Will I ever pirouette?

This is going to be a small moan I think - so I'll apologise before I start!

From an early age I can remember having problems with my left ankle, always turning or twisting it and it being painful for a day or so and then recovering.  I never thought about the future at that age, nor in my 30's, 40's and 50's when I continued to occasionally fall off a high heeled left shoe, with a wince of pain.

Well, it's come home to roost now!  For the last eight or so weeks I have been getting increasingly worse pain in my left ankle, in fact so bad two weeks' ago that I had to withdraw from my usual 5 mile ramble with the U3A group.

I think I knew what was wrong but needed to have it officially confirmed just to ensure that, by continuing to carry on as normal, I wasn't doing further damage.

After a bit of manipulation and painful prodding, the doctor confirmed that it was arthritis, which was what I had anticipated.  He offered me an x-ray but I didn't feel that there would be any advantage in knowing exactly which joint was affected and also bearing in mind the state of the NHS I felt that I should do my bit in saving costs.

In fact, when the doctor offered me a prescription for paracetamol (which appears to be the only relief) I said I would buy my own.  This led to a lecture from the doc on how cheap these drugs were and how I wouldn't be breaking the NHS if I accepted a few pills!  I have to admit to giving in and walked out of the Health Centre with 200 paracetamol!  

So far I have completed a 5.5 mile walk on Tuesday plus a 2 mile walk today with no further deterioration but I do feel a little depressed when I realise that this is how it's going to be from now on, probably with other joints beginning to go the same way.

The only bright thought is that in my 40's I was diagnosed with arthritis in my shoulder and couldn't raise my arm above said shoulder but I can now clap my hands above my head with the best of you!  How this happened I have no idea so perhaps in another 30 years I will be able to pirouette with the best of you!

Move on up there please.  Sheep seen on my village walk today.

The other car

How many people do you know who have broken two vehicles within four days?  None?
You do now!!

As my poorly car was still in hospital with no release date and I had to attend a meeting in Ludham (26.3 miles from door to door - why is Norfolk so big?) I looked at bus timetables as I had traveled this way before. It had been a fascinating journey, through all the villages and, sitting upstairs on the bus, being able to see over the hedges and into peoples' gardens.

I realised that things had changed and there was no longer one route for this journey, but I would have to take two buses, with a change in Wroxham, which was no problem except that the one from Norwich arrived at 9.18 and the one from Wroxham departed at 9.20.  Two minutes to find the bus I needed and what would happen if the first one was late - did they wait?  All seemed a bit dodgy to me, especially as the next one from Wroxham was 11.30, the time my meeting started!

This was when the skipper came to my rescue and suggested that if I rode into Norwich with him, I could then borrow his vehicle to go on to Ludham.  Great idea!

This was achieved smoothly and coming out of the meeting/bbq (Hunters Yard AGM) around 1.30 I confidently set off for Norwich to collect the skipper and then head over to Lady Louise for the weekend.  As I pulled away from a junction in Ludham there was a horrendous clanking from beneath the vehicle, but the noise almost immediately stopped. My first thought was that I'd run over something metal but could see nothing in the road and as I had traffic behind me couldn't stop suddenly.  I drove about 500 yards up the road, hearing the occasional 'clank and scrape' and pulled into a layby.  Getting down on hands and knees I could see that the front part of the exhaust system (the big oval bit) had broken away from the pipe and was dangling down on a flexible hose - not actually touching the ground but enough to cause the noise when I drove over a bump and setting up a swinging clank when I cornered.

My conversation with the skipper started "you're not going to believe this ...."  and he did find it difficult!

After explaining the problem to him, he thought that I could probably get back to Norwich but to call him again if it got much worse or anything fell off.  I drove no faster than 40 mph all the 20 odd miles and felt like one of those tractor drivers who hold up the traffic, with a stream of cars building up behind me.  I felt obliged to pull over two or three times to let the queue clear and was quite relieved when I reached the city traffic which was traveling around my speed.  I did attract the puzzled attention of pedestrians at the occasional series of clanks and scrapes .....

Luckily the skipper has a mate who owns a business SCA Performance Centre and he got one of his mechanics to patch up the system - thanks Alan, not many places who would be so obliging on a warm, sunny Saturday afternoon.

I was being picked up by a couple of friends on Sunday for coffee and a chat and kept my fingers crossed as we drove to Ranworth.  When I told them what had happened, they had to think hard about whether they drove me back to LL or left me to walk!

NB  A friend at the meeting told me that I wouldn't have had to change buses, as the bus just changed its number and continued on the route!!  Why didn't someone tell me earlier?

View from LL

My car

My car ‘broke down’ today!  Well, I say broke down but it didn’t actually stop – it just started going slowly.  I was in a 40mpg limit but the car didn’t know that and even if it had, I wasn’t exceeding the speed limit.  I went down a gear and the car momentarily speeded up but then started going even slower, at which stage the adrenaline kicked in and I thought ‘I’ve got to get home’ which was only about half a mile away.  It was then I noticed the nasty little orange light on the instrument panel and a slight smell of burning and realised that I should probably be stopping very soon.

With traffic disappearing off into the distance in front of me and gaining very fast behind me, I had a sudden revelation … about 200 yards further on was Coopers Peugeot garage and although my car is a Fiat, there were a number of things which convinced me they were my salvation.  My car had been serviced and MOT’d there last year, I knew the owners well and best of all they were close!  I crept on to their forecourt, switched off and abandoned!

After being gently ribbed by lovely Diane, Ivan and son Ben for breaking my car, the mechanic plugged in his little box and pronounced an ignition coil had burned out.  Phew, not terminal then!

I left my car in their very capable hands and lovely Diane even gave me a lift home.  I am just so grateful that this didn’t happen on the by-pass!

Barking mad!

A programme on local radio today, discussing the annoyance of constantly barking dogs, reminded me of an incident which happened last year.

It was a Bank Holiday and we had been away for the weekend, returning on the Monday evening. Within a couple of minutes of arriving home, one of our neighbours knocked on the door to ask if we knew where the dog lived, which had been barking, whining and howling all day.  As we spoke, the next door neighbour to the dog owners came out and said that the owner had sent her a text earlier saying they were out all day and the dog was in the garden, with access to the conservatory.  Apparently she had had words with the dog owner before about the dog being distressed when on his own.

As things were getting a bit heated, with a lot of concern for the poor dog, I volunteered to talk to the owners when they returned.  I felt that as I hadn't been subjected to the noise all day I would perhaps have a different perspective on things.

The owners returned a while later but as it was then quite late, I decided to leave it until the next day.  I duly went and knocked on their front door, with no result - I couldn't even hear the dog barking.  I did this two or three times during the day; I believed they were at home as their car was in the drive.  By evening time I decided to telephone them - again two or three times over that evening and the next day, with no reply.

So I wrote them a letter, I quote a piece of it "I hope you won’t mind me writing this to you but I think it’s best that everyone is upfront and honest about these incidents, especially on a small estate like this; "

The entire letter was quite mild and, in my view, placatory.  I heard absolutely nothing for a week or so, not even the dog barking!  However, on a trip back from the local shop, I passed the neighbour walking the dog and spoke to him, as usual - 'morning, how are you'.  His response was to blank me, cross the road to the other side and carry on walking!!

I was very surprised and told him he was rude and then, as I continued walking home, became angry so knocked on his front door and when his wife appeared I asked what I had done to upset her husband.  She was obviously quite embarrassed and said she would speak to him.  I told her not to upset her neighbours as she might need them one day (I should add that her husband has heart problems and has been 'terminal' for about 11 years).

He hasn't spoken since, to any of the neighbours, but she waves to me from her car when we pass.  People are strange ......

BTW the dog disappeared for a while and when he came back didn't bark anymore, so I can only hope he had some anxiety training.   

My shoes

My shoes won a prize this week!

I have had a pair of Cotton Traders suede slip-on shoes for a number of years and just happened to notice that they were offering a prize for one of their items "which had stood the test of time" so, on impulse, I snapped my old shoes and sent them the photo.

I was quite surprised to learn that my shoes had won and today I received a leather holdall and some "travel accessories" (a luggage weighing thingie, a suitcase locking thingie and one of those neck shaped blow up cushion thingies).

What a shame that I hardly ever travel anywhere, but I doubt Cotton Traders knew that. 

Nut loaf

I made a nut loaf on Monday but because of a power cut that evening, I couldn't cook it until last night. Having eaten some of it for supper, my original view has been reinforced - nut loaf is rubbish!  How can that be, when the individual ingredients are all so good?

My loaf contained nuts (cashew), red lentils, red pepper, onion, leek, mushrooms, spelt breadcrumbs, egg and the appropriate seasoning - all good ingredients but when mixed together ended up being totally tasteless and bland!

The only redeeming feature was the tomato sauce!

Anyone got a good nut loaf recipe, as I do like the idea of it?

Shocked!

I heard some shocking news yesterday!  Our village Post Office/store is closing in early April!

The owners are retiring, although I find it hard to believe they are retirement age - they assure me they are over that age but .... hmmm, they don't look it.  They intend to incorporate the business portion of the bungalow into their own home, which is quite small at the moment and I would image will be pleased that people will no longer drive all over their front garden in their attempts to park as close as possible to the shop door!  I wish them all the best.

However, this is going to cause a complete change of life style for numerous people in the village, me included.  The daily visit to the shop for a newspaper will be gone, so I will have to find something else to get me out of the house for a walk every day - if I run out of anything, or have an impulse to bake a cake, there will no longer be a shop just round the corner to buy the butter, cream, jam, flour, cheese etc.  

The wonderful spelt bread which they collected from the bakery every weekend, and kept two loaves for me in their freezer if I was away, will be gone.  There will no longer be the possibility of a sneaky bottle of wine last thing before they close when I find we've run out and all our parcels will have to be taken a mile and a half down the road to the nearest Post Office.

There are a large number of very elderly people in the village (apart from me lol!) and quite a few disabled ones as well who have counted on the shop as a lifeline and quite probably people who only bought in this village because it had a shop.

During the snowy weather (still some more to come I understand) the shop was a lifeline and virtually sold out of everything.  Queues were coming out the door some days!

It is a sad moment for the village and will certainly affect a lot of people's lives.

On the positive side, there are some nice walks nearby, we live five minutes from a main bus route (buses in either direction every half hour) and perhaps I will subscribe to an on-line newspaper (save the trees!). 

What I, and I suspect everyone else, will miss is the camaraderie of the shop, chatting with the owners, meeting people - both those we know and new acquaintances and the feeling that the heart will be gone from the village.  

Maybe it's time to move .....