Good Morning Wednesday 7th October 2026

Good morning, it’s been raining here on the hillside in south Glos at last! I’m not convinced that we’ve had much but any is very welcome 🙏.
I finished my garden tidying yesterday, very happy with my efforts. I sorted out my plant pots etc, covered the potting table and mini greenhouse and all’s done bar the mulching.
I have ordered mulch that will be delivered on Monday so once that’s done there’s just the occasional pruning to do and brushing up the leaves in due time.
The washing dried outside despite it not being a promising forecast, always a bonus.
Today I intend to do some art work, I need to stop procrastinating (one thing I am excellent at!) and just get on with it.
I need to start a pair of socks I promised I’d make for a friend, I have the wool etc so that’s something else to do too.
I hope that you have a good day x
🌹

Good morning from Bristol. It’s dark and wet here too. I think there’s been light rain all night as the puddles are large.
After months of light/no work on the estate, especially on the rotten bay windows, the surveyor has started to come almost daily to check the work needed/being done! So perhaps my pessimistic prediction of scaffolding coming down at Easter won’t happen. It might even be before Christmas! 👏👏👏👏. Things are happening at last! And the clearing of the ex-manager’s slummish house and garden is also starting; and, with any luck, the cost will be borne by the management, not the residents!
I had a nice walk in the autumn sunshine, to my Spanish class 1.5 miles away. We had a lot of discussion on one of Isabel Allende’s short story, then role playing on putting questions to the “colonel” (role taken by a few random students chosen by the tutor) in the style of various publications. The questions ranged from silly to quite interesting, and was very funny indeed!
I got a lift halfway home and, serendipitously, got a bus immediately, the rest of the way home. Normally an easy walk, but I’m tired after the class.
I made some biscuits after lunch, following a new recipe. I don’t think I’ll make them again, they are very boring in flavour.
FAB cafe this morning; I may or may not go to morning prayers first. I hope the attendance is better than the 6 who came on Saturday!
I hope everyone’s day pans out as they would wish. Carpe diem 🦩🦩🦩🦩

Good morning Michael and all GNs on a cold dark morning in North Yorkshire, I have been awake since about 3am and tried to get back to sleep but in a lot of pain and so gave up and got up about 4am.I have got the sound of waves and the sea on at the moment which is at least soothing to listen too and doesnt disturb anyone else.

Yesterday, I made some progress but oh so slow. Frustration level very high, as my back didnt improve at all all day and it just seemed such a wretched battle to do the least thing. I was still hunting for some paperwork and so did make quite a satisfying inroad to papers and got into efficient mode, putting things onto the calendar and into the diary, so as to get myself up to date with appointments etc. I also used my rather grumpy weary state of mind to pen various emails to people such as Tesco, where in my local shop they have changed 3 checkouts to this wretched selfservice, which is no good for me and so now these three checkouts are hardly used at all in the week time and the bored staff member who has to hang around supposedly being there to help people to use the new checkouts, was somewhat fed up. So I have sent to their head office, with my disapproval of their new idea, and that they are not even able to be switched between the two versions. meaning that for those of us unable to use them, we are stuck waiting in longer queues for the few checkouts available to us. I am sorry for the checkout staff as people are moaning at them and they can do nothing about it. They dont want them either of course because it is just a way of getting us the customers to do their work for them. Well I have a cunning plan as Baldric says. I have decided that if nothing improves I will choose my time and go and use these new checkouts. As I have difficulty loading things easily onto the top anyway and now will have to do that , then put it through the scanner and then load it up into my bags, I will be quite a long time and should make quite a hold up. I am even thinking of getting a friend to do the same and mentioning it to the local paper , where we might get quite a bit of publicity. However that is just a possible idea, not going to do it yet.

I had an irritating few minutes getting ready to go out, when whatever I needed seemed to have either disappeared or fallen on the floor, and the grabber wasnt working well either, perhaps it has come to the end of its life and I need another.

Anyway I did finally get going and called in at Upfront , where I was able to show the article about funds being available from a housing group for charity and the lady took a photo of it, so that I kept the original, and was going to make sure that those involved in asking for supports for different things that we do there got it and hopefully it will lead to a bit of help for some of the things we do, and she had not seen it and said no one else had mentioned it, so I did feel that at least one thing I had done that day was worthwhile. I then delivered a sample to the doctors, and went on to the library, and very annoyingly , after the usual hassle to get into the library found my reading glasses missing from my bag, which was very irritating, and just showed how I am struggling at the moment, as normally checking my bag for keys and glasses are the last thing I do before leaving.. Anyway after doing a few more jobs, I got myself ready and off to the games night. It had been raining that fine rain "mizzling" we call it, where there is little to see but it soaks in ,so should improve the garden, but meant that I had to go in the car. It was good to see the group, with a few people missing, and I had to concentrate on a complicated game, which as I hadnt been for a few weeks, ended up putting my head in a spin. I started well with the simple if this then that, but eventually my back was hurting so much and I wasnt making much sense of my goes, and when someone came in late, I took the opportunity to bow out and give them my place and go home. My back was so painful that I just went to lie down and watched Downton Abbey, a good thing to keep my mind off things like my eye situation.

I found the letter about my eye, but put it to one side to read this morning, as I knew if I looked at it last night the ideas would be going round and round inmy brain, but today I must grasp the nettle and once I have all the facts in front of me, I hope I shall have a clear idea of what I need to do next. Oh what a pity we cannot just take an eye out and leave it for them to deal with and come back later!!

So this morning I need to do at least a bit of ironing, which as it is quite cold is quite a warming job to do, and it is always cheering to see a pile of clean and ironed things at the ready. I managed togo through a few more clothes yesterday too, so did feel I had made an effort, but oh there is still so much to do.

Today I will start by clearing up more bits and pieces,need to ferret in my files and check when the MOT is due, have another look at bus timetables to think of meeting my son and family and have a tidy up. This afternoon I am going to Strikes,to meet a friend in the cafe, and they have sent an offer of 10% of plants , so of course I need to have an enjoyable time searching through the plants - that is if I think 10% of too much is still not too much!! Nothing set up for tonight, so hope for a bit of piece tonight.

Hope you have a good trip in on the bus and enjoy your cycling Mick, and that the other lucky GN's who are still fast asleep get up to a good day. Wearily yours !