granny grimbles outpourings

OH! WHAT A NIGHT IT WAS!

2007-09-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

Sandy the builder wanted to work today Saturday) to finish off a few bits and pieces, so we didn't get a Saturday lie in, but I advance too swiftly!

We always go to bed at 11 o/c latest, so that we can leap out of bed when the alarm goes off at 7 am. Last night Arthur went up at about five to and left me to close down my computer programmes and put the cats to bed etc. That's when it started. My computer gave me a flashing red URGENT message to say that my antivirus needed updating and I was in an unprotected and dangerous situation. I tried to update it but it kept telling me it was already fully updated. Then I'd get this red message again and so on. I called to Arthur that I was going to do a quick scan and would them be up. It took ages to do, and still said that I was unprotected and in a vulnerable situation. I had no choice but to close down and go to bed, hoping it would have sorted itself by the morning.

By the time I'd said my prayers it was gone midnight. Then I couldn't sleep. I was just on the brink, when Arthur sat up and started going on about handkerchiefs. When I told him to shut up and go back to sleep he insisted that he had to get a hankie but they were kept on the floor and he couldn't find them! I told him to light the torch we keep by the bed, and he would see the hankie box on his bedside table. First he couldn't find the torch, then he didn't know how to turn it on. I was getting more awake by the second! I took the torch from him, turned it on, and shone it on the hankies, he then returned the torch to his bedside cabinet and went back to sleep. I didn't!

About 1.30 I was just drifting into that lovely cosy spot that you get to just before you switch out like light, and Arthur sat up again waking me once more! 'Now what' I said (not best pleased) ' I can't switch on the torch' mumbled his Lordship. He kept saying 'It's all wet there' and waving the torch about in the darkness. I grabbed the torch out of his hand, switched it on and illuminated the bedroom. 'There, there's no wet anywhere,. For goodness sake go to sleep' I snatched the torch from him, switched it off and put on my side of the bed. In doing so my arm brushed against the clock/radio alarm and must have compressed the snooze button. Immediately the radio came on! I had no idea how to cancel my snooze button as I'd never used it before. Nothing would make the radio go off, and I didn't know how long a snooze it was set for. I lay there listening to World news at about 2am praying that it would switch off in about ten minutes. I couldn't turn the radio low because then, if I went to sleep and the alarm went off as planned at seven, I would never (after such a night) hear the radio and wake up. I couldn't leave it at the required volume to awaken us in the morning, because I would never get to sleep at all!. Arthur was, (the swine),out for the count!

After it had been going for 55 minutes I drifted off. Thank goodness I awoke later and the thing had gone to sleep. I sat up and reset the alarm for seven and then went to sleep. At six o/c, I was awakened again by Emma jumping off the bed, Usually a signal that she's about to poo on the floor unless I put her out pronto. I leaped out of bed and she followed me to the loo where I had to stop off first. I then got halfway down the stairs and realised that Emma wasn't following me. I called her... no response. I dragged myself weary and aching back up to the bathroom door where she was waiting. As soon as she saw me she trotted to the bedroom door and waited for us both to go back to bed! I think she only got down to stretch her legs! It was now six o'clock and I seriously wondered if it was worth going back to bed, just to experience the joy of drifting off beneath the warm duvet, only to be rudely woken up 1 hour later to radio 4 baring a wake-up call. But I did.

When I switched on my computer about half past eight, not only did I still get the red message, but I couldn't open ebay or several other sites. The monster kept saying it could be unsafe as their certificates had run out and they were no longer registered. I tried ringing John but he was caught up in a family crisis, and Philip was still in Madeira. In the end I rang Keith my friendly neighbourhood Computer whizz. He said check your clock and calender. I did and it read 22nd Sept. 2009! I had transported myself into the future where nothing had been updated for two years!. I was so relieved. I was sure that I'd been zapped by some awful virus, just to round off my surreal night!

Needless to say, I feel soooo tired and Arthur couldn't remember much about it!

THINGS ARE LOOKING BETTER

2007-09-06T09:26:00.000-07:00

Went to see the doctor today because of my high BP. He took it again and said it was a bit high, but not enough to change my medication and to look at it again in three months, So I'm not about to have a stroke!
My blood test that I had done yesterday was back, and it was 6. I asked him what that meant and he said it meant very good, in fact he would say it meant excellent! So whatever I'm doing diabetic wise, I seem to be doing well!
He looked at my cholesterol which was reading 3! So my arteries don't seem to be in danger of closing down!
I told him that I am having great difficulty in keeping awake, even at eight in the evening. He said unfortunately, that was a side effect of my BP tablets! So I don't appear to be harbouring any undesirables at this point!
All in all not a bad trip out, but more to come. While waiting for the cab home, I rushed into the factory shop to get some more of those plastic crate things, and they were almost sold out. I bought five more packs which should see the job through So a VERY GOOD TRIP OUT.
Tomorrow is the only day this week (well since last Saturday actually) that I haven't had something booked for, so it will be spent clearing out kitchen cupboards and throwing out stuff that I haven't used in the past year!
Incidentally, talking of throwing out, did you all know that the old post office building is going to open next Thursday as a St Luke's Hospice shop. So that will be a good thing.

THE START OF A NEW CHAPTER

2007-09-04T12:53:00.000-07:00

It is with a very happy heart that I rejoin the 'Bloggers'. As you probably all know by now, Arthur was given a sort of reprieve today when the scans that he had, showed that his cancer had not spread. This gives me mixed feelings, as I cannot but help feel bad, that everyone in this position hasn't had the same results. But it's also very scary to think that you might lose someone who has been part of your life for 59 years!

So I close this blog with a poem I wrote for Arthur a few years back, and tomorrow will start again with a lighter heart, and lots of fun news. Thank you all for your kind words and prayers XXX

YOU ARE…

You are the last piece in the jigsaw that makes my life complete
You are the shining beacon that lights up the corners of my soul
Like sunshine

You are the Laurel to my Hardy
The light for my dark
The joy for my sorrow
You make my life complete

You are the keeper of my secrets, a friend for all my life
You are early light that wakens up the daytime and
The dusk that enfolds me

You are the vinegar with my chips
The butter with my bread
The sage with my onion
You make my life complete

You are the reason that I promised, “Till death us two do part”
You are my strength my shoulder to cry on

You are
Therefore
So am I

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

2007-08-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been blogging for a while, but most of you know that we have had a worrying week, and I haven't really felt like posting or commenting much.

To those of you who haven't heard, I'd better let you know that Arthur had the results of his biopsy today, and unfortunately it was positive. We are now embarking on a journey that we pray will have a happy and positive ending. May I take this opportunity to thank all of you, family, friends and people that I don't even know, for your prayers and good wishes. Please keep your prayers going, we really need and appreciate them.

The other upset that we had was Willum our cat going missing. Again thank you all for your concern. When he finally returned home he didn't look happy, so we took him to see Andy his friendly neighbourhood vet. Willum being Willum let Andy roll him around, poke things up his nether regions, prise open his jaws and peer down into mouth and throat. He put him on his back, on his front, hung him up by his tail (only joking Tina) took his temperature and said he couldn't find anything wrong. I knew better, he wasn't eating and didn't look good. As Andy turned his back to enter it all on the computer, Willum made a little noise and started to furiously lick his thigh. Aha! said Andy. Look! slug slime trails up his tail and back! The upshot was that he'd had a bundle with another cat who had bitten his thigh. In an exhausted state willum had zonked out under a bush all night, too tired and aching to come home. Snails and slugs had walked all over him while he was asleep. He gave him a healthy shot of antibiotics (£49 worth!) and now he is as right as rain!

We are busy also emptying cupboards and sorting out the contents into piles. One to keep, one to offer to people who want, and one to give to the charity shop. This is in preparation to the builder coming next Tuesday to start building me a downstairs loo in my utility room. I'm having to lose at least three double wall cupboards to make room, hence to clear out. Expect some hair raising tales when they start. I'm sure I'll have some!

Nice to be back in the circle again. Till next time Adios!

LITTLE FLY UPON THE WALL AND SUMMER PUDDING

2007-08-17T05:31:00.000-07:00

Little fly upon the wall

Ain't you got no shirt at all?

Ain't you got no shimmy shirt?

Brrrrr Ain't it cold!

Mum used to say this on chilly day, anyone remember? Well today I'M saying it because I feel bloomin' cold. We've put the heating on for an hour to warm us up a bit as my fingers are really cold!

Not a lot to report today. Arthur is doing really well, no problems with anxiety and the bleeding that they told him to expect to last for fourteen days, stopped last night! Not sure if that is good or not and might ring the hospital to find out.

We were a bit naughty last night. Because of the trauma of the day, (Isn't it easy to justify things?) we treated ourselves to fish and chips for tea. It was delicious, freshly cooked and delivered to out door. All I had to do was heat the plates and get the sliced gherkins out! We did enjoy it. I spent the evening doing a bit of decoupage and watching TV. We watched 'Young Elvis in Colour' did anyone else? Then I watched the drama 'Forgiven' which gave a very interesting insight into child abuse. Can't say I enjoyed it (who could) but it was compelling viewing and didn't actually show any child abuse.

We have a DVD to watch tonight called white noise, This is the synopsis:

What would you do if you could tell who was about to die? Would you try to intercede, to stop something horrible happening? Would you tempt fate? Would you play God? Nathan Fillion (Slither, Serenity) stars as Abe Dale, a man faced with that terrifying choice. After his family is brutally murdered and surviving his own near death experience, Abe undergoes a transformation that allows him to “see” those among the living who are about to die. But when he tries to save people from their fate, he discovers there is an ultimate price to be paid for interfering with the natural order of life and death

It sounds a bit nasty, and I'm not sure if I want to see it, Has anyone else seen it. What do you all think?

Today I'm going to make a summer pudding for dinner. I haven't made one for years, but bought a white loaf specially for it. If I sweeten the fruit a little with Splender, I can have some too. I'm also going to make a bread and butter pudding (which I can't share in) for Arthur, poor little love. That will perk him up no end!

By the way Babs. Because the cat flap magnetic system isn't working, the cats don't need to walk around with big magnets hanging from their collars. So, I've removed the old ones and fitted Boomer and Willum with those diamonte ones that you and Mo bought for them - very smart!

Do you all know about Sandiue's abcess on her tooth? What a thing to get when she has visitors for the next week and a half! Poor thing. But she said it didn't hurt and that is very strange, as I remember Babs with a face like the Elephant Man and in agony when she last had one. I just pray that it wasn't the calm before the storm! I shall ring her later and find out if she is still pain free. I do hope so.

Well that's all for now. I'll let you know how the summer pud comes out.

Bye for now XXX

LONG TIME - NO WRITE

2007-08-15T07:17:00.000-07:00

It seems like ages since I last entered anything in my blog. Things, as most of you know, have been a bit hectic here since Sunday. My son John, and his two stepsons were supposed to be repairing our roof on Sunday. They came, one man short, because one of the lads was 'hung 0ver' thus leaving them shorthanded. My John had to be 'roofers mate' and so he didn't get the time to do the things that he'd said he would. ie de-spider my shed, and fix me with a solar powered shed light. He's promised to return soon and finish the job.

Monday afternoon was spent at the hospital having an assessment and making arrangements for Arthur to have more 'memory tests' I have to let them know when it's convenient, and they will set up a series of weekly tests which, when completed, will be compared to the ones that were done about ten months ago.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was spent getting ready for, and recovering from, a visit to yet another hospital where Arthur suffered yet more invasive examinations. The outcome to that, is that they are admitting him tomorrow morning to do a biopsy, but we will have to wait about ten days before we get any results of their findings. We have to leave the house at 7.45am, so will probably get up about 5.30!

I must tell you all, that Sandie's husband (and our brother-in-law) has been an absolute knight in shining armour for us this week. Not only did he take us to the hospital yesterday, but he has now offered to call for us tomorrow at quarter to eight, take us to the hospital, wait with me while Arthur in in theatre, and then bring us home again. He is doing all this on a day when Sandie and Len are preparing for, and expecting visitors for a nine day stay! They must be so busy, and yet they have time to spare for us. We are so grateful. Thank you both very much, God bless you.XX

I probably won't 'blog' tomorrow, but will let you know the next day how things are going

XX

A FEW TIRESOME DAYS

2007-08-11T13:07:00.000-07:00

I'm just letting you know that you won't be hearing a lot from me for the next three days. At least not on blogs. We are going to have a few unsettling and worrisome days, so may be a bit quiet. Tomorrow (Sunday) John is bringing his two stepsons (who are roofers) to come and do some repairs to our roof. That will be a bit wild as it always is when family get together. John is also going to de-spider my shed and fill a few holes for me. The next day, Monday, Arthur is going to the hospital to see the specialist that gave him all the memory tests nearly a year ago. They want to go over them again, to see how things have gone since the last visit. They haven't gone well, so I am a bit worried about what they will find when they do the next lot of tests. The next day Tuesday is the real humdinger. I've managed to get a private appointment with the specialist who did Arthur's prostate operation years ago. The NHS hospital has done tests and they are not happy and want him to go in and have a scan and biopsy. I'm trying to get it done privately, but my insurance will only let me if I have to wait more than six weeks. I thought that this would be a doddle the way the NHS is at the moment. When I rang our local hospital they said that it was urgent, and the latest they could leave it would be 30th Aug, so I booked that. I didn't tell Arthur, but that worried me. Now I'm worried to leave it as long as six weeks, and worried for him to go into a NHS hospital. The other problem is that the Specialist, Mr Parys, can't see us till 5 o/c Tuesday. Most of you are aware that our silly taxi service goes home at 4.45! I don't mind going extra early and just sitting around till we can see Mr Parys, which is what we will do, but it's the coming home again. The whole thing is a big headache and a big worry that I have to bear alone, because I daren't talk it over with Arthur! I don't know what the Specialist will find on Tuesday, or what his prognosis will be, or how I am supposed to deal with it! Any way that's why you won't be hearing much from me for a few days. Have a lovely week-end tomorrow. Let's hope the sun shines a little !

THINGS THAT GO "OH NO! IN THE NIGHT"

2007-08-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

I was woken up at 4.15 last night/ this morning by Emma walking all over my legs and feet. I leapt out of bed grabbed her up and took her into the garden. (Her bowel movements are very unpredictable these days) I stood in bare feet and waited for her to 'do her duty'. I carried her back into the bedroom and put her on the foot of the bed. It was then that my nose told me that I had not woken up in time! I did three trips to the bathroom holding hands full of yukky toilet roll . All this by the light of a torch, so as not to wake Arthur up! I trundled back downstairs to get a cloth and my salvation, the OxiAction carpet spray. When I opened the kitchen door again, there was Willum and Boomer cornering a poor little field mouse! By now it was gone quarter to five! I caught the cats and locked them out in the utility room, and then proceeded to catch the mouse. I was so tired I was working on auto pilot as I'd only has three hours sleep. I tried every thing to catch the poor creature who looked terrified. I used my trusty empty wall poster tube, a fluffy duster and a long woody flower stem from my vase. He wedged himself in a corner behind some pipes and I couln't budge him. I decided to leave him to calm down while I cleaned the bedroom carpet. So, by the light of my trusty torch, I sprayed the offending stain and sat on the edge of the bed to wait the required 5 minutes. Arthur was still fast asleep and quite unaware of my sufferings! I duly rubbed and scrubbed at the stain and got rid of about threequarters of it. It was difficult to see by torchlight, but it wasn't quite gone. I put the cloth in the sink in water to soak while I went downstairs to remove the mouse. I searched all over the kitchen, but he had disappeared. I was so tired I could hardly keep my eyes open. I'm afraid I said (under my breath) Alright you silly creature, I've done all I can to help you, now you'll have to take your chances. I let Boomer back into the kitchen. Willum had gone out into the night, presumably to look for a replacement mouse! I dragged my poor aching bones up the stairs yet again, calling in at the loo one last time, and went back to bed. It was 5.30 and daylight was coming through the bedroom curtains! Please God, let me have an unbroken night tonight!

2007-08-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

I meant to leave this earlier today, but have been doing all sorts and didn't have the time. This afternoon was spent with a trip to the doctors, and then on to the CoOp to stock up on a couple ot items that I'd run out of. By the time we'd eaten and I'd messed around with the computer, and watched a bit of TV, I felt really tired. I sat in my recliner and settled down to see a programme about Anne Robinson. I couldn't keep awake, so didn't see a great deal of it! Now I feel wide awake! Arthur is watching a film and I just can't face any more TV, so have decided to catch up on the computer that has been sitting here lonely all night! I had one solitary email waiting for me from Sandie, complaining that I hadn'tcommented on anyone's blogs and when was I going to write one - so here I am, all up to date!

I decided to go through my pile of LPs and brutally set aside all those albums that I would never play again. I must have discarded about thirty that are all in pristine condition but I can't be bothered to put on the turntable. Mind you I have saved about twice that amount that I can't bear to part with, and also won't be bothered to put on the turn table! I was about to send them all to the charity shop, when my daughter Lynne said that LPs are much sought after these days, because they don't make them any more, and there are still die hards who won't play any other sort of music! So now I have this pile of vinyl on the floor in the lounge that a few days ago was neatly filed away . Not much progress there then! Anybody fancy a boot fair?

Willum and his wound are doing very nicely. He's being so good and hasn't once nibbled or scratched at his stitches. One of the perks of having a laid back cat! We go to have the stitches out on Friday. Poor little Emma is failing a little more each day, and is being sick etc. She actually sort of jumped to catch a moth yesterday though. So there's still a little spark in there!

Weather permitting, My son John and his two step sons are coming to repair our roof. I'm praying it won't be wet and windy because I don't know when they will be able to come again.

I have found a rather nasty black monster in my garden shed, so I'm not too keen on going in there at the moment, which is another reason I'm hoping John will come. He knows how terrified I am of them, so will make certain that it, and any others, are carefully and safely removed.

Have planted five bean plants in a grow bag down by the shed and they are doing very well. I'm quite excited. The gardener tells me that the slugs will eat them, but I've bought a slug pub, and I'm hoping they prefer Stella Artoire to bean shoots!

That's all folk!!!!!!

GRIMBLES VIEWS ON COLLECTING

2007-08-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

I think that there's a smidgen of OCD in our family somewhere! We are all into collecting or arranging things, some of us into both! Mind you a lot of it is governed by great sentimentality too.I have collections (not the same thing as collecting) of things that children and family members have given me or made for me. I didn't choose to 'collect' them, but how can I discard a gift of love? On more than one occasion I have shown one of my children something that they made for me 35 years or more ago' I carefully lift it down, blow the dust off and say. 'Would you like this now?' Expecting them with a tear in their eye, to gently take it from my hands, kiss me gently and say 'Thank you Mother, I shall continue to treasure it' But NO! All I get is 'What do you want this junk for, I'd bin it if I were you' With a tear in my eye, it goes back from whence it came!

I must own up to a measure of collecting though. Sindie was quite right, her and I do have a lot in common. Boxes are beautiful objects whether empty or full. I have lots in my craft room. My most recent 'good buy' was a quantity of semi-opaque plastic boxes to hold peel-offs. They are the same size as say, a sheet of peel off butterflies. By the way, not only do I collect peel off butterflies, which go in the semi-opaque plastic box, which is labelled with the help of a Brothers labelling machine...But they are sorted into silver, gold, coloured, glazed, 3D etc butterflies!!! Oh what fun. I digress. All these lovely boxes are labelled with the name of whichever type of peel-off is inside. If I want a letter, or a leaf, or a frog, or some choice words. I know exactly where to go for them. I call that being organised !

Sandie mentioned her unmentionable handbag. We once compared them and weight for weight (and they were weighty) they were about the same. A family member once played the " I bet you haven't got a ... in your bag" game. They gave up in the end in hysterics! I won every call of, a screwdriver, scissors, tool kit, extendable tape measure, stain remover, elastoplast, loo seat cover, toilet wipes, antibacterial hand liquid, spare tablets, comb, brush, toothpicks, magnifying glass, sewing kit. I could go on forever. I know if I haven't used any of these things for a year I should remove them, thus easing the pain in my arthritic knees when I carry my bag around! But having carried these things for years, it must be time soon for them to be needed.

Don't laugh at poor Livvie. She is held in the grip of genes from her mad OCD family members. Even Mo, who is not genetically connected to our mad mob, used to collect (and probably still yearns for) dozens of plastic plants and flowers. It took great courage on her part to break this hideous habit, but she succeeded, and is now a very repectable non-collector. I was thinking we should all try to be like Mo, but I have recently discovered she has replaced platic plants for audio cassettes of her own voice! I rest my case.

ALL DONE BUT NOT QUITE DUSTED

2007-07-30T09:44:00.000-07:00

We now have Willum back home in the bosom of his family. Thank you very much Len for bringing us back from the vet, and on your birthday too! He looks just a trifle woozy, but otherwise purred very loudly when I gave him a cuddle (Willum not Len!)

He has quite a long scar on his neck with, the nurse says, about 5 or six stiches, though I can't see that many. They removed a 'nasty' tooth and cleaned and scaled the rest at the same time. I have to keep in him tonight while he's still under the influence and feed him only soft wet food. Apart from that it all looks plain sailing. I do have to give him antibiotics twice a day, which might not be such plain sailing, we'll see. Now all we have to do is sit back and wait for all the get well cards and boxes of diabetic chocolates from his family of cat friends!

Stitches out in 10 days and a check up on 2nd Aug.

WILLUM'S BIG DAY

2007-07-30T04:40:00.000-07:00

What a performance! We couldn't feed Willum later than 7pm last night, and couldn't let him out either (in case he got hungry and ate the odd mouse or three). I can't lock the cat flap because it needs looking at and doesn't work properly. Since it's at floor level, that rules out any repairing by me! We found a plastic crate thing that if stood on end, blocked off the cat flap very nicely. Since Willum is not stupid when it comes to escaping, we couldn't rely solely on that to keep him in. Lynne and John came last night, so we got him nicely settled on John's lap and shut all communicating doors! It wasn't too bad until it came to bedtime, then he was determined to escape from Alcatraz! Of course he couldn't and I felt so sorry for him because he must have wanted to go to the loo before bed, as he always does. In the ten years that we've had him I've never , ever, seen him go to the toilet at all. I assume he does, as he hasn't exploded yet! Emma was determined to get me up this morning and kept head butting me from 7am till 7.30, when I could stand it no longer. I bought her downstairs where all three of them immediately wanted breakfast! I really did feel sorry for Willum then. He must have been busting to go out, and since he hadn't had his bedtime snack he must have been so hungry. I let him out into the hall and he rushed up to flomp out in bed with Arthur. Emma and Boomer had a good breakfast and went out in to the sunshine for a spell. Having got up earlier than intended I managed to do some washing, have two cups of tea, and clean and refill the water cooler. It was then that I saw where Willum had attempted and failed the big escape. A large stretch of my kitchen window sill had been cleared into the sink, including my African violet and my large china pot that I keep all my cooking utensils in. He had obviously seen the daylight, and thought he could tunnel out through the window! He must have been frantic. Ah! We managed to get him into the vets on time and he is now in Barnsley, being, or waiting to be, operated on. We have to pick him up (all being well) at 4 o/c. Oh dear! more taxi troubles. Will let you know how he is when we bring him home.

My picture is in complete contrast to the one I posted previously. Not me this time, but Mummy on board the liner, on her way home from the States.

A LITTLE FOLLOW UP

2007-07-25T05:11:00.000-07:00

Thought those of you who found the story of my radio interesting, would like to read the follow up to my story. I receved this lovely email this morning:

Hi Leeta,

Thanks for the reply, as you will see from my address below I am
almost at the other end of England, well Kent anyway !!
I'm glad that the photos brought back some happy memories, and
you never know you may stumble upon another set locally with
somebody that does not know what they have.

Kindest regards, Malcolm

Vintage Radios

What a nice man!

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

2007-07-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

A BLAST FROM THE PAST!

I was sitting here thinking about the flat that we lived in when we were first married 56 years ago. I remembered our little radio that we bought for the kitchen. How I loved that radio. It was modern and different. Not a brown polished square wooden box, like all radios were up to that point. This one was pale green plastic. And had a sloping rounded back. No corners anywhere. I was so proud of this very modern piece of equipment. Whenever we’ve visited museums or exhibitions of days gone by, I’ve hoped that I would see it again, but never have. I remembered it was made by a company called Sobell, so I put Sobell into a Google search in the hopes that the Company was still going, and would perhaps tell me something about my little old radio from the past.
Sobel didn’t come up, but I did get the name of a place that specialised in selling and restoring old radio and record players etc. He had an email address so I wrote to tell him of my old love affair with a green plastic Sobell radio. I thought it might interest him. Imagine my amazement when I received a reply almost by return. This was what he wrote back:

Thanks for the note, ...I am fairly sure that
the radio you are describing was the Sobell 'Sobellette'
or Model 439, I have inserted a small picture below so
that you can confirm that this is what your radio looked
like.
Also by chance / fate I do have one of these somewhere
in my workshop, and from what I can remember it was a
pale green colour !!...Regretfully I haven't seen it for well
over 15 years, but my PC database still confirms that it is
out there somewhere.
Regretfully these small Bakelite radios, especially those
that were coloured, as against plain brown etc. are now
extremely desirable and command very high prices. I would
guess that the coloured versions of this set would command
about £100 Pounds in non working un-restored condition today,
and fully restored in perfect working order around £150 pounds.
I have no idea as to the condition or state of the set I have at
this time, apart from the fact that I know I have never restored it,
so it would certainly need to be restored before it would work
again satisfactorily.
It would also help if I knew where you are located, as these
Bakelite cabinets do not travel well!!.... They are extremely fragile,
and if you were interested at all then it is a set that would be better
collected than sent through the post or by Courier.
Let me know if this is the set you remember and if you wanted
me to try to locate it at some point.

Regards, Malcolm

He lives in Maidenhead!
Of course I had to write and thank him and tell him that I wasn’t in the market for buying a radio at that price. But I now have a picture of it. And I’m really thrilled. Do you know I described the radio that I hadn’t seen for about 50 years to this guy, and when he sent the picture it was spot on!

A TRIP OUT FOR WILLUM !

2007-07-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

Today we took our cat Willum to see the vet. About three days ago I was scratching his neck (it made a change from scratching Arthur’s) and I felt a nodule under my fingers. When I looked, it was what appeared to be a huge tick, but it was pink and not the usual purplish colour of a tick. As it was a weekend, I decided to take him to the vets today Monday. The appointment was for 4.10 and the cab that was to ferry us was booked for 3.50, all was well in the world. Well, not quite. Willum had gone AWOL.
Not one to miss up on fortuitous weather, he had scampered into the fields after breakfast, and was probably now fast asleep under a hedge, stretch out in the sunshine. He has done this before, worrying us that he has met an untimely end, and then wandering in for supper about ten o’clock at night!
Once he didn’t wander in at all, and three days later we found him weakly sticking his paw our from under an up and over garage door half way down the hill, but that’s another story.
At a quarter past three I phoned the vet and told the receptionist that Willum had gone walkabout, and probably, no most likely, wouldn’t return until after dark or in a thunderstorm, whichever was the soonest. She very kindly said that she would keep the appointment open till half past three, and would then give it to someone else if I hadn’t phoned to tell her otherwise. I laughed and thanked her, but told her not to hold her breath, and we’d see her next Monday (the first free appointment) Five minutes later, my other cat Emma came into the kitchen and asked to be let out into the garden, I unlocked and opened the back door, and there, sitting in the centre of the lawn and washing his nether regions, was Willum. Arthur rushed out and scooped him up, and I (with five minutes to spare), phoned the vets to tell her it was all on again!
The upshot of all this is, we made the appointment, it wasn’t a tick, and he has to go in on Monday morning for a little op and to send the lump to be analysed in case it’s something ‘nasty’. Andy (the vet) says that he doesn’t think it will prove to be serious, but he has to go down that path first. While Willum is ‘out for the count’ Andy is going to scale & polish his teeth and remove a bad one. One thing that surprised me, was that Willum is down with the vet as being almost 11 ½ years old, and I thought he was only 9 !
Since this entry is all about Willum, I felt his photo was appropriate.

By popular and insistant demand!

2007-07-24T06:24:00.000-07:00

If my anecdotes bore you I disclaim all responsibility. I am only here because I am fed up with saying no to my siblings who seem to want to read my out pourings! I don't know why I've put this photo on, it's awful and makes me look like I've been dragged from my bed and propped up bleary eyed, to have a mug shot taken. I'll try and send a better one later! I thought it might be fun to start with my earliest snapshots, and gradually 'grow older' as the weeks progress. What do you think? Perhaps adding people as and when they were added to my life. Any way here I am and I will give this blog some thought, and report back to you when the thoughts are worthy of being read! Hope you are all happy now. Adios amigo!