Saturday 17 November 2012

A Tale of Three Holes

A couple of weeks ago I was awoken early on a Sunday morning by a horrendous racket outside my bedroom window.  Startled, I rose and looked out of the window to the heartsinking sight of workmen breaking up the tarmac and making a large hole in the road to the side of the house.  This task apparently required a crew of three.  Once they had got the hole under way they retreated to the cab of their lorry and out came the flasks for a tea break.  They sat there for about an hour until another truck arrived with yet more workmen who had a look in the hole then joined their colleagues for another tea break.  A quick word with them elicited only the information  that they were from the Water Board, so presumably they were looking for the source of a leak.  Eventually they all put their tools into the back of the lorry and drove off.   The next day an enormous truck with an excavator grab turned up with a couple of chaps, who picked up all the rubble and earth which the previous crew had left piled up at the side of the hole.  They first had to remove the safety railings and posts which had been placed around the hole.  When they had removed most of the detritus with their big shiny toy, they took out brooms and carefully swept all the small dust and mess up, leaving the area clean and tidy.  The question is  ... WHY?  Why did they take it away instead of putting it back into the hole?   After carefully replacing the safety railings they piled back into their huge vehicle and drove off.  After yet another three days another crew arrived, filled the hole in and replaced the tarmac on top of it.
Three days later a van turned up with two workmen who examined another part of the road but seemed perplexed by the setts.  They were so baffled they had to go and sit in their van for a while to think about it before driving away.  An hour later they were back with a supervisor who appeared in another van, they inspected the road again then had a meeting in the van before the supervisor got back into his own van and left.  Next time I looked out, the men had removed the setts and carefully piled them up at the side of the road, they then dug yet another hole and placed yet more safety railings around it.  These were a real pain because of the position they were in right on a bend in the road which created problems for cars trying to get round them.Two days later the big truck with the excavator grabber turned up and did its thing again, leaving the area around the hole clean and tidy once again, - these two are very good at cleaning and tidying - bet they would make wonderful house-husbands. When they arrived though, the first thing they did was to drive over the warning signs advising of roadworks and a narrowed road!!   Then sure enough, a day or so later we had yet another crew on site, filling in the hole.    Despite my reservations about how they might repair the road surface they did a good job of replacing all the blocks leaving little sign of disturbance.   The neighbourhood breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Well that was a bit premature!

A few days later they were back and we went through the whole rigmarole again, with even more inconveniently placed safety signs and railings, the visits from the three different crews and all their various accoutrements.  This time however they made their hole around the inspection chamber and judging from the muddy stains on the road they may just have found what they were looking for this time, but as I didn't see any signs of any repair work being undertaken here (or in the two previous holes) I won't hold my breath.  They left yesterday - Thursday - so they will probably be back on Monday or Tuesday to make more of a jigsaw of the road.



Thursday 27 September 2012

Emptying Nest

It's been a strange and sad week in our house.  On Sunday Elizabeth left for Germany where she will spend the next academic year as an English Language assistant in a Gymnasium right down in the south of Germany.  It has seemed so quiet without her and walking away after watching her go through the departures gate was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.  I know we are used to her leaving for university, but that is not too far, it is drivable in a couple of hours at most.  This is not.  I don't miss the noise she makes, I don't miss the squabbles between her and her brother.  I don't miss the shoes, coats and assorted accessories strewn around the house, but I do miss her.  I miss her most when I want to say something to her and she isn't here.  I can't even just phone her because she only has her mobile and it would cost both of us a fortune, and when it comes to texts - she believes in using as few characters as possible.  Even if the answer is simple and a yes or ok would do - what I normally get is "k"  K for goodness sake - would an extra character matter so much?  'K, I suppose it must.  To get useful information from her by text usually means about 20 texts between us, and this morning when I texted her a question I got the reply "consult Facebook"   ?*!*?*!  Not a happy mummy!!

I think she has found it an eventful week, she had to get to Cologne by train from the airport at Dussledorf and then find her hotel.  First she missed her train and then got a little lost in Cologne quite late at night. I was very relieved when she Skyped me to say that she had arrived safely, although the Skype connection was very poor.    

She had a couple of days' training at a centre in Cologne before travelling onto her school.  The training was accommodated in a former monastery, where abbey bells still ring about 5 times through the night!  She was so unimpressed by that!  Mmm - Elizabeth + mornings + lack of sleep - not a good combination.  I'm so glad I wasn't there.  I will only say that maybe she might have been a little crabby.

She has now arrived at her host school and will be settling in tomorrow morning bright and early.

Meanwhile back here, I must learn not to go to her room looking for her, and not to pick up the phone to call her at random times.  Most of all I need to make the most of the peace and quiet, because it isn't really that long until Christmas when all the bickering etc will start up again.

Speaking of Christmas - eeeeeeeek  - let's not do that.



Thursday 6 September 2012

Hard work and early mornings.

At  the beginning of the summer holiday my (grown) children registered with an agency which has been giving their father temporary, casual work from time to time.  It took a few weeks to process their  paperwork, and the children went on camp for the first week of August, but eventually all was in place and they were ready for the call to start work.
The call came within a couple of days and they started their working lives with a 10 hour shift at a Royal Mail sorting depot.  Whilst they were gone, we had a bit of a chuckle about how they would handle it, especially when we were getting texts saying "Oooh my feet - ouchies"  At the end of their shift, Daddy went to pick them up whilst I prepared a meal for them to come home to.  We expected them to crawl through the door exhausted, and possibly vowing never to go back.  How we underestimated the recuperative power of money.   That and a burst of adrenaline at the end of their shift.  They bounced through the door full of noise and chatter.  Ravenously hungry, they fell on the food I had waiting and devoured it in moments.  It seems however that sitting long enough to eat, perhaps coupled with the diversion of blood flow for digestive purposes, brought the adrenaline fuelled energy surge to the point of collapse and they visibly slumped.  As they had been asked to go back early the next morning they soon trailed off to bed.  Since that day they have only had one day off a week, something which never happened to their father as work was much more scarce when he was working there regularly.  They have managed very well even though they have at times got incredibly tired but the thought of the money they are earning  keeps them going and after they finished work last Friday, they got on a bus outside work and went into Leeds for a shopping trip.  A great deal of their hard earned cash blown in one go. 
For the first time last weekend they worked a shift with their father.  When the shift manager realised the relationship between the three of them, he was singing their praises in lofty tones to Dad, telling him how reliable and hardworking they are, explaining that he could tell them what to do and leave them to it, safe in the knowledge that he wouldn't have to check up on them because he could be confident it would be done and done well.  That made us so proud of them!
Until this morning, their shifts have started at 10am at the earliest, some have been 1pm starts and some have been 6pm until 10pm short shifts.  Yesterday however, the managers went round asking for volunteers to start early this morning, he wanted them in for 6am.  Darling daughter rang me to see if I could provide a taxi service, she said she had told him they couldn't start before 7, but in the end I agreed to get them there for 6.30am.  We have to leave 30 minutes before their shift starts to ensure that they get there on time, but this morning when I got up at 5.45 there was no sign of life from daughter's room, although son was obviously up and doing. I had to wake daughter, which is always a risky undertaking - she really is not a morning person - one is in danger of getting one's head bitten clean off.  Getting her up and moving was not easy and for the first time, they were not there on time but as she had told the manager it would be between 6.30 and 7am, hopefully it won't be a problem. If it is, then she will have to deal with it and learn from it.
As we drove to the city, the sun was just coming up, and being low in the sky, it spread everything it touched with a glow of melted butter.  Depressions in flat grassland gave off a mysterious looking, low lying mist which hovered around a foot above the ground, looking as though the earth was steaming through holes in its crust.  It was all so beautiful that it almost made it worthwhile being out at that time.

Monday 20 August 2012

Quick Catch up

Way back in February I blogged that I was waiting for a knee replacement operation and that the scheduled date had been cancelled because someone failed to do their job properly and vital information was not passed on to the surgeon.  It took a lot of phone calls and emails but I finally got the operation done.  Many of those communications were because I didn't want to travel to a hospital in another county for that operation, but sadly it was my only option.  It was too far for my family to visit every day but by the grace of God we have friends living within driving distance of the hospital I was in and they visited when my family couldn't.  
Five days after the  procedure I was home and getting on with recovery.  I had a very special reason for wanting to be home so soon as two days later it was the anniversary of the day my husband and I were married - and not just any anniversary but our Silver Wedding Anniversary - wow, where did those 25 years go?  The timing of the surgery means that we have yet to celebrate it but we have plenty of time and can wait.  I got through the weeks of physiotherapy very well and it has been incredibly helpful, and my follow up appointments with the surgeon were very positive - I don't have to go back for another year now.

We were grateful for 25 years of marriage and delighted to hit that milestone, but it rather paled into insignificance the following day as my parents in law celebrated their Diamond wedding.  We just have another 35 years to go to match their achievement!  We were able to celebrate their anniversary at the weekend with a family dinner in a local hotel, when we managed to gather all the extended family together for the first time in some years.  It was not easy for me, but dosed up on morphine and moving carefully, I managed not only to enjoy it, but even to stay awake - morphine really knocks me out.  

Since then we have celebrated our daughter's 21st birthday, and in a few months will be doing the same for our son's 18th.  In between we have special birthdays for members of our extended family - a 40th, 30th already down and a 60th coming up.  As you can see - a very busy year for us.

I think that has brought Knight Times up to date with the notable news.  We have lots more going on but that will save for another time.


Friday 6 July 2012

Happy Birthday

Looking out of the window today at the persistent, torrential rain I can hardly believe that it is July 6th.  21 years ago today it was a Saturday,one of the hottest days of the year - back then summer knew how to be summer - the heat was oppressive, it was Ladies Finals Day at Wimbledon, and I was getting increasingly frustrated that my husband who was listening to the match on the radio via an earpiece, thought I was even remotely interested in the scores he was reporting to me as the match progressed. He obviously didn't know that a woman in labour has only one thing on her mind, and the only ball she can think of is the bowling ball she is trying to squeeze out of her body which demands all her attention and energy. He soon learned!! Funnily enough, since that time I have never been really interested in Wimbledon fortnight.
The result of that long, hot day was a beautiful baby girl who has become more beautiful as she has grown into the lovely young lady she is today. Congratulations on your 21st  my darling daughter and a very happy birthday to you. 


Monday 25 June 2012

Olympic Torch Relay

Goodness me - look how long it has been since I last posted on here.  So much has happened I'm not sure where to begin.  I think I will start with today's news and then go back and do a 'catch up' on another occasion.


The Summer Olympics start in London sometime in the next month or so.  The fact that I am unsure of the start date gives you an indication of the level of interest the Olympics hold for me.  Today however, the Olympic torch relay came through our town.  I wasn't going to watch it but I became interested when my son's PE teacher rang me to say that my son was going to be given the opportunity to run alongside the torch bearer because he has been volunteering to help out with PE at a school for children with disabilities.  The relay route goes right past the front door of my parents in law's house so it was the obvious place to go to watch.  We took chairs out onto the pavement just outside the front gate and settled down to wait alongside crowds of people who were happy to wait for an hour or two to see the torch pass by.  We understood that the police were going to effect a rolling road block to keep the whole route clear and safe.  Sadly it turned out that the road block was only in one direction.    The footpath only runs down one side of the road in our location and that was the side of the road where traffic was to be allowed.  We were no more than 400 feet from the end of the relay route but rather than stop the traffic at that point, the police allowed it to continue until it got stuck and had no choice but to stop.  That meant that it queued back and completely blocked the view of those waiting on the footpath!  We were able to cross the road and wait in the entrance to a house opposite but not so the children from a nearby primary school who were unable to see anything over the top of the queuing traffic.  How sad is that?  Own goal West Yorkshire and Metropolitan Police forces!














Sunday 26 February 2012

Waiting for a surgeon


Partly as a consequence of the amalgamation of several previous back and leg injuries  I now have serious problems with my knees, one of which requires replacement.  I have been through various processes in order to attempt to stave off the requirement for surgery but unfortunately to no avail, even though I had high hopes of one of the treatments.  By now I should have had the operation and be well on the way to recovery.

On October 24 I was added to the waiting list and was told that it would be around 18 weeks.  At the pre-operative assessment clinic I informed the nurse that I am very allergic to a chemical used in the joint cement used in joint replacement surgery, explained what happens to me if I come into contact with it (not pretty) and stressed the importance of this information in relation to the surgical intervention.
In due time I received a hospital admission date for the procedure and began to make all the arrangements necessary for the continued smooth running of family life whilst I was in hospital and in the recovery period.   Then on January 25 I got a phone call cancelling the operation because they had "just noticed" that I am allergic to the substance.  All of this despite the fact that I had told them that I am allergic to it 3 months earlier and they had had plenty of time to find either an alternative substance or an alternative surgeon who is confident to perform an uncemented procedure.   I am not a happy bunny and have made my feelings very clear to the hospital at the highest levels.  They are now trying to arrange for another surgeon to undertake the procedure.  Watch this space.

In the meantime if you have ever come into contact with a substance called Ethyl Methacrylate (also known as EMA) or Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) and had an unwanted reaction do keep it in mind if you ever need a joint replacement.  If you don't know what that is don't worry - you are not alone.  If however, you have ever had acrylic nails and had a bad skin reaction then you may well be allergic to EMA  or MMA and that is closely connected to the substance used in cemented joint replacements - the substance is actually MMA.  Not many people are aware that there is this connection and therefore would not necessarily think to mention such a reaction prior to surgery  but it is really important to do so and at an early stage.