2024 Diary - Page 39

1 January

And so, another year begins - I wonder what this one will bring! Might this be the year I retire (at last)?

I went for an early morning walk to start off as I mean to go on! I think Oli would have been very happy coming with me but he's still not allowed out. Hopefully, that will change on Wednesday so he can get outside and prowl again.

We went on our annual pilgrimage to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum. There were some lovely photos, some we wouldn't have given house room to and some very disturbing images - same as most years.

My favourite photo was "The Ice Ibex", an ibex in the snowy French Alps by Luca Melcarne, the Winner of the Rising Star award.

I finished my steps when we got home - my "challenge" this month is to hit my Active Calories target (650 Kcal) for 26 of the 31 days.

2 January

Went to the gym for a little while then phoned Virgin Money when I got home but they wouldn't talk to me, even though the account is a joint account on which I have signing rights - sooo frustrating! I messaged Carole and Pauline to update them and ask one of them to call VM when they're next with Mum.

I took the Christmas tree down and changed the table cloths back to our normal ones. The decorations can wait until tomorrow.

Mum texted to let me know her iPhone isn't behaving properly. We provided some remote guidance to no avail - it seems to work when it's plugged into the power but as soon as she takes out the charger it crashes. Carole phoned later to say she'll take it to the phone shop in Knaresborough tomorrow if she has time. Pauline will pick up the reins on Thursday if needed.

I tested Church Walk Part 2 in the afternoon (when the rain had slowed down). It was amazingly windy and a struggle to stand upright at times. Storm Henk is to blame and the amount of rain that the storm had brought with it meant the tarmac path between Crofton Woods and Kyd Brook was flooded in parts. The brook itself was very full and flowing quickly and, if I'd had any cobwebs before I set off, they were certainly cleared by the time I got home.

3 January

Today was the next trip to the vet for Oli. We warned Keanu (vet) that he'd see a different cat to how he was a couple of weeks ago and I think he was surprised by how different Oli was. He was full of beans and leapt of the table a couple of times, disappearing into his basket to tell us he was ready to go home. At the end of the consultaiton, Oli was declared well enough to have his red jacket taken off and to go outside when we got home. Phew! He went in and out all day, just to show that he could! We had a good, long grooming session in the evening - loads of dead hair came out as expected!

Before all that, I went to the gym and played badminton - great fun.

I went for a walk after dinner then met Jonathon at The Orpington for a drink before returning home and taking down all the Christmas decorations.

4 January

I had some stuff to deliver to Alicia so I did that instead of going to the gym. She lives close to Crofton Woods so had a stroll through there as well.

Got my paper at a minim Morrisons and was surprised to see they had Easter eggs in stock already!

I liked the way the sun lit up the railway tracks as I walked over the bridge so photographed it and sent to Newshopper for this week's photo submission.

Played tennis with Carol - you could tell it was a while since we'd last played!

Had dinner at the Cricketers then went to Tui to book a holiday for my birthday.

Pauline and Mum spoke to Virgin but they weren't prepared to release the ISA payment because they couldn't access mobile banking so we've reverted to using a cheque - P is sending me it in the post and I'll take it to Bromley YBS.

5 January

I started today with yoga and gym (a normal Friday and good to be back into the routine of stretching etc.) From there, nothing was normal!

Alma didn't come this week (Monday was a bank holiday) so I finished cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms (I did everything but the floors yesterday before I ran out of time).

Will came and cleaned the windows with his usual tales of woe. He does a good job and the windows do look much better when he's been but he certainly knows how to chat.

The cheque arrived just before lunchtime and I checked to see what time the YBS would be open to - 2.30 p.m. apparently. Oh crikey - we'd better go to Bromley to get the cheque paid in to Dad's ISA so we dropped everything and went to get a train. Thankfully, the trains were runing smoothly today and I got to YBS and paid it in - phew!

While we were in Bromley, we went to the Apple store and bought a new iPhone 15 Pro for me. I'd been saying for a while that I'd like a new phone so today was the day while we were there. Mum will get my old iPhone 11 Pro (unless she'd prefer not to!) and Nicola Mum's iPhone 8 probably. Good recycling!

We had lunch at Etna (formerly Studio Gusto). Really lovely food and what I was going to cook today will wait until tomorrow.

Jonathon went to Toulouse Lautrec to do a photo shoot while I got my new phone set up, finished my Jo Moyes book and caught my breath!

6 January

Gym first (after Oli and I finally got up!). Spotted the first aconites in our garden this morning when I got back so Spring must be on its way.

Also noticed the Shirley information on a T-shirt on Facebook. I can agree with quite a lot of that but I'm not going to buy the T-shirt because of all the scams on Facebook - it's not worth the risk.

Met Jane and Ginny in the afternoon and went to support the Rangers' Escape Room fundraiser. We didn't escape within our 30 minutes but had good fun trying. Next time, we'll remember to look underneath the table for clues. I think the Ranger leader was quite impressed that we'd worked out the Morse Code clue without the Morse Code in front of us!

Had a Skype call with Mum - she wasn't feeling too good today but was looking forward to a visit from Carole after our all. She gets her hearing aids fitted this week so that should, hopefully, help her a lot.

7 January

It was cold enough to freeze the bird baths this morning and it's forecast to get colder - brrr!

I did some different things in the gym this morning because I knew I had a walk in the afternoon so I did a bit of rowing, cycling and weights. It was good to have a change.

No church for me today because it was a Communion service - not my thing at all.

8 January

Ela's class to start the day. It seemed even harder than usual, probably because we've missed a couple of weeks.

Mum messaged to say her phone was playing up again. My old iPhone is ready to go north but she'll have to wait until we get there to swap it out. Carole messaged later to say Mum's phone seemed to be OK so not sure what she'd done with it.

Terry got most of the outstanding jobs done but is struggling to find a new loo seat for Jonathon because it's not a regular shape.

Gilda came for lunch and we tested out the Clue Walk. She seemed to quite enjoy it and declared it neither too easy nor too hard, just about right so that's ready to use now. It was snowing when we set off, faired up on the way round then started again when it was getting dark towards the end of the walk.

Alma came to do the cleaning - there was plenty of dust for her to get rid of. Life seems to be getting back to normal after the Christmas and New Year period.

9 January

Gym then work today. It seemed a long time since I was last in the office but I soon got back into the swing of things!

Went for a walk at lunchtime to take advantage of the sunshine but it was really cold.

Met Nicola for dinner at Haz.

10 January

Gym and work. It was really frosty when I went out this morning but there was a lovely sunrise when I came back from the gym.

Had a lovely surprise - yet another of my photos was in the local paper. It's a shame they'd cropped it quite heavily (the original is just above here on the left) but it's nice to be recognised.

Met Gilda in the evening at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley to see Calendar Girls - it was excellent.

11 January

I cancelled my space for Ela's class with being out last night but woke up in time so re-booked and went! It's good to be getting back into the swing of things. Did a load of steps after class then came home and got ready to go into town to meet Derek and Maureen for lunch. We went to Albertini, a new restaurant for us between St. Pancras and Euston stations so very easy for both them and us to get to. We walked through the British Library courtyard and admired this statue on the way.

Did a load of admin catch up in the afternoon, got the boxes etc. ready for Saturday's charity walk then relaxed in the evening while Jonathon was out doing a photo shoot.

12 January

I woke up with a little verse in my head so wrote that down before I forgot it!

Started today with Yoga. Kevin had us doing all sorts of balancing acts today so a bit more challenging than normal. I knew that the activity I had in my diary wouldn't get all my steps done so did a quick burst on the treadmill.

Carol and I played tennis (we were much better today than last week). We played in the "bubble". Bromley Tennis Centre have a kind of big tent over the outside courts for winter so they can still be used. We knew it would be a bit chilly so we'd put extra layers of clothing on but it was no worse than the inside courts last week. Carol's mum isn't very well so we didn't book for next week until we know how she is.

Spent an hour trying to get through the HMRC. When I called them on 11 December, they said I should have a response to my letter form 13 July by 11 January. Nothing so far so had to phone them again today because I need an answer before the end of this month.

When I finally got through to them, no further progress had been made at all re my letter and they could no longer give me a date by which I should expect a response. Instead, I have had to pay the disputed amount or risk incurring charges and getting a bad credit reference. So frustrating.

Luis restarted the Tai Chi / Qigong classes at The Walnuts so I went there. I really enjoyed it and hadn't realised how much I'd missed it.

13 January

Gym and various jobs this morning but the highlight of the day was the clue walk with the Flamingos. There were 9 of us in the end. They all seemed to enjoy it and got most of the answers right.

We ended up at The Cricketers for a well-earned drink on a very chilly day. Other than having fun, the reason for the walk was to raise money for charity. Each of the walkers put a donation in the box and most of them nominated a charity. We raised £60.05 and the charity that was drawn from the box was St. Barnabus Church Bike Project, a great local charity. Jane was delighted (it was her nominated charity) and it will make a real difference to a small charity.

14 January

Gym then church this morning (a normal Sunday).

I'd arranged to lead a Knoll Active walk in the afternoon so I didn't need to do much in the gym!

It was a good turnout for the walk which is always nice to see and makes it feel worth the time I spend organising the routes etc.

Had a Skype call with Mum. She had loads of medical tests last week so is waiting for the results.

Called Christine for our usual weekly chat. No idea what we talked about for over an hour but time seemed to fly by!

15 January

Ela's class as usual first thing. I didn't go into the gym as well because I knew the walk I was doing later with Gilda would finish my steps. I checked she would be OK to walk (she has plantar fascilitis at the moment) and she said yes so off we went. Not going to the gym gave me time to do a few jobs and catch up at home a bit.

We went on "Project Snowdrop" so headed off to St. Martin De Tours church in Chelsfield. We saw a few snowdrops along the way but there are still a lot nowhere near flowering yet. There were some in the garden part of the churchyard so mission accomplished.

The church was open when we got there so we had a look inside and learnt a bit more about it.

We met Jonathon at Masala Dabbas, having decided a Biryani would be just the thing to warm us up and a cold day.

Alma came in the afternoon to do the cleaning. Jonathon took Shaun for a drive round, avoiding ULEZ cameras, to make sure he doesn't perish just sitting in the garage.

I went to a Worship Group meeting at church in the evening (I'm secretary). Thankfully, we only have about three meetings a year so not too onerous.

16 January

Gym and work. Work was quite busy because my colleagues in Sweden had quite a bit of stuff they wanted me to do so the day flew by.

I had a message from Larchfield to say they'd got a nasty bug in the home so I let Mum, C & P all know and suggested Mum shouldn't go until they've got it under control.

We had a WestImmo reunion in the evening. Seven of us turned and it was good to see everyone. As we weren't meeting until 18.45, I got there early so had a nice walk along the canal, admiring the lights. The food was delicious (as always at GSB) but the service was a bit slow so I was quite late getting home.

17 January

It was a bit of a struggle to get up for the gym this morning after getting home last night but off I went!

Work was still full of Swedish stuff so plenty to do.

Met Gilda and Jo at the theatre to see The Motive and the Cue - excellent play based on the Hamlet production that Richard Burton starred in and that was directed by Sir John Gielgud. Another late night because it was a long play.

18 January

I cancelled my space at Ela's circuits class so I could have a sleep in. It was really cold when I got up with plenty of pretty frost patterns everywhere and it didn't warm up much at all as the day went by.

Did a variety of activities in the gym, including a treadmill HiiT challenge - the first one I've done where the machine dictates the programme so I was pleased to succeed.

I noticed Zara was on duty at the hairdressers so I went in and got my hair cut.

My potato setts arrived. They are much bigger than normal and there was a letter with them explaining why they are still OK! I'll just put fewer in each grow sack. I've offered Jo and Gilda a few each as normal.

Spent the afternoon catching up on admin. I was hoping to do some gardening but it was far too cold.

19 January

Started with yoga and a tiny bit of treadmill (I wasn't sure how far Mark and I would be walking so thought I should do at least some!).

Met Mark at Lewisham station and we walked from there across Blackheath and then into Greenwich Park. The bright blue sky made for lovely photos but it was really cold. The tree below left is my favourite tree in the park. There was a lot of refurbishment work being done in the park so our usual viewing spot was closed but we could still see the skyline of Docklands and the City from quite high up.

We popped into Cutty Sark but the menu was lentil soup so we went to Zizzi's instead.

I cancelled my space at Tai Chi in the evening because I was so cold when I got home I couldn't face going out again.

20 January

The sunrise this morning was amazing - really colourful and pretty.

I went to the gym and did rowing, cycling and weights for a change.

Today's walk with the Knoll Active Group was "Church Walk 2". Only a handful of people turned up but they seemed to enjoy it and find it interesting and I've been asked to do it again by some who couldn't be there today.

I did the packing for Yorkshire so I don't have to do it tomorrow morning (Oli's not happy because he saw the suitcase but it's only for four nights and he gets very spoilt by Jenny and Peter so he should be fine).

Jonathon enjoyed the Gypsy Jazz at Toulouse Lautrec so much last night he went back for more tonight!

21 January

Went to the gym to do my steps this morning so had a good session on the Cross Trainer then the Treadmill. Thank goodness I did because there was no way I would have wanted to go out for a walk in the afternoon when we arrived in Ripon.

It was lovely to see Oli in the tree before we set off. He's clearly feeling more active now (he even brought Jonathon a mouse after Midnight last night!). He's still a bit stiff if he's been curled up but seems to recover faster, even if he does take stairs steadily to start with.

We drove to Ripon for a few days in Yorkshire. We got there just before Storm Isha started in earnest and got everything inside without getting too wet. Then the rain and strong winds started and pounded against our window - not pleasant at all.

We are staying at the Ripon Inn, sister hotel to the Knaresborough Inn (former Dower House). Having had lunch at the OK Diner on the way up, we went to the bar (AKA The Ale House) and had a snack for tea.

The hotel is very nice and the staff are friendly. The one downside is the lift - pathetically slow!

We headed to Mum's after breakfast and I caught up with the filing before Mum and I hit the phones to deal with house insurance, Virgin Money and Yorkshire Building Society. We need a follow up call with YBS and that's scheduled for Wednesday morning.

Jonathon visited the charity shops in Knaresborough then set up my old phone for Mum to replace hers that appears to have died. She's got until Wednesday to play with it and make sure she's happy with it.

We were planning to go to Barker and Stonehouse for luch but their lift was out of order and there's no way Mum could tackle the stairs so we went to The Kestrel instead. We all had a starter - just what we needed. Mum did really well because her starter was pretty huge!

23 January

Went for a walk before breakfast, this time via the Cathedral and the River Skell. The sunrise was lovely and it wasn't raining until after I got back. Then it rained pretty much all day.

24 January

A nice surprise to see I had another photo in this week's local paper - becoming a good habit!

Went for a very short walk before breakfast (battling with Storm Jocelyn was fun!). I only went to get my paper because we needed to get to Knaresborough in time for the call with Yorkshire Building Society. All went well and Mum's new ISA is now set up.

Jonathon went to Harrogate to look round the charity shops while I had a bit longer with Mum before walking alongside the very full, fast flowing Nidd and catching a bus. We had lunch at the Quirky Farm Bistro (lovely as always) then Jonathon took me to see Dad. Unfortunately, the home is still closed to visitors because 3 residents have got the gastric virus so I didn't get to see him after all - ver upsetting.

We decided to go to Harlow Carr for a walk around (it was shut because of the strong winds and the damage done overnight) but we enjoyed posh tea and hot chocolate at Betty's before heading back into Harrogate to do some shopping.

25 January

Didn't get up quite so early today but Jonathon was woken up by a very loud mechanical noise just after 6 a.m. We mentioned it at reception and the maintenance man said it was the extractor fans from the kitchen. We hadn't heard them on the other mornings so something must have changed. The people in the room next to ours also mentioned it. I sounded more like a generator to us but we left them sorting it out.

I went for a final prowl round Ripon before we headed back down south. I didn't venture very far but visited Spa Gardens (where I found the Green Man art), the River Skell (not flowing quite as fast as the other day), the cathedral (beautiful), the market (only there on a Thursday and I could see why they didn't need a cheese shop with such an excellent cheese stall) and the city centre in general. It's a lovely place and I think we'll stay there again if the hotel rates work for us.

The drive back south was uneventful but a car followed us for quite a while, even following us into the OK Diner car park. I asked them if there was a reason but it seems they were just letting Jonathon do the driving work for them and copying him! They where heading off to Heathrow and left before we'd finished eating.

Home and unpacked, Oli was pleased to see us and gave us lots of purrs. First load of washing done and some admin caught up with then off to the gym to finish my steps before settling down for the evening.

26 January

Went to yoga - Maria was in charge today because Kevin was off sick which made a nice change.

I went for a walk to check out where I need to be for my consultation next Thursday. I've put my name forward to be a medical guinea pig for my chronic cough and our initial meeting is at Acellar, near Homebase at the other end of town. I walked back via the Cray and enjoyed the blue sky and sunshine.

Vixen was pleased to see us back (she was also enjoying the sun) and Whitelegs made an appearance but we've not seen Skitty yet).

Spent a couple of hours gardening in the afternoon and filled three rubbish sacks that will need to go to the tip at some point.

Jonathon had a bit of a health scare about tea time - he started bleeding unexpectedly in a delicate area. He got it under control but decided not to go out to do photos. I was a bit stiff from gardening so cancelled my space at Tai Chi and we caught up with some TV watching for the evening.

27 January

I finished my Jojo Moyes book before I got up so wasn't particularly early getting out of bed. Saturday is the only day I can have a proper "stay in bed" morning but I still seem to be up quite early.

It was cold and frosty this morning when I finally went to the gym which was a surprise because I wasn't expecting it.

I had a good run around, doing a variety of stuff and generally making sure I hit all my daily targets so I didn't have to go out again.

I spent a bit of time in the garden after dinner. Nice to see the snowdrops starting to flower and always good to see the hazel catkins (even though the squirrels get the nuts rather than us!).

It is the RSPB Garden Birdwatch this weekend so we did that and got a good number of different species to report in. As a thank you, they sent me a discount code - perfect timing because I needed some more bird food so the order is in.

28 January

Gym then church as normal for a Sunday morning. The sunrise was amazing - really brightened up the day.

Did a bit more gardening after dinner then we went to Westcliffe-on-Sea (part of Southend) to see the Chicago Blues Brothers. I had a quick walk down to the beach (in the dark!) then enjoyed the show while Jonathon scooted around with his cameras. The people behind me were really noisy so the manager moved me to a different seat (next to the sound desk) for the second half and I danced the night away!

29 January

Ela's class to start the day. Irene wanted a chat afterwards about Veronica. V is getting worse (dementia) and her family are going to try and stop her driving this week because she keeps getting lost and is now really forgetful. It will be an uphill task because she lives in the middle of nowhere (near High Elms Country Park). Irene is letting them get on with it but is, naturally, concerned.

Our aconites are now in full flower and looking lovely in the front garden.

Jonathon left about 10.30 a.m. - headed for Devon to stay with Mervyn and Anne.

Gilda arrived and we booked tickets for Swan Lake in December then went for a walk and ended up at Ephesus for a yummy lunch.

Alma came and did the cleaning while I worked in the garden until it was too dark to see what I was doing.

Had a catch up with Christine - she only has patchy electricity at the moment so she's not happy!

30 January

No work today because of a train strike so had a bit of a sleep in then went to the gym. I was waiting for a couple of deliveries to arrive so caught up with the ironing while I was waiting. The birdfood was the first delivery to arrive so I put that in the garage and took the opportunity to sort out the storage of the birdfood because mice have recently been getting in the boxes of fat balls so a lot of lifting and moving around. I even found some sunflower hearts and nyger seeds that I didn't know we had so I've mixed some of those in with the seed. It should be safe from mice now and easier to get at.

In the middle of all that, I spotted a Sparrowhawk at the bottom of the garden feasting on a pigeon. I went to see if anything needed to be tidied up (only feathers) and noticed the first of our primulas had started to flower. Not much later, Whitelegs was galloping up the garden with what was left of it in her mouth (not a great photo but by the noise she was making I think she enjoyed it).

The new Dyson was delivered about 3 pm. when I was pulling together the information needed for Dad's tax return so I left that while I went for a walk (measuring for Sunday and was pleased to see a Little Egret) then finished it and sent it to John Darnbrough, Dad's accountant. I'll need to let him have the full amount of interest when we get to April but I've done as much as I can for now.

I treated myself to a lovely bath then watched television for the evening, in between letting Oli in and out of various doors and windows at his will!

31 January

I don't think Oli was impressed with me when I wouldn't get up at 4.30 a.m. to fill his food bowls for him this morning! Apparently Jonathon does when he's here so service standards are definitely slipping while he's in Devon.

Went to the gym then work. Saw another new sculpture near London Bridge. Work was busy enough to save me from getting bored but there was no problem getting away just after 5 p.m.

Made tuna pie ready for lunch tomorrow so all I have to do is heat and eat when I get back from Accellar.

1 February

Did Ela's class then had my Health Assessment with her. I knew I'd put on a kilo or so but she was pleased that my muscle mass had gone up and body fat gone down so all OK.

Main job for today was Accellar Care. The team (or the two people I met) were very friendly and the doctor was quite thorough in his questions. I couldn't answer his question about how I react to Opioids because I don't think I ever take any so he's not sure about one of the clinical trials but I should be suitable for the second. My in-depth screening is scheduled for next Thursday including wearing a cough monitor for 24 hours. I go back on Friday to hand that in and have a chest X-Ray.

I had a lovely walk there and back in the sunshine and bumped into Michael in Priory Gardens so had a quick chat with him.

It was about 3 p.m. before I had lunch (it was delicious!)

Caught up with admin, did some bits for Christine and admired the sunset.

On that note, it's time to finish this page and move to the next ...

To 2024 Diary (Page 40)