A silver Sixpence

Thinking about the sixpence that Captain Detector found on the beach yesterday.  What would it have bought way back then?

24 aniseed balls from the sweet shop if my memory serves me correctly, and 6 of those pallid pastel lollies that i liked.   And perhaps 3 sherbert dabs.  I think they were tuppence.

I am frozen with my arthritis - just getting out of a chair is so exhausting and painful.  I won't be going up to London next week.  And, if they can't get this sorted out, well, I don't like to think about it.

My travelling days will be over for sure.

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Scrambled Eggs

We are back home, on the South Coast.  A sunny South Coast after the storms of yesterday. I can still hardly move, and will not be able to shop, though I hope to totter about doing some ironing, and catch up on my studies. But Captain Fitness has roared off to look for (and count) the eggs of the rare Brown Hairstreak Butterfly with a fellow enthusiast.

"Eggs, brilliant" I said "That could solve the supper problem for tonight."

He paled, and at that moment a missive came flying through the letterbox questioning my position as a butterfly bureaucrat.

What did I do?!

What did I say?!

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2012

This Millennium is fairly racing along.   And we are now into our New Year.  Bea O'The Other Side of the Snake Pass gave us lunch yesterday - lamb pie and mash.   Lovely to see her again. She is already turning the new garden into a work of art.  We also had a day out at Lilac Tree Farm - yet another lovely meal - and, oh dear, another lovely pie and mash at Jim and Claire's.   I won't fit in the car by the time we leave and Captain B will have to roll me all the way home.  Its supposed to be very stormy tomorrow, so won't be much fun to drive in.

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Scooter - The Return!!!

I had better quickly write up a diary for the last week - before I forget.  We set off for the bungalow a day late, on Saturday.  There were 14 of us (counting the new baby) for the turkey dinner on the 25th.  My sister did her usual masterful job of feeding us all, and Col and I helped with preparing the vegetables and clearing up.   A days rest (for arthritis reasons, mine), and we did a lunch here for Jo, Jen and Kathryn.  We all caught up with things.  No walking sticks this year.   Then another days rest and off to York yesterday, for a curry  lunch with Keith, Janet, children and friends, followed by a mulled wine evening.    To Jim's tonight (Col's old boss), and then to Lilac Tree Farm for family reunion No.2.  Followed by Aunt Bea on Sunday. She is giving us lunch.

Overall... the bungalow and the house at York have undergone many changes over the year - most impressive.  There is a new set of steps and a gate in the garden here for one thing, which makes it even more interesting and mysterious.  I hope its going to provide some wonderful memories for the new young Eleanor Margaret.

And Scooter seems to have got her Masters in CatFlappery.  She manages to clatter the flap louder than ever, the moment we start to fall asleep.   I was lying in bed - awake through arthritis pains, all over - and I suddenly found a new pain being added to my pantheon - severe pins and needles in the sole of my foot.   Then I realised I was being Scootered.   She can't resist attacking a foot in the middle of the night.  I got myself safely under the duvet again, and started to drift away in a haze of painkillers, when, suddenly CLATTER, CRASH, EXIT CAT FLAP stage left.

It seems noticeable, on the few times that politics/the state of things are mentioned, that people are giving up any hope in politicians.

Will they seek for the Refuge?

Surely some of them will.

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What the doctor said to me when I had my tubes tilted

"Mrs Knight", he said, "I do think you ought to credit Victoria Wood with that line".  So, thank you Victoria, I do.   Anyway, as the doctor said to me when he pumped me full of stuff for my pain (arthritis pain) "I hope that helps."

It does. And thank you very much.  I managed to get to the Kingdom Hall last night and got to hear the talk from the Circuit Overseer, which was wonderful, all about how to protect and strengthen our faith.   That is so important.  Things are going to get worse before they get better, on a darkest hour before the dawn basis.

There has been another Earthquake in Christchurch!   That lovely city.  We have emailed Dorothy, hoping she is alright.  Valiant though she is, she and everyone there must still be in a state of shock from the last time.

The increasing of natural disasters worldwide is part of the sign Jesus told us to watch out for.   The fruitage of the rebellion in Eden is showing itself now as never before.  We have had two World wars within living memory.   But it does mean that our deliverance from the horrors of this present system of things on the earth is close at hand.

This has been a quiet day. We shopped early before the rush and have been packing and sorting, slowly getting ourselves ready to head oop North.  Weather forecast for tomorrow OK.

We are getting news in daily as various friends send their 2011 newsletters.  Todays included a card with news from Elizabeth, who I have known since she was five, and one from Ian and Cheryl in Oz.  We have some photos of the evening we spent on their lovely yacht in Chichester Harbour in The Captain's Log.

They sailed her safely to Oz!

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The Day Before the Day After Yesterday, Tomorrow

That film about Global Warming is on again. Christmas week I suppose.    Wonderful special effects, but I can't take the tsunami of political correctness, so I thought I would do another blog about my arthritis. What could be more gripping?

Private Eye have an all purpose Christmas week film called "They Flew to Bruges".  It might be a better option.

Groan, groan, moan, moan, in pain, haven't been anywhere or done anything, except failed my degree in Stoicism.  However I do have an emergency appointment at the hospital on Thursday afternoon.  And I hope so much to get to my study with Rick tomorrow. The brother who conducts it will pick me up and bring me back.

And I hope the injection on Thursday will work, otherwise i don't see how I am going to be able to travel.

One nice thing today - well two nice things - I got a letter from Gale, a friend from my Uni days - with some lovely pictures of her son's wedding.  And Janie rang and we had a long long talk.  We have known each other since were were eleven years old.

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The return of the Arthritis

Yes, my arthritis is fine thanks.  Holding my body in its iron grip.  The steroids gave me a temporary relief in which I have pranced around like a (rather elderly) spring lamb.  But now its back with a vengeance.

Its a lovely dawn here over the English Channel, with a range of cloud mountain all along the horizon.  And a flock of seagulls has just flown across, like notes in a symphony.

I am desperately hoping that I can have another steroid jab before we set off on our trek oop North, but I suspect it will be too soon.  They may puff me up till I am in danger from every passing Japanese whaling ship, but its wonderful to be pretty much free of pain, to be able to do things, and to have a bit of energy.

I don't even know if I will be able to get myself into the shower and dressed in time to get to the meeting this morning!

Did get out on the work yesterday, but Jay is not young either, and we only managed to do 45 minutes, as we were working in a tall block of flats with lots of stairs.  However, we did get to talk to some people and gave them a chance to hear the truth - Christianity being called "the way of the truth".

And the Captain and me enjoyed the Strictly Final yesterday.  It had to be between Harry and Chelsee and we thought either would have been a worthy winner.  It was funny at the end when Harry won and his McFly bandmates invaded the pitch and had to be shooed off by Sir Bruce.

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