Sunday. It felt like the longest day today instead of yesterday, that was because I’d worked, seen to fish, eaten, drugged up ( and probably down) and worked again all without hearing a human voice. The fact that Mike talks in his sleep changes nothing. He was chunnering every time I went past his door but no matter which clogs I wore, nothing moved him. The sunshine was bright and I was considering going to evensong ( cough) when I finally heard him move. I gave up on Solitaire and went to make him a coffee. I got the usual grunt as he passed me to put last night’s mug in the sink, for me to wash of course. Another grunt as he passed me going the other way then he sat in his chair and lit the first cigarette of the day. ( Those between midnight and sleep don’t count and if you don’t sleep they all count as yesterdays). He asked what I’d like to do this morning and I just fell about laughing. Actually I reminded him he has to leave early today to meet his son and go to repair his father’s washing machine which they didn’t manage last week. Also, I reminded him that it’s Ceri’s birthday next weekend and she will be away so it would be a good idea to take her a card this morning.
About 10.00 am we set off for Flint and pulled up at Home Bargain’s so I could buy her a nice bottle of wine and a bottle bag. Then we headed for Temptations to deliver it. As I ordered our coffee I asked if she was in and typically she was on a day off. We’re not doing too well in that regard this weekend are we? Still, I was able to leave it for her and she’s back in tomorrow. When she sees it’s from the Brothers Grimm she’ll know exactly who it is. As we finished the drinks it was 11.00 am and Mike had said we needed to lunch about midday so I suggested we head straight there so we can gauge the wait. The trip took half an hour and the car park told us the good weather was still keeping people away and down on the beach. We ordered our usual drinks from Angie giving us plenty of time to decide what we wanted to eat. No sign of Tariq.
Allowing fifteen minutes cooking time we ordered lunch about 11.45 am and went outside for a smoke. We think it draws attention to passing trade if they see someone standing about with a cuppa outside. Angie let us know when the meal was served and we headed back in. Mike nipped to the loo and I just started eating as Tariq appeared. He’s amazingly handy and had just been making a wheelbarrow planter. He headed back to finish it and Mike reappeared. As soon as I said he’s missed Tariq he ignored the meal and shot off after him. I think I mentioned Tariq had made a great diisplay case shaped like a coffin for some of the gifts he sells. Mike wanted to order one as a stand for all his dragons and wanted Tariq to know he wasn’t joking. As it happens neither am I, one a bit slimmer would make a fantastic bookcase and I may just order one too. If the cafe is slow, maybe he can make an income from things he makes. Before we left I bought 100g of jelly beans and made sure Angie took the money, I also made sure I gave her the money for our meals while Tariq was otherwise occupied. Hugs and kisses from Anngie and Shella and hugs from Tariq ensures our further custom and I’ve now started ordering Christmas gifts.
Mike ran me home ( I wish he’d let me get in the car) and came in long enough to see something I’d bought on ebay. Then it was time to say goodbye for another week. I spent the afternoon catching up on mail amassed while were out. I was suffering such loneliness that I had to comfort eat half a BFG at teatime. If only Mike had reminded me it was still here and untouched he could have taken it so they could all have enjoyed it at his dad’s. It’s his fault I’m the size of a house. I watched a comedy film afterwards with some penguins and then finally came back here to get straight for the night. I’m off out tomorrow instead of Tuesday. I want to go see my poorly little grandson.
Monday. I was up to date with my post this morning before I had to leave the house at 7.30 to catch my bus. The sun was out and I was a physical wreck by the time I managed to get to the stop and then onto a seat. I sat on the left so that my vision wouldn’t be obscured by either a partition or a driver.Why I decided it would be good to see the journey I don’t know as I invariably either pretend to be asleep or fall asleep for real, today it was the latter . Not a constant sleep but lots of a few moments here or there between stops.
When I got to Chester there was no sign of Yvonne but I didn’t panic as I thought she’d taken my advice to meet in the Costa so that neither of them were too much in the sun. The heat and the sunlight had cranked up another notch or two while I journeyed. I was desperate to get rid of my jacket. She wasn’t in the Costa so before ordering a drink I sent a text. It seems she was at the bus station, just not where my bus comes in so she hotfooted it down to join me. We ordered drinks and the young assistant was kind enough to carry them outside for me. We ordered toast for Reuben but he didn’t seem interested though he was as bright as a button for me, just full of smiles. Yvonne said he hadn’t smiled at all over the last 3 days when the poor lamb has been so explosive from every conceivable place. Obviously his pops has a good effect on him. I was able to empty my backpack of the outfit i’d got Reuben last week and also a gift I’d bought her on Saturday. That meant I could fold my jacket up and carry it on my back now. That was definitely better. I may have made a mistake wearing grey and black in this heat but white is just not practical with the colour of my moustache and beard these days. We enjoyed the drinks and then started to walk in the direction of a shop I told her I’d seen from the bus. In fact, the place was even nicer than I’d expected with a heavy Oriental theme and some fantastic furniture. I managed to restrict myself to a couple of small items.
From there we walked back towards town and paid a visit to the market. We managed to get a cuppa there and gave Reuben a small sponge cake to try. He did eat some and then decorated the floor with the rest. We leave destruction behind us wherever we go. In truth Yvonne always tries to tidy up behind him. We continued on our journey. I’d meant to say there was a sale in one of our favourite shops but I forgot and we sailed on by. We tried a clothes shop that sold baby stuff but I didn’t have time to apply for a mortgage to buy the clothes in it. Since Yvonne needed some flip-flops we decided to carry on to Primark and see what they had for Reuben and get her sandals at the same time. I ended up with some shoes and a pair of lounge pants from there somehow too.
We went to Pizza Hut for lunch and had the salad buffet. Yes I know, I’m as shocked as you are believe me. But it was nice. From there we headed to Boots the Chemist and got a couple more tops for Reuben before I decided it was time I called it a day. Despite protestations they walked me to the bus stop and waited until it arrived. I felt so guilty as they’d have quite a trek to get home and it was still roasting. The outward journey was much better without my jacket though the heat still made my eyes droop. Back in Greenfield I dropped my repeat prescription into the chemist and made a point of saying I was having to use an old request as I didn’t get one with the current drugs. My subtlety probably fell on deaf ears though the young lady said she’s have to run one off the computer as the one I was using was too old. I’ll have to check the bag on Thursday to make sure I have one this time.
Then it was home and virtually straight into battle with the mail from today. I worked till 6.00 pm then had Law and Order for an hour while I ate the other half of the BFG, reluctantly of course but Mike going early leaves me no choice, I don’t want it to go off. At 7.00pm I rejoined battle and have been here ever since. Wish me luck.
Chester Cathedral
Chester Cathedral
Chester City Old Roman Walls
Chester City
Laughing for Pops
I’m in trouble again.
Tuesday. A strange start to the day. I worked from 04.30 am to 06.30 am on messages but suddenly decided I wasn’t feeling great. I lay down for a few minutes to recover and woke up again at dead on 08.30 am. I decided that was too late to start thinking about breakfast but that I’d better feed the fish before they made fish food of me. Then I made a cup of coffee, took my meds and returned to the fray. It’s funny how many people write when you’re away for ten minutes or so. At 9.30 am I went out to post a letter to the Pensions Agency. They asked me to provide a breakdown of the deductions in my private pension. I’m pretty sure it’s all tax but unfortunately the Pensions people are the ones with the paperwork which I sent to provide proof of the pension figure and they haven’t returned the damned thing. Anyway, since they know the gross figure and the nett figure surely they can manage a little maths. After the post box I called into Pauline’s for some fresh baps to enjoy with my SALAD lunch. If I’m not careful I could get healthy like this.
Back at home again I restarted my battle with mail. There was one wonderful message from Canada where a friend and fellow blogger had dedicated a Welsh Lullaby played by her on the harp to me. I’m not sure if that indicated that I send her to sleep or not but I’m taking it as a great compliment. If you haven’t seen it, I reblogged it. It’s not a Welsh harp she’s using but I’m sure it’s Celtic. There were also 4 messages about my non-existent account with Santander. I don’t know what I’m going to do since they’ve now suspended me ! Oh woe. There was just 1 message from a female bank manager with a scheme to make us both wealthy ( though 60-40 in her favour which hardly seemed fair considering all the effort I’d have to go to providing a bank account number for Santander). Mayhap my popularity is on the wane. By 11.30 am I was as up to date as I could get and decided to go and take my pre-lunch tablet and find something on the TV to bore entertain me for a while. I shall return.
Since TV is full of either football or Wimbledon I was back sooner than expected. I spent some time faffing trying to see if there was some photographic software that would allow me to get the cup of coffee effect or the sketch effect on the computer For some reason I ended up fascinated by the coffins you can buy on ebay, and what great prices they are too. I had to give up in the end as I couldn’t find anything that showed they did what I wanted. After a while I found myself nodding off over the keyboard and went to have a doze in my chair. I put an awful afternoon film on for company, luckily I slept for so long I missed most of it. Guilt forced me back to checking the rush of mail to say my Barclay’s account is suspended now too. If I’m not careful, it’s possible all the accounts I don’t have in all the other banks will go too. Such a shame that I can’t manage to hang on to them. I fear for the funds I don’t have in them either. Will they be confiscated. Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk when it’s teatime. I have to have tea tonight since I didn’t bother with breakfast. A quick toasted ham sandwich and I’m as right as rain again.
I watched my Law and Order then for some reason turned to the people who buy the contents of storage units. What an obnoxious pair are always at the front though in fairness maybe he’s marginally less so than she. Bidding prices up just to make someone pay more. It was almost a pleasure to see those attacked by her bitchy mouth actually make a good profit from the contents. It was enough to bring me back to the conmen. A lot of posts to comment on and/or retweet for people. I try to help authors as much as possible. I know how difficult the marketing can be. I’m up to date for now so it’s time for bed and a read. Night y’all.
Such a shame about Brian Connelly.
Wednesday. Very little to report today. I was almost fooled by a message marked from Google this morning until I realised Google can probably spell better. I had a message from the Tax Service HMRC to say they owe me a tax rebate which may well be true though the message wasn’t, and a message from Barclay’s Bank telling me how to de-suspend my account. This was actually followed by a genuine message about Barclay’s which still drew little attention from me as I still haven’t opened an account with them. The weather was still nice so I stuck with salad stuff for lunch. There was a message from LinkedIn to say it’s been 5 years this week since I started the Buthidars and I’ve had two kind messages of congratulations from friends on that site.
I worked much of the afternoon to get as clear as possible before games night, However, I started watching a film with Miss Marple where I couldn’t remember whodunit. Everybody turned up in the last quarter of an hour and I was busy seeing to drinks when it ended so I’ll have to watch out for the repeat of the repeat. Since Lee joined us tonight we got the new Scrabble out to introduce him to it. Dil-1, Matt- 1, Me-0, Lee- 0. Not an auspicious start. At Nomination I beat them hands down finally breaking my duck. And the last game, Crazy 8’s, well Lee took that off me but at least I came second and he went away happy. Following the usual tidy up and the traditional washing of the pots I came through to find 82 messages awaiting my attention. It’s now time to have one last burst of energy and head for bed.
Another loss to music.
Thursday. Such a lucky week you’re having. The highlight of my day was having a delivery from the chemist and finding a new repeat prescription request enclosed. I’d been up and working at just gone 4.00 am without too many weird messages. Normal breakfast at 7.00 am though I was daring and had cereal instead of butter lathered toast. At 9.30 am I went to Pauline’s for the new lottery tickets. The Euro is 19m on Friday. I could force myself to manage on that though I might have to let the servants and the family go. At lunch time I suffered the last day of green stuff this week though I confess it was only a token amount since the rest had wilted so badly. I did make up for it with coleslaw on my meat and salad cream on my potatoes.
For some strange reason I started watching a cowboy film after lunch until I saw that the Miss Marple from last night was to be repeated. So, I went and worked up until the last half hour of that . I got the right baddie but I admit it was probably because that’s the person I wanted it to be rather than any great deductions on my part. Since I’d had the two meals I have to eat in a day I got away with nibbling a packet of crisps for tea. I won’t be telling you what I had during the evening though except that it’s named after the planet of war in Holst’s suite. A little more work to keep me ticking over was followed by my Law and Order, an episode of Murder She Wrote ( Both of which I’d seen) and my new episode of Big Bang Theory. I was heartbroken to see there are just two more to come in this series. That done and a smile still lingering on my face I came back through to catch up on mail and do the blog. Tomorrow Mike says he’s coming and I’ll be able to get him to show me how to email from my phone and also how to pay for an app using paypal I hope. Then I can have the fantastic pho,to lab which lets you make such great changes to pictures.
Friday. I thought I got up this morning at 5.05 am but after about an hour of messages it was only 5.10 am unless time was really dragging. There were a couple of minor blips in the mail with those prannocks in Nigeria, but thick skinned as ever I ignored them and concentrated on the positive, the main part of which was this piece of superb entertainment compliments of my good friend CJ at http://morguemouse.com/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkbZlautuUc&list=PLH1hyB3WyeKRvFu6bsepeFvsNPXzd8uWr
I checked the bank and that put a smile on my face as the pension had arrived. Not fantastic but any complaints I have to lay at my own door not theirs. At 6.30 am I went through to feed the fish ( to a cat if I had the choice) and to have my breakfast. I reverted to toast again this morning to make sure there was enough milk for the arrival of my bro. I took my meds and went back through for a while with my coffee. I was staying fairly on top of things so I decided to take a short break and make Mike’s bed. I went for bright, bold red polka dots because I know how much he likes plain dark colours. Maybe that’ll shift the beggar in the morning. I set the washer going and returned to the bedroom. Ouch, 58 messages in less than an hour !!!! There was a welcome interruption at 10.30 am when the usual “On Way” message arrived, allowing 3 hours I said I’d wait for my lunch until he arrived.
I caught up again in time for the washer ending it’s cycle ( we were working in tandem- boom boom) so I set it to dry. I worked on and off until 1.00 pm then as I was clear I went to put the stuff in Mike’s cup. Again my timing was good as he arrived at 10 minutes past just as the drier ended. I might just have let it go a tad too long as the creases wouldn’t shake out. If I don’t do some i***ing soon I won’t be able to get into the kitchen. I’m willing to pay £10 per hour for two hours a week if you know anyone daft who doesn’t mind some light cleaning and heave i***ing. It’s not bad once it’s under control. If anyone thinks that’s a mean figure I can only claim I’m not au fait with current rates for domestics but I do know it’s above the minimum wage.I folded everything and put it in the basket then joined Mike in the lounge, poor soul is coming apart at the seams.
By the time the coffee was done I was starving and Mike said he hadn’t stopped on the way. Naturally we went to the Ivy. It was woefully quiet again. Maybe the predicted bad weather for the weekend will send people in. I hope so. Obviously we were able to have a great chat with Tariq today and even a little with Shella who was the only other staff member there but she was cooking our meal for part of the time. Mike talked about the bookcase Tariq is making him to hold his dragon collection and it may be ready next week. When it came time to go Tariq plonked himself in the chair next to me and started “Just this once David, go on, just for me, this once.” Mike responded before I did “Ever heard a phrase to do with hell freezing over?” and on it went back and forth between the three of us, one Yea and two Nays. In the end I compromised and said I wouldn’t leave a tip. He professes his friendship and says we are more than just customers which is fantastic but I have to make him understand I don’t take advantage of friends.
Tariq walked to the car with us ( probably to make sure we left) and told us all the plans he has for outside, a chicken run, an aviary, a waterfall into the stream ( one does exist but needs a boost to be of any value) and maybe even a car wash. He knows we wish him well. Mike drove us home and as I made him a coffee we started on the phone. OMG these things are not easy for Old Farts. Eventually I got the app I wanted but not via the method I wanted. I also got the email account set up so I could send pictures to my computer. Unfortunately it now means I get emails on my phone which I didn’t want. You win some you lose some. After that Mike cut my hair and trimmed the beard so I was able to shave and get back my muttonchops. Having a shower next was a doddle, before I went I got Mike to spit on my hair then quickly blow, a wash and dry in no time flat. I donned the new lounge pants as promised. Say hello to Mr. Grumpy.
Mr Grumpy
We watched part of a quiz together then I started to watch the new Law and Order before I realised I’d better come and go to battle with the messages again and do the blog. So there you are, a much more interesting day
Saturday. I was up to date on messages this morning before going though to allow the fish to know it’s daytime and to have my breakfast. I put the tank light on and backed away quickly so I couldn’t see the faces Michael says are very sad when I don’t feed them. I don’t believe him but why take chances? Just before 7.00 am when I’d finished taking my meds I boiled the kettle up and made Mike his coffee. I thought I’d try things a different way this time, wake him with a coffee so that when his alarm went off it would catch him before he’d fallen asleep again. Alas, the best laid plans……….. I took the drink through, spoke loudly enough so that my neighbour held out her hand expectantly and left.There had been a response of sorts. I’d no sooner cleared the room when his alarm went off. It rang about three times then I heard him turn it off. Success. Like heck. He went straight back to sleep.I went from the kitchen to my room with a drink and as I passed by his door called out ” Your drink’s going cold Bro”. Total effect, zilch, nada, nothing. I went back to mail. The alarm went off again and again it was allowed to ring three times before it was turned off, and not against the wall either. Again no movement. I knew it was going to be a late start. A few minutes later a voice piped up ” Why didn’t you say there was a drink there”? I replied “Sorry” and gave up. Another few minutes and the voice appears again ” You dressed yet”? “Just about” I responded having been dressed since before 5.00 am.
We were out of the house at 7.55 am. Miraculous. Better still, his eyes were open so there was a fair chance we’d complete the journey accident free. We’d decided to do the shopping then head for Chester to see Yvonne and Reuben as Mike hasn’t seen them for a while. I let Yvonne know in case she wanted to make use of us for shopping while she had us. She was delighted and we arranged to meet about 10.00 am. We were doing quite well on my shopping when the call of nature came for him thunderously sudden as usual so he departed and left me to carry on. Moments later I got a text from Yvonne asking me to get some Imodium Instants or she wouldn’t be coming out with us. It sounds like Reuben’s tummy troubles had caught up with her. We went through the check out and went for a drink. Coffee for Mike, orange disinfectant for me I think. It wasn’t long before we were on our way.
We were on time and Yvonne met us by the front gate .I handed over the tablets and she went to take one straight away. Mike and I took a seat in the lounge. We could hear Reuben upstairs chunnering away to himself. Yvonne came through and squinted at the light asking if we thought it bright. It was, but not worryingly so….I thought. She brought Reuben down and went off to put some slap on before going out. Mike and I entertained Reuben. When she came back looking remarkable pale for someone wearing make up we put Reuben in his trolley and set off. It was evident she was starting with a migraine. She had to run on ahead of us to get some migrilieve from the chemist and we joined her there.She was actually taking tablets at the counter.
We managed to get to the first shop on our list when Mike’s call of nature stuck it’s head (sorry) in again. Off he had to dash again but almost completely back to the city centre. Yvonne went with to show him the way and so that she could watch for me coming behind them. I had the purchases wrapped I’d bought for my nieces birthday and followed on. I found them at a cafe so we sat and had a drink. Yvonne was by now feeling rough and had to leave and go home to lie down leaving her poor son in our charge. We still had a few shops to go in looking for phones and TV’s and some cheese for his mum but he was an angel. He just watched the world go by from his trolley until we were nearly home again and he nodded off. I wonder whose genes he has.
Making sure Yvonne was OK again and could manage with Reuben Mike and I took our leave to carry on his hunt. We first went and had a baked potato lunch each with drinks and a piece of lemon meringue pie to follow. Afterwards we were actually able to find the phones he wanted but not the TV. We eventually headed for home stopping on the way to pick up a BFG which he promised to help me eat this week so it didn’t go to waste in the bin ( as I call my stomach now). It was almost 5.00 pm before we finally got home leaving me super stressed about the number of emails that would have arrived in almost ten hours. After unpacking the bags and putting the food away ,I found out 137. It was quite a while before I got to see any TV. When I finally came through at 9.00 pm to catch up I decided to make sure this blog was ready to go out before finishing the mail tonight.
New Shirt
Just a few toys out Ma.
Art of Concentration
Playing with the new app.
pho.to lab
Wishing you all a Wonderful New Week with unlimited Hugs xxxx
barsetshirediaries 