Thursday 20th February 2020

Norwegian: Torsdag 20 Februar 2020

02:00hrs: What a messy sleeping pattern that was! I was in the £300 second-hand, c1968 recliner for a total of over six-hours, which sounds right, at first! But the repeated rises to use the GPEWWB (Grey-Plastic-Emergency-Wee-Wee-Bucket) taken into account, any sleep would be calculated at about three hours! No wonder I still felt so tired when I did get up for another wee-wee at 02:00hrs, and decided to give up and get up.

The famously abhorrent ‘Hum’ was giving it some effort this morning! I’m sure that my IQ was giving me a smugly-know-it-all snide laugh? Tsk!

Getting out of the recliner was done with fantastic ease, catching my balance, grabbing the stick, and waggling-off to the wet room to clean the grey plastic bucket were all done with no bother at all. The morning’s activities were regularly interposed with SNS (Short-No-Sensation) wee-wees. (I mention this to save me keep typing them, with Nicodemus Neurotransmitters dying so frequently, typing turned out a bit arduous. Humph!)

As I was leaving the wet room, I had to turn back in haste, to use the Porcelain Throne!

I got down on the pan and waited for things to activate. I had a go at the crossword puzzle, but it beat me again. (Still waiting!) Pondered over yesterdays nasty ‘out-of-it’ spell, amazing myself thinking of all the jobs I did, without knowing it, more surprisingly, with no injuries or accifauxpas! (Still waiting!) I did a bit of silent whistling and singing. (Still waiting!) Then, the evacuation started, but got stuck part-way again! The efforts to rekindle the movement was horrendously painful and long-winded. Cruel! I’m reasonably good at coping with pain, but that session tested my limits.

The relief, when things were finally freed and finished, was soon tempered when I found the bleeding that I’d suffered. I had another clean-up and medicationalisationing session.

To the kitchen, got the kettle on, and had another unfruitful search for the Rice Cooker instruction booklet. I opened the unwanted, light & view-blocking, cannot reach to clean, thick-framed, letting rain-in window, to take a photograph of the morning lights and dark sky. I pondered for a short while, on the mass of Nottinghamians out there. Desperate illegal immigrants, freed from prison murderers, sleep-sleepers, scum drug gangs, muggers, shoplifters, pavement cyclists, pickpockets… I had to stop thinking about it, I was depressing myself! Hehe!

Took the medications, with a Senna added, in hopes of avoiding another painful evacuation like one I’d just gone through. I think I’ll take another one before going out later on.

I got on the computer and did things in a different rota than usual, I don’t know why? I went on the WordPress Reader first, then a little bash at the TFZer Facebooking. Made a graphic up, then a new WP template for tomorrow on CorelDraw. Finally making a start on updating and finishing off yesterday’s blog. It took a record time to get done, thanks mainly to Nicodemus Neurotransmitters dying so often.

Something interesting, almost comical; about dying nerve-ends, that even I wasn’t aware of until it happens. Sometimes, I can’t feel when I cut myself or touch something hot. Not until they occasionally return to working status, which can be a long time later, and suddenly I feel the pain of the cut or burn! Hahaha! I even, like this morning, get caught out with removing the tea bags. For days on end, as is usual, I’ve not worried about taking out the bags with my right hand, and the cunning nerve-ends suddenly start transmitting to the brain again, and I jump at the unexpected pain! Hehehe! All these ailments certainly keep me amused. Bless them all, bless them all, those who make me bleed, shake and fall! Hahaha!

In between the wee-weeing, the ailments and lack of confidence, I got the post finished and sent off. Phew!

I made a start on this blog but had to stop, to get the ablutions done. Now, this might be another challenge?

I came across a bit of graffiti, from Russia! I had to put it on to show Tim Hancock in New Mexico. A poor effort compared the that in Albuquerque that Tim sometimes photographs.

Off to the wet room. Now, the ablutionisationing went fairy-well. No prob’s as such with the teeth-cleaning. The shaving produced only one nick, and a tiny one at that, on the ear lobe. (Thank you, Shaking Shaun!) The showering went perfectly. The drying off failed to produce any shelf cleanings! All these parts of the ablution session brought cheer and a semi-self-confidence back to me…

Until it came to the Sock-Glide usage! You see, the problem was, I’d decided to dig out the extra-long Bamboo over the knee socks to put on. I’d forgotten all about the issues I had last time when trying to us the sock-glide with them! They are too long for me to use the glide safely, and I soon realised this again. The frame unbalanced all over the place, it fell off of the chair twice! Botherations and blasticulisations! I banged both elbows, the rights shoulder, my chin, my head against the door or wall as I overbalanced and fell this way and that, getting more and more frustrated with myself! Then when I stubbed my toe on the metal raised seat stand, I calmed down and nearly sobbed! Hahahahaha!

The pins (legs) were looking super-good this morning! I took a shot of them before, and after the losing Sock-Glide battle.

I got dressed and into the kitchen, checked the timing for the bus, and decided I had time to get the handwashing done before going to catch the L9.

So I did! All done, wrung and hung, not the socks though. They were the ones bought last week from Amazon, I threw them away, not worth washing anyway. They fall down all the time, Tsk! The first time I washed them, and they wouldn’t stay up at all! Unless perhaps on someone with dirty-great massive tree-trunk legs. Hehe!

After completing my usual ‘panic-fret’, is everything okay routine, and checking things repeatedly, the landline flashed. I answered it (Well it seemed a good idea. Har-har!), and it was Jenny saving the day for me again! She told me that the L9 was not running today, but it might be tomorrow! Oh, dearie me and ‘ecky thump! I thanked her for informing me, bless her ♥. The communications here lack a little, don’t they? Thank heavens for Jenny, once again! And her timing was spot on, minutes before I was going out to the bus stop!

No need to rush now. I’ll take an amble down Winchester Street into Sherwood, see if the Co-op has any decent looking tomatoes in, then call at Wilkos to get the cleaning stuff and cash a bus into town. I glanced outside just before departing, and at least it wasn’t raining.

I got the five bags of rubbish for the waste chute, and a too large a bag of recyclables to take down to the caretaker’s room. Off I went. I struggled a bit with the black bags, but got them down the chute, and took the big white bag with me in the lift. Now there is another mystery of my beloved Woodthorpe Court, with its illusions, delusions, hallucinations, infestations, Whoopsiedangleplops, Accifauxpas and manic machinations that thrive here freely, so bountifully! Why is it, that whenever I need the lift from the 12th-floor, both cages are on the ground floor? I bet when I get back, they’ll both be on a level high up! Ah-well!

I dropped the big bag off with Steve. Then ambled along through the link corridor, and called in the ILC (Independent Living Coordinators) Wardens Interrogation and strip-search Office. Hehehe!

I mentioned the buses and learned that it was because of the flooding en route. The rain started falling as Oberstgruppenfhureress Warden Deana told me this! It seems that the L9 service will end in April. The 40 bus route will be redirected into the Winwood Heights complex when the L9 is terminated. Oh, dearie me! Spitworthy, Splurging, Shlackersplonks! No more details, other than this available! But we were all concerned about the cars that are parking on the yellow lines around the bus turning point, often blocking the buses. As the 40 buses are a lot longer than the L9 ones are. Also, of course, the naughty parkers will cause problems for the emergency services access! But what the solution is, I don’t know, other than to build a high-rise car park, but that would be horrendously expensive.

I bade my farewells and limped out and along to the end of Chestnut Walk, and right down Winchester Street. I had to push the trolley-guide along the road and back on the pavement more than once. Due to the many cars parked up on the footpaths. But, they only do this because they don’t want their vehicles to be hit by the lorries and buses going into the flats? And come April, there will be bigger and longer buses arriving?

I fear that this is a no-win situation that holds an unattainable solution? At worst, the buses may well be withdrawn, leaving us old uns without a service at all! I shudder at the thought! So many of the tenants have said they will have to apply for a move it that case. They will have much competition!

About a third of the way down Winchester Street, I came across some, presumably storm damage to the fencing. I wouldn’t like to be walking down there in the wind. It dawned on me as I hobbled on after taking the photo, I could not hear the ‘Hum’, at all down there! In the event, and it seems likely now, that the buses are removed, I shall do my best to get in some flats that are on lower ground, in the hopes of escaping the drive-me-mad ‘Hum’!

But losing the already minimal, but oh so enjoyable contact with Jenny, Mary, Shiela, Gaynor, Penny, Christine etc. may yet decide me against leaving.

Lower down the road, I got the front wheel stuck in a rut in the pavement. Just thought I’d mention it! Tsk!

On to Mansfield Road, turned right and up into the Co-op store. There was still no rush though because there are plenty of buses regularly to town from Sherwood. I nosied around the shelves and came out with Cox’s apples and some fresh looking mini tomatoes.

I limped up the hill and into the Wilko store. I spent a bit here. Nasal spray £1.75, Refuse sack, 10 for a pound, Toilet cistern blocks also a quid. Ylang and Fressia scented laundry freshener crystals £3, but I am really taken by the fresh smell of these.

Then I had funny-turn, no, that’s not the best word to use, I got Shaking Shaun having a go at me, at the checkout. The young lady was kind enough to pack the things in the trolley bag for me, bless her. I dropped the change she gave me, and the lass came round and picked it up for me. ♥ Thank you, gal! By the time I’d got out of the shop, things seemed to be back to normal in the shakes department?

I walked up to the bus stop, the drizzling had stopped altogether, now.

On the already crowded bus, I had to sit on a regular seat. Because there was a child in a pushchair, and a lady on a disabled electric scooter, so no side-saddle seats available. In fact, there were precious few seats free at all. I had to sit next to the mother of the child. With the trolley partly in peoples way, and I had to move it each time someone got on or off the bus! To make things worse, Shaking-Shoulder-Shirley kicked-off. Which scared some of the passengers into silence and odd looks giving, who sat around me. Hahaha!

I was well bruised, trod on, and in pain by the time I arrived at my bus stop, Huh! I made sure I got up first this time, I shoved the trolley in the aisleway, and fumbled my way achingly off of the bus and got out of the line of the following hoards as fast as I could.

I made my way to the Poundstretcher shop and had an excellent hobble around, initially in search of some of the Pakistani potato-biscuits. By gum, they are so tasty! But, I found so many bargains, I weakened, and ended up spending a fortune, and had a heck of a job coping with two bags on the handlebars, and trying to control the trolley. Still, my own fault! I bought; The last two Paynes chocolate Brazil misshapes, a massive bottle of Woolite liquid at virtually half-price at £1.99. Some of what looked like excellent 50L extra-strong bin bags for £2.99, the last two Potato biscuits on the shelves. Two bottles of concentrated lemon clothes refresher disinfectant spray for a quid each. Some nose unblocker at £1.40, another bargain! Two bottles of BBQ bacon flavoured sauce for 49p each, and something called C&S Wul at 39p on the receipt, but I can’t find it? Hahaha!

I exited the shop, and the drizzle started on and off again. I had a vicambulation up into Trinity Square and took a few pictures, and then down Kings Walk onto Parliament Street.

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The cafe at the top of Kings Walk, cleverly called the Kings Walk Kitchen (Huh), was offering Students a 20% reduction for all of February, didn’t seem to be having a lot of luck, or customers. Not surprising really, in the first photo, you will see 15 take-aways and restaurants. The competition! Poor devils!

The light dimmed as I got to Queen Street to catch a 40 bus back to the flats. Not many Nottinghamians about for a Friday, I thought. Then I realised it was Thursday. The heavens opened! But I was alright under the bus shelter by then. (Smug-Mode-Adopted!)

I did nip out from the cover to take a couple of pictures of the street art on view, on Queen Street, near the Reds True B-B-Q eatery. Well, Red’s True Barbecue, it’s called.

Sometimes the smells attract my nostrils. But access for me would be impossible. Too many steep steps to get in, then you have to walk down more steps to get to the grill. It’s also got different floors and levels inside. But in particular, their “Ox Cheek Bone Luge” looks so delicious! Not that I’ve seen it in real life, but the photographs from the menu, Mmm!

“Ox Cheek Bone Luge” And for only £8 -with a shot of whisky?

This number 40 bus was soon filled up after a few stops, but I was in a side-saddle seat this time. Uncomfortable, yes, and in danger of falling out of the seat on corners, yes! But, far less chance of being trampled, trod on and shoulder charged! So that suited me!

Mind you, this route takes far less time to get to Sherwood, than the L9 does. (When it’ s running that is!) But the bad thing is, it doesn’t call at the flats! It drops off on Sherwood Rise, one the steepest roads in Nottinghamshire. Just beyond in this picture, the road drops and a sharp bend is out of sight. Dodgy for crossing, even for someone not handicapped. But I got over the road safely this time, and the rain started coming heavier now.

Once again, when I got near the flats, I had to keep walking on the road, to get by the pavement parked cars. You can see how they park, not necessarily voluntarily, right on the corner of the junctions too. If any buses had been running today, they might not have got around the corners anyway.

If anyone happens to be reading this, who is familiar with or knowledgeable about the law concerning such parking laws, I’d appreciate some guidance. Cause sure as eggs are eggs, someone is going to get knocked down before long here! Any advice would be appreciated, I think the flats themselves are on private land? The double yellow lines are simply being ignored every day?

I got back to the flats as the rain increased, just timed it nicely. As I got into the link passage, the precipitation was positively pelting down! I got through to Woodthorpe Court lobby, and I met with Cyndy also getting into the lift. Nice to have a chinwag and laugh. ♥

As I got out of the elevator, I realised there was no floor sign in the wall, Cyndy laughed telling me all the floor signs had been taken down, new ones on the way? I laughed.

I smelt something different, I thought it might paint. So I turned around and took this photo.

In the lobby of the apartment, I turned back again, something was different in here too. But what it was, well, I couldn’t tell. But, that’s nothing new, is it? Haha!

I got inside the flat and put the buys of the day away.

I got some spuds and peas in a saucepan, got the oven on, then started to update this blog. Six hours later I got up to here, and well past my head-down time! So, I turned off the computer and got the nosh sorted.

I got the nosh served up. It looked okay and tasty, on the plate. The ratings: Co-op mini tomatoes 02/10 – Asda petit pois 03/10 – Fulton’s, Gingster-beef pasties 06/10 – Aldi beetroot 07/10 – Iceland canned new potatoes 05/10, Light & Free lemon yoghourt 08/10. Which when I work it out with the Windows calculator is, I think, an average of 5.166666666666667/10 if I got it right. My Arithmophobia showing up there again. You might be surprised at the number of confirmed uneducated volgivagant people suffer from this. Haha! So, not one of the bestest or tastiest of meals by a long shot. Hey ho!

I wobbled a bit when I got up to take the things to be washed, and Shaking-Shoulder-Shirley didn’t help. I spilt a bit of the bleached soapy water on the floor and myself. (Another t-shirt ruined!)

I went to make sure I had not locked the door. (I keep it unlocked when I’m in nowadays, the difficulties experienced when I had the stroke of the emergency paramedic having to wait until I crept on all-fours to get to unlock the door. And my still tumbling over to my right side repeatedly is well remembered!)

I found a leaflet-note on the floor that had been delivered. As tired as I was, as I read it, something seemed not right about it. The wording told me more than the omitted words.

My Sherlock Holmesiessness had been stirred! Hehehe! The lack of any practical reasons for the changes installed suspicion in my tired mind. Your fob will work as intended? This indicated to my EQ that the fobs have been found to allow access to some parts of Winwood Court, where they should not be doing so? I’m most likely wrong, befuddled and confused, but my EQ talks, and I listen. I could not see any helpful mention of where they are actually doing the upgrading… argh! I see it now, The Winwood Centre, presumably the social room. Ooh, I do feel a right fool at times!

Of course, of all the days to pick for the upgrading, it was bound to be the one day in which I already have three medical appointments, didn’t it? Bad luck? Me? I’m a virtuoso, ultra-experienced, specialist in chronic-unluckiness! An authority, specialist in it! A fount of knowledge, ​wisdom​, and cognoscenti! Some college should give me a senior honorary professorship. The sad thing is, I’ll snuff-it (I’ve no problem with that), and the world will be none-the-wiser, as to my magnificent efforts at living such a life. Shame!

Maybe, being as the Tate gallery mistakenly refuses to record my peripheral neurotrophic legs as pieces of art and put them on show in a gallery – then Nottingham Trent University or College, would at least let me present a paper on the subject of being cursed with a luckless life? I’d call it Inchcock’s inimitable, intangible, ill-fortunes, illuminated? I got carried away there again, Sorry!

I got settled into the £300, second-hand, near-dilapidated, gungy-beige coloured, c1968, sometimes working, uncomfortable, rickety, rinky-dinked, rattling, rusty, resurrected, reconditioned, recalcitrant, recidivating and rotting-away recliner. That xyrophobia-suffering Brother-in-Law Pete damaged, while he was flat-sitting when I was in the Stroke Ward. And he fitted new CCTC cameras and searched for my valuables, which he found and took, (I still haven’t got them back yet seven-months later).

And, got the TV on, which as a rule would send me off into the land of nod at the first signs of the commercials. But not tonight! Maybe it was because I was so late settling? Or, most likely it was Shoulder-Shaking-Shirley, boy, was she in a mood all day! I pray that she is not going to become a regular visitor, she shakes the living daylight out of the body at times!

Ah, well! I must have got to sleep eventually, cause I woke up, late for me, mind. About six hours, no waking up, no dream bliss!

Lengthy sigh in appreciation!