Welcome to my blog. I'm Gill, a Lancashire Lass living in Manchester but Essex is where my heart is. These are my musings really on all things and everything. Hope you enjoy. Please feel free to comment if you wish.
Thursday, 25 July 2013
Crisis & Adversity!!
In Duton Hill we didn't have underground electricity lines as it was open countryside, we still had overhead power cables. This of course meant that in the event of storms or strong winds, torrential rain, heavy snow etc we were susceptible to power cuts and these were fairly frequent. Power cuts in a pub create their own special problems. The till would go off so we reverted to the old paper & pencil adding up method. The coolers which the beer lines came through from the cellar also went off, so lagers and cider warmed up quickly and everything in the kitchen was powered by electricity so it meant no food but generally a power-cut brought out the best in people, the stoic side of them.
And if the power was off at the pub, then the whole village would be out. If power was off for any length of time then the people would all come up to the pub for some company and social interaction so we always did quite well out of such a situation. On one occasion we had Simon & Julia (from 2 doors down) and Shaggy & Stella carry a trivial pursuit board, mid game, up to the pub. They'd been having a game when the power went off, gave it 10 minutes to come back on and then thought, right let's take it up the pub and so they did!
But usually one of the first to turn up was Melanie. She used to make me laugh as you could almost time her arrival after everything went off. She loved seeing everyone piling into the pub in what she named 'a time of crisis & adversity', from then all such occasions as this were known as times of Crisis & Adversity among most of the regulars and Mel became a bit of a village legend when the power went off.
Mel would sit at the end of the bar drinking half after half of bitter and end up going home at closing time somewhat tipsy hailing the beauty of 'crisis & adversity'.
In the cold, rainy, dreary Autumn of 1997 Karen, Mel and I were sitting in The Three Horseshoes having a drink together and a good old moan about how crap the weather was as we gazed out of the window and watched the rain running down the middle of the car-park. I thought it the perfect time to bring up the subject of holidays, suggesting we should all go on holiday together, not really expecting them to go for one reason or another.
I added I was obviously thinking that it would have to be a holiday in the UK because Karen always holidayed with her doggies. Karen looked at me like I was bonkers, "sod the dogs" she exclaimed "let's go to the sun!!".
And with those immortal words the girlie holiday's were born.
Over the years the 'crisis & adversity' thing became the phrase for many an accident or mishap and on the girlie holidays, they were many, many moments, mostly connected to me and my ridiculously daft body which is liable to do the oddest things at the most inopportune times :o)
Saturday, 20 July 2013
Introducing 'The Girlies'
Although I've always been quite an out-going & gregarious person, very happy-go-lucky and positive in my out-look, as I reached my mid-20's I hadn't made any lasting friendships.
You know, those kind of friends who would help you hide a body kind of friendships.
At school I'd had a group of girlfriends and been fairly popular but none of the friendships lasted much after school. I left a year before my friends as my birthday was before the start of the academic year and theirs were all after. I did have one close friend after leaving called Beverley Youles and we kept in touch for a good few years. Sadly Bev died when I was about 23, she'd suffered from brittle bones and had died of a heart attack, it was quite a blow.
Once I met Derek (husband No.1 *spit spit*) he became my only 'real' friend sadly. At the age of 20 I moved in with him in his home in Bromley in Kent and back then I was happy he was my one and only friend, because back then I loved him and assumed he loved me too... time was to tell a different tale on that one!
Also I was slowly drifting away from my 3 sisters. Partly because I'd moved away and although it was about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Blackpool to Kent, it seemed it was too far for them to travel to visit me often. It was also down to them having their children and starting their families and I wasn't. One of my sisters pointed out once that we didn't really have a lot in common any more, I thought we had each other in common but obviously I was wrong.
So it was just me and Derek for quite some time.
After a few years of bit part jobs for him acting-wise and me working in various admin jobs we had a bit of a set-to one night in our local pub, The Oak. He was whinging as usual about wanting to run a pub and then true to form doing sod all about it. There on the mantlepiece above the fire was a stack of leaflets about training in pub management with Whitbread.
I shoved a leaflet in front of his face and told him to do something about it instead of moaning, which he did and the rest is history.
In 1993, after the novelty of working for a multi-national company had well and truly worn off, putting the house on the market and spent a couple of years of looking at over 200 pubs in all for sale we finally found our very own free-house and moved in to The Three Horseshoes on 3rd August 1993.
We opened the doors for the first time on a Saturday lunchtime, 7th August (although technically we'd had to open 2 nights previously for an inter-village darts competition).
A couple of the locals were getting married at one of the five parish churches and most of our customers that sunny lunchtime were the villagers all suited and booted for the wedding. We obviously didn't meet the bride & groom but everyone else came in and introduced themselves.
So, these 'girlies' then. Well there are 5 of them including me.
I met them all over a period of the first couple of months in one way or another as they were all customers. Although they all knew each other by sight as they all drank in the 'Shoes, they were acquaintances rather than friends.
It all began when I invited a group of customers of the female variety (possibly about 15) from Duton Hill out for my 31st birthday to an Indian restaurant in Great Dunmow, 7 accepted and that was the start of 'the girlies'.
And here are the original 7 - Kathy, me, Carole, Mel, Stella, Marilyn & Karen.
Gosh, we all look so young!
Karen on Millennium Eve with one of the village locals
I think Karen was the one I met first.
She lived on the outskirts of the village with her then husband Rob (or Lob as some locals knew him after he drunkenly introduced himself as such sometimes).
Stella at her surprise graduation meal at The Plough
I think Stella (also a Virgo) is probably the one I remember meeting next.
I seemed to be collecting northern friends in an Essex village.
Mel being typical Mel at one
of the Christmas Decorations
Dinners
Mel, the token Welsh contingent, I remember first seeing because she was going out with a quite noticeable bloke at the time called Ben, so technically it was Ben I noticed before Mel!
So those are my girlies, the lights of my life. I've known them 20 years this year and it's flown by, what I wouldn't give to go back to those Duton Hill years and share some of the laughs we had in that pub.
They are all still a huge party of my life now, even though the halcyon days of 'The Shoes' are long gone. I'm in Manchester, Karen will soon be living in Ireland and the 3 still in Essex are widely spread now, so gone are the days of nipping down the road for a quick glass of wine or popping to the back gate to get a piece of delicious home made cake, or decorations dinners, talking about rabbit catching knickers & laughing so much it hurt....
Awwww, happy days....
You know, those kind of friends who would help you hide a body kind of friendships.
At school I'd had a group of girlfriends and been fairly popular but none of the friendships lasted much after school. I left a year before my friends as my birthday was before the start of the academic year and theirs were all after. I did have one close friend after leaving called Beverley Youles and we kept in touch for a good few years. Sadly Bev died when I was about 23, she'd suffered from brittle bones and had died of a heart attack, it was quite a blow.
Once I met Derek (husband No.1 *spit spit*) he became my only 'real' friend sadly. At the age of 20 I moved in with him in his home in Bromley in Kent and back then I was happy he was my one and only friend, because back then I loved him and assumed he loved me too... time was to tell a different tale on that one!
Also I was slowly drifting away from my 3 sisters. Partly because I'd moved away and although it was about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Blackpool to Kent, it seemed it was too far for them to travel to visit me often. It was also down to them having their children and starting their families and I wasn't. One of my sisters pointed out once that we didn't really have a lot in common any more, I thought we had each other in common but obviously I was wrong.
So it was just me and Derek for quite some time.
After a few years of bit part jobs for him acting-wise and me working in various admin jobs we had a bit of a set-to one night in our local pub, The Oak. He was whinging as usual about wanting to run a pub and then true to form doing sod all about it. There on the mantlepiece above the fire was a stack of leaflets about training in pub management with Whitbread.
I shoved a leaflet in front of his face and told him to do something about it instead of moaning, which he did and the rest is history.
In 1993, after the novelty of working for a multi-national company had well and truly worn off, putting the house on the market and spent a couple of years of looking at over 200 pubs in all for sale we finally found our very own free-house and moved in to The Three Horseshoes on 3rd August 1993.
We opened the doors for the first time on a Saturday lunchtime, 7th August (although technically we'd had to open 2 nights previously for an inter-village darts competition).
A couple of the locals were getting married at one of the five parish churches and most of our customers that sunny lunchtime were the villagers all suited and booted for the wedding. We obviously didn't meet the bride & groom but everyone else came in and introduced themselves.
So, these 'girlies' then. Well there are 5 of them including me.
I met them all over a period of the first couple of months in one way or another as they were all customers. Although they all knew each other by sight as they all drank in the 'Shoes, they were acquaintances rather than friends.
It all began when I invited a group of customers of the female variety (possibly about 15) from Duton Hill out for my 31st birthday to an Indian restaurant in Great Dunmow, 7 accepted and that was the start of 'the girlies'.
Kathy (in white) made me that cake as a surprise... the sambucca shots were also a surprise, the hangover was not.
And here are the original 7 - Kathy, me, Carole, Mel, Stella, Marilyn & Karen.
Gosh, we all look so young!
I think Karen was the one I met first.
She lived on the outskirts of the village with her then husband Rob (or Lob as some locals knew him after he drunkenly introduced himself as such sometimes).
Karen (a Virgo) is a huge animal lover and back then she was very active with The League Against Cruel Sports, was a hunt saboteur and regularly went off to protest at the Christmas Day & other fox hunts. Her and Rob had 4 dogs which they walked to the pub a few evenings a week 'early doors'. They'd get to the 'Shoes just gone 6pm and would leave at the end of my shift around 8pm. They liked a drink, which she won't mind me saying, boy did 'Lob' like a drink!
I instantly liked Karen as she was Northern (from Ashton-under-Lyne), very friendly, very theatrical in her mannerisms, nothing was too much trouble for her and she seemed a good laugh. Our friendship was cemented when she offered to drive me home from a short stay I had at my then in-laws holiday flat in East Wittering in Sussex. On that long drive back to Essex we found out everything we needed to know about each other and have been firm friends ever since.
I instantly liked Karen as she was Northern (from Ashton-under-Lyne), very friendly, very theatrical in her mannerisms, nothing was too much trouble for her and she seemed a good laugh. Our friendship was cemented when she offered to drive me home from a short stay I had at my then in-laws holiday flat in East Wittering in Sussex. On that long drive back to Essex we found out everything we needed to know about each other and have been firm friends ever since.
Stella at her surprise graduation meal at The Plough
I think Stella (also a Virgo) is probably the one I remember meeting next.
Although she's the only girlie who didn't live in the village, she lived in the neighbouring village of Great Easton and it was her wedding that everyone had been attending that first Saturday we opened to the public. Now Stell is the only one I wasn't sure about when we met, to me she seemed quite unapproachable.
There was a couple who lived 2 doors from the pub who everyone knew and everyone loved, called Simon & Julia (or Mo) and Stella was married to Simon's brother Andy (known as Shaggy). Si & Mo were also big drinkers and spent lots of time in the pub and Stella & Shaggy joined them. The first thing I noticed about Stella was her beauty, she's quite a stunner but she always seemed a little stand-offish although once I got to know her I realised that was in my imagination. We became real firm friends over a period of time when her marriage broke down, she chose to confide in me and it was then that I really got to know her and realised how vulnerable she was although her exterior had told a different tale. Stella is also a northern lass, having been born in Alderley Edge and she's also the only one of the 'girlies' to have a child, she has a gorgeous lil girl called Fran who is a honorary girlie!
I seemed to be collecting northern friends in an Essex village.
Mel being typical Mel at one
of the Christmas Decorations
Dinners
Ben had long hair and I liked men with long hair. To be perfectly honest I really don't remember becoming friends with Mel, it just kind of happened and it really does feel like she's always been in my life, she's more of a sister to me than a friend. We fit together as friends quite well and I love her to bits. When things were bad with Derek, as they frequently were as time went on, I would finish my shift at 10pm and nip down the road to her gorgeous little cottage and have a drink with her and tell her my woes.
It's safe to safe that Mel probably knew more about me and what I was up to than I did. She definitely knows all my secrets and is that friend I'd been seeking, the one to help me bury a body!! Mel was once described a being 'lovely on the inside' and that's true, she has a heart of gold. She also has a wicked sense of humour, is very law-abiding which has caused a lot of teasing over the years and a proper good laugh.
Carole helping with the clear-up
after my 'Leaving the
Pub' Party
And lastly we come to Carole, or 'Mother' as she is also know. Carole is the eldest of the group but after a couple of glasses of wine we all forget this fact very quickly, especially Carole!
It's safe to safe that Mel probably knew more about me and what I was up to than I did. She definitely knows all my secrets and is that friend I'd been seeking, the one to help me bury a body!! Mel was once described a being 'lovely on the inside' and that's true, she has a heart of gold. She also has a wicked sense of humour, is very law-abiding which has caused a lot of teasing over the years and a proper good laugh.
Carole helping with the clear-up
after my 'Leaving the
Pub' Party
And lastly we come to Carole, or 'Mother' as she is also know. Carole is the eldest of the group but after a couple of glasses of wine we all forget this fact very quickly, especially Carole!
I remember how we met and you can bet your bottom dollar she does too.
She came in the pub quite often for a quick G&T or sometimes half a lager & lime but she didn't like that fact advertising, so obviously I used to announce it loudly!
I had an Ann Summers party at the pub one night and invited lots of female customers, including Mel. Unbeknown to me Carole & Mel worked together so Carole found out about the party and that she hadn't been invited. One sunny evening she came marching in the pub in her sharp navy blue suit she wore for work and confronted me.
"Why haven't you invited me to the Ann Summers party?" she asked.
I was slightly taken aback and didn't quite know how to say I didn't think it was her thing but before I could answer she said
"You think I'm too square, don't you?" and to emphasise the word 'square' she drew one in the air with her fingers.
I explained that I hadn't thought it was her thing but said she was welcome to come if she wanted. She did attend and she was BY FAR one of the worst behaved women there. We've been friends since. Carole is like a whirling dervish; she doesn't stop. She works on lots of local causes, helps with the local theatre company, can always be relied upon to do a spot of volunteering, she just never stops. She's partial to a sherry and along with me keeps all of us connected.
Back in the Duton Hill years she lived across the road from the back gate of the pub and some evenings she'd ring me and we'd arrange to meet at the gate where she'd hand me a lovely bowl of either what they'd had for their tea or some cake or pudding she'd made. I loved my little food parcels.
On one occasion when my marriage had ended but I was still working the pub, I arranged to meet a 'friend' there after closing, I drew all the curtains in the bar for some privacy and she rang me just after he'd arrived to ask could I possibly open the curtains as she couldn't see a bloody thing!
So those are my girlies, the lights of my life. I've known them 20 years this year and it's flown by, what I wouldn't give to go back to those Duton Hill years and share some of the laughs we had in that pub.
I don't know how I would have managed without them on countless occasions. They were a collective rock during the breakdown of my marriage, I could and did go to them at any time of day and night in tears and turmoil.
Between us we've had 3 divorces, 1 birth, 3 weddings and countless boyfriends & lovers! They helped me with functions at the pub, they were my little band of helpers for over 10 years of Over 60's Christmas Dinners, Fundays, Theatre in the Garden, etc and they are all well versed in taking food orders, cooking pub food, washing up & prep-ing veg - there has been an awful lot of washing up & veg prep-ing!
They are all still a huge party of my life now, even though the halcyon days of 'The Shoes' are long gone. I'm in Manchester, Karen will soon be living in Ireland and the 3 still in Essex are widely spread now, so gone are the days of nipping down the road for a quick glass of wine or popping to the back gate to get a piece of delicious home made cake, or decorations dinners, talking about rabbit catching knickers & laughing so much it hurt....
Awwww, happy days....
All of us 'Girlies' taken just a few weeks ago.
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Friday, 12 July 2013
An exciting & busy week of current health & future plans
This past week has been looming large in my little diary for a few weeks now.
I kept looking to check that we really did have just Wednesday with nothing going on? It's not unheard of for Hari to have a busy week but, for me to have one, well I really can't remember the last time I've had stuff on every day of the week. As usual a lot of it was health related. So let me take you through a busy week, Gill styleeee.....
Monday
Another gorgeously sunny morning. Hari was off bright & early as always on a Monday morning, off to the Dechen Buddhist centre to do his volunteer stint as a receptionist....
I had an 11am appointment with my own personal Phlebotomist, Debbie. She's one of the Practice Nurses at the doctor's surgery, and an ex-Phlebotomist (taker of blood = vampire). She's brilliant, she's in and out of a good vein quicker than Kerry Katona can declare bankruptcy. The doctor I've been seeing here at the surgery is trying to get my kidney function & my blood pressure down to good & safe levels (everything went a bit 'wooooo' & a bit 'wheehheeeyyyy' after my knee surgery) which means monkeying around with my blood pressure medication which in turn means regular blood tests and appointments with her to decide the next step. So on this bright sunny Monday Debbie was not surprised to see me sitting in the waiting room clutching my lab form.
That evening I had a bit of a 'wobble'. This happens to me every now and again. I doubt my capabilities. I know I am capable of doing things, of getting out of the house, of being independent and of being me. But every now and again my little sodding demons rattle around inside my head asking me who I'm trying to kid, telling me how old I feel & how useless I really am.
It's unfortunately a throwback to being with my ex, as he used to delight in telling me how useless I was and how no-one liked me. It used to hit home and hurt then and its something I haven't been able to totally shake off. This was one of those nights as tomorrow I had something positive to concentrate on, and for me positivity breeds doubt.
I had a good cry as that usually sorts it out but it didn't, I went to bed with a bit of a heavy heart pondering whether to cancel tomorrows plans.
Tuesday
Dawned, yet another gorgeous day in this mini heatwave we seem to be having. I woke up mental saying 'be positive', but I didn't believe myself.
At 11am I had an interview at the Manchester College, this is what I was pondering cancelling last night as I truly thought it was above me, that there was no way I could do it although I knew deep down that I could. Ever since I decided to try and get back into gainful employment I decided I would like to work in a hospital environment as its somewhere that interests me, I don't find it a scary or intimidating and I'm genuinely interested in the work. Sometimes when we're at MRI, we'll pass little offices in corridors, their doors propped open and in there beavering away are a teams of administrators, stacks of patient files and its a hive of activity. And that excites me. Yes, yes, I'm odd I know but it does. I want to dive in there and start organising, start filing, start typing. That to me is paradise.
So when I saw the Business Administration (Medical) course advertised at the local college I thought why not. And so the day of my interview had finally dawned. Is an interview at a college the same as a job interview? What do you wear; keep it casual or smart or maybe smart casual? Do you take your CV and references? To be on the safe side I put a summer dress on, put my CV in my handbag, put a little bit of slap on and set off, trying not to be offended that Hari seemed very uninterested til I was actually walking through the door. See, it doesn't seem like he thinks I'm capable so maybe I am kidding myself, was my thought as I got in the car.
20 minutes later I was outside the college parked in a shady spot in the main car-park as the 3 disabled bays out the front of reception were all taken by cars, of course none of them had blue badges but all of them had child-seats. Funny that...
I was 15 minutes early so the receptionist pointed me towards some comfy chairs and told me to come back to her at 11, which I did. She took me in to the library, logged me on to a computer and pointed me in the direction of Maths & an English tests. Crikey, I didn't reckon on this! In all it took me the best part of 50 minutes to do both, the questions seemed endless. I thought I did OK on the English but not so good on the Maths.
So, back to the comfy chairs as the tutor hadn't turned up yet but we (me and a Spanish Amy Winehouse look-a-like) were assured she wouldn't be long.
A while later a lady bought us a cup of tea and explained that the tutor was at a different college and would be about 20 minutes. We waited. A long while later, it was now 1pm there was still no sign of her so I headed back to reception and explained that I had to go as I had a hospital appointment. They said it was no problem and she would ring me to re-arrange my interview.
Stopping for petrol on the way I arrived at MRI where Hari was waiting as he'd been to yoga nearby. We made our way to Cardiology in clinic suite C. It was packed. Ho hum. More waiting.
In all we waited about 1 1/2 hours, but in that time I was called for an ECG, which took no time at all, and an Ultrasound. The Ultrasound was ace, I got to watch my heart pumping away on the screen. I saw the little 'murmur' or hole, flapping away between the ventrical walls (the bottom 2 chambers of my heart) and heard some of the wierd & wonderful sounds the blood flow was making.
I saw a Mr Atkinson who said he thought everything was fine and was loathed to do anything to upset things but wanted to trace my notes from 1994 when I had Acute Endocarditis, as if that happened again then closing the hole might have to be seriously considered. Not on your Nelly, thought I.
After asking for a referral to a dental unit and that wish being granted we set off home.
That evening I re-arranged my interview with the college, Thursday morning it is.
Wednesday
Was our FREE day so we spent most of it sorting the garden. Hari mowed both lawns and I pulled all the weeds up between the paving slabs in the back garden which was hard work and reduced me to tears of frustration at one point, but I felt satisfied when I saw it finished, although not while I was doing it!
Thursday
Hari was off before the crack of dawn, he gave me a kiss as he left on his way to Liverpool. I arrived at Manchester College again very early for my interview. Last time the short journey had taken me 20 minutes but today with no traffic at the Mauldeth Road junction (where they're putting the metro tram line in) and every traffic light on green I was there in 10 minutes. I was told to go to the first floor and room 121 and after a bit of 'do I go left or right' when I stepped out of the lift I eventually found it.
Bernice, the course tutor was lovely (she'd sounded it on the phone) and she quickly put me at my ease. We chatted about the course, and the more I heard the more it sounded like my kind of thing. She assured me I would qualify for funding and said she was happy to accept me on the course. It would start in September and be 2 full days a week for 1 year with 9 hours of homework a week. I was absolutely over the moon and more or less floated home (I drove really)
At 3.35pm we were both again at MRI for my Nephrology appointment (kidneys). I was weighed, had my blood pressure taken and gave 2 urine samples, then waited. And waited. Hari had to leave me to go to work, so I waited, and waited.
It was getting close to 6pm and I was still waiting. I asked a nurse where I was on the list, she told me there were a few people before me. So knowing my grocery shopping was due to come between 6.30 & 8.30pm I explained I had to go. They were very apologetic but I also felt bad about leaving the clinic unseen but along with the shopping delivery I also had a banging headache and desperately needed some air.
I managed to get me and the wheelchair back to the car which involved having a 'Little Britain' moment when the wheelchair developed a limp to the left and it became impossible to steer myself, so I got out and pushed it!
Friday
At 9.30am we we back at the doctors surgery. Dr Foulds gave me one withering look when I told her about the appointment with the Renal team yesterday but she agreed 2 hours was a long time to wait. The 2nd withering look came when she took my blood pressure, I admitted that I hadn't had my atenalol as it was still at the chemist. There was a sly smile and a tut and she asked me to make an appointment for next week, no blood test this time but an appointment to have my bp taken after I'd remembered to take my medication.
I kept looking to check that we really did have just Wednesday with nothing going on? It's not unheard of for Hari to have a busy week but, for me to have one, well I really can't remember the last time I've had stuff on every day of the week. As usual a lot of it was health related. So let me take you through a busy week, Gill styleeee.....
Monday
Another gorgeously sunny morning. Hari was off bright & early as always on a Monday morning, off to the Dechen Buddhist centre to do his volunteer stint as a receptionist....
I had an 11am appointment with my own personal Phlebotomist, Debbie. She's one of the Practice Nurses at the doctor's surgery, and an ex-Phlebotomist (taker of blood = vampire). She's brilliant, she's in and out of a good vein quicker than Kerry Katona can declare bankruptcy. The doctor I've been seeing here at the surgery is trying to get my kidney function & my blood pressure down to good & safe levels (everything went a bit 'wooooo' & a bit 'wheehheeeyyyy' after my knee surgery) which means monkeying around with my blood pressure medication which in turn means regular blood tests and appointments with her to decide the next step. So on this bright sunny Monday Debbie was not surprised to see me sitting in the waiting room clutching my lab form.
That evening I had a bit of a 'wobble'. This happens to me every now and again. I doubt my capabilities. I know I am capable of doing things, of getting out of the house, of being independent and of being me. But every now and again my little sodding demons rattle around inside my head asking me who I'm trying to kid, telling me how old I feel & how useless I really am.
It's unfortunately a throwback to being with my ex, as he used to delight in telling me how useless I was and how no-one liked me. It used to hit home and hurt then and its something I haven't been able to totally shake off. This was one of those nights as tomorrow I had something positive to concentrate on, and for me positivity breeds doubt.
I had a good cry as that usually sorts it out but it didn't, I went to bed with a bit of a heavy heart pondering whether to cancel tomorrows plans.
Tuesday
Dawned, yet another gorgeous day in this mini heatwave we seem to be having. I woke up mental saying 'be positive', but I didn't believe myself.
At 11am I had an interview at the Manchester College, this is what I was pondering cancelling last night as I truly thought it was above me, that there was no way I could do it although I knew deep down that I could. Ever since I decided to try and get back into gainful employment I decided I would like to work in a hospital environment as its somewhere that interests me, I don't find it a scary or intimidating and I'm genuinely interested in the work. Sometimes when we're at MRI, we'll pass little offices in corridors, their doors propped open and in there beavering away are a teams of administrators, stacks of patient files and its a hive of activity. And that excites me. Yes, yes, I'm odd I know but it does. I want to dive in there and start organising, start filing, start typing. That to me is paradise.
So when I saw the Business Administration (Medical) course advertised at the local college I thought why not. And so the day of my interview had finally dawned. Is an interview at a college the same as a job interview? What do you wear; keep it casual or smart or maybe smart casual? Do you take your CV and references? To be on the safe side I put a summer dress on, put my CV in my handbag, put a little bit of slap on and set off, trying not to be offended that Hari seemed very uninterested til I was actually walking through the door. See, it doesn't seem like he thinks I'm capable so maybe I am kidding myself, was my thought as I got in the car.
20 minutes later I was outside the college parked in a shady spot in the main car-park as the 3 disabled bays out the front of reception were all taken by cars, of course none of them had blue badges but all of them had child-seats. Funny that...
I was 15 minutes early so the receptionist pointed me towards some comfy chairs and told me to come back to her at 11, which I did. She took me in to the library, logged me on to a computer and pointed me in the direction of Maths & an English tests. Crikey, I didn't reckon on this! In all it took me the best part of 50 minutes to do both, the questions seemed endless. I thought I did OK on the English but not so good on the Maths.
So, back to the comfy chairs as the tutor hadn't turned up yet but we (me and a Spanish Amy Winehouse look-a-like) were assured she wouldn't be long.
A while later a lady bought us a cup of tea and explained that the tutor was at a different college and would be about 20 minutes. We waited. A long while later, it was now 1pm there was still no sign of her so I headed back to reception and explained that I had to go as I had a hospital appointment. They said it was no problem and she would ring me to re-arrange my interview.
Stopping for petrol on the way I arrived at MRI where Hari was waiting as he'd been to yoga nearby. We made our way to Cardiology in clinic suite C. It was packed. Ho hum. More waiting.
In all we waited about 1 1/2 hours, but in that time I was called for an ECG, which took no time at all, and an Ultrasound. The Ultrasound was ace, I got to watch my heart pumping away on the screen. I saw the little 'murmur' or hole, flapping away between the ventrical walls (the bottom 2 chambers of my heart) and heard some of the wierd & wonderful sounds the blood flow was making.
I saw a Mr Atkinson who said he thought everything was fine and was loathed to do anything to upset things but wanted to trace my notes from 1994 when I had Acute Endocarditis, as if that happened again then closing the hole might have to be seriously considered. Not on your Nelly, thought I.
After asking for a referral to a dental unit and that wish being granted we set off home.
That evening I re-arranged my interview with the college, Thursday morning it is.
Wednesday
Was our FREE day so we spent most of it sorting the garden. Hari mowed both lawns and I pulled all the weeds up between the paving slabs in the back garden which was hard work and reduced me to tears of frustration at one point, but I felt satisfied when I saw it finished, although not while I was doing it!
Thursday
Hari was off before the crack of dawn, he gave me a kiss as he left on his way to Liverpool. I arrived at Manchester College again very early for my interview. Last time the short journey had taken me 20 minutes but today with no traffic at the Mauldeth Road junction (where they're putting the metro tram line in) and every traffic light on green I was there in 10 minutes. I was told to go to the first floor and room 121 and after a bit of 'do I go left or right' when I stepped out of the lift I eventually found it.
Bernice, the course tutor was lovely (she'd sounded it on the phone) and she quickly put me at my ease. We chatted about the course, and the more I heard the more it sounded like my kind of thing. She assured me I would qualify for funding and said she was happy to accept me on the course. It would start in September and be 2 full days a week for 1 year with 9 hours of homework a week. I was absolutely over the moon and more or less floated home (I drove really)
At 3.35pm we were both again at MRI for my Nephrology appointment (kidneys). I was weighed, had my blood pressure taken and gave 2 urine samples, then waited. And waited. Hari had to leave me to go to work, so I waited, and waited.
It was getting close to 6pm and I was still waiting. I asked a nurse where I was on the list, she told me there were a few people before me. So knowing my grocery shopping was due to come between 6.30 & 8.30pm I explained I had to go. They were very apologetic but I also felt bad about leaving the clinic unseen but along with the shopping delivery I also had a banging headache and desperately needed some air.
I managed to get me and the wheelchair back to the car which involved having a 'Little Britain' moment when the wheelchair developed a limp to the left and it became impossible to steer myself, so I got out and pushed it!
Friday
At 9.30am we we back at the doctors surgery. Dr Foulds gave me one withering look when I told her about the appointment with the Renal team yesterday but she agreed 2 hours was a long time to wait. The 2nd withering look came when she took my blood pressure, I admitted that I hadn't had my atenalol as it was still at the chemist. There was a sly smile and a tut and she asked me to make an appointment for next week, no blood test this time but an appointment to have my bp taken after I'd remembered to take my medication.
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