Another Wednesday comes and Goes.

Well would you believe it, upon my soul, when I looked out the window.........

There they were, Digging a hole.
Hole in the Ground, Big and sort of round it was

So I said ............

Do you mind if I make a suggestion

Don't dig there, Dig it elsewhere
Your digging it round,  and it ought to be square.

And so the words in the song went, on the radio this morning when I woke up. They were playing the Bernard Cribbin,s song "Digging A hole" and after that they played "Right Said Fred" and that is how my day begun, well that and a few strange noises that kept coming and going but it did not take long to work out what that was either. LOL.

However that is me just starting off today as I mean to carry on, today is the last day of October and also it is Halloween, Oooooh Spooky.

So , it was a decent nights sleep last night and At 7.45 I get up and go to make a coffee before going into the lounge to watch the morning news on the TV, the picture of the great storm that is affecting east coast of the USA are frightening and I am thinking of all my Myositis friends over there and hoping they keep safe.

On The Laptop.

I have my coffee and then get the laptop up and running and check out the latest emails and also check out facebook, and catch up on my facebook games, oh what an exciting life we lead, anyway it is nearly 9.30 before the carer arrives today, this is another new carer that I have not seen before, but at least she came to the correct address, so that is an improvement, she gets me washed and groomed and then she is on her way.

Yummy Bacon and Egg

Once the Carer has gone I  text Pauline and then decide it is time to get breakfast and then I need to get dressed before Pauline,s Brother-in-law Colin arrives, He is bringing his son Stewie down for his appointment at the medical centre, so he is coming in for an hour for a chat and a cuppa, before taking him back home, anyway I fancy Bacon and Egg for breakfast so I cook up a couple of Rashers of bacon and an egg with a couple of crisp bread and a cup of tea.

After Breakfast I get dressed and then Pauline phones to say all is OK, and then Colin arrives about 10.25 and I make drinks and we have a nice chat, the hour goes by quite fast and soon Stewie rings to say he is ready to go home so off he goes so I get my shoes and coat on and go round to the tesco express to get a morning paper and also a snack for lunch time. The weather is very showery to day so I am straight there and back between the showers, once home I make a nice hot coffee and then settle down in the recliner to read the paper and do the crossword.

It is soon approaching 1.30 and it is time to have a lunch time snack as I am feeling Peckish,  While I was round Tesco earlier I purchased a 'chicken and Bacon tortilla, so I have that for lunch and it is very tasty and goes down a treat, it is easier to swallow than a sandwich so I am glad I got it, anyway once I have washed it down with a nice glass of  Blueberry and Raspberry Juice I go for a lie down for an hour, I always feel more tired in the afternoons that I do not take the Prednisolone, as I now only take 15 mg on Alternate days.

Well that was a nice lie down, had a cat nap for 45 minutes and now it is time to get todays Journal written and posted as the time is getting on, It has been a very quiet and lazy day today but it has been nice and relaxing, I spoke to Gervase earlier on, and they were out with friends yesterday evening and they had a nice photo taken and they were certainly enjoying themselves.

Gervase and Leanne out having fun.

Well that is about it for today I think, sorry it is a bit of a bland edition today I will try better tomorrow when we go off out down to Morrisons, anyway remember that it will be Trick and treat night tonight so beware of Witches, Ghosts and things that go bump in the night and enjoy yourself. so until tomorrow I will say
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A nice Tuesday shopping today.

Everyone loves morning coffee

And here we are again, another Tuesday, and another visit to the Vampire for my blood test, and then off down to Commercial road for a little bit of shopping as I also need to buy a vase today as well. anyway the weather is a lot brighter today and I slept pretty well last night after a nice Birthday Monday and woke about 6.15 this morning. Lazed in bed until 7.45 and then made my way into the lounge to watch the morning breakfast news, and to see if a carer arrives today.

On the phone to Pauline.

well at least the carer has arrived today although she had my old address, and had to phone the care agency office to get the correct address. she was a very pleasant lady and we had a nice chat and then she got me washed and groomed ready for the day ahead, anyway once she had left I got some weetabix for breakfast and then sent the morning text to Pauline. Pauline phones back to say that she has booked a taxi for 10.10 to collect me to go for my blood test at Eastney Health Centre AKA "The House of the Vampire"

Once I had finished speaking to Pauline I get on the laptop and check out facebook and also my emails and then at 9.30 start to get dressed ready for when Pauline comes at 10.10 with the taxi for me, I have a nice new jumper to wear today which is one of the presents Gervase and leanne bought me for my birthday, anyway I am all ready at 10.00 so have a quick coffee before Pauline arrives and once the taxi is here we are off to the doctors, as my appointment for my blood test is at 10.30. we arrive at 10.25 and go in to see the nurse at 10.40. Debbie the usual person that takes my blood is off this week as it is the school half term so it is a practice nurse today.

Once we are out of the health centre I phone for a taxi to take us home to collect the wheel chair and then off down to the city centre to get some shopping and, and one of the things I need to buy today s a vase as My Neighbour Kim, brought me a nice bunch of flowers for my Birthday and dropped them into to me yesterday evening, ( so Thank yo Kim, Chris, Megan and Molly) but I did not have a vase so need to buy one today, as I do enjoy flowers around the house. anyway we are soon down at the city centre ready to get some shopping done.

Commercial road Precinct this Morning

 It is very busy down here today, due to the school half term holiday this week anyway we make our way around and get some bits and pieces and get a very nice Vase in the shape of a jug . I chose this as it has the handle that makes it a lot easier to carry, I got it in Wilkinsons, it is a glazed pottery one and was on £4.00, we then make our way back down the precinct to Marks and Spencer.

Another view from the Precinct in the Sunshine today.

In M&S we have a look round the food hall and I get some Clotted Cream rice puddings , real butter Eccles cakes for me and Gordon and a nice Chicken Korma for dinner tonight so bang goes the diet this week. anyway after that we go down to greggs to get a Sausage Roll and a coffee each for a lunchtime snack and sit outside in the warm sunshine to eat it.

Greggs in the Precinct.

once we are refreshed we then make our way in to Tesco to get the rest of the Basic shopping and then once we have that we get a taxi to take us back home. Once home we get the food put away and I make a coffee and pauline pinches a couple of my birthday chocolates, well one actually and then we get the Flowers from my Neighbour put into my new Vase and they look superb, I then phone for a Taxi to take Pauline back home and I make another coffee and settle down to get this Journal written.

My New vase and flowers.

Go Gervase Go

I have set the vase on my side table to hide most of my medication. anyway I get the Journal started and then Gervase Arrives to pay me a short visit as I will not be going round to them tonight as they are going out for a couple of hours, so he has walked up to pay me a visit. I asked him why he did not use the car and he said he enjoys the walk and it keeps his muscles working after his 10 mile run at the Great South Run on Sunday.

Well that was a good day today, the weather stayed nice all day, the Carer actually arrived "Eventually" the nurse had no problems drawing my blood and the shopping went well so all in all a successful day, now it is 5.15 and pointless is about to start so I am going to get this Journal posted and watch Pointless and then I will get dinner at 6.30 " a nice M&S Chicken Korma before a nice evening in front of the TV so until tomorrow I will say Bye Bye.

Its Someone,s Birthday Today

And here is a history Lesson for you all.

( Q ) What happened 69 years ago in the middle of an air raid ?

(A) The World as we know it changed for ever I was Born.

And if that was not enough 10 years later on the 29th October 1953 Guess What ?

Yes My Sister Eileen was born on my 10th Birthday, my longest lasting Present and still in good condition which is more than can be said for me LOL

Morning coffee.

So today is a special day for two reasons. The day has started well as I woke at about 7.00 after a good nights sleep, and as there is no carer today I could have a lie in so made a coffee and then back into bed until 8.30 when I made my way with another coffee into the lounge and to watch some Breakfast TV news and get myself some Porridge for Breakfast.

On the Phone to Adult Social Care.

Once I had finished breakfast I text Pauline, and she phones back to wish me a happy birthday and to say gordon will be round as usual to do a couple of hours cleaning for me, so I must make sure I have some biscuits for gordon to have with his coffee, anyway once the phone call from Pauline is over I check out Facebook I have a great deal of Birthday wishes to look at from family and friends world wide and also check my emails, after that I phone Adult Social Care about the problems on saturday with the care company but all they seem to do is fob me off so I to forget it and I will g direct to the local Press and my MP and hang up, I will not get stressed out on my Birthday.

Return Call from Adult Social care.

Anyway about 10.50 Gordon arrives, so first things first I make a couple of coffee,s and we have a chat before Gordon starts cleaning for me and I go and take a walk round to the Tesco Express to get a few bits and pieces, once I am back home i settle to start to read te paper when the phone rings and it is Adult Social Care, another person has picked up on my problem and has phoned back to discuss it, at least this lady seems to be a bit more concerned anyway I go through the events of what happened Saturday and she says she will contact the company and will phone me back. she phones back within the hour to say that she has spoken to the company and they have assured her all my records have now been updated so we will see at least someone is listening.

Well we will see what happens with the carer tomorrow, anyway gordon is ready for another coffee before he vacuum's the floors and finishes off so I need to make sure he has something to munch with his coffee, as I need to build up his weight as we have a weigh in every week when he comes round and he is always lighter than me and that is not fair so I am trying to fatten him up LOL. so here is a small snack for Gordon,s coffee break.

A Tasty Snack for Gordon.

Ooop,s

 Once we have had a coffee break gordon completes the floors Vacuuming the lounge and bedroom and washing the Kitchen and Bathroom Floor,s we then have our weekly weigh in and Gordon is at 12 stone and I am at 12.5 stone, this is not fair and Dr Gibb will not be please with my weight, must try to get down to 11.5 before I see him in January.

A Cat Nap

Anyway all of a sudden the doorbell rings and it is Pauline and Charlie, Charlie is a son of friends of Pauline and Gordon who live in Salisbury and he has come down to stay with Pauline and gordon for the week, anyway they have brought me some Birthday cards and Present,s round so that was a surprise, anyway they stop for a coffee and a chat before they all make there way home and I get some Chicken Broth for lunch and then go for a cat nap.

That was a nice half an hour and then my brother pat rings, so we have a chat and then I make a coffee and start to get todays Journal written, at about 4.00 Gervase phones to say they are running late and will be round to see me about 5.00 so will look forward to that, anyway it is now 4.20 and I need to get this journal finished and posted to my blog and then get ready for Gervase coming round, so I will leave you all with number 7 of "Myo Man Dreams" and will be back tomorrow when we go shopping.

End of british summer time.

Yes it is now official, British summer time is officially over, To which all you British people shout in Unison, " What Bl@@@y Summer"

Clock went back last night.

Anyway I hope everyone in Great Britain remembered to put their clocks back an hour last night otherwise you will have been up this morning an hour before you needed to be. anyway, after doing the clocks I had a relatively good nights sleep last night and was up and in the lounge by 8.30 this morning which was nice, I watched a bit of TV news before getting some breakfast and sending the morning text to Pauline and also sending a text to Gervase.

Once pauline had phoned back and had a chat I make a coffee and then check out facebook and my emails before going round to get the Morning paper from Tesco Express. The weather is wet and dull today so soon back indoors ready t watch the Bupa Great South Run which is live on channel 5 TV. The Great south Run is a 10 mile road race/run which takes place every year. there are 25,000 people taking part today and the majority are running to raise funds for charities.

one of the many waves of Runners starting the 10 mile race.

my Son Gervase is running this race today He is running to raise funds for Cancer Research, as his Mum Christine lost her life to breast cancer in 1993 when gervase was only 12 , anyway I am so proud of him, he ran last year and is also running this year,so way to go Gervase.

well at about 12.50 I get a text from Gervase to say that he has finished the run and he ran it in 1 hour 50 minutes which is about 4 minutes faster than he did last time. He has got a just giving page up for donations and I will put the link at the end of todays journal but well done Gervase. Proud of you Son.

 Right now I watched it live on TV and never saw any sign of gervase but when you think there were 25000 runners that is not surprising, anyway as it is 1.00 it is time to get myself some lunch so I am going to make myself a bacon and cheese omelette, so thank goodness for my Microwave omelette maker, all I need to do is fry and cut up a couple of rashers of bacon, grate some cheese, beat a couple of eggs and leave the rest to technology, and Hey Presto one tasty omelette with a couple of crisp bread.

Todays Lunch.

well That was so very tasty, anyway it is now 1.30 and time for an afternoon movie, the Movie I am going to watch today is "The Ghost of Greville Lodge" this is a good movie and I have seen it earlier this year it stars George Cole and Prunella Scales and was made in 2000.

Todays Afternoon Movie

 Well today has been a good day, so now I am going to get this journal finished and posted, and then get the washing up from lunch done before settling down to read the Paper and do the crosswords, and then it will be time for evening dinner and ready for tonight,s episode of "Downton Abbey" and it looks like it is going to be a good one tonight.
So I will leave you with comic strip number number 6 for "Myo Man Dreams"

And for anyone who would like to make a donation in aid of Cancer Research on my son Gervase Smith,s, Just giving page as he took part in the Bupa Great South Run Today a 10 mile road race his Just giving page is at

http://www.justgiving.com/Gervase-Smith

So until tomorrow I will say Tatty Bye.

The ups and downs of a Sunny Saturday.

And a very warm welcome to another Saturday, This is the last Saturday of the Month and it is also the weekend that British summertime ends and that means that at 2.00 am tomorrow morning the clocks go back one hour so an extra hour sleep tonight. 

Phone call from Gervase

It was a decent nights sleep last night but if I knew at 7.45 what I know Now I would have stayed in bed for another hour, as it was I got up at 7.45 and made a coffee and then in to the lounge to watch the Breakfast news on BBC1 and to wait for my carer to arrive. I wondered if it would be Hannah again today or another new carer anyway no carer had arrived by 9.15 so I decided to wait until 9.30 and then phone the out of hours phone line to see what was happening . anyway at 9.20 my mobile phone rings and it is my son Gervase asking if all was Ok as the care company had phoned to say I was not answering the door to their carer.

Angry phone call on  Monday
to Adult Social care.

This really is the last straw as no carer had arrived today, let alone knocked at my front door, anyway assures Gervase that I am ok and phone the weekend phone number for the care company. I speak to a supervisor who assures me that the carer had been and got no reply and that my phone number was not recognised, I then ask her to what address the carer had been sent to and as I suspected it was to my old address, ( at this point I will not divulge what I said to her as it may offend you all) however I was not pleased as you will remember I had a meeting here at home a few weeks ago between me, the care company and Adult social services and these problems were highlighted then and I have the resulting paperwork from this meeting here with me now, so I will be phoning Portsmouth city Council Adult Social care on Monday to make an official complaint and asking for another meeting. 

To say I am not pleased is an Understatement and I am sorely tempted to contact the local press, as if it is happening so often to me then it is probably happening to more vulnerable people than me who cannot speak up for themselves. At least I have kept all the relevant documentation regarding previous complaints and outcomes. so hopefully Adult social care will look to see if the care company are capable of running a care company.

Well that is my Rant over for today, so back to the weather. today is a far nicer day than yesterday and although a lot colder at 9.45 I took a photo outside in my Back yard to show how nice and sunny the weather was today here in Portsmouth.

From my back yard at 9.45 this morning.

Once I had calmed down a bit I got some porridge for breakfast and then got on the laptop and checked out Facebook and my emails before getting dressed and going round to Tesco Express to get my Daily Paper, it is very bitter outside with a very strong Northerly wind blowing so do not stay out very long and then back indoors to make a nice coffee and to read the Paper.

At 1.00 I get myself a nice piece of Smoked haddock for lunch with 2 crispbread, and then at about 2.00 my brother Pat and my niece Melanie arrive to see me they stay for about an hour or so and have a coffee and a nice chat, I had spoken with Pat on Thursday evening and he had said they were coming down over the weekend, he brought a HDMI lead and an HDMI adaptor for the Macbook Pro so that I could connect my laptop to the TV to watch the movies and cartoons/animations from the NFBC site and also from the Internet Archive, it will be so much easier watching on a bigger screen than watching them on the laptop. 

From Macbook pro to TV via HDMI Adaptor and Lead.

Well all in all it has been a bit of a busy day today, once Pat and mel went I made a coffee and then decided to get this Journal written and posted before the movie "Space Jam" starts on the Gold Channel on TV at 5.00 then after that it will preparing and cooking dinner before an hour or so of Old Animated cartoon shorts from the early days of cinema via the Internet Archive Site. Betty boop Cartoons tonight I think.

Space Jam Movie 1996

First Betty Boop animation 1930 "Dizzy Dishes"

 So now that you have been totally bored I will say Bye Bye until Tomorrow.

A Day of Changes Today.

Well here we are again, another Freaky Friday arrives out of the blue, it creeps up  behind you when you are not looking and before you know it it's the end of another week.

Anyway enough of my stupidity, it is a day of change today (1) the weather has changed and (2) my carer has changed as Jo has now left to embark on a new career.

(1) so the weather has got a lot colder and very wet today, in fact it has got so wet the Live webcam at Portsmouth Harbour seems to have packed up working so I have added a Photograph I have just taken in my Back Yard.

Raindrops hanging on the rotary clothes line.

(2) and today I have a new carer, I was up at 8.00 as usual and in the lounge watching the Morning Breakfast news on the TV, and wondering if and what time a carer would arrive as I have not got a lot of faith in the organisation of the care company, if the organisation in the office was as good as the carer,s then there would be no problem,s. Anyway At 8.20 I see a young lady arrive on a cycle and she is a carer from Crescent, and she goes to my old house, so I go out and let her  know that I am now in this flat, as I know they have not changed the address on the client sheets they give the carer,s. Anyway her name is Hannah, a very pleasant young lady, so I give her my care plan and explain what needs doing and she gets on and gets me washed and groomed for the day and is then on her way. so I wonder if I will have a different carer tomorrow or if it will be Hannah Again ?

Jo Never used to Wash my face and Neck like this

 Once Hannah Had finished she went of to her next client and I get some weetabix for breakfast and then text Pauline to let her know all is OK, Pauline phones back to Say they have just arrived in Salisbury and about to start the first job and also that it is raining up there as well as it is down here, anyway once we are of the phone I get the laptop up and running and check my emails and Facebook before settling to watch some old episodes of "My Family" on the TV.starring Zoe Wanamaker and Robert Lindsay from 2000. It is being shown on the "Watch Channel" My Family was a Sitcom shown on BBC1 from 2000 to 2011.

My Family TV Sitcom.

Well I enjoyed a couple of episodes and then at 12.00 I went for a lie down until 1.00 to catch up on some sleep, after that I got up and thought that I would get myself some lunch, but what to have was the question,  well I decided that I would be naughty and give myself a treat so I had 3 Rashers of bacon and a fried egg with 2 crispbread, that is the first time I have had bacon and egg in nearly 2 years, so really did enjoy it but now it must be sensible eating for the next few days.

Todays "Naughty Lunch"

The only problem with having bacon and egg is that you have to wash up afterwards, so that was the next thing to do before making a nice cup of tea and then settling down to get todays Journal written and Posted, one other decision is do I now have a desert or not. it is a choice of either a lemon cheese cake or a low fat yoghurt, I think under the circumstances it will have to be a low fat yoghurt, as I am wanting to keep my weight below 12.5 stone and lighter than gordon, that is why my plan is to keep treating gordon to eccles cakes and gooey Treacle tarts, I got him some from Morrisons yesterday when we went shopping.

What will be will be 

In all Honesty I must admit that when we weighed ourselves on Monday Gordon was lighter than me. so I need to buy him more cakes and biscuits

Well I must now go and pack my case and get a flight to the other side of the world before Gordon and pauline see,s this cartoon, so on that note I will get this Journal posted and then think about what to have for dinner  tonight at 6.00 pm before taking my Methotrexate so until tomorrow I will say Adios Amigo and see you all tomorrow unless Gordon and Pauline get to me first.