Chatty Cathy

Constance

It’s been almost 30 degrees here yesterday and just too hot for bulldogs outside.

This will be a “ Chatty Cathy” kind of blog today.

I took the dogs for an early walk and that will be it until tonight after dusk.

For those that remember Constance ( my first rescue bulldog) they may recall that she died walking on only a mildly warm day. She was an old dog, who had health issues , but the heat could well have been a factor in her death and I will never take that chance again, never

https://disasterfilm.blogspot.com/2011/08/you-give-your-heart-to-dog-to-tear.html

I couldn’t get off to sleep so found a Valium tablet left over from my husband’s  nervous flyer days in the medicine box and slept the sleep of the dead until it was ready for work. I  took magnum ice creams in for day and night staff when I came on duty as a bit of a morale booster and as the hospice has no air con in the patient areas we have set up fans throughout the building corridors which now has a cooling rush of breeze about them.

I am reminded of the convent in Black Narcissus 

It’s all very comfortable if a little breezy.

I was due to collect Roger tomorrow , but it is a long drive to Alfreton and I just knew his breeder would cancel because of the heat . I’ve provisionally rearranged for the 1st of August. She describes him as “ Smart but cuddly”

Now I have five days off……part time status is hitting home just a little. 

Whooooo hooooo

I’ve enrolled in the counselling course which starts in September and have sent all the paperwork off as well as the fees so that’s another box ticked. 

The rest of the week has been organised with my typical and no doubt irritating detail

Choir returns tomorrow , Wednesday it’s Ness Gardens for a mooch and lunch with a friend and Thursday Ive got tickets to the filmed version of Jodie Comer’s hit play Prima Facie 

Friday my sister and I are going to the Grovensor Park Open Air Theatre to see Little Women which will be frothy fun all told.

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Alive

Don't worry. I am still alive even though I haven't blogged in a couple of days. 

Simon is now safe in the hospice and though we will see him again tomorrow,  this weekend Shirley and I took the opportunity to visit our lovely son Ian and his equally lovely girlfriend Sarah in their new home in Fulham, West London. It was the first time we had seen it.

We slept in the attic room which in spite of the blistering heat outside was very comfortable. The house was refurbished to a high standard by the previous owners and Ian and Sarah have enjoyed their first month living in the property.

It was great to see them. Together we visited The Tower of London for two reasons. Firstly, there was an amazing display of wildflowers in the former moat called "Superbloom" and then, secondly, as the sun was sinking, we attended the ancient "Ceremony of the Keys" which has been conducted every night for the past seven hundred years. It is the oldest extant military ceremony in the world.

We all slept soundly on Saturday night and then at lunchtime today we visited "The Captain Cook" pub in Fulham for Sunday lunch before Shirley and I headed back to St Pancras for our late afternoon train back to Sheffield. It was in fact cancelled so we had to board the very crowded 16.02 back to Sheffield. Thankfully, we bagged two seats.

There's more to be said in the week ahead and of course I snapped a good number of photographs too. So yes, still very much alive as Great Britain awaits the hottest temperature ever recorded in the next two days.

And, by the way, I have never visited a hospice ever before.

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