Tuesday 20th August 2019

01:24hrs. I woke, all calmly, and took a look around for any signs of nocturnal nibbling. I’m glad to report that none were found.  Semi-Smug-Mode-Adopted!

I dismounted the £300, second-hand, not-working-at-the-moment,  grimy, beige-coloured, c1968, rickety recliner. The first thing was a wee-wee, it was another LWDS (Long-Weak-Dribbling-Sprinkling) wee-wee. I took the bucket, a lot fuller this morning, with me to the kitchen and got it cleaned and sanitised.

As I went into the kitchen, I took a photo, and then again with the flash on of roughly the same area. What a difference. With the flash on, you can see the unwanted new light & view-windows, and the foam put in a year ago in the air vent by the Nottingham City Homes bloke. That spewed out after he had gone and dribbled down on the electricity socket. I mentioned it, but no one was interested. It’s too solid to get off. So, there it remains.

The hanging to dry hand-washed jacket was still dripping water. So, I put it in the wet room and left the heater on for a while. Cunning, eh?

I remembered that there is no need for the 07:30hrs visit to the surgery, and this will free up some time to get the Monday blog finished and sent off. Then I pondered on how I should get to the hospital for the Stroke Unit visit. I could walk it, that would be best, getting in some exercise? It’ll take about an hour and a quarter. Or, get on a 40 bus on Winchester Street, and that will drop me off at the City Hospital. Else, an L9 would take me to the other end of the hospital?

No, I’ll walk it. I examined the paperwork to double-check the time and things I have to take with me.

If I leave here by 09.40hrs, it should give me time for the hobble and to find where the place I need to be is. I hope!

From the picture I took of the hospital, it looks closer than it actually is. Of course, this an as-the-crow-flies thing. In reality, the roads to it take a roundabout route.

Still, I’m looking forward to a mini-hobble.

I got the medications taken and made a brew. Then got the computer going to update and finish the Monday diary. But…

The regular fiasco, the Mr (Sod-the-Customers) Fries routine. Turned everything off, tried a restart, to no avail. So everything closed down and rebooted. Huh, failed again. The Liberty-Global bully-boy’s crap router turned off and unplugged. Waited, and restarted it, and hoped for the best, fingers crossed. It came back on, oh, the joy! And pissed-offedness!

I’d had an email, from the surgery from last night. Giving me the new dosages for the INR Warfarin results. The didn’t mention what the level was, but they usually don’t anyway. Why they did not inform me of the change and me no longer having to go into the surgery for it, is beyond me. It made me realise just how kind the CIDP in the leg has been lately. Even the nurse noticed yesterday and said how much better I was moving. I’m taking advantage of this break, and definitely walking to the City Hospital later on now. Why the leg, usually so regular with it’s Neuropathic Schuhplattler (The neuropathic medicine drop kettle dance) routines, was not giving me any? The hands, fingers and shoulder are trying to make up for it, though. Hahaha!

I pressed on with the Monday blog, getting it done after many annoying shoulder-shudders, and the fingers electric-shock imitations tried their best to annoy me. But I got there! Satiety-Status-Adopted!

Made a beginning to this blog, but time-limited my performance, and the ablutions had to be tended to. All went well, no cuts at all shaving! Only two dropsies, the razor and the shower-head. I gathered all the things needed, took the bags to the chute on the way out, and walked through the new passageway into Winwood Court. The exit swipe to the new sitting-outside space was still not working. I mentioned it to Rob, the caretaker.

As I got to the lobby door, I handed some nibbles out in the Warden’s holding-cells. And then;

I’d forgotten to take the paperwork for the hospital. Oy Vey! Back to the flat to collect them.

So, with the paperwork this time, the three-wheeler-walker, in high spirits despite the Whoopsiedangleplop, I set off on a mini-hobble to the City Stroke Unit. The weather was grand, the with hopes high as I followed my prearranged route. Well, I started to, but holes in the ground and roadworks forced minor altercations en route.

Down and out of the flats, and tackled the steep gravel hill opposite the apartments, that lead up to the Woodthorpe Grange Park.

A challenging climb today. But this was the only part of the journey that was any bother.

Apart from getting a little lost at the Nottingham City Hospital. So much had been changed building wise, and what I thought would be reference points on my way to the N5 corridor, proved to have been demolished or rebuilt without access. Ah, well!

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I hobbled happily along Magnus Road, Edwards Lane, crossing at the pelican-lights on Valley Road Ring Road and walking back to Edwards Lane to continue my journey.

The difficulties in getting by the roadworks added a lot of time to my journey. But, onwards I pressed, still singing away to myself in the sunshine.

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I got to the gate, and in passing the flat car park. I couldn’t see any free spaces.

 

But at this stage, the grey-cells brought forth City Hospital memories, so many of them, and I pondered over them for ages. The building that was at that time used to handle the post-mortem examinations of patients.

• Where I went for a job as Trainee, in preparing the bodies for family visits. I was very young and raw, but remember my not understanding some of the questions they put to me. After this, if I went for a job, I tried to find out as much as possible of the business before I applied anywhere. Amazing how such long-gone events come back to you?
• The building where the did the X-rays and found Duodenal Donald after giving me a barium meal – and forgetting to hand me any chrystals, resulting in two-and-a-half hours on the Throne in agony! That had gone, now part of the Out-Patients new clinics, where I was today!
  
• Later I passed the Trent Cardiac Centre, who did the heart operation and memories of the Acute Cardiac Recovery room. Where the Morris ward threw me out with an hours warning, at 05:00hrs in the mornings, and I had to call brother-in-law Pete to collect me. NO Ambulances!
• Later I tried to find the Newell Stroke Unit ward, to thank and give the staff a treat I had taken with me. But, no! Every person I asked, didn’t know how to get to it?
  

The mind-wandering stopped when I realised the buildings that were there last time I went in this gate, had gone! The entrance to the North Corridor, was now a  new building altogether, Supplies or something. The way through was so different, with winding narrow roads and areas without footpaths at all! Eventually, I arrived at the halfway and new entrance to the North Corridor. I had to take a long circuitous hobble around a pathway to get the six feet to the doorway, as the six feet were all steep steps!

Finding the Out-patients., was easy enough after the reception, bloke explained it to me. All the way to the end of the centre North passage and I’d find it. On the way, I recognised a corridor, like the one I came out of when calling at the Newell Ward. I tried to locate it, but no luck. It seemed to be a secret.

I returned to the North corridor and soon arrived at the Out-Patients, and asked for Clinic Two. I got there, it was very cramped and narrow. I got sat down as the nurse had indicated I should. She then came for the paperwork. Within a couple of minutes, I was moved down a corridor outside the Doctor S K Raghumathan’s office. I had plenty of time for a go at the crossword book. Not with much success!

I recognised the Doctor’s face straight away as he came out to call me in. Only in there for about 30 minutes. All very low-key stuff, sort of going through the motions. He said he was happy with how things were going, and off I went.

Leaving by the entrance that I’d entered through on the way in. Because I spotted a bus stop as I was going there earlier. Amazingly, a number 40 bus was due to arrive in four-minutes! Good timing, indeed!

I was whisked home, well nearly, I got off on Winchester Street, and walked up to the Winwood Heights complex. That damned seemingly abandoned Mercedes van was still parked there on the pavement! So I had to walk in the road again to get by it. I must try to remember to mention this when I see a policeman… Hahaha!

Whatever am I saying, ‘Me, see a Policeman?’ Hehehe!

As I turned onto Chestnut Way, it looked a sad, lonely place, just one lady with her young one in a pushchair in sight.

The arriving L9 bus passed me on my way back to the flats.

A few of the Winwood Heights resident dismounted, but unfortunately, the ywere long gone by the time I reached them in search of a chinwagging session. I do love a good laugh and natter! And I was in the mood for one! Never mind.

Here’s a snapshot I took of the temporary Nottingham City Homes, Winwood Heights, Generalfeldmarschallesses Warden’s Temporary HQ. Sarcasm & Insult distribution area. Tenants Socialisationistical Meeting hut. Telling Inchcock off Zone. Where things like crockery and pottery get stolen from, Rumourmongering Clinic, and somewhere to rest while waiting for the bus, Portakabin, once stood! Somehow, after two years or so of seeing it when going out on the bus or a hobble, this is a sad sight. Silly soft-old-fool!

I had an amazingly long MESWW (Marathon-Endless-Sprinkling) wee-wee. Surprising, when you consider how thin and water-retention free the legs are at the moment? Puzzled-Mode-Adopted!

Took the afternoon medications, and set about making a quick, cold, easily prepared meal. Tomatoe (salted) and sliced cooked turkey on milk-loaf sarnies, cheese sticks, a marmite cheese disc, beetroots, Poppit salt & vinegar crisps, and some yoghourt flavoured rice cakes. Which (The rice cakes) were a different brand, Kallø, that I got from Asda and cost less than the Lidl ones. I’m not in the least bit surprised, they were hard and tasteless! Eurgh! I wouldn’t even put them in as a raffle prize for anyone! But, I ate all the rest of it. A taste rating, not including the crap rice-cakes, was 7/10.

As I went to get the washing-up done, it seemed someone was having a fire in the distance. Intentional or accidental. I don’t know. There was nothing on te news, so it might have been a garden fire, perhaps.

I got the hand-washing done and hanging to dry.

Got settled in the ancient recliner, and watched some ‘Heartbeat’ episodes on the goggle-box. Needless to say I nodded off. And woke feeling thirsty like crazy. So I went to replenish the bottle of spring water.

I took a decentish photograph of the wonderful looking sky.

I recall having a right dizzy-spell when returning to the front room. All else, memory-wise has gone off into the ether?