Groundhog Week

Here we go again – it’s like Groundhog Day isn’t it?  Every day seems to be a repeat of the last! I hope everyone is well.  It would be nice to see the sunshine but at least the temperature is going up a bit so ‘mustn’t grumble’.

My daffodils are starting to flower, as are the hyacinths so this is a sort of cheery confirmation that Spring is fast approaching.

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At the beginning of the week I woke up deaf in my right ear!  Fortunately the Main Man had an appointment with the nurse so I went with him and asked her opinion.  Turns out the NHS no longer ‘deal with ears’ so she suggested I buy some ear drops and look around for someone privately!

Ear drops bought – but using them is not as straightforward as I had expected so the MM now has a new job – ‘medical assistant – ear department’.

In Havant there is a small private practice dealing with Podiatry and Ears (a strange combination but I suppose necessary).  I went in to enquire how much it would cost me for a check – £45 for one ear and £80 for both!!!!!  Thank you.

Strangely enough, exactly the same thing happened to my brother – what are the chances of that!  I am assured that Specsavers Hearing Centre (next door to Specsavers) will check for you free of charge but I don’t know if this is correct so will be popping in there on Monday – and so will my brother I suspect!

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Of course, like you I imagine, I haven’t been anywhere or seen anyone so I have no interesting conversations to report.

How about this to waste some of your precious time?  Just for fun – take either your first or last name and write one fact about yourself for each letter.  (I leave it up to you whether you wish to share it or not but it passes a few moments of your hectic life!)

I think I am, for better or worse, –

C – Cheerful is my default setting, but can easily descend into being Cross

H – Hard working – well I was, now not so much!

R – Reader – a source of pleasure, comfort, knowledge and so   much more    

I – Impatient – with inefficiency, especially people who don’t do something they have agreed to do

S – Spiritual – in a wider meaning, but not religious

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I firmly think that all of us – all people – are a mixture of good and bad with shades of grey in between.  We can do great things and still not be a very nice person or be vile beyond belief but have done good things too.

However it is much easier and saves a lot of thought to categorise people as ‘oh she’s a saint’ or ‘she’s an evil monster’ – but I don’t think anyone is all good or all bad. What is interesting is what makes people who have done great good become ‘bad’, or turns people who have done ‘bad’ into good people.

I have no patience at all with people who can only see good or bad – and not accept that people can change their way of life or their opinions.  I think it was Shaw who said that ‘those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.’  However if someone in the public eye changes their opinion on something, they have made a ‘U-turn’ and this is seen to be a bad thing, instead of being praised for perhaps having listened to advice, done research or just matured.  It is no good saying to a 40 your old celebrity ‘Well, when you were 18 you said….’ – mind changing should often be applauded!

Also people are of their time – for good or bad.  People of my age were brought up in a time where homosexuality was not only unacceptable but also illegal.  It was a time when people of colour were looked down on and insulted – and the threat that a coloured family might move into your road was guaranteed to bring house prices down!  It was a time when Daddies went to work and Mummies brought up their children and looked after their homes.   And it was a time when people could voice their opinions, no matter how awful others might find them.

How I wish we could remember this and not condemn people for things they said or did in a different era, and from which they have moved on.  None of us can change our past but we can just try and make our present different. 

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This week’s reminder that there is life outside of Covid and that I am likely to pop up with my notebook at every opportunity!  This was six years ago but still astonishes me.

March 2015

I was out and about when it seemed like time for a cup of tea.  I went into somewhere I’ve not been in for years and settled down.  Lovely tea in a china teapot, with hot water – and a cheeky warm cheese scone too!

All was calm and peace; I was probably the youngest there by years so that gives you an idea of the cliental.  Murmured conversations, no tinned music, just as I like it.

Suddenly the door opened and in came a woman, probably in her fifties and her daughter, probably in her late twenties/early thirties.  I didn’t know them, so am only guessing! They soon settled down to a conversation which kept the rest of enthralled as it was mostly carried on at full volume!  The gist of it was (many, many expletives deleted!) as follows:

The daughter explained to the mum that she had booked her holiday for the summer.  She and ‘the kids’ were going to a Hotel in Spain for two weeks, all-inclusive so there wouldn’t be a lot to pay out when they got there. She had just been into the travel agent to book her flights as she was worried about getting it wrong.

‘I told ‘er – I want cheap flights.  When she told me the price I nearly died – I told ‘er that it couldn’t be right.  Four of ‘em are only kids’.

‘Terrible, that is.  Get ‘em cheaper did ya?’

‘Nah.  She said it was full price for each kid.  ‘Course, I argued but she said they ‘ave a seat each, and that’s the seat price.  I said put ‘em two to a seat but she said that weren’t allowed’.

‘Terrible.  Whatcha do?’

‘I told ‘er.  I’m living on benefits and with four kids, I can’t afford that sort of money.  Know what she said?’

‘Nah, what?’

‘She said if I was on benefits wiv four kids, she was surprised I could afford two weeks in a hotel in Spain!!’  Cheeky cow – I walked out’.

‘Ya never!’

‘Yeah – only fing is, now I ain’t got any flights so will ‘ave to try somewhere else.’

‘Ave ‘alf me doughnut, that’ll make you feel better!’

You could have heard a pin drop – the whole place was riveted by this saga!  I was almost tempted to follow them when they left to see if they had a similar reception elsewhere – but I stayed put and had another cup of tea.

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I hope you all have a good week and that the weather will convince us that Spring is coming.  Take care of yourselves and those whom you love.

Stay safe

xx

Brrr – This Week Has Been A Cold One

Good morning all – I hope everyone is well and that those of you who had vaccinations this week have had no ill effects!  I am so very impressed with the speed that the vaccinations are being accomplished – so well done to all the volunteer helpers who ensure the whole thing runs smoothly as well as to the medics who actually do the injections.

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I had a welcome response from a good friend of many years about buying clothes on line – and she always manages to look lovely so I think I shall take a risk and try it – watch this space!

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Many thanks for all the responses and suggestions for Classic Novels I Should Read Before I Die.  I can only say I shall not be dying anytime soon – there are so many good ideas!  Some I read many years ago and will reread, some are old friends and already on the bookshelves and some are completely new to me but I shall give them a go.  I can’t wait for the charity shops to re-open as that is always the ideal place for classic books as a lot of people seem to get rid of them, presumably after trying but not liking them!

I started off be reading The Great Gatsby – but I actually wish I hadn’t bothered.  It is dull, turgid and, thankfully, thin with no real story.  I shall now be inundated with messages saying how much it is loved or even that the film is great but the book – not my cup of tea.  Next will be a return to an old favourite I think – so I can tick off two already!

I am always open to suggestions – so please feel free to keep them coming!

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My radio station of choice during the day is BBC Radio Solent and, over many years, I always listen to it while we are having breakfast.  On Sundays there is a programme of all things that come under the vague heading of ‘Religion’ I suppose – pieces about different faiths, hymns, song, news and so on.  Over the past year they have started broadcasting a short Christian service from a wide variety of churches – Roman Catholic, evangelical, Salvation Army, Methodist, Baptist, house church etc – usually very different and most often not my cup of tea, but I am happy to have it playing away and sometimes joining in the hymns.

However last week the service was from Marylebone and was a prayer-book service.  Oh, my life, for someone who is not a practicing Christian, it really touched something deep in me that I had long forgotten.  Suddenly I knew the words to the prayers, the readings were from the King James Bible and the hymns were what might be considered ‘Old Fashioned’ – and I was so moved by it.

I’ll leave it there – but it was a very strange experience.

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Last week there was a good response to the ‘Bus Stories’ from old blogs – and, as my week mostly consists of doing nothing and going nowhere, I think I’ll repeat the exercise!

Hope you enjoy this one from February 2014

Yesterday was another ‘Bus’ day – and, as always, I was on the alert for interesting happenings to report back!

The journey to my OU Tutorial was quiet – in fact there were very few people on the bus at all.  After a great morning, I then met up with my good friend H for a lunchtime sandwich in the near-by park to enjoy the sunshine.  We decided to catch the bus together, she would get off to visit someone and I would go on to the bus station and change to the bus to take me home (thank goodness for a bus pass!)

On the journey we gossiped and put the world to rights, as we always do, making acid comments about things we saw on the way and so on – until it suddenly dawned on us that WE were the dotty elderly ladies, when the couple of women on the seat in front of us turned round to have a good look at us!  What? Us?  Let’s just hope no-one else on the number 23 yesterday was writing a blog because I can just see it now……overweight, grey haired woman and her (slim) friend kept us all entertained with their observations about the people of the local town, the state of the shops, the paucity of good manners etc. etc.

However, I eventually arrived, got off the bus, wandered about a bit then headed for the stop to catch my bus home.  In the sort of disorganised way that characterises local bus-stops, there were quite a few people milling about which magically became a queue when the bus arrived (there was also a lot of polite ‘please, you go first’ and so on – I was at the back naturally!).  Suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, a lady ran over, straight to the front of the queue, shouting ‘me first, let me get on first!’  She was quite fit as she was running (and I mean running – not that weird hurrying manoeuvre that some of us do!) and shouting at the same time, and was obviously some years younger than me – so perhaps we could call her a middle-aged dotty woman (MADW)?  The elderly woman with the walking frame at the front of the queue was a little surprised, to say the least, especially as her frame was on the bus as she was in the process of heaving herself on in pursuit of it.  But no – MADW used her elbows, pushed past, removed the frame from the bus back onto the ground and got on. 

The driver appeared oblivious to what was going on, so a youngish man from halfway back whizzed forward, spoke kindly to the elderly lady and got on the bus.  Standing at the front by the driver so we could all hear him he yelled ‘Oy, Missis – you’re on the wrong bus, you need to get off’.  Well, blow me down – that was exactly what she did!  She hurried down the bus (in my experience dotty people usually sit at the back!), pushed past the man and the elderly lady and ran right across the bus station to another bus, seemingly at random, yelling ‘me first, let me get on first!’ 

I can’t help but wonder where she thought she was, where she thought she was going and did she ever arrive?

What is there about bus travel that is such a rich seam of interest?  And I wonder what on earth must go on when I’m not about to record it?

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Well, this dotty old lady hopes you all have a good week – and hopefully a warmer week that this one.  Please take care of yourselves and those whom you love.  Stay Safe.

xx

Snow Due Today – But Will It Arrive?

Good morning everyone – I hope you are all well.  I know some of you have had your vaccinations this week – so I hope you are not suffering any ill effects.

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Many thanks to all of you that took the trouble to get in touch about last week’s Ramble – there is no doubt that many of you seem to love the bus stories and strange encounters, so I am thinking I might repeat some of them from ages ago – certainly while there is no likelihood of anything new happening!

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A call-out to all book lovers!  After listening to something on the radio, I stopped to think.  I read.  A lot.  Every Day.  However, most of the books are new – and I became very aware of how many of what could be called ‘Classic Novels’ have passed me by for one reason or another (including some that were killed for me by ‘having’ to read them and dissect them at school!)

I found a list on-line of 100 novels you should read before you die – and some of them I have not only not read but also that I have never even heard of.

Can you help me please – are there any books that you can recommend or that you have been meaning to read and haven’t, that are not recent publications but can come under the heading of ‘Classic Novels’?  if so – please let me know and I can add them to the list I am compiling!

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I’ve not bought any clothes for absolutely ages and probably won’t be buying for a while either.  However, there was a report on the news about clothes shops dying out because ‘most’ people prefer to buy their clothes on line.

Now I have some questions for those of you that do this!

1. Size – in some shops I am one size and in another can be two sizes larger or smaller – how do I know it will fit?
2. How do I know what the fabric will be like – I can’t feel it first can I?  How do I know it won’t crease like mad or be very scratchy or whatever?
3. What if, when I try it on at home, I just don’t like it although it looked lovely in the picture?

Do you shop for clothes on line?  Can you let me know how you feel about it please?

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I am very disturbed by some posts on Facebook where someone is trying to trace someone else and they were separated by adoption.  As most of you know, this is like a sword in my heart when I see them – and it is wrong on so many levels.

You can be doing irreparable harm which will ruin any chance of building a new relationship.  Suppose someone was adopted as a child but has never been told and has no idea?  Suppose the lady you are looking for has never told her husband or her children about her past?  I answer these appeals privately whenever I see them and try to offer advice about the right way to go about this but there is often an ‘I want it now’ attitude prevailing, regardless of the lives they may be ruining.

There was one this week trying to find her father – a name was given but the person’s mother said it was a ‘one night stand’ and she couldn’t be sure!  Yet this man’s name was all over Facebook with no DNA evidence at all – and if he isn’t the father, look at the damage that will have been done.

Please think before you share these posts!

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From January 2014 – A bus story.

The single decker bus I used to return from the Dentist wasn’t very crowded at all, and we eventually stopped at a local shopping centre, where there were quite a few people waiting to get on.  Glancing out of the window perked me up no end – I knew there were going to be problems and that you would like to know about them!

First on – a young man in a wheelchair with his Mother pushing him. No problem, mum managed to park the wheelchair in the designated spot, all the while apologising for keeping people waiting.  Lots of (unwanted) advice helped her to park him safely and secure his brakes.  A couple of elderly people got on, then a mum with a buggy.  Oops – the wheelchair was in the place for the buggy and the driver told her she’d have to sit the baby on her lap and put the buggy in the luggage compartment. (Don’t nod off – there is more!). Much moaning and complaining in a loud voice.

Calm returned as a couple of students got on with their ear-phones plugged in, completely oblivious to everything and everyone, followed by two elderly ladies with shopping trollies!  Of course – nowhere to park them! (By this time I’d brightened up considerably as I could see trouble fast approaching – but I digress!)  No, they couldn’t just stand in the aisle with them – they had to put them on the luggage rack.  One lady was ok – a man helped her lift hers onto the rack and she sat down – the second one fell as it was being lifted by the same obliging chap and the shopping started to fall out, all over the floor (trying to round up the apples/oranges provided a few moments of light relief!).  No-one could get past so there were mutterings from the remainder of the queue.  Eventually the trolley was repacked and safely stowed and peace returned as three other people got on.

Then it was the turn of a mum with a twin buggy!  The driver informed her that he couldn’t take the buggy as there was no room and she would have to wait a few minutes for the next bus (they run every ten minutes).  Well – it was as if war had been declared – she pushed her buggy onto the bus step (the floor lowers to help people) and refused to budge.  The driver refused to budge.  Stalemate!

The girl then pulled out her phone, and called someone and the whole bus was treated to a stream of bad language as she complained that the driver was a bully (amongst other things!) who was victimising her because she had a large buggy.  Within moments – the door of a house near the bus stop opened and out came a large chap, bare chested and covered with tattoos.  The boyfriend!  He rushed over – told her to sit down then told the driver to try and throw the buggy off the bus and see what happened.  The driver just said ‘sorry mate, no room’.  (As this was unfolding, the next bus drew in behind us, because we’d been there so long). A real row was brewing, and I admit to being a little uneasy and worried it might actually turn into a fight when the mum of the chap in the wheelchair got up and walked up to the boyfriend.  She was about a foot or more shorter than him, thin as a reed with grey hair, and she simply said ‘Son, stop shouting and think for a minute!’  The boyfriend turned to her and he simply looked astonished.

 ‘What?’ 

‘I’ve been pushing my boy around for forty three years and he’ll never be any different.  Your children will want pushing around for a year or two then they will want someone to look up to and respect.  Now get off the bus and stop making a fool of yourself, you can see there’s no room for your buggy.’

Tense moment (holding my breath!)  The chap looked at her, looked at his girlfriend and said ‘C’mon Char  – you can get the next one’.

Crisis averted, the bus driver closed the door and we moved on.

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I hope you have a good week – please take care of yourselves and those whom you love.  I look forward to any of you that feel inclined to make contact – your views and comments are so very welcome!

Stay safe xx