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.