Friends

30 August 2015

HOLIDAY ROMANCES DON'T WORK (repeat)

(I thought I'd re-publish this while the holiday season is still with us)


I couldn't explain why I was glad to be home because I didn't understand it myself, but as I lugged the case from the taxi, too impatient to avail myself of the bearded, tic-eyed driver's help, I got this tremendous feeling of relief. Safe at last, that's what struck me as I fumbled in the flight bag for the front door key. You'd think, after such a brilliant holiday, I'd be sorry to leave. All that heavenly sun, and there was I turning my face to the rain and drinking in cool air as if I'd been starved of it. And enjoying it. Me, Sun-worshipper Class One.
                
That was a week ago, and I am only now able to think about Giovanni subjectively. Guiltily, as if I'd deceived him. Holiday romances, I told myself, and had been telling myself since the day we met, were to be avoided at all costs. His proposal, sincerely and solemnly delivered, given his inebriated condition that last night, came as a complete shock. Not for one second did I imagine he thought anything of me other than someone to have a good time with. And we'd certainly done that. Had a good time, I mean. From the word go we'd done everything together. Well, almost. I drew the line at sex, even though we both desired it. The idea of getting pregnant hadn't appealed, you see, and how was I to know if Giovanni's suave, romantic approach was genuine. He might have been the sleeping-around type; he might have been stricken with AIDS.
                
But, that last night, Wow! We'd been sunbathing by the pool all day, apart from a couple of hours when we'd lunched in the hotel: salmon roulade and fancy salad, Positano style. On the night, Giovanni suggested we go down to Marina Grande for a drink at Geranno's. We sat at a table not far from the water's edge. You could hear the water lapping gently around moored fishing boats. We kissed, him stretching his lean, long body across the table, jolting the carafe of wine in his haste to meet my lips; me keeping a beady eye on the azure-blue vessel as it tottered unsteadily on its base. Rather that than ruin the skirt he'd bought me. Organza. Soft orange and cream. It looked terrific with the lace top and I didn't want even a dribble of wine on it, let alone a deluge. It was okay, though, the carafe steadied itself. Breathe again, Deborah. Naturally, Giovanni didn't notice. He was too busy licking the lipstick off my upper lip. I swore he was calculating the hairs that I try so desperately to disguise.
                
There was a bit of cloud round the top of Vesuvius that night, a sure indication that the next day would be fine. There was a bit of cloud round my brain, too, but I didn't realise that until later. I told Giovanni I couldn't wait for it to get dark so we could look at the stars and maybe see the lucciola, or fire-fly as it's known in England, and he said, in that gorgeous velvety accent that caressed my heart and sent it leaping to the skies, Molto bello. I wasn't sure if he meant it was the idea of watching stars he found beautiful, or me, but, given that he was holding my hand and riveting his inky eyes to mine, I took the credit for the remark. It was then he proposed. I thought I'd misheard and was trying to work out what he had said, when he repeated it. Marry me. His voice was clotted with desire. He urged me not to catch the plane the next morning, saying I could leave the hotel and stay with him in his apartment. I don't know what he expected me to live on, unless it was love, and we all know love doesn't go far in the shopping stakes. You're probably thinking I'm a mercenary bitch, turning romance into realism before the poor guy could draw breath. And I guess you're right, looking back. 
                
The yellow currency-converter is still in my pocket, a constant reminder of foreign shores.
                
I did warm to him that night. Not a temperature change. Real desire. I'd been keen on him from the start, flattered that a man with such magnetic Latin looks and magnificently proportioned, sun-bronzed body, had selected me to dance attendance on. But the feeling that was churning my insides that final night was dangerous and I pushed his hand away. Just in time by the look on his face. He was eaten up with passion. Eaten. Smouldering, he was. His libido had really got going. He shuffled uncomfortably on the slatted chair. It reminded me of the day we went to Amalfi, both of us wearing navy shorts and white cotton T-shirts, and he got stung on that part of the leg that joins the buttock. He had trouble sitting for a whole day after that; couldn't even drive his little black Fiat in comfort.
                
I forced myself to look him squarely in the eyes. I was disappointed to note that the amorous look was fading, as if he knew he was getting the brush-off, but I told myself it was for the best. Holiday romances do not work. Christine and Mark's didn't; Lucy and Ken's didn't. Both couples married; both got divorced within the year. I couldn't risk that happening to me.
                
Giovanni, I went, as steadily as I could, given that my voice was quivering something deplorable. Giovanni, I went again, adopting a pretentious tone, like my mother did when she was laying down the law. I can't marry you. It would be impossible. We'd have no life together, both of us out of work.
                
I mean, it would be idiotic giving up a well-paid secretarial post with the Council to become unemployed in Sorrento. I didn't say that to him, though. I didn't even think I should have mentioned work at all, since it wasn't the real reason for turning him down. It was an excuse, that's all. You know, a desperate search for a way of alleviating pressure, as well as lessening the blow. Giovanni whispered. Capiri. He didn't put 'non' in front of it so I gathered he was saying he understood. That was a relief. His expression came close to being comical, his pouting mouth more like that of a disappointed school kid than a thwarted almost-lover. It eased things for me, I can tell you. Made me think he wasn't quite as genuine as I'd taken him for, and I felt as if I'd been released from shackles, which wasn't fair, I suppose, considering he'd cosseted me for three whole weeks. 

Did I mention that? Did I say he took me to Capri on the Cuma Ferry on the second day and a tour of Vesuvius on the third? I could've done without that. I found it extremely alarming and a big, big worry. What if it erupted while we were up there. It didn't, of course, but he did. He grabbed me round the waist and whirled me to him so he could munch my mouth. Thoroughly. A trifle vigorous, I thought, for a first kiss, but at least it knocked the worry away. All I was aware of was responsive breasts and galloping groins.
                
We walked a lot in the countryside and lazed by the hotel pool (where someone suggested he must be a gigolo because he wasn't staying there and he was ever so slightly younger than me). The list of things we did was endless. We dined out, sailed to Positano with the Marine Club, swam in the Bay, clambered the rocks below the hotel, sunbathed, and kissed beneath the stars. I'm finding it very difficult to discuss this. The gut is reeling with the pain of it. Suffice to say, I rejected Giovanni Rossi's overture and flew home the next day.

Deranged fool. I've regretted it for a week, especially now, ambling through Gracechurch Centre which for some reason has hired a brass band to harry the hurrying customers. Maybe if he'd said it earlier I would have given the proposal some thought. I am that frustrated, I could kick myself. Evenings lately are interminable. From the moment I leave the office they stretch into eternity. Silent and lonely and cold. I miss his arms, his lips, the happy laugh pirouetting from his luscious mouth. Nights are the worst. Sleepless, as though sleep has been abolished. Tired as a dormouse, I lie in bed studying wallpaper. If I've counted the petals on the roses once, I've counted them a million times. Twelve. Well, there's more, but the centres are tightly closed so I have to discount those. I wait impatiently for the sandman. He bypasses me every time.
                
The reflection in Beatties window is ghastly. I don't reckon on looking good at the best of times, but that's awful. Straight up and straight back down figure, bowed shoulders bearing the weight of guilt and self-reproach. The band breaks into a Gracie Fields number: The Biggest Aspidistra in the World. Fluke, or what? I wonder if she had similar qualms when Boris paid suit. Or the other two, before she married them. Married three times, according to one of the tour guides on Capri. Me, I turned down the first decent chap I'd ever landed.
                
I yawn; the reflection yawns back. Beyond, there is a display of suntan products, with a picture of a tree-lined boulevard leading to a beach. Quaint, but nothing like Sorrento. In fact, walking round the Centre is not nearly so interesting as promenading the Corsa Italia, stopping at every window to admire the shoes and suits. Baldan, Ferragamo, and Armani. God, I do miss it.
                
Pulling a face at the image in the window doesn't help the mood. In fact, it makes it worse. Depression is closing in like the door of a tomb. Would death be as painful? I move on, giving a last minute tweak to the collar of my mac. Sighing.  Wishing I'd had the sense to bring an umbrella. The Sorrento umbrella, blue and yellow, bought that day it rained, when we swooped into the doorway of the Coin store, blind to everything except the need to shelter, colliding with a basketful of gamps. The sales staff pounced like ravenous locusts, intimidating in their determination to make a sale. We gave in. We bought an umbrella. Wise choice, considering the pelting rain. See how easy it is to remember, how hard it is to forget? Everything I see, or hear, or do, reminds me so forcefully of that place. And him.
                
I see Maples' window-display has changed. That pine table is similar to the one Giovanni has.  Did I mention his apartment? It was above the shops in Piazza Tasso. Enormous rooms with high ceilings. And so cool. The windows were huge, with small balconies. You could lean right out and not be feared of falling. The horses were stationed below, harnessed to carriages, waiting to take sightseers on guided tours. I couldn't bear the sight of those dumb animals hanging around in all that heat. I wanted to yell to their owners to let them loose. It wouldn't have done any good; they wouldn't have understood me.
                
I purchased a souvenir or two to bring home, and I bought Giovanni half-a-dozen of the plates he'd admired. Bright green with bright blue squiggles round the rim. Sounds awfully garish, but they were actually quite nice. It seemed a bit like reimbursing him for all he'd spent on me and I rued it like crazy the minute I handed them over. But I needn't have worried; he was overjoyed. Mother always said I was a mitherer of the first order. She was right.
                
His mother liked the plates. She reckoned he should chuck his old ones forthwith. She was a nice lady, obviously affluent, and as beautiful an Italian Signora as I ever saw. It was manifestly clear, then, why Giovanni had spent money like it grew on hedges. He was well-to-do. He was no more a gigolo than the King of Spain. It didn't change my mind though. I still believed holiday romances didn't work.
                
I hadn't noticed the bus was in. Breaking into a gallop, I go down the steps and across the road. The currency-converter slaps against my thigh with every step. I aim for the end of the rapidly reducing queue, tagging on behind a frail woman who can only shuffle to the bus. The breathing space is welcome; the panting stentorian. The woman turns to stare. You're too young to be wheezing like a bronchitic crone, she goes. I nod my agreement, wondering how on earth I trekked up Vesuvius, breathing steady. The woman thanks me for helping her up the two deep steps and I wonder how she would have managed on her own. It's okay, I go. When I'm her age, I hope I'll have a partner in tow.

Home again, sipping lukewarm coffee, finishing the books I brought from work: columns of figures that needed totalling, which the boss wanted urgently and which I didn't get round to on Friday. I wonder: should I write? A letter of thanks? I've deliberately not done it before, needing space to air my emotions, to purge my mind of tangled emotive webs. I remind myself that holiday romances don't work, and feel better for the prod.
                
The coffee's well past its best, so I chuck it down the sink and make some fresh. I see the rain has stopped. There's a peep of sunshine somewhere in the sky, it's glistening on the empty milk bottle on the sill. The grass outside is as near to emerald as it'll ever be considering its weedy state. And extremely long. And long it'll have to stay now the mower's broke. There's something to be said for procuring a partner. Man for hire: will mow, and cook, and wash-up. Making love a speciality. Hah!
                
Shades of Giovanni.
                
Tears? This is ridiculous. Why on earth am I crying? Hadn't I been a great lemon about making love. If I hadn't been such a wet lettuce, I'd know how good he was. Is. And pregnant, probably. Alone. I collapse at the table, coffee forgotten. The silent tears run their course, dripping unimpeded down my nose. The make-up will be ruined, but what the hell. There's no-one to complain about the eyesore. Only me. It's the first time I've ever felt lonely. I'm devil-may-care normally and a bit of a gad-about, yet I'm content with my own company; relishing the break, likely, after hectic nights out, dancing. I'm charged with an image of Giovanni and me, dancing so close we could've been glued at the hip. Man, does that make me go gaga. And even more weepy.

This is no good. Three in the morning and still I haven't slept. The phone's ringing in the hall, but I'm not going to answer it. It'll be a wrong number, I expect. Wongs Takeaway. That's the most recurrent wrong number, though why anyone wants spicy food at this hour is beyond me. I couldn't understand Giovanni treating himself to chicken curry at half-past two, after dropping me at the hotel. He told me when I removed the tinfoil tray from the car. Sheepishly, and no wonder. We'd only finished a turbot supper an hour earlier, and you know how filling turbot is.
                
There, the phone's stopped its ruthless racket. If I'd had enough gumption, I'd have switched on the answering machine. Let it tell everyone they've got the wrong number. That's a laugh. Wouldn't the opening announcement disturb me as much as the unrelenting peals? Of course, I could use ear plugs. 
                
Four hours, I've been tossing. Four hours of frustration, interspersed with melancholy. I wonder: if I shove my feet to the cool side of the bed and straighten this rumpled sheet, will I sleep? I don't know who I'm trying to kid. There's no chance I'll drop off just because the toes have cooled. No way. Therefore, a pair of earplugs is the answer.

Discontented mind, that's my problem. And not because I can't find the cotton wool. It's the business with Giovanni I can't sort. It's now approaching four o'clock and I'm reclining in a sudsy bath. Imperial Leather Mild. I concluded that I might as well have a soak as lie in bed sweating. The phone starts again. I remember too late about the answering machine. Fortunately, the noise promptly stops and I relax back in the water.
                
I'm soaping the bits beyond the suntan when I'm suddenly hit by a major realization. I am in love. There's a warm glow coursing through me. Giovanni's face appears like magic, framed in the porthole that serves as a window, as if he's been spirited there by a mischievous genie to hear the revelation. Caprice. Enlightenment kills the misconceived logic about holiday affairs. Excitedly, I toss the soap on its dish. I am suddenly unafraid. Debs, I say, you're a real nitwit. So what if Lucy and Chris made a mess of their lives. They obviously chose the wrong men. It doesn't mean Giovanni's wrong for me.
                
Moving like a whirlwind, I shoot out of the bath. I'm so lively, you wouldn't believe I'd had no sleep. There's foam on the floor, and the towelling robe. Leave it, Debs, I say. Get on that blower and ring your man.
                               
The phone rings just as I reach it. I'm not one to blaspheme, but right this minute I could curse the caller to infernal regions. Angrily, I snatch up the receiver. Now look here, I go, all set to recommend what the caller should do with his Chinese chow-mein.
                
Come sta, Deborah? goes Giovanni.
                
How am I? How am I? I am floating to the top of this wonderful world, and it's quite likely that by the time I come down I'll have great difficulty speaking. My heart sings. Joyfully. Three words. No, four. I love you, Giovanni.


THE END

29 August 2015

Songs and Sounds on Saturday

Remembering the Fifties with
Ted Heath and his Orchestra

Considered the most successful band in Britain during the 1950s

It only seems like yesterday


24 August 2015

Another Rollicking Fun Day ...


Here goes with news of yet another adventure filled day.

And today, surprise, surprise, there was another lunatic at the traffic lights, a big white van (we’ve all heard about white van drivers) crossing traffic lights on RED whilst I’m waiting to turn right on ORANGE. Sounds a bit mixed up but it is right... I was waiting in correct driving position to turn right, that is waiting for those turning left to hurry up and clear the way for me to GO. So, light changes to RED and I set off.... not realising that the white van was going to zoom round at high speed. How we didn’t collide is a mystery, solved only by the great man in the sky who must have hitherto decided it wasn’t my time to visit him.

I was on my way to pay a worth-having cheque into my account at the bank. I had gone out early to avoid the traffic (joke!) and to get a prime parking space. I wasn’t so lucky with the space so had to walk back to where I wanted to go.


En route a guy asked me where the Neighbourhood Office was. He had the address and directions on his iPhone so he was definitely on the right road.  Spent time with him trying to work it out before struggling (walking and me don’t go well these days) to the bank. I was almost there when the young man caught up with me. ‘They’ve moved,’ he said. ‘The map on the phone is wrong.’ He had, he said, asked someone who lived in the road and who knew more about what was going on than a mere passerby. But isn’t that awful? The poor guy could have been walking round for hours, getting nowhere. I can only surmise that technology isn’t always right!

On I went to the bank and horror of horrors look what I found:

CLOSED FOR IMPROVEMENT

Don’t worry, said the notice, our branch in Erdington will be happy to see to your needs. Hmm, they provide bedrest? This branch is a couple of miles away by car plus a decent walk so I decided not to bother. The cheque will have to wait until the improvements are done which, I gathered from the many notices pasted on the outside of the boarded-up property, will be in another couple of weeks. I just hope I don’t starve in the meantime.

Home for dinner, which today being Monday (we’re sticklers for tradition) was bacon, tomatoes, scrambled egg, fried mushrooms, and a few chips, followed by a large portion of Greek yoghurt, made in England. But before all this happened the doorbell rang.

The caller was a man enquiring about our immediate neighbour ... that was. He had heard that Doug (neighbour) had been admitted to a care home and since he (man) was an old friend he wondered if we could tell him the name of the home. This was a Googling job since, although we knew the whereabouts of the place we didn’t know the full address. At times Google is quite wonderful. I bet it knew where the Neighbourhood Office was.

It was a sad case really, I mean about our old neighbour. Doug is 78, coming up 79 and lived alone. Some months ago he started with the forgetfulness and odd behaviour. For example, after taking his car to be either serviced or MOT’d strange things seemed to happen. In the end it was straightforward, he had simply forgotten! He paid for the car and left without it, ending up going home on the bus. At least that’s the story I was told! We were kind of worried when we saw the police car and coppers in uniform and then an ambulance but we learned later that (a) the cousin is in the force and (b) there was family concern about Doug’s wellbeing. The car was given away and the family took more interest in Doug’s state of health and mind. So now he resides in a care home, seemingly for good. He only went for a month’s trial but that was some  months ago. Joe goes to see him on occasions but I haven’t been since the guy relates to men better than women.

Moving on with my day.

I was in the middle of stacking the dishwasher and washing those implements that would be ruined if
I put them in the machine, when the doorbell rang again. This time it was the postman, ringing to apologise for putting folded envelopes through the letterbox. He couldn’t get them through without bending the envelopes ... annoying if they’re birthday cards. He was young and obviously new, possibly his first job, because no other postie has ever apologised even if he’s torn and/or creased my correspondence by shoving it through the rather tight letterbox. There are some who care, though, and we always know when they come by the slamming of the outer door and the pile of letters littering the porch. See, they simply open the door and throw in the post so that it scatters all over the place.

My afternoon outing was to the hospital where Joe was booked in for a scan. Okay, that leads me to another topic. Joe’s medical condition. After a couple of years grinning, bearing and recovering from cancer problems, heart, and other difficulties, he started to mend. But not for long. In a mad attempt to scare the squirrel from thieving birdseed without so much as a by-your-leave, Joe somehow misfooted. Yes, he hurt his foot, but the worst was that he jarred his left leg (or something) because now he has arthritis. I had thought it would be diagnosed as sciatica, or the trapping of the sciatic nerve. I had that about forty+ years ago, or maybe a bit longer, so I know how painful it is. Thankfully, an x-ray ruled out that Joe doesn’t have a hip problem and the local doctor reckoned it was the onset of arthritis. Well, I’ve been there, done that, and still have the t-shirt it so I know that in time Joe will be reconciled to it. It took some getting used to at first but then I learned to live with it.

In the meantime it hurts Joe to walk which means that I can get on and do things in the house without too much interference ... heeheehee. I’ve even had a go in the garden, removing some overgrown foliage so that I could sweep the paths. Sweep .... that’s a first for many years. Joe always did it, starting when I had hip trouble and the resurrection of a back problem. Seems like we’ve swapped roles but only on a small scale since the gardener, who comes once a fortnight, does the rest and the cleaner comes every week.

Gosh I just read through that last paragraph. Doesn’t it sound like the ramblings of an old woman? I must hasten to add that life is good...... honestly.

Well that’s it for the day’s news, except to say I spent the evening watching my favourite soap on the iPad ... NO, it wasn’t giving it a wash ... before retiring with book to bed. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to hear about that... lol. 

22 August 2015

Songs and Sounds on Saturday

I wonder if I am the only one to remember 
The Andrews Sisters

Here they are as seen in the 1941 Bud Abbott and Lou Costello film, "Buck Privates".

17 August 2015

ALL IN A DAY!

So many different things happen in a day and I thought I would try recording one. What follows was a recent, probably typical Monday

First, after doing the early morning chores and putting the wheelie bins out for collection (the contents not the bins) I popped down to the local shops ... and got confused over a credit card’s pin number. It wasn’t my fault, you understand.

* I had been asked to make a purchase with Joe’s card, which I share but don’t use, and that transaction was successfully carried out.
* Then I went to the supermarket where I would use a different card, again belonging to Joe, which I share and do use. The card has the same pin number but I kept telling myself that the second purchase was mine which prompted me to think I was using MY card and MY number.
* I nearly died when the machine rejected it on the grounds that the number was incorrect. How embarrassing!
* I apologised to the assistant and offered cash, all the time wondering what the hell I had done wrong. I did mutter something about being muddled ... which I was. Muddled and mystified. It’s all down to age, you know. 

Returned home to cook dinner, or you may know that meal as lunch. It was a fry-up, bacon, egg, tomato and mushrooms, with chips.

Afterwards, crockery safely deposited in the dishwasher, I decided to drive to town, leave the car in the car park, and have a look round the stores. It was hot, sultry and dark. I felt a storm coming on but I was wrong. The main store in the shopping precinct was stifling and I could have sworn their heating was on full blast. I had gone in looking for something to buy and found nothing so I left. A swimsuit would have been a good purchase in that heat.  


In another fairly large stationery store I hunted for red Bic pens. I couldn’t find any but I did spot loads more colouring books. That particular hobby was featured on television again and I saw the actual book they were advertising. Of course, I couldn’t resist buying it – along with a few more colouring pencils, felt tip pens and pencil sharpeners. I was on the way out when I noticed the red Bic pens. They were at a completely different place than expected but then so were loads of other pens. They didn’t seem to sell pens in one place but scattered them throughout the store. No wonder I couldn’t find what I wanted.



Outside, in the open precinct, I saw some owls. Not real ones, you understand. I took some pictures. They were part of a charity event known as The Big Hoot in partnership with the Birmingham Children’s Hospital and shown in five town centres. Some of the owls were painted by children. The ones I saw were numbered 61 to 67 out of a total of 89. Each one named the artist. Apparently there is a trail mapped out for kids to follow during the school holidays. More on the event here
  



AND HOW ABOUT THESE TWO


Do you think the skeleton's face was to keep kids off the demon drink?!
The rest of the pictures of crowd scenes and then we will get to what happened next

Storyteller kept the kids amused - every fifteen minutes apparently! I felt out of place listening to the story.. smiles.
Bean bags to sit on as well as desks and chairs
The girl on the left was having her face painted like an owl
It did the heart good to see the little ones enjoying themselves
It was all very nice and very tiring so I decided to go and collect the car from the car park. As always it was in the multi-storey, on the third floor. Even that wasn’t without incident...haha.

I pressed for the lift to take me to my floor, waited a good five minutes (I don’t use stairs these days) for it to arrive at ground level. It was full of people so I had to wait while they and someone in a wheelchair came out. Then it was my turn. All alone I travelled up to... no, not the third floor, I went straight up to the roof. Someone must have pressed the button just prior to me! Down I went again, and got out on the third, but I had a nice couple to talk to as we descended. They were surprised that I didn't get out and waited courteously for a few seconds until I explained; I didn’t mentioned that they were responsible for my extended journey in the lift.

Now this car park has a winding slipway that passes through all floors before reaching the ground. It reminds me of something at a fairground, when you drive without knowing if something is in front of you. This slipway is wide enough for two cars but only one ‘lane’ is ever used for going down. No car ever goes up, you see, except in an emergency, the journey up taking a completely different route. Regardless of descending traffic some people think it’s okay to stand there and talk and today was no exception. Three women were right in the middle of my path. Well, I say ‘mine’ but other cars were held up in front of me. The women were obviously oblivious because they didn’t budge until a car driver shouted a few expletives at them.

Finally I got on the homeward trail, back in normal street traffic. One particular junction has a grid that drivers cannot enter until the exit is clear. One guy waited and waited so I slowed and gestured for him to go. Did he go? Did he, heck! Flashing lights didn’t help either so in the end I waved him through and shouted in the process. Only then did he budge. Honestly, he could have been there forever... I deserve recognition for being kind to young men who haven’t a clue about road sense.

Well that’s it, folks. Back home, tea time, and an hour watching my favourite soap before I retired for the day. Hope you weren’t too bored!

15 August 2015

Songs and Sounds on Saturday

Let's listen to Barry White
and while you do don't forget to sway the body and swing those arms. 
Altogether now.... You are the first First, my Last, my Everything....

10 August 2015

AMD


I only went for an eye test and look what they told me! Macular Degeneration. The good news was that I had the dry version. AMD stands for age-related macular degeneration so why was I so surprised when told the good news? Nevertheless, I was able to walk away with a new pair of specs... see above. They were the first pair I was shown and I fell in love with them straight away. To hell with the cost, I thought, enjoy them while you can.

I chose a new place to have the test when I became dissatisfied with the old one. I was frustrated with the last pair of spectacles, the eye test, and the service offered by a different optician and a new manager. The previous manager was on the ball where dispensing specs was concerned; he never stopped talking which drove me mad but he knew his job. So off he pops to be a stay-at-home dad and leaves the practice in poor hands. Not his fault, I guess, since he didn’t own the place, nevertheless it caused problems for some customers.

It was only after the event that I discovered there was a difference between opticians and optometrists. One can test the eyes, the other can test the health of the eyes. 2.5 hours I was there, being photographed, measured, talked to, having things explained, learning about the future, getting reassurance. I was given a book in which there is a do-it-yourself test so I can keep an eye on things. Oh wow, is that an appropriate expression or what?


Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is a condition that affects the retina situated at the back of the eye – the area known as the macula. It is a painless condition that can lead to distorted vision or blank spots when concentrated at a single object. The condition normally appears later in life and is a common occurrence in those over 50 years of age.

There are two types of macular degeneration, the ‘wet’ and the ‘dry’. This is not a description of how the eye feels but rather what an ophthalmologist can see when inspecting the inside of the eye.

Dry AMD is generally more common but as it isn’t painful and can go unnoticed for some time – hence my wait of thirty years haha. Many people find their vision slowly deteriorates by gradual central blurring and colours fade away like an old photograph. It doesn’t affect the peripheral vision so cannot lead to total blindness.

Well, thank the Lord for that! I don’t mind the ageing process so long as I can see where I’m going. Imagine a life without blogging, watching birds, or chasing squirrels. It doesn’t bear thinking about, does it? I mean there would be no such excitement like there was when goldfinches land on the feeders, or the frantic unwrapping of presents on a birthday, or sitting down to a scrumptious meal. But it is food for thought and it makes me realise how lucky I am to have come this far in reasonable health, a bit doddery but the brain is reasonably good. At least I think so, others may want to differ. So long as I can enlarge the words on the computer screen I’m laughing!

08 August 2015

Songs and Sounds on Saturday

Don Williams who was
and always will be a favourite of mine.
This was recorded in 1982 and I love it.
Hope you do, too.

07 August 2015

IRRITATING... OR WHAT?

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The above is driving me crackers. 

Is it absolutely imperative that I see this on every blog I visit? It wouldn't be so bad if it didn't block some of the headings. Once upon a time I used to block all cookies but gave up in the end. Now - and this is interesting - wherever I go I see adverts for everything I have bought on line, just because I have the cookies. I would like to say to the companies I bought from... just because I bought once DOESN'T mean I want to do it again. Pity they won't get to read my objection.

03 August 2015

WI COMPETITION

(photo courtesy of winningways.org.uk)

At the risk of boring you I’m going to talk about the latest event at my WI. I look at it this way ... if I can’t brag on the blog where can I sound off about what I consider is an achievement?

This is all about The Walmley Cup, a competition created in an effort to stimulate interest in something new, starting small and hopefully building into something big and beautiful. This month was the first.



There are three institutes in the district, all meeting in the same hall on different dates. My institute owns the hall and the other two pay rent on a monthly basis.  All the groups have been in existence for a good many years but mine is the oldest at 83 years.

The first competition was a learning curve so we organised it on a small scale to see if it would be accepted by the members. We chose five categories: flower arrangement, knitted draught excluder, favourite photograph, and two cooking entries namely a Victoria sponge and cheese scones. Surprisingly there were 27 entries overall. Not bad considering we only have 28 members. Of course, some entered more than one category but it was still a good effort considering all the years when no craftwork was done and no competitions entered. As you can see, I took a few photographs, but didn't get one of the delicious looking cheese scones.  
 
Judge remarking on the first Victoria Sponge

We invited two from each WI to act as judges. They’re not qualified as such but they’re old enough and wise enough to know what to look for in the entries. They were as impressed as I was with the turnout and did a great job with dedication and good humour. All of them expressed a desire to extend the competition to include their institutes ... I hope this will be possible.



It was my idea to start the Walmley Cup and as organiser I was delighted with the response. I foresee great things in the future, not just for my institute but all three that share our hall.

(Guess the winning draught excluder)


01 August 2015

Songs and Sounds on Saturday

BILL HALEY
I always wanted to rock around the clock when I heard this, oh so long ago