Diary summary week ending 26th March

[ThrelfallYorky]

Certainly a lot cooler today than yesterday - and totally grey skies!
TY

[River Tyne Lass]

Saturday was a long day at work; the last of a run of shifts.  Apart from rushed bites to eat at lunch and tea time, I had been on the go all day.
Yesterday, I just felt so drained and totally wiped out.  It was an effort to even get up out of bed to go to Church.  Usually, there are some daffodils or chocolates given out to the women on Mother's day but the lady who usually arranges these things  is not well so that might be why it didn't happen this year.
On Thursday, it had been a day shift day so I thought I would call in at the Newcastle library as it was a late night opening.  When I got there I discovered that they had a pop up clinic in a side room for people to get their blood pressure checked and I was invited in. 
I had to fill out a quick form whilst waiting and the man who invited me in sat with me and chatted.  I think he meant well but I ended up wishing that I had never agreed to go in.  He said that there are probably 8,000 people walking round Newcastle unaware that they have a blood pressure problem/I would have to wait a little bit as the person being seen to now was emergency/there had been a man in today who had had to be taken straight to the RVI!   Well, I started to think, oh my!  what if I have to go to the RVI too?  What if I have to ring work and say I can't come to work tomorrow I'm in the RVI!   Silly I know to jump to worse scenario but I did end up quite anxious and I was trembling and my heart going quite fast when I got my turn to go through.   The young pharmacist lady in scrubs told me my blood pressure was a bit up.  I said it was no wonder after everything I had had to listen to out there.  She said to go wait for 10 minutes and she would redo.  The man who had worked me up kindly offered to go get me a cup of tea.  Another lady went through and then came to wait for 10 minutes too.  To try to feel calmer I tried reading my novel but it didn't totally take my mind off things.  The next check was better but still raised.  Well, I'm still worked up, I told her.  She said that she had sent my result to my GP and said I should make an appointment and that I will likely be given machine to monitor for a week.  She reassured me that I do not need to go to RVI.  She advised me to make life style changes, she thought jogging would be good.  She gave a big smile and said isn't this a good thing you have found out and you can do something about it.  I said begrudgingly, I suppose so.  But it didn't feel like a good thing.  I had been like a spring lamb getting an early finish from work and had been looking forward to a little research at the library and now I felt a bit on a downer.  I wished I had just gone straight home on the bus.  Or I wished I had gone in the other entrance and had gone straight up in the lift!
I hope it will just turn out to be a blip because I got worked up.  My blood pressure has always been fine in the past.
Afterwards, I went up to the local studies but I couldn't focus so I gave it up as a bad job.
SiL returned home on Thursday.  She had been worried about train strikes but her train from London had not been taken off.
She has messaged me news that a bus service which runs through their village and was due to be withdrawn has been reinstated.  I am flabberghasted!   There has been a campaign to keep the bus for so long and the answer has always been nay, nay, nay.  I had said it was worth protesting even though it was (seemed) a foregone conclusion otherwise at the end of the day it would make it easier for the high ups to justify their decision if they could say say no one seemed bothered.  Anyway, SiL says there has been too many complaints and so they will keep the bus service running after all!   People power!!

[radstockjeff]

Good Morning Folks
I am having a can't sleep night so am putting my time to good use, don't know what the weather is doing it is pitch black at the moment

Clocks change this week, hopefully the weather will improve but it is still only March, I am hoping to get out into the garden, because of the coronation I was going to put bedding plants in nearest I could get to red white and blue, they won't be in full bloom for 1st week in May so I might rethink my plan

Talking about Coronation I have not heard of 1 street party locally, 1977 I along with a few others on a committee  had a fantastic day for the children but it seems interest has waned somewhat.

Happy week to you all

LM

Not heard of any around this way. I think maybe bureaucracy and the amount of forms you have to fill in for the council and the potentially high cost of any insurance you may have to take out could deter folk from taking up the challenge. Elfin Safety Rules Again.

[candleflame]

Oh RTL poor you. After such a positive day to have that experience. Remember there is documented research of white coat syndrome, where someone’s bp shoots up simply because they are in the presence of a medical professional. Perhaps that might have been part of your experience as well as the well meaning chap who contributed to the issue. It’ll be interesting to see if you ever get an appt with your gp as we all know the difficulty with getting any sort of appt. Try and stay positive.

[DianaCanada]

Belated Happy Mother's/Mothering Sunday Day to all mothers and honourary mothers in the UK. 
Hope everyone is well, and those not feeling so well feel better soon!
OH and I went out on Friday to do a little shopping at his "favourite emporium" as I call it, a bargain chain.  He was delighted to find some small cakes we like and I got a good deal on my Sensodyne toothpaste which is more than regular, but helps with my sensitive molar.  We decided to go out for lunch which was quite good (crowded on the bar side due to St. P day and the basketball tournament all the rage in the US), but I knocked over my wine glass with about a third left.  The manager had just been chatting with us, he came back and was joking about it, then offered to replace it.  No arguments (I wasn't driving) from me!  Got home and a few hours later I wanted my credit card and realized I''d left my wallet there, well it had fallen on the floor, but rescued by one of the workers there.  So I drove back and got it.  It was a day of 3s - started off the day finding a dead beetle in our glass kettle.  A bit off-putting!
Was going to meet a friend Saturday morning but she emailed and said she had a stomach complaint, which lasted all that day.  Will touch base with her again, she was very weak yesterday.
I think I mentioned she adopted a deaf and blind dog a few months ago, don't know how she coped with him, hopefully her daughter helped her out.
Started my arthritis/exercise programme this morning, will be sore tomorrow!  The other newcomer there was also originally from Quebec and a retired teacher, so we had a good natter about all that.
I go back on Thursday.
My brother called Saturday, had a family history question, a friend of theirs was over visiting, and wanted to know about her Irish ancestor (she is French Canadian, but quite a bit of intermarriage there, due to the RC connections).  She insisted her name was spelled one way, but once I started looking it turned out the spelling was wrong, and it wasn't she, but her grandfather, who came from Ireland.  I even found his baptism, and his parent's marriage, and father's baptism in County Cork.  This man was Church of Ireland, which is why I think the records survived.  He married a French Canadian girl (17) in Quebec City at the the Anglican Cathedral in 1816.  There was a still a British garrison there, but no evidence he was a soldier.  Very interesting to research something different.

Just finished a British Falcon jigsaw puzzle - it had Morris dancers!

[Viktoria]

Oh gosh!
What an unpleasant experience to say the least ,
I find that truly stupid!

I do think your BP will be much better next time but you will still be a bit worked up about it so again probably not a true reading.

Well another laugh at myself!
“ Polished” the mahogany coffee table, not at all shiny ,puzzled, when putting the “ polish “away —- well I had used air freshener ,same red aerosol and yellow top but a different shape granted.

A nice day yesterday , everyone not nearby ,like Suffolk -phoned,cards had come etc .

No news of neighbour “no change “when I see her daughter popping in for post etc .Neighbour seemingly still at assessment centre.
What a shame to be rushed from your home and not go back ,all your treasures not around you .

Thanks all for your good news,your kind wishes,and bits and bobs of interest.
They do keep us going.
Milky decaf coffee time ,a bicky or two and I think an early night ,after teeth cleaning and a wash in case I die in the night!
If I do “ they” will have a job to sort me out ,half way through sorting a single bedroom with an amount that would fill double bedroom !

Hey ho , Spring is knocking at the door ,that will br why we are to have an Arctic blast in thr near future .
Cheerio.Viktoria.

[River Tyne Lass]

Thanks Candleflame and Viktoria for your supportive words.  I emailed the surgery on Friday giving them dates and asking if they could send me an appointment time.  They emailed back saying I would have to ring on Monday.  Well, I only have a pay as you go phone so I'm not keen to do that.  I did that once during covid to ask a question and what happened was I had to listen to a loop of music punctuated by 'your call is very important to us' and my phone credit was all gobbled up and I still didn't get through.  Things are expensive enough these days without that type of thing.  I emailed again explaining this and asked could I just come along very early, in person to try to make an appointment but so far there has been no reply.
I think that man at the library talking about emergency cases may have been trying to make me feel very glad that I had agreed to have blood pressure checked.  However, I just ended up feeling quite anxious; worrying if in worse case scenario I might end up getting packed off to the RVI like the fellow mentioned.  It felt a bit off guard and a downer when I had expected to end the day having some happy time at the library.  It's funny in a way, because that man had actually mentioned that they were having this at the library because some people have 'white coat syndrome' but then probably unwittingly, he proceeded to give me to one of the worse cases of the jitters I have had in a long time! 
Oh well, it is what it is, so one way or the other I will have to try to follow through and get an appointment somehow.

[louisa maud]

RTL
Try not to worry to much, it might have been you were worried, I think I suffer from what is sometimes called white coat syndrome  or waiting room syndrome,  perhaps you could get it checked again under calmer circumstances,  which reminds me, I don't remember having  my  BP checked for years at the surgery, they don't seem to do what I call, a well women clinic, I thought at one time we were  called once a year if we hadn't seen a Dr, have you got one of those small gadgets that you can take your own BP  at home when you feel calm?

Reminded  my insurance I haven't  heard from the assessor yet, whilst everyone on the phone is very helpful but after over 2 weeks I should have heard more, and so it drags on.

 No sign of spring today, quite dull at the moment.

Take care everyone, warmer weather should be around the corner soon

LM

 .

[River Tyne Lass]

Thanks LM, I will try not to worry too much.  I think you are right and that the result may have been due to my worrying at the time.
Like you I too can suffer from 'white coat syndrome' sometimes. 
I mentioned about the BP clinic experience at the library to one of my colleagues and they said they think some chemists also give a bp service.  I don't have the gadget you mention LM, but the pharmacist lady at the library seemed to think my Doctor will give me a little machine to monitor for a week.
Anyway, I have a plan.  I will jog a bit before my appointment (whenever that will be) and I will try to engross myself in a novel in the waiting room.  That might hopefully, help me feel calmer next time.
I might follow through on the advice to jog (here and there).  I do a lot of walking at work.  I don't usually like running; I usually only do this if I have to mad dash to work if the bus has been late.  I never expected to have to contemplate running about in my sixties.  I never see anyone else around my age running about the streets.  People might think I'm a tad eccentric or habitually late running about the neighbourhood.  I might only do it late at night when coming home from work, say, or running down the street to work in that area where I am not particularly known in the neighbourhood.  At the moment I'm not quite ready to embrace the idea of becoming one of those proper joggers who wears the outfit and looks the part.   Eeh!  What things come to!!