Good Morning Thursday 1st October 2026

While rabbits 🐇🐇🐇
Good morning from a dry Bristol. It did rain a bit in the morning; good wetting rain but only for about 30 minutes, then it was sunny and very windy.
It was a very unexpected day. Instead of morning prayers, we had a meeting with AgeUK managers regarding out FAB cafe and the live concerts.
Then, as we see up for the cafe, I realised that one lady, who’d come for prayers, was particularly lonely and new round here. As the other church hostesses is lovely but not always available, I decided to get her to join us. She seemed very keen in a restrained way and happy to learn the ropes…
Meanwhile, our new “centenary” altar had arrived; Rey disappointing though beautiful. It is small and feels cramped for the space available. The vicar and another person were fiddling with the overlarge altar cloth, deciding how and how much to remove to get it how he wanted it. Interfering as usual, I saw that it was a very simple 30 minute job and said I’d do it. Religion their faces!
FAB cafe filled very early; we ended up being 26. It’s getting almost too big..

Rushed home for lunch - taking the altar cloth with me. It really was a very simple job just removing a redundant pice, then cutting the cloth an£creplacing the lace back onto the cut edge - done before lunch!
Then the Teflon meeting. I had decided not to stay if the same complaints and banging on about the past went on and on…. We had one good-ish piece of news! A permanent non-resident manager has been appointed, starting in November. We have had no manager since July 2025, only either the occasional stand-in, or a part-time agency manager since then. Not satisfactory.
The other thing, which was inevitable, is that the sale of the ex-manager’s house (not flat) is tone tarted up at Anchor’s expense not the residents’. Phew! Fewer than half the residents attended, one wonders why not, when their funds and future her is being decided, or at least, discussed.
When the old, impossible to continue, topics were being banged on,I made my excuses and left.
Once home, I took the finished altar cloth and put it on the new table. Perfect fit! On the way back, I stopped at the little garden centre and spent a fortune one plants for my pots -including some tete-a-tete daffodil bulbs. Planting out is for today.
Today? I must wrap Iris’ birthday present and make her a card, do the planting, get my new Spanish homework on the way, t’ai chi class, and finally get to DD’s for dinner….
Trust that the sickbay is empty and that everyone is contented. Carpe die, dear friends 🦩🦩🦩❤️

White rabbits, white rabbits, white rabbits! Good morning Michael and all GN's on a very dark and still north yorkshire morning. Actually I need those white rabbits good luck myself. Another rubbish night and added to the usual aches and pains, my skin has been driving me mad. By taking care I managed to more or less get rid of the excema that began after I was diagnosed with diabetes. However this is my body now saying to me, lack of sleep and all the hassle lately is too much and if you dont manage to improve then you will have to deal with this again. So a definite warning, but it is so difficult, The itching drives me mad, and I end up just having to scratch it, although I know that it will only ease it for a very little while and hurt too!

Anyway to look on the bright side, I have had my shower, and got the bedding in and washing. Dont think I shall have to compete for the washing lines today!! So just having said about taking things easy, I am planning to do two things this morning, but nothing strenuous. This day of the older person is having a variety of people and stalls etc at the library this morning from 10 until 1. I plan to be there on the dot of 10, on the buggy of course,to raise the point of access again! I am going to check if there is anything I dont know about already, and collect any information that I think will be of use to the womens group, and then leave and go across to the womens group , hopefully in time for the yoga session. She is a very good leader of yoga, clear in telling you what to do, a very pleasant voice and all helps you to relax and become calm and still, so although I am doing two things as you can see ,they are not going to need huge amounts of energy and hope I shall return in a calmer manner and that it will nudge me into getting back to doing a little yoga every day. This afternoon the cleaners should be here, fingers crossed, and so by this evening I hope to be sitting in a clean and tidy(ish) home. This morning before I go out, I plan to peel and cook some apples that have been waiting for my attention, and I have a box of custard that I won at the whist some time ago. I also have good sausages and some softer tomatoes, which I hate eating in a salad like that, but can put them in a microwave dish, and then will have them with grilled sausages and some lovely fresh bread and butter, so that is going to be a very simple and easy meal sorted for this evening.

Yesterday I had intended to go down to the market on the yellow peril, but got distracted by a couple of phone calls and then sorting something else out, and still full of aches and pains, I decided to give the market a miss and to go in the car to strikes garden centre. I needed to organise a new loyalty card as my one has disappeared, very annoyingly. The weather here ignored what the forecast had foretold and was lovely and warm and sunny. Unfortunately that had definitely brought the crowds out and I drove round and round but no luck with a disabled parking space and in the end had to squeeze into the normal ones a - and it definitely was a squeeze - that also meant that I had farther to walk too, and I was lucky to find one of the little trolleys available, so that I was able to put my bags and my cardigan in that and use it more like a walking frame , allowing me to lean on the handles etc. The place was heaving and most of the tables full in the cafe, so I grabbed a reserved sign and went off to find myself somewhere to sit first, and check the table number. I then had to go to the checkout , which at that time was quite quiet fortunately and go through the rigmarole of getting a new card, but that meant that I had to just pay and get a receipt stamped that day as it takes a couple of days to sort out, but they will transfer my points over from the lost card etc.

By the time I got sat down it was nearly noon, and so I did indulge myself and have a roast beef flatbread, and coffee of course. It was very fresh and good and tasty, but definitely not something to be eaten in polite society, as it was one of those things that was definitely not for dainty eaters. However it tasted very good, and I felt better for it, but rather hot as the sun was beaming directly on my table. My goodness they must have had a good day, as every table was full and the staff were having a job to keep up with clearing away pots and wiping tables with the next group of people ready and waiting to sit down.

I was even very virtuous because even though I of course, went round the plants looking at the sick bay etc I actually didnt buy a single one. The checkout lady looked amazed as I went past with my empty trolley, but no doubt I shall give in the next time I am there. A lot of traffic on the way back and the railway crossings were holding up the traffic too, but no great problem and I arrived home with the plan to do a bit in the garden, but actually was quite glad to just have a sit and read for a little while. I slowly got myself ready for whist and decided not to change my top , which was cotton but had long sleeves - a seasalt stripey one - rather regretted it when I got to whist, as my goodness it was hot in the hall.

A pleasant evening and I won 6 lovely freerange eggs , so am now stocked up ready for a boiled egg when the fancy takes me. I always get just the two raffle tickets one green and one orange, but the lady sat next to me had 4 tickets, but it wasnt her night as nearly every number called was the one before or the one after hers. Of course it makes no difference but somehow I think we feel slightly more annoyed by "just" missing a prize. I drove back quite wearily, but was in time to sit and watch Downton Abbey, which I deliberately did, so as not to start worrying about the eye situation and other things and hoped to keep calm and get some sleep. Ah well cant win them all!

So I dont know what the weather holds for us today, but if I can get my bedding out and dried on the line, I will be happy. The planned "fashion parade" of sorting out summer/winter clothes etc didnt happen so that may be something I get round to later today, but nothing on this evening at all - as far as I know - so it does look to be a quieter day altogether and hope that will help me to feel a bit better tomorrow. I think I will have to ask someone to bop me over the head if I dont get some sleep soon!

I hope you get your earlier bus ok and have a good trip with friends around to chat to today Michael. Wishing all GN's a positive start to the new month and success in whatever you are planning for the day, whether that is a meet up for coffee or a grand sort out of something.