medical – Page 2 – Mick and Liesel's Antics

The Mobile Spins

After a busy day yesterday, it was more relaxed today. Liesel and I drove into town, parked up and walked to the Cathedral.

This is one of seven archangels carved in 2005 by José Lucero, a local artist affectionately referred to as Picasso Santero. He created these from the remaining trunks of cottonwood trees that once stood along the river.

Meanwhile, Buzz and Leslie were taking a train from Albuquerque to visit us here in Santa Fe. Meanwhile, Gabe was driving here with Neil. We all met up by the Cathedral, which was too big to fit in the photo.

The Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi

While wandering around the town, we couldn’t help but notice the old Route 66. In 1937, the route changed so is passed through Albuquerque rather then Santa Fe.

But the first port of call was the French Pastry Shop, part of La Fonda on the Plaza Hotel complex. A nice French place with French pastries and other tasty treats. So for lunch, I enjoyed a French baguette with my default, favourite filling, cheese and tomato.

We visited KESHi, The Zuni Collection, where there was plenty of Zuni artwork to look at. The small animals are known as fetishes, but not ‘fetish’ in the way we usually think about!

So far, we haven’t been lucky enough to see any hummingbirds in the wild. This one is made from onyx, with turquoise eyes and some mussel shell for a beak. Mussels and coral are found locally, left over from the time New Mexico was under the ocean, several weeks ago, at least.

After Gabe left us to take Leslie, Neil and Buzz back home to Albuquerque, the rest of us, that is me, Liesel, Rupert and Jyoti, well, we returned to the French pastry place for coffee and dessert. My choice was something called ‘opéra’, layers of sponge with coffee and chocolate and very tasty, merci.

Jyoti found a ring she liked on a stall in the street, and it needed a slight adjustment. The man said he hoped to have it ready by the end of the day. He did, but by then, we’d returned home so we went back the following day to collect it.

We visited a few galleries in Canyon Road, not all 300, that would be a real labour of love. Some say 300, some say 100. I didn’t count.

Amongst our favourites, I think, were the wind-powered mobiles, which are also optical illusions. There are quite a few at Wiford Gallery. Tempting, yes, but far too big to take back to Albuquerque, never mind England.

When we returned home, I took out my new telescope in an effort to capture some landscape pictures. Without realising, I found a cow’s behind.

The same distant hill was viewed though the phone and through the telescope. You can see how good the magnification is.

Unless my detective work fails me, this image shows Cerro Chiflo, located near Taos, a volcanic plug in the Tusas Mountains of New Mexico. Cerro Chiflo’s peak reaches approximately 9,000 feet. The landscape includes piñon and juniper trees, and desert sage.

And of course, I had to have another look at the Sun.

While eating our evening meal, the Sun went down and we had a beautiful sunset, nearly as good as those we see in Northenden.

What was on the menu? Lamb curry for most people, but I believe my potato curry was far superior, thank you very much, Jyoti!

After all this time in NM, I was disappointed that I still wake up every day with a nosebleed. The other side effect of the lack of humidity, and possibly the lower air pressure at this altitude, is that my skin is a lot drier than usual, and my phone doesn’t always recognise my thumb print.

As mentioned before, we returned to town to collect Jyoti’s new ring. We also had breakfast. The green chilli that accompanied my huevos rancheros was perfect, nowhere near as hot as the stew I’d wrestled into submission a couple of days ago. A local delicacy is sopaipillas with honey, but I passed on this occasion. And yes, I am inconsistent with my spelling of chili, chilli and chile, but then so are most New Mexicans.

We visited the New Mexico Museum of Art, in a building that could have been transplanted from a pueblo. The main exhibit on right now is Eugenie Shonnard: Breaking the Mold. She was a locally acclaimed sculptor, being a pivotal figure for the history of art and sculpture in the Southwest, widely recognized during her own time for her contributions to the visual arts, yet largely overlooked in recent decades.

Chest of Drawers by Eugenie Shonnard, ca 1931

“Marsden Hartley traveled widely, taking in the people, cities, and culture of places like New York, Berlin, Paris, Bermuda, and Santa Fe. During his travels, Hartley frequently wrote letters to friends and family about his experiences. In the early twentieth century, writing a letter meant picking up a pen or pencil, or even sitting down at a typewriter, such as the one in front of you. Take a sheet of paper from the top drawer of the desk and write a letter about a place or experience you would like to share. Feel free to take your letter and send it to someone or leave it in the tray to share with other museum visitors.”

How could I turn down such an invitation? Well, it’s been a few years since I last bashed out a missive on a typewriter and I’d forgotten how loud they are. The clicketty clacketty noise I made reverberated all around the rooms, there was no way I could be stealthy. If you want to read what I wrote, you’ll have to pay a visit: I left my sheet of paper there, typos and all.

There were plenty of items out in the courtyard too, including frescoes.

Voice in the Sky by William Shuster, 1934

Here are some lovely people in front of the sculpture Abstraction by Georgia O’Keeffe.

Next stop, Iconik Coffee Roasters for some iconic coffee followed by a quick visit to Beastly Books.

Something scary with an animatronic werewolf behind

What a great shop for lovers of science fiction and fantasy. (We could do with any kind of bookshop in Northenden, thought grumpy old Mick.)

Liesel and I visited the library and sat down for a while. After meeting the others, we dined at The Shed, a Mexican restaurant not too far from The Plaza. I’d been a bit worried that I’d struggle to find vegetarian food in New Mexico, but so far, there’s always been something for me. Tonight, a Tamale Plate: green chile vegetarian (green chile, onion and corn) tamales, served with beans and Spanish rice, a side of red or green chile, and garnished with lettuce & tomato. Again, relatively mild green chile, it didn’t blow my head off.

And back again

And so, it came to pass, our final full day in Anchorage. And what an exciting day it was, too. The US Postal Service offer a service in which your mail is scanned, and they send you an image of what to expect. This way, when we’re in England, we can tell someone which of Leslie’s items to open and which bills to pay. Liesel took her Mom to the Post Office to show ID and set this up. They both had their hair cut before going into the office for one final session of work.

Meanwhile, this morgenmuffel emptied the bins, sorted out the newly dried laundry, did some writing and packed the bulk of my stuff. My reward was to watch the last couple of episodes of Our Universe on TV. It’s narrated by Morgan Freeman and while being interesting, some of the links made between life on Earth and the history of the universe were a bit tenuous, I thought!

In the evening, to celebrate Asa’s birthday, we joined him, Gideon, Aaron and Jodi for our final meal out. Happy birthday, Asa!

Thanks again to Jodi for the picture.

We rose at 3am. Yes, there is such a time. Aaron kindly drove us to the airport before going back to bed.

Anchorage to Seattle to Reykjavic to Manchester. Three flights, no major issues although again, the three of us were separated in the cabin.

At one airport, we sat beside a vending machine selling accessories for iPhones etc. I said to Liesel that if I ever needed a floggle toggle for my phone, I too would wait until I was in an airport and could buy it from a machine. Liesel didn’t know what a floggle toggle was, and all I could think of was, it’s a thingy, a wossname, a wotsit. But where does ‘floggle toggle’ come from? I was surprised to see it’s from the old radio series The Navy Lark, which I listened to on Sunday lunchtimes in the 1960s.

Sitting in Seattle’s South terminal was a strange experience, having been in the frozen north for so long. The Sun was streaming in, and I for one was looking for a seat in the shade.

From the plane itself, I was able to do some sightseeing. The sky was perfectly clear.

On this long flight, I did have three seats to myself and was able to catch a couple of hours of sleep.

Having the window seat, I was able to take pictures of the Aurora Borealis. The best photo includes Orion, which I am very pleased with.

Unbeknownst to me at the time, from a few rows behind, Liesel was also taking pictures of the Aurora.

Even though it was -7° when we landed at Keflavik International Airport, Iceland, I was glad to walk to the bus in my shirt sleeves, it had been ridiculously hot during the flight and the little ventilators couldn’t cope. We always enjoy the bus ride in Iceland from aeroplane to terminal.

One day, we’ll probably spend more time in Iceland, but the worst, burnt, bitterest coffee ever, here today, wasn’t a good selling point.

Flight number three took us straight into sunrise before arriving at Manchester.

And what a wonderful sight this was, B&Q Stockport, a shop that we’ve managed to avoid during our time living in Manchester.

Typical Manc weather welcomed us, a bit dull, a bit grey, but so much warmer than Anchorage had been. Glad to be home. Helen reported that she’s not faring much better down under. From the local paper: NSW weather: Wet and drab start to summer for NSW. There is no end in sight from the damaging storms and heavy rain that lashed Sydney over the weekend, with more forecast for the first week of summer.

And now we’re back to normal, slowly adapting to our new time zone, but never quite having enough sleep.

We joined a couple of walks this week, and I went into Manchester to donate another armful. Having listened to the phone conversation from the girl sitting next to me on the bus home, I’m glad I didn’t make the effort to visit the Christmas Market in Manchester. It sounds hectic, far too many people, some items far too expensive.

Best of all, haha, is that I am able to continue watching the old, classic Doctor Who series on BBC iPlayer. But I am aware that I have reached the point where I gave up on it the first time round, because it was becoming stupid. In modern parlance, it jumped the shark. But I shall persevere…

Scissors

It was fun to chat with William and Martha briefly before their bedtime. Another opportunity for me to mess up my mental timezone calculations and get it wrong! I showed them the snow, and William set me a challenge of building a snowman before his birthday. Something else to add to the to-do list.

We visited a pharmacy to get our flu and covid jabs. I’ve had my flu one at home already, so I just need covid. I know how to have a good time. After waiting for a few minutes, the pharmacist said we couldn’t be processed right now because we hadn’t booked ahead of time. Oh well. So much for the sign saying ‘Walk-ins welcome’. Liesel took her Mom into the office and they obtained their inoculations later on, straight in, done. I’m still a covid shot down.

But while they were in the office, Liesel working and Leslie reading, I was having more fun walking by the lagoon, which is frozen. It looks fairly solid but I wasn’t about to walk out over the frozen water.

While walking on the path, I was overtaken by a few cyclists whose bikes had very fat tyres, and by one guy on skis.

No, I was not tempted to ask him if I could have a go. I tried skiing once, way back in ’06, and that activity is not for me. My backside doesn’t have enough padding.

The Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail is about four miles long altogether, and I probably saw about one mile on this occasion. I then had to walk home up some very slight inclines, and the old shortness-of-breath issue came back. Not helped, I’m sure, by the fact that I was wearing more than twice as much clothing as I usually do: all that extra weight!

You can come across some random items anywhere, but I thought this beacon was a bit out of place. It’s at sea level, and when lit, you wouldn’t see the flames from very far away.

No, of course it’s not a bonfire beacon, it’s a frisbee golf basket, so, Liam, if you’re reading this, feel free to polish up your disc and come on over!

Podcasts and radio shows kept me company for the rest of the afternoon, until Liesel and Leslie returned home.

The Alaska Black Caucus (ABC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organisation dedicated to championing the lives of Black people and other marginalised groups. For five years they’ve been campaigning and raising funds for a new HQ in Anchorage. Today was the day the Equity Center opened with a Ribbon Cutting ceremony.

While Liesel was back at work in the office, Jyoti came over and she, Leslie and I walked into town to witness the event. I asked someone where the bathroom was. Down there, she said, but it’s not finished yet. There is still quite a lot of work to do in the building which, from the outside, is pretty nondescript.

Celeste with her big ribbon-cutting scissors

We listened to a few speeches but left before Senator Lisa Murkowski spoke. Nothing personal, we just had other things to do. She did smile at me though, so that’s nice.

Yes, I wasn’t quick enough to capture her face-on. Next time.

Because their bathroom was not yet functional, on the way home, we visited the 5th Avenue Mall. We had a coffee in the shop called Cake, styled as cAKe, since we’re in Alaska. I went for a wander to address my biological needs which were eventually satisfied.

I tried to find a pair of scissors and that mission was a total failure. I concluded that it’s easier to buy weapons in Anchorage than it is scissors. So I bought a gun and shot my toenails off instead.

I walked home carrying a newly-bought carrot cake for Jyoti, and, no, I didn’t drop it, but as we turned one corner, a gust of wind blew the lid open and that could have been a disaster.

In the evening, we went over to Jyoti’s for dinner. We celebrated her son Suvan’s birthday with cakes and we celebrated Diwali with fireworks.

And so we come to November 10th, or as it is known in Australia, November 11th, they’re always a day ahead. A very auspicious moment…

Letters and numbers

One more week of Olympics kept us entertained, up to but not including the Closing Ceremony. No, we didn’t wait up for the speeches.

Jenny, Liam and the children sent us some sunshine from Menorca.

Our own travels took us as far as Northenden. Leslie and I joined about 15 others for the regular wander through Kenworthy Lane Woods. After taking Leslie home, I caught the bus into Manchester for another walk, starting at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International. I looked around for familiar faces, but saw nobody I knew. I decided sit and wait and while browsing Instagram, I saw a message telling me this walk had been cancelled. Well, I thought, that’s disappointing. So, had a nice cup of coffee, enjoyed the music being played in the background before setting off on a walk around town.

I didn’t have a route in mind but I saw a couple of birds waddling along and decided to follow them. And then, around the corner, I came across a whole gaggle of them, leading me all the way to Castlefield.

There are some activities that I haven’t enjoyed since I was a child, and I was delighted to relive some memories this week. Our fresh veg box included peas and my mission, which I chose to accept, was to pod them. I used to pod my Dad’s home-grown peas while sitting on the back doorstep. Today, I just sat on the sofa, indoors, enjoying the feeling and the scent of fresh peas.

Liesel, Leslie and I joined the regular walk through the woods and parks of Wythenshawe, followed by a nice cup of coffee. Except today, I had a mango and passionfruit cooler instead. Well, it was a warm day and even hotter inside the café.

Shelling peas qualified me for another job at home. Martha and William enjoy making bracelets with beads and some of our beads have letters, so they can spell their names and the names of some school friends. My mission, which I chose to accept, was to sort these letter beads in order to determine which letters we are now short of. And what a fiddly labour of love that was.

As you can see, unlike old Letraset sets from fifty years ago, there is no shortage of letter Ds here.

Another major achievement this week was, after several months of trying on and off, completing the 2048 puzzle on my phone.

2048 is a single-player sliding tile puzzle game. The objective of the game is to slide numbered tiles on a grid to combine them to create a tile with the number 2048. When you slide tiles up, down, left or right, neighbouring tiles of equal value merge into one, Two 2s become 4, two 4s become 8 etc. Each move also results in a new tile appearing in a random location, with a value of 2 or 4. Hours of fun.

Watching TV late on Thursday afternoon, suddenly I felt really cold and shivery. I went to bed and turned the electric blanket up to 11. This was the start of a more than week-long illness, during which time, I have not left the flat except for a couple of medical appointments. First thought was flu, but no. And the covid test was negative. Sordid details on request only, in triplicate and countersigned by a member of the aristocracy.

Soil and oil

It’s always a joy to be invited out for coffee almost as soon as you make an appearance early in the morning. Or even late in the morning. And so it was that Liesel, Leslie and I walked across the road to meet up with Jyoti and her youngest, Gita, in the New Sagaya branch of Kaladi Bros Coffee. Breakfast for me was a bagel, though sadly not a jalapeño bagel, something I’d been looking forward to. Maybe they don’t bake them any more.

Liesel took her Mom for a medical procedure so Jyoti and I went for a walk alongside the lagoon.

Gita sent a mesage from the garden centre, our cue to drive over and join her. As it was such a beautiful day, Gita gave us fifteen minutes to arrive, otherwise she’d leave and go sunbathing…

Jyoti and Gita bought some houseplants, while my job was to find some hooks and a chain with which to hang the hanging basket that Aaron had given Mom for Mothers’ Day. Mothers’ Day in America doesn’t coincide with Mothering Sunday at home.

Jyoti also purchased a bag of Alaska Organic Soil and I had nothing better to do for a minute, so I read the ingredients.

Yes, this soil contains bits of fish, thanks to bears who have enjoyed salmon from the rivers and dropped scraps in the woods.

Back at home, I made myself quite busy while Liesel and Mom were still out. I didn’t find a chain, but I managed to hang the basket on the balcony using a couple of hooks and some bendy wire.

In the living room, there is a large jar of M&Ms. We’ve all dipped into it from time to time. Liesel thought she might be over-indulging and asked me to hide the jar. Well, I thought that seemed a bit harsh on her Mom, so, instead, I put a note inside the jar saying ‘No, Liesel’ illustrated with an angry cartoon face. I hoped this would be deterrent enough.

Sod’s law: it was Mom who came across the note first and, sadly, it made her lose her appetite for M&Ms. For a while, anyway.

Leslie’s surgery had gone well, and I was surprised to see that she had much less dressing on her eye than I did after my own cataract surgery. But, she has to apply eye drops for several days, something I don’t remember having to do.

In the evening, Una took me out for dinner, thank you very much, and we had a lovely chat. We chose Mexican and the portion size on this occasion was only slightly too big for me.

Leslie’s other eye was operated on the following day, again, fully successfully. While she was out, I went for a solo walk. Westmark Anchorage Hotel and Conference Center is nothing special from an architectural point of view but it was nice to see the flags of many nations flying outside. Pedantic old me couldn’t help but notice the Union Flag was flying upside down, popularly thought to be a sign of distress.

I didn’t expect to bump into an old friend, but I did. Star the reindeer has been here for many years, but I don’t know whether or not he’s the original Star.

Rubbish picture, because of the thick layer of dirty glass between us. Still, always good to see some wildlife, sort of.

In Leslie’s apartment block, we all attended the May Spring Fling Happy Hour. This was an opportunity to meet some of the other people who live here. Wine and nibbles were supplied. At first, Leslie wasn’t that keen, so Liesel went by herself to the community area on the top floor of the other block. I must have nodded off, but when I came to, Leslie said whe would attend after all, so we wandered over, through the courtyard.

And it was an even later night than usual when we all went to the airport to welcome Leslie’s Aunt Buzz, who is visiting for a week from her home in Albuquerque. As Liesel remarked, Buzz could be Leslie’s twin, so easy to recognise as she emerged from the secure area. And here was another chance to see some wildlife, sort of.

In fact, there are very many stuffed animals at Anchorage Airport, but I am too intimidated by American Airport rules and officials to risk taking too many pictures.

The other night, we couldn’t see any sand hill cranes. But they are here, and of all places, I was surprised to see them on the front page of the daily newspaper.

That’s today’s Anchorage Daily News, the paper that also prints the challenging New York Times crossword every day. Point Woronzof, that’s where we enjoyed a stroll just a few days ago.

So, in an effort to see some actual, living animals, in the flesh, the now four of us went for a walk on the boardwalk at Potter Marsh. It was cloudy, but otherwise, another ideal day for a walk. The only disappointment here was seeing so much oil on the surface of the water.

But this doesn’t seem to deter plenty of migratory birds from enjoying everything on offer here. We saw many swallows, for example. Most exciting, maybe, was seeing an eagle on his nest, a long way over there. I tried to get a photo by holding up my phone to the binoculars.

I know it’s not a prize-winning photo, but he is a long way off and the binoculars’ lenses showed signs of having been outdoors in harsh conditions for a long time. This little chap was a lot closer.

The green-winged teals were playing chase in the stream: whether the male caught up with and ‘became friends with’ the female, I don’t know.

On a white board near the entrance to the boardwalk, there was a list of birds spotted by other visitors during today. Our list of sightings is very modest in comparison.

I’m particularly sorry that none of us saw a moose on the wing.

In the afternoon, we started packing.

In the evening, we attended Alexa’s graduation party at her home. We were happy to meet Asa’s girlfriend’s parents and grandmother, who prepared loads of food for us and many other guests.

It was time for me to come home. The original plan was for Liesel to come as well, with Mom, but after the latter’s surgery, she’s not allowed to fly for a month. They’ll both join me at the end of June.

Liesel took me to the airport early. In fact, an hour earlier than necessary due to us misremembering the flight schedule. So I had plenty of time to eat breakfast, have a coffee, admire the dead, stuffed animals again, and read my book. The flight to rainy Seattle was uneventful. No dead animals at Seattle Airport, but there were a couple of buskers entertaining us. I found the vegetarian restaurant that Liesel had told me about, Floret, and I enjoyed my salad and chips. The flight to Reykjavic was uneventful. Well, apart from the fuselage rattling, sounding like industrial strength tinnitus. Plus, the overhead locker was very difficult to open. I think that plane might be due some repairs. I finished one book and started another. And when I tried to, I just could not get to sleep. The flight to Manchester was uneventful, and still, no sleep. All three flights were full so I could not spread ouit, nor have a good, proper stretch.

Jenny was kind enough to pick me up and take me home where I was pleased, after being in transit for about 21 hours, to be able to lie down again.

My luggage arrived just three long, nap-filled, worried days later.

While I was airborne, Liesel managed to get out for a nice hike with Jyoti, Una and Phil.

I’m sorry I missed Asa’s graduation party but by all accounts, it was very enjoyable.

Now, to sleep, to unpack and to start addressing the ‘To do’ list that was compiled while I was away.

Flowers and bones

In the evening, we returned to Asa’s High School for Seniors Night. The first thing we saw was a large poster depicting the all-American soccer hero Asa.

A few of the other players were similarly celebrated, but we are very proud of our nephew’s achievements on the field.

After ceremoniously walking under the arch of balloons with his family, Asa and Gideon’s team played another game, another 1-0 victory.

The daughter of a friend of a friend was playing cello in a musical recital at a venue not too far away from home so Liesel and I decided to walk there. St Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church is a very pretty building, the sight of which is only spoiled by the power lines in front.

But wait, no, that wasn’t the venue for the concert. That was another building, a former church, now known as The Nave. We passed by a rock band on the way, but not as we normally understand a rock band.

Now you know what to do with your scrap metal, horse shoes and that pile of boulders you’ve been meaning to get rid of.

There are two things always guaranteed to make me smile to myself. The name of a shop being a pun is one, and the other is a well-made, decent, fun mural. Named after the Mexican revolutionary, Pancho’s Villa is, of course, a Mexican restaurant here in Anchorage. On the wall, there is this lovely mural of Jean Jilwan, affectionately known as “John the Flower Guy”.

This is what can happen when a community comes together to commemorate a much loved local personality.

We arrived at The Nave in good time, bumping into Jyoti’s friend Dave on the way in. Later, we were joined by Jyoti herself and by Dave’s wife Ellie. The Spring Chamber Music Concert featured young musicians from the Anchorage Youth Symphony and AYO’s Symphony School ensembles. An afternoon of chamber music, or what we would today just call background music. So lots of tunes by Handel, Bach, Schubert and some lesser known composers. All the participants performed very well, including the cello-player, Lavinia, Dave and Ellie’s daughter. I think I only nodded off once, and I did have to leave on one occasion for a coughing fit, trying hard not to do the English thing of saying ‘sorry’, ‘so sorry’ to each and every other member of the audience.

Later in the afternoon, we met up with Jyoti again, this time way over at Una and Phil’s house, where we were joined by Monica and Gregg, and of course, this was the first time I’d seen them this trip.

Again, no photos of the main characters nor the extras. But it was a fun evening.

In medical news: I finally managed to extract the last bit of the splinter I’d acquired nearly two weeks ago, the lump of paint that burrowed deep inside my finger nail. I’m so relieved I didn’t have to resort to major surgery at a hospital. In other medical news, I didn’t come all this way to Anchorage just to be knocked for six by a niggly, tickley, sore throat, and a cough, with numerous other symptoms over the next few days such as fatigue, various aches and, for a few minutes, a sensation of dizziness and loss of sense of balance. Sadly, plans to go for walks were curtailed or cancelled. No, two Covid tests came back negative, so who knows what the nature of the ailment was?

On the other hand, I did complete the LA Times crossword, printed in the Sunday edition of the Anchorage Daily News.

Asa came by with his girlfriend Alexa: it was nice to meet her, and they both talked about their plans for next year after leaving school. Asa plans to spend time in Peru wrestling caymans or something, and Alexa is off to Colorado for a long, hard and intense nursing course.

After a short walk, we had dinner at Leslie’s with the family: Aaron, Jodi, Asa and Gideon, and again, I took no photos.

Mom had a dental appointment. Liesel dropped her off then went for a quick walk with Jyoti. I was still in bed, feeling a bit sorry for myself. Liesel knows that I would definitely have taken pictures in this neighbourhood if I were here, so she did the honours. For some reason, many of the residents have decorated their homes with skeletons. This may be Halloween paraphernalia that hasn’t been taken in yet, but it’s certainly an unusual way to bring the community together.

The next day, when I’d dragged my own bag of bones out of bed, we went for a walk and I was delighted to see these colourful flowers outside a neighbour’s house.

Then Liesel popped the bubble, ruined the illusion, ruined everything quite frankly, by telling me that they were fake, plastic flowers. Well, plastic, schmastic, as Americans say, they’re still very colourful!

There is plenty of evidence of earthquake damage around the city, but I’m not sure this crack in the pavement counts.

On the other hand, when I first arrived, this blue house was as high as its neighbour, but it seems to be sinking into the ground very slowly. Did you also notice the snowflakes? Yes, I couldn’t believe it either when I looked out and saw that it was snowing. Liesel had assured me that it wouldn’t snow in Anchorage during the merry, merry month of May. Huh.

Any more bad news? No, I think that’ll do for now. My coughing fits are fewer and less violent than a few days ago, so there’s some good news.

Books, Bats and Bikes

As part of my regular wanders around Northenden, I sometimes check up on the little library in Riverside Park. I really didn’t think it would work this well, but it is great to see it being used. It’s full of books, adults’ and children’s.

I keep meaning to fix the door locking mechanism, but I need to remember to carry tools with me, a sonic screwdriver or something.

Speaking of which: I have reached the episode of Doctor Who that brought me nearly to tears when I was a young 14-year old. The one in which companion Zoe Heriot left the series, and was returned to a point just before she set off on her travels with the Doctor. The Time Lords erased her memory of these adventures, and I found that incredibly sad.

I’d forgotten that this episode was also the last one with the second Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton who was replaced by Jon Pertwee. It was also the last one in black and white. The third Doctor’s stories were shown in colour, but of course, I didn’t know that, it was a couple of years before we had a colour TV at home!

I don’t spend all my time watching classic Doctor Who, honest. I’ve also been catching up on Planet Earth 3, something that Liesel doesn’t really get on with, especially when the animals catch and eat each other, although there’s not a lot of that.

There was time for my own adventures too. When I give blood, every few months in Manchester, I go by bus. I’d rather not drive because, if I were to feel faint after the session (although this has never happened) I would be unable to drive home.

So I went out and stood by the bus stop. I was surprised and delighted to see a new litter bin there. There’s always been one on the other side of the road, but not by this particular bus stop.

Sod’s law dictates that whichever bus I’m waiting for, one travelling in the opposite, wrong direction will appear first. And so it was today. I thought it was strange that the sign on that bus said it was was going to Manchester Piccadilly. Weird, I thought. But as it pulled away from the bus stop, I suddenly realised: I was waiting on the wrong side of the road. I should have caught that bus. What a prat.

Now, of course, I’m concerned that I’m going to be late for my appointment. But I wasn’t. I gave my name at precisely 2 o’clock. Not on the list. They only take platelets on a Monday, not full blood. Monday? I thought it was Tuesday. So, rather than being late, I was a day early. What a plonker.

As I said to someone, I’m glad I wasn’t trying to donate my brain, nobody would want that particular organ today, it really wasn’t firing on all cylinders.

Twenty-four hours later, I successfully donated, enjoyed a small packet of Bourbons and a small packet of digestives and was about to grab some custard creams when the nurse took the trolley away.

Still, it was good to see the first signs of Spring on the local village green: crocuses and snowdrops here, and a couple of daffodils elsewhere.

I was sad to learn of the death of Christopher Priest. He was one of my favourite science fiction writers in the 1970s and ’80s. I met him once, when he came to our Science Fiction Society meeting when I was at Queen Elizabeth College, so nearly 50 years ago. He was a top bloke, very generous with his time. I still treasure the email he sent me after I got in touch wih him after he wrote an obituary for Harry Harrison. Who, by coincidence, was another guest speaker at our SFSoc all those years ago.

Reading Chris’s obits, I discovered that he was born in Cheadle and attended Cheadle Hulme School, a mere stone’s throw from where Jenny and the family now live.

Wythenshawe Star Gazers provide opportunities to use other people’s equipment to view the night sky. I went along this week, despite the 99% cloud cover, and we were able to just about see Jupiter through a telescope, not in any detail though thanks to the more local clouds.

Plan B is to have a talk indoors, and Kyle spoke to us about the planets. Dave was there with some great photos that he’d taken, despite living so close to the airport with its bright lights.

Let me blow my own trumpet and say that the leek and potato soup I had this week was the best I’ve made in a very long time. So glad it lasted two days.

Jenny and Liam went out for a meal with friends Matt and Amy, and I was delighted to be asked to look after Martha and William. We played a couple of games, Uno and Furious but best of all, we watched a few episodes of Bluey on TV. Don’t tell Mummy and Daddy, but they stayed up a little bit later than they were meant to, shhh!

I don’t want to know what Martha was doing to this poor old teddy.

It was, as always, fun to watch the children swimming too. Martha had been kick boxing earlier while William was playing football. I can only imagine the complexities of the speadsheet that helps their parents coordinate all the children’s activities. I joined the family for lunch after which, we spent some time in a park in Gatley.

For the first time in many years, I played tennis. Five minutes of that exercise was enough for this short-of-breath old fart. William and Martha had cycled to the park, and they proceeded to ride around the skateboard park too.

What else did they bring apart from bikes and tennis racquets? Well, the remote controlled car and cricket bats, of course. In the end, we didn’t play cricket. but it was a full-on afternoon. Thankfully, the car stayed in one piece despite William’s efforts on the skateboard park. And, it was a surprisingly warm afternoon, hence Martha’s decision to remove her coat.

The car survived, OK, but the radio show this week was about Breaking Things, breaking up, breaking down, breaking out. You can pass or waste two hours by listening here.

Not much

Well that was a quick week with not much going on. After many years, I had my chipped tooth repaired. And a couple of days later, I donated another armful of blood. My back recovered slowly: I think this was the worst, longest-lasting back problem since I stopped working. Towards the end of the week, I went out for a couple of walks, but nothing too strenuous.

Liesel went out or a walk with Sue, to Chorlton Water Park, with a view to leading a group here at some point. She doesn’t often take pictures, but she got a couple of crackers today.

It seems that herons allow Liesel to get closer than I’m able to: maybe it’s something I said.

It was a very nice walk, maybe just a bit muddy in places.

Remember, remember, it’s now November, so of course that means that since before Halloween, there have been fireworks going off most nights. I don’t want to turn into a grumpy old man (too late, says Liesel) but I’m pretty sure fireworks are much louder and more unpleasant than they used to be. I totally failed to capture any of the displays through the window, but if you’re interested, I have a set of photos of the bright night-time sky, glorious in its greyness.

Autumn draws on and when the Sun’s out, the seasonal colours really do show up beautifully. I think this is the prettiest tree in Northenden right now.

As I took this picture, a lady at the bus stop commented on how pretty it was, too.

Someone got in touch on Instagram, a total stranger, but an interesting character. I wondered what sort of scam it was, so I kept myself entertained for half an hour chatting with her (or him, of course). Turns out, my ancestors have been talking to her, and she can help me unlock whatever it is that’s caused me to be held back. I had to light a candle, burn some sage and get a bowl of water. I was in bed at the time, and I wasn’t getting up for that sort of nonsense. So I used AI, specifically Dall-E to generate a ‘photo’ of my candle and bowl of water.

My Goddess, yes, that is how she described herself, complimented me on my set-up. Then asked for $50 for a reading and did I have Paypal. Good night, Goddess. I put my phone on to charge and started reading my book instead.

Liesel and Sue went for a nice walk at Alderley Edge too, another one I had to miss. Don’t worry, I kept myself busy on the computer.

The horses came over to see whether Liesel had any spare wellington boots. It’s nice to make friends when you’re out walking in the muddy Autumn countryside.

Meanwhile, I saw the first Christmas tree of the year, over there in Wythenshawe. Did it make me feel festive? No, not really.

I’m sure it will be delightful when it’s decorated. But look at the sky. This week, it’s been raining a lot, and the blue sky was a rare sight. But I shouldn’t really complain about the weather here when it’s so much worse in Anchorage. When our friend Una opened the garage door, she was met with a wall of snow, eighteen inches deep. I’ll never understand why Alaskans don’t hibernate. Polar bears have got the right idea.

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow

Brrr.

You can warm yourself up by listening to Mick’s Music Mix: the theme this week is Alliteration, what a wonderful way to wind up the week.

Walk an empty mile

Amidst the fleeting moments of life, the extraction of a tooth, though quick, a mere twenty seconds, proved to be a task of greater import, as the wound persisted in bleeding for twenty minutes past. Anaesthesia had masked the pain, but its fleeting touch had only heightened the senses, leaving the tongue to wander and explore the new contours of the mouth.

And so it was, that in the quest for medical aid, I journeyed to the apothecary once more, to collect the remnants of my prescription. In the waiting, I stumbled upon a treasure trove of knowledge, a library in the heart of Wythenshawe Forum.

Surrounded by the buzz of activity, I encountered a mechanical marvel, a robot stationed within the halls. Though its movements were limited, I couldn’t resist greeting it with a warm hello.

The library held within its walls a wealth of history, chronicling the rise of Wythenshawe Hospital from humble beginnings, from a piggery next to tuberculosis wards, to one of the finest institutions in the northwest of England. I learned of the famous figures that had passed through Wythenshawe’s halls, from Yuri Gagarin and Gladys Knight, to the legendary Bruce Forsyth, and more. Liesel was especially delighted to hear about Brucie.

On a day filled with care, we had the pleasure of looking after young Martha, who was off from school due to a teachers’ strike. We embarked on a journey of art and indulgence, visiting a quaint café, the oft-visited Quirky Misfits, for a babyccino, where she savoured the sweetness of cream and marshmallows. Her curious spirit was enticed by a shop filled with rocks, stones, and crystals, leading her to add a new treasure to her collection.

With William in tow, we ventured to a playland, where they let loose, danced and played to their hearts’ content. But as can be seen, Cheadle Hulme appears to be in a different timezone to London.

And as the day came to an end, we treated them to a fine dining experience, where they displayed impeccable manners, ordering their meals and making requests with ease.

William was very nearly welcomed into the arms of Morpheus, but his revival was achieved by the strange medicaments, chocolate brownie and ice cream.

The week was filled with many adventures, from walks through Wythenshawe…

… to completing the viewing of a TV series, Dark, and hosting a radio show, centered around the theme of The Archers, archers and archery. I even had the privilege of speaking with the talented folk singer, Frankie Archer, and playing her records for the world to hear.

Though the path ahead may be uncertain, and my steps difficult to retrace, I carry with me the memories of these moments, forever etched in my mind, a reminder of the beauty of life’s journeys.

‘Twas an interesting experiment, making use of Artificial Intelligence to help produce this post. Did it save time? Not really, no. Am I happy with the results? Not entirely, no. It is considered unethical to pass off someone else’s work as your own. It’s important to give credit where credit is due and maintain integrity in all of your actions. So, thanks very much for your help, ChatGPT, and good luck with taking over the world.

Nada lada

It’s always good to tick things off the to-do list, whether such a list exists on paper or solely in the mind. There wasn’t a lot of ticking off of anything this week, mainly thanks to feeling rough. I hope the cold/flu/covid/whatever-it-is/combo, and it’s the man- version, don’t forget, isn’t transmissible via the medium of blog posts, otherwise you’re in trouble.

I finished a book this week, Micah’s Ghost by Ann Thomas, certainly the strangest ghost story I’ve read for a long time. This has allowed me to start reading a book that Liesel has borrowed from the library. Even though it’s an electronic book, there’s been a waiting list for Robert Galbraith’s The Ink Black Heart for a few months, and finally she’s been able to download it onto her Kindle. And she has kindly shared it with my own Kindle. When I noticed that this novel is over 1400 pages long, I thought I’d never finish that in the three weeks we’re allowed to keep it. But, over the Christmas period, I’m sure we’ll find plenty of time.

By coincidence, we both had appointments with the dentist on the same afternoon this week. In a sit-com, we would have heard each others’ screams of anguish and pain from the room next door, and assumed the worst. But is wasn’t that bad. The receptionist dobbed me in by telling Liesel that I was going to the coffee shop.

What else did we get up to this week? Other than increasing the value of Kleenex shares? I really didn’t fancy going out for the regular walk, despite Liesel insisting that I would feel better if I left the house. My old carcass was having none of it, that day.

It was cold and clear outside, leading to a couple of pretty sunsets.

The highlight of the week though was our visit to the theatre. We saw Betty! A Sort of Musical at the Royal Exchange in Manchester. Written by Maxine Peake and Seiriol Davies, it tells the story of Betty Boothroyd, the first female Speaker of the House of Commons. The songs were funny, the set was clever and the whole show was great fun. Sadly (?), I didn’t know the songs so I couldn’t croak along. We are honoured to have seen the World Premier performance of this show.

In the interval, I met some new friends in the theatre too.

Two days after not going out for the regular walk, I felt absolutely fantastic, other than the cough which has now morphed into a blogged-up doze. So we went into Didsbury where Liesel collected her new specs and we enjoyed breakfast at FFS. The Big Issue seller, Adriana’s little electronic payment gadget wasn’t working, probably too cold, and having no cash on us, we couldn’t pay for our mag this week. But she kindly let us keep it anyway, and we’ll make sure she doesn’t lose out.

In Didsbury, we also bumped into this little chap, I hope she finds her way home soon.

Also, in Didsbury, right next to the opticians is this brand new mural.

Well, we think it’s new, neither of us have noticed it before. But then, this is maybe why we sometimes need opticians.

What is this week’s big disappointment? Victory Vs aren’t as tasty as they were during my brief addiction to them over 50 years ago. I’m ~~not~~ proud of the fact that for a few months, I ate them all day, stinking out school classrooms with the aroma of liquorice. I don’t think they contain as much chloroform and ether as they used to, either.

This week’s radio show was the first of two this year. I played Christmas songs from my Mum and Dad’s old record collection.