Normal service is being resumed

My euphoria of Wednesday was short lived.  On Thursday morning I received a phone call from my clinic to say it had re-opened and, following the result of my scan on the 16th I should go in straight away for an injection.  So with  long suffering Mike we once again made our way to the Eye Hospital.  The  injection was soon over with just a little discomfort.With regard to the picture of flowery material I kept seeing it has not bothered me much today.  Perhaps it is like sufferers from tinnitus. if you don't think too much about it you can ignore it.  I hope so anyway.

Mind Games

Today I had to make an emergency visit to the Eye Hospital.  For the past couple of days an oblong picture   of some pretty red and blue flowers and dots on a yellow background such as you might see on a summer dress or a cushion cover had appeared at the edge of my vision.in my left eye.  Very disconcerting.  I struggled to read or watch TV or indeed do anything but the picture persisted.  I was told at the clinic to contact them if anything changed or was worrying me so this I did and was told to come straightaway.  So Mike and Amanda took me this afternoon.  Of course I had to choose a day when my clinic was closed because the doctors were doing their exams.  However, though working under pressure, I was treated with the usual quiet efficiency and after a short wait saw a doctor, a charming man.
I was greatly relieved to be told it was just a side effect of macular degeneration and not harmful.  In fact the doctor, after a thorough examination said my condition was stable and not getting any worse.. He explained what was happening.  It is called Charles Bonnet syndrome,  Because the brain is missing pictures and words as my sight gets less it fills in the blanks with other images such as flowers, gardens, people animals etc. It might in time go away, meanwhile I shall just have to get used to it.  What a marvellous thing the brain is even if it doesn't always behave as you would expect.
I was so relieved I went home and celebrated with two cups of tea and a piece of cake.

Coincidences.

Life is full of them.   My nephew's wife was talking about my brother who sadly died in a nursing home in 2007.  She said he once shared a room with the father-in-law of George Aligiah.   I had just written about G.A. in my blog  but she had not read it!  Two of my guests from different sides of the family look after people's dogs while their owners are on holiday.  Another is attending courses at the City Literary Institute where I went in the 1940s and three nephews from different branches of the family had a common interest in the West Hampshire Regiment.  One gentleman was interested in a particular project that my daughter is working on. Also it turns out that my brother's grandson is working for the company that helped to provide the memorial to Ernie and his crew in Denmark.  I could go on, but isn't life extraordinary?

Me at Ninety

Well!  That was some Birthday celebration.  My lovely family and my dear friends did me proud!!  I was deluged with cards and flowers and all sorts of nice things.  To have my family all here (with one or two exceptions  -  who were much missed)  gave me the greatest pleasure.  The arrival of so many friends added to this.  I kept thinking how lucky I was.
Amanda ,Mike and Martin ably assisted by Naima, Lan, Roger and all the grandchildren provided a cooked lunch for 32 people.  It was a miracle of organisation carried out with military precision and willing helpers.
After coffee and a birthday toast we all got down to the serious business of eating a delicious lunch. The diners were upstairs and down and from the buzz of talk and laughter seemed to be enjoying themselves.Considering some people were meeting for the first time I was intrigued to follow the conversations they had in common ranging fron football to dogs, to  the Army, the Navy, the war, sewing and cooking.  There were people washing up in both kitchens.  At 4 p.m. we had tea and a magnificent birthday cake with sparklers!!  It was quite late before the last of the guests went.  Six extra people were staying in the house so there were a lot of beds to be made up.  I think all the surplus furniture and things ended up in my bedroom which looked like Paddy's Market.  Shall I ever be straight again?

Now the house is so quiet.  As my mother used to say it is back to old clothes and porridge.

The News

Have you noticed how the news readers on Radio 4 (one doesn't call them announcers any more)  - how they thank any contributor to the bulletin very profusely  They all say "Thank you very much (pause)  INDEED."  I love the chap with the dark brown voice.  I anticipate him breaking  into song at any moment with "Ole Man River".  Like "Little Miss Bouncer who loved an announcer down at the BBC" a song by the Western Brothers-  (o.k. before your time) - I like the handsome Sri Lankan, George Aligiah.  His news always seems better somehow.

Easter Weather

Looking back at my blog for Easter 2011 (which was a little later in the year) I see that the weather was so warm and sunny that we had a family lunch at the top[ of the garden and spent the afternoon out of doors playing Rummy.  What a difference to this year!  Fairly bright today but still cold.  We are promised a slight rise in temperature by the weekend.  I hope it warms up by the following weekend.

Harking back to my recollections of Sunday School I found that the children enjoyed the Bible stories if they could act them.  I found a file with a lot of little sketches I had written for them.  There was always a Miss Bossy Boots who would sort out the cast.  They particularly liked stories with animals in them and there are a lot in the Bible.  On one Palm Sunday a disciple was dispatched to the man at the Gate to ask to borrow a donkey.  He had to say "The Lord has need of him"  Miss Bossy Boots cast herself as the donkey but her little brother would not let go of her hand so Jesus went to Jerusalem with two donkeys that day.  They liked Daniel in the lion's den when they could roar and another favourite was the story of Noah.   They would line up, two by two, choosing an animal.  The bears, say, would go first, round Noah into the Ark (a row of chairs) and appear at the other end of the queue as a pair of giraffes (not having an inexhaustable number of children)  This could go on for a long time until I appeared as the dove because it was time for a prayer before going home.  Happy days.

April Fools Day

Haven'tbeen caught out yet, except by the weather.  The sun has been streaming into the conservatory but it is still very cold outside.  My brother always caught me with his April Fool jokes even though I determined each year to watch out for his pranks.

I listened to a lovely Easter service on the radio, thinking this is on early, then the announcer said it is nine o'clock and I realised I had forgotten to change my clocks to British Summer Time.  British Summer Time!! That;s a laugh.  It is still like the Arctic out of doors and the forecasters are still talking about snow showers.  There were two other beautiful church services on the TV.  I love to hear the choirboys' voices soaring up into the roof.  They all look so angelic.  I miss going to church but life is a bit difficult one way and another.

When I was running the Sunday school we would get the children to make an Easter garden with a hill covered in moss and three wooden crosses on top and a border of primroses round the base.  Beside the hill we would make a papier mache cave with a large pebble from the beach to represent the tomb and the stone that was rolled away  We placed these in the church porch .  The children really enjoyed making this and would bring all sorts of things from the seashore to add to the decorations.