Tempus Fugit

The Love of My Life

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 10:53:39 GMT

23rd March 1947 --- 25th June 2022

We booked a holiday to the Isle of Man in 2019 for the following year. For two years, it kept being postponed. Finally, this year we would be able to visit the island with Jenn and Pete.

Gavin was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on 4th March and began chemotherapy. His consultant permitted him to go on holiday because quality of life is important. We arrived on 11th June.

The first week was good. Gavin, despite dramatic weight loss and a diagnosis of diabetes since March, had a lovely first week.

Unfortunately, I had to call for an ambulance on the Monday of the second week. The care he received was wonderful and all staff were considerate of our situation. He was in ICU for four days with a dedicated team of nurses. I was with him at the end, for which I am very grateful.

Everyone has been very supportive and kind. His funeral is on Friday this week.

Forty-four years is a long time to have known the best man I have ever met. Thank you for choosing me, Gav, you filled our life together with laughter and love xx

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2021 update

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 10:21:53 GMT

So no holiday this year. We had been booked to meet up as a family in Yorkshire from 9th July but the loosening of Covid 19 restrictions has been deferred for another four weeks. It's possible that overnight stays of people from more than two households will be allowed from 19th July but there are no places available to book. All of the folk who would normally go abroad are having staycations this year.

Never mind, we've decided to spend the summer on a round robin visit to each other's houses instead. That will be nice as it's been a long time since we've done that. Unfortunately, no-one has a house large enough to take us all at the same time. We could squeeze six in, as others could probably do in their homes, but there are nine of us, counting spouses as well.

We're hoping to return to the week together somewhere nice in 2022. The Isle of Man holiday for us and our daughter, Jennet, and her beau, Pete, has been postponed again until next year's June. Hopefully all will go ahead then.

In the meantime, we have had a visit from them over the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May, which was such a relief. I've missed our group hugs! (Faces averted of course :D )

We actually managed a trip to Formby, our nearest beach. I love Formby. As children, we were always going there, whatever the weather or time of year. The husband does not have that as part of his culture and isn't fussed about taking me. It's been five years since I last went! Anyway, he took us there and stayed in the car (knees playing him up) whilst we struggled up and down the dunes to reach the sea...and it was in! It's never in at Formby :D The beach was packed with people enjoying themselves but all socially distanced.

It was a hot day but there was a cool breeze off the sea. The kids went for a walk, paddling, and were gone for half an hour! This is a lovely picture of them :D

And this:

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VE Day 75

Sat, 09 May 2020 11:46:51 GMT

What a lovely day. It was so refreshing to have something to plan for and enjoy!

At the previous evening's Clap for Carers, our next door neighbour shouted out to everyone to decorate our houses and prepare an afternoon tea for 3pm on Friday.

The husband only needed a gentle nudge to go into the loft to find the bag of bunting and ex-Diamond Jubilee (2013) serviettes etc whilst I set out about making a chocolate cake to my Mum's recipe (always a winner).

Here's the result of his hard work:

We set up our afternoon tea table at the edge of the pavement, whilst the neighbours did the same. Egg mayonnaise sandwiches with the crusts cut off and sliced into fingers, the home-made chocolate cake and Prosecco (provided by the next-door neighbour). We kept to our social distancing but much fun was had. So few cars about that we could chat easily. There were about a dozen of us enjoying the sunshine and the relaxation. A barbecue is being planned under similar conditions :D

My sister walked down from her house to sit on the other side of the wall, and she provided biscuits. Another neighbour walked down to the garage shop and returned with Cornettos and lager! What a lovely day! Such a good community.

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What to do with all this home time?

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 11:13:51 GMT

I hope everyone reading this (all 2 of you, haha) is well and looking after themselves. We are fine, just being even more socially distant than normal!

It's strange how usually I spend a lot of my time in the house or garden, not bothering about going anywhere, unless it's for necessary shopping. That's my normal life, anyway, apart from the weekly Pilates class. However, knowing that the government recommends social distancing has put an edge on it that I've never experienced before. I want to go out to have lunch in a cafe just because I know that I shouldn't! Weird.

My husband is in the pleasestayathomeandprotectyourself age group so even he has stopped using the car for jaunting off to play with trains (miniature railway) or sailing his model boats. He is not a happy bunny. Thank goodness he has a SHED!

Our holiday to the Isle of Man in June is probably off and I was really looking forward to that. My oldest relative lives on the island so we wanted to see her while we could. The advice is if you go the island stay indoors for 14 days so there's no point in going. They have no cases of Covid 19 at all so I applaud the efforts to keep it out. The IOM Steam Packet Company will be offering refunds or changes of date so perhaps we'll get there next year.

If you feel the symptoms of cabin fever and have read all your books and listened to all of your music twice over and knitted/crotcheted an enormous throw for your bed and played all the games you can think of et cetera then have a try at this.

Not only will it while away some time, your input is extremely useful for the scientific projects that you help. It is free to use and has 99 projects atm. Although the name is Zooniverse, it's not all about animals. There are some literary and historical projects, as well as astronomical and medical. I joined years ago to help transcribe some Scottish weather data from the early 20th century but now help with identifying whales, condors and animals caught on automatic cameras.

Do remember to get out into the fresh air and do some exercise, even if it's just walking.

One of the silver linings of this time of social distancing, self-isolation or lockdown is that air pollution over industrial areas and cities has dissipated rapidly.

This is going to be a year to remember, folks.

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DNA update

Tue, 20 Nov 2018 12:08:16 GMT

So ancestry.co.uk have refined their laboratory techniques and I'm no longer 20% Scandinavian but only 2% from Norway...most disgruntled. I am no longer more Irish (42%) than British (20%) but am 30% Irish/Scots/Welsh and 68% British but as their map of Great Britain overlaps their map of Irish/Scots/Welsh by an appreciable amount, am I supposed to take it that I am, in fact, 68% English? No idea.

Also, they've removed all the tiny %s that made me interesting! No longer do I have a drop of Mediterranean or a drip of Finnish blood and my 12% Western Europe has disappeared, as well! Really odd as their map shows Great Britain as encompassing the north of France, part of Germany and all of Belgium and the Netherlands *facepalm in exasperation. I'm sure the Brexiters would be horrified by that, haha.

www.ancestry.com/dna/origins/E1321671-D7F7-4392-80B9-547F0AF674B2/transition/overview

However, my LivingDNA result has told me that our female mitochrondrial DNA line has descended from 'Velda', which is very rare in the UK and rare in Europe, except for the top of Finland, where the Sami people live (Laplanders).

I can still think fondly of my female ancestor millennia ago, who started the long migration of my mDNA from the cold wastes of the far North, via Scandinavia with the Vikings, into Ireland with the Danes, across the Irish Sea to Lancashire, about a thousand years ago, when the Irish threw the Danes out of Dublin and Belfast, and so down the centuries to me, still in Lancashire. I applaud you, 'Velda', and as there are four next generation females in my family, including my own daughter, and one of them has had a girl, 'Velda' lives on!!!

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Disastricles!

Tue, 26 Jun 2018 19:18:58 GMT

You know how things are just ticking along nicely: three weeks to a lovely family holiday; both of us in health; car going well...then?

On Saturday, we noticed that the kitchen floor had started to lift so the husband slit it carefully and reached in his hand. The result? A sopping wet underlay! It appears that the stopcock behind the drawers unit had been gently leaking for a long time :(

One emergency plumber and a phone call to our insurers later, the end result is we're going to have a new kitchen. I can't think straight atm. Instead of enjoying this spell of lovely weather in the calm, cool corner of the garden, we're busy running round kitchen fitters and gathering quotes for the insurers!

I'm slowly getting my head round all the different colours and door designs that are available these days (the damaged kitchen is 30 years old and the firm that fitted it has gone out of business) and am beginning to veer towards grey cupboards with a grey tiled floor. To add colour, I fancy having a pink tiled splashback. Next it's choosing a hob and hood and I don't know where to begin with that!

This holiday with all four of my siblings and their partners can't come quickly enough! I'm going to need it :P

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Back Garden June 2018

Sat, 09 Jun 2018 10:07:45 GMT

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My growing horde :)

Wed, 26 Jul 2017 13:32:32 GMT

This was taken on 10th June at my sister's wedding. Mark with Darcie, also celebrating two years together, and Jenn on the right.

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Tue, 06 Jun 2017 10:24:14 GMT

<br>It's been raining for 3 days and the trees are being lashed by the wind but last week we had summer! The song you hear is a blackbird :)

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Friday 10th March

Thu, 09 Mar 2017 12:24:29 GMT

I know it's a day early but I'll probably be too busy to post tomorrow.

First thing is it's completion day for my late Mum's house. By 1pm, it will no longer be my responsibility, phew! It's taken just a year from the month she died and two years from the month Dad died. Saying our last goodbye today when we go to take the final meter readings.

Second thing is I'm going to York tomorrow!!! Not seen my girlie since Christmas. We have tickets to see 'Wonderland' at The Grand Opera House on Saturday. Also having breakfast with Mark and Darcie on Saturday morning. It'll be nice to catch up :)

I'm staying there till Sunday so it'll be a nice break. The husband has promised that we'll spend a few days in The Lakes at our honeymoon hotel, now the house sale is complete. I'm looking forward to a relaxing time and possibly finding a remote area for a huge primal scream!

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Mum's house

Tue, 01 Nov 2016 17:38:18 GMT

TWO viewings booked already for tomorrow!

http://arnoldandphillips.com/property-details/7194111/lancashire/ormskirk/st-helens-road?page=1&instruction_type=Sale&showstc=on&showsold=on&address_keyword=ormskirk&bedrooms=5&minprice=&maxprice=300000

Have a look at the house I grew up in by looking at the Gallery :D

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Mum's house

Tue, 01 Nov 2016 14:18:38 GMT

After eight months of discarding, sorting, tidying, skipping, sorting and tidying again, then charity drops and siblings' collections, tidying again, dealing with the legal and financial matters and engaging an estate agent and a solicitor, the property went 'live' this morning, to use the jargon, and within an hour I had a message to say a couple are visiting the house at 2pm tomorrow. Fast work, Arnold and Phillips!

Brochure to follow :)

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So...here I am.

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 18:43:54 GMT

I now know my DNA origins. I love this nerdy stuff :)

http://dna.ancestry.com/public/ethnicity/350a5be7-3c21-4904-aae0-1a69bd1a7e49/900bd42a-a3ce-4db7-9519-77314ad5a42c

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London Pride 2016 yesterday

Sun, 26 Jun 2016 16:15:50 GMT

This cheers me up no end!

www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/36633951/two-proposals-and-other-pride-moments-to-make-us-feel-good

Link to the BBC page then go down to the Twitter comment 'Pride policeman pops the question' that has the ITV film of this lovely proposal. The Metropolitan Police have their own LGBT network and these police officers were marching IN the Pride event, not there as security :)

Also pictured are the first two Met Police officers to become engaged, the proposal being made in public on the same day :)

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Weekend away

Sat, 18 Jun 2016 08:51:40 GMT

So my husband is very busy this weekend, exhibiting his working model ships at a local rally. My sister, Yvonne (the next in age to me) has spent a glorious week walking Anglesey and missing the rain we've had here, only 40 miles away as the crow flies but a different place meteorologically.

She's been accompanied by her intended but he can't do this weekend so is travelling back for work. She's invited this 'boat-widow' to join her for the weekend and we'll come back together on Monday. While she slogs 16 miles tomorrow, I'll be enjoying the sights of beautiful Beaumaris :) Looking for a good restaurant for tonight to celebrate my birthday.

Have some photos of my sister enjoying Anglesey:

Here's two of Beaumaris Castle, which I shall be visiting tomorrow:

Now all I need is some dry weather!

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Mum

Tue, 01 Mar 2016 19:48:07 GMT

Mum died at 11am this morning. The decline was rapid. Last week we were talking about getting her home to die, by Thursday we knew we wouldn't disturb her.

She was a strong-minded woman and had made lists of things to do and bequests to individuals. Dad died on 13th March last year. It's the end of an era.

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Update

Tue, 16 Feb 2016 12:18:42 GMT

Mum was taken into hospital last Thursday. Her leg has been improving but she has been complaining about aches in her back, which we put down to inactivity. However, The we were concerned that Mum had lost her appetite, slept a lot, looked very pale and felt cold, despite the central heating up high enough to mimic a tropical palm house! The GP came on Thursday morning and she gave Mum a thorough examination and said she'd prefer it if Mum went into hospital for further tests. Surprisingly, Mum agreed. She has only been to stay in hospital four times: appendix at 14 and to give birth to 3 of the 5 of us, the last time being almost 40 years ago.

Yesterday, she had an MRI scan, which we think was to investigate her bones. We won't have results until Wed or Thurs.

Her appetite has improved and she's chattering like the Mum we know but she still feels cold, again despite sweltering hospital heat and layers of clothes and fleecy blankets. She's still sleeping a lot as well.

Her favourite aunt, Kathleen, died young from bone cancer so we're holding our breaths.

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Busy, busy, busy

Sat, 16 Jan 2016 14:48:08 GMT

Some of you know that my Mum (83) hurt her leg somehow in early December. The doctor said it's muscular (bursitis), took x-rays to check and told her to rest it. She struggled around the house with a walking stick and my sister moved in to help her. She spent Christmas being pampered by my brother at his house for a week then returned home. She has a fold-up bed downstairs and also a wet-room on the ground floor so she doesn't have to climb stairs. My brother bought her a walking frame from Argos! Best present ever. At last she could move about, albeit slowly. My sister stayed with her for the first week in January, then I took over last week. Progress is slow but happening. She was talking to me one last week then we both spotted that she had crossed her legs without realising! Getting in and out of bed doesn't involve acrobatics anymore, which gives her a chance to sleep properly. A side-effect of the inactivity has been fluid retention in her ankles but this seems to be reducing, as well.

The point of all this is to explain why I've been quiet online recently. I did get an iPad from Jenn and the men for Christmas and I'm having fun playing with that but it's nowhere near as good as a proper keyboard for writing at length :) An amazing app for identifying celestial bodies is 'SkyView Free' and I've completed the glorious 'The Room' and am most of the way through 'The Room 2' :D

Having two days off then returning to Mum's on Sunday for a few days. She only needs us now to make her meals because she finds it difficult to manoeuvre round the kitchen to cook for herself. Hopefully, she'll be completely mobile in the next couple of weeks.

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Try to catch this if you can...

Fri, 04 Dec 2015 22:01:09 GMT

This week, I watched the last episode of season 2 of BBC4's delightful series 'detectorists' written by, directed by and starring Mackenzie Crook. Also starring Toby Jones, amongst others, and a cameo from Diana Rigg!

Very English in its gentle humour following the hopeful but never successful trawling for bits of buried history by the Danebury Metal Detecting Club. "No we are not metal detectors; that is what we use. We are detectorists."

Watch all season 2 here, if you can:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06l11tj/detectorists-series-2-episode-1

Episode 1 available for another 12 days

I've treated myself to season 1 as I was late to this feast. Season 2 DVD now on my wish list :D

The haunting theme was written especially for the show: I'm Waiting for You by Johnny Flynn

Theme from detectorists by Johnny Flynn

Will you search through the lonely earth for me,
Climb through the briar and bramble?
I'll be your treasure.

I felt the touch of the kings and the breath of the wind,
I knew the call of all the song birds.
They sang all the wrong words.
I'm waiting for you,
I'm waiting for you.

(Mmmmmm)

Will you swim through the briny sea for me,
Crawl along the ocean's floor?
I'll be your treasure.

I'm with the ghosts of the men who can never sing again,
There's a place follow me.
Where a love lost at sea.
Is waiting for you.
Is waiting for you.

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Two years old but still great :)

Fri, 04 Dec 2015 13:30:19 GMT

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Long weekend away...

Thu, 29 Oct 2015 21:03:07 GMT

in York, leaving the husband alone here looking after himself, ah poor thing. Relying on him to open the door to Hallowe'en knocks, sweets and pumpkin all arranged for him :)

Train to York tomorrow afternoon arriving at 5:36 IN THE DAAAAAARK!!! Staying with Jenn and Rich for the first time as Mark now has his ladyfriend living with him. Seeing him sometime on Saturday evening.

Saturday matinee at the Grand Opera House to see The Addams Family: the Musical with Jenn! Hurray, good Hallowe'en fun.

Returning Sunday midday.

Hoping to repeat the performance at the end of November to catch The Importance of Being Earnest at the same theatre.

NINE weeks to Christmas! Must go to the Christmas Angels shop in York! It's open all year round but I'm never in the mood for popping in until this time of year :D

http://www.christmasangels.co.uk/?cmd=browse&category=1

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If you've ever lived in Britain/UK...

Fri, 09 Oct 2015 23:03:17 GMT

...then you'll be familiar with The Shipping Forecast on BBC Radio 4, listing all the fishing grounds around the British Isles with their weather for the next few hours. That list is part of our shared memory of listening to the radio for example (it starts at 0:35) Today's Shipping Forecast Well click here and listen to a new version created for National Poetry Day, called The People's Shipping Forecast

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The Daughter!

Wed, 07 Oct 2015 18:50:35 GMT

Latest photo in her new hat. I just have to share this because it stuns me that our DNA made someone this beautiful :)

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Medical post...

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 13:10:39 GMT

...so you've been warned! Or you could bypass the details and look at some lovely photos from our Norfolk break :D

( Long live the NHS! )

I'm not sure which of these three I'd like to live in :D

Great Bircham working windmill

Oxburgh Castle

West Stow Anglo-Saxon village

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What I did yesterday!

Sun, 06 Sep 2015 13:57:14 GMT

I've been troubled with back pain since March, making it difficult for me to sleep properly, so I'm thrilled to bits that yesterday's adventure does not seem to have made matters worse.

The nearest village to us has a church right on top of the hill. My parents were married there in 1951. Mum discovered that the bell tower would be open yesterday so off we went for an explore.
( Christ Church, Aughton )

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