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Messages - Gillg

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1
The Stay Safe Board / Re: Diary Week Ending March 24th.
« on: Monday 25 March 24 11:46 GMT (UK)  »
Viktoria
My brother and I (aged about 6 and 7) persuaded my mother to buy us each a day-old chick from the market.  The stallholder put them in a paper bag for us to take home and we made a little pen near the kitchen fire for them.  Of course they died a few days later and there was much wailing as we buried them in the back garden. 
I still remember my father trying to revive them by feeding them with drops of water from a medical dropper. 

2
Many of my childhood doctors seem to have come from Scotland or Ireland.  I do remember Dr Kelly (Ireland), though I was very cross with him when I was 10 for referring me to the hospital to have my sinuses washed out, cross because I was probably very frightened at the time at the idea of going to a hospital. 

We would turn up at the surgery and sit in a crowded room full of sick people (and cigarette smoke), the doctor would sit at his desk next to a scary skeleton, cheerfully smoking a cigarette or a pipe.  Doctors would happily make home visits for all kinds of illnesses - do they do that nowadays?

The doctor who saw my mother through a difficult pregnancy was also Irish, a woman named Snodgrass.  She was a great fan of Dr Truby King and his baby care methods, my mother later told me https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truby_King

3
Yes I suspect the police certainly have searching powers beyond mere mortals.
This is not relevant to this enquiry, but the police certainly are able to find some types of information that we can't, for example my husband recently received a letter from the Force Crime Reduction department of our county police, warning him that cars of our particular make and model are particularly susceptible to the  theft of catalytic convertors and giving him advice on how to keep our car safe from theft. The letter must have been sent to all relevant car owners in our area (Devon & Cornwall). This must have taken some co-operation with the DVLA, but I guess they are frequently in contact with them when tracing ownership of cars.

4
The Stay Safe Board / Re: Diary summary week ending 17th March 2024
« on: Saturday 16 March 24 12:13 GMT (UK)  »
A rather miserable day here today, so I won't hang the washing out but will drape it over what we Lancastrians call a "maiden", except mine isn't made of wood.  It's plastic covered metal.  I'll put it in the warmest spot but near the French windows, so it will catch any sun which might venture out from behind the clouds.  Don't like to put wet clothes onto the radiators.
 
A happy evening yesterday at a fund-raising quiz night.  Our team came third, much better than last year, when we were last.  ::)  Around £1000 raised - it cost £10 per person to enter, plus £1 each to take part in a Heads or Tails round - everyone stands up and chooses to put their hands on either their head or their tail.  A coin is spun.  If it lands on Heads, then everyone who put their hands on their Head sits down and who chose Tails remain standing.  The process is repeated with those remaining making their choice each time until only one person is left standing.  No, that person doesn't win the jackpot  :( he/she gets a bottle of wine and the jackpot (£108 this time) goes to the charity.  There was also a raffle and a bar, which only accepted cash - difficult these days when everyone uses cards.  We didn't have to pay extra for the supper, which consisted of a pasty  with salad and one of those large soft biscuits with chocolate chips or nuts in.  This is an annual event in our village and is very popular.

Our blood tests are done at the local GP surgery.  We have a "blood nurse" who takes them and sends them off to the local hospital.  We can see the results on the surgery website.  The surgery has a "no news is good news" policy, so you don't hear back from the surgery if the result is good.   

5
The Lighter Side / Re: Myths debunked when doing family histroy.
« on: Monday 11 March 24 11:20 GMT (UK)  »
My parents sometimes talked about the Black Sheep of the family in hushed tones, but never told me who that person was, though I concluded that he/she was from my father's side of the family.  From  the research that I have done I have only found one slightly shady person who might merit that title, my father's grandfather, who was dismissed from the police force for stealing strawberries and returned from London to his native village in shame.  Not quite so closely related was a sweet little boy who was arrested for stealing some nuts and fruit just before Christmas.  You can read about him here  http://vcp.e2bn.org/prisoners/2043-1811-dennis-fairey.html

6
The Stay Safe Board / Re: Diary summary week ending 10 March 2024
« on: Sunday 10 March 24 17:16 GMT (UK)  »
I've just enjoyed a rather laid back Mothering Sunday. No expensive rushed meal out (by request), but just my children and grandchildren coming round for a cuppa and a slice of cake and lots of fun.  I had made Merry Berry's Orange Drizzle Cake, a lovely sponge cake with orange butter cream filling, which is always successful.  It's a light fluffy sponge with good flavour and my health-minded daughter cut small slices because of the sugar content!  Chocolate Fingers and a bowl of crisps for the children completed the feast.  I had planned to serve salmon with new potatoes and broccoli for supper, but it's after 5 o'clock now and we don't feel very hungry yet, so I might postpone the salmon until tomorrow and just have a bit of salad.  We are supposed to be on a diet, having been away for the past week and eaten too much food.   

7
The Lighter Side / Re: Immigrating and Returning Home
« on: Thursday 07 March 24 16:13 GMT (UK)  »
A friend of mine emigrated to Australia with her husband and family, only to return after a couple of years - she said she couldn't stand the flies!  And many years ago now a colleague emigrated to New Zealand but returned, saying that there was no culture there! (Sorry, Kiwis!) The grass is often greener on the other side. ( I nearly became a £10 Pom, but chickened out at the last moment.)

8
The Stay Safe Board / Re: Diary summary week ending 3rd March
« on: Sunday 03 March 24 11:14 GMT (UK)  »
A bright sunny day and my washing line is full of towels.  My mother would have been horrified to see washing out on a Sunday, but we are going away for a few days and I want to keep the laundry situation up to date.  I really don't know where it all comes from with just the two of us.  The laundry basket seems to be always full, like the Magic Porridge Pot (Brothers Grimm) and I don't know the magic word to stop it.

Enjoy the weekend, everyone!

9
The Stay Safe Board / Re: Diary summary week ending 3rd March
« on: Thursday 29 February 24 12:03 GMT (UK)  »
Our GP's surgery has a Repeat Prescription service, which means that I never have to order my medication.  Since we live in a village some distance from the nearest dispensing chemist's the surgery has its own dispensary, so I just have to walk up the road to collect my medication there and when I collect it I am given a slip of paper telling me the date of the next collection.

We can also see our patient records and test results on the Systmonline page.  Makes interesting reading sometimes! Appointments can be booked through this site, so there's no waiting for someone to answer the phone at busy times.

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