#sainburys

It is the year of Cheese Sandwich with a different cheese every day!

This is photo 299 of 365.

JPGCars https://www.jpgcars.com/mercedes/46908

mercedes sainburys lorry

A sweet young lady driving a large white Sainsburys van turned up this morning, on time and with a smile. Highlight of our day. All sorts of necessities, goodies and commodities. Will keep us going for four or five days. Such a grest service - thank you Mr Sainsbury.

Sylvie cooked another of her filo pastry pies with mincemeat, apple and pecans. Absolutely delicious, particularly with some greek yoghurt to balance the sweetness. I love it.

Having finished the marathon with John Le Carre I opened up a new book today. One of a number that my son gave to me at Christmas. He is an avid reader and never fails to come up with good literature. 

Very promising first 50 pages that has immediately drawn me into the lives of two young boys and their adventures. Though there is a sense of foreboding - I don’t think it’s going to be sweetness and light as they progress through life.

Still managed to get out for a socially distanced walk late in the afternoon. Though some thug on a bike came past at breakneck speed and passed within 9 inches of Sylvie. Could have knocked her flying had she moved slightly to see what was coming up behind her. Reminded me of an encounter we had, some weeks ago, pre isolation, with a man and his 3 dogs on the Thames towpath. We had stopped to admire a view when the dogs came up to us for a canine chat. Their owner arrived and Sylvie told him what lovely dogs he has. He responded “If I had a gun I’d shoot the lot of them”. We were absolutely shocked and said so. He laughed and told us that he was referring to an idiot on a bike that had thundered past us and him at racing speed. This on a towpath no more than 3 feet wide. We have smiled at that incident many times since.

Flower of the day (could have been weed of the day) turned out to be the Green Alkanet. 

The morning was spent on the phone. A lot of it listening to crap music and being assured that somebody will speak to me soon. First call to our travel insurers to register a claim for our aborted trip to Cyprus and Jordan. Wriggle, wriggle and stonewalling. Aparently the failures to make the trip because Cyprus and Jordan have shut their borders and because the airlines have cancelled our flights are not coverred under travel insurance policies. The fact that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office also advise the population not to travel is considered irrelevant. Got nowhere, but I will not it rest there. I’ll get some legal opinion and see what the Omsbudsman thinks.

More succesful call to Sainsburys who are opening up home deliveries to the older population. Took ages to get through, but eventually got registered with my Nectar card. If it works this will be a great help to us. Expecting a  text, email or call to confirm the service and to get ordering. Fingers crossed.

Our afternoon exercise was out and across the local woodland. We are so lucky to have access to both heathland and woodland without having to drive anywhere. Not a lot of people about, so seems quite safe. Spotted a plant we didn’t recognise:

Yesterday was, lets just say a little strenuous, I arrived at the home to collect Mum for her hospital appointment and all was superbly organised, I was met by a member of staff and given mums lunchtime meds, all perfectly labelled in an envelope with times, dosage and colour of each tablet to identify the correct one - I was impressed! Now that’s how it’s done. (There is hope after all) I had a chat with the staff, a giggle and I went to collect mum from the second floor. Mum was puffing and asking me to wheel her to the lift, I said she could walk the very short distance to the lift and the car was parked in the port ready - she reluctantly agreed and off we set with me waffling about exercise even a little, was good for her. (She is inclined to be a little bit of a princess and will happily let you do everything for her, this has always been discouraged) I tried to park at the drop off point at the hospital and at least get mum in the wheelchair out; but it was full of people displaying blue badges and sitting in cars waiting, so I had no option but to find a parking space within the grounds, this was relatively easy but pushing my mum from one end of the grounds to another proved very strenuous, she can walk but only short distances and certainly can’t make the small hills so I struggled on - got stuck on the kerbs where a sweet construction worker helped me over the bumps and stayed with me until I had negotiated the crossings. (Bless him) Drop off points are great but if it’s only one person and the patient then it proves a bit of a mind boggle a) Do I leave her in the foyer whilst I park (sometimes it can be half an hour to find a space) b) Do I block everyone else in because I’m stressed that they are just sat waiting - clearly the disabled badge holder is in there alone? c) Do I just do what everyone else is doing and leave her to go it alone? No I don’t do any of the above, I treat her like my toddler and take her with me and struggle to do it the right way. Would you leave a toddler in a pram whilst you park the car somewhere? No, I couldn’t leave her there alone either, it would have caused more problems than it was worth - so I carried on. (As you do) We made the appointment and were quickly and out. (Phew)

Wednesday is also mums shopping day, she has to stick with this and I had already anticipated that she would want me to take her to the bigger Sainburys store after the appointment. She usually has one staff member with her, her electric scooter, equipped with a little basket so a weeks shopping was not going to take too long eh?! She still had not walked anywhere, transferring direct from my car to the wheelchair each time and I wheeled her around the clothing department where she bought yet more pyjamas (she only gets dressed on a Wednesday I think) and more cream tops; she has cream tops, trousers, pyjamas, jumpers, shoes, it’s a strange one as she used to be so colourful, with jewellery to match whatever colour she wore - red, green, blue and the like and always make-up and lipstick but nowadays everything in just cream, sometimes white but that’s usually a special occasion! Sainsbury’s provide for free the electric scooters for costumers (how good is this) and she handles this thing well, I’m impressed - I put my basket in the wheelchair and we set off. First stop was fruit, mum was looking at the price of raspberries - I just step back and let her browse, it’s something she can’t do anymore so she wants to price compare? (She’s happy) she was only there a minute or so looking when this little elderly lady barged into her “I want those raspberries” Mum quite calmly said she’d move and this women barked at her again “I want those, I can’t reach them” Impressively mum just moved on with her nose in the air. We said nothing between us but a bit later in the bread aisle no less, mum came round the corner at 1mph and very slightly knocked a women’s trolley, this then hit the women’s flip flop clad toe. (Ouch, I felt this) Anyway this women shouted at mum, mum said nothing so she leant forward swearing it has taken the skin off her toe and I walked forward and asked if she was OK and apologised. Hmn she quickly changed her tone and said it was alright, nothing bad? So, if I wasn’t in the background this women would have no doubt been rather nasty! Shameful.

An hour later we arrive at the till but I think mum went overboard on the weeks shop and I struggled greatly at the tills to get mum through and pack for her and then my basket through and pack this knowing that I now have ten full bags, mum and a wheelchair to get back to the car?! Damn it! The electric scooter can’t go out of the store. This time I left her in the bloody foyer and took 3 trips to my car before coming back to get mum off the electric scooter and return it to Sainsbury’s. I’m puffed out, hot, bothered, muttering obscenities in my head at the amount she has bought when I get to her she says “I have to take my meds now, can we get a coffee and cake, I need to eat with them” I’d forgotten the carefully labelled meds in my pocket but at this moment in time I contemplated if it might be more beneficial if I took them instead! But, I duly wheeled her into the cafe, negotiated the chairs, balancing a tray and a wheelchair is great fun I can tell you and she had her meds. (I wouldn’t really take someone else’s prescribed meds). Coffee and caked out I took her back to the home, negotiated all the shopping back in with her in the wheelchair but it was 2.50pm and I couldn’t help her unpack as I had to collect Erin. She was puffing and panting and a little annoyed but I told her to rest and ask the staff to help her unpack later.

I was pretty exhausted as I picked her up at 10am! I wanted to bail out of karate training as I hadn’t been home or cooked anything etc etc but Erin really wanted to train so agreed we would go for an hour. (I am indeed barking) Cory has quit karate due to a few things but he has kept it going for four years, I won’t force him but he agrees to just come and do the fitness here and there but does not want to grade. It’s just us girls going for that next grade now.

Home at 8pm and both children sorted into bed, lunches and a wash load on, I sat calmly with my coffee (the wine is still in the fridge) slowly unwinding playing candy crush, when I get a phone call at 10.30pm asking for Mrs Mille; my heart sank into panic mode quite quickly thinking ‘what has happened to Richie’ it wasn’t Derek, John or Mary calling to say my computer was faulty it was South Western Ambulance Service to say they had taken mum to hospital! Oh my bloody days? Fast heart rate again but they thought ‘probably anxiety’ trouble is a label leaves any symptom being 'probably anxiety’ I have seen this for many years. I didn’t sleep much worrying what I had possibly caused during the day or guilty that I couldn’t get there either. I dropped off at stupid o clock thinking they would also discharge her at stupid o'clock back to the home but no - I have visited her on the ward today.

Don’t ask me what’s wrong as I/we are none the wiser so far. Mind you, I have to keep the humour because I went to the ward desk to ask where mum was and all that, no one could tell me how long she was in for or why but the ward clerk took me round to a room, knocked on the door and said 'mums in here’ and up sits this little (5ft ish I’d guess) possibly Fillipino/Chinese/or other ethnic origin lady with her leg in a plaster cast? I was laughing 'Nope, that’s not my mum love’ (I’m 5ft 8in Caucasian/British origin) The little lady and I gave each other a smile and a wave?! It just seemed right to give an awkward wave each?! A rather embarrassed ward clerk took a little detour around the other side and we found mum. (Only me, this can only happen to me!) There were lots of people mulling around but no one came in, mum doesn’t know why she is 'nil by mouth’ (and not too happy about this either) and she was on a drip. (which was empty of any fluids) Well hats off to the home, care staff went in to give meds at night and mum said she just looked at her and said 'you don’t look right, I’m going to get help’ apparently next thing is two care staff calling an ambulance so I am rested that gossip aside, they are on the ball. I stayed an hour at the hospital but had to get back to collect Erin so as I write this blog at 10pm tonight - she is still in hospital but I have no idea why or for how long?! (Neither does she!)

Needless to say, my day off with a plan to write more of my book has failed miserably!

I can’t wait to see Richie - That is all.