Bereavement Etiquette

Some people think that giving flowers to the bereaved is not the done thing.
I think that it to do with the fact that in many people's eyes, flowers around a death are only seen on a coffin.
I tend to disagree.
To me a few flowers say a tiny bit more than a mere card can and anyway
I hate most of the sympathy cards on sale in the shops.
They always seem like the paper equivalent of the colour beige.

A neighbour lost her mother suddenly today, so I went around with a card and some blue hyacinths in a bowl. If it was summer I would have cut flowers from the garden.. Its a bit more personal, and it gives people something to concentrate on.
I do like the tradition of feeding the bereaved too..its more practical......but I think this is more of an American thing.

Anyhow what IS the flower etiquette after a family death occurs?
Is there a right and a wrong way to support others?
Perhaps someone can tell me!

Village elder, Islwyn called in this afternoon to inform me of this news and to the fact that old Mrs Spiller had also passed away. Mrs Spiller was famous for her big hair, erratic driving and her overuse of a loud policeman's whistle when calling in her bad tempered labrador on a night.
Affable Despot Jason and his wife always commented that Chapel Street sounded like Victorian London during the Jack The Ripper times- all they missed was the pea soup.

For Simone...Just William

William smiling fir the camera

After yesterday's homage to everything Scottish, Simone requested that I do a short blog entry about William, a blog that explains his personality.
Welsh terrier dogs tend to be overly bouncy , cheerful characters. They have strong personalities, are quick to ignore  commends when off the lead and are sociable with other dogs and humans alike.
They are also extraordinarily affectionate dogs who love to clamber on top of you at a moments notice.
People over 50 like them so much for they always remind them of those dogs on wheels kids of a certain age used to have when they were learning to walk.

William is a gentle soul. He is polite, which is a rare trait in dogs, will never snatch a treat and will stand quietly when being examined by the vet. On meeting strangers he will stand and smile a greeting before sniffing hesitantly at an outstretched hand. Only then will he place his paws onto a thigh or knee .
He is a dog strangers are often drawn to
He will sit and watch, when other dogs would bark and snap and for 18 long months he was obsessed with Mary the disabled rabbit,, so much so that he would sit for hours in front of her hutch , just
staring at her.
His ability to wait and watch knows no bounds.

In short.......hes a lovely dog

A Life With Little Legs

George is Chris' dog

It was never planned that way, 

Its just that their personalities dovetail perfectly with each other.

Like Maddie's personality did before him.

Scottish terriers are fiercly loyal, mistrusting of strangers,

aloof, stubbon and love routine.

They prefer to lie next to you rather than on you

and in George's case, they love bedtimes, even though

they have to be lifted from the floor by hand every night at 9pm.

While the Welsh terriers and Bulldog spend most of their time sucking

physical and emotional warmth from me 24/7

George is happy sitting quietly next to Chris each night

No fuss, no emotional romping, and no demands more than 

a space amongst the cushions.

the odd tickle around the chops

and the slightly sad realisation that he is firmly last in the pack's pecking order

If GOING GENTLY was ever a feature film,

George would win the oscar for best supporting actor.

On Top Of Gop Hill

On top of Gop Hill

Scottie and Bulldog survey the Village 

Waiting....

I've  been waiting all day for a delivery

And its mid afternoon and still nothing has arrived

I've cleaned the fluff from under the bed, 

and there's enough of it to fill a small scatter cushion.

I've bleached the bathroom 

until my head swam with fumes

And 

I've unsucessfully tried to brush George's teeth because his 

halitosis is getting on my tits.

I hate waiting in for the delivery man
They are like a watched kettle

As Ive waited ,,and waited and waited
this wedding telegram from Rachel
Did make me smile

Mystery Road & The Walking Dead Episode 11 The Distance

Aaron Pedersen ( quietly charismatic )

Before my usual WALKING DEAD review, I need to big up a film , I caught on the BBC IPLAYER the other night, which is well worth two hours of anyone's time.
MYSTERY ROAD is a movie that walks in the footsteps of the likes of THEY CALL ME MR TIBBS  and IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, Set in the Australian bush instead of the American Deep South , we follow Aboriginal cop Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen) in his investigations into the death of a native teenage girl. Swan walks a difficult path , as he is mistrusted by the dirt poor locals who see him as a token ethnic face In a police force which is as welcoming and quietly racist as they are, but like Virgil Tibbs, Swan possesses a dogged dignity which allows him to push through the walls of silence to te truth.
Prdersen quite simply has the charisma that the role requires and he dominates each scene with a brooding and powerful show of strength. The film would be a very average thriller if he was not in it.

The Walking Dead has reached episode 11  and it finally looks as though team Rick is finally almost " out of the woods" in both the literal and figurative sense of the phrase.
Rick ( Andrew Lincoln) has undertaken one of the most dramatic character changes out of all of the surviving Southern Folk from series 1, so he can be forgiven to have a few trust issues when faced with the neat, tidy and wholesomely gay Aaron ( another Aaron) who seems to be offering Judith Delicious apple sauce and the group a chance of a normal life in the Alexandria Safe zone....
The Walking Dead has not allowed it's cast some " downtime" since the original cast first settled at
the Greene Farm way back in series 2, and so it would be  nice to see Michonne painting a little or Carol to have a gossip with Maggie and Tara over cookies........fat chance me thinks....the women in TWD seldom have quality conversations together..........having said this.....it was nice to see Michonne in charge for a change....and it was also nice to see everyone talking together........a good episode to see Team Rick so gay friendly!
I loved this episode

Another Shoe Story

Sometimes you just have to accept a kindness in the way it is offered and not get all wrapped up in embarrassment, pride, or indignation .
Last night I worked alongside another Filipino nurse who is my age and who is  a widower with two university age children. He noticed my old , field and poultry battered old trainers stinking in a corner of the changing room and made a joke that he almost threw them in the bin.
They and the fact that I often wear my welling tons to work, have become , somewhat of a running joke at the hospital !
I explained that my old shoes often get a real battering during their everyday life, and without a word more, last night,  he presented me with several three pairs of shoes. Robust walking boots and clean and worn once pairs of trainers.
Apparently my colleague was a bit of a shoe collector
" I thought they may be useful for your field work" he explained, without a hint of an edge and I suddenly had the choice to take his offer as a slightly patronising charity act to a "poor" yokel or as an ordinary and thoughtful act of kindness.
I choice the latter.......
After the wedding , I will take in a load of eggs for him and his family.
Like I said , sometimes, a gift should just be accepted and not questioned
( hummm perhaps I should have accepted those plastic antlers with a bit more alacrity )

I shouldn't be let out

I usually get into work early...well a few minutes earlier than anyone else that is.
I have a coffee.
Check up on my off duty ( to see if I need to swap anything)
And catch up with the notice board in the nurses sitting room
It's my one way of " looking " professional
Last night , before handover, I embarked on what I thought was an intelligent conversation about medication with one of the medics, caught up with some in house training dates and chatted to the senior sister about this and that.
I listened and nodded at every nugget of info she had to share and joked with my colleagues before we readied ourselves for work.
Only then did one of the Filipino nurses called Dennis, broke this professional sheen somewhat
As he took me to oneside and hissed somewhat theatrically
" you're wearing my shoes!"

Nite nite