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Crikey, today was a belter, wasn’t it? Really hot sunshine, all day. John was very jealous. We had a chat at breakfast-time, just as I was sitting outside to eat my fruit and yoghurt. “Big blue skies, then?” he marvelled. I agreed – it was a fabulous morning. “Pity I can only see concrete here though….” he grumbled. “I might be able to see a spot of sunshine later, but I can’t just now.” Hmmm…… that’s the problem with the ward he’s in. Nothing to see outside at all.

The upshot of the conversation was that he might be home today. I visited this afternoon and, by then, it was looking less likely. For a start, John had explained to the staff that he was expecting an x-ray on his leg on Wednesday afternoon. “We’ll see if we can bring that forward, shall we?” suggested the nurse and, sure enough, they did. However, it wasn’t the x-ray that kept him in. It was the result of another blood test. “Your potassium levels are still a bit high, John, so we’ll keep you in another night.”

Nevertheless, they started the process of getting him ready for home. The drip has gone; the oxygen is off; and the catheter contraption was changed for more civilised equipment. Home? Maybe tomorrow?

I came home mid-afternoon so that I could have a catch-up with the GP to set the ball rolling for some support in the long term. Andrew was home and he and Michael, who had called in to collect the spare potty for Thomas, were having a good old brotherly chat.

“Do you want me to come with you, Mum?” he asked. Yes, please. Two sets of ears are better than one. We saw Doctor Horsley – whom I’ve always thought was a bit off with me – who was actually very good and explained lots of stuff very kindly and very clearly. Spot on, in fact. “Ha!” said John when I told him, “You see? Dr Horsley is OK.”

We now have a list of things to follow up. First stop tomorrow: the consultant’s secretary to see if they can bring forward John’s appointment now that the x-ray has been done.

I went back to visit John this evening and we spent a cosy hour or so together. John’s leg wasn’t quite so painful and he was a bit more relaxed – and resigned to another night in clink.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Well, it wasn’t quite what we’d planned to do on Friday, but there we are. Another trip to hospital. We thought we’d be in and out again, but no. John is still languishing in a ward-with-no-view – unless you count the concrete wall with a few windows in it?

The day had started all so swimmingly. We were getting on with a few jobs and John was looking forward to getting a catheter change – the one he’d got was playing up. All hunky-dory then, until the change was made. The nurse arrived just after lunch, all bright and breezy, but was unable to finish the job and regrettably injured John in the process.

She called a colleague, who arrived all bright and breezy, too. It didn’t take long for her to admit defeat as well though. Neither of them were very bright and breezy after that. “I’m really sorry,” she said,” but you’ll have to go to A a& E.” Oh, great.

We were there hours, of course. The nurse at the hospital had a couple of goes at getting the catheter sorted. No luck. “We’ll have to get a doctor to try,” he pronounced, after the third unsuccessful attempt.

The doctor was successful and we thought that would be it, we’d be on our way again. We waited. And waited. John was uncomfortable. I asked if there was anywhere he could lie down. No, sorry.

Anyway, the upshot was that at ten o’clock at night, the doctor came round and said they were admitting John. His potassium levels were a bit high. We groaned. John was resigned. “You go home,” he said, “there’s no point in you staying, I’ll be going up to the ward soon.” So I came away and John got up to the ward a 12.15 in the morning. It’s nuts, isn’t it?

Each day we have thought John would be discharged. However, each day there is something else. They weren’t so worried about his potassium levels now, they were worried about his output. “You’re not drinking enough,” they said. And then today, they were worried about too much urine production. Apparently, the trauma inflicted has stimulated John’s kidneys to go into overdrive. Just got to wait for it all to calm down. Oh, and by the way, here’s a drip for you and some oxygen….. bless him, he’s plugged in at all ends! Not a happy bunny.

Mind you, I wasn’t great company myself today either. I felt exceedingly grumpy all day – and even grumpier when I got to the hospital to find John pre-occupied with the Grand Prix on his laptop. But then, I thought to myself, it’s his pleasure so why not?

We had a bit of a chat but it wasn’t top quality. John was tired and kept falling asleep – missing my stimulating conversation and the action on the Grand Prix. After the racing had finished, I suggested he might want to watch the cricket. That turned out to be a poor suggestion. England were being slaughtered.

All in all, we’re a bit down in the dumps just at the moment – but maybe he’ll be out tomorrow?

Take care everyone. God bless.

Mostly, Mr Sleath has been resting on the sofa today – either watching telly, snoozing, chatting to Paul or watching telly some more. Clearly, his exertions with the Lotus have caught up with him and some tranquility was required.

He was able to enjoy his rest time uninterrupted. I was over at the Kenilworth Sleaths this morning looking after the oldest and youngest grandsons while Thomas had another crack at a pre-school settling-in day.

It turned out that Thomas wasn’t so keen on another ‘settling-in day’ today. No thank you – he didn’t want to go. Nope – he wasn’t going in. Nope – he wasn’t getting out of the car. Danielle brought him home again, tried soothing talk and a bribe before going back again. Even his big brother, William, gave him sage advice: “When I started pre-school, I was scared as well,” he declared, “But I pushed through and you can do the same.” Out of the mouths of babes, eh? Made my heart leap to hear such brotherly love.

Once Thomas returned to pre-school, he went in and enjoyed the hour or so that he was there. Amazing what a marshmallow treat can do! It gave him ‘super powers’ apparently. Fingers crossed he’ll find the super power to go again tomorrow.

On my way home, I stopped off in Kenilworth Town to drop a charity bag into Oxfam, and then joined the mile-long queue at the Thursday Market fishmongers for some fresh fish. We had sea bream tonight and it was absolutely delicious.

I also made a detour to the crematorium where I dropped off some blurb about Mum to put in the Book of Remembrance. Nice chat to the girl who dealt with it – it seems everyone in the bereavement business is very nice indeed.

When I got home, John said he wasn’t very hungry, so I busied myself with a bit of a tidy up before I started thinking about lunch. But before I could get going on any food, who should come through the door, but Freddie and Paul!! Ooh, it was lovely to see them. “Daddy was going to phone you but he dropped his phone in the hot tub so it doesn’t work,” announced Freddie, as he came into the kitchen. Chuckle, chuckle – eeeh, the dangers of a hot tub, eh?

Paul and John spent much of the afternoon chatting while Freddie and I made a cake. Then Paul, Freddie and I nipped up to the shops to buy strawberry jam for the filling. Paul and Freddie dived into the Barbers on the way back and came home looking very smart indeed with their new haircuts.

The cake looked lush when it was finished. Unfortunately, I had put the cake into the cake tin upside down, sitting it on the lid, so that it would be easy to cut when they got home. Freddie picked the tin up and, as I called out, “Hold it by the bottom!” out plopped the cake onto the hall carpet. Great work ensued in scraping off the fluff and dirt that had attached itself to the icing. I think we sorted it out – I would have eaten it – but whether the Kenilworth Sleaths will agree is yet to be seen.

This evening, we have both sat quietly on the sofa watching telly. John’s leg is paining him a bit though, so painkillers ahoy as the evening wore on and an early night. Looking forward to a better day tomorrow for him. He’s threatening to buy a can of petrol and get the car on the road!

Take care everyone. God bless.

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We’re nearly back in the groove. We had a little bit of childcare, a medical appointment, a-snoozing in the afternoon, tinkering with the Lotus and Quiz Night today.

After the sleepover last night, Freddie and I were up an’ at ’em fairly early on. “Look at that!” I exclaimed to Freddie as we got up. “There’s some sunshine,” Couldn’t quite believe it – clear blue skies. By the time we got downstairs for breakfast though, the clouds had moved in and it was another day of checking for impending rain.

John had a slow start and I left him at home to drop Freddie at his home before shooting round to the Kenilworth Newbies. First day of pre-school for Thomas with Mummy in attendance, so child care was needed for William and Oliver. Freddie arrived a bit later on to join in too, and we all had a lovely morning playing and chatting and singing. Incredibly good company and happy faces all round. And Thomas had enjoyed pre-school, too, so that was a bonus.

Mind you, we had fun and games of a different kind early on. Danielle texted to say that William had nits. Oh, crikey! I remember those days of frequent infestations with our own kids. Fortunately, these days, it’s a much simpler process in dealing with the darned things. I took my trusty nit comb round and Danielle did the business on William’s hair. It’ll be interesting to see if any have ‘jumped’ to anyone else, won’t it? Watch this space!!!

Home again and I found John in the garage tinkering. He’d had a good morning getting on with things – one of which was to fit the horn to the car. I knew he’d done it, and it was working, as there were a few ‘toot, toot, toot’ sounds emerging from the depths of the garage. Success!!

I toddled down to the doctor’s surgery for a physio appointment. While we were on holiday my hip played up a bit. I thought it was the old ‘Arthur-itis’ rearing its ugly head, but apparently it’s not. It’s the much more glamorous-sounding, but less threatening, ‘Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome’ (GTPS). That would be bursitis-on-the-side-of-the-hip-bone to you and me. I’ve got exercises.

John went back into the garage to tinker. I sat on the settee to relax. I woke up a couple of hours later…… hehe. John came in and sat down ready for a bite to eat. After tea, he thought he’d sit on the sofa and relax. He woke up about an hour later – just in time for the Quiz. I tell you what, those settees are seeing some action (or not)!

Quiz Night was great. Lovely to see everyone. We all bemoaned the fact that we’re not as young as we were and recovery time is slower than it used to be. I feel a bit comforted by that. It’s not just us, then!!!

And half-way through the quiz I exclaimed, “Look at that! There’s a gorgeous full moon!” Hehe – ended the day pretty much as I started it!!

Take care everyone. God bless.

Donkeys years ago, I started the Blog to keep everyone updated on John’s health. Over the years, it has morphed into ‘an every day story of village folk’ and John’s health has sort of been a side-show to the daily family and friends fun and dramas that have unfolded.

This morning, as we waited for a phone call from John’s oncologist, I was reminded as to why I’d started the Blog – to document and share the anxious times, the frequent visits to hospital(s), the pronouncements of the various specialists and how John was an interesting case.

John has been in pain with his hip and leg in recent weeks, so we have both been wondering separately, whether it was the cancer spreading or whether it was something else. “I’ll ask her today,” John said, stoutly. I nodded in agreement. We need to know. “But I’m surprised at how quickly it’s going if it is the cancer,” he continued. Well, the answer is that neither of us knows because we haven’t asked the difficult question.

Anyway, the consultant couldn’t say one way or another over the phone, naturally. She has arranged for an x-ray and we’ll see. But she had other suggestions insomuch as she was keen to make sure that there was no break/hairline crack in the bone. And she was more interested in whether John had pain in his back. So we were encouraged a little bit. But she did talk about getting in touch with MacMillan nurses, so we were cast down again a bit by that.

Nevertheless, there is life to be lived. For a start, there’s the Lotus to be finished. John is now tunnel-visioned and determined to get the car on the road as soon as he can. I had to laugh though – I’d been pottering about and went into the garage to see if he’d like a cuppa. He was lying under the car…..tinkering? Erm, no – he was having a little doze while he thought about how to go about a difficult bit. Chortle, chortle. And yes, please, he did fancy a cuppa.

And so, if you want to know where John is at any time, you’ll find him cuddling his car, all hands on deck to try and finalise all the niggly bits.

Meanwhile, we continue to make the most of it. We’re (mostly, except when we’re irritable) enjoying each others’ company; and we’re taking opportunities as they come, if we’re able. For example, could we look after Freddie overnight, please? Paul and Harriet’s babysitter had let them down at the last minute. Of course we could! Freddie is always good company and great fun to be around when he’s with us.

I missed taking a photo of Freddie snuggling into Grandpa though, as they watched a Minecraft video together (honestly, it’s beyond me). But I did get a lovely one of Freddie’s cheesy grin as we played with the Lego before bedtime. He’s a card, that boy!

Thank goodness for the uplift of kids to take away your anxieties, eh?

Take care everyone, God bless.

Goodness me, but a month (more or less) has flown by and here we are nearly into September! Such a lot of life has sailed by in these last weeks, too – particularly arrivals and departures.

We made it to Jersey for our holiday. We had assistance at either end of the journey and in both airports, and were pleased to have it. Graham and Gail dropped us off and collected us, and we were very pleased to have that support, too. Mad, I know, but I cried when I said goodbye to them (crikey, and we were only going away for a few days) and I cried when I saw them again when we got back. I am an emotional wreck, folks.

Anyway, the holiday was lovely. We spent the first week pottering about under our own steam (John hired a trusty scooter and I used Shanks’s Pony) or being ferried about by Danielle’s parents, who were the perfect Jersey hosts. First stop on our first day? The pub of course!! Cheers!!

We had a great hotel, with a great view, three doors down from Bernie and Marie’s house, so that worked really well particularly once the Kenilworth Newbies arrived a week later. We found and frequented the beach, the gardens, the cafés, pubs and restaurants – and we even had to get our sunglasses out more than once! What more could we ask for? Marvellous.

We opened our curtains each morning to this…….oooh, it was smashing!

And we found some sunshine down in the bay. We were very happy holiday-makers.

Once Michael and Danielle arrived, we were very excited to spend time with them and the in-laws on the beach, eating out, and feasting on Bernie’s renowned barbecue food or paella dish. Gosh, we didn’t half live like royalty.

Home again, and we got into the business of sorting Mum’s affairs a little bit. Bank accounts to set up (now that’s another story); ashes to scatter; house valuation to arrange; and trinkets to share.

We had a mahoosive family dinner on Sunday 20th, with Andrew reprising his world-famous Beef Wellington to perfection, with all the trimmings, and Graham making his signature dish of apple and blackberry (all locally picked) crumble. Gosh, the meal was lush. Very worthy of our ‘last supper’ together before G & G had to go back to Oz. It may be the last time we are all together of course…….

The immediate family (me, John, G and G, Paul, Michael and Andrew) all gathered at the crem on Monday last, where a very nice chap said a few prayers and read a poem before Paul and I sprinkled Mum’s few ashes on the same patch where Dad had been scattered almost 35 years ago. It was a sad time, but memorable with the family bond – physical, mental and spiritual – and all being there together.

On the very same day, we said goodbye to Graham and Gail, whose plane departed about nine o’clock in the evening. Graham, taking after Mum, was highly anxious all day and refused his dinner. Couldn’t eat a thing as his tummy wouldn’t let him. Unlike the previous Friday, mind you, when we’d been out for a very posh meal at The Cross in Kenilworth as our first ‘last supper’ together – he’d managed an excellent meal then. Hehe.

Meanwhile, we heard that Gloria’s Mum was very unwell and there were empathetic phone calls to and fro with Christiana and Glo, fearing and then realising the worst a few days later. Oh, dear – it’s been a horrible year for them and my heart goes out to them.

Rolling on from the feasting at The Cross and at home, we entertained the Halls, Waterfalls and Wainwrights to a barbecue on Tuesday this week and that was really good fun. Everyone was on top form (mentally, at least) and good company. Richard was struggling with pain in his back and John was struggling with pain in his hip. Manfully, they kept up with the banter though and we shared love and laughter throughout. Naturally, Chris brought cake.

The Bank Holiday Weekend loomed and Paul invited everyone round to stay over. Everyone, bar us, did. John has been sleeping a fair bit in between his car repair capers, and really didn’t feel like socialising on Saturday. “We’ll come on Sunday for the roast/barbecue,” we said. Well, there was a Beer Festival in Kenilworth, wasn’t there? “We’re running late,” came the report from the Kenilworth contingent, “we’re imbibing beer….” Hehe. So good to know that they were having a good time.

We trundled round for about six o’clock and passed them walking back, dogs and children in tow, looking very merry. While we waited for the meal to be finalised and served, John and I had a game of chess. He beat me the first time, and I cheated to win on the second game…. much to Andrew’s amusement!

All good fun in Paul and Harriet’s nearly finished kitchen/family room, with the children milling around in the sandpit and splashing water at each other in the garden, while the adults downed more beer. Ahhh……family.

As we were enjoying our time together en famille, I took a WhatsApp message from Anita, announcing the birth of her beautiful baby granddaughter, Myla Florence. Well, that was a rather good note on which to end the weekend, wasn’t it? New life – fabulous. Hope abounds.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Graham and Gail went over to Paul and Harriet’s today and we stopped at home to try and get some packing done for our holiday. I am all of a dither and, although I have a list, I can’t say I’m organised at all.

John spent an hour pottering about in the garage and manged to get his bumper on the car, which was marvellous. “It’s only temporary,” he said. Oh… ah….. it’s got to come off again then? Maybe! There are more nuts and bolts to be applied, apparently. “At least it gets it up off the floor,” grinned John.

I did a bit of washing and a bit of packing and panicked because I can’t find my driving licence. Any ideas where it will be, St Anthony? Ah well, if I haven’t got it, no worries, we’ll not be going far anyway.

We went over to Paul and Harriet’s later on in the afternoon and had a lovely, gentle time with them. We met Maia, a Labrador that they are looking after, and I immediately fell in love with her. Such a gorgeous dog. Big and hefty though! But Labradors are, aren’t they?

Home again and it was a bite to eat before we enjoyed an evening together with a glass of Baileys and a film – the original Italian Job – great fun.

At the last minute, as were are coming up to bed, John had a look at my packing efforts. Hmmmm……. he’s not keen on the suitcase. It’s a bit big. That’ll be a trip to Sainsbury’s tomorrow morning to buy a new one then!!

Aaand……. breathe……

Take care everyone. God bless.

Goodness me, the day has come and gone and we feel like we’ve blinked and missed it! Doesn’t time just fly?

This morning was a funny morning because Michael texted John to say that their ferry to Jersey on Wednesday has been cancelled, due to the expected high winds. Well, naturally, we’d rather they were safe and not capsized in a boat, but it’s disappointing nonetheless – especially as the next available crossing isn’t until a week later!

It put us in a dither. What should we do? We had planned to join them for their first week of their holiday and now we would be missing them for every bit of that first week, bar one day. John spent most of the morning, and the first half of the afternoon, on the phone to Booking.com to see what we could salvage. Difficult, because the operators all had accents which he found awkward to understand.

Anyway, he’s managed to add some days on to our trip and change the return flight – at a cost, of course – and so we should be with them for a few of the days when they finally arrive. However, it’s put us both on edge today. Our little safety net of knowing that the family were going to be around to help us, if need be, has been withdrawn for the first part of the holiday, and it’s made us nervous.

Meantime, we tried to put it to the back of our minds and settled to the breakfast table to enjoy pancakes, fruit, nuts and maple syrup as a Monday morning treat. Andrew joined us too, which made it a lovely family time.

Graham and Gail took the car and went to their friends, Maureen and Martin, for the middle part of the day and, while they were out, John had a chat to a volunteer from MacMillan for an hour. I spent the time rummaging through all the information I could find on applying for probate for Mum’s estate. Still undecided whether to do it ourselves or whether to ask the solicitor to do it….. must bite the bullet!

This afternoon, John and I had a lazy time watching a bit of TV and sinking into the sofa, only nodding off occasionally!

Before long, G & G were home and we spent some more time nestling on the sofa and watching a very exciting cricket match before tea. Andrew was still around, so he cooked up a storm with some of yesterday’s leftovers and it was, as you’d expect, delicious.

The cricket was so exciting that we put the telly on in the kitchen and kept our eye on it as we ate our evening meal. We, the English contingent, were delighted with the result, but the Australian contingent less so. Can’t think why?

Take care everyone. God bless.

Sunday morning brunch followed by a Sunday afternoon barbecue en famille today. Smashing – despite the weather!

We had planned, at one time, to go down to John’s brother’s for a barbecue today, to celebrate David’s birthday. However, after the week we’ve had, we thought we were better off staying in. That way, the comfy chair was available, an afternoon nap was an option and familiar habits on tea-making were to hand.

Paul, Harriet, Freddie and Andrew made the trip, while Michael, Danielle and family stayed with us to keep us company, along with Graham and Gail.

The Kenilworth Originals and Andrew were no sooner waved off the premises than the Kenilworth Newbies sailed in, bearing all types of brunch-related food. Michael cooked while we set the table, played with the children and made cups of tea and coffee.

The brunch was lovely – great food that everyone tucked into with gusto – including the children. We were soon tottering to the lounge to take our bloated tummies to the sofa for a digestive rest!

Disappointingly, the weather changed mid-morning and the sunshine was gone, replaced by an overcast sky. Ah, well, not to worry, “I don’t mind barbecuing even if it’s not sunny,” said Michael. Good – that was a relief.

After we’d eased our bellies from the brunch and watched a bit of the cricket (Australia scoring far too many runs), it was early afternoon. “We’re walking up to Oakes’,” said Michael, “to buy barbecue food.” I was keen for a walk for the second day running, so set off with them. Luckily for me, I had taken my waterproof. Ha! It started to drizzle on the way home and it was a damp party of people and a soggy doggy that arrived home.

Towards the latter part of the afternoon, Michael set up the barbecue. Danielle had been beavering away in the kitchen much of the afternoon, prepping all the salads and accompaniments; and Gail had been busy picking the last rhubarb of the season from the garden and making a crumble, as well as a sherry trifle in memory of Mum.

By the time the barbecue was ready, Michael was sheltering under the parasol from the rain. John went out to supervise the last bits of meat cooking and then we were off. Brilliant. The Kenilworth Originals and Andrew had arrived back from Dunstable and were up for more barbecue food. And, truth be told, the sherry trifle and the rhubarb crumble went down a treat.

The sofa beckoned again for more digestive resting…… and, at one point, we were all on, behind or in front of the sofa with Grandpa having the most popular lap in the land!! Grand, eh?

Take care everyone. God bless.

I can’t think why, but we were all feeling tired today. So much so that unusually, we thought we’d just chill at home and not go rushing about anywhere when we were invited!

So this was us this morning: a very leisurely breakfast (we finally got those bacon butties we were promising ourselves yesterday!), the TV was switched on and we settled down to watch the cricket.

As we watched, Gail and I sifted gently through Mum’s jewellery. All bar a couple of bits, it was costume jewellery and my, did she have a lot of beads!! And earrings. And brooches. Not many rings or bracelets mind you. Graham sifted through some old pennies and French Francs to see if any of them had any value but I don’t think they did – but the farthing looked cute with its little robin on it. I might start a campaign for another coin to depict the robin, I liked it that much……

This afternoon was equally leisurely. We had a spot of lunch and then went back to watching the cricket! It’s certainly interesting to watch when the English contingent are rooting for England, and the Australian contingent are rooting for Australia. We say, ‘Phew! That was a close one!’ as the ball whizzes past the bat and the cricketer is nearly caught out. They say ‘Oh…….bother!’ (or words to that effect) when the video replay shows the ball didn’t actually hit the bat. Hehe.

I was keen for a walk this afternoon, so I left everyone, except Andrew who came with me, on the sofa still cheering on their respective teams.

Andrew and I took the path across the fields over to Moira and Mark’s to return the teapot they’d lent us, and to drop in a memory stick so that Mark can download a copy of the funeral service. I am not quite sure why I’d like a personal copy of the service, but I just do.

We had a really lovely walk. The weather was warm, as was the breeze that helped us on our way. Andrew was very lovely company and I was glad he’d come too.

We had a cuppa at Moira and Mark’s and then set off home again. They are such an amazing couple and made us really welcome, even though they were still planning tomorrow’s café church service!!

Home again and we had ourselves an afternoon tea with cream cakes as we watched the last overs of the day in the cricket. Ah…….and breathe…..

Take care everyone. God bless.