Monday 25 April 2011

What have I been up to?

Coughing - been at it since my by-pass so I guess that's not news. Been for lots of tests and reached no conclusion.

Meek's been poorly. He's not fully recovered but he's a bit better. He's also playing at being camouflaged. Spot the cat!


Oh - there he is.

The two missing birthday cards haven't turned up. I'm beginning to wonder if I dreamed them up.

Been out in the garden making it look a bit less scrappy for the summer.


The cherry has flowered but is now past its best.


Delighted to find that the Cuckoo Pint which Helen gave me is flowering. I've had some in the garden for five years and it's never flowered. Helen's has only been in twelve months and is flowering nicely already. Looking forward to the berries.

I've cleared out the garden shed and it looks TIDY. Wow.


Cowslips are at their peak - and they are increasing year by year so we have quite a good clump.


The pear has lots of blossom on it this year - hopefully we'll have more pears this year. We had a couple a year or two ago but none last year. The apple is also at its peak.





I got some of the dead leaves out of the pond and fished a few newts out in the process - they went back in after having a photo opportunity.

For years I've had double vision. It's now reached the stage where I need to carry three pair of glasses around with me according to what distance I'm trying to focus on. It's driving me up the wall. I dread to think how many times a day I swap from one pair to another - and yet I nearly always seem to have the wrong pair on!

I've just done a list of jobs to be done.  Aargh!

Saturday 9 April 2011

A Catch-up

New Year Resolutions - Why do we make them? Haven't kept to any of mine.

So what's new in my world.

Jo's had a major birthday - daren't say which one! Unfortunately she's missing two cards. They arrived on Wednesday and I put them somewhere safe for the BIG DAY. Come the day and I got all the presents and cards together and two envelopes were missing a red one and a yellow one. I have looked in every possible place and even every impossible place. I have looked in the likely places at least four times - in some places at least ten times - and I've looked in the most unlikely places. How on earth can two cards disappear???

Ah well. I'm sure they'll turn up her before next birthday.

We had a most enjoyable banquet - just Jo and I - at the Mei Mei Chinese restaurant in Berry Street, Liverpool. From my point of view the best Chinese restaurant on Merseyside. Great staff, great service, great food, great atmosphere (have I missed anything out? - if so that's great as well!)

Jo has finished one of her jobs and can now concentrate on her other half dozen! I've been helping her set up the library of her training centre and that's about half done.

GB will be sorry to hear that Linghams in West Kirby - one of the few non-chain booksellers left in North west England - has closed down. Fortunately the Heswall one - complete with its cafe - is still open. I'm hoping the new owners won't change it too much.

Malaysian Grand Prix this weekend - my forecast for a future world champion is Sergio Perez. I was right with Schumacher (who I forecast from Eddie Jordan days), Hamilton (who I watched in GP2 and forecast at that stage), Button and MototGP's Valentino Rossi (who I followed in his 125cc MotoGP days). So far as I can recall the only one I forecast would be a World Champion who didn't become one (and is unlikely to now despite still driving) is Rubens Barichello.

It's the Grand National today - we've put our bets on and will be sat in front of the television at 4.15. I know there are those who don't like horse racing but perhaps with living on Merseyside the Grand National is one of the highlights of the year for me. The National and the Cheltenham Gold Cup are generally the only races I bet on but I missed the Gold Cup this year. I think I was having one of my bad spells.

We have a friend staying with us at the moment. Her two sons are in hospital in Liverpool. One had renal failure after eating a toadstool two years ago and the other has donated him a kidney. All has gone well despite a complication or two and the donor brother is leaving hospital today. The recipient has passed water (too much information! but if you hadn't done it for two years you'd be shouting about it, too.)


Jo has been ferrying Sue back and forth but on Wednesday I showed her the way on the bus and took the opportunity to go to the Museum. As always I spent most of my time in the aquarium.

I've just about finished my first revision of my book and am shortly to send it out into the big wide world in the hope of becoming the next Agatha Christie. (After all, every new crime writer seems to get compared to dear Agatha.)

Oh yes, and the other news - we haven't won the Lottery. (Actually, I lie. I've had two ten pound wins and two two pounds 50p in the last couple of weeks but that's won't quite buy us a new house).

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