Good morning Mick and all GN's on another very dark morning in North Yorkshire. The only thing I can tell is that there is no wind and no rain. Other than that have to wait and see. Am having a topsy turvey day today. My normal way is to get up, shower, and sort stuff out before even thinking of going out anywhere. However today a friend has to go to Ripon for something and asked if I wanted to go too. So, it will be rather nice, as havent been there for ages, to go along. I wont even be the driver so not even struggling to find a parking place, as it used to be a very devil to find parking places near where I wanted to go. I was a singer in the church there and at the time lived in richmond area so had to be there early to bag a space as parking was difficult. It is a long time since I have been there so shall be able to see old haunts, find out if favourite coffee shops are still there and hopefully have quite a good mouch round antique/second hand places too.
The plan now is to decide what I shall wear and iron it , as have still large amount of very clean but unironed items awaiting my attention. Yesterday had to rescue the washing that was left out overnight and so that had to be spun dry and then hung on clothes horse to dry as it was damp and chilly all day yesterday. So it is a matter of delving down to find something suitable for todays jaunt. Think it will be yellow linen trousers and striped yellow top with jumper and then my "posh" going out mac, which is two sided, with navy one side and yellow the other. Not planning to look for a hat as dont think it will be a "ladies who lunch" kind of trip! Quite looking forward to it, as wont even be the driver for a change, but of course, my optomism will be governed by my ability to move and walk about, and that I shant know until we go!!
Am in quite a militant mood and at the right state of mind to get things done , especially regarding shops - mostly supermarkets!! As far as I am concerned we have bonfire night next and that date beginning with C in december is not to be considered, until after bonfire night. I totally understand that business must collect stock etc in advance, but was extremely annoyed yesterday when I went to tesco for some shopping. I will give them their due that Tesco are usually quite good about width of shelves and ways round , to have space to use a buggy to go round. But at this time of year they begin their inevitable creeping, where they start putting extra stacks of shelves and showcase things at the end of the normal aisles. For a start these are usually not solid but something like cardboard or whatever so not very strong, and yesterday there was one of these set of shelves which had glass things on it. Now the bottoms of these stands often stick out more to give some secure standing. However they put them both ends of many of the usual stands, and so even an experienced driver of buggies like me cannot just drive round the ends of rows but take up to three goes to get round, and can risk catching onto these loose cannons. All business have to have a fire certificate to be open , as I know from my own running things in the past. So yesterday I was polite but went to the customer service to complain and explain the difficulties caused by these being at both ends of the normal shelves and cutting down space to turn and being a hazard to others not just me. They also are a fire hazard as it now means much more combustible shelving in the whole shop added to the usual fire hazards in the normal way. So far , information noted, but nothing has been done to improve matters, in fact they were actually putting up another set whilst I was there. This coupled with the annoying , but understandable, moving of goods from their usual shelving to make way for more seasonal things, means that your organised shopping list to enable you to get things quickly and efficiently now does not work as you try to find where the heck the branston pickle has gone to , also adds to frustration and annoyance. I make sure that I do not complain to the members of staff on the shop floor as they are only doing as they are told, but I intend to go back probably tomorrow and see if there is any improvement. If not, I have given them fair warning and shall simply ring the fire brigade and ask if they have a fire certificate. When they say that they have, I shall tell them about the major problems that are there now and ask if they are breaking their rules,by not just the odd extra stand but a major difference. That should mean that the fire brigade will make an unannounced visit and then we shall see what occurs.
Many years ago, I was doing temporary telex work in London as I was travelling to stockholm and to germany etc and wanted to be free to come and go. It is always interesting to do temp work, as you get a chance to see what it is really like to work for specific firms etc., and I did a lot of shipping lines etc. Whenever I went to a new - to me - firm, my first questions were, where was I working and what did they want me to begin with, followed by where are the toilets and then where is the fire escape. They would look at me curiously, but if you think about it, when it is your firm, you know all the ways in and out of a building, short cuts etc., but I dont as it is my first time visiting you. So that plus what times lunch breaks etc where my basic checks whenever I went somewhere new . In this case I went to a transport firm, very busy , quite noisy and the telecommunications area was shut off from the main office with very thick glass, and only one door entrance. It also had , to my horror, a photo copier nearest the door, and you had to walk past that to get to the telex . Of course we had several large boxes of paper for the printers etc too, and I thought this is a death trap. How have they been allowed to do this? The final straw was when someone showed me through to where the toilets were, and we passed a fire exit door that had boxes piled up in front of it!! No mobile phones in those days, but I made an excuse to go and fetch something, went to the nearest call box and rang the fire brigade, asking to check if these people had a fire certificate. They of course said yes, but when I told them the situation I had gone into, they said there was no permission for them to shut the telex room off etc . I went back to the company and surprise surprise in half an hour the fire brigade made an unannounced visit, where they actually closed the firm down for the day, and told them to remove this unauthorised thick glass window, said that photo copiers must never be put close to such a load of paper and the possibility of electrical faults, and I think they were fined for leaving boxes against the fire door. The point of that was that coming in as an outsider you see all these things, and when I was head of a communications firm was used to thinking about such things. When things change gradually you may not notice how slack or dangerous thigs have become until a day when there is a fire or whatever and then you need to be able to leave asap! So, whilst I have sympathy for shops and stores who are pressured by their head offices to put more and more things on display etc., basic safety for both staff and customers must come first. Here endeth the first lesson of the day!!!
Ah a little more light on the scene now and can see the tree outlined against the grey sky, but so far dry and no wind, fingers crossed it kindly stays dry whilst we are walking in Ripon before the expected deluge this afternoon. I had wanted to do a bit more gardening, but absolutely no chance if it is about to pour down. When we get back, the weather will decide the afternoons plans. Dry - a quick change into scruff and out in thegarden - wet - more sorting and ironing before getting ready to do battle with the games group in the pub tonight. I am a glutton for punishment as each new game makes my brain work very hard, but am hoping I might have come to the last of the brand new to me games, and might have the chance to play something I have tried before, where some basic knowledge may stick and allow me to begin to finesse some of my playing. Oh how my social diary fills up these days!! Well fingers crossed, not in so much pain today , which makes a great difference to the day. I expect I shall pay for it tomorrow but thats life. Yesterday really struggled in pain for most of the day and it took me ages to do anything which is very frustrating, so just glad to be able to decide what to do by choice today, not by what I can manage. I went into Tesco , thinking there were a few bits I would get, and as is the usual way, having gone in with just two bags there were a lot of things that have been missing, and some offers so bought 4 jars of beetroot. You bought 3 and got one free, which as it doesnt go off and I always like to have some available was worth getting , etc etc., and needed weetabix and got the largest - and cheapest - size, but the large boxes are such a pain to try and carry. Why dont they put a little handle on the box? Anyway, cupboards looking a bit fuller now.
Mick, hope all goes well with the chiropodist and great that you managed to get in touch about the phone. fingers crossed that they can come and sort it soon. GrandMattie, if they dont get their finger out and get your heater sorted, might it be worth while speaking to citizens advice or age concern people and see if there are some laws or bylaws which cover specifically both being able to keep housing at a particular temperature, and also the length of time that you have been having trouble with this is unacceptable and maybe you are entitled to some temporary heating provided by them or compensation for all the hassle and coldness. They could lend you something like a bottled gas heater , which would at least give you some sort of heating, especially if we get a sudden cold spell. Greyduster, thanks for reminding me that I need to check on my car insurance and see what rubbish offers I get, now that I am 80. They will use any excuse to put the price up wont they?Karma lady , hope you get your walk in today before the rain sets in. It sounds lovely and warm to think of sitting knitting and probably a cup of tea or coffee to hand. When I get back if it is very cold, I shall put more ironing at the top of the list as that is also a warming job to do on a cold day.RoseandLilac, I used to do quite a lot of painting, never had a go at water colours, papers etc were very expensive for that and didnt have much money, but one of the things I found that I enjoyed, was a mixed media, so used gouache , but also used some inks, but not with the pens . I HATE the sound of the pens , they make me cringe, but I used to use differing sizes of paintbrushes with them and enjoyed the effect. The other things I liked where chalks and pastels and again sometimes adding gouach or inks and smudging things in with my thumbs or fingers. Did some good still life and using the smudging effect was good on peaches and apricots to give that smoother skin type. Might think to get my paints and stuff out later this year and have a go with them. I always used to have a small sketch book with me to make quick drawings of things while I was out and about, but seem to have forgotten doing it for some time. Hoping to get to Harlow Carr soon for a trip round there and it would be an ideal place to try sketching again.
Well no doubt a lot more GN's willhave been sending in posts while I have been writing this, but I need to get myself sorted for the trip and then come back and read more news from everyone. Hope everyone has a good day and keeps well
Pink powder under eyes, as blusher too
