A Blog Christmas Card🎄🎄🎄

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It's a quiet night so far at the hospice.
I've just written my Christmas cards and wrapped them into elastic banded bundles ---ones to hand deliver and ones to be posted.
The number of posted ones seem to diminish in number every year
I've just done a check of all of the patients with my trust pen torch....not so much The Lady of The Lamp .....more like The old fart with the torch.....
Everyone is peaceful and sleeping

Now...It's time to send my generic blog Christmas card
I picked the above photo because I think it sums up the past year for me
A bit sad, a bit emotional but a bit hopeful....
( BTW I did try to add two Christmas hats to the photo but got somewhat befuddled with the software!!)

Say what you will about the content of Going Gently ( And I have plenty of knockers!!! [ ohh arrhhh missus!]) I am constantly amazed that so many people pop in from time to time to read the ongoing saga of a middle aged Welsh homo and his eclectic brood of friends, fellow villagers and pets.
It's been a somewhat one sided year...one which has been noticeably lacking in humour, but I think I have hiked up the old bra straps and have raised, at least , a few titters along the way.

Thank you all for your contributions , support, humour, challenging, occasional bad temper, postcards , art works, questions and most importantly your kindnesses over the past year.
The blog has been a strange source of therapy for me, And it's weird to realise that so many people are occasionally plodding alongside as I trundle through life of a middle aged, newly single poof who is just getting back onto his two hairy and often aching legs again.

So I am wishing you a very Happy Christmas from Trelawnyd
I hope it's a good one for all of us....
Thank you for being there over 2019
And as the Golden Girls theme put it so eloquently
Thank You for being a friend.

Friday

I have now turned my car radio to radio 4 now on my morning commute
I cannot abide the all-too-early Christmas songs blaring out
To me Christmas songs on the radio should only start around the 20th

I'm on a one off night shift tonight...
My friend John from Sheffield rang me earlier and told me to get my Christmas lights up
" You need to get yourself going!"  He said kindly

The postman gave me a shove in the same direction when he dropped off a bundle of cards
He's a new postie who looks a cheerful soul,
As did the cards he delivered

Lights

Lord
I went to bed before 6pm last night and woke up at 6.30 am this morning
I was tired and unwell
Dorothy was performing a rather frantic cross legged CPR before dawn in order to wake me
But I needed to sleep
Long and hard.

I am aware I've not seen much of the village, or indeed anyone but work people for days and days now, and so during a blustery and cold teatime Mary, Albert and I ventured out to blow away the cobwebs and to see the Christmas lights. Albert didn't last long, he returned home after the gales whistled hard through the Churchyard Yews , but Mary dug in and lowered her head against the wind, and like the terrier she is, she pushed on bravely with me as I pulled my scarf around my face.

We stopped first at the old police house who always put on a good show of lights and winter animals, they didn't disappoint but you have to venture up their drive in order to see everything!
The village Hall's impressive Christmas tree swayed madly and looked sweet  but the award for the best show must be awarded to Wendy and Mervin's covered Cherry tree
Simple but effective

I passed the Randa's bright little house in the centre of the village and it's cheerfulness reminded me that I need to buy the Randa girls some Christmas decorations .
It's a silly tradition that I've done for a few years now.
I would have led Mary all the way up high Street to look down on the village from above but the wind was gusting like mad and a Shepherd's pie in the oven was calling me gently.

As we turned down Bron Haul and headed back towards the Church
Mary quickened her pace towards home

Matt Alber

Working today
So enjoy Matt alber

A Year Ago...William

Sweet William
Click on the above line
This was a year ago!!!
He's second on the left
I do miss him

Wreck Of The Hesperus

"She's a sweetie!" 
So crooned the new vet at the surgery after I had lifted Mary onto his examining table
He has floppy hair and looks like a Greek god
I had a snotty nose and had tomato sauce dripped down my jumper
"She is !" I agreed, mesmerised by his gleaming teeth
The vet touched my hand by accident as he moved her harness in order to look into her ear.
And I jumped as if electrocuted
He said something vaguely funny
And I laughed a too loud a laugh like a loon!
And inwardly I laughed at myself  for doing so.

Half an hour later I was in sainsburys and I bumped into an old friend from Intensive Care
" You look rough" he said
" A mixture of long shifts and looming decri absolute" I told him
I bought provisions and ended up at the till of a cashier I have a kind of man crush on
The cashier always blushes when I speak to him
I still had a snotty nose and tomato down my front
And I did look rough as a bear' s arse!
He didn't blush much today I noted

Although I couldn't really afford it, I bought a Christmas wreath from Sainsbury's
My cashier told me it looked nice.
It was my turn to blush

I've put the wreath up on the front of the cottage when I got home
Mrs Trellis coooeeed as I did so
She was walking Blue who was wearing a matching red coat to hers
" You look tired " she trilled " Are you on night shift?

Hugs

I hugged a patient goodbye today
It's a common thing for hospice staff to do when their patients go home
Contrary to expectations
Many patients get to go home

In my experience there are two types of hugs
The first is the polite hug. The hug of affection that perhaps lasts only a second or two
It's heartfelt and warm and sometimes unexpected !!

For many hugs are rare as hen's teeth

The second type of hug is the bear hug. That long, long hug of need and want
The kind where back slaps tighten into embraces that hate to be opened.
The all enveloping hug

Tonight I came home to a dark ......silent cottage
And near empty, in my psychological  reserves
I sat and cried sad selfish tears for a short while

Moments later the dogs arrived home,
In a blast of hairy, goggle eyed  Bon viveur !
And bulldog and terrier hugs commenced in earnest
Big, fat, long fuck off bulldogs and terrier hugs

How lucky am I ?

The Best Agony Aunt Question

Dear Deirdre

I am 29 and have just had my first period?
Is this normal?

Best wishes
Dave ( Bristol )

Chic Eleanor and a bag of chips

Living in the big house, East of Trelawnyd, Chic Eleanor has been pretty quiet of late.

We have two mutual friends who live in a nearby walled town of Conwy so today went to meet them.

The venue, the Art Deco real ale pub The Albion  was a place Eleanor had never been to before, but she was game and walked into the public bar with a swirl of her lovely pashmina

She stopped short when she saw the little puddles of dogs all sat at their owner's feet ( the pub is a renown doggy pub) and she beamed

" Darling John.....the. Dogs!!! Look at all of the dogs!" She cried

And she went around the tables saying hello to each one.

I love this about Eleanor

Her ability to find joy in the simplest of things.

We met our friends Sara and Pask in the snug and put the world to rights over a few beers and when the subject of dinner came up, I suggested chips on the little seaside quayside that borders the east of the town.

Eleanor beamed again 

" Darling.. chips, mushy peas and gravy sound absolutely divine" 

and with a swirl of classy cologne she led the walk across town 

And we ate our chips on the little harbour wall overlooking the estuary in the dark!!