Blog - Ivor’s Daily Gallivant

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Thursday July 20, 2023 Woke up this morning with an inspired idea. My friend Andy (who almost inevitably thrashes me at Scrabble every week) mother has recently developed mobility issues. When my mother needed a walking frame, I discovered they can be borrowed from The Red Cross at Hythe Hospital. (It was over 20 years ago so it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind) Anyway, early this morning I remembered, and sent a message with the contact details to Andy. My plan for this afternoon was to go to the community cook up at Blackfield Baptist Church. And discussing this with some of my friends lead to some interesting ideas. Why not have a donation tin with the food in the library? Could I help with the food preparation or in some other way? … Unfortunately, I drank a bottle of Lucozade and ate a chocolate ice cream which spiked my blood sugar. So couldn’t go to the Cook up, as planned. I took another reading, and it was at the low end of the target range, so I made myself some bacon and mushroom risotto which was followed by an apple, and took another reading which was okay for an evening reading.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Wednesday July 19, 2023 Got up at six and had sausages, bread and butter with barbecue sauce washed down with tea for breakfast Felt really tired and had a nap through the morning. I woke up, and felt amazing. And had gammon, jacket potato and mixed vegetables. My buoyant mood passed after a while. Andy came round and as usual won both games of Scrabble. I ate the rest of my chocolate bar after he’d gone and ran round the block. I find running a good way to mull over my thoughts, and it gives me an energy boost.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Tuesday July 18, 2023 Unable to get to sleep last night I stayed awake through the night and did some writing. It was an interesting piece, but I’ve decided not to share it. It taught me something about myself and my past. I have been reconsidering my Will and asked my beneficiaries if they’re short of money to ensure, no money is wasted. I will stick to my original plan. I said in a messenger chat with one of my nephews my mood changes from day to day with Saturday a good day, Sunday an okay day and Monday a little low. Today was reasonably good I’ve made a decision about Will, had a phone call to making further progress with my double glazing. And found out about a free cook up on Thursday afternoon. I slept for a while tired after my sleepless night. There was a program on afternoon TV about the history of chocolate. During which it said chocolate contains serotonin which lifts the mood. So, I galloped off and back to the Co-op bought a canister of milk and a bar of dark chocolate. My evening meal was bolognaise with pasta and afterwards I had a shower and put on a set of clean clothes, and then it was almost bedtime.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Monday July 17, 2023 It was one of those days when if it were on a school report would have red-‘ Could have done better’. There was a piece on TV about loneliness in young people between 19-24. I was lonely then and am lonely now. It was ten pm when I wrote this. My plan to have lunch at October Books fell through because I’d got up late. I bought some milk at the Co-op and in obedience to a perverse impulse had some chicken pieces, fries and garlic mayonnaise from KFC with Pepsi. Waited ages for and when it eventually was ready ‘Boy! -it was crap’. And expensive too. I remembered I’d left my folding chair at Marcella and went to collect it. And had a coffee in Black Wax Records. I’d taken my sketch pad but didn’t do any sketches. When I got home, I was tired and bored, and slept until early evening. Put off doing the housework for another day. That in essence was my Monday.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Sunday July 16, 2023 Woke before six and had a breakfast of CoCo Pops with tea. Then I sat daydreaming rather than getting on with cleaning and tidying my bungalow. (I’m spending too much time daydreaming these days) I set my oven timer for half an hour and started work. After just over 12 minutes I stopped and did some writing until ten o’clock which I discarded this afternoon. (I thought it was good when I wrote it but changed my mind this afternoon) I microwaved a tin of Scotch Broth which I ate before going to Marcella, where Hayley showed me how to play online Scrabble. Later I had a game of Scrabble with Clare and Josh, where Josh I came first and came last. When I got home, I sharpened my carving knife and diced some onions and mushrooms and put them in the freezer ready for when I need them. And had a couple of teas. Did some more daydreaming and boiled some rice to go with the chickpea curry I’d put out to thaw in the morning.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Saturday July 15, 2023 Early this morning I was thinking about widening my circle of friends and went to the Soul Café, in the hope of doing so. I got into conversation with an old friend Stewart, and we met up with a couple of other friends Phil and Roary. When I first went in, I asked Peter his name: we’d introduced ourselves to each other on my previous visit, but I’d forgotten his name. P So, I asked him it again. He remembered mine. I had coffee and did a few thumbnail sketches of my surroundings. Stewart and I talked about art and the book he had with him on Second World War Battleships. There’s an art club on Thursday night at The Soul Café which I’m thinking of joining. Stewart offered to buy me something to eat in St Andrews Coffee Shop, so I had a cheddar cheese jacket potato and a cup of tea. (Which as I hadn’t paid for them were especially tasty) The others chatted about sport, and I did some thumbnail sketches. I introduced myself to Chris who was sat alone on the sofa opposite. Kathy, who some time ago now I Christened ‘Kathy the Wicked Woman’ and is mentioned in the introduction to ‘Thirty Mostly Quirky Tales’ was there. She had read them and liked them. It’s her sixtieth birthday in August and I made a note of the date and am planning to send a card. I did some more thumbnail sketches in St. Andrews Coffee Shop and went on to Marcella where I played a game of Scrattergies with Ben, David, Margret and Haley. It was fun and there were hefty doses of humour thrown in for good measure. After Marcella, I went on to do some shopping in Lidl and some Toulouse Sausages caught my eye. I read their list of ingredients which included red wine, garlic and pork. So, I followed Oscar Wild’s advice and didn’t resist temptation. I caught the bus home and sat in the seat opposite me was a lady who was dressed in an eccentric outfit. When the moment was right, she was in conversation with friends, I said: ‘Excuse me asking but what’s the theme of your outfit?’ ‘It’s Steampunk’ she replied and suggested I Google it. So, when I got home, I did. It’s Victorian style costume featured in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world and in a genre of films on the theme. She had been taking part in the Rock the Pier festivities which were this afternoon. And was dressed accordingly. Next on the agenda was to try to Toulouse Sausages with some seeded buttered bread with one of the vine tomatoes I bought in Lidl Today. As expected, they were spot on After that, in my massively ambitious continuing project to make my bungalow look as if it’s inhabited by a civilised human being, I set my oven timer for 30 minutes and did some hoovering. I missed a session yesterday but today will be the third day out of four I’ve done some.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Friday July 14, 2023 Unable to sleep, it’s early morning late night. I checked my bank balance and my pension had been paid. As I said yesterday to the charity fund raisers in the precinct the first thing, I spent my money on was make a minimum donation to The Deaf Children’s Society. Last night I found the phone number for Warm Spot and this morning I phoned them to see if I am entitled to a grant to fix my double glazing. The phone rang it was Kelly from The Warm Spot she’d seen my artwork online and said it was lovely. I’ll never tire of receiving compliments. I thought about it later. What a nice thing to do to phone and say that. I went to Totton for a Dental Hygienist appointment and then had a Pepperoni Pizza slice and a coffee in Asda Kitchen, bought some groceries in Asda and came home. Lucie Mann messaged and said work will soon begin clearing my garden. Kerry from the Environmental Health Agency phoned and an appointment about my double glazing is now scheduled for Tuesday next week.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Thursday July 13, 2023 Early this morning unable to sleep I decided to see if it might be possible to get a better deal for my Home Insurance and Googled anPrice Comparison site for Home Insurance on and found when I later, I could get it over £6/month cheaper by changing suppliers. (Over £72 saving per year) I couldn’t log onto my bank app so went into Southampton to sort it out. When I was walking to my bus the precinct a beautiful, coloured lady with long curly hair smiled at me. And began a conversation. Her name was Olivia, and she was raising money for a charity for deaf children. I explained I was a pensioner and couldn’t afford to take out a monthly subscription but when my pension came through would make a one-off minimum payment. On the bus home I got into conversation with Dough who was coming home from a hospital appointment. He’s another epileptic and one of the side effects of his medication is producing too many red blood cells so his appointment today was in his words ‘for bloodletting’. He was planning to live on The Isle of Mann and had lived in Norway and Canada. Dough had done a lot with his life. When I got home, I opened the letters from Southern Water with trepidation only to find it told me my application for a concession was successful. Emma Gloud’s book ‘My Beautiful Psychosis’ was on my doormat when I got in. My friend Dan had returned it. I’d heard her talk at October Books about writing a Memoir and my copy of her book had a dedication in the front: ‘To Ivor with love Emma “Keep writing “ I treated myself to a tea, followed by a half hour stint cleaning the bathroom floor which looks a lot better. Then had some bolognaise sauce with pasta for my evening meal.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Wednesday July 12, 2023 I went to bed last night with the thought: ‘What can I change?’ A very good question, with an answer that would define the extent of my freedom. I pondered it some more and came up with a better question: ‘What can I improve?’ ‘What do I want to improve? And the million-dollar question: ‘What can I improve and want to improve right now?’ Ran round the block and felt good. I sat as usual in my, warn out armchair and decided I needed a change of air and caught the bus into Hythe where I had a chicken curry in Be Be’s and bought a few things in Lidl. I ran instead of walking because I like the way it feels and it’s good for me. The bus back home took ages to come, and I saw Eduardo twice while I waited. He noticed I’d lost weight. On my way back from the bus stop in Holbury to my bungalow I had to hold my jeans up. A disadvantage with losing weight is the need to buy smaller clothes and that is costly. I decided to distract myself from the boredom of being alone by starting work on cleaning and tidying the bathroom. It’s a commonly known you can only really pay attention to one thing at a time. So, cleaning my bungalow would help me with my mood, and make the place look like it’s inhabited by a civilised human being. It would be a question of doing a little and of doing it often. I’d done a little yesterday when I half cleaned the top of my cooker and did some more today cleaning my bathroom sink. Housework is best rationed. Slow and steady wins the race.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Tuesday July 11, 2023 Unable to sleep I got up early this morning and Googled, to find new things to do with my time. One of the first suggestions was watching the sunrise. Numerous health benefits were listed, with too many people spending their time indoors in front of screens and missing the benefit of being in tune with nature. I checked when the sunrise will be today, and it will be at 4.56. The weather was stormy today (first thing) with scattered showers forecast. During my Google search most of the suggestions I came up with costed money. Here was the promise of something awesome….which was free I sat in the conservatory listening to the sounds of the leaves in the trees being blown by the cool breeze as time passed. Some the birdsong began with cooing of pigeons and a distant rooster. There was complete cloud cover, so the sunrise wasn’t visible with my only awareness of it being the gradual lighting of the sky. When I first came to Holbury whilst walking he dog I got into conversation with an old farm hand with a deeply wrinkled, weathered face who told me before the refinery there had been a far greater variety of wildlife in the area. After my early start today I was exhausted and a slept until early evening. Not feeling gregarious I cancelled my outing tomorrow and had a messenger conversation with Andy telling him my wishes.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Monday July 10, 2023 It’s a lovely sunny day but as usual I spent the morning sat in my warn-out armchair messaging friends about how much housework and the gardening I’ve got- rather than doing it. And I’ve got to do some painting for my exhibition in October. Like everything else that isn’t getting done either. Short of milk and I ran to the Co-op and back to buy some and bought a chocolate coated ice cream and some onions whilst there. I had a lay down, wondering what to do to lift my mood and eventually decided I needed to have fun. Having fun is the opposite to being depressed. It’s something I’ve forgotten to do…… The Bootleg Art Club went okay, I did some more to my painting and had some company which improved my mood.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Sunday July 9, 2023 Got up before seven and messaged a few friends. In need of a shower, I had one and when I’d finished had a nap (as I invariably do after a shower) unfortunately by the time I’d finished, it was too late to go to Marcella. But I felt better for it. The last time I went shopping I bought a packet of chicken thighs and a bottle of white wine to cook them in. I cooked the chicken in white wine stew in the slow cooker as planned. As it cooked it smelt amazing. And when I ate some it lived up to expectations.

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