Today I've been mainly.........Vol. 5

Really!? I'm astonished. I thought everyone knew to put burns in cold water as quickly as possible.

As soon as possible and for as long as possible.

Greatnan hope you mend quickly.
This afternoon was spent grubbing bindweed out of the raspberry patch on the allottment. Very satisfying but now I ache! Perhaps a will help!

Yesterday (sorry didn't get on GN then) I went for a walk in the local bluebell woods at Henham park (where they hold the latitude festival) It was raining off and on, but still an English bluebell wood is so beautiful, particularly the perfume. Followed by a really yummy lunch at Queens Head Bramfield.

Today we actually had some sun, so was out weeding.

When I was an apprentice (a few years ago) I did my stint in the welding shop, we had this large open 1/2 gallon tin of "Burnol", this was a filthy looking (because it was filthy) yellow sludge that when you burnt yourself, (most days) you plunged your hand in this gunge. How we did not get some awful infections I will never know. I can remember passing my hand through an oxyacetylene flame and burning the flesh to the bone, still got plunged in the gunge !!!!.

And "Burnol" is still available.

I miss that lovely flash of violet you get in a beech wood full of bluebells.
However, I did have to tread carefully yesterday to avoid stepping on the purple and white crocuses which now cover the mountain.

I am not in any pain - I had two paracetamol at 8 a.m. and haven't needed any more. I don't think I will have any scars either -my neck and top of my chest are always very tanned because of the walking I do in all weathers. I think I must have a high pain threshold! The blisters have got a bit bigger, but I will leave them strictly alone as I know they are there for protection.

Greatnan! the things we get up to when we live alone! And of course when we live alone we have to be able to rescue ourselves from this kind of scrape, so please - be careful and, if you must eat breakfast in bed, stick to toast - or cornflakes.

Surely eating porridge can't be amongst the ten most dangerous things to do before you die. What health and safety precautions can you suggest to make breakfast safer?

Well, I could try not reclining against my pillows whilst holding a bowl of hot porridge in one hand and surfing with the other!
I do a lot of things that are not recommended, like walking alone in remote mountain areas, and snorkeling alone where coral is accessible from the beach. If I did not do things alone, I wouldn't do them at all.
I take good care of my health and drive carefully but I don't think I would like a life completely devoid of risk. Even when I go to live in my daughter's garden in New Zealand (her suggestion, she worries about me) I will be exploring the beautiful countryside there alone.

Surfing with a bowl of porridge, if only we could draw cartoons on here, that would be a cracker, "Shooting the tube" without spilling your porridge.

Sounds painful Greatnan - hope it heals soon. Tonight, in order to protect the blisters from the bedclothes you could cover the wound with clingfilm, if you don't have a non-adherent dressing.

Good tip, Riverwalk (I love your name!) - I will do that.

Greatnan how is it doing now? Do you think it will heal alright? Hope you're ok.

Hope you heal soon Greatnan

Greatnan a quick thinking and intelligent response, hope the pain stays away - and sadly Bags all too many people still don't know what to do with burns. I had to take action a couple of weeks ago when a small child fell on to hot stones surrounding an outdoor fire - others didn't know what to do!!

Absent a very belated Happy Birthday.

Ouch, Greatnan!

Thanks to everyone for your concern. I now have about four large blisters but the flesh in between is dry and not weeping. I took the tip about cling film and tomorrow I will go to the pharmacy for dressings for the blisters. Another bank holiday here today.
Still no pain, and I feel fine. Looks like being a nice day, so I will put on more cling film and take a very long walk.

I am so full of admiration for the practical and stoical response of Greatnan to her porridge accident. It is just what my parents would have been like and encouraged us offspring to be - and I am sure a much healthier attitude than all the "who can I sue?" responses that are the common ones we hear and read about all the time. I also like the tip about using clingfilm in the absence of any sterile dressings. We were always told to cover burns with a freshly ironed tea towel or pillowcase but they are not to hand very often in my house whereas clingfilm is!

Hope you continue to heal quickly Greatnan.

Great an you are amazing and an inspiration to us all.

Thank you, Gaga - I suppose when you choose to live alone with no neighbours you learn to be independent pretty quickly! I have always been calm and don't go in for dramatics.
One of my daughters takes after me, and one doesn't. When the panicky one's three year old son got his penis stuck in the zip of his jeans, she fled, screaming, to her sister's house. (I had bought them a pair of cottages with a communicating door, as they were both single mums at the time). Her sister very calmly soothed the hysterical child and put some Vaseline on the zip and carefully disentangled his skin. She has coped with the traumas, both emotional and physical, of her own six children and frequently got called upon to deal with those of her four nephews and nieces who would ring for her to go round whenever there was a crisis. She is now living in New Zealand and has found that her calm personality makes her a 'natural' with horses.

My sister used to be a panicker, but she has improved with age. When her litle boy scalded himself, she just ran into the street screaming for someone to help her. I used to get frantic phone calls from her, even when I lived abroad, asking how she should deal with some situation.

The biggest annoyance about my accident was that I had to wash all my bedding, which had just been changed - particularly as I don't have a washing machine. Fortunately, it was a sunny day and I was able to hang it over the balcony to dry - it smells lovely now!

I try to have a couple of Opsite dressings in the house - these are very good on a burn - a bit like putting on the Blue Peter favourite of sticky back plastic - once on you just leave it for about a week - you can shower etc with no problem - sometimes gets a bit messy looking as dressing is see through but when you finally peel it of carefully - nice pink new skin.
I once burnt my arm badly a week before we were going on holiday and the nurse at the surgery used it - have no scar at all - and by the time I
went on holiday it was healed.

I think you can buy some 'fake skin' which you spray on to a burn or scald.
I will take advice from the pharmacist here (must look up the French for everything I want to say!).
I suppose cling film is just a cheap alternative for the transparent dressing, without any medication. I am going to have a bath this morning, but I will avoid my burnt area.

Gaga - I had to smile at your reference to 'who can I sue' - do you think I could sue god for making me so stupid and careless?

Hope it all heals quickly GN - please keep us posted on what the pharmacist advises.

Well Greatnan I am pretty sure you are far from stupid and careless - maybe you could try sueing the porridge oats manufacturer (not sure who that would be in France?) but on reflection, I am also pretty sure you would have far too much common sense to do that! Maybe God was sending you a message though - did you consider that? (grin)