The Lockdown GangSTARS still going

Hello Everyone. Doodle pleased you’re enjoying your seaside break. Yes the weather has been great. 17 degrees here today.
Kaimoana you really must cut down on the alcohol - says she whose DH poured out a glass of wine for his beloved and finished the bottle up! Beloved is now feeling very tipsy and if you could hear her talking slightly slurred! Seriously Kaimoana that’s not good. Hope you’re ok - bless you.
Lovely to hear from Cherry too. Quite enjoy football in small doses! Our local team has just made it into the first round proper of the FA cup - think that’s right! Great excitement! Apparently they get quite a nice little sum of money just for playing. Very helpful.
Slightly worried about Jeeves and Mark 8 left alone in Doodles home. No telling what they will get up too.
Think I’m waffling - blame DH! Will leave you with a photo taken on Fri of Brancaster Staithe quite near us. The tide had been really high so it was too muddy to leave the car! Sweet dreams All

Lovely to see pictures of your seaside breaks.

There is a piano in the flat already so no more instruments allowed!

I have 3 more viewing today and if hopeless, I will take the advert down and try a word- of-mouth approach.
I don't need to rush. I could use an agency. They charge a lot but better for peace of mind.
Sorry I am so preoccupied I haven't asked after any of the Lobstars.

I hope your injuries are not too serious after your fall Kaimoana
Do you have a walking frame or should you have one? Perhaps there's no space for one.
Sending cwtches galore
galore comes from Gaelic so I am showing off my language skills

I hope you've recovered after the binge drinking Jan

Always thinking of the gang. xxx

Jan you gave me a good laff - if only I had the compensation of drinking, I'd probably fall more easily.
That picture, mud flats and all, is delightful. I save them to my (now illustrated) diary, so thank you for that too and your blessings, more precious than you may think.

I'm a lot better thanks Grammaretto. My left leg is bruised from thigh to ankle in the most gorgeous colours and the knee sets up a protest the moment I put foot to floor but I have some miraculous cream.

korunutrition.co.nz/products/relief-fx

I honestly didn't believe the claims but by golly, it's the most effective I've ever tried, far better than any pharma product. So I'm well on the way to doing marathons again!

I know a chap who runs marathons and when he talked about the latest, I asked him how long (distance) it was.
'Oh, this one was only 300 kms' he said airily.
He goes all over the world to run Ultra-Marathons.
He's not a young man.

Keep posting Cherry & ixion, it's quite like old times

Doodle I gave Jeeves a 'talking to' when I inadvertently received an invitation to a party at your place.
I think Mark may have come unravelled if it went ahead.



www.sportsmanagementdegreehub.com/10-longest-races-world

Just got home. Very tired so will catch up tomorrow. Take care all.
P.S flat looks suspiciously clean and tidy……lots of wine bottles in the bin though……..?

Jeeves must have cleared up. He's a good soul really. I had no such invitation Kaimoana


I am quite tired. I have been showing people around.
I liked one couple and was very impressed by another's perseverance. She went to a similar address in the wrong town but she phoned and caught 2 buses to arrive at mine.

Welcome back Doodle I am glad you had a nice time. Rest well.

Grammaretto I read your message as: "I'm quite tired. I have been shoving people around."

Nice visit from Chaplain Ruth today. No wonder I couldn't understand why Sallies wanted a lot of money from me. They got it wrong. I'm entitled to a rebate.

Also a bit worried that my pension has been cut in half - yikes! We can't sort that out until next Thursday.
Can someone please send me a food parcel. I'm down to my last carrot.

Ruth brought a chap to replant the self-seeded Karamu (a beautiful native tree this man regards as a weed ) and trim the lower branches of the Pittosporum which hinder the lawn-mowing team.
This tree was presented to DS by the City when he became a NZ Citizen.
At the time, he lived in a bachelor flat in the CBD, so it went into my garden.
It's now about 10m high.

The gardener wanted to take a chain saw to it and asked why I didn't use pesticides and other sprays in my garden.

He said there was no need to water in my Karamu, but I shall carry a couple of buckets of water to it. I want it to survive.

I'm grateful he came to do what I can't but I didn't really like his methods.

Oops, forgot.
Yes, Grammaretto I do have a walker but I rarely use it now.
I acquired it when I was waiting for a hip-op.

Dgs likes to speed down the road and do acrobatic on it

I'll bet you turned somersaults in your time Kaimoana. I did and cartwheels. once upon a time

I hope you sort that pension out too and that brutal gardener.

I haven't decided on a new lodger. Maybe I should leave it a while.

I was learning how to make coffees at the café today. I'm usually on the till but there are times when I will need to be a barista
.
I'll need to perfect my method before I am let loose on the public.

Hello all. Had a lovely break at the coast and the weather was dry most of the time which was really good.
Oh no Kaimoana not another fall. Your poor knee. You must get some of those rubber pads the children wear on their hands and knees when they go roller skating. I hope you’re not too badly bruised. Pleased you had an extra long stay with your DGS. Bet you both enjoyed that.
Glad you were able to stop your tree being hacked about by the
gardener. Shame he couldn’t have planted some potatoes or carrots for you while he was there. I hope you manage to find some crumbs in the cupboard to keep you going till your pension is sorted out.
Thank you for speaking to Jeeves. Everything was in order when we came home. Mark was suspiciously still asleep….hmmm.
Just mis-read your second post about having a walker and thought you said you used it for doing hip-hop. Thought to myself no wonder Kaimoana falls over if she goes dancing in the street ?
Jan I like the thought of you being slightly tipsy. Like being a bit mellow ?. That’s a lovely photo. You are lucky to live in such a beautiful area.
Grammaretto you are obviously having lots of viewings for your flat. I do hope someone nice comes along that would be an asset. Anyone new coming now Hans has gone?
I am envious. I have never managed a cartwheel. A handstand was my best attempt. If I tried a somersault now I don’t think I would be able to unfurl and would have to stay like that rolling around.
Ooh. A barista how impressive. How do you remember which lever to pull and what goes where. I’ll have a flat white please ?

Nfk how are things in your nest? I think of you often and hope you are both well cared for.

And the other missing GS - if any of you are lurking, please drop us a line, a quick reassurance, if you can.

Grmmaretto like Doodle, I could never do cartwheels but I did throw myself full length through held hoops and land, somersaulting onto a matt.

It was suggested that if I could do it with the hoop ablaze, I could join a circus.

I'm off to BLV Support group today and they will ask the same question as you. "Have you heard anything about your dog yet?"
No. You will be the first to know as I won't be able to contain myself for excitement.

Welcome back Doodle so pleased you had such a good break with your beloveds.
Yes, I thought of knee pads but I think I might be better with springs on my hands, so I can just bounce up again like a Kelly, remember them?
I already have the 'base' for it.


Karen said I must have very strong bones because by now, all those falls would have caused many elderly ladies a fracture or two.

You may recall our day in the Studio a few weeks ago. I was contacted yesterday by a lady who wanted to use my picture and story for publicity in a magazine which goes out to over 110,00 people.

However, she wanted to know which service of BLV had benefitted me and changed my life.
She's asking at the wrong time as Covid meant the majority of services were suspended and the boy who came to mess up look at my computer only changed my life to a more frustrating mode.

So as I had no life-changing tale to tell, you won't be seeing me as a BLV star model after all.

The other star was a guide dog.

Evening gangStars

I hate to think of battered and bruised Kaimoana, you know I empathise ?. Did you enjoy your time at the BLV support group today? My epilepsy support group can sometimes be a great help to me. I think you asked how I managed to write my Match Reports the way I do. It's easy to do when I've seen the whole match as I can report what I've seen and what I'm shouting at the screen ?. Not quite as easy if I can only listen to intermittent commentary or I read real time updates of the match. It's a matter of the passionate support I have from my club ?.
Oh, by the way we might not see you as BLV star model anymore but take it from me, you're a ⭐

Doodle I'm so glad you had such a good break, you deserved that. Do you think Mark 8.5 was still sleeping after raucous partying ? Jeeves is a good egg tidying up before you got back.

How's our barista? Have you found suitable tenants for your flat now Grammaretto or do you think you might sit on the idea of reletting it for a while?

*Jan, I have such images of you tipsy ?. I think you'd be rather jolly ?

Match night tonight but I won't be able to see it live ☹️. Don't think I'd even attempt a match report for this rather scary fixture!

Nah, ?, we'll be fine. Have faith in miracles.

kaimoana I don’t know that I remember a Kelly. The closest I can come is Weebles. Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down being the catch phrase. Some how I can see you being game to be in a circus. I can just see you volunteering to be shot out of a cannon. As Cherry said you will always be our star ⭐️. Shame about the publication though.
Cherry I am suspicious about a party. Jeeves is keeping very quiet which is unusual for him.
Glad you’ve got a good support group. Sometimes they can be a big help.
Shame you can see all the games live. Hope you enjoy what you can of tonight’s match. If it’s scary, will you be hiding behind the sofa? That’s where I used to go when I watched horror films.
Grammaretto have you been in the cafe again today?

Thank you Cherry & ixion for my early morning giggle. I can alwasy rely on a smile when I come here.

Yes Cherry the BLV group have been very reassuring, not least in encouraging me not to take too seriously the strict rules imposed by people supplying the VADogs.

"I don't know a single person who walks their dog 30 minutes twice a day."
Being the most recent cheering words.

Good luck on match day -miracles DO happen and if they don't, the team will have done their best, bless 'em.

Today it's Te Ropu Kaumatua and because my neighbour can't make it this month and October is the deadline, I'm signing him up as a fully paid member so he gets Christmas Benefits. Can't miss those wild parties

Grammaretto I have A Plan.
When shoving showing people around your flat, casually tell them you're a Barista but make it sound like 'barrister' - that way they'll be scared of you (and defaulting on rent or being unruly) from the outset.

ixion Cherry I have everything crossed for our team…….just hope I don’t need the toilet. ?

Go team!
Cherry and Ixion.
Another far too busy day. My gate has disappeared. It's a huge iron gate which closes the access I share with the town hall. It's being repaired apparently. I wonder how many years it will be gone for. I feel exposed

I have taken down the advert now.
I was getting stressed thinking about these poor souls who have nowhere to live. The requests to view were coming thick and fast. Some have entire families. I can't help them all so have decided to help none engage an agent who is coming on Friday.

Today I took DMiL and sisinlaw to the café for lunch and no, I didn't make coffee. Still in training! It might be quicker to train as a Barrister
I took her for her flu jab.

I am pleased that you are not too worried about the dog walking Kaimoana
One dog we had, a whippet X ran v fast but she was so well trained not by us that you could throw a ball and she would run 3 times round the park at 100mph and then meekly drop the ball at your feet. My kind of dog walking.

.^Match report ^ .... our winger missed a penalty and we lost one nil ?.
Did I tell you it was a scary fixture ?.

Cherry

Oh dear, we didn't win. .
Are we sick as parrots? Of course we are.

I, however, won a raffle and came home $50 richer.
Which, in light of my dire financial circs, is a timely bonus.

Oh dear Cherry and ixion. That’s a shame but perhaps our team just felt sorry for the other side and let them win. Yes I’m sure that’s it.
Kaimoana what a lovely win. So pleased for you. Perhaps you can buy some more carrots now. ?
Good to hear that not everyone can meet the dog walking standard. Hope you get your dog soon.
Grammaretto well I don’t suppose it’s every day you come home to find your gate has been taken. Hope you get it back soon. I think you may be right about the agent. You don’t want the upset of having to turn people down. Obviously your flat is much in demand but you do need someone suitable as it’s in your home.
I saw a dog similar to the one you described on the beach last weekend. It’s owner would throw a stick and it would run off and pick it up then run round like a lunatic for ages before dropping it back at its owners feet.
Our little dogs would just look at you as though you were mad if you made any suggestion of them doing anything so inelegant as running and as for picking up anything that wasn’t a treat….
Tomorrow I am taking the geriatric to the falls department. It looks like being a long day. DH is a bit apprehensive. Last time we went somewhere similar they did the dementia memory test on him. He passed with flying colours but I couldn’t remember the answer to any of the questions

Doodle you make me laugh!!
DH had that test when he was in hospital. I don't know why. The man in the next bed was terrified.
Spell LEMON backwards. He did
Then;
What are the dates of the second world war?
"Backwards?"
Poor chap. It was cruel.

I went on a nice day out today despite heavy rain. I met my pal and we went to. 2 exhibitions. The knitting one was gorgeous.
I was in awe not just of the incredible skill but the fact that these woollens have survived moth invasions for over 100 years.

I have the agent coming tomorrow and before that a family of 4 are coming for a pottery session.
Good luck at the falls department.

Here's your culprit Grammaretto It's not the Mayor is it?
Looks a bit shifty to me.
And he's shifting your gate.

It's too near the bone

Evening all. We had an interesting day at the falls clinic.
They gave DH a complete going over, he passed the dementia test with flying colours.
Everyone was very nice and very thorough. Everything was explained well. He has been booked for scans and cardiology to check possible heart murmur and to see someone about the nerves in his legs which may be affecting his balance issues. Also having 6 weeks of physio and an exercise regime for home. He’s exhausted tonight ?
Grammaretto I have a picture of myself somewhere on a beach in a knitted costume. Hate to think what would happen if it got wet. Was the pottery a success.
Well that’s a hopeless gate. What were they thinking.
Does the gate actually belong to the town hall? I would chase them until it’s returned if I were you.
Hope the agent was helpful and you get a suitable tenant soon.
Kaimoana hope your food supplies have been replenished.
DH has been given exercises to do. He has to point his toes up and down and then round and round. I did ask him if he’d like some pink ballet ? shoes to do his exercises in. ?

I am so glad the Dude is being looked after. Fingers crossed ? that whatever is causing the leg and balance problems is discovered and can be eased. I am sure ballet pumps will help.

I trust that barrier is temporary. I share the entrance because the town hall was built in the garden of our house, long before we bought it.
You see why I need the deeds!

The pottery class was lovely. Several feeding bowls for guinea pigs were made.
The agent was charming. I'm not sure what their job is but they do background checks on prospective tenants and are supposed to know the law. He thinks the flat is nice and definitely unique.

Did you really have a knitted costume Doodle?

Mine at least the one I remember was spotted cotton with elasticated shirring round the midriff.

I'm trying to give up dairy so hot chocolate made with oat milk please Jeeves.