Last Week

Last week, Wendy and I visited Terrie, who is a magnet for children and animals. We had a good time together. Here are a couple of photos. Wendy was having great time running around the coffee table with two of Terrie's china dogs.







Looking for something to eat.



Sharing some strawberries







She is a mischievous little monkey



See that dimple? And the eyes sparkling with mischief? She is her mother's daughter all right.



She might not be a "good" baby, but she is full of fun and a lively intelligence.

The Leas on a Beautiful Day

Wendy needed to get out so Caelyn and I took her to the Leas to allow Nigel the luxury of a Sunday Afternoon Snooze. A band was getting ready to play at the old Bandstand. That Tuba was bigger than Wendy.



Here are Caelyn and Wendy settling down to listen for a while



There were loads of people, just enjoying being out on such a lovely day. There were loads of dogs out with their owners too.



Artists were exhibiting their artwork and a lot of it was for sale.




It added colour to an already colourful day.





This is a sculpture made entirely of computer parts.



After seeing all there was to see, Wendy got a lift on my lap (see the dog at my feet) and we went to the fabulous Italian Ice Cream shop, where we indulged!



When we got back home, Wendy and Nigel had some time together



Last one in this post: See how mother-and-daughter they look?
Wendy was tuckered out after all that and conked out for a sound sleep while the adults enjoyed the peace. Nigel was reading, Caelyn was doing college work and I worked on my computer. They had come round so that Caelyn could wax Michelle's legs, but Michelle didn't turn up. Caelyn had done a lot of waxing on my mum and I as well as Michelle on Friday evening. Nigel, being a bloke, was banished to the kitchen, while Wendy helpfully climbed all over her Auntie Michelle as she was being waxed.

The place was in a heck of a state the next day. Michelle went to work, but sent Richard round to look for her handbag, and hungover though he was, he stayed and helped me to clean up. Thanks, Richard. It was very nice of you and it was a tremendous help. Both my energy levels and my morale were low.



Tonight I used my new microwave for the first time. I did a Rice Pudding for Wendy for tomorrow. I hope it tastes OK. It looks OK so I'm hoping for the best. It is always a bit trying getting to know a new oven because they are all different. Even identical models from the same manufacturer are different so a new oven is always a learning curve.

Lisa is coming to cut my hair tomorrow, thank God. I hadn't been able to get hold of her but she had been in Egypt on holiday with her parents. I'm looking forward to it as my hair is in a dreadful state.

Friends

Sean had Bobby and Lisette stay at his house for a few days. They live in America and came over for the funeral of a close family friend. Bobby is half French and when we stayed with them in Viller sur Mer one year, we went to visit an English family who lived nearby. The lady of the house, who was nearly 90, had an adopted daughter. When the daughter visited America, she stayed with Bobby and Lisette, who like her a lot. They told us the most interesting story. The girl was Indian and had been rescued by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. After a time, through the offices of an Embassy, the girl was sent to Patsy who adopted her and brought her up in France. The girl herself married and had twin boys. The boys want to visit India to investigate their cultural roots, but their mother, oddly enough, has not felt that urge to go back. She is "completely French".

I admire Mother Teresa tremendously and I had been introduced to the girl when we were over there visiting Bobby and Lisette. It was a fleeting introduction so I don't remember much more but I was fascinated to hear her story when they told it on Saturday night.

Bobby was born in England because his father was English. He did not go to school for a long time because he was a child film star and was tutored at home. He went to school later, of course, and is a Chartered Accountant and a Deacon of the Catholic Church. Lisette is very interesting in her own right and she knows a great deal about astronomy. Apart from being interesting, she is a quietly competent woman.



If you look at this photo, you will see straight away that they and Sean are very good friends.



We all had a good time - even Brakkie, who went out to a pub dinner with us. He makes friends wherever he goes. The publican made a great fuss of him. Anselm had been out to a friend's Ordination and came home at about midnight. Brakkie barked at him but let him in. A bit cheeky really, as Anselm has lived in that house for decades.

Wow!

Congratulations Caelyn!

She PASSED her Anatomy and Physiology exam. She got 77% for the written part and she got the rest of the answers in her Oral exam so she ended up with an undreamed of 100%.

She had worked her backside off but wasn't really even hoping to pass, so this brilliant result was  a wonderful surprise to her.



Well done, Caelyn .  You are a STAR!

Prayer Requests

Please pray for Caelyn who is dyslexic and who writes Anatomy and Physiology tomorrow.

And for Michelle who has had some upsetting things happen in her life recently. She has to make some decisions and she needs wisdom in making those decisions.

And lots of thankfulness for all our blessings and people to share them with.

New MicroConvection Oven

I use my microwave/convection oven every day. It is great as a second oven if you are cooking a big meal or it is economical to use if you are cooking for one or two. It uses minimal electricity compared to the main oven which is a godsend as it was announced on the News tonight that our fuel bills are set to rise by 40% this winter. In summer, it doesn't make the kitchen too hot for comfort as the main oven does. My faithful old Samsung died last week and I was really upset because I realised then just how much I had come to depend on it. So I applied for a budgeting loan to buy a new one. The money was available today and as it happens, a shop in Canterbury had a sale on them so I got one made by Kenwood that was marked down from £200 to £99. I haven't used it yet but I found the clock easy to set. I will let you know how it goes.

All this to say that Wendy had enormous fun with the box and her Auntie Michelle as you will see in the following photos.

Woozle Stories

Sean sees Wendy every week or two and she is developing fast and he can see changes every time he sees her. Here she is browsing through the photo album on the computer. As you can see, she even uses the mouse.



Here she is with her hair tied up and pretty in blue.



On the chair in the kitchen.



Having fun with Auntie Michelle



She and her Great Grandmother get on famously. Wendy has not been in Nursery since they left Dover. She was too unhappy in the Dover Nursery. Not, I'm sure, because they did anything wrong, but it was a new Nursery for her at a time when her parents were threatened with homelessness while they were writing exams. They were looking for another house to rent and they are far from easy to find. The situation was fraught and she obviously picked up on it and she cried and cried at the nursery who said she was regressing. As she is only 2 and not 12, we could see no advantage in forcing her into something that was causing her so much distress and it was decided that my mum and I would look after her on Mondays and Wednesdays until the end of the academic year.

It is evident in the photos that she is blossoming, happy and secure even though she has moved house and her parents are writing their final exams. They are so happy in their new home and it is rubbing off on her too. My mum picks her up on a Monday morning and takes her to a mother and toddler group and its a big hit with her. She loves it and she associates my mum with 'play' now. After playgroup they come to my house for lunch. My mum has a much needed nap while I look after her, usually with the help of a friend or Michelle if she is not at work. My health problems don't allow me to be as active with her as I would wish but we have a warm and comfortable relationship. She calls me 'waggy'!



When my mum picked her up on Monday, Caelyn said she was cutting a molar so my mum said that if she got cranky she would take her on the B U S (spelled it to try to stop Wendy nagging for it) Wendy immediately got excited and said 'Bus! Bus! My Bus!' There are no flies on that little girl!

Sean in Summer

It is getting warmer so Sean has been filling his watering can to water the garden in the evenings.
I think he finds it a relaxing and meditative part of his day.



He has decided to use some of his family 'treasures' more often. He gets great pleasure out of using his silver teaset. Thank God he doesn't bring out his zillion-year-old cups with china so fine you could almost spit through it. I am clumsy and would feel terrible if I broke one. I feel much happier with a 50p mug!

Taking up Three Seats

A cowboy lay sprawled across three entire seats in the posh Amarillo Theatre.
When the usher came by and noticed this, he whispered to the cowboy, "Sorry, sir, but you're only allowed one seat."
The cowboy groaned, but didn't budge.
The usher became more impatient. "Sir, if you don't get up from there, I'm going to have to call the manager."
Once again, the cowboy just groaned.
The usher marched briskly back up the aisle and in a moment, he returned with the manager.
Together, the two of them tried repeatedly to move the cowboy, but with no success.
Finally, they summoned the police. The Texas Ranger surveyed the situation briefly and then asked, "All right buddy, what's your name?"
"Fred," the cowboy moaned.
"Where ya from, Fred?" asked the Ranger.
With terrible pain in his voice and without moving a muscle, Fred replied, "the balcony."

The Family Night that Wasn't

We weren't supposed to have Family Night tonight but that isn't how it turned out.

Richard popped in to see Michelle, who wanted to see Wendy. Kate popped round because she needed something off my computer. Michelle and Richard began playing with Wendy and Michelle and Kate had some sisterly catching up.



My Mum thought I would be on my own and so she brought me some dinner. Everyone shared that. She was very tired but enjoyed seeing Wendy. Kate marshaled the troops to clear up after dinner. She offered to take Brak to her house so he could play with Denim and Wendy but he sensed it and stuck very close to me. He made it clear he didn't want to go and I thought June would haunt me if I made him gratuitously miserable so I changed my mind. He needs to get out and be part of day to day excitement but I have been in bed all week recovering from my anaesthetic. He has been very bored.



Michelle is still processing the medical news the doctor gave her and she is having a rough time. Not only that but she has been in a heated situation at work. That kid has been going through a terrible amount of bad stuff lately. Her friend Rosie committed suicide, she has had bad news and a few sad anniversaries. She hasn't thrown in the towel; she is still fighting, but she is going through the wringer lately and she is bearing a heavy load.



Wendy woke up in the wee small hours with tummy ache and vomiting. She was ok but not her usual bubbly self. She is cutting those last 2yr old molars, poor kid. Nigel has finished his exams and passed the lot very well, but he has been asked to go to College to help some of the weaker students with some of the work. Kate still has several exams to write and she will struggle because she is dyslexic and Anatomy and Physiology is definitely not dyslexic-friendly.

Sean is off to Merton this weekend. I was to have gone with him but it wasn't possible for health reasons. The longest I have been able to sit up for in the last week is 15 min. I'm feeling better in myself now though so I expect to be on the mend again pretty soon.

Water Taps Crimewave in Botswana

Well! It seems that all is not well in Botswana. People have been having their water taps stolen.
See the story here

Botswana: Thieves Target Water Taps in G-West
A new crime wave has hit Gaborone West residential area as thieves are now targeting water taps. On Monday, a number of residents made reports to the police and some of them could not go to work after their water taps were stolen at night.

The Station Commander of Gaborone West Police station, Superintendent Bonnie Bareki confirmed that they have been handling increasing cases of theft of water taps.

He said on Tuesday, there were eight reports and yesterday there were four. He disclosed that on average, they handle four cases of stolen water taps daily. The police chief said the most hard hit area is Phase I.

He said in some cases, residents have been woken up by the sounds of flowing water after the thieves have stolen the taps. In other instances, the theft was discovered by police on patrol.

However, he said, the police have not made a breakthrough in their investigations and they have not arrested any suspects. Bareki appealed to members of the public for information that could lead to the arrest of the culprits.

He said they do not believe that the stolen items are smuggled outside the country. He said the water taps might be sold at scrap yards where they could be smelted and recycled.

The station commander said this is the first time that thieves have targeted water taps.
Meanwhile, Bareki said the crime in Gaborone West has declined. He revealed that cases of house breaking, burglary and street robberies have gone down. However, store breaking cases have increased. Bareki said thieves are now stealing building materials at construction sites.

Station commanders at Broadhurst and Urban police stations, said they have not received reports about stolen water taps. However, Broadhurst Station Commander, Counsel Moyo said they are on the alert about the crime.

Mmegi could not get a comment from officials of the Botswana Housing Corporation (BHC) and Water Utilities.

Landmark Court Ruling

An ME sufferer from Norfolk has won a significant legal victory after a leading judge declared it “in the public interest” for the High Court to rule on claims that treatments being offered on the NHS are “potentially fatal”.

See the full story here

Lets hope some good comes of this.

Wedding Anniversary

Wee Small Hours

I have had trouble staying asleep lately even though I take the correct dose of medicine prescribed by my doctor. I don't worry about it as there is no serious reason to get a set period of sleep. Sleep problems are common in ME. In the beginning it is almost impossible to stay awake yet one feels no better for it, just as it is in a dose of 'flu. You sleep because of an overwhelming and irresistible need to sleep but when you wake up you feel just as bad as you did when you started.

Later on in the illness, the "tired but wired" thing happens where the mind is too busy to quieten into sleep. One might not be worried; the thoughts are of a random quality but just busy enough to prevent sleep.

I woke just after 03h30 by vomiting in my sleep. Now my legs are restless and I have muscle twitching. My mind is tired and longing for sleep but I have too many bodily distractions for sleep to come. These things are not good news because they fit into a 'threat of relapse'

I wish I knew what to do about them. I want to 'walk away' the restless legs but they feel unresponsive as jelly after yesterday's anaesthetic. Sean wants me to go to Oxford this weekend. He has already paid for it but I truly doubt if I could manage it. I wonder if he could invite one of his sisters or his daughter. I will suggest it to him.

I wish I could find out how to control restless legs. Its driving me round the bend.

My Minor Surgery

I had my minor surgery in Canterbury Hospital today. It is such a nice hospital and the staff are not only competent and efficient but they are very pleasant and caring too. They were great.

I have promised to say how the visit affected my ME.

First, as I was a 'Day Case' I had to sit up for a few hours in a special lounge. I have often said that when I am ill, sitting up is very difficult and painful too. By the time I went into Theatre, I was sore, exhausted, nauseous and my temperature went up to just below 38 and my pulse was racing. Feeling like that made me look forward to the anaesthetic! I had told the surgeon that I had had two forms of brucellosis and as he had lived in Africa, he was able to reassure the other members of the team that that sort of reaction in that sort of situation is pretty normal.

I felt it was pointless cancelling the procedure as it would only have to be rescheduled and it is unlikely that I could ever go through it without some extra problems other patients would not have. I think that the fact that I am clinically anaemic has not helped very much either. I am at home in bed feeling nauseous. sore and very wobbly on my feet. I'll have a couple of quiet days in bed and please God, will start picking up soon.

I will see the surgeon again in two weeks. He said his preferred option of treatment was contraindicated according to what he saw so he is going to discuss Plan B with me then, whatever Plan B might be.

My Mum drove me there and looked after Wendy all day. Nigel fetched me and on Kate's instructions, took me to their house for a supper of Tuna Pasta Bake. He took me home and stopped off to get some cat food for my poor little pets. Michelle phoned for a nice chat and is coming here when she finishes work at 12 lunchtime tomorrow.

So everyone has been very sweet, thoughtful and kind. I truly appreciate it too. My problems must surely be a pain in the backside to other people and I'm full of gratitude for the blessing of contact with some very lovely and good people.

Friday the Thirteenth - Yesterday

We will remember yesterday for different reasons from the one below.

I went to Canterbury Hospital for my pre anaesthetic check up and walked more than is good for me so I feel ghastly today. While Nigel and I were there, my new laptop was delivered and Kate signed for it. Its great but I haven't set it up properly yet and neither can I work out how to connect it to my home wireless network. The Router installation discs are not compatible with Vista. I haven't the strength to sort it out now.

I'll have to get cracking because Sean wants to do some research and this computer suddenly restarts itself for no reason or else freezes up and won't do anything when a more powerful program such as Word is used. It is really past its sell by date now. Richard has given me a list of parts to get - a specific sort of RAM and a PSU. He will then put in an old but good motherboard of his and it has quite a good graphics card too. With a bit of TLC this faithful old PC will be as good as new.

Michelle went to the doctor yesterday and had some very upsetting news. She is devastated and gutted. I don't want to say in public what it is exactly because I respect her privacy. It is not life threatening but it is life changing. She will need a lot of TLC and support for quite a time to come. My heart aches for her.
Please remember her in your prayers.

Friday the Thirteenth - the Memories

It was Friday the 13th yesterday and of course, I thought of Mr Ireland. He was my teacher when I was 11 and 12. He had a string of degrees from Edinburgh University and he was a brilliant, legendary and inspiring teacher. He was in his 70s when he taught me. He was at that stage a retired headmaster who taught in a tiny country school which had 80 pupils at the time. Std 4 and Std 5 were combined in the same class and all together, we were 12 pupils.

For all his brilliance, Mr Ireland could not overcome one weakness and that was his fear of Friday the 13th. Whenever that date cropped up, he would not drive himself to school. The headmaster, Mr Garz, had to go and fetch him and take him home afterwards.
He has been dead for years, but his legend lives on. I no longer belong to Facebook but there is a group on Facebook for old Izotsha School students, and even the youngsters of today talk about the "legendary Mr Ireland". He was amazing and at times I can still 'hear' his voice inside my head.

Surprise, surprise!

The bookings clerk from the hospital phoned me today. I am to go in tomorrow to the Day Surgery Unit at Canterbury Hospital for a pre-anaesthetic check up. Then on Monday, I have to be in by 12 noon to have an investigative procedure in Theatre. After that, the Consultant will have more information to recommend further treatment.

I'm surprised it was all done so quickly. I only saw the Consultant yesterday. I had blood samples taken then too, so after the GP blood tests, the scan, examination by a Consultant, more blood tests and pre-op checks plus the procedure on Monday a treatment plan is surely within sight.

I am going to have dinner with Sean tonight and return home afterwards. Kate and Nigel will stay here so that Nigel can take me to the hospital in the morning and Kate can wait in if the courier turns up with my new laptop.

As Lasky's promised, a DHL courier turned up to fetch my camera, and a replacement should follow shortly. I'm sorry it stopped working properly because it took great photos. I'm looking forward to the replacement.

Choosing these things - the camera and the laptop - has involved a lot of research, comparison of features, value for money, performance reviews and finding the best price has done my head in. The thing is, I have so little money that I can't afford mistakes.

One last thing: I had a cheque clear today. I have a printed Bank Statement saying it was due to clear today. Yet when I ordered my laptop at 08h45, my Bank card was declined because of 'insufficient funds'. I pay by Google Checkout because it is much quicker and easier. I checked my Bank Balance online and the cheque only cleared at about 09h30. If I have to pay a £39 fine in bank charges, I will be furious. The Bank said it would be available on the 12th. It did not specify 'available on the 12th after 09h30. If they do try to charge me, I will fight them tooth and nail, you can be sure about that!

Woozle

Wendy is making such progress.

On Sunday, she wanted to climb up a slide but her shoes did not allow her purchase on the smooth surface. So she sat down, took her shoes off, and then climbed up the slide. She worked out that solution to her problem herself. Sean has noticed a great difference in her in just a week. She is talking a lot more, for one thing, but she is making progress in other ways too.

She no longer needs a nappy for passing urine, although she still uses it for the other business, which is surprising. Kate says that for two nights in a row, she has gone to bed without a nappy and hasn't had an "accident", although we know there are bound to be some. Kate was right about not making an issue of potty training, and she just allowed it to happen gradually and naturally. We have all treated it matter of factly over the months. When we go, we tell her that we are using the lavatory and telling her that is what big people do and when she is bigger, she will use the lavatory too. So, like everything else, she learned by example, and there was no stress on either side.

Some parents get involved in a very destructive cycle about potty training. They keep taking the child to the toilet and shouting when they have an accident. This just makes the poor kid more nervous and the anxiety causes even more accidents which results in more shouting etc. Not a good place to be in the relationship with the child. Its like getting into a 'food war' where the child has been allowed to use eating or not eating as a manipulative weapon.

You really CAN'T allow food to be used as a weapon so just don't start the fight in the first place. Wendy began copying another child's bad habits and it wound Kate up but I told her that she had to make sure she won that little war. She did. She didn't nag, shout or try to force feed. She would calmly remove the food and tell Wendy why eg "We don't throw food. If you don't want it, I will take it away and you can have it later".

A lot of "wars" parents get into with their children should never have been allowed to degenerate into a battle in the first place. Many can be avoided. Parents are older and should be able to outsmart their kids. Don't ask a bolshy 2yr old to choose what to wear, as she may very well think a bathing costume is what she wants to wear to town in winter. How do you avoid that without a fight? I used to select two suitable outfits and ask my child which one she would like to wear and we had no problems.

Avocado and Other Adventures

My Mum brought an Avocado Pear for us to have on bread for lunch. We think Avocado is an acquired taste but of course, when Wendy asked for a bite, we gave her some. That was it! She was away! She scoffed a whole lot and then began licking the plate. She had us in hysterics.



Mum took me to see the Consultant at Canterbury Hospital today. I'm to have a procedure under anaesthetic but on an "urgent" basis, meaning within two weeks tops. I have to be "on call" to come in within 24hrs notice, although they will try to give me more notice than that.

Canterbury is such a nice hospital. Kate had some surgery there and my friend June was in there for a while too and the staff were so nice and kind and the hospital was sparkling clean even though it is an old one. I hope they send me there, but I will have to take the first open space at William Harvey in Ashford, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in Margate or if I am lucky, Canterbury. I dread the William Harvey. I have never met anyone who looks forward to going there.

We stopped off at Kate and Nigel's house on the way home to beg a cup of tea, which they willingly gave us. My mother then suggested we order a take away so we did. For the very first time in her life, she had a Kebab.

She also got her new phone today, a Nokia 6500 Slide, and she asked me to set it up for her. I was dying to get my hands on it and had great fun playing with it. Kate got her new Nokia 6300 last week and she asked me to set that up for her, and she wanted it set up exactly as I have set up mine. Somehow, I seem to have become the Mobile Doctor in the family. I'm no expert, but I find it absorbing as I work out what to do. Its a bit like solving a crossword puzzle.

The Courier is picking my camera up tomorrow morning, so I should have a replacement soon. The photos in the Light Railway post were taken with that camera. Today's photos of the Avocado Adventure were taken with my mother's camera.

I am ordering my new laptop tomorrow and expect it to arrive on Friday. I'm going to have a lot of fun setting that up too. I have changed my mind about the model. I was looking at the exceedingly well spec'd Hewlett Packard DV6870 for £499 at Comet.
When I was looking at various laptops in shops, I felt them to see how sturdy and durable they felt. For me, the Sony felt better but I wasn't keen on that model. I wanted the features of the HP but in a sturdy Sony body, so I scouted around on the internet and found one for just £8 more, the Sony VAIO BX51VN at Dabs.com for £507. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping it will turn out to be a good choice.

My current desktop is barely working and Michelle's boyfriend Richard has been keeping it going - just. I know a desktop would be cheaper but I want a laptop for times when I am too ill or in too much pain to physically sit on a chair. A laptop can be used in bed or on the sofa if necessary. Actually, I have a rule about electrical stuff in bedrooms. I think if you allow things like that in your bedroom you no longer associate it with a calm, restful place to sleep. It would be better sleep hygiene and better discipline to work from the sofa rather than the bed.

Hythe Light Railway

Photobucket Album

Light Railway on Sunday

Just below this post is a photo album. You can see all the pictures if you double click on it. On Sunday afternoon, Sean and I took Wendy out for the afternoon as her parents are both writing exams this week and they needed to study.

Hythe is very near to us and they have a Light Railway across the Romney Marsh as far as Dungeness. The trains and carriages are dinky. Wendy loved it and was particularly delighted at being able to touch the roof of the carriage - all by herself! At the other end, we had some tea and Wendy played a bit and then we came back to Folkestone. I'm particularly pleased with one of the photos so I will paste it just below.



Sean dropped me off and went back to Tonbridge. We had had a marvellous meal at the Hermitage the night before so in every way, the weekend was great.

The Hermitage is fantastic. The people are very friendly and we have yet to have a disappointing meal there. They have made a beautiful patio garden with vines and umbrellas. I recommend that you visit their site, because its a great place.

Feeling Guilty about Grumbling

I just posted about all my electrical woes, but I have had a rethink.

My grandmother did not have electricity at all for much of her life. She had 5 children and had to draw water for all their washing, cooking, drinking and laundry requirements. Drawing water from a well then heating it to do so much laundry and then having to use a pair of flatirons to iron it all must have been terrible.

For younger readers, flatirons were heavy cast iron things. One heated up over the fire while the woman used the other one to do the ironing. When it cooled, she took the other flatiron off the fire to continue ironing with while the cooled one went on the fire to heat up again.

For most of her life, Grandma didn't have a washing machine. My grandfather was alive when the first air flight took place, and in his lifetime he saw men going to the moon.
Things have changed so much in the last hundred years. It is only in the last 40 or 50 years that people have things that they now consider "essential" but in fact, were not "essential" at all for thousands of years. We need to keep perspective in all this. I have done without stuff perfectly well in the past and I'm sure I will cope very well. I will buy more fresh food which is no bad thing and I will do whatever has to be done to adjust to the situation.

I'm off to pickle those green beans!

Series of Electrical Woes

Over the last couple of days, I have had a series of electrical problems.

I have been smelling ‘damp’ in my flat and I looked for the source but could not find it. This morning I bought some green beans and wanted to put them in the freezer, but when I got there, I found that the freezer has broken and defrosted itself. Inside, the food is just a soggy mess.

My fridge gave up last week and has water sloshing around in it. I will have to go to the Council and pay about £15 each for them to be taken away, plus I will have to find some strong men to carry them up to the pavement, as the Council won’t do that. First though, I will have to empty them and put all the food in the bin, and dry up all the water inside them, then deal with the carpet that the freezer stands on.

My new camera was delivered on 30 May. Yesterday, in the middle of shooting, the screen went blank and the lens refused to retract. I was sure the battery was fully charged but I recharged it anyway and then replaced it. It did not solve the problem so I have had to contact the place I bought it from to see if it could be exchanged under warranty.

Last night I charged up my small scooter’s batteries. I could hear the normal swishing of the charger cycling, but when the batteries are fully charged, the indicator light is supposed to turn green. It hasn’t done that. It is still stuck on the yellow LED light but there is no more swishing sound. Silence. I wonder if those batteries are OK?

My computer has been playing up dreadfully. Richard, Michelle’s boyfriend, has done what he could, and he has turned all the settings in the Bios right down and it is very difficult to use the computer. I did not work at all before Richard worked on it so some form of functionality is an improvement, but I had planned to get a new computer on Thursday. Perhaps I should leave it until I am sure this unlucky electrical streak is well and truly over.

Electrical appliances can chug along merrily for years, but when they give trouble, they all seem to do it together. The loss of a fridge AND a freezer just before summer is quite a blow, not to mention getting the Council to take them away and the expenses involved in that. Plus the loss of the food and all the work involved in dealing with the mess.

Someone told me last week that the planet Mercury was retrograde and we can expect electrical problems until 23 June. I don’t normally pay any heed to that sort of stuff, but with this series of mishaps, perhaps I should. I’m certainly nervous about buying a new computer now.

Visit to Lathe Barn

Photobucket Album

On Sunday, Sean and I took Wendy to Lathe Barn. It had been two weeks since our last visit and he was astonished at the change in her in just two weeks. It is really rather remarkable. If you have looked at the whole Photobucket album, you will have seen just how much he enjoyed playing Grandpa for the afternoon. We all had a great time.

After we dropped her off at home, we went back to my flat to watch a documentary on Florence Nightingale. I don’t know what to say about it. It seemed too short and left us feeling dissatisfied. What was on screen was good and perhaps that is why we felt it ought to have been longer. My mother has the same opinion. Sean and I went to the Gurkha Palace after the documentary. It is our favourite restaurant. Sean did not eat curry because his experience of it had been stew with lots of chilli powder. He has enjoyed the harmony of subtle spices in genuine curry and he needs no persuading to go there. The people are great and the restaurant has a wonderful calm atmosphere.

As an aside, there is a statue of one of the Hindi gods in the restaurant. The eyes are closed and there is a blissful expression on the face. I was reminded of an observation I once read that the Eastern mystics are represented with their vision turned inward but in Western Christian art, the saints are depicted with wide eyes staring out at the world. Of course that is not always true – the Martyrdom of St Stephen always shows his gaze focused upwards – but there is a good measure of truth in it.

My mother picked Wendy up in Hawkinge this morning, and brought her to my flat for a while before taking her to a Mother and Toddler group in Millfield. When they got back here at lunchtime it was raining and they were both tired. My mother slept; Wendy needless to say, didn’t. We look after her again on Wednesday. Michelle and Richard hope to come and lend a hand. I’m glad about that because they have more energy than I do.

It is my sister Mag’s birthday today.

My brother Stephen and his wife Margaret have just got back home from a holiday in Fiji.

My sister Mel is not afflicted with excessive patience at the best of times but she has ‘flu at the moment, in a houseful of blokes who can’t or won’t think for themselves! Poor Mel!

Sean goes to London tomorrow to have his stitches out.

Nigel’s exam was cancelled today because they have not yet written the model answer for the Markers to use. They write on Wednesday instead.

Kate spilled boiling water from a steamer over her legs this morning. It was a facial steamer and she was being assessed doing a facial on a client. Needless to say she failed the assessment. Better luck next time, Kate.

Michelle and Richard have a friend Steve who had surgery today. They had to call an ambulance for him as he became very ill at home. Richard went in the ambulance with him and they are at home again now. Steve waited so long to see a Dr that he gave up in despair and has decided to go private as he fortunately is on BUPA.

I’m having a worry about phones at the moment. Kate calls me a lot but her O2 phone doesn’t get a signal in Hawkinge. She is using a Vodafone sim card there, but Vodafone is so expensive that I would not consider making it my main phone. I have got a Vodafone sim now in a cheap handset that is annoying to use, and I have it so that she can talk to me without it blowing the budget. Carrying two phones is annoying as well. Kate doesn't like it either, but having a Vodafone is better than having no phone at all. Ideally, the family should all be on one network.

I don’t want to leave O2. On my Pay as you Talk, I pay £15 per month and that includes 500 minutes of calls from Folkestone to landlines or other O2 numbers PLUS 1000 minutes/texts to my top 10 O2 numbers PLUS unlimited mobile internet PLUS half price overseas texts and calls. I have so many minutes left over each month that I’m always offering to let people use my phone. That is 25 hours worth of talk time. I only use my mobile because it is so cheap and being on a pay-as-you-go basis, you can’t possibly run up huge debts.

I wonder if there is any way of boosting the O2 signal at their house.