is not about the rampant commercialism that abounds, not about the presents to be given & received, nor the food & drink self-indulgences, rather it is about the celebration of a birth a long time ago, about sharing love with one another, about a celebration of peace & goodwill to all. It is with relief I feel the materialistic chore part is done & I can get on with the more important part of Christmas.

Yesterday we decided to venture out to buy a few potted shrimps & anchovies for the festivities. Afterwards we went on to the golf club for some lunch – they do the tastiest bacon butties you can imagine. While there we bumped into one of the barmaids. She’d sent her husband to get the last things from Morrisons. He’d gone at 9am & hadn’t even managed to find a parking spot it was so busy. We gathered from another friend that Lancaster was heaving at 7.30am. We just felt relieved we’d got the shopping done last week. Hopefully things will be a bit easier after Christmas, even though we’re sure not to be the only ones in need of a top-up before the New Year celebrations.

Still for now we’re starting to get into more party mood. A festive spirit is slowly bubbling up as we move into Christmas. All that really remains for me to say is

Happy Christmas to all my readers

The hunt

Yesterday was our last big shop day before Christmas. As a result there was much to find, things we don’t buy on a weekly basis so involve a good look around the shop.

We started early on with a 12.5kg bag of potatoes – we like our spuds you can tell. We progress through the fruit & veg, trying to avoid distracted shoppers & screaming kids. By the time we’d got some sprouts we were already so distracted we forgot to pick up the carrots & new potatoes.

On we go, first to bread & drinks. The Fox is flagging. His hip is playing up. It’s the sheer weight of the trolley that’s provoking it. I, by this time, am trying to find cherry pie filling (to go on the festive cheesecake we prefer for Xmas pudding). As I go in a panic of concern for the Fox, I cannot even find the pie fillings, let alone a cherry one.

We decide to get just the essentials. First we try to find some chocs as a small present for Linda, our new home help, a small thank you for her hard work. The Fox suddenly remembers he hasn’t bought any chocolates for me yet. We get distracted by that choice so we leave the chocolates with no present for Linda.

We have a quick look at cake tins. Our loose bottom one has disappeared – we suspect we threw it out when we had the kitchen done several years ago. I need the cake tin for the making the cheesecake in – that shows how many years ago it is since we last did the full meal thing at Christmas. Of late we’ve tended to eat out with friends. Last year I was still so weak after my stay in hospital, we decided to make Christmas as minimal as we could so no dessert. Anyhow we managed to find an appropriate sized tin. We’re all set for the cheesecake.

We hastily pick up some pâté, a little indulgence for a starter to our festive meal. Then we find some cream & cream cheese.

All got except one very big item – the turkey. We look in one freezer - all the birds are self-basting. I find the idea of buying a bird impregnated with an unknown fat off-putting. I want to add any fat that I want with the flavour I want. We find another freezer – just the crowns. But we love the brown meat of the turkey. We find some free-range turkeys in the end but they’re not very big or the bronze ones we particularly enjoy. We abandon the shop & head for the till.

After this shop, anxious still about the turkey, we head to Aldi, next door. Again all the turkeys are self-basting.

We escape to the golf club for a break & a bit of sanity. There we decide we ought to try Sainsbury’s. We still needed three essentials – a turkey, the pie filling & a present for Linda. The latter was particularly important as today is her last visit before Christmas & so we want to give her the present today.

So after our long sit down, we head for Sainsbury’s. We find the pie filling. That’s a good start. However, the turkeys remain self-basting.

We leave. We decide to try Lidl. No luck there. In the end we head back to Morrisons, our first supermarket. The Fox rushes in, picks up some chocs for Linda & the largest non-self-basting turkey he can find. We head home relieved.

Next year we’re thinking of trying doing the shop on the net & having it delivered. The hassle, cluttered aisles, crowds of people is just too much. Or maybe we’ll go back to the idea of eating out, either locally or on a holiday.

And why has it become so difficult to find a basic ordinary frozen turkey? We don’t want a fresh one as they aren’t usually available to be collected until Xmas Eve & we certainly don’t want to be at the shops that day! We also prefer to do the roast before Christmas, & use some of the leftovers on the day. That makes for less stress on Christmas Day, &, for us, a meal we prefer. Usually we do the roast early in December, put the leftovers in variously sized bags in the freezer & just get out some slices on the day. This year there seemed so few turkeys early on, we thought they must be coming late this year, but they still don’t seem to be arriving in our shops, or they’ve come self-basting.

The yellow orb

It sits there. Staring. Luminous in its yellowness. Accusatory in feel. A recrimination for what’s not being done.

What is it? A lone tennis ball.

After our trip to the physiotherapy we ended up having to go along to a sports shop to buy a tennis ball. Now the Fox has to practice leaning against a wall, pressing the ball gently into his hip/upper leg area. It’s supposed to unknot muscles that are overworking to compensate for the ones that have gone on strike.

Buying tennis balls at our age, in our state of health, is about the last thing we expected, but still if it helps.

It's on its way

Today the Fox starts a regime of regular physiotherapy trips to the hospital. Fortunately he has to attend the local hospital in Morecambe. I am assuming they will decide regular treatment will be needed as both the doctor & the practice physio reckon physiotherapy will help his hip problems.

As for tomorrow, then it will be my turn to go for a pre-Christmas smarten-up i.e. a trip to the hairdresser. Much as I hate these visits, I will admit as someone nearly 60 years old, I do feel shorter hair suits me better & I do feel the need to look a bit smarter when I no longer feel I can rely on good health to make me look good.

This morning we received one of our mystery cards. All the neighbours tend to send Christmas cards to each other regardless of whether they know each other personally, a symbol of good will to each other at least. Yesterday we had one from Jim & Theresa. Jim & Theresa? Who are they? They had at least had the sense to put their address on the card. This morning’s card is from Andrea. She unfortunately has not but a house number on the card. Next time I see Fran or one of the other neighbours I will have to ask them. I suspect it is the new neighbour who moved in only last month. I thought it was a couple but it may be a single person with adult children who often visit. A bit of detective work is clearly needed.

Christmas definitely seems to on its way. Increasingly houses seem to be being bedecked with coloured lights. Santas climb up to chimney pots. Reindeer run across house fronts, pulling sleighs full of parcels. Next door, a Christmas tree which was cut down due to the recent storm now stands in the front garden with lights a-flashing. We’ve yet to get our decorations down. So far our only concession to Christmas is the putting up of the cards - as one friend commented they’re a bit of glitter in themselves. Once our new home help has been on Thursday, we’ll get the tree up.

But first will be the big food hunt. I’m hoping to get the majority of the food this week as so avoid the worst of the crowds & queues which are sure to be everywhere next week. We’re having a quiet Christmas at home, just the two of us. We will indulge in the treats we like, not necessarily the traditional ones. So, for example, we will have a cherry cheesecake rather than plum pudding. We will have some turkey but not the roast. That I will do a few days before. We’ve even bought some champagne & Chablis for the occasion now I’m once more indulging in a little wine.

Christmas is definitely on its way…

   

Life goes on

Life goes on. Next door our neighbour is having a garage built to replace the shed that disappeared in last week’s gales.

We see in our local paper the coverage of the storm. The pictures are impressive. Giant boulders were thrown up on the promenade by the incoming waves.

At the gym we used to attend, cars floated off the car park as the tarmac surface was ripped off. The indoor swimming pool became filled with saltwater as the water seeped into the building.

In Lancaster the roof of the Butterfly House was damaged. I just hope the butterflies are okay. The article in the paper didn’t say what’s happened to them. It is usually hot & steamy in there, unlike the icy temperatures outside. There is also the possibility of the butterflies escaping into the open.

One day this week we bumped into a friend who cycles to work every day. On the day of the storms he had tried going along the back streets, rather than his usual route along the prom, but he still tumbled from his bike as the wind blew his bike from under him into the air. Later in the week, when things were calmer, he had a further fall as he tried to weave his way through the couple of inches of sand that covered the promenade surface.

Meanwhile we’ve continued with our medical tests. I’m glad to say I passed my blood tests - no problem, all normal. It reassures me that the wine at the weekend isn’t having too adverse an effect, though I remain a little concerned at my continued losing of weight. At least the rate of loss is much slower now.

As for the Fox, it is definitely confirmed by his X-ray that he has osteoarthritis in his hip, almost certainly caused by the muscle imbalance from his stroke. At this stage all that can be done is a supply of painkillers. The GP also wants him to do a course of physiotherapy at the hospital in the hope of stabilising the condition a bit. If nothing else it may slow down the wear and tear on his hip & stop further arthritis appearing in other joints, particularly those of his knees & feet.

We came home from that meeting feeling a right pair of old crocks & wondering what life holds for us in the future. Soon, it seems, neither of us will be walking much, neither will be in the position to help the other by pushing wheelchairs, cooking etc.

I’m telling myself, all the practical things someone can be paid to do. We can still talk, see, use our imaginations to explore new worlds, share our love for each other & the world around us, just as long as there remains the two of us.

Suddenly we’re both feeling old & on the downward path in this life.

But, for now, life goes on…

A successful shop

Yesterday we made a rare shopping trip into Lancaster. The main point of the trip was to go to a butcher who sells game. We duly bought a pack of mixed diced game which is in the process of becoming a casserole for this evening. We also bought some quail which has gone into the freezer for later on.

As these purchases were speedily done, & our search for calendars & diaries was fruitless, we decided to go on to our local PC World to look at computers.

We were pleasantly surprised by the staff at the shop. By repute, PC World has rather surly, ignorant staff, not the most helpful people. This wasn’t the case at Lancaster. They were extremely helpful & quickly sorted out the sort of computer we needed for our services. Needless to say we ended up buying one. Or rather we put in an order for one. We were told it would be Thursday, possibly even next Tuesday before it would be ready with it being so near Christmas.

It has to be admitted it is a nuisance having to attach the laptop to printer & scanner when they’re needed. Our patience is running out. We’re finding so many things that are easier to do on desktop. We seem to have so many scraps of paper covered in scrawl lying around, things we would normally put on computer.

You can imagine my surprise to get a telephone call this morning to say the new computer has arrived. We just have to go into town to collect it.

We have to go to the dentist – just for check-ups – this lunchtime. We were intending to go on & do the food shop afterwards, but maybe now it will be another trip into Lancaster & PC World. We’ll see.

The kindness of others

The day is brighter today. A pale blue sky is overhead. All is calm. More wind blew up yesterday, accompanied by a further downpour of rain.

I was happily jigging away – this time I’m doing a New York skyscape in the days when the Twin Towers still stood. It’s amazing to see those twin towers, gleaming in the sun, again. It’s surprising how quickly you get used to a new, different, horizon. Doing the jigsaw I couldn’t help remembering the horrific incident so many years ago, & the horror of all that loss of life & injury.

However, in the midst of my thoughts the doorbell went. It was one of our neighbours, Dave, come round as he’d heard from another neighbour, Fran, that we had a tree down & some fence panels down. He’d recently replaced some panels & thought we might appreciate the old ones which still had a bit of life in them, to keep us going until we could get to replace them on a more permanent basis.

I was staggered. I hadn’t spoken to any of our neighbours about the storm damage & yet here was Dave. The bush telegraph obviously works well along our street. Presumably our immediate neighbour, Bernie, must have bumped into Fran – she’s often out walking the dog - & told her, hence Dave’s arrival.

I showed Dave around to the garden. By this time Bernie has replaced the fence panel. I could see no further holes, though I did discover a second tree leaning over precariously, at a similar angle to the first. At least this one is shorter. I doubt that can cause any damage when it finally falls. Dave has decided he will check his panels now he knows the size of ours. If any are appropriate he’ll bring them round. They can be stored in our garage ready for the next blow.

I can’t help being struck how lucky we are, living here with such good neighbours. If ever we were in trouble, I am sure they would rally around to help. And I am grateful, & feel blessed indeed.

A change from the norm

It’s a strange Saturday. Usually I spend the morning getting dinner prepared. Often Saturday is our day for a weekend roast. However, today I’m not even cooking. The Fox is making Cider Chicken with Sweetcorn. I’ve not even got some potatoes to peel ready for this even as we are going to have Chinese egg noodles as an accompaniment for change.

We’re hoping to get over to Caton, just the other side of Lancaster, later this morning, as we’ve discovered there is a Farmers’ Market held there the first Saturday of the month. We still miss the one we used to go to in Morecambe. We’ve not found as good of source of meat & game since it closed. For a while we did think we’d found a butcher but that shop has since closed too.

I was bemused to here on the radio news this morning that the London airports are virtually at a standstill due to an IT hitch. Apparently the computer that sorts out the landings & take-offs has gone on to night timings instead of day ones. The repercussions are spreading throughout the world.

When one person was asked why they couldn’t go back to the old strips of paper manual method, it was pointed out that nowadays they have been become so dependent on computers that most air space controllers have never been trained in such old fashioned methods. I recall an episode in the television programme, “NCIS”, when power was lost. The older Jethro was in his element doing without a computer. The younger members of his team were at a complete loss when they had to find out info from paper files etc.

I sometimes think the modern world would ground to a standstill if something made all computers cease to function. Maybe I’m just feeling a bit sensitive on the matter as we still haven’t got around to sorting out our new desktop computer. We’ve decided to wait for the New Year sales. Meanwhile we’re managing on this one laptop, which isn’t attached to a printer or scanner, & we’re not even sure it has the software to run such extras. Still, I’m of an age where I’ve not forgotten how to do things manually. In some ways I prefer to do them that way. I much prefer the handwritten personal letter, even if the handwriting needs a degree in deciphering! We’ve had one of those already, in a Christmas card.

The aftermath

What a day! The winds really did blow yesterday. I’ve just been out to inspect the damage in our back garden.

Yesterday I had to bring in the bird table & feeders before they were smashed to bits. They’re remaining in the shelter of the garage for the moment.

A couple of fence panels have gone. Parts of our neighbour’s garden shed are now in our garden. Bits of trellis are scattered across the lawn & patio.

A 40+ft tree is leaning at a precarious angle. This huge conifer is no longer upright. It is more like at a 60° angle. My only consolation is that the tree was going to come down next year as part of the re-design. To my mind it was always too big for a domestic garden, even though it did look pretty with some yellow roses from next door flowering through it. At least if it does continue to fall, the worst it will do is flatten another fence panel on the other side of the garden. It isn’t likely to land on a building.

In the midst of this chaos I had to get to Lancaster hospital to collect some new knee braces. Afterwards we did a bit of shopping before heading to Ricky’s, our favourite Chinese restaurant. We’d decided it was time to treat ourselves a bit. The previous night I’d had to go to bed at 9pm & slept through to 9am. I was just so exhausted after our various medical trips even then.

We were surprised by the warmth of our welcome at the restaurant. We haven’t been for a while. The last time we saw Ricky & his wife, Susan, was at a local garden centre. They’d even got us a Christmas card in the hope we would call in before Christmas.

It was a very satisfying occasion. We caught up on their news – they’re expecting to become grandparents in the spring for the first time. Once home we both found ourselves continuing to savour the wonderful flavours of Kung Po Lamb in the Fox’s case, Sweet Chilli King Prawns in my case. We’d also both enjoyed the delicious Chicken & Sweetcorn Soup as a starter.

So today it’s once more back to the surgery here in Heysham. This time it’s for the Fox to have some physiotherapy. He sounds a bit nervous. He’s never had any physio before, not even after his stroke, so this will be a first for him. I suspect this session will essentially be an assessment of what he can & cannot do. The real treatment, if any, will begin in subsequent sessions.

High speed NHS

We’ve discovered high speed National Health.

Last Friday we made an appointment for the Fox to see a doctor about his hip. The appointment was for yesterday, just a couple of working days later.

After an examination the doctor came to the same conclusion we had. It was one of two things, either arthritis in the hip or a muscular imbalance, a consequence of his stroke. So he duly decided the Fox needed an X-ray and he also should see a physiotherapist. We were told that it would probably take about 6 weeks.

So you can imagine our surprise to discover that the local hospital in Morecambe did a walk-in X-ray service. Our surgery has three sites. It just happens I have to go to the Morecambe site for my blood-letting today. This site is at the back of the Morecambe Queen Victoria hospital, so while I wait for the nurse in the surgery, the Fox can wait for an X-ray in the hospital next door.

Before we left the surgery yesterday, the receptionist organised the physiotherapy appointment. It’s on Friday, this Friday. Someone had cancelled an appointment. So it would seem the Fox should know exactly what the problem is by the end of the week, beginning of next, and may even have started to have treatment for it.

It comes as quite a shock, having been warned of a 6 week waiting list and having experienced even longer waits in the past. It’s all the more amazing when you can hardly call the problem life-threatening, just an uncomfortable nuisance.

A busy week ahead

I’ve just been on the phone, first to the hospital then to Al, our gardener. This week is going to be a busy one.

We’re starting today with a visit to the computer shop to tell them what we’ve decided about the old desktop computer. Almost inevitably we’ve decided the time has come to look for a new one. In all honesty our old one is about 12 years old, positively geriatric for a computer. So while we’re there we’ll see if there’s anything suitable to buy that fits our purposes.

Tomorrow the Fox is off to see the doc. We suspect he’s starting on arthritis in his hip. It’s affecting his left hip, which, since his stroke a couple of years ago, is the side he limps on when he’s tired. It may just be that he needs some physiotherapy to correct his walking. We’ll see.

Wednesday sees me at the surgery for a blood test in connection with the pancreatitis. This was originally arranged for last Friday. When we got to the surgery, we found they had booked me in the day before even though, at the time of making the appointment, I had said it was impossible for me to get there as our home help was coming so we made it for the Friday. Oh well, hopefully this time the blood-letting will take place.

I rang the hospital to arrange some new knee braces. Since my pancreatic attack last year, I’ve lost the best part of a stone and a half in weight, with the result my knee braces just slide down my legs. They did get me a new smaller pair last year, which still fit fine, but I have nothing that fits when that pair has a wash. The knee braces make a big difference to my pain levels & therefore what I am able to do. Hopefully the new pair will arrive later this week or next week.

Al I rang to tell him about our new garden design. As the man who knows our garden best, we feel he may have some useful comments on the design. We certainly feel he deserves to be kept in the picture. Al was out when I rang but his wife will let him know what’s happening at our end.

So it seems we’re in for a busy week. The first three are definites, then there’s a possibility of a trip into Lancaster to collect my new knee braces, and visits from both the landscaper who will be bringing round the amended design, and from Al, our gardener. Oh and there’s a visit from our new home help, Linda, & some food shopping to do as well. All in all it’s going to be a busy time.

I suppose, too, I’m also aware that Christmas is on its way & it’s time I sorted out the cards at least. I know my stepbrother & his wife are off to Australia for the festive season with his extended family. He was actually born in Queensland & still has some very early memories of life there. This will be his first visit back in what must be about 60 years. I’m not quite sure when they’re off, but I would like our card to arrive before they go.

I’m also tossing through my mind what treats to get in for us. We’ve decided to have another Christmas on our own, but this year, as I’m feeling so much brighter, we’ll push the boat out a bit more, have more of a celebration.

In perspective

Once more I was up in time to go to church by Radio 4. By chance the service came from Glasgow. Needless to say the horror of Friday night’s accident, & the helicopter landing on a pub full of people, cast a certain shadow over the service. It is difficult to come to terms with such an event. Even drawing out the good, the efforts of so many people to help the trapped & the injured, it hardly seems to offset the ill.

The Fox commented that he is always deeply suspicious of helicopters. They seem to be involved in so many accidents. I can’t help thinking I can recall so more helicopter incidents than airplane ones. They seem to be result in death so often. Yet these same helicopters are what are used so often for air ambulances, coastguard, police etc.

Still I suppose it does put in perspective our own demise. On Friday we heard our main computer has had its day. It will almost cost as much to repair - without any certainty of much continued longevity - as to buy another. We’re off to the shops to look tomorrow. A computer can easily be replaced unlike a unique life.