Chic Eleanor Says Happy Birthday For Tomorrow

 

Chic Eleanor always makes a fuss of me when we meet

Lots of “Oh Darlings“ and big hugs which I love , 

And she never pulls her punches even when inside a venue, where she can be overheard 

She is honest and loving and free with her emotions 

That’s Another thing that I so love about her .

We shared a bloody lovely Scotch Egg starter and talked without taking breath for two hours straight. 

I was once approached on a period train journey  by a fellow traveller who noted that Me and Nu had never stopped talking for hours over dinner and drinks. 

I can always tell best friends  rather than a husband and wife, she said, they talk constantly 

A great way to start my Birthday 

Tired

 God I was tired this morning

Work in a hospice is not all floating nuns and piano melodies on the radio

Many of our patients, for a variety of reasons can be for resuscitation and escalation of their care. Issues that can prove to be a challenge when you are dealing in incredibly poorly people. 

I worked alongside Julie yesterday, a Lancashire nurse a year older than me. 

My the end of the shift we were still laughing but incredibly weary .

I slept in until 11.30 am this morning,

Something I haven’t done for years.

Today is my set counselling day, but my client is on holiday , so luckily I was allowed that lie in . 

I’ve walked the dogs and checked what food I had in so made a mushroom and chicken omelette covered in spinach and Parmesan shavings 

It didn’t look up to much but it tasted bloody lovely.

It’s already 1.30 and I’m surfing and still drinking coffee. 

I’m meeting Chic Eleanor for early doors at the pub and supper. 

Church & Flowers

 The whistle heralded Islwyn’s arrival at the kitchen wall.

Both dogs barked and raced out to say hello

When I walked out he was itching both dogs behind the ears 

They both love Islwyn 

He was wearing his usual yellow safely coat and had been moving my garden waste Janet collects in one of his large plasticised collection bags. As usual he bantered about doing my jobs for me. 

I smiled , used to him, and thanked him for his altruistic work .

We talked for a while and he asked me to blog about the church 

It is exactly 300 years since the Parry family rebuilt the Church in its present form ( without the vestry) and 300 years since they rebuilt my cottage 

I promised I would , and I have, and I promised to acknowledge his request on the village website too.

As we talked , I cut flowers from Janet’s sculptured herbaceous beds , alliums, blue iris , early roses and honeysuckle, 

And put them in a jug some ITU staff gave me as a leaving gift. 

I’m working today, just one day this week, which suites me just fine

All About………Me

 Right, let’s get away from the wonderful Madrid

However I have just left a video and a link of two of the encores 

The link especially will give a proper flavour of the event .

No doubt I will post more as their arise.

It’s my birthday on Saturday, and I’ve planned a few things. For the past 5 years I have made the effort Not to celebrate the day, going to lengths to work, stay in and play the martyr. Some of that stems from the fact that a had lost a bit of myself in my divorce 

Some of it stemmed from the fact that  I couldn’t be arsed.

Whatever the reason

I’ve changed this year. 

On Thursday Chic Eleanor and I am going out for supper. Friday I am meeting up with Colin and Sunday my friend Ruth are catching a rerun of that classic old Spanish ( what else) drama All about My Mother in Chester followed by a Japanese lunch, and on Saturday night I’m meeting my sisters and family for a meal at La Ricetta.

As you can see it’s all about Me !!

Yesterday I went to see the prequel to Mad Max Fury Road , Furiosa  A Mad Max Saga

Violent, action filled and beautifully filmed this movie had the difficult job to fill some very big shoes and although it tried, the original with Charlze Theron and Tom Hardy ( who apparently hated each other) has remained king not only for how the main actors gave it some gravitas and style but also for the fact the movie had a heart in the guise of a mainly female cast filled with old lady warriors

The prequel bored me which was sad. 

Gala de Zarzuela.Orquesta Metropolitana Madrid.Grupo Talia.

I’ve very aware that I’m doing the Madrid thing to death but I will leave you to these two videos

The top one is the first of five encores at the concert

But if you have patience please have a look at this one as this was the final encore and it’s amazing

 https://www.facebook.com/share/r/GE6mpvcBL7MjanHw/

Pants

 

The “inspired” choice of linen trousers proved to be my undoing

Just as I was entering the Museo National Centro de Arte Reina Sofia , I caught my right pant leg on the corner of a door.

Gawd knows just how 

But it ripped up the seam some seven inches or so as deftly as if someone had taken a knife to it 

And so there I was, in one of the most prestigious museums in the world with a pant leg flapping around like a sailors bellbottom.

I continued my tour of the museum looking like a twat

Photos of the Gala

 

Silvia looking emotional on the fifth standing ovation 

This woman needed to be seen to believed

I was in the stalls at the back near the first light 

Homeward

 Im flying Iberian home and upgrated to buisness for peanuts just for the hell of it. I have a slight hangover but its not a deadly one. 

I got talking to Noel last night who is part of a sort of Madrid singles do culture group. He is a retired journalist and spoke english with ease.

He was intrigued at me coming so far to see grupo Talia, but understood once I told him i was divorced. 

He was widowed for 4 years and insisted he bought me a drink. His son would take me to my hotel and an hour later he did just that, weaving in and out of the late night Madrid traffic like a rally driver.

Airports are jolly places