This month sees a major landmark: The 50th edition of my blog. When I first started writing, I never thought it would be for so long. Thank you to all of you who are still reading it, and a special ‘thank you’ to those who have encouraged, and keep encouraging me to continue. I will!
We had another landmark this month with our son Adam’s 40th birthday. He was up from London for the weekend preceding his birthday when we hosted an extended family gathering to celebrate. Our daughter, Fiona, organised it, asking brother-in-law Dave to bring along his barbecue and cook the meat. We have held similar BBQ gatherings here before, though always in the summer. But a BBQ in February? To make matters worse, it was the wild weekend of Storms Dudley and Eunice. We did suggest cooking the meat in the kitchen but Dave was having none of it! With true northern (well, North Midlands) grit, he put on “t’ big coat” and stood outside alone, tending the BBQ while the rest of us stayed tucked up nice and warm indoors. A very enjoyable event.
Last month I wrote about the visit by the NHS Electronic Assistive Technology Service (EATS). In view of my difficulty handling remote controls and telephone handsets, they returned this month to install some new kit and software on my PC. I now have full control of my TV and Virgin Media box via the PC and mouse. I also have the new speaker telephone, connected to the landline, which allows me to make and receive calls via the computer. Amazing stuff!
February has been a bumper month for sport. Nottingham Forest reached the 5th round of the FA Cup, beating Premier League teams, Arsenal and Leicester City, en route. In the Six Nations Rugby Tournament, Scotland started well, beating England to retain the Calcutta Cup, but lost their next two games. And then, of course, we had the Winter Olympics, and curling. I first ‘discovered’ curling at the last Olympics and found it fascinating, though I have never tried it. This time, I followed it avidly and was delighted to see Team GB win gold in the women’s event, and silver in the men’s, while our mixed doubles team just missed out on a bronze.
I had just one outing this month, to see my GP. Life in a wheelchair has given me persistently swollen feet. A trial with ‘water tablets’ had limited impact. Adding compression stockings helped only a little. Hence the GP visit. His suggestion? Double the dose of water tablets!! Doreen’s mother used to take them, and complained hugely about her over-frequent loo trips. What would they do to me? So far, they have slightly increased my number of visits soon after taking them, and the volume on those visits is huge, but the effect soon wears off. Has the swelling gone down? Not noticeably so far. A triple dose next? I certainly hope not!
The prize for the most ironic event this month, though, was when I received a letter summoning me to jury duty. I have been eligible for the last 50 years without ever being summoned, although many friends and colleagues have been called. I used to think it was because we moved so frequently, but we did spend 15 years at the same address in Cuckfield, and we haven’t been in this house for very long. Fortunately, they have accepted my request to be excused without further question.
Finally, to the garden pond; Doreen still hasn’t seen our fish so is back to believing it has gone again! But we were, once more visited by a pair of mallard ducks. I’m sure it must be the same pair as last year and the year before. They seemed more relaxed this time, arriving mid morning, swimming around and eating the pond weed, then basking in the sunshine all afternoon. Beautiful birds.