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After saying goodbye to Mum the other day, I realise that there’s work to be done now! So we’re on the ‘making arrangements’ trail…..

Yesterday, we went over to Mum’s care home and packed up all her clothes and belongings. I didn’t like that experience at all. All that’s left is a ‘bag o’ bits’? Not a nice feeling.

Paul and Michael helped because there was a large-ish chair, a TV and a lamp to transport home, so Michael took his van so that we could get it all in.

Paul, having had plenty of experience in this area, was ‘on it’ and immediately fell to, gathering everything into the suitcases and wheeling the chair out of the door. Michael and I stood around like spare parts, surveying the room, remembering, and not quite knowing how to respond.

Anyway, the bits and bobs are now at my house for sorting to send to the charity shop. This was a job I planned to do today, but other things took over. There’s such a lot to do isn’t there?

After we’d brought Mum’s things back yesterday, John and I went over to Paul’s for a cup of tea and a bit of cake, and ostensibly, to look at their emerging extension. The kitchen cupboards are now being fitted and some large snagging jobs being attended to. John went and had a look round, but I didn’t because I’d been there the day before and had a look see already. It’s coming on and the cupboards are really lovely, but will it be ready by Christmas? Hehe! (family joke)

Today promised to be a day of enjoyment and a little bit of work. Kaffee und Kuchen with the Crosses this morning, and another go at getting together with Anita for paper-sorting. Just as I was about to set off to the shops, Anita phoned. She too, was going out for coffee with friends and we both agreed that it would be a bit of a rush to travel down to Balsall Common this afternoon. So we’re planning to see each other on Monday. Third time lucky, I hope!!

We had a good old natter round at Pete and Dawn’s – always, always lovely to see them and chew the cud. We always have a laugh, too, which lightens our moods. So we feel very blessed.

This afternoon, then, I thought I’d do a bit of paper sorting on my own; and put Mum’s clothing into appropriate piles and bag them up ready for the charity shop. But first, I thought I’d watch a bit of tennis.

John decided to toddle off to Wickes to buy some wood, waved goodbye and left me to it. About five minutes later, the funeral director phoned. He had a question. “I know you’re coming on Monday but…” He was wanting to know about the service for Mum. “No worries,” I said, “My friend isn’t coming today after all, so I can come across to you now?” Yep. That would work. Hold the tennis. And the paper sorting. And the clothes sorting……

I texted John to let him know what I was doing. Ha! That was a waste of time. No proper signal in the funeral director’s part of the village, so it never got through. Poor John had no idea where I was when he got back. And naturally, I wasn’t responding to texts or phone calls without a signal, was I?

Anyway, all was well. After just over an hour or so, I toddled back home, much to the ol’ man’s relief.

Decisions. That’s what the visit to the funeral director was all about. Decisions. Ouch.

Still, I came away having agreed that we will hold Mum’s funeral at St Peter’s Church in Balsall Common, on Thursday 27 July 2023 at 12 noon. My dear friend Moira will lead the service, about which I am delighted, and we are hoping that Kim, the choirmaster, will play the organ/piano and the choir will be in attendance. That’s what Mum wanted, so fingers crossed.

So there we are, making arrangements.

In the meantime, friends are thinking of us and sending lovely messages of support, cards of condolence or flowers. Gorgeous bunch of flowers from Linda Bones today. I was very touched.

Take care everyone. God bless.

I said goodbye to Mum today. Phone call just after 9 a.m. to tell me that she had died about half an hour or so before.

I had planned to spend the day with Anita – brunch first, then sorting out some of Mum’s papers together. However, I cancelled the arrangement and went over to the hospital to talk to the doctors and nurses who had been looking after Mum instead.

There was not a lot to say, really – other than Mum had been unwell during the night and they had tried infusions of antibiotics, to counter the infection they had discovered in her blood, and paracetamol for pain relief.

The doctor I spoke to was very kind and said all the right things. So, too, did the sister in charge, so I came away, having stroked Mum’s forehead as a farewell, feeling sad, but not overwrought.

I am sad that Mum’s life has passed away, but relieved that her suffering has ceased. The last few weeks have not been nice for her at all, bless her.

Feeling the need to do something, I went across to the care home after I left the hospital and brought a few of Mum’s things back with me – but realised I hadn’t quite taken enough suitcases with me, having forgotten just how many things she had accumulated in the time she had been there. Another trip will be required, methinks.

Meanwhile, John had gone out for breakfast with Bryan this morning and had a good time. With the knowledge that Mum had passed on, John and Bryan were able to chew the cud a bit with regards to dealing with the fallout of such an occasion, which I think John found very helpful.

I spoke to Graham to let him know, and he promptly abandoned the evening out he’d been having to await more news. For once, the WhatsApp phone calls between us worked and so we were able to commiserate with each other, quite uninterrupted.

Naturally, the immediate family is upset. No matter how old, how cantankerous or how demanding Mum had been during her lifetime, we all loved her dearly and, in recent years, she had been positively angelic, so good memories have been generated. She was a massive presence in our lives, always.

This afternoon, Michael said he was going to take Chester for a walk. I too, had been thinking I’d take a walk to clear out the brain a bit, so we walked together to Paul’s and sat in his garden for a little while, talking it over. That was nice. Helpful.

As the day comes to a close, I suddenly realise how draining the emotional response to this situation is, and find I am weary. John, too, is weary, so we have sat companionably together on the sofa, with our memories, counting our blessings, happy just to be together and grateful for the family and friends drawing us in close. And so begins a new chapter….

Take care everyone. Tell those you love that you love them. God bless.

Dad jokes? Paul was full of them today!! I had texted Paul to ask if he could take John to Heartlands next Wednesday morning. Yes – he could. Lovely. Then he wanted to know whether the stairlift representative had visited yet?

As it happened, we were just settled nicely, listening to her soothing tones and agreeing to have the stairlift fitted next Wednesday, when the jokes started….. ‘Be careful – prices can escalate…..’ ‘Lots of ups and downs in the industry….’ ‘Enjoy the purchase. It should be an uplifting experience…..’ ‘Easy – one step at a time…..’ Well, they made us chuckle anyway!

John was resistant to getting a stair lift, but I suggested that the grandchildren would have a fabulous time on it, even if he didn’t need it yet, so we’ve gone ahead and bought one. Fingers crossed it works out well.

All in all we had a busy day really, one way and another. I nipped to yoga this morning and John took himself a walk, calling into the shops to buy some milk on the way. He did well, completing a mile circuit. He was a bit tired afterwards, mind you, and fell asleep during the first half of the telephone call to Australia!

It was lovely to talk to Graham and Gail. It’s been a while since we’ve chatted – and it always amazes me that five minutes has seemingly gone by but, in actual fact, we’ve been talking for over an hour! They suggested that we get a second opinion on John’s situation, so we’ll see what we can do. In the meantime, we are waiting for results of a blood test to come back, to see if John might be a suitable candidate for a brand new drug that NICE has just approved. That would be good if he was, wouldn’t it?

After the stairlift girl had gone on her way mid-afternoon, it was great to see Brendan who called in to collect some oak saplings that John has been growing. Linda and Brendan have some land they can plant them in, so we’re hoping that they take and have long lives. May we call it John’s Wood? Hehe!!

Originally driven by the fact that we might move house, I have started de-cluttering. Hence the feeling of tiredness yesterday, I think. However, because we have been so busy today, I’ve hardly done any of it. I did sort out a few things from a ‘bag of bits’ this morning, but I am now daunted by the task ahead. There is so much to do!! But one step at a time, eh? If only I were not a hoarder….. ah, well, it gives me something to do, when I haven’t got anything else, doesn’t it?

Take care everyone. God bless.

We have had a very relaxing day today which has been very much needed.

This morning Margaret and Chris called on us in their respective Lotus cars to take us to the Lotus Drivers Club breakfast meeting at Stoneleigh. Well, that was fun! We thoroughly enjoyed the drive in their cars; the breakfast; the company and meeting new people. Really good.

The weather stayed fine and it was warm, too. John managed well throughout the whole proceedings and admired the dozens of Lotus cars on display in the car park. It spurred him on so much that he spray-painted a washer and a screw for his car this afternoon…..

For the rest of the day we have just watched sport on TV. So much to choose from!! The cricket…. boy, that was scary; the tennis… that was tense/exciting; and the Grand Prix….that was (more or less) predictable – but nonetheless enjoyable for all that.

We were just pondering whether to droop our eyes as we watched the telly or not, when there was a rattle of a key at the front door and who should be coming through it but Andrew!

Super surprise. We were delighted to see him and to hear all about his new job and generally have a bit of a catch-up. Such a very welcome surprise. Lovely. And, bless him, he cooked our evening meal for us, too. I’d just said, “I’ll go and cook the tea,” when he piped up: “I’m doing it. I’ve already got the chip pan on.” Ah…. thank you……bliss.

In between times, we have been grateful for all those wonderful friends and family members who have reminded us that we’re loved and saying ‘if there’s anything we can do?’ So appreciated.

And that’s us today. Not a lot else to report, but I expect normal service will be resumed tomorrow and I’ll find plenty to write about.

Take care everyone. God bless.

After ‘a funny day’ on Monday, things turned even funnier on Tuesday.

We went to meet the oncologist at Heartlands Hospital to hear the latest on John’s condition. As it turns out, the tablets he’s been taking are not doing the trick. John’s PSA levels are going up and there are a few more areas in the pelvic area showing signs of the disease. Oh. Ah. Hmmmm….. so the consultant advised that the tablets will be withdrawn after this last batch. ‘What next?’ we wondered. Apparently, nothing next. No more treatment.

Great disappointment and obviously, upset at the news. Neither of us has taken it very well. But one day at a time, eh?

Tuesday hadn’t started well and didn’t finish well either. I visited Mum in the afternoon to find that she’s not doing brilliantly.

The OT was determined to get her out of bed so, between us we managed it and sat her in the chair. “We could leave her in the chair until tea-time,” suggested the OT. I demurred. Tea-time was five o’clock. It was three o’clock at the time of transfer. “OK, let’s try an hour then, shall we?” I still thought that was too long, but I am not an OT, so nodded in agreement. “We can always put her back into bed if she gets tired,” continued the OT, “but I’m off now. I’ll keep in touch.” Great…..

Twenty minutes in and I could see that Mum was tiring fast. However, there weren’t enough nurses around to help her back into bed. It was the full hour before we got her back there. I wasn’t happy.

The following day the OT phoned me to say they were going to try and transfer Mum to a nursing home and….oh, by the way, the bed sore that had been Grade Two on Tuesday was now a Grade Three…..great… (again).

However, despite the setbacks, we packed our bags and set off on the road to Taunton on Wednesday, where we were meeting the ‘Old Gang’ from our teenage years. I wondered whether John would want to go after the pasting we’d taken on Tuesday, but he was up for it. And it turned out to be the best medicine possible. So lovely to be among dear friends who love us as much as we love them.

We had the most uplifting time. A meal out on Wednesday at a pub where the landlady was as delightful as she could possibly be. Nothing was too much trouble and she offered us a Table Quiz to boot. I had originally thought that after a day’s travelling and then eating fairly late, John might find the Quiz too daunting – but no, he joined in and a good time was had by all.

On Thursday it was our Day Out. Choo! Choo! The Great Western Steam Railway was calling. Fabulous. We had a smashing journey into Minehead where we tumbled from the carriage straight into The Turntable Café where we had toasted teacakes and coffee, before meandering along to the Esplanade.

Here we all are, grinning like Cheshire Cats… (Dave was taking the photo):

Despite the ominous clouds, the weather was great. Very warm and the rain held off. By the time we got to the Esplanade, where we intended to play Crazy Golf, the sun had come out and we had to divest some of our outer layers to keep cool.

What fun we had on the Crazy Golf Course!! Oh, my! Talk about giggle, ooh and aah at the shots played! Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!! And guess who won? The ‘ol man himself!!

Richard joined us at the café after we’d finished our game, having had a walk into town for pint instead, and we all piled into the Jubilee Café for ice creams/afternoon teas. Yum! Sunned ourselves, too, as it was very warm by then! (Managed to get Dave in on this one!)

Ah, yes! Time with friends – definitely a tonic for the soul.

We came home on Friday, after a leisurely breakfast together. We sat for a couple of hours at the breakfast table just chatting, which was so enjoyable. Hugged everyone good bye and then wended our way home just after mid-day.

We had a good journey home, and flopped into the house not long after three o’clock. Boy, we were tired. The week had caught up with us. Time for an early night? Well, we thought so, but neither of us could sleep so we were both up and wandering around at about one o’clock in the morning. Honestly, you can’t predict anything, can you?

We’re now planning to take life as it comes and enjoy it as much as we can. Although we’ve got a few things planned, we’ll see how the mood takes us at the time. In the meantime, we’re open for visitors, folks……….

Take care everyone. God bless.

It’s been a bit of a funny day. We didn’t rush to get up, but John came bursting into the spare bedroom where I’m sleeping, to check whether I was phoning the doctor’s surgery. No, I wasn’t. “Don’t worry,” he said, “I’m in the queue: Number 8.” Right. Golly, I had forgotten that we were both going to try getting through the surgery this morning. Good job John remembered.

John scooted down to the surgery for 10.30, leaving me to do a spot of tidying up. I did that, and then remembered that I needed to unjam the paper from the printer. I’d been printing something on Saturday and it had eaten the remaining ‘feed’ paper – 3 sheets – and promptly stopped working.

I found a YouTube video and started watching it. Ah! I needed a screwdriver. Ran downstairs, collected my toolkit and ran back upstairs again. Darn it! The screws were too stiff for my arthritic hands. Ran back downstairs for the electric screwdriver. Just then John came home.

“How did you get on at the doctors?” I asked. “OK,” John replied, “the doc’s going to give me salt tablets to see if that’ll help on the fainting situation and advised me to drink plenty of water.” I filled the jug with water ready for the day.

I told John what I was doing. Did he want to come and supervise me on the unjamming of the printer? He said he would. Well, I was jolly glad he did. We had to dismantle the whole blooming printer, more or less! I’d never have succeeded on my own.

We went and had a bite to eat for lunch to celebrate the successful mission accomplished. We turned the TV channel to Wimbledon. Poor John – he hates this fortnight. Wall to wall Wimbledon…… hehehe. “I’m going out to the garage to see what I can do on the car,” the ol’ man declared about three o’clock. Righty-ho. Bless.

I was still glued to the tennis on TV when John came in from the garage about a quarter past four. “I’m going upstairs to have a lie down,” he said as he passed the lounge door. Good idea, I thought. Much better to lay in bed that slouch on the sofa.

Well, that’s what I thought then. Haven’t seen him since. He’s been asleep all evening! Clearly exhausted from the trip to the GP, the printer and car mending.

I checked on him at tea-time, but he was snoozing on so I thought I’d let have his sleep out. I then took him a cup of tea midway through the evening to see if he was OK. “I’m staying here,” he said. “You can close the curtains.” I wonder if he’ll wake up in the middle of the night and be ready to start his day at three o’clock in the morning? I’ll be interested to find out!

Take care everyone. God bless.

We took it easy again this morning, lazing in bed and eating a leisurely breakfast. No rush at all. Just a gentle meandering through the morning.

I popped upstairs and coloured my hair and had a shower, getting ready to go out at lunchtime, while John tortured himself watching the cricket.

Finally, we were both ready and set off on the little walk round to Pete and Dawn’s for Lucy’s 30th birthday celebrations. John set off a bit before me, as I had Lucy’s card to write, but I caught him up on the corner of Pete and Dawn’s road. “You’ve forgotten to bring my bag!” he said, grinning at me. Ah……. “I think I’ve left it on the stairs.” he continued. No worries, I told him, I’d go back for it. We arrived at Pete and Dawn’s, greeted everyone and dropped Lucy’s present in. “I’m just going back home,” I said, “see you all in a minute!”

The party was lovely. All of the Cross family were there with their attendant husbands and offspring as well as great-grandma Jean; Aunty Jan and Uncle Dave, with their daughter and their grandchildren and so on….. It was a full house! What a privilege to part of it.

Everyone bustled about to get the table filled with sumptuous food, including Peter’s home-made chocolate-chip ice cream; several people prepared drinks and offered them round, and we all settled in for a jolly good time.

The weather was kind to us and the patio doors were flung wide open, with everyone spilling out into the garden to play games; little Arthur trotted round and round the house, thoroughly enjoying himself. He was most fascinated by the very posh birthday cake and was very keen to get stuck in to that! Bless him – so cute. We managed a picture of Lucy with the cake before he got his hands on it though!

We came home about four o’clock. The party was still in full flow, but tiredness had set in. Pete Sharkey offered us a lift home, which we gratefully accepted.

As we walked down the path to the front door, John was irritated by the overgrowth of the plants in the front flowerbed and the roses over the doorway. “I’ll do it, John. I’ll cut them back.” Ha! He gave me a withering look and said, “You never do!” Oh, dear. So, while John sat and watched the Grand Prix, I toddled outside with my secateurs and did the dirty deed. There! Done!

We spent our evening watching a bit of TV and relaxed some more. This is the life, eh?

Take care everyone. God bless.

Today we more or less pleased ourselves, with the exception of visiting Mum this afternoon, of course.

We took our time getting up this morning and had a very leisurely breakfast of pancakes and fruit before I did a few jobs and then set off to the hospital. I had planned to visit Mum anyway, but I took a phone call from the hospital asking me to help them in mobilising her. ‘Ha!’ I thought, ‘Good luck with that!’ I’m not holding out much hope but, if we are to get her back into the home, she has to be on her pins, I understand.

John was watching the cricket and chatting to David, his brother, so I thought I might safely leave him at home on his own. And, as it turned out, it was alright. He did a few jobs on the car and cleared a bit of rubbish from the back garden into the bin while I was out, and all jobs well and safely done.

When I arrived at the hospital, Mum wasn’t looking too clever. She had not long fallen asleep apparently, but she she looked a bit grey and rather dehydrated to me. Anyway, she woke up and I was able to persuade her to drink some water which woke her up a bit.

The Occupational Health (OH) nurse arrived with a colleague, and we discussed what we were going to do. I had bought Mum a new pair of slippers, so I suggested we use them as a stimulus to get her on the edge of the bed and into them. We did manage to lift her to the edge of the bed, amid lots of moaning and groaning from Mum, and popped the slippers on. However, there was a lot of ‘no, no, no, no, no!’ going on and attempts at throwing herself back onto the bed, so that she wouldn’t have to get out of it.

We managed to get her to stand up for a nano-second before she found lots of strength to sit back down again. We tried again, same result. And again – nah…. not having it, staying put.

I explained that she wasn’t really eating or drinking anything so might not have as much strength or balance as we might hope for. That clinched it. The OH nurse promptly decided that she’d not try any more and she dashed off to discuss the case with the medics, telling them that until they’d managed to get Mum to have some nutritional intake, they couldn’t do any more just yet.

Before the OH nurse left, she wanted to know if I’d be around next week to help again. We are planning a few days away with our mates at the end of the week, so we plumped on having another go on Tuesday. ‘Ha!’ I thought once again, ‘Better luck next time?’ Hmmmm…… unlikely.

Mum did drink a fair bit though while I was there, but only because I took the cup to her lips every ten minutes or so. I mean, the nurses can’t do that, so in between times, she’s getting more and more dehydrated.

She was also moaning a fair bit. It seems that she has a bit of a bed sore on her back, so I asked if they’d administered any paracetamol. No, they hadn’t. She was refusing her meds. “Although,” observed the nurse I was chatting to, “I suppose I could give her IV paracetamol, couldn’t I?” Well, yes, funny that you should have only just noticed that……

I was there a couple of hours, and felt reluctant to leave really. Not sure how she is going to get on. She has definitely decided that bed is where she wants to be. Which probably means that we’ll have to look for a nursing home for her now…… eeeh, it never ends, does it?

Take care everyone. God bless.

Yesterday was a marvellous day. Pete and Dawn and Carol and John all came for lunch. And guess what they brought? Champagne of course! No idea what we were celebrating – apart from a beautiful friendship and an extension of Carol’s 70th birthday celebrations…..

Carol brought the bottle of champagne I had bought her for her birthday, saying, “I shall never drink that all on my own! So let’s share it, shall we?” Never one to say ‘no’ to champagne, even with a gippy tummy, I naturally acquiesced.

Pete and Dawn arrived a few minutes later, and Peter came in with a flourish, brandishing a bottle of champagne, too! ‘Just because’ was the reason given. Smashing!

So we started off with Peter’s contribution as an aperitif, intending to share Carol’s later on, maybe after the dessert course. In the end, though, we didn’t get that far, having enjoyed a bottle of red with the meal. “I’ll take it home again then, shall I?” said Carol, “We’ll drink it at my house next time we meet up, maybe!” Well, I won’t say ‘no’ if she’s still got it next time we go.

We had a really good get-together. Gosh, they are all such good company, and we spent all the time chatting, tripping over each other almost, thrilled as we were to be together again. Not only chatting but laughing our little socks off. At one point we were doubled with laughter at the dinner table and Dawn was streaming with tears, so funny we found the topic of conversation. Eeeh, it were lovely.

I was pleased that John was able to keep up the pace. We had a moment, just before the guests arrived, when I wasn’t sure whether we’d manage it. Paul and Harriet arrived unexpectedly, just on mid-day. “Come in, come in,” we said, waving them in. John made his way to the front door and stretched his arms out to give Paul a hug. They hugged but, as they did so, Paul felt John’s arms sliding away and then his whole body slumping until he landed in a heap on the floor. Hmmm……

“I don’t know what that was all about,” John declared when he came round and was upright again. Neither did we. I turned to my stock response in these situations: have a glass of water. It might enable to blood to flow a bit easier to the brain, maybe? Anyway, he recovered enough to greet our guests and to join in throughout the afternoon, only crashing out on the sofa once they had all departed.

It was rather nice that Paul and Harriet were there when our guests arrived. I think it is a while since they had all seen each other, so I was delighted that they could have a few minutes chatting. Don’t you just love the fact that your besties have seen all your children grow into superb adults and still love them the same as when they were little?

We took it easy today after all the excitement of the week so far. We had a lie-in and then drove to Solihull for John to have a blood test and me to collect my sunglasses. We had planned to drive over to Birmingham, too, to visit Mum. However, we were both a bit tired, so we decided to phone the ward instead to see how she was before making the journey if necessary.

In the end, I couldn’t get through. The phone line either rang out or was engaged. I really did try to get through. I dialled the appropriate numbers 47 times over a period of an hour and a half and no joy. I reasoned that if there was anything to report the hospital would get in touch, so I plan to visit tomorrow instead.

We came home and enjoyed an afternoon watching the cricket. Well, I say enjoyed – I think that is stretching it a bit. We enjoyed the action with some good shots being played and excitement as wickets were claimed and then denied by the third umpire. But it was painful to watch from an England supporters point of view. Come on England!!!

This evening we prepped a few nibbles ready for a visit from Margaret and Chris, friends we’ve made through church. And guess what they brought? Champagne, of course!! Lush, eh? Two days on the trot! Don’t mind if I do!! Hehe.

We had a lovely, chatty evening. Again, such good company, with the conversation flowing from the minute they walked through the door until the minute they walked out of it to go home. Really enjoyed ourselves.

Regrettably, no photos from either event. Too busy nattering to think about it!!

Meanwhile, over in the Kenilworth Newbies clan, Michael was busy last night at an awards evening where he’d been shortlisted for an award for ‘Improving Health and Wellbeing’ at work. Howzat? Another bottle of champagne might be required, do you think?

I can’t help but feel so proud of all of our boys. Their dedication to their work is breathtaking and it’s amazing how much success they are experiencing. Long may it continue!

Take care everyone. Hug your loved ones tight. God bless.

It was John’s nuclear bone scan today. Had to be at Heartlands for eleven o’clock where they injected him with some nuclear stuff before sending him away for it to take effect, with instructions to come back later for the scan.

It was a bit of a rush to get there on time this morning. I hadn’t realised he was still a-lounging in bed when I took him his cup of tea and breakfast, so he had to quickly do his medication and inhalers to try and get out of the door by 10.30. Oh, and can we get the new bumper out of the garage to take with us? Of course we can! John fished it out and put it in the boot, ready for delivery to the electroplating company, but it all added minutes to the start of our journey time and we were a few minutes late arriving at the hospital.

As it turned out it didn’t matter, and the medics dealt with John in their own time anyway.

Once John was radioactive, we drove over to Smethwick to the friendly guy who had re-chromed John’s other bumper that didn’t fit, and dropped off the new one, that does fit. We are hoping that the company will get it done in next week’s batch of things to be re-chromed and then John can get on with attaching it. Fingers crossed the rust on the bumper doesn’t put holes in it when it’s chromed…..

Once we’d done that little job, we drove over to the Jewellery Quarter to collect Andrew’s necklace that I’d taken for repair. While I was in the shop, I asked about polishing up Mum’s rings. “Are they too tarnished?” I asked, worried that they’d never come back to gold again. “No,” replied the jeweller, “I can sort that out for you. It looks like they’ve been soaked in gin or whisky!” I laughed. That was unlikely!! The girl in shop offered another explanation, “Could it be the alcohol gel or hand wipes they use in the home?” Maybe.

Anyway, the jeweller went on, “I can do it now, if you like? Give me half an hour?” Well, I did like, so I left the rings there and John and I went to our favourite café and partook of a cappuccino and a sausage and bacon brioche for him, and a peppermint tea and avocado smash on toast with eggs for me. It was lovely to actually be out at lunchtime eating together. Just us.

Half an hour later, on our way back to Heartlands for John to be scanned and beamed into space, we went and collected Mum’s rings, which were sparkly and like new. I was pleased with the result. Although I don’t quite know what I am going to do with them now! Mum laments the fact they are not on her fingers, but I am loath to give her them back, for them to drop off again. Should’ve had them made smaller maybe? Something to think about.

Once I’d dropped John off, I spent a good ten minutes trying to park the darned car – the car park was so full I had to go round it three times. Finally squeezed into a disabled spot and set off up to Ward 21 to visit Mum, where I’d been told she was, having been moved from the Old People’s Assessment Department (OPAD).

Ha! They had no idea who Hazel was and shook their heads as they looked through their printed lists, then the computer lists. I went back to OPAD – what have you done with my Mother? It transpired that she was on Ward 30. Ah…. OK.

Mum was very sleepy today but had drunk a fair bit. She hadn’t eaten anything much though. She had a little bit of conversation but was keen to close her eyes.

We had a bit of a kerfuffle trying to get her nightie sorted out though. She had put her arm through the neck hole and was half strangling herself with it. A nurse helped me to slot her arm back through so that she was all in the right place. She howled and howled as we did it, much to John’s amusement as he was walking up the corridor and could hear her half a mile away!

The doctor, who wasn’t a day over 16, discussed her case with me. He advised that he recommended taking her off some of her medication. She wasn’t taking it anyway, and its therapeutic effect is only any good if you take regularly. I agreed. He explained that they were preparing her for discharge and to be aware that she may go downhill again now that she isn’t on the drip. Yep. Got it. Prepared for anything now.

Quiz Night tonight – and what fun! Always, always lifts my spirits. We always have a laugh together. Such dear friends. Lucky, lucky us.

Take care everyone. God bless. Look after yourselves and your loved ones. Tell ’em you love ’em.