Heart attack

Showing posts with label Edinburgh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edinburgh. Show all posts

Monday, January 06, 2025

A Happy New Year!

 Tuesday. New Year's Eve. 9.50 a.m. Yet another mild but rather dull and overcast sort of day. The weather is expected to get worse, with more wind and rain, and in Scotland, Hogmanay has been cancelled in Edinburgh, due to the weather which is forecast. I simply can't imagine Scotland foregoing their New Year's Eve celebrations.

I needed to do a top-up shop in Sainsbury's. Christmas is over, although stuff like mince pies are on offer, or, at least, they are very much in evidence. But there are Valentine's Day cards already on sale. No doubt there will be Easter eggs on sale soon.

I had a package arrive via Royal Mail this morning. It was the Bisoprolol tablets which I have been waiting for and which were actually ordered when I went to the surgery on Friday morning. It just goes to show that Pharmacu2U can deliver quickly when needed.

Wednesday. 9 a.m. I did see the New Year in. I watched the Jools Holland show on BBC 1.

This morning it is very windy. I took Alfie out, and it was difficult opening the door with the wind pushing against it and making weird noises. The strength of the wind was almost enough to blow you over.

Friday. 8.10 a.m. It's getting a good deal colder. Snow is forecast. An Amber alert has been given, meaning that temperatures below zero can be dangerous for those over a certain age (probably me included.) Also, danger of slips and falls, and dangerous driving conditions are expected.

Saturday. 7.35 a.m. I had the foresight to buy an extra bottle of antifreeze spray for my car. I got it when I was in Sainsbury's a couple of weeks ago. I also bought a large bottle of spray which you have to spray on your car's windows the night before and it is supposed to prevent them freezing over. I did this yesterday evening but I'm yet to find out if it has worked.

When I went out with Alfie about an hour ago, I found it was frosty, but as yet, no sign of snow. It seems that the north of England and Scotland have had snow, and it is causing problems with transport. I'm not so sure if we will get it this far south.

Sunday. 7.15 a.m. There was a scattering of snow overn night, but it's more like a dusting than what they have had in the north of England. I'm yet to take Alfie out, as he's fast asleep, so it seems unfair to wake him up.

9.05 a.m. I think Alfie was somewhat shocked by the cold when I eventually took him out.

I wasn't feeling very good when I got up. A bit light-headed and wobbly. I was scheduled to do refreshments at church, so I have sent a message via WhatsApp and someone will step in. I didn't think it was a good idea to continue, because of the blackout I had a year ago as well as the heart attack I had in church six years ago. Better to be safe than sorry.

Monday. 7.45 a.m. The snow has gone, but there's a thin fall of rain, if you can call it that.

I decided to come off the refreshment rota at church. I have been involved in this for well over a year, so it's time for others to step forward. I am still on the rota to set up communion, which I shall continue with.

3.15 p.m. I was doing my washing up at the kitchen sink this morning, when I notice a group of men in the community garden. They were all dressed in overalls, and I remembered that work was to be carried out, including the scooter stores which have been in place for around 3-4 years, but cannot be accessed from the main building here at Dexter House, because there is no ramp or specially adapted doors to allow the scooters to be taken out into the stores. An orange digger appeared and there is a fenced off area further over which is no doubt where equipment will be stored. Later, when I took Alfie out onto the grass along Strudwick Drive, I noticed a small truck being unloaded and the gate open and another larger lorry parked in Dexter Avenue, just below where the door comes out of Dexter House and I imagine it had further equipemt to be used by the workmen. Oh, the excitemnt of all this (Not. Scarcasm I'm afraid.) I will keep my readers imformed as this work progresses, or not.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022

God Save The King!

Monday. 7.15 a.m. So, now we have a new monarch, Charles III. On Saturday, I saw the proclamation of the new king on television because this ceremony has never been seen by the public before. It was a symbolic occasion, the sort of pageantry that we seem to do so well in Britain. The death of the Queen was incredibly sad and unexpected, considering we had only a few months ago celebrated her Platinum Jubilee. But now we are celebrating the accession of our new monarch, Charles III. He has to change drastically his life, transferring from being somewhat in the background as Prince of Wales to becoming monarch and very much in the forefront of the life of the nation.

This morning, on television, we had a ceremony in Central Hall, Westminster, of the new king and his    Queen Consort, listening to speeches from both sides of parliament, The Lords and Commons and then Charles gave his address. This was all done in front of the massed MPs and members of The Lords. I am somewhat surprised that Charles chose his name as his Reginal name, because of the connection of Charles I, who was actually put on trial in that same vast hall and then had his head chopped off by Oliver Cromwell's henchmen.

No sooner had the ceremony finished, than Charles and Camilla got in a car and were driven off to Northolt airfield to fly to Edinburgh because they were going to follow his mother's coffin to St Giles cathedral where it will be lying in state for 24 hours. It had been bought to Edinburgh from Balmoral where it took a good 6 hours for the journey to be completed.

I'm thinking, it must be difficult for Charles. He's just lost his mother. He thought the world of her. He immediately became king, the moment she passed away. An onerous task, a great job to take on, considering his age (he is 73.). He has to go through a great deal of pageantry over the next days, months and years, the build-up to his coronation, probably next year. Its date will no doubt be announced before too long. That in itself will be a huge event, not just for Charles, but for those who will have to organize it. On top of all this, which should be very exciting and overwhelming, he still has to be thinking of losing his late mother.