Grandma P's Ramblings Through Life

The night was wild, wet and windy - fortunately I am referring to the conditions outside the house!
Mind you my gut was competing well!

Today was another happy and busy day in Dorking.
There were lots of sales - many of the very low price kind.
Jonathan accumulates all manner of things; some of it is fine Victorian ware and some is of a lesser quality, or merely things that he needs to be rid of so as to have room for the latest acquisitions.
Today people were happy to find his red labels and hand over 2 or three pounds for little treasures.
Whilst Bill and I handed over more than 2 or 3 pounds to people with items they had brought in.
As usual we paid more than we would want to from our normal sources.
I think that is so important for the good name of all of us in the shop; we want people to go away feeling they have been treated fairly.
By mid afternoon that awful feeling of weariness and slight nausea crept over me once more. I needed to sit down.
Any thoughts I might have had about doing some photographs for a shop blog posting evaporated with my energy.

I spent a little while out on some chores along the High Street and the sun felt really warm.
Tomorrow looks like it will be a good day for weather.
Perhaps Bill will be able to get out and mow the lawns - which are green and lush again after all the rain.

Time to put the kettle on and sit back and enjoy another Who Do You Think You Are.

Dawn arrived.....we pulled up the duvet and snuggled down deeper.
Strange for a Sunday morning.
It wasn't actually raining, but was gloomy and drizzle seemed to hang in the air.
No, we wouldn't bother with a car boot sale today.
So, a leisurely breakfast was in order.
And we treated ourselves to a breakfast in town.
The Crawley Wetherspoons (The Jubilee Oak) in not the most attractive I have been in - but the food is just as good as anywhere.
We were trying to remember which High Street shop was in that building in the pre New Town days. We think it was Woolworths.
My Mum used to buy half a pound of broken biscuits from there in the early 1950s from one of those square metal tins that biscuits used to come in.

We were over at the Horsham track by a quarter before midday.
No, there would be no rain we all told each other.
We were wrong!
But the happy band of timekeepers could afford to feel a trifle smug because we were able to work from the stand and keep dry.
There were eight timekeepers today and the atmosphere was good - with much laughter.
The athletics was good too. There were very close races, just to challenge the officials a little.
I was glad to be there.
There were patches of blue sky before we left.....but they didn't last long.

It is raining again this evening and we are threatened with autumn style rain and gales tomorrow, with flood warnings.
It will be worse for those further west I gather.....and for those a lot further east, in Pakistan.

OK! I admit it! A certain level of depression has crept in. This is even earlier than last year.
The weather is gloomy and I am finding hard to get motivated.
But I am happy to know that there will be a boost in 3 weeks when we go to Thailand.
That should get me going again.
It was good to talk on the phone this afternoon with Jamie and Mam.
They rang as we watched some of The Man With the Golden Gun - the James Bond film that took them to Phang Nga; beautiful Pang Nga with the fantastic scenery - and the island which has now adopted the name James Bond Island.

Of course this weekend is the worst sort for me - almost certainly a non car boot sale weekend.
I think we could have gone to Edenbridge today - but visitors arrived and we chatted until it was too late to go.
The visitors were Bill's sister Jane and her husband.

There has been further family contact today through facebook. I am now in touch with a nephew's wife - they live in Plymouth.
What really pleases me is how I can be the catalyst which starts the ball rolling for all the cousins to make contact with each other.
I am glad that Scott and wife, Vicky, are now more than just names of family members.

I have cleared the dining room table today. The trouble is, I still have lots more to clean and write up in my stock book. For about 3 weeks things were just piled up in the garage.
But a start has been made.

With some pushing from Bill, bless him, I have chatted with my very good friend Dee today. She lives in France.
I have been so much in "putting things off" mode and I have neglected Dee and many others.

The weather forecast for tomorrow - indeed for the next few days is poor.
I doubt that we need to be up and out early for a car boot sale.
We do have commitments for tomorrow - we will be timekeeping at Horsham for one of their meetings.
Fortunately the weather looks better for Wednesday. I am looking forward to a special day out to an art exhibition in Eastbourne - tell you more about the art after the event.
I would love to buy a print - but they may be expensive.

And this evening, just to remind us that the summer season is passing, the first of the new X Factor series was on. I love it/hate it! Everything is manipulated by the programme makers - and yet it is entertaining.
We sat with our sausage and mash, needing the light on in the room, to indulge in this guilty pleasure; X Factor that is - no guilt about sausage and mash!
It won't be long before curtains will be pulled over in the early evening.

Much happening today.
We began with doctor's appointments - both of us.
I came out, as expected with a blood test form.
Bill came out with one of those too - and an XRay form.
We also had prescriptions for the items that we might not be given two lots of at the same time before we go away.
Within an hour, we had been to the pharmacy and then to the hospital and had blood tests and Bill's X Ray.
How efficiently the system was working!
Now we wait to see what Dr O might think is suitable.

The next chore took a great deal longer! I went to Marks and Spencers to change my recent purchases of things white and lacy - which proved to be too tight.
Interesting...... I now know that my size is exactly as I thought it was.
It is quite an awkward size really - not average and yet not well above average. It seems that M&S don't carry much stock in my size.
I have come home with 3 items and may go to Debenhams for more.
I tried on more bras than I would have thought possible - and got weary.

On the way back to the car we met Bill's sister, Sheila. I was able to ask about her daughter in Australia - our niece, Lisa.
Hooray - I had enough information to find her on facebook and within a short time we were in contact and others in the family have followed my lead. There are two great nephews in Australia. And Sheila was able to tell us of the recent arrival of a great niece, daughter of our nephew, Scott.

And this afternoon we went to meet another recent arrival - our great nephew, George.
This felt a bit poignant for me. My brother, Robin George, died in 1980, aged 33.
The new baby would have been another grandchild for him - and the name of the new baby is George Robin.
We had a lovely afternoon with Michaela and both the boys.
The elder brother is Robert, almost 5 years old now and quite charming - very sociable and confident and a real boy. His interests are technical and sporty and the big outdoors.
Father arrived home from work before we left.

Of course pictures were taken.

Labels: family

No breakfast this morning.
Had to have any empty stomach for the CT scan.
Arrived at the hospital at 9 o'clock and was greeted with a plastic jug and a glass. Oh no! Not that stuff.
But I had forgotten that the new scanner doesn't need that stuff; the jug contained water.
I sat and read a paper for almost an hour as I drank.
The scan went very smoothly. The last time the radiographer really struggled to inject dye into my veins - this time he did it first time.
I explained before the scan that since this appointment was booked I had been diagnosed with parathyroid problems and he said he would include up to my neck in the scan.
This, at least, means that at some point a doctor will know a little more about what is happening.
The dye is weird - suddenly my mouth felt really hot and then the heat crept right through my body.
These days a CT scan takes very little time at all - much better than 20 years ago; I cannot begin to count how many CT scans I have had since the first one.
Bill and I popped into Asda on the way home. We hadn't intended to get much, but with special offers on washing gels and stain removing stuff I ended up buying enough to last me for the rest of the year.
Then I flopped - back to dozing mode.
I was not happy about this.
Nor was I happy that the new item of clothing I bought yesterday clearly was the wrong size.
It was beginning to hurt.
So, there will be a trip to M&S again tomorrow.
The woman who measured and advised was so sure I couldn't be the size I think I am - and yes, for a short while the new bra felt OK.
But tomorrow I shall have to get one size larger.
I'll go back after seeing the doctor in the morning.
This appointment has nothing to do with today's scan. I want to report about how the parathyroid glands problems are progressing and see if Dr O wants any other ways of managing the situation.
Bill also wants to sort a few things out with him.
Surely this will be the last doctor's appointment at the surgery in Brighton Road. The new surgery/medical centre opens in Ifield on September 13th.
The one opposite our house will not be far behind.
Tomorrow afternoon we will visit our most recent member of the great nephew/niece clan - George Robin.
Despite negative exhaustion I realised I should make plans to do something. It will be good to see Michaela and her boys.

Labels: health, home and daily life

I had to find tasks to do today that I could manage and that would bring me back to life.
There was some shopping I needed to do.
On the advice of a friend I took myself off to Evans to look for items of underwear.
It should have felt like a momentous occasion - I was deemed to be too small for any of their stock!
Actually if they had assessed my size the same as the woman did in M &S, then they might have got the sale.
My new bras were bought in Marks and Spencers - white and lacy.
Having been in the very posh shop in Dorking a while ago, I was able to believe I had been very frugal in buying 5 items. The money spent would have bought just one bra in posh shop.
Now all I need do it start wearing and praying that they are actually as comfortable as they seemed to be in the fitting cubicle!

This afternoon's activity was not a chore at all. We visited Bill's cousin, Ann. Another cousin, Valerie was also there.
Talk flowed.
There was quite a lot of sharing of ailments. "Makes us sound like old folks" says Ann, who will be 82 on Sunday.
The tea pot kept us well supplied and we had a light tea together.

Health is never far off the agenda though.
Tomorrow morning I will have another CT scan. I am checked very regularly, thank goodness.
I do hope I will not be required to drink a litre of that awful tasting liquid.
That is a real chore.
I will have dye injected into the veins - never nice, particularly if the radiographer is not a dab hand with the needle. Last time I ended up with a sizeable bruise.

But it will be over reasonably soon - longer if I have to drink that stuff first.
I shall be glad to get some breakfast down me no doubt.

What can I say about today?
I got up.
But was I ever truly awake during the day?
Probably not.
I have yawned, sprawled on the sofa, dozed, watched TV, played a few computer games and did some vegetables for a proper dinner in the middle of the day.
Haven't felt much like eating since then - except would love a bag of sweeties.
I look forward to feeling a bit stronger tomorrow.

If you feel short of a good read, I will direct you to Jamie's blog.

https://www.jamiesphuketblog.com/

There is something new a few times each week about the life he has made in Thailand.
The latest posting is about a Chinese style wedding.

It seemed quite leisurely in the shop today.
Just one small treasure of mine sold - to Chris (Mr No Short Term Memory). "You remember me don't you?"He didn't remember my name today - thought I was Monika.
So today I bought more than I sold. There was the usual procession of people, thinking they had items of value to sell. Honest - they were given good advice, each and every one of them and more than fair amounts for the things I bought.
Why did I buy more cheap carnival glass? It doesn't sell.
I also bought more Bunnykins china - that does sell slowly. But this lot won't make much profit towards the rent.
Bill bought some model cars - quite good ones actually.
So, it has been pleasant to chat and to admire each other's treasures - and to deal with customers.
We took about £300 today.
It could have been a lot more but the Chinese looking dealer needed to knock down the seller much more than was possible.
It was a large, restored old gramophone, with huge horn.
An identical one sold at Bonhams last year for over £1000 - so the asking price of £620 was quite reasonable.
The seller did agree that it could go for £500 - quite a reduction.
But Mr Chinese Dealer wouldn't pay a penny more than £450 and walked away without his superb gramophone.
The weather was lovely today - but I didn't get out of the shop all day.
Tomorrow we are threatened with lots more rain.
It will soon be time to doze in front of Who Do You Think You Are.

It was murky as we travelled north to Epsom.
I bought well this morning and found true bargains to enjoy and to make some profit with.

I photographed some of the treasures of the weekend.
I think you will see that I am not finding tat at the car boot sales. Yes, there is much tat to be found.... but use your eyes and things with potential are there.
It might not be to your taste - but you may well see such things in 21st century home making and collectors' magazines and certainly add some character to more characterless modern housing.

I mentioned my soapbox yesterday.
It is almost certainly 1920s.
The base is lined with pages of a Titbits magazine from 1926.
Those pages have been there for many a long year - leaving the box to get dirty and stained at the edges where the paper didn't reach to.



A neat little comfortable chair.
I had to think a bit about buying the chair - but not for long.
Despite not having anywhere to put it in the shop, I couldn't leave that chair standing in the field, when it was only £3.


I had to pay a pound more than the cost of the chair for this sewing basket. The buttons and pin cushion will pay for most of that.


The old enamel soap dish will enhance a bathroom being made over in an early 20th century style.
Somebody will enjoy having the interesting tin on a kitchen shelf.


I like card games. The art work on each card can be amazing. I was assured that these packs are complete, but I haven't checked them yet.
They will be a pleasure to play with, bringing a family together at Christmas maybe.

Labels: shop and stock

What were you doing 45 years ago?
It was a Saturday.
I know that a few of you were with us for a while – and others of course, were not yet born.
It was a sunny day – no rain at all.
Bill and I embarked on an adventure – not for just a day, but for life. Well, we hoped it would be for life and despite the usual ups and downs it seems that we will make it “til death us do part”
Life should be an adventure – and today has been one for us too.
We spent much of our wedding anniversary in Worthing.
It wasn’t planned – just a spontaneous “let’s go to the Worthing”.
We went to Ford first and the local radio was reminding us that the international birdman competition was taking place this weekend on Worthing Pier.
I bought some bits at Ford – after the rain had stopped. I now have my own soapbox! It is from the 1920’s. I will photograph it tomorrow – maybe I will stand on it and expound some views.
We were much too early in Worthing – the tide was far out. The pier had no sea swirling round it.
We had some breakfast and then took a walk round the centre of the town, on the pier and along the promenade.

After returning our jumpers to the car we walked back to the café on the land end of the pier. We ordered some beer and chips and waited in the sunshine for the fun to start. There was lots of time for chatting to people.
There was a good atmosphere.
This café was a wise choice for spectating - with very good views of all that was going on and a place in the dry to escape to when the heavy shower fell.
Our only regret was that we were not seeing tomorrow’s events – when the crazy dressed up people basically just jump into the sea!
And tomorrow there will be an attempt on the record distance which stands at 99 metres and a bit - if anybody gets over 100 metres they would win £30,000.
There was very little hope that any of today’s fliers would match last years distances for there was no wind – but it was all good hearted with laughter and applause.

Having left home at about 7 o'clock this morning, we were tired when we returned at about 5 o'clock.
But it feels better to feel tired after having done something than to be exhausted and done nothing much at all.

Labels: Sussex