Dark days brightening?

Things have brightened a little over recent days with the exception of the weather which is showery and consistently cold.

Extremely dark times.

The last week or two have marked the darkest days of my life. Having survived Guantanamo bay I stupidly expected my downward spiral to end, but why? I have been  mentally swamped, of thoughts of getting my driving licence returned. There is always an official form to complete but, if there is it seems very elusive . I suspect one of the umpteendoctors involved in my case  to date will need write to the DVLA stating I am now fit to drive again, but that seems too simple, surely?

Summer wind-up

The weather continues tosurprise and mystify.yesterday it rained virtually non stop,with a chilly wind. It was TERRY's 70'th birthday party, which basically ignored the weather by moving indoors . Lynne had the tough job of completing a 4.5 hrs return journey in  addition to baking cakes and supping umpteen glasses of champagne in her inimitable style, although she remained remarkably sober throughout. Both Lynne and I slept off the after-effects this morning and the 

 sun returned to warm us.

Communications

Croydon parks proved unobtainable for today but I am not worried, it is their loss.

Winterdrawson

There is a nip in the air today, probably typical of England in late August,but the weather has been far from normal this year. I've been on a low for a few days now so today did nothing to lift it, although I used the lackof-activities to catch up on some lost sleep,which seems a big in fluence on  my mood.

Guantanamo bay

Ihave loads of time to feel sorry for myself and to investigate the comings and goings over the last year of my life,not always reflecting well on my choices of friends or other important persons to me,bearing in mind you can choose your friends but not your relatives, strangely most of the latter have proved excellent, with two glaring exceptions. 

My life unraveled

It was an unusual weekend in as much as the heatwave ended and rain reappeared  in the forecasts after a long absence .    Tensions mounted in the house

Teacher swop

For two separate weeks each year as part of the national school curriculum some teachers are "parachuted in" to neighbouring borough schools to broaden their experience,  and similarly the pupils. Earlier in this school year I was allocated toLondon Borough of Croydon schools horticultural section for the past two weeks,but due to my lengthy hospital stays over recent months communications seem to have ceased and I have been cast aside. I was ready to do my Croydon stint but received no instructions so decided to wait at home,but nothing materialised. 

I Need to contact Croydon parks today in the hope of sorting things out.

I also need to make dentist appointments  to replace some chunky lost fillings.

Hotter and hotter

 Our short summer gets hotter every day, over 35 degrees due today.

Another scorcher

Over the past few scorching hot days we have randomly sought out good holiday destinations and good retaurants "off the beaten track" in Norfolk with surprising results; Holt is a good base for visiting excellent unspoilt nearby coastal villages and restaurants,most of the latter specialising in local caught crabs and mussels at reasonable prices. However, you need a great deal of patience, as service seems to be low on their list of priorities.

Cromer is another hidden gem and boasts an enomous church, well worth a visit for coffee and cake, obviosily outside other church events.

End of "holiday"

I have unofficially deleted myself from Leicester hospital "care". It seems I had  been deleted to the"Liverpool pathway ", whereby some unfortunate old hospital patients were left to their own devices and several died of starvation and/ or dehydration.

It was a devious and illegal method of clearing bedspace in NHS hospitals, stopped by the government once it became aware.

Indian summer.,

And where better to experience it than in Leicestershire . Today is reputed to reach 34 degrees centigrade, hotter than most holiday destinations across the world.

World Cup report

The final game of this never-ending tournament happens tonight (barring the final) involving England v Columbia. Two contrasting styles should make for an interesting game,even though Arsenal will not be represented. I was quietly forgotten at home and never requested to return to hospital, which suited me. I think my "illness"has flummoxed the medical experts(?)

Up and down

My mood continues its roller coaster journey but overall my health seems ok although I have suffered a few falls making my knees resemble war zones. My next project is getting my bladder and prostrate sorted. 

World Cup preview

I'm very pleased at the ripe old age of 69 I have Iived to see England reach the World Cup finals twice. Today they thrashed Panamar 6... 1.  To reach the last 16 and the knockout section. Can they win the tournament for the second time in my lifetime? Germany are already out. Arsenals star player did not even make the German bench today.what does that tell you? WEnger has gone,where we don't know.His replacement starts work today, TUesday 26th June. He has already got shot of half our defence (to other clubs) and has signed replacements, none of whom I have ever heard of. The first game of the new season kicks off soon,We'll see what happens. Recent weather has swung from extreme heat to below average temps day by day but we are returning home today via Margaret and Bob.

Leicester hospitals.........best avoided

Looking back over my blogs in the past 2years I have reached the conclusion Leicestershire group hospitals are best avoided. Too many chiefs, not enough Indians.I have 2 years of evidence to support this theory.I started out as a very fit rower attaining several trophies and being selected for the head of the river race twice,captaining a 10 pin bowling team from bottom to top of the league at the same time. Following lengthy  treatment in Leicester hospital on 3 occasions I was left disabled,with no balance and having lost the ability to write, sign my name or drive my car. For good measure they also failed to spot a very painfull  broken leg for 7 months

Health summary

Following more treatment  that than I care to remember in several "hospitals",I can confirm absolutely no real progress has been made whatsoever .i  still fall over without warning, still cannot walk far, and enjoy/ suffer endless films when I commence falling asleep or waking up.Concentration is virtuallyh nil which makes reading a book impossible.

The kittens add humour to "quiet" periods and the garden is colourful at last,following the wettest winter on record. 

The kittens have had their necessary two innoculations to allow them into th great wide world beyond the cat  flap,much to their,and our relief.

Season over-where the hell were Arsenal?

A lot of back room staff have floated off. Out with the old, in with the new. Our new manager has yet to be appointed, hopefully he/ or she can can make some sense of what is left??. Time will tell.

Arsenal fail to reach UEFA final

It finally stopped raining and II am in a very dark place. Almost impossible to summon energy to do almost anything, other than an evening out at the Albert Hall with Linda and Terry to see Walk off the earth again. Each time I see them ( 3 ) they get slicker and slicker. The ALBert Hall was bursting at the seams and everyone enjoyed themselves. I fell down the steps while leaving which was embarrassing,but  suffered no injury otherwise. We have returned home after seemingly endless travels and I am contemplating my quality of life once again. IT is presently not good and it must be worse for Lynne.

Hospital farce

I havehanged my daily blog to a weekly one to save you ploughing through daily boring reports from my  bed in Glenfield hospital where I spent nearly 4 weeks on Bennion ward,reserved for people with various Mental issues. I remain unsure as to how I ended up there, but it happened very fast. One minute I was comfortably relaxing at home, the next I had my own little room in a nutters hospital. Life there was extremely boring, apart from the wide range of characters therein. Thomas,who apparently is a permanent fixture, had a tendency to "fly off the handle" for no obvious reason. We became firm friends by the time I left.

Lynne visited at least twice per day but had limited access and engraciated herself to staff and patients by supplying  samples  of her lemon drizzle cakes.

Towards the end of my stay we endured major  windswept snowstorms,resulting in a wonderful  view, snowdrifts and fears of being isolated . Lynne,with our4x4 car ,had no problem  getting to and from Glenfield,(only five minutes away),but across the country roads,trains and airports ground to a halt in the inevitably English way.

I was eventually allowed home for the last weekend,assisted by the fact my room had been given away without my knowledge due to yet another radiator malfunction. On my return my wardrobe and other sparce furniture was full of someone else's clothes and personal effects, leading to utter panic amongst ward staff. I was allocated the room another patient had refused to stay in due  to yet another radiator malfunction, chaos reigned until one of the consultants rode in on a magnificent white stallion and actually made a decision!

I returned home to allow the radiator issues to be resolved, the consultant promising to"sort the whole thing out" before calling me to return.

I spent a peaceful time at home being well cared for by Lynne, caught up on my lost sleep and watched the snow melt, which it did within four days, before it was decided I was safe to launch on the outside world once again and I was  reconvened to" Guantanamo Bay" in a warm room all to myself

Over the next couple of days I retrieved what was left of my personal things, said my goodbyes to selected staff and patients and once again settled in at home, safe and well.and there I stayed for several weeks with no contact, which equally suited and frustrated me.

Eventually the NHS  caught up with me and I was summoned back to "Guantanamo bay"  where I settled back into boredom ,although this time  in my own heated room.

Nothing of note occurred for several days and I was once again released