I may not have enough pages in this, my trusty notebook to record the events of today - let's just say this was never in my wildest dreams the day I had anticipated...
It should have been such a simple and relaxing day and, indeed, started out as such save for the fact that first thing there was absolutely no water at 23 Tredegar Road so our morning ablutions were limited to hot water from a thermos so no shower and no hairwash for me which meant I had adopted the look and smell of a village idiot. Paul, my aunt and uncle's trusty plumber (trusty in that he is a family friend and turns up at the drop of a hot but maybe not so trusty in terms of ability if you listened to some anecdotal evidence) had been called and was due sometime this afternoon so undaunted we carried on with our plans to stock up on finger food goodies from the local Tesco Extra in readiness for a family get-together on Sunday. This was so exciting for me as I could then ensure I had all the toileteries I so desperately needed.
Life without the internet for the next few days/weeks possibly was going to be challenging as I now realise how much I have come to rely on my phone and Google to provide an answer to so many questions that arise during the course of the day. I am currently staying near Sonning - Theresa May's constituency and I had no idea whether or not she was still in office. Normally a quick read of the daily paper online is the start to my day.
Having declined the extortionate additional insurance cover on the hire car I was desperate to ensure that Europcar has absolutely no reason whatsoever to collect the £1100 excess so the first job this morning was a car shuffle on the drive. I reversed off the drive with the intention of putting said hire car under the carport giving Uncle David free access and egress with his somewhat, and worryingly, battered car. This was a great idea until I realised that whilst I could just squeeze the Citroen in I was unable to open the doors and get out. So Citroen was returned to its spot outside the front door and tucked as far in as possible to allow David to manouevre his car in and out thus ensuring both hire car and excess remained untouched.
We headed off to Tescos narrowly avoiding taking out a man holding a Stop/Go sign very firmly in the STOP position which Uncle David failed to see although fortunately Aunty Joyce had and quickly brought it to his attention before the construction worker was flattened. Uncle David merely gave him a cheery wave and carried on regardless.
We parked up a fair distance from the entrance but Aunty Joyce explained that Uncle David always likes to park in the same spot in the carpark otherwise he might never find the car again!! We split up giving me the opportunity to get my bits and pieces and to have a mooch. The shop was vast and the choices mind-blowing - some items are super cheap and others not so but the massive range on offer must tempt people to buy more than they need/want thus resulting in massive waste. I had a little look at the homeware and was glad to see that actually Jumbos could have given it a run for its money in terms of choice, price and quality.
There was nothing much that caught my eye in the clothing range and actually nowadays it is easier to get things that I want and like in Cyprus. I did see a really nice pair of flat shoes and if they have them in Yeovil I just might treat myself to a pair but they were £16 which I thought was enough to pay for a pair of pumps.
We returned home unscathed and parked up without incident so that was a blessing!!
With some time before lunch and the much anticipated arrival of Paul the Plumber I set about trying to capture a photograph of the Kite which is a regular visitor to Joyce and David's garden. It sits up the top of a huge fir tree and calls for its food and they generally oblige throwing the meat onto the top of the kitchen flat roof where it swoops down and collects - this would have given me a perfect position for an action shot save for the fact that it had become camera shy! Even though it was around and sometimes with as many as four other companions it would not come down anywhere near - not even for a duck bone that Aunty Joyce has saved for him.
I managed to get a shot of the end of its tail as it took flight from the tree and several where it was high up in the sky but never a close up. I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to listen out for it in the morning and try and get a snap from the bedroom window.
Uncle David was mowing the lawns so I sat down by their pond to take some photographs of the creatures that were in and around the water - sadly a heron had put paid to any goldfish being in there so now it is just a wildlife pond. There were all sorts of dragonflies and damsel flies and newts to keep me occupied.
We had lunch and then Paul the Plumber arrived thankfully - he removed a ton of calcium deposit from the hot water tank and fixed the issue with the water but then I realised shortly after his departure that the downstairs loo was continuously flushing which may have had some bearing of the tank emptying itself previously and so Paul was called again and was set to return later that day.
After this things suddenly went awry as Aunty Joyce began to feel a little unwell which is most unusual for her, actually practically unheard of so the fact that she was feeling a little dizzy and nauseous was not to be taken lightly although initially we thought maybe it was just the holiday and the flight catching up with her.
I persuaded her to go and have a lie down for a little rest but then she started gettings pains in her stomach which got worse and worse in a very short period of time. I cooked tea hoping that she might improve but she didn't and so eventually I persuaded her that we really ought to perhaps call a doctor.
Eventually and reluctantly she agreed but not before I had contacted my cousins Debra, Jonathan and Nicholas to let them know that there mum was seemingly quite ill. This proved difficult as Debra was out celebrating her daughter's birthday and they have a "no mobile at the dining table" policy and Jonathan was driving collecting a take-away but I did get hold of Nick.
One by one the family members arrived by which time I had rung the NHS 111 service and we were waiting for a return call from a doctor and then to cut a very long story short my cousin Jonathan and his wife Catherine took my aunt directly to A&E as this was the quickest option and they would be waiting for her.
Eventually after investigation they decided that the issue was gynaecological and would need further investigation. As it was Bank Holiday weekend they agreed that my aunt could return home with pain control and await further tests which would be carried out later in the week. They eventually arrived back home at 3.00am Saturday morning. The pain relief was working and I was glad that I had been able to keep my uncle company and that he had managed to get some sleep.
At this stage we knew that there could be a number of reasons why she had been so poorly but hoped it was not going to be anything major.
It should have been such a simple and relaxing day and, indeed, started out as such save for the fact that first thing there was absolutely no water at 23 Tredegar Road so our morning ablutions were limited to hot water from a thermos so no shower and no hairwash for me which meant I had adopted the look and smell of a village idiot. Paul, my aunt and uncle's trusty plumber (trusty in that he is a family friend and turns up at the drop of a hot but maybe not so trusty in terms of ability if you listened to some anecdotal evidence) had been called and was due sometime this afternoon so undaunted we carried on with our plans to stock up on finger food goodies from the local Tesco Extra in readiness for a family get-together on Sunday. This was so exciting for me as I could then ensure I had all the toileteries I so desperately needed.
Life without the internet for the next few days/weeks possibly was going to be challenging as I now realise how much I have come to rely on my phone and Google to provide an answer to so many questions that arise during the course of the day. I am currently staying near Sonning - Theresa May's constituency and I had no idea whether or not she was still in office. Normally a quick read of the daily paper online is the start to my day.
Having declined the extortionate additional insurance cover on the hire car I was desperate to ensure that Europcar has absolutely no reason whatsoever to collect the £1100 excess so the first job this morning was a car shuffle on the drive. I reversed off the drive with the intention of putting said hire car under the carport giving Uncle David free access and egress with his somewhat, and worryingly, battered car. This was a great idea until I realised that whilst I could just squeeze the Citroen in I was unable to open the doors and get out. So Citroen was returned to its spot outside the front door and tucked as far in as possible to allow David to manouevre his car in and out thus ensuring both hire car and excess remained untouched.
We headed off to Tescos narrowly avoiding taking out a man holding a Stop/Go sign very firmly in the STOP position which Uncle David failed to see although fortunately Aunty Joyce had and quickly brought it to his attention before the construction worker was flattened. Uncle David merely gave him a cheery wave and carried on regardless.
We parked up a fair distance from the entrance but Aunty Joyce explained that Uncle David always likes to park in the same spot in the carpark otherwise he might never find the car again!! We split up giving me the opportunity to get my bits and pieces and to have a mooch. The shop was vast and the choices mind-blowing - some items are super cheap and others not so but the massive range on offer must tempt people to buy more than they need/want thus resulting in massive waste. I had a little look at the homeware and was glad to see that actually Jumbos could have given it a run for its money in terms of choice, price and quality.
There was nothing much that caught my eye in the clothing range and actually nowadays it is easier to get things that I want and like in Cyprus. I did see a really nice pair of flat shoes and if they have them in Yeovil I just might treat myself to a pair but they were £16 which I thought was enough to pay for a pair of pumps.
We returned home unscathed and parked up without incident so that was a blessing!!
With some time before lunch and the much anticipated arrival of Paul the Plumber I set about trying to capture a photograph of the Kite which is a regular visitor to Joyce and David's garden. It sits up the top of a huge fir tree and calls for its food and they generally oblige throwing the meat onto the top of the kitchen flat roof where it swoops down and collects - this would have given me a perfect position for an action shot save for the fact that it had become camera shy! Even though it was around and sometimes with as many as four other companions it would not come down anywhere near - not even for a duck bone that Aunty Joyce has saved for him.
I managed to get a shot of the end of its tail as it took flight from the tree and several where it was high up in the sky but never a close up. I resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to listen out for it in the morning and try and get a snap from the bedroom window.
Uncle David was mowing the lawns so I sat down by their pond to take some photographs of the creatures that were in and around the water - sadly a heron had put paid to any goldfish being in there so now it is just a wildlife pond. There were all sorts of dragonflies and damsel flies and newts to keep me occupied.
We had lunch and then Paul the Plumber arrived thankfully - he removed a ton of calcium deposit from the hot water tank and fixed the issue with the water but then I realised shortly after his departure that the downstairs loo was continuously flushing which may have had some bearing of the tank emptying itself previously and so Paul was called again and was set to return later that day.
After this things suddenly went awry as Aunty Joyce began to feel a little unwell which is most unusual for her, actually practically unheard of so the fact that she was feeling a little dizzy and nauseous was not to be taken lightly although initially we thought maybe it was just the holiday and the flight catching up with her.
I persuaded her to go and have a lie down for a little rest but then she started gettings pains in her stomach which got worse and worse in a very short period of time. I cooked tea hoping that she might improve but she didn't and so eventually I persuaded her that we really ought to perhaps call a doctor.
Eventually and reluctantly she agreed but not before I had contacted my cousins Debra, Jonathan and Nicholas to let them know that there mum was seemingly quite ill. This proved difficult as Debra was out celebrating her daughter's birthday and they have a "no mobile at the dining table" policy and Jonathan was driving collecting a take-away but I did get hold of Nick.
One by one the family members arrived by which time I had rung the NHS 111 service and we were waiting for a return call from a doctor and then to cut a very long story short my cousin Jonathan and his wife Catherine took my aunt directly to A&E as this was the quickest option and they would be waiting for her.
Eventually after investigation they decided that the issue was gynaecological and would need further investigation. As it was Bank Holiday weekend they agreed that my aunt could return home with pain control and await further tests which would be carried out later in the week. They eventually arrived back home at 3.00am Saturday morning. The pain relief was working and I was glad that I had been able to keep my uncle company and that he had managed to get some sleep.
At this stage we knew that there could be a number of reasons why she had been so poorly but hoped it was not going to be anything major.
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