So I says to the doctor.. Look me shoulder is so much better... and he says... No thanks to us! I'm quitting the NHS!
It all started a year ago, when the chiropractor ripped the ligaments in my shoulder. I may have mentioned it before. Eventually, I got to see a specialist. I didn't know it at the time, but this 'shoulder specialist' was actually a locum on loan from the eye department.
She recommended physio, and I waited several months for the appointment to come through. When it finally did, it arrived while we were on holiday. It said: Please call within two weeks or we will assume you no longer need the service. By the time I got the letter, the two weeks were up.
So I went to the follow up appointment, which had been booked in March for September. It was supposed to be about how much the physio had improved my shoulder. Laughably, of course, I hadn't had any physio. But, by this time I had hip pain, so I thought I would ask about that, on the off chance that Mr Shoulder Consultant knew anything about hips.
It turns out he knew more about hips than the eye specialist knew about shoulders. I got an X-ray and a diagnosis. No treatment, though, but you can't have everything.
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
AGM
I knew the start of the term would be tough. The kids are having to get used to early mornings again. The big kids are overloaded with homework, piano, violin, climbing, sports club, science club, scouts and getting the bus and a thousand new things to get their heads around. They had a weekend away with the scouts doing a Cycle Camp too. They came back shattered and covered in mud. They had a great time! The little ones have swimming at school, piano, cello, sports club, choir... I bounce from one thing to another, hoping I haven't forgotten anything.
So, bearing that in mind, the three weekends in a row that I ended up being mostly absent, was not all that helpful. You already know about the Malvern and bowling trip. You know about the Snowdonia trip. This weekend it was the turn of the Mensa AGM in Coventry.
I had offered to help out and so I ended up on the reception desk most of the weekend. I do prefer to be part of the help committee, mostly because otherwise I'm a wallflower, who shies away into the corner and gets bored. Helping out gives me something to do while I'm getting to know people. As it happened, there were lots of people I knew, so it turned into quite a social time. I got to do a bit of networking too, which was great.
I went to a very interesting lecture on self-publishing, which is a route I may well go down, now I understand it. I went to a lecture on bees, which was nice. My dad used to keep bees, so it was all familiar stuff. I knew enough not to get lost in the technicalities. In the quiet moments, I went for a walk around Coventry and took a look at the cathedral, which got bombed to pieces during the WW2 blitz. The replacement is a bit of a 1950s monstrosity, but maybe it is indicative of the era's zeitgeist.
I ended up talking to a strange Mensan (let's face it, most of us are quite strange), who told me about his friend Eleanor. Eleanor is starting up a Pagan Radio - world wide internet broadcast. (Sorry folks, I really am coming out of the closet these days). Anyhow http://www.paganradio.co.uk/ is launching in February 2012 and I'm interested in getting involved, time permitting. We'll have to see, what with everything else. It sounds like a fun project if it gets off the ground.
Work wise, I have some bike stuff coming up, though not a lot. I have a few kids I'm tutoring, though again, not a lot. I have had to replace my printer, and my mouse because.. erm, they stopped working. The printer was under guarantee, so I just swapped it for a better one and paid the difference. I bet the mouse was too, though I didn't think about it when I bought a new one. It feels better to have all the techno stuff working properly.
Blah blah. Minutiae.
So, bearing that in mind, the three weekends in a row that I ended up being mostly absent, was not all that helpful. You already know about the Malvern and bowling trip. You know about the Snowdonia trip. This weekend it was the turn of the Mensa AGM in Coventry.
I had offered to help out and so I ended up on the reception desk most of the weekend. I do prefer to be part of the help committee, mostly because otherwise I'm a wallflower, who shies away into the corner and gets bored. Helping out gives me something to do while I'm getting to know people. As it happened, there were lots of people I knew, so it turned into quite a social time. I got to do a bit of networking too, which was great.
I went to a very interesting lecture on self-publishing, which is a route I may well go down, now I understand it. I went to a lecture on bees, which was nice. My dad used to keep bees, so it was all familiar stuff. I knew enough not to get lost in the technicalities. In the quiet moments, I went for a walk around Coventry and took a look at the cathedral, which got bombed to pieces during the WW2 blitz. The replacement is a bit of a 1950s monstrosity, but maybe it is indicative of the era's zeitgeist.
I ended up talking to a strange Mensan (let's face it, most of us are quite strange), who told me about his friend Eleanor. Eleanor is starting up a Pagan Radio - world wide internet broadcast. (Sorry folks, I really am coming out of the closet these days). Anyhow http://www.paganradio.co.uk/ is launching in February 2012 and I'm interested in getting involved, time permitting. We'll have to see, what with everything else. It sounds like a fun project if it gets off the ground.
Work wise, I have some bike stuff coming up, though not a lot. I have a few kids I'm tutoring, though again, not a lot. I have had to replace my printer, and my mouse because.. erm, they stopped working. The printer was under guarantee, so I just swapped it for a better one and paid the difference. I bet the mouse was too, though I didn't think about it when I bought a new one. It feels better to have all the techno stuff working properly.
Blah blah. Minutiae.
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Photos from our bike trip.
It's taken me a while to get things sorted - it took ages to get the blog of France sorted, and then my mouse needed replacing and blah, blah, blah. So here, at long last are the photos of our bike trip out with Sunna and Olof, our Swedish guests.
1. Bikes and helmets.
2. Ice cream break.
3. Ceiling in Great Witley church.
1. Bikes and helmets.
2. Ice cream break.
3. Ceiling in Great Witley church.
Saturday, 3 September 2011
Swedes in the Garden
No, I haven't suddenly dug up my overgrown lawn and started growing vegetables. I wish I had time to tend a garden. Maybe I should be careful what I wish for. I have had a pair of Swedes camping in my garden. They arrived on Wednesday by bike and left again yesterday. They were really nice, easy-going people and we enjoyed having them to stay.
On Thursday I got all the kids out on their bikes, with the Swedes, and we cycled nine miles altogether. We visited Great Witley Church, with its restored painted ceiling and beautiful gold trim. We had ice-creams and a drink at the tea rooms. It was lovely.
Naturally, the kids started to flag on the way back, so Nick came and rescued them in the car. My bike got a flat tyre too, so rescue was just in time for me too.
Yesterday, I had the day to myself, more or less. Donny and Mel went off to their friend's house. They spent the day tickling for trout or something. Naturally, Mel came back soaked, having fallen in the River Teme.
Saskia and Eartha, on the other hand, went off with one of their friends to record a charity Christmas CD. Whilst Saskia has perfect pitch and is very musical, Eartha is the performer, so this was right up their street. They had a fabulous time and came home very tired.
Donny is troubled by warts. I had them too, when I was a child, and they are very common. They hang around for a while, then disappear as mysteriously as they came. The over-the-counter remedies won't work because the offending growths are too close together, so the doctor suggested gaffer tape. I know, don't ask. I think it is supposed to suffocate the damn things. Meanwhile, my poor daughter is wandering round with silver sticky-tape on her fingers, feeling a right nana.
My computer mouse is not working. The spring has gone so I can't click anything. I have had to requisition Mel's laptop. I shall have to get a new one. It really is a pain in the neck.
While my kids were out enjoying themselves with friends, I have been reading the Twilight series, by Stephanie Meyer. I know, you all probably read them years ago. I was certainly recommended them years ago, and somehow never got around to reading them. It is a hugely popular series, particularly in the teen-fiction section.
So, what do I think? Erm, they are quite addictive, lite reading. I want to read more and find out what happens to the characters. This is good. On the other hand, I don't get the attraction of the main character - Edward Cullen - you've probably heard of him. He is moody, icy cold and has an unyielding stony body. Sorry, ladies, this does nothing for me. I could go for the werewolf though... he's hot.
As far as the literary style goes - it is very simplistic stuff. The entire story appears to be told through the reactions in his liquid gold eyes and her fluttering heart. Not much else happens. The plot is made up of micro-plots based on emotion and tiny scenes. When I saw the film before reading the book, I thought the books were so popular because Edward was protective towards Bella (the heroine). And what woman doesn't want a man that protects her? This doesn't stand out in the books though. There's a lot of teenage angst going on.
I will read the rest of them, but I'm actually kind of disappointed. I keep comparing the plot to something like Steig Larsson's "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" and it just doesn't hold a candle. Mind you, maybe a simplistic plot is enough for most teen minds. Teens live in such a sea of emotion. My 11 year olds have got to that overly touchy stage. We have conversations like:
"Have you seen my phone?" is answered at top volume with
"Stop picking on me! I haven't had it!"
or
"Can you put your shoes on?" is answered with
"I'm doing it already!" followed by slamming doors and stamping feet.
Sigh. Only another decade or so of yelling to go.
On Thursday I got all the kids out on their bikes, with the Swedes, and we cycled nine miles altogether. We visited Great Witley Church, with its restored painted ceiling and beautiful gold trim. We had ice-creams and a drink at the tea rooms. It was lovely.
Naturally, the kids started to flag on the way back, so Nick came and rescued them in the car. My bike got a flat tyre too, so rescue was just in time for me too.
Yesterday, I had the day to myself, more or less. Donny and Mel went off to their friend's house. They spent the day tickling for trout or something. Naturally, Mel came back soaked, having fallen in the River Teme.
Saskia and Eartha, on the other hand, went off with one of their friends to record a charity Christmas CD. Whilst Saskia has perfect pitch and is very musical, Eartha is the performer, so this was right up their street. They had a fabulous time and came home very tired.
Donny is troubled by warts. I had them too, when I was a child, and they are very common. They hang around for a while, then disappear as mysteriously as they came. The over-the-counter remedies won't work because the offending growths are too close together, so the doctor suggested gaffer tape. I know, don't ask. I think it is supposed to suffocate the damn things. Meanwhile, my poor daughter is wandering round with silver sticky-tape on her fingers, feeling a right nana.
My computer mouse is not working. The spring has gone so I can't click anything. I have had to requisition Mel's laptop. I shall have to get a new one. It really is a pain in the neck.
While my kids were out enjoying themselves with friends, I have been reading the Twilight series, by Stephanie Meyer. I know, you all probably read them years ago. I was certainly recommended them years ago, and somehow never got around to reading them. It is a hugely popular series, particularly in the teen-fiction section.
So, what do I think? Erm, they are quite addictive, lite reading. I want to read more and find out what happens to the characters. This is good. On the other hand, I don't get the attraction of the main character - Edward Cullen - you've probably heard of him. He is moody, icy cold and has an unyielding stony body. Sorry, ladies, this does nothing for me. I could go for the werewolf though... he's hot.
As far as the literary style goes - it is very simplistic stuff. The entire story appears to be told through the reactions in his liquid gold eyes and her fluttering heart. Not much else happens. The plot is made up of micro-plots based on emotion and tiny scenes. When I saw the film before reading the book, I thought the books were so popular because Edward was protective towards Bella (the heroine). And what woman doesn't want a man that protects her? This doesn't stand out in the books though. There's a lot of teenage angst going on.
I will read the rest of them, but I'm actually kind of disappointed. I keep comparing the plot to something like Steig Larsson's "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" and it just doesn't hold a candle. Mind you, maybe a simplistic plot is enough for most teen minds. Teens live in such a sea of emotion. My 11 year olds have got to that overly touchy stage. We have conversations like:
"Have you seen my phone?" is answered at top volume with
"Stop picking on me! I haven't had it!"
or
"Can you put your shoes on?" is answered with
"I'm doing it already!" followed by slamming doors and stamping feet.
Sigh. Only another decade or so of yelling to go.
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
Travels with my Cello
"Taxis."
"Yes, I need a taxi from the railway station," I told the disembodied voice at the other end of the phone line.
"There's a rank at the station, love."
"I may need a larger cab, though. I'm travelling with four children and collecting a cello."
Even to my ears, it sounded like I was making it up.
Before the holiday to France (see the pod) I bought a cello on eBay for a bargain price. Eartha wants to take up cello lessons and who am I to deny her. Anyway, renting a cello is enormously expensive, so we got a second hand one instead. The only hassle was that the bargain we'd secured was 'local pick-up only' and on the other side of the country.
Thanks to Nick's job, we get a certain amount of free train travel, which was the only reason it was economic to to do a 500 mile round trip. It would only cost us time. A lot of time. It was a minimum of 13 hours on the train.
Logistically it was interesting too. Mum went in for her operation on Thursday. It was very quick, for such a major operation and we brought her home on Friday. She's making a marvellous recovery and is quite mobile; much better than expected. She even had the energy to come to the Captain's Day at the Bowling Club on Sunday. She didn't bowl, of course, but had a social time. She won a box of raspberries in the raffle, but heck, I won a can of coke.
Talking of bowling, I had a match on Saturday, at a small village club in rural Herefordshire. Mum gave me directions - but to a completely different club. I guess she was still suffering from the effects of the anaesthetic. I ended up asking directions from confused guests at a wedding and screeching into the car park ten minutes after the match started. Having said that, our rink was the only one that won, probably despite, rather than because of me.
Anyway, Mum couldn't look after the kids while I was fetching the cello, so they would have to come with me. And then, there was the matter of the dog. Again, Mum couldn't have him and Nick was at work. Eventually, late on Sunday night, I cajoled friend Beth into dog-sitting in return for me babysitting next weekend. Pal got quite a good deal out of this; he got a couple of walks and taken to the beer festival, where he was fussed continually for eight hours. My pooch was pooped when we got back in.
And so it was, that I was trying to persuade the taxi company of Great Yarmouth that I was not making a hoax booking. The whole trip went amazingly smoothly. British Rail, completely out of character, managed to make every connection (and there were lots of them). The kids behaved themselves and the taxi was there as promised. We made it there and back again without real incident. Eartha keeps hugging the cello like it is her best friend. It needs a bit of an MOT and a new string or two, but it'll do the job to learn on.
Guess what woke me up this morning? Yep, a three-string, un-tuned cello rendition of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'.
"Yes, I need a taxi from the railway station," I told the disembodied voice at the other end of the phone line.
"There's a rank at the station, love."
"I may need a larger cab, though. I'm travelling with four children and collecting a cello."
Even to my ears, it sounded like I was making it up.
Before the holiday to France (see the pod) I bought a cello on eBay for a bargain price. Eartha wants to take up cello lessons and who am I to deny her. Anyway, renting a cello is enormously expensive, so we got a second hand one instead. The only hassle was that the bargain we'd secured was 'local pick-up only' and on the other side of the country.
Thanks to Nick's job, we get a certain amount of free train travel, which was the only reason it was economic to to do a 500 mile round trip. It would only cost us time. A lot of time. It was a minimum of 13 hours on the train.
Logistically it was interesting too. Mum went in for her operation on Thursday. It was very quick, for such a major operation and we brought her home on Friday. She's making a marvellous recovery and is quite mobile; much better than expected. She even had the energy to come to the Captain's Day at the Bowling Club on Sunday. She didn't bowl, of course, but had a social time. She won a box of raspberries in the raffle, but heck, I won a can of coke.
Talking of bowling, I had a match on Saturday, at a small village club in rural Herefordshire. Mum gave me directions - but to a completely different club. I guess she was still suffering from the effects of the anaesthetic. I ended up asking directions from confused guests at a wedding and screeching into the car park ten minutes after the match started. Having said that, our rink was the only one that won, probably despite, rather than because of me.
Anyway, Mum couldn't look after the kids while I was fetching the cello, so they would have to come with me. And then, there was the matter of the dog. Again, Mum couldn't have him and Nick was at work. Eventually, late on Sunday night, I cajoled friend Beth into dog-sitting in return for me babysitting next weekend. Pal got quite a good deal out of this; he got a couple of walks and taken to the beer festival, where he was fussed continually for eight hours. My pooch was pooped when we got back in.
And so it was, that I was trying to persuade the taxi company of Great Yarmouth that I was not making a hoax booking. The whole trip went amazingly smoothly. British Rail, completely out of character, managed to make every connection (and there were lots of them). The kids behaved themselves and the taxi was there as promised. We made it there and back again without real incident. Eartha keeps hugging the cello like it is her best friend. It needs a bit of an MOT and a new string or two, but it'll do the job to learn on.
Guess what woke me up this morning? Yep, a three-string, un-tuned cello rendition of 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
International Meeting
The end of term meant many activities at the school. There were two Leavers' Assemblies for the Year 6 kids who are off to high school, an end of term picnic, a party for the Y6s, parent's evening... I felt as though I lived there after a while. To add to all of this, we had three Couchsurfers of varying nationalities staying.
Aziz is an intelligent, interesting Albanian who fled the troubles of the Kosovo- Serbian war and now lives in Germany. He stayed for a week. We went up the Malverns with him, and into Worcester. He also went off to Shakespeare's birthplace and Ludlow Castle.
Victoria also stayed with us. She is a Buddhist priest from Japan. Well, technically she's English, but she married a Japanese man and brought their youngest daughter with her. Sahara didn't speak much English, but seemed to get on well with my kids, being the same age as Saskia and Eartha. I arranged for her to go into their class for a day too, which Eartha was hugely excited about. I think they had a nice time.
Now the holidays are here, we can finally relax a little (who am I kidding?). Yesterday we went for a walk in the forest with Lynn, her twins, her friend Jan, Jan's daughter and Jan's daughter's friend. We had a picnic and let the dog run. It was a nice afternoon out.
Aziz is an intelligent, interesting Albanian who fled the troubles of the Kosovo- Serbian war and now lives in Germany. He stayed for a week. We went up the Malverns with him, and into Worcester. He also went off to Shakespeare's birthplace and Ludlow Castle.
Victoria also stayed with us. She is a Buddhist priest from Japan. Well, technically she's English, but she married a Japanese man and brought their youngest daughter with her. Sahara didn't speak much English, but seemed to get on well with my kids, being the same age as Saskia and Eartha. I arranged for her to go into their class for a day too, which Eartha was hugely excited about. I think they had a nice time.
Now the holidays are here, we can finally relax a little (who am I kidding?). Yesterday we went for a walk in the forest with Lynn, her twins, her friend Jan, Jan's daughter and Jan's daughter's friend. We had a picnic and let the dog run. It was a nice afternoon out.Friday, 15 July 2011
Life's Varied Tapestry
It has only been a week or so since I last blogged, but so much has happened it is difficult to put it into print without the danger of it ending up as a list of: I did this, I did that. There is nothing more boring.
My aunt and uncle went back to Holland. I was so busy while they were here, that I felt I didn't see much of them. They took the dog on long walks and spent lots of time with the children, whom they adore. The feeling is mutual. One of the days, the dog got a 2 hour walk from Tonny and Peter, then had another 2 hour walk when the Scouts walked to Arley. He was very happy, though somewhat hungry when he got in.
I managed to lose him on a walk in Cleobury this week. I took the car in to have the brakes done, and went for a walk down the River Rea. I'd not been there before. It is really pretty and we had a great wander. On the down side, I turned back after an hour, but the dog didn't. I had to enlist the help of a farmer and his quad bike to locate the errant mutt, not to mention getting Mum to drive around the back lanes looking for him.
The kids had their respective sport's days, which they seemed to enjoy. They don't excel at sport, but they quite enjoy doing it. They have climbing lessons and swimming lessons and gymnastics lessons, so not exactly couch potatoes.
On Sunday, Kate came over and galvenised us into chopping back the garden. We openned up the path and created a mega-mountain of trimmings. This lead to the discovery that a large tree was pushing the fuel tank off its mountings. I had to pay someone to chop down most of the rest of the tree, re-position the fuel tank and take all the foliage away. Expensive business, this gardening.
Also on Sunday, we had a visit from my French friend Steffie, who was in the country with her son Matt, visiting Matt's father. It was great to catch up and put the world to rights for a few hours.
Donny had her end-of-term violin concert, which was most enjoyable, yesterday, and today the whole of class six had their leaver's party. This seemed to be an exceptionally noisy disco and a barbeque. They enjoyed it. I stayed outside, trying to preserve what was left of my eardrums.
My aunt and uncle went back to Holland. I was so busy while they were here, that I felt I didn't see much of them. They took the dog on long walks and spent lots of time with the children, whom they adore. The feeling is mutual. One of the days, the dog got a 2 hour walk from Tonny and Peter, then had another 2 hour walk when the Scouts walked to Arley. He was very happy, though somewhat hungry when he got in.
I managed to lose him on a walk in Cleobury this week. I took the car in to have the brakes done, and went for a walk down the River Rea. I'd not been there before. It is really pretty and we had a great wander. On the down side, I turned back after an hour, but the dog didn't. I had to enlist the help of a farmer and his quad bike to locate the errant mutt, not to mention getting Mum to drive around the back lanes looking for him.
The kids had their respective sport's days, which they seemed to enjoy. They don't excel at sport, but they quite enjoy doing it. They have climbing lessons and swimming lessons and gymnastics lessons, so not exactly couch potatoes.
On Sunday, Kate came over and galvenised us into chopping back the garden. We openned up the path and created a mega-mountain of trimmings. This lead to the discovery that a large tree was pushing the fuel tank off its mountings. I had to pay someone to chop down most of the rest of the tree, re-position the fuel tank and take all the foliage away. Expensive business, this gardening.
Also on Sunday, we had a visit from my French friend Steffie, who was in the country with her son Matt, visiting Matt's father. It was great to catch up and put the world to rights for a few hours.
Donny had her end-of-term violin concert, which was most enjoyable, yesterday, and today the whole of class six had their leaver's party. This seemed to be an exceptionally noisy disco and a barbeque. They enjoyed it. I stayed outside, trying to preserve what was left of my eardrums.
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