Nook & Cranny

Not everyone has a needlepoint which captures a year in their life. 

I have! 

Thirty three years ago I was a Charge nurse on a spinal Injury Unit, who lived in a tiny, house in Walkley Sheffield with ginger cats, a miniature garden, a spit and sawdust pub around the corner called The Sportsman and a collection of antiques started with a black 1940s Bakelite phone from a local junk shop

It’s charming and it’s been hanging on my landing for an absolute age now and now needs a move to a new corner which will allow it to be viewed all over again 

 

Meet 2

 The meeting today was quieter thanks to the cheese and a handful of Sausage. 

No barking, no silliness , just some careful good looks and sniffing . 

After half an hour Mary settled and minutes later Roger finally sat down, but the kittens remained in the carrier. 

Day 2 ( tick)

I met up with village Elder Ian and we revamped the flower show posters which will be placed at either ends of the village 

I mopped the bedroom floor, made avocado salad and opened every window except those in the kitten’s bedroom 

A quiet Sunday all told

Mexican Standoff

A minute later the dogs walked in on their leads and the kittens flew into their carrier, wide eyed and spitting . It was a long hour, with the kittens in defence and Roger in benign greeting. 

Every hiss had him bouncing back behind me, a worried look upon his face. 

Mary watched carefully , stepping forward, then back then forward again until she grew bored and at the 50 minute mark she sat down to sleep. 

Roger wined and barked some, then repeated his hopeful greeting before jumping back yet again. 

Both dogs turned their attention to me when I retrieved a small lump of cheese from my pocket, from which I gave each a morsel 

I will repeat the process tomorrow until boredom and cheese dominates 

I went to see Alien Romulus tonight

It was shite

Bit of the lisping choir to compensate 

Asleep on the table

 Another study day today, this time in Bangor along the coast. The drive in good weather is glorious and the defib part of our training was interesting so the day felt worthwhile. Our trainer was a woman from furtherest West wales who couldn’t have been more Welsh if you had dipped her in larverbread, she talked about drones being employed to fly defibrillators to wherever they were needed

https://ambulance.nhs.wales/news/nhs/2024/skys-the-limit-for-drone-delivered-defibrillators/

A fascinating concept which seems closer than our class thought to reality.

How things can change for the better.

I fell asleep at the kitchen table when I got home, dreaming of drones, and dragons and the sunny North Wales Expressway

The Welsh watching over me as I snored on my forearms 

Thursday Night

 The Welsh come out with me on Thursdays. They sleep in the car  when I see clients and we have a walk inbetween. 

On the way home they are treated to a single cheeseburger each, which they both eat with closed happy eyes. 

Weaver emailed me. She’s poorly but very pragmatic and has the most informed family doctor who has prempted all the advice I have started to give during our correspondence which is reassuring to say the least. 

In hospice terms our dear Weaver is on the landing and she’s she knows that. 

The landing is the place at the top of the stairs , the plateau before a decent.

It’s a time of lethargy and of naps 

And it’s a time of getting thoughts in order. 

She is not eating 

But she sends her love.

Please don’t thank me for sharing The Weaver Update I’m very privileged to be able to do so. 

I’ve done little this evening, but watched  Dial M For Murder and presently Suspicion ( is it me or is Cary Grant camp as Christmas in it?)

Roger is clingy tonight and is asleep in the crook of my arm

The kittens are tamer tonight in their room upstairs 

I we have had rain and the nasty humidity of the last few days has gone

The cottage smells of clean cat litter. 

.

 

Môme Piaf

I’m sure the neighbours are thinking that I’m have a moment 

After a long study day me and Welsh are relaxing to Madam Piaf 

An LP treat to myself this week.

Tragic French songs fill Cwm Road and beyond 

une autre absinthe mon bon serveur

 

Buxton

 I’m off to Buxton today, 

The Derbyshire Spa town, is very roughly half way between Wales and Sheffield.

I’m meeting my “spinal” injury mates

Sarah and Nigel, two people who have part of my life for 34 years.

These two have followed me, supported me, liked and loved me for a generation and it was time we met up again to touch base, revisit each other and share ourselves as we used to when Sarah was a matron and Nigel and I were Charge Nurse managers.

I love these guys, I love them so much 

They walked beside me for years in Sheffield 

Walked beside me, tutored me and guided me 

That’s so important  

So we are catching up over coffee and lunch and chatter .

In Buxton

Where was the Bloody flip flop?

Apart from the overlong Golden Voyager bit which should in essence be performed in the opening ceremony, the closing of the Paris Olympics was dreadful. A couple of lacklustre bands, an orchestra who played down La Marseillaise and some suitably pouting French teen failing to lip synch in a posh Parisian garden.

Tom Cruise picked up the flag for Los Angeles and the dye was set for a repeat of the terrible 1984 games where money was no object and whole thing was overblown and souless. 

Paris did something different which almost worked . Greece and the UK captured their own countries perfectly and the Sydney games underlined fun ( how could it not with Kylie on a twenty foot flip flop) 

 6/10 and no cigar for Paris

The Twins

 Weaver is more robust and confident , Beans is diffident and smaller 

The spare bedroom looks like a lunatic has been let lose in it.

Both understand that I am food giver and head scratcher

But both have that Albert “ look” about them

They are going to stand no messing

Weather’s lovely , just right for a family barbecue 

Sushi Teaching

 I’d booked for a four hour,”Cooking experience” this morning which turned out to be somewhat of a disaster. It was advertised in Llandudno at what I thought was a hotel but turned out to be a small private house in Craig Y Don, and the hostess seemed surprised I had turned up even though I had talked to her partner at length via email and messenger, 

I walked into the dining room to see four unsmiling faces already preparing vegetables to centre sushi or pancakes, and the head of the group, a woman in her twenties reminded the host that she had booked a private session for just her and her friends and non said hello in response to my wave and smile.

The host apologised, when I showed her my booking acceptance on line, but shrugged her shoulders and said she wasn’t expecting me. 

The client talked as though I was invisible and told the host that she “ felt very uncomfortable that a MAN was potentially, going to join her group .

“I am standing in front of you” I reminded her, but the atmosphere was too toxic for me to feel that the teaching could have been in any way acceptable , especially as the four women whispered away amongst themselves.

I walked out, 

Suddenly aware of my sex, just a tad angry and a tiny bit tearful 

Update

 

I’m sending Weaver the very last note of this one of my favourite pieces by the lisping choir

It’s a cracker

She emailed me an update and she’s weak and rather unwell

She sends her love

If I can catch the bugger , I will send a photo of her namesake later

And here she is 

Beans is under the spare bed

Both kittens have been conspicuous by their ability and need to hide

I’ve given them some space until today then I’ve sought them both out and groomed them with my fingers 

Until they both purred.

I then fed them 

I’ve done that three times today 

And for the first time I’ve heard them perform the zoomies from downstairs 

As Good As It Gets

Kindness abounds
“ Does the fact you have cats now fill the lonely void in your life?”

It was a question in the comments of yesterday’s post.

The slightly wry one ( or as I thought) about Roger’s dimness.

The comment as the one before it was meant to upset.

Loneliness, I can tell you is like grief and in the same way  it kind of hits you in waves when you least expect it. 

It’s only surfaces sporadically, and not always when you are alone and the nearest I can explain it is how Helen Hunt’s waitress Carol explains it in James L Brooks’ As Good As It Gets.

Her performance is sublime, the writing spot on.

Something is up!

 Roger knows something is afoot.

I caught him looking up the stairs yesterday with a quizzical look upon his face. 

I heard a bump, but it was faint and he did too, trying to locate the noise with a tilt of his head.

Undaunted he ran into the garden and woofed, unsure of exactly what he was wooing at 

The kittens have been vocally quiet so far. 

It feels like there is a game of hide and seek going on. 

Earlier, when I was sat on the loo, Roger followed me into the bathroom, searched it ( including my underpants) then put his nose under the spare bedroom door, where he inhaled loudly 

I think the kittens must have held their breath for satisfied he threw himself down the stairs again in a knot of tan uncordinated legs in order to search some more.

Mary is too middle aged to bother with such hysteria.

I never had all this when Albert arrived 

Or did I ?

Study

 

A day in the library then night Shift.

I will add to the post later

Eyes

 

Four little eyes shining from the dark interior of the cat carrier.

Weaver, like her namesake is curious, precise and careful. 

Her younger sibling is shy and smaller and slightly incontinent 

I have kept her original name of Beans as I think it suits her better

They have their own bedroom, which is locked 

I will give it a good 24-48 hours before introductions are made

A Thought

 

Stand and Be Counted

 It’s been a catch up sort of day. I need to start an essay but typically found myself collecting flower show schedules, sorting Show bits and bats out and talking to villagers. 

The exotic Melinka LeVey sadly recalled the death of her poorly dog, the one who had a small pram all to his own, Village Leaders Ian and Helen have just had a holiday and Mr Jones is still finding his wife’s admission to a local nursing home incredibly difficult. 

I spent a long time with him, as he looks so lost 

Jo ( with the three whippets with 11 legs) showed me her latest pencil drawing of an Otter which was a  truly beautiful piece of work and Mrs Trellis told me that she planned to defend a local Muslim centre if any silliness kicked off, on the back of the nationwide reaction to the stabbing of the children in Southport 

Nice one Mrs Trellis…..nice one 

Old Man

 I cannot abide people behaving badly in public

Men can be lumbersome and stupid when drunk but women, can be just as bad in their own way and can infuriate me more by hiding behind their sex.

Last night before getting home, the sanctuary and quiet of an intercity train was broken by joining aviva trails wales. 

It’s like the Wild West.

A large good natured hen party got on the train and the crowded carriage grew loud with squeals and laughter. 

That was mildly annoying but acceptable, it went with the flow but as the hen party separated into two groups, one younger faction joined a load of Irish scouts on the floor of the vestibule next to the loo and outside doors. Sending people wanting to get off in the opposite direction. 

Near our stop , one man in his forties was stopped in his tracks when he tried to get past the party sat on the floor, something I wasn’t having, so I moved past him with a not unfriendly but assertive “Come on  People EVERYONE UP! “

No one moved, and I was faced by twenty pouting lip faces

“ We are getting off EVERYONE UP ! Now !” I repeated 

Somewhat groggily the girls got to their feet but still filled the aisle so no one could get passed 

So like Hattie Jaques in a Carry On film I bellowed “ Everyone to the right” and I led the passengers towards the doors like Moses did with the Israelites out of Egypt

It was was then that the how dare he ‘s ? started

One woman yelled “That rude old man can’t speak to us like that!” 

And Janet suddenly pissed herself laughing as did I ! 

We mouthed “ Old man” together at each other and laughed loudly.

The Scouts and girls started muttering and geared themselves up for a fight, but was wrong footed by our chuckles

By the time we walked onto the platform, we were hysterical in laughter

Janet pointing to me cackling “ You RUDE OLD MAN!” 

London

 

I’m buggered

On the train home and it’s been too hot in London

Beautiful weather but too humid

A Chorus Line was a hoot. A tad overlong, but full of belters, tits and sass 

it was a quality piece.

All the gays cheer for Shiela and Paul

They always did 

We went to a nice, unpretentious Italian in Soho called Polpo too

And drank Apropol spritzers and ate meatballs to die for

Buckingham Palace was a treat too. Janet preferred the state rooms whereas I Loved the garden tour but all was interesting and very well organised.

The Royals do like their red and gold

Very 1990s common gay 

Many of the support staff were young Muslim women, beautifully made up in their hijabs, adorned with gold. 

One of the tour guides told us how Camilla organised a small garden tea party for a few people who had missed the years celebrations because of traffic problems and hospitalization

She sounds a good egg

We did have a laugh, and both of us was still laughing after I broke into an argument with a Welsh hen party on the train home

  

 

Novelty Veg

Jennifer’s Entry