First of all, the weather here in northern England has been gloomy. Still air without rain and not especially cold but a blanket of anticyclonic cloud has hung heavy across the land with no sight of blue sky or the golden orb.
On Wednesday, it emerged that America had made a monumental mistake by choosing the odious Felonious J. Trump as their forty seventh president. It was the same day that our daughter, Frances, lost her job.
Regular readers of this blog will recall that her boss was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident back in June. Unsurprisingly, his previously thriving start-up company has faltered and the business is pulling in its horns in an effort to survive. Sometimes the drive and energy of an entrepreneurial leader just cannot be replaced. In the course of time, I expect the company will fold.
This is no comfort to Frances. The job paid really well and now, with a young family to raise, she must go back to the drawing board. I am sure that something will come up but in the interim there will be understandable anxiety. Also, with her husband Stewart, she had planned and largely paid for a family holiday to Western Australia in February. His brother lives there. If you knew you were going to be jobless you wouldn't plan such a trip.
They are over in Lanzarote in The Canaries just now so I don't even get to see the little granddaughters who always bring sunshine aplenty with them.
To add to the gloom, I watched my beloved Hull City playing West Bromwich Albion on television this afternoon. Though I think the Tigers were the better team, we lost by two goals to one. Oh, woe is me!
A month ago, I knew almost nothing about blood pressure but since I discovered I have high blood pressure I have learnt a lot about it. It makes me quite glum to admit that I will be taking antihypertension medication for the rest of my life. To check on my progress, I will be seeing a doctor again tomorrow. I will go armed with my blood pressure readings - taken at home over the last seven days.
The doctor will probably advise certain lifestyle changes but I am pleased to say that I had already significantly reduced my intake of alcohol. I went out to the pub quiz and drank beer this evening but I hadn't consumed any beer since last Sunday.
One bright spot on the immediate horizon is that Shirley and I will be driving to the coast on Tuesday. I have booked two nights in a small apartment in the little Yorkshire seaside town of Filey. It is a place I have known and liked all my life and for November the weather forecast seems okay. Certainly less gloomy. It will be nice to get away - if only for a short while.
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/EaBW3fY