Blog - Ivor’s Daily Gallivant

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Friday 10th March 2023 I still had the tale end of my cold and stayed in bed until it was light outside so any electricity I used was generated by my solar panels. Yesterday when a technician from Switch Energy came to add ventilation to my loft insulation he told me that with solar panels if I waited in bed until it was light I would generate power for free saving money. I liked the sound of that I had a pain in my back from where my mattress was uneven or perhaps it was where the spring in my armchair was broken. The post arrived but I paid it no heed as I was warm and comfortable. Eventually I got up needing a pee and had a look: it was a fund raising pack from Diabetes UK and an Epilepsy Society tee shirt. I left the fund raising pack unopened on my food preparation surface. The diced beef intended for my evening meal had thawed out ready but I did no more with it. I needed onions to cook with it. The adage ‘don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today’ is familiar to me but well ‘sufficient unto the day the evil there of’ is another favourite… Not very much gallivanting done today in the evening I decided to go to the Co-op and see if there were any tempting offers. I decided: to give myself some exercise and save time; to run there and back…. When I was there, nothing caught my eye: so I bought a KFC chicken and chips for my evening meal with a coffee which I ate in the restaurant accompanied by the bland tedious music. The chips resembled cardboard in taste and texture….. A lady stood waiting for a family meal which made me wonder ‘do people really give their children this rubbish?’ Someone should inform the NSPCC. The coffee was surprisingly good: white americano which was out of character with the rest of the place.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Thursday 9 March 2023 Still haven’t thrown off this cold. Stayed in bed and when I did get up found messenger wouldn’t allow me to send a message to one of my friends: there was no real explanation why. I decided that by Saturday I will still be infectious and sent an email to Helen Field saying I won’t be able to go to the NHS Demo in London. Ate the remains of the vegetable curry I made yesterday night and spent most of the day keeping warm and sleeping. Hopefully I’ll be fighting fit ready for the St Patrick’s Day Celebrations at the Soul Café on 17/3/2023. I’ve come to the conclusion with plans this year that they almost inevitably don’t go as expected: Andy and I planned to begin the ‘British Coastline Daily Adventures’ on 16/3/2023 with a trip to Bournemouth by train: but I learnt yesterday from Andy there’s a rail strike so we wouldn’t have been able to go. I got a phone call from my GP surgery about my diabetes and found out the phone number I had for the Fenwick was wrong. So I tried calling the correct number and was able to leave a message.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Tuesday and Wednesday 7th and 8th March 2023 Wednesday I’m still laid down low with this cold. Cancelled the Scrabble just feel crummy- and am looking back at the things I should have done differently in my life. Now all I can do is make sure I’ve pretty to eat and drink, and keep warm.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Monday March 6th 2023 I woke up with a cold and stayed in bed rather than going for lunch at October Books. I had a messenger conversation with my niece and she told me the link to my blog didn’t work. I checked and couldn’t get it to work either. So got in touch with the blog host and sorted out the problem. It will take 24 hours before the link works. Other than that nothing very interesting or exciting has happened my only gallivant was a run to the Coop to get a few groceries. I hope this cold recovers in time for me to play Scrabble on Wednesday and go on the NHS demonstration on Saturday. Been eating an extra amount of food to fight off my cold had chicken curry at midday and Chinese Fish Balls with rice, peppers and soy sauce as my evening meal. Plus apples and strawberry yogurt.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Sunday 5th March 2023: a day when the gallivanting was a non- starter Got up early but didn’t do much been writing up yesterday’s post. I imagine the these early mornings are a result of the coming of spring….. Found the photo I’d prepared with reasons to fight diabetes (blindness, heart attack, stoke and toes dropping off paired up with illustrations) Beans on toast for breakfast and as a midday meal. Made savoury mince for my evening meal. Looked at collars to protect my neck when I fall asleep in my armchair The gallivanting today has been a nonstarter

Ivory’s Daily Gallivant Saturday 4th March 2023 Got out of bed early today and treated myself to a steaming hot shower. It’s Saturday, a Soul Café day. Had porridge for breakfast which I sweetened with Canerel. In a messenger conversation with Rick last week he suggested Aretha Franklin was the manager of the Soul Café and I replied:’ Thanks: James Joyce said ‘Mediocre Artists borrow: Great Artists Steal, I’m going to steel that for my next post about The Soul Café…..(true to my word I just have) I Googled Aretha Franklin and watched her perform ‘Respect’ and was surprised how much I enjoyed it. My tastes have changed. After breakfast I ran to the bus stop and noticed some sort of animal, in the road throwing itself up and down. It had patches of black and white fur, at first I thought it was a stunk …. A couple of motorists stopped to investigate it was a cat which had just been run over and this was its death spasms. A man picked it up making it clear it was a dead cat and put it on the verge. The bus was late and I stayed at the bus stop rather than having a look at the cat because I didn’t want to miss it. Somebody will miss the poor creature. I was wearing my new Diabetes UK hat with the organ bobble and when I got off the bus at Dibben Purlieu a lady complimented me on it and saying her daughter was diabetic and had bipolar. I had similar experiences with my Epilepsy Society tee shirt. It’s always good to know your not alone and there are people who care. Entering The Soul Café I was greeted by the smell of freshly brewed coffee in The Soul Café and it was chockablock with people. I sat near the serving hatch with ‘Brian the Lion’ and a tall bloke with a neatly trimmed beard name Roy. They talked to each other and as I found it difficult to hear got on with doing some thumbnail sketches of the surroundings. There was a homemade sausage roll that caught my eye and within a few moments I was eating it and boy it was good! Next I did some shopping in Hythe buying a magnifying glass in K J Mobility and some groceries in Lidl. I asked Julie how my blog could be improved and she suggested describing what it’s like living in Holbury in the shadow of the refinery mentioning things like last night’s explosion. I was tired when I got home cooked myself a meal of fish fingers, mixed vegetables and a jacket potato and slept through the evening waking up at about 10.00 And then going back to sleep waking up at 5ish the next morning.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Friday March 3ed 2023 My telephone appointment with an RHIB advisor to discuss my eligibility for an Attendance Allowance was this morning and I don’t qualify. Also I got appointment letters for diabetes eye screening (31/03/2023) an appointment at Eye Hospital at 7.45 on 9/05/2023. Elaine from The Diabetes Team phoned and said: I have a telephone appointment with the dietician (27/ 06/2023).And wasn’t able to find a record of my insulin being stopped. She told me to take three blood sugar readings a day one before breakfast, one before my evening meal and one before bedtime. And phone the results through next Tuesday. There was an email from ‘Soniya’ ‘Dhariwal’ of Diabetics UK about my fundraiser page on Just Giving and asking if she could be of help. I’ll get back to her next Monday morning. I’ve requested their Fundraising Pack. Today was this week’s Scrabble Tournament Andy (aka The Scallywag) He left his mobile at home this morning and went back to pick it up: before coming to me. The tournament results were as expected: Andy winning both games. We’re arranged the first trip on of the 2023 British Coastal Diary Adventures for 16th March, the weather forecast is good for that day. Andy and I have decided to go by train. The plan is to photograph the sunset looking across the sea, do some sketches and find a place to eat…

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Thursday March 2 2023: Waterside Writers- the joys of the aging process The alarm went off and I stayed in bed: toying with the idea of skipping the writing group, but my conscience got the better of me, so I went. It would be an opportunity to give out some of the cards promoting my blog: staying in bed all morning doesn’t make for a good daily gallivant. I got to Hythe and had enough time waiting for the Marchwood bus to have breakfast in Be Be’s. When I got to the writing class it was already well underway. It impressed me how much less I knew about writing than the others. Or perhaps it was because of my hearing. When I was growing up the one thing holding me back was: dyslexia. These days I’m deaf in my right ear and my eyesight is failing. ( I’m beginning to experience ‘the joys of the aging process’) At one point one of the ladies said she found little substance in best sellers. Afterwards I wondered if it possible people buy them because they’re not too challenging. Does anybody really want to be made to think too much? It’s a question of not going too far beyond the reader’s comfort zone. When I was growing up we lived with my Grandparents and my Grandmother often remarked about TV dramas that they didn’t finish right. I wasn’t allowed to get a word in edgewise but if I had would have said: ‘life doesn’t finish right’ She wanted peaceful entertainment. I believe the majority of people want to be entertained rather than educated. Good writing does both We looked at an anthology of poetry from the First World War: questioning which were the best to us and why. After the class, i caught the bus back to Hythe and had a ham salad in Be Be’s went home bought new batteries for my blood sugar monitor and slept until 6ish.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Wednesday March 1st 2023 Sorry folks not much gallivanting done today and the weekly game Scrabble postponed until Friday.The way things are going I’m thinking of retitling this blog ‘Ivor’s Daily Sham Gallivant’. Things started out with work on the pavement outside my bungalow meaning access to my bungalow was cut off. I asked one of the workmen if I could nip out to buy some milk and it was okay . I ran to the nearest shop and bought some. It then looked like my drive was blocked so I phoned my friend and we rescheduled the Scrabble for Friday. My promotional bobble-hat arrived from Diabetics UK. And my magnifying sheet arrived but it was creased so I requested another one. The diabetes nurse from my GP surgery phoned returning the message I’d left for her yesterday. She had no record of my insulin being stopped and suggested I phone the diabetes team to see what was happening. And gave me their number. She said my blood sugar levels are pre-diabetic. I tried phoning the Diabetic Team but only got a recorded message saying the number was not in use: call again later. Getting approval for the Reverse Diabetes regime is proving more difficult than I imagined. If my difficulties continue I will write to Sir Julian Lewis our MP. My meal this evening was chicken curry and I bought some fresh ginger and chilli to make it with. Cooking and eating is one of life’s great pleasures…..

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Tuesday 28th February 2023 Once again not much gallivanting done today. My only hope is that blogs aren’t subject to the trade description act and I’m not summoned for being too dull. When I came up with the ‘Daily Gallivant’ brand I thought it would spur me on to new and exciting things. But that hasn’t happened. Yesterday the plan was to contact my GP surgery actually happened today and I left a message with the Dietitian to get back to me about seeing if I’m suitable for the reversal of my diabetes scheme described in Professor Roy Taylor’s book. It’s been another cold day that I’ve spent mostly sleeping, I intended to go to Hythe Market and Waterside Art Group but it was never anything other than an intention.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Monday 27th February 2023 Not much gallivanting done today. It was cold and I stayed in bed getting up too late to go to lunch at October Books. During the afternoon I ran round the block and later there was a meeting of Bootleg Art Club. Wondering what was going on with my glaucoma I phoned Southampton Eye Hospital and was told they’ll get back to me in a couple of days. My plan to see if the treatment recommended in ‘Reverse Type 2 Diabetes’ with my GP never got done.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Sunday 26 February 2023: A day of discovery and hope. I continued reading ‘Reversing Type 2 Diabetics’ whilst attending Marcella and later in the evening it dawned on me after having a nap just what a valuable book it may be. My plan for Monday morning is to tell the dietician at Black Health Centre and my GP about it and see if it’s suitable for me. Margret made pancakes which I had three helpings of and seeing me struggle to read my book suggested I should go to the optician as it may be possible to do something about my eyesight. If it is then I’ve discovered a new and important principle with this and getting my garden sorted out which is if when try and give something away the person who receives what you give will pay you back tenfold. And exciting thing that happened whilst at Marcella was an old friend Jill came and visited who is brilliant at Art. She had a lot of good news to share and done loads of new artwork. Clair one of the regulars at Marcella who must be an excellent cook described how cannelloni tubes can be filled using a piping bag and how if grapes are dropped into a glass of lemonade they first sink to the bottom and then when bubbles have formed round them rise to the surface and sink to the again when the bubbles are burst. So on up and down until the lemonade loses its fizz. Jill gave me a lift home which saved me waiting for the bus.

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