This and That

This and That was our how our weather presented itself today. Cool, breezy, cloudy, grey with whiffs of damp.

I was awake early and knew I ought to go swimming, but getting myself up to do so was entirely another matter.

But I was down there soon after 07.00 and carried out my regulation 1000m. My shoulder had started to hurt again, and since I was certain swimming had cured it, it made a swim more urgent. Because I was away at the weekend, and had commitments this week, I had not managed to get there as often as usual.

Loren was here soon after I arrived home. We chatted whilst she cleaned, and I disappeared out with H. I headed for Pangbourne but the free car park was full (very annoying, especially since there are no children on the playground, so presumably full day hikers were occupying the spaces) .

My frozen debit card is not cooperating and the new one has not arrived ( it arrived later today) and the pay car park does not accept coins, so that was that.
We walked at Cholsey instead. It was rather cool but H had a great run around and general exploration.

I’m afraid I dozed off once I got home, and not for a short while either.

I took my newly arrived bank card to a cash point to activate it but I failed to extract any cash so I have no idea if it is actually active. Or if the cash machine was having a genuine wobble when it said it could not dispense cash. They have wiped my old card off my list of cards. Grr!

However, the cash machine was clearly experiencing some sort of delay as its messages were not in sync. Feeling unable to cope with any more bank card malfunctions I ran away.

I improvised supper using potatoes, peas, onions and tomatoes. And it was tasty. I sat down with H to not enjoy an evening of TV because I drifted off again. That probably bodes ill for the night ahead.

The Sue Ryder letter of apology has finally arrived, after 3 months and an email prompt from Penny. It should have been sent a month ago – more apologies arrived with the letter. Their inefficiency leaves me fairly unsurprised . And this despite a senior person insisting it had been sent a month ago as she had personally checked it out. But it arrived registered and with further apology today – something about a clerical error.

Penny has now finally received a positive result re her whooping cough test for a sample taken in April. More inefficiency. This explains why she has been feeling so awful and coughing so much over the last few months. Where did she get it from? Who knows! But she was vaccinated as a baby. However vaccine does not provide life long protection,

I shall see Anne tomorrow at a pub near Swindon. She has spent the month of May gallivanting across Europe, with her sister in law, Gillian, from NZ. For Gillian, money is no object. Anne’s brother Bill, and Gillian’s husband, was very ill this winter with sepsis (yes another) and a dementia diagnosis that has varied from rapid progression to normal progression. And her sister, Mary, is still hanging in there with bowel cancer. (Another one)

On a more cheery note, the Robert’s swimming pool is up and running under gentle heat.

And my new debit card works – I bought something online with it. Earlier in the day I got a message saying the bank had suspended it. And I had not even received it then. Hopefully that is the end of a dirty saga.

Thought for the Day

Via the Guardian – Swimming pool etiquette

I wish … tapping the heels of the person in front of me? You cannot be serious! As for those who chat… go do that in the drinks area at one of the tables . You are nuisances in the pool. And as for the Mamils… Lycra doesn’t seem to have met Didcot man – more a question of baggy swim shorts . Apart from the rare one sporting budgie smugglers.