Living in the UK again

This dreaded cold, is a strange one. I did another Covid test, as I was concerned that what I had wasn’t just a cold. But no, it’s just an unusual bug. I don’t have a blocked nose, I ache all over and feel pretty weak. Anyway today I feel a bit better, so might go out for a wander. But first I need to wait for the nurse to change the dressings. This is probably the least enjoyable day of the week, as I am truly housebound until the nurse comes, or they ring me in the afternoon saying they will come tomorrow.  Yesterday I made a Spaghetti Bolognaise for us, using a recipe handed to me by one of my neighbours. They had made it for me ages ago, and I asked for the recipe. I made it as specified and it is very good.  I had my portion, as I thought my lodger would be late, but he ended up coming earlier than I thought. He does send me SMS messages , so I know when to expect him. He loved the meal, he gets really enthusiastic about the food I have cooked for him, which makes me very...

Last night we had sausages. These were I was told, very similar to Ukrainian sausages. They were surrounded by potatoes and carrots in a metal tray in the oven. Of course it was all accompanied by salad and the bread from our breadmaker.  It was all very nice. We ended up watching Poirot sorting out who ( or whome)  killed the gangster on the Orient express. My lodger managed to follow what was going on, but it’s more complicated than watching a cooking competition. We do have a few more GBBO  to watch. I cooked  a Chicken Basque today and I gave the kitchen and the bathroom a quick clean, prior to going into the village. Talking of which, it was the Guy Fawkes bonfire last night, and as I said to my lodger, it was throwing it down. No fireworks in Ukraine he told me. I mentioned that I read a very suspect article about the fact that Putin had died, he said there have been several rumours about that before and of course it’s all stage managed, so you don’t really kno...

This is the strangest cold I have ever had. I have a sore throat that feels like I have swallowed a load of broken glass, it’s really painful to swallow anything. I have an achy head and my  body feels just out of sorts. As I type this in, it’s raining cats and dogs, it was blue skies this morning. There was a rampant shrub to cut back which had invaded our greenhouses from next door, my lodger started doing that, but he has been in their hours and it sounds like he is tidying the shed also. He is going to get soaked when he finally comes into the house.  I was thinking about my last visit to the physio. There are little private consultation offices upstairs and after walking upstairs, I then have to walk along the length of the gym room to go into the one we normally use. The far wall of the gym room is covered in mirror glass. My physio told me to look up and see how I am leaning towards my good leg. This is natural of course, my body is just trying to protect it, although t...

 I had plans to get the bus to Reading today, but last night I developed a sore throat and a throbbing head. But first  I had my haircut at the house mid morning.  So I scaled down my aspirations, and ended up walking into the village. I had some shopping to do, fancied a coffee at the new coffee shop/wine bar and also get some medications. As it’s downhill to the village I elected to walk in  and get the bus back home. It just so happens the bus has our road on its route. I walked into the village, it was a nice sunny day, as I neared the village and St Mary’s church, I saw the lady who I visited at the beginning of the week. I  carried on, and using the pedestrian crossings, found my way to the pharmacy. After this, I went to the supermarket and got the things I needed. My next stop, as I had time, was to visit  The Orangery  I sat down, ordered a nice coffee and a cake. They do all sorts of different things, I am sure I will visit them again soon. I...

 The dog puzzle is finished, just a day before my kind friends who gave it to me, are returning to the US. Thank you again!  Last night we had the Squash and Chick pea curry, I asked my lodger to taste it before we had it, in case it wasn’t to his taste, but it was. He made some very tasty potato mash to go with it. While we were having dinner, I asked him to show me where he lives in the Ukraine, it sounds very nice, in the shadow of mountains and near the plains. He showed me photos of the house he has over there, which looks really nice. He has installed a wood burner and I saw the photos of its installation. I said he must be missing his wife and daughter, he said yes, and the power stations are being pummelled again.  We watched another GBBO, this time the bread episode, I think he enjoyed it. It tends to spark off conversations, which is good. We then watched a gardening/cookery program with Hugh  Ferning Whittingstall, and that led me to show my lodger the pho...

 On Monday after doing a walk to visit a friend and having a nice cup of tea and a chat with them, I went upstairs to rest my leg. I then heard the door bell go and I heard my lodger open the door to one of my neighbours. He did manage to explain that I was upstairs having a rest. She had a lovely fruit cake for us, and when I came down I saw it, and then opened it up. It was lovely  and moist, and I suggested my lodger had a slice. He ate it and he said it was delicious! I explained that not many people make home made cakes anymore, which is very sad. It’s a nice cake but boy does it fill you up! He was off to work overnight to put Christmas lights up somewhere around the M25. That cake would keep him going until it was time for his sandwiches that he had made for himself.  In the morning he emptied the pond, removing the plants and water. I did not have any wellington boots, so he went in barefoot. So we are ready now to install the new liner and fill it up when the guy...

Before we started preparing for Sundays roast dinner meal, I did some more English with the lodger. I think he is doing really well. I did some more words and phrases, he picked up my current Agatha Christie book and tried to read it. He was doing ok, but there are a lot of words that we don’t use nowadays. I then had an idea, how about the BBC News website? Well unfortunately there was some horrible news from Ukraine, a bombing of a Post Office. But he read it, and most of the words he pronounced well. Of course he may well not have understood what he was reading, but there were words he knows. I find it very satisfying teaching him to be honest.  By two in the afternoon, we were preparing things, a selection of spices were found, he mixed them with a little oil and it was smeared over the chicken. The chicken was popped in the oven, covered in foil. Later on, my lodger peeled a ton of potatoes and the other vegetables. Over the next two hours, other things like the potatoes went ...

 It’s interesting the direct parallel to a year ago, that this slice of time holds. A year ago, myself learning Greek, this year, my lodger English. I spent some time Saturday going through some English and it’s when you do this, you realise how confusing it can be! I took some ideas from the Michel Thomas Greek course, at the beginning anyway. “I want a sandwich” ( or coffee) although the Greek course did not introduce the Greek word for coffee as it’s masculine until much later on. But no worries like that for English. I wrote the words down in my best block capitals, on paper, we did three sheets, including “do you want”  “ I have” and so on. The complications came when I taught him “can of beer” then later “can I have a coffee”. He laughed having seen the word can being used in two situations! Of course there are plenty of examples like this in the English language! I just need to prompt him to use the words when I know he has been introduced to them. My Skull and Crossbon...

Last night we had the fabled kedgeree, with a salad of course and my lodger had bread as well, he really likes the breadmaker bread. He is learning a lot of food related words, I think that’s the thing, learn words that you need and use, learning the word for Zebra, was not very useful to me, when I was learning Greek! I asked him if he would have the kedgeree again and he said he would.  As he wasn’t working yesterday, he went into Reading with his countryman who lives opposite, got a haircut and did some shopping. While he was doing this, a friend of mine popped in for a coffee and a chat, she does Wordle like me, unfortunately I told her yesterdays word thinking she had already done the puzzle! She had not! I did a walk, with my shoes on, trying to get the foot flat down. It’s a bit better now. I met the lady who also had a cage like mine on and we shared a few more moments of living  with it and the walking sticks, that always seem to fall down, however carefully you place...

We had a nice meal Wednesday night, a Salmon in a pastry. A bit like a Salmon Wellington. We had it with the usual salad. My lodger  said that he often tinkers with recipes, I think he was warning me, that things might not always be to my liking. I told him if he could eat it, then I could! He laughed at that. I think he is settling in well, he often works through the day, and occasionally the evening. He is picking up more words, I ought to try and teach him some. I often look at the history section of Google Translate  to see what we have talked about.  I went to the physio Thursday, I did a little bit more work on the gym kit, bit by bit my walking is improving. It’s come along a long way since my stumbling efforts when we got back from Greece. At the end of the thirty minutes, my physio, showed me how to walk with one stick, unfortunately I have been doing this on my own, she was very pleased how I picked up the one stick walking, which is good. But outside she wants ...

So another action packed afternoon yesterday. I was taken by my pirate flag bearing friend to a Dog Physio place just outside the village. The place is called  Wobbly Dogs . The aforementioned friend has been driving yet another friend and her ten year old Labrador to this place, as he has been finding getting about isn’t so easy any more. The place is run by two young ladies, we met one yesterday who is fully trained, she  did the usual physio training, then a masters in animal physio. She starts with a look at how well this dog walks, then on a nice comfy mat, she  felt around his limbs and back, identifying areas where he might be having a hard time of it. She then did some manipulation, and treated him with a sort of laser looking device. This dog has been coming here for over a year, I think he visits once every three weeks. The owner said it’s like a transformation. Clearly not all his problems can be fixed, but he looks pretty good to me. At the end of the session,...

  I have decided to try and spend more time doing real things and less time on the iPad. As it reports screen time every week, I will easily be able to see if I am successful in this. I have updated my freezer contents list, to include things my lodger has tossed in there, and also a few frozen meals we have put in, including a couple of portions of last nights meal. I also went into the garden and picked up the fir cones off the gravel which have fallen in the last two days. If the forecast is correct, there will be some more after today’s storm. Under our Rosemary bush, we had several seedlings, I have put them into individual pots, which next year, I will take to the local Horticultural society store, to be sold. The money from them can go into their funds. A friend of mine would also like one. While I was in the garden, my mobility convoy friend called out, as I was in the back. She had warned me she would be dropping off the latest pair of shorts that she has tidied up. I thou...

I am going to do what I did on Serifos, and that is just spend a short amount of time writing these blogs. I was wrong about the potatoes, we actually had roast carrots but potato mash with the Quorn pies. My lodger spotted our potato ricer, which makes a super smooth mash, and he add cream and butter to make it super creamy. He ended up doing an overnight shift last night, and came back just before I got up.  When I am walking about in the house, I am still using one stick, it lets me carry small items, easily. I can hobble around small distances without a stick, but at the moment, I prefer to use one to keep me stable. I had a message from friends in Shrewsbury yesterday, they saw us just after we got back from Greece, we are going to do a Zoom call soon. They would see a big change in my mobility. I have come a long way, that first month was a bit ghastly with the two UTI’s, they are a distant memory now thank goodness.  Before my lodger went out to work last night, we had ...

I have just finished yet another jigsaw. The neighbours around here have loads, but there is one I have seen that I won’t be trying. Most of it is nice, but at least a third is a white, with the odd pattern in it, else it would  be truly terrible. The pieces are thin and small. Not for me thank you. My neighbour is determined to finish it, she doesn’t want to get beaten. I walked to one of my friends house today, the furthest I have been. My reward was tea and a home made biscuit and lots of affection from her dog. This dog is a Jug, a mix of a Pug and a Jack Russell. I am not very keen on either constituent breed, but the combination makes a nice dog, but beware there is another in the neighbourhood and that dog looks nothing like this little lady. ( but still a good looking animal)  It was nice to catch up with my friend and her husband.  My lodger is cooking tonight, he is listening to the radio, Radio Four, I think that’s a good idea. It really brings back memories of...

One thing is, I am drowning in is cakes. All the ladies around here are giving me cakes. Most of them are widowers and like to make cakes, they used to when  their husbands were alive, but on their own, the effort might not seem worth it. Today’s kind gift was a chocolate cake. At least I have someone else who can help me eat it now. All my shorts are getting a bit tight, which means I am putting weight on! But I think it’s stabilised and doing more walking is probably keeping it in check.  I also had a visitor yesterday, with her families dog, who unbelievably is now five. She has the most amazing coat and a lovely nature. When she used to see me, she always used to go crazy, and this time was no different. Like a lot of dogs I know, I have known here since she was a puppy.  Sadly they are moving away in two weeks, but I will go and see them and hopefully dog sit both dogs, as they now have a German Shepherd puppy. Both the puppy and the elder state lady black Labrador d...

  Well I must be a fairly good cook. The Shepherds pie from last night was very good I was told. One of the neighbours I saw yesterday, told me to grate some cheese on top of the potato and that worked well. While I was visiting one of my neighbours another dropped a cheesecake off for us, which is very kind. Again while I was out, Borscht soup was made, I think we are having it today. We have had to postpone the Sunday dinner until next week as the guys have to work Sunday. He has tried the bread from the bread maker for breakfast and he said that was good too. The online grocery order arrives today. I was asked if we could do some work in the garden, well my lodger really meant himself of course. So we walked around the garden and I showed him perennials that can be cut down now. There are some invasive weeds that need removing from the border, but they can wait until next time. The gravel needs hoovering, but the green waste bin is full now I think. The interesting thing was alt...

We had our meeting with the council coordinator yesterday. Because my lodger is close to the Ukrainian family living opposite, he was pretty much all set with the things on the coordinators checklist. There will be another meeting in a weeks time to check on  how things are going,  then another in a months time. He is picking up English faster than I learnt Greek in Greece a year ago ! His enthusiasm to help me knows no bounds. No only did he do the floors, the bathrooms and toilets got a going over too. Embarrassing to say, the house had never looked so clean. He has added little touches of things, that he asks me about first, I have agreed to all of them. He made our dinner tonight, two pork steaks, rice with sweet corn and a salad. From the little experience I have on the cuisine, they often have salads with meals. I plan to introduce my lodger to my famous Shepherds pie  tomorrow. I had a home made mix in the freezer, all I  needed to do was boil some potatoes, ...

Today, it was  my monthly visit to the Fracture Clinic at the local hospital. Upon my arrival, usually  my leg is X rayed and then I wait to see a consultant. Last time we went there we heard the news that the metal frame was likely to be on until Xmas, possibly later. I was hoping the X ray would show that the callus, which is a bit like what you get when you weld two bits of metal together would show a bit more progress. On the way into the hospital, we met a lady with a  similar cage on, she had hers on for fifteen months, but her break was really bad. There was a load of gazebo’s by the entrance to the hospital, they were cooking food like burgers for the NHS staff, these were free, not sure how it’s funded, I am sure the staff would prefer a big wage, but it’s a nice gesture I thought. I asked about the phantom  infection in the leg which wasn’t an infection after all. The bump is still there on my leg, but it’s nothing to worry about. As I had only just had an ...

  Yesterday I had a call from my neighbour, could my lodger move in? Of course, I was ready. He came over with the mother of the Ukrainian family living in my neighbours house, and I welcomed him at the door and said, that I wanted him to feel like it’s his home, although I realised it’s not going to be easy, just moving into to this strange house. ( the mother translated for me ) I then took them through all the rooms and explained everything that I thought he needed to know. In the kitchen , I said he must feel like he can use things that are there  in the fridge for example, without asking, but I know I would feel odd doing  so.  We exchanged telephone numbers, I gave him a key and they left. He returned later on, armed with his things and settled in. Later on he came into the living room with one of his beers. Using google translate we then conversed, exchanging things about us, I saw photos of his wife and teenage daughter, his friend who is now on the front lin...

  So a decision has been made, that I won’t be returning to the Greek island, full time after I get better. Lots of reasons, I would be a liar if I claimed the accident did not have its part in the decision, but it wasn’t the only reason. But I will be going back to the island, to see my friends there, and to Sifnos where my special three friends live. I might when I feel it’s interesting, document part of my daily life in the UK, we are having a Ukrainian gentleman living in this house as part of the refugee program, in a few days time. Our kind neighbours opposite, they have had a Ukrainian family in their house for a long time now, two young children, a teenager and the mother and father. It’s an extended family unit now, with our neighbours  grown up children and grandchildren, and I am so proud of my them all. If anyone deserves a MBE they do, they have done so much to help the family feel at home in their house. It’s going to be strange for me and my lodger to start with...