Election

The time has come to cast that vote. We have postal votes. When we first came here, the polling station was the local library. Unfortunately that had steps, so they ended bringing the polling booth & box out to me to vote sitting in the street. Since then we've voted by post.

Now we've had a new library built, on the same site, with easy wheelchair access, only opened this year. If the polling station is still there, then we're tempted to vote at the polling station once more in future. We both prefer actually going to the station to vote. But this time we're still voting by post, just as well as next Thursday we will be mid-air in the morning & strolling around Nice in the afternoon.

So who to vote for? I'm still dithering, but with it being a Bank Holiday, & therefore extra time needed to get the post through, I think I'll have to decide this morning so we can post them off this afternoon to ensure the vote arriving in time.

I know who I don't want to vote for, rather than who I do want to vote for. I certainly feel it's time for a change, but I'm not convinced the Conservatives are the change I want, or that they would even be preferable.

We have 5 candidates here, Labour, Conservatives, LibDem, UKIP & the Green Party. I've got it down to 2 parties, but which one I'm still not sure. But vote I will. I don't feel I have a right to complain unless I can at least make the effort to vote, so vote I will.

White foam

I was just in the midst of eating my salmon when my eyes got distracted into the garden. Behind the garage roof there is an evergreen tree & beyond that are our neighbour's damson & hawthorn trees. I suddenly noticed appearing & disappearing white through the gaps in the foremost tree's branches. Glimpses of the rather brilliantly white sky? I thought at first. The damson & hawthorn trees have moved into more green garb as the leaves have taken over from their blossoms. Then I realised the white itself was moving in the gentle breeze. The pear tree had to have opened into blossom. That morning I'd noticed the buds were definitely showing a little white around the edges.

Once dinner was over I was out, the Fox close behind. The pear tree is indeed covered in a mass of blossom, truly beautiful. The cherry, too, on the other side is a mass of white. Just below the cherry is a spiraea which has become a fountain of white foam, a positive cascade of flowers. The buds on the apple tree are now starting to turn pink. It always seems to be a bit later than the pear. It should be flowering any day now.

And so we came to the evening. We popped the champagne, & a remarkable wine it turned out to be. It was just a Sainsbury's own vintage one, but it was so much better than many a more expensive marque one. The bubbles foamed up. Your mouth tingled with the onslaught of bubbles long before you drank any liquid. Once imbibed, the bubbles played on the tongue leaving a clean fresh taste, both citric & biscuity. We listened to some cool jazz & dreamt of France & our forthcoming holiday there. All in all a lovely evening.

A sense of urgency

The tickets have come. Somehow the holiday is taken on a reality that previously it lacked. Suddenly I feel a sense of urgency. It's time I had a look through the fridge & cupboards to make sure I use up any food that may go off.

Yesterday I planted out the coriander that has been sitting on the kitchen window the last few months. Basil Bush is hardening off. I'll get that out next week. They might as well be out there. At least then they have a chance of surviving. They certainly won't survive a fortnight inside without water while we're away.

Along with the tickets we were surprised to find a small book on Nice, which I'm hastily reading. If nothing else the photos are whetting our appetite.

But first we have a birthday to celebrate, the Fox's 60th. I can't see us doing much. We seem to have too many chores to do - prescriptions to collect, birthday cards to buy, shopping to do. But at least I'm hoping to do something a bit special for dinner, some salmon fillet parcels. I'm adding some ginger, soy, spring onions & peppers to give them a more Asian flavouring. I've already prepared some new potatoes ready to saute this evening. Apart from that, we've got a bottle of champagne which I'm hoping we'll open - a party for two. Quiet, but hopefully enjoyable.

Flying feathers

My eye's caught by a flurry of movement outside the kitchen door. It's a pair of blackbirds. They're too involved in their battle to notice a pair of humans watching them not a yard away.

The fight is intense. They become a whirling spiral of black feathers, rising high in the air. They return to land to start again.

And the cause of all this activity? Across the gap in the nearby wall hops a female blackbird. She seems utterly nonchalant, seeking grubs to fill her tum. But, I suspect, until she decides which one she prefers these battles will continue. The feathers will continue to fly.

Blossom time

It's the last Monday of the month once more, so we're off for a meal with the others tonight. This time we're dining at our local village pub. There will probably only be five of us - Fran & Den, Helen & us. I sometimes wonder if it's worth arranging these events when they're so badly attended. But the others do seem to appreciate them.

It's a duller morning today. The sun is trying to push its way through the cloud cover. I've just put my washing out on the line to dry. The breeze should do the job even if there isn't much heat.

At one point my eyes were drawn up the garden. As soon as all was pegged out I ventured down for an explore. What had caught my eye was a magnificent cherry tree which has come into bloom over the weekend.

I toodled on down the garden. Yes the other cherry was in bloom & looking magnificent too. I daresay this will be another summer when I'll be lucky to taste any of the fruit, the birds will have that pleasure. But I can't complain. I love to see the trees & birds.

Next to the second cherry is a silver birch. It was difficult to identify the tree until now as the shade is so dense there. The tree has now matured sufficiently to stretch up into the sunlight, with its silver bark luminous in the gloom.

I'm expecting the apple & pear trees to burst into flower any time. They're both covered in buds. I hope they open before we go away.

It's definitely tree blossom time. Our neighbour's huge damson tree is a mass of white. This tree overhangs our garden so I almost regard it as a feature of own garden. He also has a huge hawthorn also in flower & near our boundary fence. It's great to see all this new life & colour.

Back to normal

What a relief! A quiet evening, despite the fact I managed to catch my hand on the molten glaze when I was basting the joint. Yes, I've now got a couple of blisters on my fingers, but they're only small & I know they're only minor burns. They just mean I'm writing this with only four fingers on one hand.

After our roast pork, & discovering we've still not won our millions on the lottery, we settled down to a bottle of rose & a couple of CDs. Life is almost back to normal.

And isn't it great!

High drama in the Fox's den

The Farmer's Market on Thursday did indeed turn into wishful thinking. By the time we were going to set off to go, we both had to admit we were too drained & unsettled, to be bothered to go. Instead we withdrew to bed for a further lie down.

When we got up an hour or two later we both felt refreshed. We enjoyed our turkey quiche dinner. During the evening, the Fox's tum rumbled along while I just suffered some wind. Had we finally got the better of the food poisoning?

Friday I got up refreshed - the first good night sleep all week. I felt myself again for the first time in quite a while. The Fox reckoned his problems were minor. With this I set off to the fish shop & bought some trout for dinner. Come the afternoon all was still going well. We went to the butcher's for some pork for today's dinner, then the Pub. That's when the problem began.

At about 4.30pm the back of my neck started to feel itchy. I scratched. I couldn't help thinking the label on my blouse seemed very hard & irritating. Then I realised my neck felt very rough as though I'd got a lot of spots there.

I didn't think anything more until my wrist felt itchy. I scratched, looked down to see what looked like the sort of blister you get when you've been stung by a nettle. I couldn't understand it. There were no nettles in the Pub.

Still, when the Fox suggested leaving early, about 4.45, I was happy to go. On the way to the car, I asked him to have a look at the back of the neck as it felt as though I was getting a rash. He looked & was alarmed by what he saw.

We set off home. He questioned whether we shouldn't see someone about it, especially as I was feeling more and more uncomfortable. We pulled in on a quiet side road. I took off my coat, cardigan & blouse, leaving just a scooped neck T-shirt on. He looked at my back. I looked at my front & arms. All were blistering. We decided to go straight to the surgery as it was till open.

There we were told it was impossible to see a doctor as there was a shortage. (Another casualty of the volcanic dust stopping returning holidaymakers we wondered.) However, she did suggest she could contact the triage department at another surgery in the practice. They would ring us at home. We agreed.

We hot-paced it home. I once more stripped off & had a more thorough examination of the blistering. By this time, it extended from my hairline to my waist on my back, neck to waist on my front, extensive blotches on both arms, & a few spots on my tum & thighs.

We waited anxiously. The receptionist had said it might take a couple of hours for triage to ring. We made a cup of tea while we waited.

But should we get on with dinner or not? If it was going to be two hours then this would be the best chance to eat. We got the oven on. The Fox prepared the trout, adding some sun-dried tomatoes & pine-nuts, while I sat by the phone.

5.30 The phone went. The doctor at triage. He asked the symptoms. I'd got as far as my back, was moving on to describe my front, when we told me to stop now & get straight down to the triage surgery immediately. I clearly needed to see a doctor.

The oven was switched off. The trout was still waiting some oil before going in the oven. And off we charged.

I quickly got in to see the doctor. He took one look. He was amazed by the time sequence. He was anxious that I might begin to blister inside my mouth & throat or have breathing difficulties. I assured him no. He clearly expected me to go into anaphylactic shock any minute. He gave me a long prescription & assured me not to hesitate to ring if the symptoms got any worse, especially if the inside of my mouth or my breathing were affected. The out-of-hours team would be straight round.

By this time, a couple of minutes after 6pm most of the chemists were closed. The receptionist told us the only late opening one was at Asda. As we more or less had to pass home, we decided to drop me home. I could get on with the meal, while the Fox got the prescription. The meal was due to take about 45 mins to cook, & Asda is only a few minutes away, so we should then eat at a reasonable time.

I was surprised when the Fox still wasn't back after half an hour. Should I put the fish in oven? And saute the potatoes? I decided to put the fish in at a lower temperature for less of a time. I put the spuds on a gentle heat.

7pm. No sign of the Fox. I switched the food off. No point in it going up in smoke. And the mobile phone was in my handbag on the kitchen floor rather than the Fox's pocket.

In his panic had the Fox had an accident? I began to wonder. He had been driving fast before, but not recklessly so. Where was he? Was the pharmacy in Asda closed so he'd had to go on elsewhere.

There I sat. I looked at my hands. The palm of one was now one big blister. The nettle sting on my wrist now reached up to my elbow. My thighs were big blisters as were my stomach & lower back. Should I be ringing back to the surgery? I gagged a bit & told myself to calm down & take a few deep breaths. My only breathing problems were the result of an increasing sense of panic.

The relief when I saw the car turn the corner, is indescribable. I hastily put the dinner back on to warm through again.

The Fox stumbled in. He, too, was in a state. He was worried about what state I would be in when he got back & whether the dinner would be a burnt frazzle. We'd been looking forward to our first real cooking effort since the food poisoning.

I tore open the antihistamines, quickly checked it was okay to have them with food, swallowed one. The creams could wait.

I served up the meal. The fish was delicious though the tomatoes were rather blackened. We even enjoyed a very welcome bottle of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with it - we needed something to steady our nerves.

Over the meal the Fox told me he'd been told at Asda that he's have to wait a little as there were a few customers ahead of him. 45 mins later, he was still there, waiting. He'd been increasingly frustrated seeing some people come in, drop & even collect prescriptions as he waited, and waited. Eventually his name was called. They apologised for the wait but that was little consolation for him as he's been worrying about what state I would be in, not to mention the dinner, with no way of contacting me. If he'd have known it would take so long he would have popped home to let me know what was happening & could still have been back in time for the prescription to be ready.

By the time we'd finished the meal, the blisters had eased considerably. They no longer felt hot & itchy. Some had retreated as quickly as they had come.

After the dinner I got changed for bed & we put the first layer of steroid cream. The Fox was amazed to discover how much better my back was in just the hour or so since I'd had the pill. Many blisters had disappeared. The early ones remained so we coated them with steroid cream.

An hour later, a little before 10, I went to bed We put on some of the second lot of cream that I'd been given. By this time the blisters had all but disappeared except for a few areas of what looked like blotchy suntan.

I switched the lights off, exhausted by all this late night rushing around & drama.

I'm glad to say this morning you would not believe I had ever been in the state I was last night.

Now what do I do with 5 tubes of aqueous cream, one of steroid cream & a month's supply of extra strong antihistamines? I think the doctor was in as much a panic as we were. I don't think he'd ever seen a rash spread so violently & speedily before.

Still, here's hoping for a nice, quiet, undisturbed, meal of roast pork tonight. We've had enough ill-health for a while.

It's been a long week!