Blog - Ivor’s Daily Gallivant

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Monday (31/7/23) to Friday 4/8/23) Abject apologies to all readers for the delay in publishing this week, I sincerely hope you're not imaginary friends. The title Daily Gallivant seems in the realm of fantasy this week and I’ll have to just give fragments. Monday was good I went to October Books had lunch, bought some banana chips, apples and some really yummy Ferns Lime pickle. The reason I bought it was in the Indian food section of the Diabetes UK website it was suggested as a possible alternative to Mango chutney and sweet pickles. To my palate it’s nicer than Mango chutney. I also got into a messenger conversation with Neil he’s a friend I don’t know very well who I’d seen at October Books veg out today but not gone over to as he was talking to one of his friends and eating and I thought I might be intruding. Neil said it would have been okay. Tuesday I’m sure it was a good day (my days mostly are) but I can’t at present remember what happened and as it’s the early hours of the morning now it’s best whatever happened is just forgotten. Thursday remembered a lot more clearly. I had a coffee in Wendy’s Café because I needed to use the toilet as I was constipated. If anyone tells you constipation is fun,I assure you from personal experience they don’t know what they’re talking. Although it can have its humorous side if you see it like that. I sat there for an inordinate length of time and several times there was a rattling on the door and all I could do is say I’m being as fast as I can. Once you’re actually managed it the relief is fantastic, and I enjoyed the pleasant, amused smile of Wendy when I said, ‘excuse me – constipation.’ Some time ago a young lady asked me what’s it like being old I’m now 68. For me aging is a process of gradually falling apart physically, but with a growth of knowledge and understanding. I got a lifetime of experience of a sort, now is the time to reflect. I want to write and as I practice it improves. The more I do it the more I like doing it. In my twenties my eyesight started going, next I had a breakdown which was brought to a head through bullying first in my final year at Polytechnic and then by my dearest gender dysmorphic boss at work (allegedly a woman) in London-to Blackfield Baptism Church for the Free Cook Up and had a very nice dinner of chicken with load’s vegetables, which were all saved from being thrown away because of their nearness to their use by dates. I sat with Robbie one of Lucie Mann’s sons his friend Sam and I lady who regrettably I didn’t remember the name of. Dinner was spot on chicken and vegetables followed by a small piece of cheesecake. A superb meal and pleasant company bliss. The only trouble was that after the meal I was exhausted, a sleepless night had paid its tole. Friday was spent writing emails one of the disadvantages of writing for me is it takes so long. It’s the downside of being a perfectionist. They were to two Lady Artists who had exhibited at New Forest Show. What do you suppose a Freudian Analysis would make of that?

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Monday July 31, 2023 Got up early and put the finishing touches on yesterday’s issue. As I was working the alarm on my computer rang telling it was time to have breakfast and take my medication. What marvellous machines they are (or can be) an aid to health and wellbeing. I also had a cod liver oil capsule which is good for my rheumatic joints and brain health. I have been thinking lately ‘how can I justify taking food from the free cook up’. Then I got an email asking for a donation to help promote air conditioning for London buses. It described how the drivers were passing out from the heat in their cabs and pointed out this was a danger to them and their passengers. I made a donation. Some of my money goes towards promoting good causes, which is sufficient reason to be careful with it. Also, there a lot of work that needs to be done to my bungalow. I went to lunch at October Books. The food is proved by local shops in Portswood, and is just within its sell-by date. It’s prepared by volunteers, and you choose to pay a donation if you’re able. Believing I needed cash to donate I bought some apples in the nearby Sainsbury’s but couldn’t get cash back because I didn’t know my pin. I decided to see if they would accept a card payment for my donation. It was okay so-problem solved. On the Diabetes UK website, I had discovered Lime pickle or garlic pickle are better alternatives to Mango Chutney for people living with diabetes. So, after lunch I went along to that nice greengrocer nearby and bought some Ferns lime pickles. (When I got it home boy it was good) The bus home was crowded and had an inexperienced Muslin lady driver with a supervisor. Unfortunately, she knocked off one of the wing-mirrors. And we had to change buses. It must have been unnerving for her. We had to transfer to another bus. The replacement bus was there waiting, and we just had a short walk to it. I got home had some pleasant messenger chats a sandwich made from whole meal seeded bread ham trim and lim pickle- very pleasant and thrifty too. Unfortunately, I couldn’t sleep. And stayed awake drinking tea through the night.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Sunday July 30, 2023: The Best Things in Life are Free. I’m thinking of making ‘Daily Gallivant’ into an account of my adventures with food with a target audience of thrifty people living with diabetes. Got up before 7.00pm when the alarm goes off. And made a chicken mayonnaise sandwich, using one of the chicken thighs I got from Lucie Mann’s Free Community Cook Up, and value brand mayonnaise mixed with Dijon mustard for extra kick. There was a message from Julie Hope inviting me to join Nextdoor (a local community group) which I did, where I found out that Jo who lives in Blackfield was giving away a couple of armchairs. My own armchairs have worn out springs and replacing them has long been a priority. I contacted Jo and Julie gave me a lift to his house to check they were okay, and now they are mine. After I made the sandwich, I had another cup of tea and ran to the Coop and bought some eggs, paprika and lemon juice. (I intended to use the paprika in my planned Spanish Omelette but in the event forgot to include it) I went to Marcella and during the course of the conversation Aquid explained how Metformin works. And I took a free tin of meat balls that had been donated. At Marcella I noticed my hands were shaky and checked my blood sugar when I got home and found it was just within target range so ate five jelly babies to be on the safe side. I made an unauthentic (but tasty and thrifty) Spanish Omelette for my evening meal. I had onion, mushroom and mixed pepper’s some roast potatoes (from the cook up), a green chilli (I’d bought in the clearance section of the Coop) garlic and frozen mixed vegetables, chicken and some ham trim, roast potatoes (from the free cook up) When I came to fold my omelette there were too many ingredients. For recipe ideas I looked up online Spanish Omelette recipes BBC Good Food, Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver and did my own thrifty take on the Spanish Omelette.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Saturday July 29, 2023 Unable to sleep through the night I got up in the early hours and spent until about 10am looking through the education section on the Diabetes UK website. Then I had a piping hot shower and exhausted crawled off to bed rather than as planned to go the Repair Café at Blackfield church organised by Lucie Mann. In retrospect I should have realised that showering causes me to sleep and had my shower in the middle of the night and slept through, but I didn’t… It was probably just as well I didn’t go out I’m epileptic and one of the triggers for seizures is lack of sleep and if I’d had a fit while I was out I would have been taken to hospital and spent possibly three days there at a cost to the tax payer of £900. (And from a purely selfish prospective it would have been undignified) I decided to spend my day alone- in splendid isolation. And do some housework, cooking and photograph my paintings. Cooking- a vegetable curry made with, onion, garlic, ginger, gamma masala, cumin, broccoli from the cook up, mixed vegetables from the cook up, white cabbage from the cook up, sweet potato, tinned tomatoes, red chilli, mushroom, lemon juice, tomato purée and frozen mixed vegetables with a pinch of salt. I gave my concoction a taste and it was spot on. Despite my good intentions I didn’t do any housework or photograph my paintings. Then I sat around doing nothing. There was an article I read last night that recommended doing nothing as an antidote to stress. Apart from mild frustration with myself it worked.

How I may have saved the taxpayer £900 and preserved my dignity in the process

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Friday July 28, 2023 Got up a little after the alarm went off at 7.00. Chopped the mushrooms and onions which I bought yesterday and took two foil trays out of the freezer with KFC chicken fillets and broccoli to thaw for my evening meal. (I haven’t had broccoli for ages so it’s unusual for me) later I took some mixed vegetables and roast potatoes out. My plans for today are to photograph my paintings ready to promote the exhibition at October Books in October, have a telephone conversation with Sarah-Louise of Diabetes UK at 11.30, and do some shopping in Hythe. I read through the emails from Diabetes UK and learnt about the fours ‘T’s symptoms of diabetes (Thirst, Tiredness, Toilet, Thinness) The last time I had my yearly weight check my weight was down by nine pounds, I thought this was because of eating less and exercising more but now it looks like a symptom. And entered Diabetes UK’s monthly prize draw. Before the call I went for a run round the block. The call went well, and I am now the 201st member of the Diabetes UK Community. After my call I caught the bus into Hythe and in the precinct saw Julie and my news about Diabetes UK and learnt that Christine has also recently developed diabetes, did my shopping in Lidl and came home. When I got home, I made a meal with some of the KFC chicken fillets, mixed vegetables, and roast potatoes I’d been given by Lucie Mann yesterday, by warming them in the microwave and adding chicken gravy and a dollop of Dijon mustard.

Joined diabetes UK Community and made an economy meal

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Thursday July 27, 2023 Been sleeping mostly today. I felt tired- yesterday was a long day. Ran to the large Coop in Holbury and did some shopping, but when I got home, I realised, I hadn’t got everything I wanted. I meant to go to the Community Cook Up at Blackfield Baptist Church this afternoon but fell asleep and when I woke, it was too late. But things improved…. Got emails, from: Clare at October Books: she can’t use the pictures from my camera chip to promote my exhibition in October, and I have agreed to photograph my paintings with my iPad and attach the images to an email. And: Sarah-Louise from Diabetes UK: We’re arranged an online meeting for tomorrow at 11.30am. There was a knock on the door, it was Lucie Mann, who arranges that just within date food from local Supermarkets is given to the less fortunate people in the local community. She’d come to photograph my garden (which is planned to be used to grow food) with her two sons (Robbie and James) and give me some foil trays with food from this afternoon’s Cook Up in Blackfield Baptist Church. A group of soldiers who work for the community from Marchwood Army Camp are scheduled to come and clear my garden soon. My freezer is now full of cooked chicken thighs, roast potatoes, white cabbage, FFC chicken wings and vegetable pasta. Enough to keep me going for a week. It will be nice to have something I haven’t cooked myself, there’s an element of surprise and free food is always especially tasty.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Wednesday July 26, 2023: saving money on insurance. Another sleepless night (like Tuesday) got up at five took my medication and had breakfast. I heard that George Bernard Shaw slept a solid eight hours every other night. So perhaps my sleep patterns although abnormal shouldn’t be of concern. After breakfast I started work on my to do list. First, I paid for my Home Insurance Policy (with Policy Expert) which was £107.48 cheaper than Direct Line. (The time I spent on the noisy buses yesterday and the day before that was worth the effort. It would have been a handsome hourly rate) Policy Expert offer a £50 bonus to anyone who is referred to them by an existing customer. And the existing customer gets the bonus too. So, if you’re tempted to change your policy provider let me know and you’ll get what you save on your insurance plus £50. (Please double check with Money Supermarket price comparison site that things are as good as they seem before making a decision). I set my timer for 8.00am so I could call Direct Lines Customer Hotline to cancel my policy with them. The timer went off and I cancelled the policy. I’ve read my Will and it now needs a witnessed signing and storing in a safe place. A letter arrived from an old friend who doesn’t use the internet. I wrote a quick reply and had my midday meal a slow cooked beef stew. Followed by a cup of tea. I did some hoovering and cleaned part of the skirting boards in the living room. Andy came and we had some tea before playing Scrabble. Much to my surprise I won the first game, and we had a cup of tea, the second game was more predictable and he won. We had fish fingers with tomato, a slice of bread and butter with tar tar sauce midway through the first game.

How I saved £107.48 on my home insurance and further progress writing my Will

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Tuesday July 25, 2023 I woke up late feeling tired. Yesterday was a long day as I hadn’t slept the previous night. At first, I felt lethargic but once I was up and had breakfast I improved. The most important outstanding thing to do was sort out paying for my Home Insurance using an online card payment. My Will and an expensive Home Insurance Policy from Direct Line arrived in the post this morning. I caught the bus into Southampton, which have noisy children on board. When I got to The Coop Bank in Southampton the manager spent about two hours trying to sort out my online card payment and modified my payment details but still, I couldn’t make the payment. He said he, it was possible that it might take a couple of hours before the payment modifications went through and he would call me at four o’clock to check. I caught the bus home with more noisy children on board. I got home by 16.01 and must have missed his call. (With the buses the way they are it was the best I could manage) All very frustrating. But the sun was shining, and I’m in excellent health with my mood buoyed up by the exertion of running back from the bus stop. Made sausage, jacket potato, mixed vegetables and onion, tomato and mushrooms with gravy for my evening meal. So not everything was bad about today. Recently I discovered that alarms on my organiser can be labelled, and I labelled several today. Then, I realised I’d forgotten to go to the Waterside Art Group meeting this evening. With my next meal always in my thoughts. I prepared some beef stew ready for the slow cooking tomorrow.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Monday July 24, 2023 Unable to sleep, I got up and had some tea, early this morning. And stayed awake through the night. My plans for the day were to sort out the problem I’m having with having online payments declined, make further progress on getting a grant to fix my double glazing and follow up the armchairs at The Oxfam Furniture shop. I went into my bank in Southampton and thought the online purchasing problem was fixed but when I got home, I still got a payment declined message when I tried to order my life insurance. It was lunchtime so I bought a pizza slice and various other groceries in Southampton Lidl. And a cup of coffee in Costa which I spilt because of my shaky hands. Fed up, and not knowing what to do. I sat quietly and then had a bowl of spicy parsnip and carrot soup. The phone rang it was The Environment Agency. There’s a very strong possibility of a grant to fix my double glazing being supplied. An email of potential supplies was sent. It was (as usual Bootleg Art Club today) I did a little more to my painting of Holbury Manner Fish Lake. My evening meal was a pasta, mixed vegetables and a large fish cake with with tar tar sauce and lemon juice. I put some clothes into the washer and sat down and had a tea. Whilst drinking my tea I tried to find one of my friends who could transport the armchairs from Shirley to Holbury and mentioned the possibility of getting my double glazing fixed as my yearly income is less than £30k. The same is true of one of my friends who I contacted and I gave her the contact details for The Environment Agency.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Sunday July 23, 2023 Woke up at a reasonable hour, considering I’d gone to bed late last night. Feeling mildly depressed I stayed in bed but remembered that one of the blessings I’d listed yesterday was excellent health. So, I got up. Last night I tried to set up a home insurance policy, (twice) but I got payment declined each time. Today in need of shower gel and an air freshener I went to The Co-op but when I tried to pay for them, I got payment declined, again. When I got home the phone rang checking if there had been unauthorised activity on my bank account. I agreed all the transactions itemised were mine and was then free to use my card. So, I went back to the Co-op and bought the shower gel and air freshener. I lit the air freshener and had some tea.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Saturday July 22, 2023: where there’s hope, there’s happiness. I had a sausage roll and a coffee in The New Forest Kitchen. I sat outside on a comfortable armchair. There was an old bloke sat along from me who had an old dog which when the time came to go had trouble getting to its feet. One of his back legs had a huge growth and he had ulcers on the other. Went on to The Soul Café where I sketched some of the people. Kathy (aka Kathy the wicked woman) came over and chatted, and I saw Kim and said a few brief words on my way in. I had two bacon butties and some coffee. Next, I went to Marcella for a while and came home. It was raining hard and I was feeling bored. My mission to make new friends today was unsuccessful. I guess having just a few friends (at present) is just the way things are for me. I’d be wise to remember and be grateful for what I’ve got: near perfect health, a home, food, freedom, No responsibilities. confidence. Many people would envy me. And nobody gets what they want all the time. My evening meal was chicken stew with white wine sauce. At times like this life isn’t all bad. Where there’s hope, there’s happiness. I turned on the television and ‘Never say never’ was on, then I realised I’d forgotten to phone the Oxfam Furniture Shop about buying the armchairs which were delivered today. Unfortunately It was too late . I’ll call first thing Monday. You win some and you lose some.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Friday July 21, 2023 Got up late because I went to bed late last night. Had some yogurt, raspberries and cereal for breakfast. And lunch was a cheese and pickle sandwich. Went for a run round the block and did some messaging on Our Time. I got a video call from one lady, which didn’t go well and when I tried to get back to her found she’d blocked me. At 8.00 I had an audio chat with another lady which didn’t go well. I must have come across as dull and tongue tied…. she told me she was looking for someone to travel with. When I told her I don’t have a passport the conversation soon came to a close. As the famous showbiz adage has it ‘you can’t win ‘em all’

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