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Life in Ambridge
Starter kit for Ed & Emma
Life in Ambridge
Nothing to do with the current story-line but rather cute
Mabel who is totally committed to taking her baby to everything on offer, and thinks we are very lucky. She herself had TB in the past. She has scarring left on one of her lungs and I do wonder if that will cause problems when she is older, but at least she will have good health care. There is a wide gulf, as in many third world countries, between a very wealthy minority and a very poor majority who cannot afford medical insurance. Food takes priority.
ReplyDeleteDELETE
EvNovember 2, 2022 at 10:16 AM
I agree with Mabel about childhood vaccinations. When young I remember having diphtheria ones. You rarely hear about that nowadays. The MMR link to autism was ultimately removed from the equation but at the time I thought that autism isn’t usually obvious until about that age when the vaccine is given so could be wrongly attributed to it. If not for the COVID jab we would not now be returning to a normal life. Well, that’s my thoughts!😊
DELETE
ArcherphileNovember 2, 2022 at 11:23 AM
Sadly there have been reports of diphtheria cases at the refugee camp at Dover in the past few days. (And scabies) Whatever you think of the rights and wrongs of all these refugees being housed in inadequate emergency accommodation, the last thing we need is such diseases being brought into our country. I sincerely hope there is enough medical attention being given to these people and any that are being moved into other housing are vaccinated.
I’m off to get my Covid booster this afternoon, I hope it’s a small needle!
ReplyDeleteAll the clinics I've managed to contact so far can only provide Pfizer, which is the one I mustn't have. Always supposing I can find one I have to try and book an appointment in a week when I'm not working; then I can start to arrange transport. I could scream.
ReplyDeleteI've just tried calling both surgeries on the city boundaries, but in each case was 13 in the queue!
ReplyDeleteOnly 13? That sounds pretty good going to me. I once hung on the phone for about 25 minutes before giving up and ploughing through the eConsult form.
DeleteI've already spent time harassing the heating engineer's mobile phone to get the promised appointment which has not so far materialised.
DeletePressed publish by mistake! I successfully persuaded the handyman to attend, but there are only so many attempts one can make in a day to try and make things happen before fatigue sets in... ...
DeleteJust heard that Pfizer is the only jab available in the whole of Hampshire. After what happened to my daughter, in my case believe it or not, Covid would be the lesser of two evils.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried 119 - the number about covid and covid vaccinations - they might well be able to help as this is what they are there for. Just an idea.
DeleteOur vaccinations in Basingstoke about a month ago were the Moderna one with the extra protection for Omicron B. Perhaps they have now run out? Might be worth trying Basingstoke though it would be a long way for you to come.
DeleteI got the Pfizer this afternoon, I’m in Hampshire, & flu jab in other arm so pleased to have got them out of the way. I have been pretty lucky so far regarding side effects & am fortunate enough to be able to drive myself.
ReplyDeleteHad a lovely day today. I'm on a WhatsApp group with ex work colleagues and we had our first in person get together since February 2020. It was so nice to see so many of them after such a long time and catch up with them all.
ReplyDeleteSuch an uplifting feeling CC 🤗 - 16 yrs ago I set up a group of like minded relatives at my mum’s Nursing Home and we first had a cuppa’s together and then a monthly meal, up to Covid! On October 18th we met as a group of 12 like you for the first time in 2yrs+. Many years now since our loved ones passed but our friendships are as strong as ever 🙏🏼
DeleteI'm knitting hats to go in the Christms shoeboxes. With the current one I'd done about 20 rounds before I noticed it was twisted - doh! Mobius strips make good scarves but they're less good for hats. So I've started again, and am checking it for twist-free status about every 3 stitches!
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving me an idea OWIAS.. I have stacks and stacks of yarn, left over from years of knitting but my arthritic hands are now too painful to knit for long.
DeleteBut I think I could manage a hat & find a charity to make good use of them.
Ev….I hope you are feeling better today.
ReplyDeleteI’m afraid I’m not sympathetic to the Manston situation. I agree with thoughts re illness and vaccinations, in fact I’d not given that side a thought. When you see the pics of all the young men getting off the boats and being housed you just know they are going to disappear and end up in criminal activity. The thought of our benefits system encourages them all. I feel sorry for the local people down there. I thankful I’m in the rural north.
Saying that, in our old village not 300 yards from our last house, an old woman who had taken in an Eastern European man she had met in Leeds, why….God knows……he turned round and stabbed her to death in her house.
The world has gone mad.
I wouldn’t like to think I was just starting out in life again, I feel sorry for the youngsters of today……in some ways…..housing and job security.
EV I echo Ptby wishes to you a nasty painful fall!
DeleteWhat an appalling thing to happen to that lady who lived in your old village to lose her life through an act of kindness 😢
But then a large number of said migrants were on coaches going to York, in the last day or two, so they will be nearer than you expected PtbY.
DeleteAgree with views expressed.
Ev
Do hope your fall was a one off and that you are recovering well.
Still taking it easy! Am a bit wobbly but think I was lucky. Katy thinks I must have a very thick skull as the bang I took was a resounding one!
ReplyDeleteI feel this country is very over populated already and we just can’t take in migrants at the rate they are arriving. Poor things think this is a land of milk and honey fuelled by the propaganda of the traffickers who send them across in woefully inadequate boats. In this era of rapid communications where many migrants have mobile phones, perhaps the message of places like Marston should be conveyed to them. We already have post covid problems, trying to get GP appointments, not enough school places and infrastructure bursting through over use. I do think we should be accused of being a closed book to other nations but we just can’t accommodate more and more of non British nationals. We can’t house them or offer services such as healthcare which they have never contributed to. The story if that poor lady stabbed to death through her kindness is awful and fuels the distrust many of us have towards strangers. I don’t know what the answer is but we need to get on top of this problem of migrants flooding in and not all of them fleeing war etc.
I agree Ev.
DeleteI saw an interview with a lady who lives close to the Kent coast on the outskirts of Dover.
She was terrified to find a young Albanian teenager in her kitchen, helping himself to food.
She called the police who came and collected him but their only advice was to keep windows closed and door locked! Why should residents have to take such steps to protect themselves from immigrant intrusion. Like PtbY, I’m thankful not to be living in that area
Thank goodness this lady did not lose her life but she will be emotionally scarred that’s for sure.
DeleteAnyone tried the citizenship test that defeated Prince Harry? Although my answers to the Scottish questions were mostly pure guesswork the only one I actually got wrong was who built the Tower of London. It's older than I thought.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter got one wrong, and I got three wrong. One might have partly been driven by principle though as I didn't think that the only place that you could complain about the police should be to the Police themselves. There should be an external independent body to deal with complaints. Both myself and my daughter also got the Tower of London one wrong.
DeleteI think a foreign person would have trouble with the test unless they did a lot of revision first. Mabel had to do an English test before beginning the Visa process. Her English is very good. She does use words like He and She interchangeably though because in Tagalog they have genderless pronouns. There isn't the strict dichotomy that we have here. Things seem to be much more fluid there. She doesn't have to take the citizenship test until 5 years are up so plenty of time to learn about Britain. She will I expect have dual citizenship, which is what they are going to do for the baby. He is classed as British being born here, but I think having dual citizenship could be a very useful thing.
I didn't see a question about complaining to the police. Perhaps yours came from a different source.
ReplyDeleteYes I think there are several different practice tests on line. The one we did began with " Which two houses fought in the Wars of the Roses".
DeleteMy suspicion is that anyone who gets full marks in the test has been fiendishly coached and clearly did not grow up in this country. I suspect a lot of people whose families have been living in the Isles for generations would fail.
DeleteI'm sure it's perfectly possible to be a good, upstanding citizen without knowing about the Crystal Palace or who built the Tower of London. And, whilst Robert Burns is culturally important, will someone really fail to be an asset to this nation if they haven't heard of him?
Meanwhile, I once heard of someone being asked how to cook the Christmas turkey in order to 'prove' they were a Christian. (My answer would have been, 'Give turkey to my husband. Ask him to cook the turkey'.)
Mind you, I suspect the only questions our current government think are important are:
'Were you born with a silver spoon in your mouth?'
and 'Do you vote Tory?'
I find it very sad that immigrants get blamed for the ills in our society. Like every section of society there will be those who are criminal .
ReplyDeleteIt is just as likely that disease is brought to this country by travellers and the import of goods.
If you look back at our history you will find that immigration to this country is not new and indeed there were black immigrants here in Roman times.
Without immigrants this country would not survive, the population is ageing and the current birth rate will not will not suffice to meet our needs.
Immigrants have played a valuable role in our society but we are overpopulated. I am a baby boomer born after the war and there are a lot of us, people are living longer and it is a problem that fewer are coming along but we have to look forward to the time they are old. If the birth rate increases, the problem of lots of old people and all it entails will go on.
DeleteOh, Cowgirl, select any three of the following: all...
ReplyDeletePoliticians are liars
Social workers are useless
Cyclists all jump lights and ride on the pavement
Lefty 'woke' do-gooders are ruining the country
Students are idle good for nothing
Degrees are 'mickey mouse'
Immigrants are only here to take our jobs/houses/ live off benefits, commit crime...
Women drivers don't have as many accidents, they just cause them
Baby boomer pensioners had the life of Riley when young and their 'benefits' are now bleeding the country dry
Trus
Trust no-one.
This comment relates to Archerphile and who her son works for.
ReplyDeleteI live very near the Broughton Aerospace factory, just 6 miles away. There was an amazing photo on my local news feed, showing the Beluga being struck by lightning, soon after take off on Tuesday. I only mention this, as I thought it might be if interest to her son.
Sorry to interupt the ongoing topic of conversation....which I cannot give any views about.
The only other news is that political canvasing has already started earnestly, due to the upcoming by-election on Dec 1st. due to the resignation of the previous MP.
Thank you for that news Miriam, I will try to find the photo and send it to Corrin who is on half-term holiday with the family in Spain this week
DeleteMust have been spectacular!
It's not a good photo, as it was an image from a dashcam footage, but on zooming in it's quite interesting. Look at Chester Standard..
Delete...or Cheshire Live.
DeleteFound it Miriam, and managed to take a screen shot to sen to Corrin. Glad I wasn’t the pilot!
DeleteWishing all well. Ev after her accident, PtbY with the sucess of the eye operation, those who have had the "jabs" and everyone else who are having problems.
ReplyDeleteTried to get our flu jabs today - they had run out of flu vaccine when we went for our Covid ones.
ReplyDeleteRang surgery to make appt, to be told they are not doing them at the surgery but to go to the Lloyds Pharmacy in Sainsburys.
Looked up phone number in Google, it said that they do flu jabs in our Sainsburys, but ring first for an appt.
Rang, held on for 15 mins, was told ‘Oh no we’re not doing flu jabs here any more, we are too short staffed.
Rang Boots in Basingstoke - yes we do flu jabs but earliest appt is 9th December!
Rang our own pharmacy in the village who do our prescriptions - they have run out of vaccine!
So I am stumped! Just have to hope we don’t catch flu 🙄
Our surgery did walk ins on Saturdays and got mine on 8 October. It is a disgrace you can’t get one until December as it is recognised it should be October or November!
DeleteAt least I got that at Boots last Friday before my weekly Sainsbury's shop.
DeleteI got my flu jab at Boots in Alton, they were doing walk-ins on Wednesday, but I don;t know which days they are injecting, I know it’s only certain days, or what their stocks are like.
DeleteBook it Archerphile, as at least you know you will get it done. The appointment can easily be cancelled if you get jabbed sooner.
DeleteI was simply trying to point out how fine is the line between holding a strong opinion about the origin of a problem and engaging in the 'blame game' - and how easy to stray on to the wrong side of it without noticing.
ReplyDeleteThe angle might change in relation to age group, gender, position in society, but the target is always people who are not 'like us'.
My all time favourite is the (male) motorist's rant against the hated cyclists: they ALL ride bunched up or two abreast just to hold you up so you can't get past them.
I'd love to be able to hold him up by riding two abreast but I'd have to be really beside myself .. ...
Clever! 😂
DeleteSarnia 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
DeleteI’m fuming whilst watching the news. 12,000 Albanians crossed into uk this year. 10,000 of them young men. Most foreigners in prisons are Albanians. It’s ridiculous. We need to be sending them back.
ReplyDeleteJust seen on our local news that Southern Water is discontinuing the hosepipe ban that started back in the summer!
ReplyDeleteAnd so I should think, considering we have had wall to wall rain recently. 🙄
Oh, hooray, I can water my garden.
ReplyDeleteMost puzzling. We have had torrential rain as well, but this morning a letter from South West Water arrived saying the hosepipe ban would be staying in place because of the lack of rain.
ReplyDeleteI am with you on the Albanian situation,P tbY.
ReplyDeleteAlbania is not at war.
It is obvious why they want to come to the UK.
Hotel accommodation?
What about our own countrymen and women who are living on the streets?
Surely they must come first.
Lanjan, charity does indeed begin at home, but it shouldn't end there.
DeleteWe will continue to have people livng on the streets because there is not the political will to end the situation. This would mean drastically unreasonable acts like raising Universal Credit etc to a realistic level, ensuring the availability of good quality social housing (where landlords actually act swiftly to remedy problems and where good insulation helps keep energy bills from going stratospheric), and perhaps, whisper it quietly, raising taxes for companies and the highest earners who receive more money in a year than most of the population could earn in several lifetimes.
No, hotels are not ideal long term accomodation, but they have to be better than the overcrowded immigration centres. And, let's face it, so long as the owners are paid fairly for the board and lodging, it may help keep them afloat at a time when most of the population is more worrried about keeping warm and fed than splashing out on expensive hotel holidays.
I think the Government must be getting desperative. The very large, and very beautiful, Camelot hotel in Tintagel was approached by government officials who asked if the whole hotel could be used by government for immigrants for a year. I wonder if they are hoping to sort things out in a year's time but doubt they would unless the Ruanda thing is pushed through. The owners explained that they have visitors that regularly return year after year and that if their holidays were cancelled they might well not return again. The approach then was to persuade them that it would be more economically viable for them, and that without visitors they wouldn't need cleaners and could sack them! I thought that showed a totally uncaring attitude towards people who, in an area of low employment, need their jobs. The owners ( John Mappin of the London jewellery firm plus wife Irina, and aided and abetted by friend Ted Stourton who does a lot of artwork there) declined and for once I tend to agree with them.
DeleteOther things I haven't agreed with. They are somewhat eccentric Scientologists, raised the QAnon flag (conspiracy theorists) over the castle during the pandemic, had a "come and burn your mask" bonfire evening, offered discounts to guests who could show they had posted antivax comments online, and more recently his wife who is Russian has been vocal in her support of the Ukraine invasion ( so locals in the area displayed Ukrainian flags 😊). Having said that the only times I have ventured in there for a coffee they seem nice people and have a dear little child, and they hold a lovely Christmas Carol Service for locals, with priority I think given to pensioners. The internal architecture is stunning, and the cliff top setting amazing. It is also their family home so I can understand them refusing the government approach. It would have been a beautiful place for healing for any immigrants from war torn countries though.
Sorry Sarnia .I have been both a cyclist and a motorist.
ReplyDeleteNow I am a passenger and can see both sides of the story.
A lot of the problem is parked cars.
Where I live ,cars are allowed to park in the cycle lanes so a cyclist has to skirt round the car into the path of any motorist.
I have seen cyclists overtake slow moving cars -there are lots of 20 mph signs round here - and go onto the other side of the road facing on coming cars.
Oh dear, LanJan, I wasn't intending to re-ignite the motorist v cyclist war. My post was meant as an illustration of Cowgirl's point about the tendency to tarnish an entire group of people for the actions of a few. I also see rogue cyclists all over the place, as indeed there are sometimes so many cars on the pavement outside my house I can hardly get out of the gate.
ReplyDeleteI share her sadness at the 'blame' culture in which everything is somebody else's fault. I've seen newspaper articles by young journalists complaining that today's pensioners are greedy and selfish, having had such an easy life compared with her generation, when for many nothing could be further from the truth.
So many people are so angry these days and in need of someone to blame.
KPnuts. Just to say thank you for your picture on the Ambridge site. I very much like pop up books and have discovered there is a really detailed pop up version of How Santa Really Works. I normally buy a Christmas book each year so I am now on the hunt for a reasonably priced one as pop up editions are more expensive than the ordinary storybooks. Max is too young for it yet but it will keep.
ReplyDeleteI am furious!
ReplyDeleteI had an email from Google saying they are introducing a 2-stage log-in to Google accounts.
So I had to give my mobile phone number so they can send me a code to prove it is me logging in.
I just came to leave a message on the blog and got the ‘log in with Google’ message in blue at the bottom of the page, which I never usually have to do.
So I logged in with Google, got a text message on my phone with the code number and successfully logged in……but it cost me £1, because my phone is pay as you go and I have to pay for text messages!!
Fortunately it did log me in, and here I am once again, but this is all because I had to register for the 2-step log in and that, effectively, logged me out of Google while I did it. And it cost me a pound to get here.
😡
I've noticed that more and more organisations are using two step verification these days. Thankfully I have unlimited free texts on my plan.
DeleteThis is part of the assumption that everyone has a smartphone on a contract that includes a text allowance, something I find incredibly irritating, along with the migration of so many services online. I am reasonably comfortable with tech but not everyone is comfortable or able to use computers, and the continual need to update imposes a significant ongoing expense. This means that a significant percentage of society become more excluded which is deeply unfair.
DeleteLast Christmas I bought two rather sad Christmas cacti from Lidl, each produced a solitary bloom. They have had a year of minimal care on my window sill during which they somehow continued grow. They are now covered in large buds one of which has already given me a beautiful pink blossom, according to the website I checked they are “Thanksgiving” rather than Xmas cacti (different shaped leaves) I am slightly surprised and very chuffed, my fingers are normally pretty brown.
ReplyDeleteI always think it rather wonderful when plants take root and grow in spite of my lack of knowledge. You'll enjoy them all the more, KP.
ReplyDeleteWell done re the Christmas/Thanksgiving cactus,KP.
ReplyDeleteHope it is full flower on Christmas Day.
Talking of Christmas I was watching Channel 4 this evening and many of the adverts are about Christmas- 50 days away.!
It’s a very long time since we heard from Spicycushion.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know how long, but I would suggest months.
Has anyone been/is in touch with her off this site ?
Does any one have any news of her ?
I do hope so Mrs P, was Spicy part of the meet up’s? If so hopefully someone has an e.mail or phone number for her. I was only thinking similar thoughts yesterday of our blogger friends abroad (autumn 🍁) for example maybe they cannot access the site now but if they can and are still able to read our comments - you are not forgotten by us!
DeleteDouble verification definitely on the increase. Archerphile do you sign out of the blog/Google each time then? I get irritated with the NHS app which has a box to say remember me so no need to re verify in future but - no matter how many times I tick it I still get a 6 number code come through and on investigation it is a common situation.
Modern life!
No Lady R. I NEVER log out of the blog. This happened because I had to give details of my mobile phone so they can do this double verification thingy. They then tested it and consequently I had to login to Google again to test if it worked. It was doing that, that effectively logged me out of the blog too!
DeleteAh thanks for reply AP 🤗
DeleteIhave just phoned Spicycushion and spoken to Jon her son.
ReplyDeleteHe said she is fine but was doing a lesson at the moment so maybe she is just very busy.
Thanks LanJan, good to hear that all is OK.
DeleteThat’s good news. Hopefully she is still reading, if not posting.
DeleteSo, Hello Spicey, sending love and good wishes! 💐
I’m doing a me too Spicy 👏🏻
DeleteLove to everyone! I haven't posted because I am hardly listening to the Archers. I read the blogs and catch ups on Mustardland blogs. And you of course!
DeleteMuch too much like the ordinary soaps for my liking and barely anything about farming, All to do with personal problems and misdemeanours. Not interested! I have had enough problems in my life without fictional ones!!!!
Due to go on Wednesday for my 5 th (indeed 5!) Covid jab. Must remember to have it in right arm so I can sleep on my left hand side.
Sent a picture of my legs to son Chris in Germany who then sent it to GP so say 'Why wasn't I being treated for this.' So I have for the past four month being treated for open wounds at the 'Wound Clinic.' About another month and I should be free but I have a silver (AG) dressing which absorbs 'stuff' from the wound but then having paracetemal or stronger everyone four hours for a day or two because they are so painful! Never mind = nearly better.
Had a hospital appointment in July and consultant said I'd have glasses to correct double vision but no word yet from the hospital yet! Thyroid still up and down, next appointment in May 23!!!
Haven't done any gardening.But sometimes I do not need my stick!
Jon said I must only have 2 cakes for Christmas so I am making my Christmas cake tomorrow. Chris will then bring me a Stollen in December when he visits.
Because I just been laying on the sofa for ages I have almost (about 75%) of my Christmas presents done !!!
If anything happens , which is interesting, I might again listen!!!
Don’t know whether it would benefit you, Spicy but Katy has a colleague. who after a nasty fall had a wound which would not heal. She then applied Manuka honey to it and it did the trick. Maybe worth a try.
DeletePleased to hear from you Spicycushion, but sorry to hear about your ongoing health problems.
DeleteIt was nice to read your update Spicy. Hope your legs are better in time for Christmas. Like you I would prefer more farming content in the Archers.
ReplyDeletePleased to hear from you Spicycushion and hope your open wounds close soon.
ReplyDeleteI’ve heard of manuka honey being used for healing and remember that fresh mango as an aid to healing was used in the seventies.
Good to have one of your chatty posts again.
Lovely to see you here again Spicy! I don’t think you are the only one avoiding TA at the moment, but silly me keeps on listening in the hopes for improvement!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear you are still suffering from the leg wounds but hopefully they will get better soon with your visits to the wound clinic.
All the best and ‘Keep Smiling Through”,
Made Parkin -Yorkshire apparently because no syrup only treacle - on Sunday (a day late)
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely.and so easy to make except that I had to translate ounces to gms.
6oz is about 170 gms
My memory must be playing tricks because when I told my my son he told me I used to make it when they were young.
Pleased to hear that your parkin was a success Lanjan
DeleteWent to cinema this aft to see “Living” starring Bill Nighy. Fantastic. Not his usual bill Nighy playing bill nighy role. Didn’t know what the film was about but some friends were going. So glad I went. Highly recommend. Heard some people reckon he’d be up for an Oscar nomination for it.
ReplyDeleteBill Nighy is marmite but perhaps I am alone.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen his appeal.
-a bit like Benedict Cumberbatch
Bill Nighy - the thinking woman’s crumpet !
DeleteI shall stop thinking immediately.
DeleteMy feeling about Bill Nighy is that he can only ever play Bill Nighy.
ReplyDeleteSame voice, same gestures, same attitude whatever the role.
And while I do enjoy the Charles Paris Mysteries plays on radio I much preferred the original actor, Francis Matthews
I agree Archerphile but you’d be surprised by this role. You should go see it.
DeleteI find BC far too like his very pretty mother for my taste!
ReplyDeleteYesterday I listened to my favourite actor Sean Bean on the radio.
ReplyDeleteSurprised at you P tbY .
A Yorkshireman V a southerner .
No contest.
It reminds me of Scarlett O'Hare in Gone with the Wind .
Rhett Buttler V Ashley Wilkes.
Again no contest.
Grrrrrrr!
ReplyDeleteOur health service has gone to pot!
Applied for repeat prescription, as I do every 2 months.
Usually very easy and efficient, drugs arrive on the doorstep a few days later.
But this time, had text from GP saying my annual review is overdue so cannot issue another prescription until I have thyroid blood test, then make appt for review. Fair enough.
Tried to make appt for blood test at surgery, 15th in phone queue, eventually told they have no appts until December unless I go to the Kingsclere surgery which is 15 miles away or I’ll have to go to hospital phlebotomy Dept which is only 12 miles away!
Rang hospital, 6th in queue this time but can get appt before end of Nov.
Rang own surgery back, 12th in queue, told them date of blood test, made appt for telephone review in December and had to *plead* for a repeat prescription to last me until then.
I honestly wondered if it was worth the bother. Life has become very difficult to organise these days it’s no wonder so many people are ill, in pain, waiting for treatment or operations. You have to be very patient and/or persistant to get what is needed.
I’ve received at least four reminders - via text- for my appointment this afternoon for my B12 injection. I made the appointment myself, it was not made by the surgery.
ReplyDeleteThis morning I’ve had a message, via text, to inform me that my blood pressure reading was ‘slightly’ high the last time it was taken. Message continued to tell me that if I had a home BP home machine (?) I should self monitor, if not to contact the surgery and I could borrow one from the practice. I telephoned immediately to suggest that as I had an appointment this afternoon with the nurse perhaps she could take my BP reading again. The answer was “ I’m not sure she will have the time at your appointment today, but you could borrow……..” at this point I interjected with verbal force, that i had NO intention of using any machine to monitor my BP, and that I was perfectly capable of knowing when my BP was raised, thank you “.
The cheerful response was to ask me to repeat what I had just said to the nurse this afternoon so that she could make a note of my wishes.
One, just ONE, of my gripes V the NHS is the letters one receives with information that takes up most of one page, with just ONE line on a second page leaving 9/10 of that page blank ……..GRrrrrrrrrr !
I share your frustration, Mrs P. I've now had four reminders about my Covid jab, which I have already moaned, cannot be provided at an accessible venue in an acceptable form.
ReplyDeleteI had a fasting blood test on Tuesday and yesterday had a text to say it had shown my cholesterol level was high and I could benefit from statins. I asked by text how high it was and could I deal with it via diet. Had a reply from doctor that it was 5,2 and diet wouldn’t help as I made it myself. In spite of initially being asked whether I wanted statins , I then got a further text that I had been put on them and prescription was at the chemist! I am reluctant to go down this road as I have experienced my Mum and Mike being on a vast cocktail of drugs latterly and it could start here. 5,2 isn’t that high and I think diet does play a part so to start with I will swap butter for Flora
ReplyDeleteTh reason that the NHS is keen to put everyone on statins is because doing so is a cost benefit to the NHS. Only about 1 in 10 of those on them actually benefit. Total cholesterol alone isn't necessarily a good indication of risk there are alot of other factors to consider. My total cholesterol is high but my ratio of total to HDL is low meaning that most of it is good cholesterol.
DeleteSorry, posted too soon. I would ask your GP what your QR risk assessment is before deciding whether to take statins.
DeleteEv I am similar to CC in that although my total cholesterol is on the high side if I divide total cholesterol by HDL the ratio is fine, and it is the ratio that is important. It tells you how to work it out online. I pointed out to my doctor the ratio was fine and then he went quiet about taking statins.
DeleteA nurse once told me that drinking Benecol each day brings cholesterol down naturally. Tastes very nice with fruity flavours but quite expensive.
I read that our brains need fat and that cutting down too drastically on fat seems to increase the chances of dementia later on in life. Don't know if enough research has been done to validate that or not.
Ev my Cholesterol level has never been lower than 6.9 and usually 7.7 to 8.3 and I’m talking from 30 yrs ago to now. Like CC I do have a good HDL level drink alcohol only a little and have never smoked and my weight at 9st 6lb at 5’4” is ok. I eat a good diet (mostly 🤣) but like yourself it did come up recently at an NHS check. Not heard back as yet. What I did address and very quickly was my BP it was very high and I went onto med immediately I think that was a good move BP has dropped and I do not drip when using the vacuum etc now. I have a friend 87yr next Jan who had a cholesterol level years ago of 12 (and family history) took Statins for awhile then on a check liver not good so had a break and it repaired itself but following that she has never returned to their use. If Dr asks me again I might err on the side of caution …..🤔
DeleteThank you all for your replies to my cholesterol dilemma! Janice, I will try Benecol. So often the medics will put you on medication rather than advising on other ways of solving your problems. My statins are at the chemist but I won’t be taking them. I have to see the nurse practitioner next week and will discuss with her. I feel bulldozed by the doctor but of course won’t say anything about that to the nurse! I have only been told my cholesterol is 5.2 but have not been made aware of the split between good and bad. At my 70 year old check was told one was a bit high but the other was low so balanced out. We will see! Am determined will not embark on the cocktail route which left us with a carrier bag full of medication when my Mum passed and a fair amount when Mike passed away! I take Macushield for my eyes as have Macular Dystrophy. It is a vitamin supplement with lutein which was recommended by an eye consultant. I have to buy it as not available on prescription and it works out at £90 for 9 months as Boots always have buy 3 get one free. I am able to afford but not everyone can. It is puzzling that the NHS can afford multiple drugs but have no interest in preventing or slowing down conditions. My MD was diagnosed in 2002 and my sight is not good but I still have central vision. I’m sure Macushield has played a huge part in maintaining my sight.
DeleteEv, the definition of 'high' varies enormously between practices. Last time mine was checked it was 6.3, which was said to be fine. Others say that a healthy level is 5 at the most.
ReplyDeleteHowever, a friend and colleague had a stroke when her cholesterol level was 5!
You do well to be wary.
‼️Apple users have you actioned in settings/General latest update re security issues 🤔 received today. iPad done just about to update iPhone.
ReplyDeleteLadyR - No I have not done so. I couldn’t care less about security on my IPad I have nothing on it to hide or to steal.
DeleteEv - I was advised to have statins about fifteen years ago. I refused and never heard another word spoken on the subject.
Interesting information from CC thank you for that CC. Your imput is valuable.
Fair enough Mrs P, important for me as I make many purchases through my iPad and have NHS app etc etc that I use so err on the side of caution 🤗
ReplyDeleteFor those among us who have mastered the art of English grammar and are now regarded as pedants: my son was pulling up his university students for the use of split infinitives, only to be told by his line manager that these are no longer classed as incorrect usage
ReplyDeleteApparently a certain TV series has boldly gone and made them respectable.
Don't get me started on grammar. I'm trying to accept that things change but can't help myself when people use 'I' instead of me and 'sat' and 'stood' instead of sitting and standing.
DeleteMy pet hate is the use of "of" instead of "have", and I have seen this written by a primary school teacher. "They of come to see us" type of thing.
DeleteAlso my son has started imitating his wife and saying and writing "gonna" instead of "going to". Apparently it is common in the Philippines because of the American
Influence.
I also dislike 'of' instead of 'have', but can understand how it has evolved. The abbreviations could've, would've etc sound like 'of' when spoken.
DeleteI'm not sure how we put the genie back in the bottle!
I haven't the energy to bother about it.
ReplyDeleteMy awning is up AT LAST and Handyman will collect paving selling off at a garden centre in the middle of nowhere to do my paths. He has a van and a list of jobs to fit in as and when - that's both when he has time and when finances permit.
An efficient handyman with a van! He's quite expensive, but then, he's, pleasant and polite and goes back to his own home when he's finished.
On the subject of updates, I've had my tablet so long that I no longer receive updates. It still serves my purpose for most things but I'm increasingly finding that apps no longer work on this version of android so I'm unable to download them. At some point I'll probably have to get a new tablet but I find it so wasteful. I'm not convinced about how much of the electronics would be reused if I recycled it.
ReplyDeleteLady R, Thank you for thé prompt about the latest iPad update. I have Norton cover for our PC and each of my Apple devices so I always get a warning from them that an update is available.
ReplyDeleteSeeing that almost my entire life is run on the iPad I certainly make sure to download the updates. Judging from the monthly security report from Norton, they find and deal with far more attempted intrusions and attempted hacking attempts on the old PC which is Microsoft Windows, than they do the Apple devices
LadyR
ReplyDeleteI owe you an apology for being so blunt in my reply regarding online security.
Scrolling through posts since I last looked in and i re read my post.
It seems to me to be blunt to the point of being rude.
I certainly did not intend to be rude, so please accept my apology.
MrsP
Absolutely Mrs P 🤗 not at all offended.
DeleteIf I may go back + mention cholesterol and statins. When I was told that I needed to take one, I also queried the HDL LDL ratio to be told that these days it is just the total value which is considered. I have been taking them for over 2 years now, as my thinking it is like the topic of this page, vaccines, in that it is to prevent further and so more costly conditions developing.
ReplyDeleteie. it is cheaper for the NHS.
I do though take a supplement of co-enzyme Q10. The benefits of this with a statin have never been studied as to side effects etc.
Little Tesco don’t stock Benecol drinks but will include on my next big supermarket order. They did have the Benecol spread though and the taste is very similar to butter so will have that in future. As my level is just above 5, I think in spite of what the doctor said changes like this can make a difference. I am due another blood test in 3 months so will see. One of the side effects of statins can be achy bones and as I have a bit of that already don’t want any escalation! Statins do seem to be widely prescribed nowadays. About 40 years ago it was Valium. A doctor wanted me to take this as I had migraines at period time which he put down to PMT. He just thought I needed to chill! I refused this treat,ent! It transpired later that these headaches were linked to hormonal changes.
DeleteMy head injury has healed well and the last of the stitches came away today. There is a dent but I am told this will fill out again in time. I was so lucky!
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DeleteI use 2% fat turkey mince when making chilli and meatballs, when loads of spices + herbs can be added in, so there is no difference in the final tasty plate of food.
DeleteRe statins: I had been put on these when I reached 65, just because I was that age and medical advice then was that all elderly people should take them.
DeleteI suffered stomach upsets and severe diarrhoea/aches and pains and eventually had to stop taking them.
Last year my cholesterol was borderline and the GP suggested statins again but I didn’t want to take them after my previous experience, so she told be to have a Benecol product every day. I have been having a Benecol drink, with a meal, regularly and my cholesterol is now fine. They are expensive but Sainsbury’s make their own version which is a lot cheaper and Lidl do one that is cheaper still. They both contain the ‘stanols’ that control cholesterol.
They have proved very effective for me.
Just thought you all might like to know that I think our old, much missed, friend Gary Gilday is still around. I was using my FB messenger account and noticed I still had him on my contact list from 2020 when I had messaged him about a hacker on our blog. At the top of the page it tells me Gary was ‘active’ 9 hours ago. I.e. he was using Messenger last night.
ReplyDeleteI did wonder if I should send a message, asking after him, but hesitated.
Does anyone think I should or is it better to let things lie?
I think you should definitely contact him.
DeleteI am relieved to know he is still around.i think it would be reasonable to send a message saying we all wish him well & would love to hear from him
DeleteIn response to the last few posts re GG.
DeleteI have sent him an email regularly every couple of months since he disappeared.
No response of course.
Therefore he knows we ‘miss’ him, and that we wish him well.
Certainly go ahead ARCHERPHILE and message him, but I doubt you will get any reply, or more importantly any form of apology for letting us down as he did.
I’ve just checked on my messenger list and put GG in search.
DeleteIt shows that I sent him a message via this link a while back.
I asked in that message if anything unfortunate had happened and if message picked up by a friend would they please contact the Archers blog, us, also saying how concerned we were for his welfare.
If he is still around I think it’s fair to assume that he no longer wishes to be in contact.
I am still not sure what to do. If Mrs P has been messaging with no response it does seem that Gary does not wish to correspond with us. I don’t want to stir up old feelings if he left us to due to a bereavement (which seems likely as his husband had been quite ill).
DeleteOn the other hand, he probably does not know that KP managed to open new blogs for us and that we still all keep in touch.
I will think a bit longer before taking the plunge!
It seems that way Mrs P.
DeleteA while back I even searched Glasgow area for obituaries! No GG thank goodness but at the very time his posts stopped a Veronica Gilday was found and by age could be his mother and if circumstances were a shock maybe that is why he stopped communication.
Maybe no connection at all but this is what happens when no facts are given Chinese whispers begin to try and solve the mystery. Gary didn’t seem the type to me to be afraid of telling it like it is and surprised he did not say “I don’t want to head the blog anymore” if indeed that was the case.
Archerphile go with your gut as the saying goes!
I too searched for obituaries in Glasgow more than once, tho’ did not find the one that you found Lady R.
DeleteAs you suggest that may well be the case with the possibility of VG being his mother.
However I would find difficulty in understanding that he does not know that we had been able to continue without him. For someone so in tune with the internet and SM not to have dipped in and found that we were still
‘In business’ seems most unlikely.
As it is I’m pretty sure that KP has also tried to contact GG.
If not KP - and I apologise if I am wrong KP - then I do recall someone else trying to raise some response.
I cannot say how many times I’ve tried to make contact but I would put a guess at half a dozen.
Good luck with your pondering ARCHERPHILE.
Thanks for advice everyone. I will, of course, let you know what happens, if anything!
ReplyDeleteI thought I remembered GG saying they lived in the Maryhill district of Glasgow, which is where this lady comes from. There is also a photo of her, which those of you who have met him might like to study for resemblance.
ReplyDeleteLady R I have found the obituary you mentioned, and several photos have been placed there and I think you are likely to be right, although I only ever saw Gary on video at the Archers convention. There is a lot of things to organise after a death and, especially if unexpected, depression might have set in afterwards.
ReplyDeleteGary just in case you ever peek in here for old times sake I am sure that you , like me, will be looking forward to seeing the recently released Avatar follow up film. The clips look amazing.
The American lady who started this blog"vanished" too.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you PtbY .
I think we should leave well alone
I certainly wouldn't contact Gary
Had he wished to get in touch he would have done.
Leave well alone.
Thank you once again,KP for taking over
I found something about the lady with the surname of Gilday along with a number of photographs of various people, mostly men with the same surname.
ReplyDeleteI did not see any resemblance to the GG who was one of us.
Given the number of requests made by me and others and the fact that ARCHERPHILE found GG to be active on messenger very recently it seems reasonable to me that he was and is capable of looking in on this blog and seeing the many posts regarding him on here, as well as all those requests made directly to his personal email address for news.
I agree with LanJan, leave well alone.
Mrs P, I think only the first pic of the lady with the blonde hair related to VG. When I followed it up she seemed to have been one of a group of people featured in a vox pop about penalties for drunk-drivers.
ReplyDeletePerhaps Gary, or indeed, Ruthie do read this blog but choose not to comment (perhaps for reasons that they wish to keep private). If so, it can't be much fun to read speculations about them or their family, let alone accusations that, after all the work they did for us in maintaining the original blog, they have 'let us down'.
ReplyDeleteYes, we are concerned about Gary and Ruthie. But clearly they have cut their ties with us, at least for the time being. I think we need to respect that. They know we care, they know how to contact us if they wish. But unless they do, I think we need to respect their choices, leave them in peace, and stop further discussions about them in here.
On reflection I am in agreement with OWIAS. Speculation could cause upset, both Ruthie & Gary know we are here & wish them well. That is probably where we should leave it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am not going to try messaging Gary, for all the reasons given above.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your input, I conclude it is best to leave well alone.
✔️✔️
DeleteTrivia alert!
ReplyDeleteAbout two years ago I stopped off at the corner shop on the way back from morning service
- or at least I thought I did, to pick up two bottles of shampoo, as it was the only place I knew that stocked that particular brand.
As I'm always knackered after playing, when I got home I ate, flopped and forgot about them.
When I eventually came to need one I couldn't find them anywhere and after several searches of my flock of free-range handbags, I decided I'd imagined them and gave up.
Yesterday I was searching my briefcase for a book which I thought I'd put in it the other week. I didn't find it, but there in a zipped compartment I never use, were two bottles of a shampoo which is no longer on the market.
About 10 years ago I lost my watch and couldn't find it anywhere. Eventually I bought a new one. About 5 years later Mr CC was sorting out a tool box and,there at the bottom, was my watch. The battery was dead but otherwise it was OK and I still wear it now.
DeleteI do like the idea of a flock of free-range handbags! I tend to have one at a time which I use until it begs to be retired. (Ditto winter boats and coat, my current one is black with a gorgeous black and gold lining, I reckon it will serve me at least another winter.)
DeleteA couple of years ago I 'lost' my mobile phone. That turned up after two weeks, safely inside its burgundy coloured bag (originally from a pair of sunglasses) which happened to match the exact shade of the lining of my many-pocketed handbag! You'll infer from this that I tended to use my phone about as often as Sarnia uses certain compartments of her briefcase!
OWiaS - my daughter rounded most of them up and confined them to my one and only downstairs cupboard, but they've gradually escaped and are beginning to roost all over the place again.
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for all the different colours, you see.
When I need to find something - such as a spare pair of glasses, keys, it's not handbags I search but jacket pockets. I have loads of these in different colours, styles etc. worn all the time on different outings, so it is amazing finding what I have stuffed into the pockets.
ReplyDeleteThis relates to covid, when I didn't use a bag, just put things in pockets and still do the same even now.
Oh Esscee I know how you feel.
ReplyDeleteI love handbags but they do have to be leather.
I was given a "clutch bag" when I was about 16 years old for a birthday present .
It was black plastic.
When I was a bit older my future mother in law had a peccary leather bag which I really liked.
I think I must have given her the idea that I liked it because for my birthday I was given a bag similar in shape and colour-in plastic.
I never used it
I still have the Tula purses and handbags I bought from Ormskirk market forty years ago .
Now I get my handbags fromTKMaxx
In the 1960s and 70s I bought leather off cuts and made small pencil cases which contained a couple of ball points pens to be placed in the handbags
I made little zipped bags for all sorts which were put in the bags.
On my first flight across the Atlantic the chap at Customs kept opening them and then sighing.
I remember him looking at me and pushing the bag across the counter..
Only leather bags for me also, and like you, I still have Tula leather goods use. Most of my handbags are still in their protective cloth bags on a shelf in my wardrobe, where they've been for over 2 years now!! I must get them down and start using them again. Shoes are the same, stacked in boxes.....
DeleteMy parents once bought me a gorgeous leather briefcase in Florence. It was too lovely for general use so stayed for years in its soft fabric storage bag. Eventually I decided this was silly and decided to use it. First time I did, Half the handle peeled off onto my leather gloves. And the leather body quickly scratched, peeled or dented. It was swiftly very worse for wear. Perhaps I should have continued to let it remain in storage, a thing of beauty and a joy forever. (But not much use as a briefcase!)
DeleteBetter get it to The Repair Shop owias 🤗
DeleteI am a bit of a handbag obsessive. I have mine all hung up in their protective bags on hangers in the spare bedroom wardrobe. Actually since covid I no longer like going shopping so I think my handbag collection may be complete. I’m a bit of a sucker for coccinelle handbags. I think it’s because that was the make of my first decent handbag I bought at the ripe old age of 34.
ReplyDeleteOooh. That was a find.
DeleteI got a brown mulberry bag from a charity shop up the road from Harrods a few years back. I was fair chuffed.
I am suddenly getting an email whenever someone posts on the blogs. Has anyone else experienced this? Any advice on what I can do to stop them would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThanks Esscee, but not sure where notifications are - have tried looking in my 'profile' with no luck. I'm really showing my ignorance now !! Just about to publish when I noticed a box which says 'notify me' on the right-hand side, is that what you meant?
ReplyDeleteYes it has! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteToday’s NHS Saga.
ReplyDeleteLocal surgery wanted a blood test for my annual review. They had no appts until mid Dec so told me to make appt at the hospital for one.
Did that, turned up at hospital 10 miles away for appt this afternoon.
Waited almost an hour beyond appt time (car par fee totting up all the while)
Went in, gave name, “Oh yes, what are you here for”
My annual prescription review blood test, surgery told me to make appt.
“But your surgery have not notified details of which tests they want”
Thyroid, cholesterol, blood sugar and kidney function, is what I usually have
“But we can’t do the test without a request from your surgery and there’s nothing on file.
You can go outside, ring your surgery and ask them to send details over immediately and we might be able to fit you in later on”
Return, fuming to carpark. Sit in car and ring surgery. 6th in queue. Eventually tell them problem
“Oh sorry, someone forgot to send details to hospital. No we can’t send them over this afternoon, there is no doctor here to authorise it”
Me - oh sod it, I’m not coming all the way up here again, paying for carpark again etc. I’ll wait until you can give me an appt at the local surgery for the blood test
“Can you come on Friday at 10.55?”
Now why couldn’t they have given me that appt last week when I first phoned? ? ?
I think my blood pressure is a bit high at the moment!
Probably because Friday @10:55 was a cancellation by someone else ARCHERPHILE
DeleteI don’t blame you for being furious.
When my annual blood test is due, I have found over recent years that an appointment is not available for some time. In which case I’ve left it for a few weeks and tried again.
Personally I think that asking you to go to hospital for your blood test is pretty cheeky. It is the responsibility of your surgery to look after your primary care.
It really wouldn’t have made any difference for you to wait until mid December, unless of course you felt that there was an urgency to get your bloods done.
That’s very bad! Our surgery give us a request for blood tests even when carried out at the surgery as it has been recently, the hospital having said they cannot give blood tests due to work pressures. We also need and are given requests for X rays. How frustrating, Archerfile, especially with car parking charges and wasting your time! Suggest sit down, breathe and have a G & T!
DeleteI went into Newport today to collect my necklace from the jewellers and my new glasses from Specsavers. Can’t remember whethervImtold you about the necklace. Mike bought it for me in HK some 40 years ago. It has a pearl inside a gold cage which isn’t fixed. When we were in Italy I found the pearl had escaped! A few days later I was walking around the room in bare feet when I trod on something and it was the pearl! The jeweller could not see how it had got out as the cage wasn’t bent or anything! However, they put it back and strengthened the join with the chain which had apparently worn thin so all good as I could have lost the cage and the pearl in time! As far as the glasses go., I can see a whole lot better. I had decamped from Specsavers for a couple of years in favour of a local optician. The last pair of glasses I had from them were not good but I put the lack of clarity down to my eye condition but much later on I went back to LOD glasses which gave me clearer vision. Then last time I went, after a test Inwas told by a young lady optician that I had wet Macular Degeneration not Macular Dystrophy which was diagnosed by a consultant in 2002. There was no point she said in taking Macushield for wet MD. I didn’t believe her and carried on taking Macushield which had been recommended by the consultant. On going back to Specsavers, they said if it had been wet .MD there would be evidence of bleeding in the macular layer. It is a bit hectic sometimes at Specsavers and the small optician was more relaxing but the big boys have the equipment and the more able opticians. It was there that my eye condition was picked up in the first place and I think I will now stay with them!
LOD glasses should read old glasses! They were ones I had from Specsavers before going to small opticians. 😊
DeleteArcherfile, If that had happened to me I would write a letter of complaint to the practice manager.
DeleteEv, that's interesting. We have been going to a local independent optician for years but the people who owned it have recently retired and sold the practice to a chain called Bayfields. The service wasn't nearly as good and I had to go back several times because I wasn't happy with my new glasses, they eventually remade the lenses. They used to make lenses in house within a week, now they send them away and my first lot took four weeks and the second three weeks.
Mr CC tried our local Boots optician as I get my hearing aids from them which I am very happy with, but he wasn't impressed with the service there. There is a Specsavers in town so I might go there next time.
I also have a tale of upset.
ReplyDeleteMy eldest niece, 45yrs now and a Director for a local council in a area close to Manchester, heard yesterday that her job will be no more from Jan. 2nd. Her choice is the offer of a position in an area she has no real experience of at a lower grade and pay, or redundacy.
She is taking legal advice as to her rights etc.
To think she was often "Silver Command" for the council for an entire weekend ie on call to sort any urgent council problems, only calling on "Gold Command" in extreme circumstances.
She is astounded as this came so put of the blue.
That must be very difficult for her to cope with Miriam. Councils are so cash strapped and it doesn't look like that's going to improve any time soon.
DeleteAround the time that I retired they took Sexual Health services away from the NHS and moved them to Public Health under the remit of local councils. We had a very good service in our area but that's no longer the case sadly.
Speaking to Katy, if your niece is in a Union there should have been consultation with the Union before announcing the end of her job. Also they could help now. The council will have its own terms of reference which should include procedure in these circumstances. If she is made redundant she should get one and a half weeks pay for each year served which would give her time to seek new employment. Teaching unions which of course are within Katy’s remit have negotiated that when offered a lower paid job, the rate of pay for previous job should be maintained for 3 years. I hope she has got Union backing as otherwise she will have to fight this herself. Wishing her all the best but unfortunately that’s the world we live in at present. The first economy is get rid of staff.
DeleteShe is a fighter, and there is a lot to find out about and is getting guidance. It appears, as Katy suggests, that things have not been done in the correct procedure.
DeleteShe has only been doing this job for 4 years, when they moved up from London. There she was also in local Council employment. She was in charge and so closely involved with some awful things - the cladding, fire prevention etc. in all the authority properties after Grenfell, and also the Croyden tram crash.
In her present job she was heavily involved with putting in place all the London Bridge is Down plans in September, working through the night to get things sorted.
Miriam what a shock for your niece it seems obvious to me that with her knowledge, skills and full commitment to duty she should be considered a very valuable employee.
DeleteHowever I fear that after todays Autumn Statement (ie Budget) many more will suffer the same fate 😞
I wish her good luck in following this matter up and for her future working life.
Me too, Miriam. There seem to be so many cases like this at the moment, also Council ‘re-organisations’ with staff having to re-apply for their own jobs as has just happened to a friend. Two departments being merged into one with consequential duplication of jobs so one has to go.
DeleteThe empty house with its tremendously overgrown garden, which abuts my property, is now up for sale. It has been not lived in for nearly 2 years now, and I have no idea what became of the owners who I knew so well.
ReplyDeleteOn looking at the property on a well known property site, the neglect is so apparant. It is heartbreaking to see it now, as to what it was. I just hope it sells quickly, but it won't unless the price is reduced, due to the amount of work needed to bring it back to how it once was.
The TV ariel had already blown down, hanging against the side of the house. Today with the heavy rain + winds it has moved so is now lodged against roof tiles, which hopefully don't start letting water in again.
It is so sad to see.
Have decided to ring the estate agents tomorrow morning, who can let the vendors aware of this potential problem. It is in my best interest to do so.
DeleteQuick answer to Mrs P about why I need to get blood test done quickly - because GP refused to issue repeat prescription until I had blood test and annual review, otherwise I’d have been happy to wait. So, off this morning to get it done.
ReplyDeleteAh ! I see ARCHERPHILE - yes it’s tricky, I understand.
DeleteGood luck today with your second trip to hospital.
If that situation happens in my surgery, a month prescription is issued due to the long waits for the necessary appts.
DeleteCan I ask those of you who like jigsaws whether you think a glow in the dark jigsaw - I think they tend to be fairly straightforward to make - would be nicer than a more difficult jigsaw? I usually give a friend, the kind who gets totally absorbed in a puzzle and barely stops to eat until it is finished, a 1000 piece jigsaw for Christmas. There is a christmassy puzzle called Glow in the Snow, but apparently this has only a beginner's level of difficulty.
ReplyDeleteSorry Janice, this jigsaw player (.?) cannot answer as I have no idea what a glow in the dark jigsaw might be.
DeleteI love jigsaws but don’t allow myself to indulge often due to my lack of discipline regarding the day to day tasks.
However I would say that anything that glowed in the dark with the exception of gloworms or candles would be to me anathema.
But you know your friend and if she is skilled in J Saws I would imagine she would be irritated by a simple puzzle.
Thanks Mrs P. I think your last sentence is right. Glow in the dark ones can be nice though. I saw one made up once and they don't glow all over, but appropriate things like cottage windows and Christmas tree lights shine .
DeleteJanice. As a jigsaw lover, I would much prefer a more complex 1000 piece puzzle to do. If your friend is like me, a challenging jigsaw is appreviated.
DeleteI had one once, with no picture to follow, but it was designed to be done by colour. It was surprising how quickly it took shape and evolved, until finished.
I also like Wasgij's, where again what is shown is nothing like the finished puzzle, but the clues are always there.
DeleteThanks Miriam. I will have a look at the Wasgij puzzles.
DeleteMiriam has reminded me of my best ever puzzle. A Christmas present of central London. There was a picture but I was determined to do it from memory without looking at the picture at all.
DeleteTook me fifteen minutes.
Loved it !
Can I recommend the Yorkshire Jigsaw Puzzle shop. They are online and have hundreds of different puzzles by many companies and artists. They list them under lots of different categories so you can search for different topics, difficulties, sizes, artists etc etc.
DeleteThey stock Wasgijs, who always have a special Xmas editions, and some beautiful fine art puzzles as well.
At the moment they have a special black Friday offer of 2 puzzles for £25 which is quite a saving. They are packed beautifully and dispatched quickly. I now buy all my puzzles from them when I can’t find what I want in a charity shop.
Thank you Archerfile I will look them up online. A fine art one would be something different and appropriate as she belongs to a painting group.
DeleteHave just looked them up and they have some lovely ones including a section called "Challenging". Just the thing! At present I am tossing up between an Escape type one ( the unicorn ) which would be something very different or a humorous one ("I love Christmas") as I got her a funny one before and she liked it. I am tempted to get a simple beginners one myself!
DeleteThat's a very useful suggestion Archerfile, thanks
DeleteI love that jigsaw shop. Have been a couple of times.
ReplyDeleteAll is very quiet on this blog. I hope everyone is ok. We had a chilly couple of days with our heating system playing up. Turned out to be due to mild incompetence of the plumber who worked on our kitchen, shades of Flanders & Swan ‘The gas man cometh” All sorted now, just in time as the weather turns a bit cooler.
ReplyDeleteOh KP how I love “The gas man Cometh” I will be singing it all day now and it is Monday 🤣 on YouTube there is a BT version to it very funny and sadly often true worth a Google.
DeleteGlad your plumbing problem sorted.
Yes, KP, OK, tired from recent exertions, and making satisfactory progress with house and garden, but in increments far too small and mundane to be worth reporting.
ReplyDeleteOur cats think that winter has come. The warmest part of the house is the kitchen with the Rayburn which they like, but in the darker evenings we tend to watch a few programmes on the computer iplayer in the front part of the house and the cats come to keep us company. I find it amusing that they settle down in front of the woodburner which I haven't started lighting this year yet. They sit staring at it and I can't work out if they think it will start up by itself or whether it's a hint to me I should light it.
ReplyDeleteAs well as watching the Bake Off ( that seems to end too quickly) and Strictly (didn't think the Tyler should have been eliminated last night) and occasionally the lovely Repair Shop (great craftsmanship) we have been watching Netflix's Ancient Apocalypse with Graham Hancock. I read his books when young at a time when he was derided and insulted, and am so very glad that modern technology (ground radar etc) is now gradually proving him right. People can be so entrenched in their particular beliefs that shifting their worldview is an uphill struggle, and inconvenient evidence is often quietly ignored. I hope he receives acknowledgement and an apology in his lifetime.
Janice you must light your wood burner immediately 🤗 your 🐈⬛🐈 are obviously pleading with you as would I be if I were with you 🤣
DeleteWe had our first woodburner fire last night and it was lovely. Also very satisfying that the radiators were cold, thus indicating that the oil-fired boiler was off!
DeleteWe heard in the Chancellors Autumn Statement that there would be help (£100, I think) for households reliant on oil for heating.
But I have no idea if we qualify or how, or who, to apply to. Have emailed our MP for information but nothing forthcoming yet.
Anyone else know,?
We've been away visiting family this weekend. Currently on a horrible rainy journey up the M6.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Esscee, (Nov14th 7.07)
ReplyDeleteMy handbags are now neatly stowed in a tasteful habitat wicker basket which actually goes rather well with the sitting room decor
Oh, this is a real pain!
ReplyDeleteI am now having to ‘sign in with Google’ every time I want to leave a comment on either blog.
Which means I always have to have my phone with me because of the two-stage sign!
Progress??
AP you haven’t actioned the latest IOS update? I am leaving it alone at the moment as it states a lot of changes 😱 anything with security attached I always do so had better check again I suppose 😡 (IOS16)
DeleteMy husbands phone has now stopped having updates. There’s nothing wrong with the phone but because he does a lot of online banking he is having to get a new one because of security issues. Not only is the cost of one a nuisance but then trying to locate one to buy is a nightmare. Apple have you over a barrel. I know it’s to enable them to sell more phones but I think they should keep updating phones ad infinitum.
ReplyDeleteHe’s got one being delivered to our coop from John Lewis this week but then the fun starts of him trying to sort the new one out. He’s not really mastered the old one yet!