Monday 10th February 2020

Croatian: Ponedjeljak, 10 Veljače 2020. Godine

01:45hrs: I came back to consciousness, still tired. I tried to mentally to sort out the needs of the day. I gave and got up. Out of the £300, second-hand, c1968 recliner, caught my balance quickly enough, Arthur Itis in a good mood, no Dennis Dizzies, but the neurotransmitters were a bit naughty, I dropped the walking stick. But the Jenny-supplied picker-upperer was utilised, no problems there. Off to the kitchen, wondering why I had not needed the Porcelain Throne or a wee-wee, on the way.

Took the medications, getting desperately low on them now. Due to the Carrington Pharmacy, 343-345 Mansfield Rd, Nottingham NG5 2DA failing to deliver any prescriptions. Again!

I got the kettle on and took a photo of the outside view. The wind and rain blew in as I opened the unwanted, disliked, thick-framed, access preventing, light & view-blocking new windows. But not as bad as yesterday, Storm Ciara is still lingering, perhaps with an after-thought to come?

The Hum could be heard, but it was totally different in sound? There was a lightness to it, with I’m sure, what was a whistling noise? For some reason, I remembered that Janet had told me yesterday, that Brother Pete and his family were about two miles away from an enclusion area in Hong Kong and were in good health. Something so reassuring as that, I find incomprehensible that I had forgotten about?

I got the tea and pressed on with the blog, a mammoth task with all the photographs I’d taken yesterday. It was about 05:00hrs before I’d got the post finalised and sent off.

Then went on Pinterest, and TFZ Facebooking. Again the sheer quantity of pictures to go on cost me a lot of time. I was well behind with everything.

A tended to the ablutions next (Still no wee-wees or Porcelain Throne requirements – puzzling me this is!) The dropsies were minimal, only four or so. No shaving cuts! All went very fair! The imperfect old pins (legs) looked a little different today.

As expected, the knees were warped, but Arthur Itis is not bothered, Haha! The varicose and saphenous veins seem to be shy and hiding away? Some new, never seen before blood papules on the lower left leg. And the ankle ulcer on the right pin, looked like it was trying to come back to life, too?

How lucky I am to have ever-evolving legs. I understand that some people don’t have them? It must be terribly dull for them, to have common-no-bother pins? Har-har!

All refreshed now, I got the handwashing sorted out. The jammie bottoms will need a day or two to hang drying, but I can use the airer to hang them on when they get less wetterer. Hehe!

Then there was a need for a little haste. Time was flying, and I wanted to give the ILCs (Warden-Guards) their Monday treats, and get to the bus stop with time to spare, in case there’s a chance of a chinwag for me.

The checking and double-checking of the flat before leaving, was even more perennial and repetitious than usual, even for me. The number of times I checked on the wet room was ridiculous! Eventually, I part-satisfied myself that all was well, and I might, possibly, have got everything I will need with me and set-off.

Took some black bags to the chute on the way. I plodded from the lift to the ILCs Holding Cell and Interrogation office, and dropped off their nibble bag, then to the Winchester Court lobby, and found a few willing conversationalists, Angela, Roy and Christine and son, and the nattering flowed. Which suited me down to the ground. The drizzle started as we went out for the L9 bus. As Christine said: “If yo’ ‘adn’t come, it woont be raining!” A Nottingham born gal for sure! Hahaha! She knows how lucky I am, alright!

A gang of Winwoodonians got on the City-bound bus, then an even bigger gang of us piled into the Bestwood one. All bar Malcolm and I got off in Sherwood, we went on to Arnold. As we approached the dropping off point, I made sure I had my shopping list with me. Not that I ever keep to it!

I called into Chambers Food Hall for a nosey to see what they had been baking and bought some cooked meat. (Not on my shopping list!)

Then, a little further along on Front Street, I went into the Boyes Store. The Germoloid and Germolene creams had gone up in price, Tsk! But the Dettol was reduced, Good! These were on the shopping list!

I paid up, and then I plodded to the Iceland Store, in the hope that they will have some tins of new potatoes with the ring pull openers back in stock. But No! I did get some sliced wholemeal rolls, pork & pickle pork pies, and a boil-in-the-bag Braised steak in onion gravy! All on the list!

I joined the massive queue and paid-up my dues.  I already had the trolley-guide bag full, and had used a carrier and carried it on the handlebars, carefully! As I mosied along steadily to the Fulton Food store, for the sterilised milk, I sensed an atmosphere from everyone and mt surroundings. Hard to say what it was… a sort of dejection and, erm, well, something was in the air, and it wasn’t right!

My EQ told me to get a move on. No reason, just be quick and get home? I just felt uncomfortable for some reason?

I got inside the shop and got the sterilised milk. Then another tin of flavoured tuna for Josie. Some red Leicester cheese to make her potatoes with on Sunday, and two for a pound bags of vinegar flavoured nibble-biscuits. Paid the unhappy lady on the till, and got outside, top sort out the three bags, for optimum hassle-free carrying.

I then realised I would be too late to catch the bus home, so had another hour before the next one. I decided to call in the Mobility shop, to see if they had got any long picker-uppers back in stock yet. Nope!

I then, most foolishly, went into the Shoe Zone shop. I came out with a pair of shoes and slippers! Definitely not on my shopping list! What the hell I was doing getting these, when the bags were nearly full already, I don’t know! Klutz!

I then went further into unreality and crossed over the road and went. into Asda (Walmart), telling myself as I hobbled in through the doors, “Don’t get too much, just a Milk Roll loaf and some mushrooms!” I think I knew this would not happen, but was I bothered? Oddly, no!

I got a right battering from other shoppers. I was walked into, had my toes trod on. Trolley charged more than once! It was a battleground! One large lady actually shoulder-charged me out of the way, to get to grab her chosen last pot of yoghourt on the fridge! Another lady moved my wheeler-guide out of her way to get to the bread, and left me without any support for walking! A bit of faith in mankind returned when a chap brought it back for me! I bought some cereal milk, then went mad on the cake & bakery shelves. Lemon Bakewells, lemon curd and Strawberry tarts, Rasberry mini-rolls… I was losing it here! Tomatoes, tinned potatoes, three cans of well over-priced petit pois, more gravy granules, and fresh mushrooms were bought! I still felt no guilt at the time?

I paid at the self-serve tills. There were three members of staff in attendance. I had to admire their obviously well-trained-for excellent ‘How to ignore a customer’ skills. Basically, they just chatted away together, anything could have been happening at the tills, stealing under-charging… and probably was! They were oblivious to all but whatever it was, as they were giggling and chatting about. The broken biscuits, the crushed after-shave box, fag-ends and sweets on the floor, stirred no response from them, it meant nothing to them.

I paid up and somehow got the two big bags, onto handlebars, of the basket and bag filled three-wheeler, and outside so I could do some rearranging to make it easier for me to hobble with the now very heavy and unruly three-wheeler guide. Still, I’ve avoided having a food delivery this week! Never again! Morrisons food delivering again next week!

I was feeling a tad knocked-about and low in spirits as I got to the bus stop. But things soon altered, I came across one of the ladies at the bus stop who loved a laugh and natter! And did, all the way back to the flats. As others got on and off en route, who were also Chinwaggableisationists, the merriment grew. I was almost sorry to get off of the bus when it arrived back at the flats!

The wind was terrible again when I alighted the L9. Brrr! Blowing up something, rain most likely, although snow has been forecast?

As I entered the Winchester Court lobby to go through the link passage, I saw on the floor, a hanky and umbrella! No doubt, or possibly, dropped by someone going to Woodthorpe Court?

I put them on the trolley cage lid and took them with me to drop off in Woodthorpe Court’s lobby, so whoever lost them might see them. I hope they do. I bet they lost the items when manipulating the door into the link passage.

As I plodded through the Winwood Social Area, there were no tellurians in sight anywhere. So I took a snap of one if the Winwood Court Dulux Dogs. Hehehe! I wonder if any have gone missing? I think they area great idea, they cheer up the place a little bit for me.

Still no signs of life in the place. Again, I’ve done well for chinwags and laughs today. I got through to Woodthorpe Court and out the umbrella and hankie on the table and returned to the lift lobby.

As the doors opened, the mess in the cage was worse than it usually is. The workmen doing the fire-sprinklers installation must have been busy Gentlemen today.

With the two shopping bags on the handlebars of the trolley-guide, along with my short, fat, bulbous, overly-stomached wobbly body in there, not a lot of free room was available. Hahaha!

I could see as I struggled out of the lift, the powder had been spread over the 12th-floor blobby, and I made it worse. I tried to clean things up before going into the apartment, but still took debitage in with me on the shoes!

I got the kettle on. Hoovered the hallway, I’d just dirtied, then took the medications while I thought of it. Alarmingly short of medicines now! 

On my Wednesday, visit the Doctor, I will have to collect them from the Carrington Pharmacy, 343-345 Mansfield Rd, Nottingham NG5 2DA, who are late delivering them again! I’ll mention this to Dr Vindla. Not that I think she will be bothered much.

The Carrington Pharmacy, 343-345 Mansfield Rd, Nottingham NG5 2DA, has gone from excellent to potential patient killers in the last two months! And, they are still putting the wrong dates on the blister packs, not to mention weeks late delivery and my going without painkillers and beta-blockers amongst other medications for five-days! Are they bothered either? Maybe they are doing it on purpose, in the hope that I’ll snuff-it, and they will not need to do delivery prescriptions then? Or trying to get me to change chemists, to avoid delivering… Oh, I’m fed-up!

The purchases of the day were put away!

The nosh was sorted out, and a grand tasty treat it was! Braised beef in (A lot of ambrosial) onion gravy, with potatoes, mushrooms, garden peas, beef stock, and leeks. With a Flavour-Rating of a worthy 9.20/10!

Even if the washing up took me an aeon to get done. And I managed in my rush to get to the fodder, to spill the washing-up bowl water, with bleach and Fairy liquid in it, over my shirt, trousers and the floor! Grumble-Soddit-Blast!

I suppose the bleach will ruin the trousers and shirt now. Grumph! And the time it took me to clean the mess up, meant the meal was not as hot as it should have been! (But I still enjoyed it).

There were some programs on TV. I wanted to try and stay awake to watch. But, the TV was not picking up any signals at all! Blank screens on every channel!

• Is the weather affecting reception?
• Have the Fire Sprinkler men cut another cable?
• Is the TV set (Like me) on its last legs?
• Have the Ghost and Goblins and Aliens from the Mysteries of my beloved Woodthorpe Court, that lies somewhere between the twilight zone and a wormhole slipping through a tear in the fabric of space & the spacetime continuum. With illusion, delusion, & hallucination, and Whoopsiedangeplop-proffering qualities, having another go at me?

It seems my odd moments of good luck, have definitely died off. At least I don’t have to worry about them anymore!

So, I tried the DVD and started to watch a Steve Coogan film, The Patrol Officer. I managed to stay awake for around twenty-minute, before drifting off. Innit marvellous? I can’t get ant sleep for days on end, then when I want to keep awake, I nod-off! Flanglemanglingly-Frenetically-Frustrating!

I woke up hours later and boy was it snowing and blowing out there!

There was also ice and snow inside the balcony. The floor planks soaked again. (They can’t last much longer, they are warping already!

When I opened the kitchen window to take the shots from there, the blasted window was caught by the powerful winds… onto the back of my head! Inchyangulations! Now, my mood, so fluctuational during this Monday, changed once again. The good old Pissed-offedness returned! To make it worse, I could not get back to sleep!

I’d best put myself ‘Up-For-Adoption!’