I had the nicest afternoon today with Clare who is 94 and in a nursing home in Newcastle. Most days when I visit she makes little response  and I come away wondering just how much she is aware of . Today after a slow start it seemed as though a light dawned as to who I was and after looking at me long and hard she said my name and gave me a wonderful lop sided smile (the result of the stroke she had over a year ago). Often I just sit quietly with her massaging her stiff imobile limbs and rub cream into them and into her atrified hand, and I was doing this today when she asked me would I read something to her. I went and had a look in the little library and found a People's Friend Annual, she was delighted with the pictures of places mostly in Scotland which she loves, and the poems. I wondered why on earth I had never thought to do something like that before. As I was coming away, she was more animated than I have seen her in over a year, she was gracious enough to say she had enjoyed the afternoon more than she could ever remember. Now I'm off to the charity shops in search of more People's Friend Annuals. I love my olds so much.

Whale Music....shmale music!

I have just spent 10 minutes listening to some whale music and frankly all I can say is 'poor whales'! I'm going soon to the hypertension clinic for the second of 3 checks on my blood pressure which apparently was in the gods last time I had it taken. I went for an ear infection and they took my BP, is this customary? (Probably because I hadn't been to the docs in well over 3 years previously). Anyway no doubt they will be delighted by the outcome of me listening to whale music for 10 minutes! If it hasn't worked...then I'm with Japan. (No really I'm not Joyce - Helen - I was only kidding)!

This afternoon the sanctity that is my retirement will be violated. I am going back to work. This will only be for 3 hours and wait for it, my title (for payment) is 'Escort'. I was discussing this with the bairn last night and she asked was I escorting others while they were on the job. I would like to clear up any confusion that I am not in any way escorting in the- telephone kiosk advertisment-sense. The DWP are not nearly so exciting!
Talk Later B

I have a b****y horrible dirty cold, one of those colds that catch you unaware so as you turn swiftly to smile at the vicar, a large unnanounced snot flies from your nose and lands squarely on his cassock. Yuk! I'm staying home tomorrow. I have lemons, honey and a bottle of whisky, so I will do honey glazed chicken for dinner and drink the whisky neat! Think that is the best approach.

Had a fab day yesterday with my best mate Joyce. It was her birthday and we really enjoyed the day together. We go back years, having worked together in the early 1970's. We howled with laughter at some of our memories of her 21st which was a pyjama party, this was such a roaring success that we felt we had to top it and came up with the novel idea of a bath towel party. Being 1971 and the age of lost inhibition there were some who chose to make it a face cloth party, only faces weren't where the cloths were worn, and as the evening progressed and the wine flowed I'm afraid some face cloths were lost to the spillage of drink, the joke was that flannel was most certainly what some guys had given us previously in pub banter!

On a more serious note we ended the evening going to see 'Munich' which was brilliant. Highly recommended. 3 of the fastest hours in my life.
Talk Later
Regards B