Life
has been even busier than normal of late and I have not had the chance to sit
in front of the laptop and create a blog post.
Days out, work commitments, mountains of paperwork and so on. However, do not fear regular readers, I am
back!
Following
on from the flooding item in my last post, I had a visit from the local branch
of the Jehovah’s Witnesses a couple of weeks back. The lady who knocks every few weeks is very
pleasant and chatty, usually brings her mother along for added entertainment,
and we have a discussion about all sorts of issues whilst standing on the
step. I always take her Watchtower and the other publication,
the name of which escapes me at present, as firstly it makes her day and
secondly some of the bits are an interesting read. I can’t proclaim to agree with a lot of the
writings but people are free to believe what they like. However, our conversation during this visit
moved to a very British subject, the weather, and swiftly to the devastating
floods over the past weeks around the country, particularly in Somerset. According to the JW lady, had Jesus been
alive today this would not have happened (she started quoting from the Bible
about how He stopped the Sea of Galilee from flooding and drowning people) as
he would not have allowed the houses to be built on the flood plains. This to me implied that He would have been
working in the Somerset County Council Planning Department (seems a little
unlikely......how would he have fitted such a job around his preaching and
miracles with food?). I raised this idea
with people from various other Christian denominations......after loud
guffawing we agreed the concept to be a bit farfetched. Actually I think He would be more useful at
the food bank with a few loaves and fishes.
The townsfolk could be fully nourished for weeks.
I
have spent the last week or so in the grip of another round of tennis elbow, fortunately
not as severe as on previous occasions, but not ideal when I spend half the
week having to lift toddlers. Unless you
have experienced this it is tricky to fully appreciate the pain......imagine a
large bee stinging your arm around the bony bits every time you try to
straighten the arm or bring your fingers and thumb together. Not a good feeling and it makes everyday
tasks harder e.g. changing gear in the car, using hair straightners, zipping
pockets.......the list is endless. Add
into the mix my old adversary, chronic toothache caused by sinkholes appearing
at random in various teeth, and you will understand why the shares in Panadol
have rocketed.
Never
mind, I am still receiving daily email offer to make my life easier........Tena
Lady free samples, the walk in bath, SAGA this that and the other (I had no
idea they had their fingers in so many pies), Viagra (great market research yet
again) and the icing on the cake this month............an invitation to have a
look inside my local care home. Oh thank
you for that. Just because I can see it
across the other side of the field from my house does not mean I am ready to
move in there.
Last
week I had the privilege of attending a celebration of life service for a local
lady. She passed away, unexpectedly,
almost a month to the day prior to the service and only a week after I had met
her in town as we were bustling around trying to beat the strong winds and get
our various bits of shopping done. The
service was beautifully carried out and included amusing eulogies from her
family which made the congregation laugh loudly. The whole event was a very fitting tribute
and the fact that people had to stand as the church was packed out showed how
popular she was. Over the years I knew
her she was always caring, had time for a chat, asked about my other family
members, knew every person by name as they walked through the surgery doors or
if she met them in the street, and was the best person ever with a needle.......not once did she bruise me! When I first registered with the surgery she
was the person who did my initial health screening and the last time I had
blood taken she was at the other end of the needle.
I
always referred to her as “The Lovely Val” to her face and when talking to
others about her, and this is how I will remember her.
