C&nt

 

Weaver as a baby

I saw a financial advisor today. 

I completed my application to the NCPS (The National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society ) and paid my dues. I already have insurance in place and a new supervisor booked so I will take my paperwork into the counselling centre tomorrow in order to book my first clients.

This has given me some control back today 

An informal message support line continues amongst the hospice nursing and support worker staff, and I’m thankful for friends Ben, Louise, Rhian and Ruth for grounding me today. 

Ruth and I had lunch at Mostyn Galleries but neither of us could eat

I am feeling every inch my 63 years, this rollercoaster ride is not what you expect and want at any age let alone now in the autumn of my working career

But let’s change the subject

It’s  Bun & Weaver’s 1st birthday ( estimated lol)

This morning as I was FaceTiming with my financial advisor , he commented that a black cat had walked past me, tip toeing on the radiator top. The cat had stopped briefly by the reading chair, then smacked a shocked Roger in the gob before running out of the cat flap 

“ That’s Weaver” I told him “ she’s a cunt!”

A story

 

I may lose my job quite soon

The hospice is looking for redundancies 

I want to share one story 

A story that has nothing to do with matrixes or redundancy scenarios

It’s all about nursing.

A few years ago my gentle lonely patient asked me what my bucket list was

Of course it was all about her, but I shared gently that I had never danced in public even though my ex husband was a professional dancer

She smiled and giggled and asked me a favour

Would I dance with her ?

She told me that she loved that special dance on Ally McBeal and she asked if we could dance it together

And so we did, one morning after medicine round

We pushed the drawer set against the door, so no one would walk in 

And we watched the video together

And then  we danced 

She in pyjamas and big fluffy slippers

Me in my uniform and fat belly

She died the next day

And I was with her

And it was the worst and best day at work ever

I may lose my job soon

But I know I delivered that day with that special patient 

Every nurse at risk of redundancy will have a similar story

Redundancy

See the statement below

It means nursing jobs  in Holyhead and Llandudno are at risk of redundancy both sites will lose staff

A very sad day

https://stdavidshospice.org.uk/holyhead-hospice-announcement/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLh-eBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETAya0xmdFR5M05VOUs2SUlXAR4mXHMXbs5DjJDOdtYLdwGkLqTw63AMeOsXA8Lu0vWepXGjQvOeRTdyy0yg3g_aem_347iYsRCaXcxGSBwImC92w

Lou Sanders vs Joe Wilkinson - Naughty taughty

Wine Tasting

Dave & The Velvet Voiced Linda

 It was lovely to be with my Trelawnyd Village Family tonight.A lovely bunch and I was so moved that they gave me a toast and a round of applause for my graduation 

Wine

 I covered night shift sickness last night

It’s too hot too sleep today 34 degrees

This fun tonight

John Gray- The Next Chapter

Things have an energy all of their own don’t they?

I saw my last counselling client as a student yesterday and found out that the mental health charity I’m working with  has taken me on as a sessional professional counsellor. 

My next client will be paying for my services

Bloody hell.

I had a rush of “imposter syndrome” yesterday, but my new supervisor grounded me with some pragmatic words and useful advice.

Part time now I will be self employed for the first time in the 45 years of my employment history 

I can do it

My twin sister did the same during Covid 

Today I’ve been planning things around the Flower Show. I’m now working tonight to cover sickness so will be off the entire weekend which will nice given I’m going to the village hall’s wine tasting evening tomorrow night ! 

Above is the community Associations’ wild flower meadow and orchard. There are apples on the trees which may be harvested free  by the villagers when they ripen. It’s a great initiative 

The novelty veg photos have been coming in too, we just need a few more please

It’s a hot day 

Thanks to villager Sandra and her hubby Robert for donating a new cup for the show 

The new Barbara Parry and Rowenna Price Memorial Cup 

And finally a big thank you to villagers Nick and The Velvet Voiced Linda for my graduation gift 

Bwthyn y llan

 Ma Manley has added my cottage to her history book of Trelawnyd.

This has pleased me greatly. I feel honoured to have my own page so to speak.

In Welsh Bwthyn translates as “Cottage” where as y llan means “an enclosure, a religious place of settlement or even a Church” So my home can be known as Church Cottage in English . 

In its past it was known as Llan Cottage no 1 and the two cottages together as a generic Tan y Fynwent ( under the Graveyard) 

The Flower Show

 

Last year’s winner cups are starting to come in. In just two weeks or so the 50th Trelawnyd Flower Show will take place. The new arts judge, an elderly painter, has just confirmed her role and Velvet Voiced Linda has secured a local actor as our Show Opener. He is a pianist too, so will provide some ivory tickling as the visitors and competitors enter the Hall

If any of you have any international novelty veg/fruit entries please forward them along to me at jgsheffield@icloud.com

I was writing this and realised Roger was missing. The people who had returned the cups had left the gate open and in a flash he was gone.

I couldn’t find him anywhere, and drove along the main road after searching the nearby gardens

His dim nature means he is terrible in traffic and has no sense of direction for home

I was frantic 

Trendy Carol and hubby, other neighbours , and even the postman joined in.

But he wasnt in the sheep fields, down the lane or on the main road.

I drove around the village 

But no one had seen him

It was awful

After a time I started up the lane in Bluebell 

And there he was with Polish Monika’s hubby and their bulldog

Trotting down the lane as if nothing had happened.

He had nearly got himself knocked over, and was caught in the estate a quarter mile into the village

Thank God most people know and love him

Tracy Manchester has just messaged me saying that he’s come into her house for a drink of water then bolted up the road before she could catch him!

I’m going for a lie down

 

“ A Moment of silence, emotion and Wild Beauty*”

I’m a sucker for a magic moment. 

In counselling it can happen when you and your client suddenly reach an emotional depth around an issue and you both suddenly feel that connection with a look that brings you up short. 

Sometimes it’s an experience that awes you. 

My first steps into La Sagrada Famila literally made my heart soar

Mary trying to run fast to say hello after my holiday break

The lisping choir and Metropolitan Orchestra playing Nocturn was one such moment.

The auditorium lights went off suddenly and the music and voices filled the space

And you where left with the experience without self consciousness  

Why do I like Dinosaurs so much?

 

Jurassic world Rebirth is much better than the last two movies in the franchise. Its a taught, romp with effectively two teams of protagonists in peril. One scientific and mercenary ( led by an impressively buff Scarlett Johansson) and one family and cute ( led by an equally impressive Manuel Garcia-Rulfo )

British director Gareth Edwards, likes his dinosaur set pieces, and with Spielberg touches everywhere provides a new twist on the genre with wonderfully tense flourishes.

Jonathon Bailey is cute as a button as the obligatory dino expert, who cries when he sees his first sauropod, wide eyed Audrina Miranda is the cute spunky kid who had the most sexiest dad this side of the Atlantic..

Indeed for me , Manuel Garcia Rulfo in his sexy shorts made the film for me…I’m still drooling

Sunday

I’m working all day today

So nothing profound today
 

You Couldn’t Make It Up

The mass of staff and trucks trying to sort out our new plane

Our Iberian jet never left Madrid

We sat on it for a bloody age until an engineer was called and after much scrambling up and off the aircraft we all saw him stand on the runway and give the pilot a cheerful thumbs down 

The passengers gave a collective groan and our already sad psychi was effectively described by a German woman in business class who stood up and shouted “ ve arr fooked!!!”

We sat on the plane for another two hours until a replacement aircraft arrived right next to us

Then the pilot ( an impressively calm Spaniard with the look of Charlton Heston ) told us we had to get on three airport buses in order to embark the new airplane even though it was only 50 feet away

We duly got on the buses , which did a sharp circle only to arrive at the empty and functioning aircraft some 60 seconds later.

We stood on the buses another half hour until the new staff arrived on a minibus

Then galloped back to our new seats with the dignity of 150 teenagers at a school disco

Ruth and I got the giggles

Then we had to wait for the baggage to be transferred and a slot on the runway

We laughed some more,

Our return journey had equalled our first, but we had the best of times!

we got home well after midnight.

I was due to complete a twelve hour shift today and thank the lord for my friend and colleague Katrina , who has stepped in and kindly done my shift for me . 

I cleaned up Bun and Weaver’s stomach heaving little tray and went to bed exhausted around 12.30 am

Leaving my luggage in the car, 

And some happy times in my memory 

Say goodbye and Graduation

 Both of us are sad leaving. Coffee and plain churros for me, chocolate and fat churros for Ruth.The city is preparing itself for Pride and the parade will bisect Atocha where we were staying and where we now feel we know. 

We said goodbye to the house Martin chicks on our balcony

And had a short wander

Before sadly turning for home

What’s app has been busy

My graduation was yesterday and my name was read out

My Uni Group sent me this photo as a way of including me

Food and Choir

 At dawn Ruth went foraging in the relative cool ( 32 degrees), she found The San Miguel Market, where we ventured out for breakfast at 10 am. The food was glorious

The lisping choir Talia Grupo were in fine voice. Their selection of hits from Eurovision were inspired and sometimes incredibly moving. I will post a few pieces when they arrive on line but will leave you with this rehearsal piece of Fairytale a Eurovision winner for Norway in 2009.

The auditorium gave the orchestra and choir a standing ovation which held three encores

One of which I videoed ( you can video an encore btw)

After the concert we had garlic prawns at the market followed by beers in the square as the rain pelted down as it has down every evening at ten pm

Lovely

Culture and Heat

 The Reina Sofia Museum was a cool haven , as was our 2 hour breakfast at a little cafe just beyond Plaza Major. Ruth and I  are lucky as we love people watching, cafe sitting and not overdoing things in bloody hot weather. Guernica by Picasso was bigger than I thought, and was suitably drab compared with his contempories’ works.

Dali’s Girl at the Window ( an early work and rather haunting)

The Adorable Joseph de Togores’ Paraja en la playa

Guernica

Tonight we ate seafood paella, croquetas de jamón Serrano and drank beer on the square and watched diners in the next outdoor restaurant get soaked as a wonderful thunderstorm overwhelmed their rickety  umbrellas

I’ve had a lovely time so far…I’ve really needed to be away ….ive needed to feel more than a mere student or an old nurse or a 63 year old singleton …travel lightens you, it nurtures you….and tomorrow we go for a mooch around the food market nearby then the highlight lisping choir concert in the evening

How lucky am I ?

A Fat Spider-Man in The Sun

 

It’s been a nice day so far.

The apartment is very dynasty chic circa 1989 with Queen sized beds and door knocker Charles Dickens would be proud of. 

The plaza Major is a 16th Century Plaza, filled to the gunnels with the cries of nesting house martins

We sat outside last night and the umbrellas of the cafes misted their patrons with a cooling water mist which was as blissful as you could ever think possible and this morning we watched the birds for an age before going out for a long breakfast

Even the Spaniards are saying it too hot so we shopped for essentials ( gin, Diet Coke , aeoli, ) and are cooling in the air co before the Regina Sofia and a walk at dusk around the great Pond in Retiro before dinner.

I’ve seen it all when we ambled back in the heat

A tubby Spider-Man braving the soaring temps just outside the apartment 

Hey ho

A Glorious Fuck Up

 

We are here

But only after a traumatic saga with non forthcoming boarding passes, wrong information , a stressful time with security which allowed me to leave my passport with a staff member who later denied having it, we missed our flight but the passport was eventually found by a German hero called Kathryn who got Iberia to get us on a later flight for nothing

Our driver didn’t turn up at Madrid airport too, but we were beyond caring at that junction

But here we are laughing hysterically as we chugged beers at midnight

The apartment is luxurious with three balconies overlooking a lovely square

Madrid Tomorrow

 

Delhy Tejero self portrait at the Regina Sofia

I adore this painting

It’s Monday and I’ve washed my best smalls for Madrid tomorrow( the ones without holes)

Two pairs of linen trousers two nice shirts and my best walking Dead T Shirt all packed.

It’s bloody 39 degrees

Don’t worry I’ve just paid my travel insurance 

My brother in law is convalescing after his illness in Portugal and is doing well, so I’m well covered if disaster happens.

I’ve bought tickets to the Regina Sofia Museum of Art and have the tickets to the lisping Choir concert on Thursday all printed out.

The museum is opened till 9 pm so we can go when it’s cooler.

Yesterday I started my exercises the physio prescribed for my weakened arm, he states it should recover

I needed a small dumbbell but didn’t want to buy one (I am somewhat skint due to my recent sick time)  so I put a post on the village what’s app group asking to loan one 

Not four hours later this appeared on the kitchen wall…..

I love my village 

My Madrid fantasy is when I sit down for Talia Grupo’s concert I find myself next to the King Filipe VI

Who is out for a night on his own  

If only!

Ps this block print of the village Church was designed by Ma Manley and has circulated yesterday

It’s beautiful 

Témen Oblåk (“Dark Clouds”) - And Manuel Garcia Rulfo

A stunning bit of music

 Now why can’t we have a Manuel Rulfo lookalike in Trelawnyd