A lost wednesday.

Blood test today

Have you ever had one of those days when the time just seems to disappear, well that was today, I slept well last night, was up in the lounge with my coffee at 8.00 am waiting for Jo the carer, I checked facebook and my emails and  Jo arrived at 8.30, once she had me washed and groomed I sent the morning text to Pauline and she phones back to say that she will get a Taxi at 10.15, to come and collect me as I have a  appointment with debbie at the Surgery for my regular blood tests and then we are off shopping down to Palmerston Road today.

so not a lot of time as once I get breakfast it is nearly 9.30 so need to get ready for when Pauline arrives, I get shaved and dressed with 5 minutes to spare and then Pauline has arrived, so we are off to the Surgery. The appointment is for 10.40 and we go in at 10.45. Debbie has no trouble getting the blood and then we phone for the taxi to take us home to get the wheelchair and then off down to Palmerston road Precinct in Southsea to get the shopping.

Northern half of Palmerston Road Precinct

once we get to the Precinct, Pauline phones Gordon and he walks down with Misty  to meet us and we have a coffee and a snack sat outside at "Greggs" once we have had the snack gordon walks round to "Waitrose" with us which is where we are doing the shopping today and then he takes misty back home.

Waitrose in Marmion Road, Southsea

We go around Waitrose with Pauline pushing me in the wheelchair and we get the shopping that we need and then we go and pick up the Prescription from Boots which we dropped off when we arrived here, We also have a look around Robert Dyers and then make our way over to the southern half of Palmerston road, which has been newly turned into a pedestrian precinct ( almost) as buses still go through there.

Northern half of Palmerston Road

 Once we have looked around there we make our way along Osbourne road via the charity shops to Pauline and Gordon,s flat, where Gordon has the coffee made. we have a bit of a natter and then I get a taxi to take me, the shopping and the Wheelchair home. Pauline comes with me to help me in with the Shopping and wheelchair and then the taxi takes her back home, can't believe it is nearly 3.00 o'clock.
The olympic Torch relay enters day 13 today and goes from Stoke-on-Trent to Bolton. there are huge crowds to cheer it through the streets of Stoke-on-Trent

The Olympic Relay Torch through the streets of Stoke-on-Trent.

The Olympic Torch is being taken to some different places on its travels, it has been on Trains, Lifeboats, Canals, Aquaduct,s and today it gets taken up the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell  Bank

Jodrell Bank Telescope.

So That is about it for today, it is not a long Journal today as It is now 5.40 and I am all behind with everything today, but it has been a great day so I will sign off until tomorrow with the "Day in History" for today

Todays "Day in History" 31st May 1932

Relaxing Wednesday

Wednesday is here again and after yesterday it is nice to know that today is going to be a relaxing day, which is just as well as tomorrow is going to be another busy day. I went down to see Gervase and Leanne yesterday evening, had a nice couple of hours with them also Leanne,s dad Dave was there and he gave me a lift home afterwards so that was nice of him.

Gervase and Leanne

Breakfast

Well I had a very good nights sleep last night, it was a lot cooler last night so that helped also I was out for 3+ hours yesterday as well in the fresh air and was walking with the wheelchair for about an hour, anyway went to bed about 11.00 and woke about 6.30 so that was good, stayed dozing until 8.00 them made a move into the lounge with a coffee to wait for Jo the carer to arrive. Jo came at 8.30 and got be sorted and then was off to her next client so I got some " Fruit and Fibre for Breakfast and then sent the morning text to Pauline.

Pauline phones back and she is out on the common with Misty, which is an appropriate name for today as though it is cooler today and the skies are blue and the sun is shining down on the seafront it is a different story, Pauline said that she is on the common but cannot see the war memorial as it is very misty, you can see this by the Photo from the live web cam at Portsmouth harbour

Portsmouth Harbour at 9.00 am today

So it is time to see how the Olympic Torch Relay is progressing today, it is on day 12 today and is going from Chester to Stoke on Trent. here we can see it crossing the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal where over 3000 people gathered to cheer it across.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal

Well the Mist is lifting now and the blue skies and Sun are appearing from behind the clouds which is a good thing as today there is a fly past by over HMS Illustrious at Portsmouth Dockyard to celebrate its 30th Birthday, its non stop fun here in Portsmouth. Lady Sarah Chatto, Daughter of the late Princess Margaret inspected the guard of honour.

HMS Illustrious at Portsmouth Naval Base

Well the day has passed very quickly and it has been a very relaxing day, I had a nice lunch of Salmon and Crisp Breads, and also a very nice Yoghurt, I have also spent some time working out the format for my new website I am working on " Myositis Awareness" I am planning on having this on line by the end of August. I have got the header graphic completed and also the logo.

The New Website Header Graphic

Waiting for the Olympic torch in Ironbridge

The time is now approaching 4.30 and it is time to pack up the computer and get ready for Pointless on BBC1 at %.15 and then dinner at 6.30. Tonight I am having a nice Rainbow trout fillet with Jersey Royal new Potato,s and cauliflower and broccoli in a nice Cheese Sauce, all freshly cooked. I am looking forward to that and then a nice evening in front of the TV. The Olympic torch is still being greeted by huge crowds as it makes its way towards Stoke on trent with large crowds in Ironbridge.

The last Picture for today is Todays "Day in History" todays date is the 30th May 1631 and took place in France.

Well I really must get this Journal posted today so until tomorrow I will say Au Revoir 

A busy Thursday Shopping.

A Hot Humid Night

Another Thursday dawns, and again it is a warm day but a lot more cloud today, apparently there is a chance of a shower or two today but that is going to be hit and miss according to the weather men. I was not a good nights sleep last night as it was very warm and humid so hopefully today will be a little cooler. anyway at 7.30 I decide to get up and make the coffee and go into the lounge ready for when Jo the carer arrives.

Pauline gets the Taxi.

Once Jo arrives at 8.30 she gets me washed and groomed and then she is on her way, I get some breakfast and then text Pauline, Pauline phones back to say she is just of to take Misty out for her walk and that she will book the Taxi for 10.45 to come and pick me up so that we can get out and get the prescriptions and the shopping.
So I go on to the Laptop and check the emails, Facebook and the Olympic Torch relay before getting shaved and dressed ready for when Pauline comes.

The Olympic torch relay is on to day 11 today going from Beaumaris in Wales to Chester, it has been on a couple of trains on its journey so far and today it spent 15 minutes  traveling along the Menai Strait on a RNLI  Lifeboat.

The Olympic Torch on the Menai Strait

True to her word Pauline arrives at 11.00 and once the Wheelchair and us are in the Taxi we are off to the Eastney Health Centre to drop of a repeat prescription for collection on Thursday and also to collect a prescription for some 1 mg Prednisolone tablets for the latest round of Tapering the dosage down.

Eastney Health centre and Doctors Surgery.

We get the prescription and then we are off down to commercial road where I need to get the banking done and then to boots the chemist to hand in the prescription for the Prednisolone, It will take 15 minutes to get ready so we go for a coffee and a Sausage roll in the precinct until the medication is ready to collect.

Boots the Chemist, Commercial Road, Portsmouth.

Once we have the Prescription and a couple of other bits from Boots the chemist we make our way over to Morrisons at the victory retail park, it is a short walk and we have t go through Sainsburys car park to get there so I wait in the Concourse to Sainsburys while Pauline goes in to see what they have in the Clothing Department.

Sainsburys 

While Pauline is in Sainsburys I sit out in the shade and read the Paper until Pauline re-appears, we then carry on across the car park and into the victory retail Park to get the shopping in Morrisons. I am feeling good today as when we were in the precinct I spent at least 45 minutes walking and pushing the wheelchair so that felt really good and Pauline has only had to push me from the precinct over to Morrisons as that was to far to walk and I felt that I needed to be sensible and not push myself to hard.

Victory Retail Park.

We are in Morrisons about an hour and then once we have finished I phone the Taxi to take us back home. once indoors we get the shopping put away and then we have a nice coffee, before pauline sorts out my laundry to take with her and then she is on her way home and I settle to get this Journal written up.
I have just checked the Local news website to find that the Portsmouth Based Destroyer HMS Diamond will officially start the nationwide Diamond Jubilee celebrations by firing a 21 Gun salute as it enters Portsmouth harbour on Friday morning.

HMS Diamond at Portsmouth Royal Navy Base.

And so that is another days Journal written and ready for Posting, it has been a busy but Enjoyable day today and I am looking forward to seeing my Son Gervase and Leanne this evening, so I will as usual leave you with the "Day in History" for the 29th May 1942 but why this happened in May I will never understand.

So until tomorrow Tatty Bye Everybody.

A Cloudy start today

A Good Nights Sleep

Well, there we are then, another weekend over and done with and it was the hottest weekend this year, It is so nice to see the sun and blue skies, the drawback is that it makes breathing more difficult for me, I do not have breathing problems as such with this myositis but it just gets a bit laboured if the weather is to hot and heavy with no breeze. It was a good nights sleep last night for some reason, probably because I had restless nights on Friday and Saturday and also last night it was not quite so hot and clammy.

First coffee.

Woke at about 6.45 this morning and lazed around with the TV news on until 7.45 when I made my way into the lounge with the first coffee of the day and watched the Breakfast news on BBC1 while I was waiting for Jo the carer who came at 8.30 and soon had me washed and groomed ready for the day in front of me, and then she was on her way, I sent the text to Pauline and then Got some Breakfast "porridge today" Pauline phoned so we had a chat and then I got the laptop up and running and checked out the emails and also facebook.

So there we are the start of Monday, and Today the weather has not started off as sunny and warm as it has the last few days, There is more cloud around this morning being blown inland from the sea.

The clouds are forming this morning

Where is my
Prednisolone ?

You can see how the clouds are forming by the photograph I took from my back yard this morning, but as the day progressed the sun and blue skies returned interspersed with the "White Fluffy Clouds".

Today is a day of rest as it is the day I start the next phase of tapering my Prednisolone. so that will be interesting to see how that goes. I had to phone the GP this morning to get him to write a prescription for some 1 mg Prednisolone Tablets so that will be collected tomorrow, as from today I will be on 2 mg/15 mg Prednisolone on alternative days for 1 month and then on 0 mg/15 mg Prednisolone on alternative days for 3 months until my next appointment with the Neurologist.

Well I have just been to check on how the Olympic Torch Relay is Progressing through wales and today it is day number 10 and the route is from Aberystwyth to Bangor. the Photograph below shows the Olympic torch in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion.

Aberystwyth Ceredigion

So the Torch is well on its way now, and it is going on another train journey today on the Famous Ffestiniog Railway from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog.

Ffestiniog Railway

So the Olympic torch is heading in the right direction and also on schedule and still drawing in huge crowds as it makes it,s way through Wales. But of course it is not the only event taking place in England , yesterday was a busy day for the Armed forces, in Gosport at the Falklands Garden there was a Falklands War Commemoration  Ceremony, and at HMS Collingwood in Fareham the Portsmouth royal Navy base won back the "Brickwood Trophy" at the Royal Navy and Royal Marine Field Gun Competition.

Field Gun crew,s

But the Highlight of the local events was the "Naked Bike Ride" through Portsmouth. This is an annual event to show how vulnerable cyclists are on the road these days, there were 77 riders, and "NO" I was not one of them lol.

Naked Bike ride.

Oh what an exciting city we live in, what could be better than watching 77 naked people ride around the seafront, at least they had good weather for it, and apparently id did draw a large crowd ?????

Well there we are then the next item is to let everyone know that I am in the process of setting up a "Myositis Awareness" website. I will let everyone know more details when I have progressed further. the logo that I will use is shown below, this site will run in Tandem with my "Myositis in focus website" , but will differ in as much as it will be targeted to people who are unaware of Myositis and hopefully to make more people aware of how it affects us.

My Myositis Awareness Logo 

So That about wraps up the journal today. Just to say with all the "Mad" events taking place in and around Portsmouth Yesterday it seems that todays "Date in History" is appropriate. so untill tomorrow I will say Tatty bye for now.

Sunny Sunday

Lazy sunday afternoon, I've got no time to worry.

close my eye,s and drift away

A Busy Day

And so the words of the song by the "Small Faces" go. and yes it is Sunday and yes that was the song I have just been listening to on the radio. It is as you can gather a really nice Sunny day here again today, not a cloud in a bright blue sky, and where am I on the laptop, what a life I lead. I needed to make a start on the Journal early today as I have a fairly busy day today.

Medtronic Machine.

My Son Gervase will be round about 12.00 as I have to make the first Transmission of the recordings from my "Reveal Heart monitor" over the Telephone line to the Cardio Dept at the Queen Alexandra Hospital using the "Medtronic CareLink Machine", so gervase is going to be here to make sure I set it up Correctly and that it works as it should. All this "High Technology"

Last night was a good nigh,s sleep once I got to sleep, it took about 1.5 hours for me to drop off to sleep but once I did I only woke once to use the bathroom and then went back to sleep until 6.45, but it was very close last night and also today which makes breathing a bit laboured but hopefully there will be a bit of a breeze again later on. I have just been and checked the Olympic Torch Relay to see how that is progressing. Today is day 9 and the flame goes from Swansea to Aberystwyth. The first Relay today is by "Train" at Mumbles in Swansea.

By Train at Mumbles

 It was then cheered by large crowds that lined the streets as it made its way through Swansea.

On the road through Swansea

The time is now getting on and it is approaching 11.15, time to get a shave and dressed ready for when Gervase gets here about midday, and then once we have sent the recording down to the QA, then we will be off to Asda to get a bit of shopping before a drive along the sea front.

So Gervase arrives about 12.30 and we get the Medtronic Care link machine set up and we get the transmission started after going through the instructions  a couple of times. it takes about 6 minutes to record the Data from the Heart Monitor to the machine ad about 12 minutes to send it down the Phone line to the Queen Alexandra Cardiology department. "Job Done"

once that is over and done with we then get the wheelchair in the car and off we go to Asda, Really wish we had not come here today, it is packed with people out buying all the BBQ supplies and cheap lager, so we get round as fast as we can and then we are off back to te car and come home via the sea front.It is very busy down here today with so many Families out on the Common with BBQ,s and picnics. It is nice to see so many people out enjoying the nice weather, will probably be record numbers off work tomorrow with sunburn.

Southsea Common near to Clarence Pier

The whole sea front is very very busy today, but then again it is the first decent week end weather wise so far this year so I expect the traders need the customers, it is just a pity that when you get really nice weather like this the Prices go up, for an example, if you go down along the sea front in february or March you can get a coffee for 80p, the same coffee in the summer when the weather is nice will cost £1.25 to £1.50. still I suppose it is a short season, There are also a lot of people along the Promenade and also by canoe lake.

The promenade approaching South Parade pier

In the sun at canoe lake

I am now going to check to see how the Olympic Torch Relay is progressing down in Wales as I have not checked since 9.00 this morning when it was in Swansea. Well here we see it at Kidwelly in front of the Castle, This is the castle that was used as a location for the film " Monty python and the holy Grail "

The Olympic torch in front of Kidwelly Castle

OK so that is nearly today over and done with, gervase has round to Elaine,s to pick up Leanne, and then they are off home, I have had a pasty for lunch and tonight I am having Salmon with Cauliflower cheese. so I will say Goodbye until tomorrow and leave you with todays "Date In History"

The Sun Has got his hat on.

Hello Sunshine

And we awake to another Bright, Sunny and Warm Day here on the South Coast, It is so nice to see the blue skies and feel the warmth in the air and as long as I stay out of the sun I am fine, so what I do is sit in the back room with the door open, that way I can look out into the back yard and the sunshine without actually being out in the sun. Sorted.

New Carer

Well it was a better nights sleep last night, it was not so humid as Thursday night and I made sure I had a bottle of water handy for if I woke during the night, which I did so that was ok. anyway I only woke once at 2.45 and went back to sleep and woke at 6.45 so that was OK, trouble was the temperature in the room was already 23 C. anyway got up at 8.00 ready for the Carer, who came at 9.00. It was a different carer today as Jo my regular carer has the weekend off.

Canada Family

Once the carer had me washed and Groomed I got some Wheatabix for breakfast and then took the laptop into the back room and sat in there with the door open, and checked out my e-mails and also facebook to catch up on what was happening in the Myositis groups and also with the family at home and in Canada.

Once that had all been checked out I went and checked out how the Olympic Torch relay was progressing it is into day 8 today and is going from Cardiff Bay to Swansea. it is in wales until Tuesday when it ends the day back in England. It started its Journey today from Cardiff Bay, and the first runner today was Dr Who Star "Matt Smith"

Matt Smith with the Torch at Cardiff

The torch left Cardiff bay at 6.30 this morning and makes its way through the valleys to Merthyr Tydfil and then on to Swansea.

The Torch Change over at Caerphilly Castle

The time has gone past very quickly this morning and it is now 1.00 and time for lunch, today I will make a nice Egg Mayonnaise sandwich with a cup of tea and a Banana. That was very tasty and it was very pleasant sat here eating it with the breeze blowing in from the back yard.

The view from my back room

Well it is now approaching 3.00 and I have done very little today but at least the effects of the Methotrexate yesterday are starting to subside, I think the secret is plenty of fluids in this warm weather.
It is now time to have a rest from the computer and watch a movie on TV  There is "Police Academy, Mission to Moscow" on Comedy Central so I think I will watch that, will probably doze off in the chair watching it. anyway I will leave you with todays day in History from 1904, this was one funny  and talented Man. so until tomorrow Tatty Bye.

George Formby