Nine Feet Underground

An extra hour's sleep, in theory and almost in practice.  I was woken today by the sound of E coughing.  On the positive side I still heard her even though I was blocking out sound, and not only that she was fine, just a normal round of coughing. I went back to bed, but couldn't get back to sleep so got up, and showered. Going to meet a friend for a coffee at around 11, but before then I have washing to put on and a few of the usual daily chores to do. Back from a great coffee and catch-up with a good friend. She's looking well and doing OK, which is good to see.  Lots to talk about as we've not seen each other for a couple of months, maybe more. Time flies, etc.  We both had some films, books and other recommendations to share, one of the many delights of catching up with people.  There's not much that beats spending time with friends.  Before heading our separate ways we visited the local Asian foods superstore which has some really interesting food on sale.  Some

This is not the Saturday you are looking for.  I've got shopping to do, both for food, a card for E's birthday in a couple of weeks and a couple of DIY items. Naturally, I visited the bread stall in the market and had a chat. Apparently, last week they had almond and chocolate croissants (combined) and they were very nice. I said I'd like to try one, so they're ordering more for next week, though I did say I might not be there. They said  that's fine, we'll eat them, as they did the last batch! Got all my chores underway before a good friend dropped in to see E and have a chat. I haven't seen her for a long, not since before covid, and see we ended up chatting for a couple of hours or so.  It was good to catch up and she was looking well. I think E enjoyed seeing her, as much as anyone can tell. Another highlight of the day was the arrival of a copy of Jarvis Cocker's book 'Good Pop, Bad Pop', signed for me by the man himself at the Idler Festiva

A busy Friday ahead, so probably not a great deal to say. We will see. Still getting used to the fact that I'm here not there, but I just have to get on with it. The uncertainty and unpredictability of life is tough on all of us, and I'm grateful for all the support I get.  I know it's especially tough for Q as she never knows how long I'll be around for and plans are vague. This week's poem by Emily Dickinson seems appropriate: Much Madness is divinest Sense - To a discerning Eye - Much Sense - the starkest Madness - ’Tis the Majority In this, as all, prevail - Assent - and you are sane - Demur - you’re straightway dangerous - And handled with a Chain - I rather like it. Son #1's gf arrives today as there's a big Halloween party happening this weekend, and so I think I'll be home alone(-ish) on Saturday (tomorrow) night. Standard end to the day, let the weekend begin... Lady Blackbird / 'Feel It Comin'' / (Single) [[Lady Blackbird has an ama

(I am torn between two worlds) Got up early today as I need to go shopping before work, unless I want to go without food (though perhaps that would be a good answer for my cholesterol levels).  Slept like a log last night (do logs actually sleep? Guess it comes from the expression 'Let sleeping logs lie', probably 😉), achieving 94% sleep efficiency and over 3 hours of deep sleep, both of which are records. The carer arrived, K is still working (thought she was on holiday, but not until tomorrow) and E was coughing a lot with a lot of stuff bubbling in her throat. We moved her and encouraged her to try and spit it out, but that's not something she can easily do. She cleared her throat somehow. Neither drowning or waving. For today, at least. I'm back from shopping with an oat milk flat white (get behind me satanic coconut milk, you are banished!).  The guy on the till is walking with a crutch and I asked him if it was getting better. Turns out it's not as he has bee

An early start to the day and an early end to my plans for this week. I had planned to remain in Liverpool until the weekend, but will be departing soon for home, to be there as E begins her palliative care journey.  I stopped only once at Warwick services, to answer the call and grab a coffee, preferring to be home as soon as possible to be there to support those that need it. Not long before the end of the journey, the community matron called to update me with news on E. I was hoping to get home before he left, but I missed him by about 20 minutes. The news? E is stable and it hasn't been necessary to give her any more palliative care meds. She has a slightly raised temperature, but last nights meds seem to have brought things under control. Once I get home I can see for myself.  E  looks a bit warm, but settled. Her cough is under control, much better than it was last night. The focus shifts back to work, while things are stable. When I meditated this afternoon I discovered that

As yesterday, Q is at work, however, I am too, it being a Tuesday, the main difference is that I'm working in Liverpool. I've taken over Q's dining room table and it's now become the operations hub 😂😂 After my first work call of the day, I discover that my copy of 'In Perfect Harmony' by Will Hodgkinson, as I succumbed to buying it after reading a lengthy extract.  I don't think he'll change my mind about most of the music, but I think the discussion of the times, especially as I was a teenager for some of it, will bring fresh insights and understanding. Can't wait. My phone rings at around 10 and it's the carers.  They have observed a slight change in E's eyes and perhaps she's a little more tired than normal. We need to watch this closely as it's often been a precursor to infection and the carers are usually the first to spot these slight changes. If the situation changes significantly and warrants my presence, then I will, of cou

Q is at work and I am home alone, well, not quite, I have a cat for company, though she is asleep upstairs. I have the papers to read and also a trip to the campus for coffee planned for a little after 11. The day didn't get off to a great start as I had a text from our GP indicating my blood test results are back and it seems my cholesterol level puts me into a risk category. High enough for them to recommend new medication. I think I'll arrange a call with our GP to discuss, in case there are any lifestyle changes I can make to avoid the need for medication. The message contains the phrase 'risk of a heart attack in the next 10 years' which is a cheery way to start the day. I shall be reading up on the medication later. Time for a trip to one of the coffee shops on campus.  On my return, I ended up chatting with the next-door neighbour, briefly.   I came back with a coconut flat white and an unexpected chocolate twist. I'm not sure who expected it least. Me, the t

Today begins late in Liverpool.  A late breakfast followed by a drive into the city centre.  Q needs to get some new glasses ordered, we both have a bit of shopping to do, in my case, the priority is buying a copy of 'The Observer'.  We also did a bit of site-seeing and familiarisation with the shops.  We headed  for brunch at a café called 'Ropes & Twines', which comes highly recommended.  'Ropes & Twines' is pretty cool and I had a very enjoyable cheese toasty and coffee, whilst Q enjoyed a latte and sourdough with toast.  Suitably fed and watered, we did a tour of the menus of a  number of interesting restaurants (Indian, Persian, Greek, Turkish, Korean and my favourite, a seafood restaurant (whose menu has a section titled, 'for non-believers'!) and then stumbled across a really cool bookshop called ' News From Nowhere' . After a quick visit to 'News From Nowhere', where somehow I avoided buying a book, we headed  to the car a

Up early to finish packing and head to Liverpool. For a change, it won't be work that stops me from writing, but the fact I'll be driving for 3 to 4 hours. I arrive not long after midday, and despite having had one stop en route my back is really uncomfortable again. Q suggests I soak in a warm bath, so that's what I do. After the bath in Radox muscle relaxant bath gel, my back does indeed feel better. I have made a note to stop more frequently on the way home, assuming my back is not back to normal as opposed to back to front. After dinner, we spent a quiet evening. Just what the doctor ordered. Steve Hackett / 'The Virgin and the Gypsy' / 'Spectral Mornings' [[Live, this track was amazing, and it's still special in its studio form  ] ]

The usual sort of Friday with some added drilling thrown in for good measure. Today is also the deadline for the end of year self-assessment as part of my review process for the year, so that's going to be a priority too, but the general answer is, work, work, drilling and work. Time to head off to the dentist to be drilled. I'm back, Jack! My tooth is now drilled and filled. My cheek and lips fell like they've swollen up after an unexpected round of boxing.  I'm not supposed to eat for an hour and I'm Hank Marvin. See my moves!  If I meditate that should help. Back to work!  I've finished an submitted my self-assessment, so that's a result.  Time to finish working and start packing for tomorrow's journey north. We made a slow cooker meal, Saucy Sausages (?), and so dinner should be fairly easy tonight. The recipe says to serve with crusty bread, so that's what we've gone for. A typical evening in, watching the last episode of 'Stuck', wh

Primarily a day of work, but with a couple of key E-related interludes. A brace of community matrons arrived late morning to change the water in E's PEG balloon and also give her a once over.  Apparently the PEG itself is due to be changed in November, but the CM is going to arrange that which is cool. I'm also expecting our GP to arrive, most likely in the afternoon, but otherwise it'll all be work until The Idler tonight, I guess. Our GP called whilst son #2 and I were making lunch and has said she'll be here at around 3:30, which fits nicely with my work meetings. Well, another one bites the dust. Liz Truss resigns becoming the shortest serving (assuming she served at all, which I'm not sure she did) Prime Minister, AFAIK.  Good riddance, though which turkey we get next, who knows.  Owing to Johnson's policy of only promoting incompetent 'yes' men and women (since they were least likely to pose a threat to his leadership), there's not many options

I began my day with a brief brisk walk, mainly to see how my back responded. I'm hoping walking will improve things, but the jury is still out. Well, if nothing else today is the mid-point of the working week. Strictly speaking, for me, the end of today is the mid-point of my working week. Another cabinet minister has gone, and in Suella Braverman's case, a particularly evil one.  Good riddance. The high spot of my day has been a letter confirming that my bowel cancer test was negative. Until the next one. As the weekend gets closer I'm slowly planning for my journey, though tomorrow's visit from our GP will hopefully seal the deal. Usual Wednesday night watching HIGNFY with the son #1, his gf and also son #2.  After TV, I chatted with Q before she slept and then wended my merry way along the stairway to sleep.  The Sugarcubes / 'Birthday' / 'Life's Too Good' [[I love Björk's vocals on this track, she sounds ecstatically happy at times. It is pur

Work to back. Early up.  I don't think I'll have a great deal to say, or at least, much time to say it, due to the day's priorities. I do have an exciting outing planned for the afternoon, though. As soon as I opened my emails this morning I was reminded that the end-of-year review process is underway, or to be accurate, the first part has to be completed by the end of this week.  Here we go again! This week's poem is 'The Sick Rose' by William Blake. Since he was famed as an engraver before he was recognised as a poet, I thought a picture of a page from 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience' would look better than the text.  (Thanks to Wikipedia for the image) Although it is very familiar to me, I've been looking deeper into the words this time around and it gives rise to new thoughts and images. Another slow cooker dinner tonight - chicken orzo (orzo it seems) - and this is underway such that it will be ready around 7 this evening. It just needs le

The day begins with the mystery of the disappearing plastic jug.  The carer, K, and I search high and low, but no sign of it.  The jug is used by the carers to give E her water via the PEG.  Very strange. Having searched upstairs and downstairs, I have decided to shower.  I'm sure it will appear later. After my shower, I foolishly opened my emails.  My energy supplier reminds me that my fixed-price deal comes to an end on the 1st of December. I followed the link to see what my choices are. Flippety flop!!! I though the bill might be doubling, but I wasn't prepared for what I found. I will have to phone them, but as today is the twin's birthday, I will forget about it until tomorrow. Can't change it anyway, not unless we have a general election. Nationalisation is on my mind. I can't understand how people earning less will manage. This is crazy. The second set of carers found the jug. It was in the bed with E, Sunday night's carers having been in too much of a hu

Quiet Sunday ahead. Reading, washing, present wrapping, catching up with one or both of my sisters - that's what I have in mind. Not very exciting to read, or write, about. The papers are read and I've finished watching 'TS Eliot: Into 'The Waste Land'.  The programme has sent me back to the poem and I want to read more about the letters Eliot exchanged with Emily Hale, the 'Hyacinth Girl' of 'The Waste Land'. Too many things, too little time. There must be an answer! I have done all of the above, but the day seems to have disappeared fast. It's at times like this when I'm really glad I don't work Mondays.  Only one word to go. I made dinner alone, unusually, and son #1 , his gf and I sat and watched a HIGNFY for laughs followed by a chilling (in more than one sense) call to action on Frozen Planet II.  It is hard to imagine what evidence some people need to see to be convinced that climate change is real and something that needs to be a

Saturday, yay!  Another quiet weekend ahead, though tonight the clans are all gathering and we're off out to a Chinese restaurant to celebrate sons 1 and 2's birthday (which is actually on Monday) Had a wonderful conversation with Q after shopping which go my day off to a really good start. In the meantime, I have the usual things to do, and I'm pretty certain you know what they are, thus I'll not name them. In between chores I'll be listening to this morning's Radcliffe and Maconie show on BBC6 Music via Sounds.  I note that today is also National Album day and it's all about debut albums.  Maybe I'll commemorate this in my choice of music below (though probably not), and I'm hoping to find some time to listen to music today too. Sons 1 and 2 went to Ministry of Sound last night and son #2 got home at around 6 a.m. As far as I can tell son #1 must have gone back to his gf's house in town as he's not here. Will either of them make it to their

Another busy working day ahead etc etc etc. My morning's work was unexpectedly interrupted by a call from our GP. She was phoning to discuss whether or not E should have the Covid booster.  The recommendation is not to.  Apparently evidence from hospices suggests that people who are at end of life, or close to it have their demise hastened by vaccinations, so it doesn't seem a good idea. It's a catch-22, essentially. On the plus side the GP has suggested she comes and visits E next week. Work takes over with a brief interlude for mediation then lunch. The afternoon's working session was also interrupted, this time by a call from my plumber.  A useful discussion, just ahead of a call with my manager, and we're on track again shower-wise. I need to choose some tiles etc, better pull my finger out.  I hate trying to match things and decide what'll look good. Tiles. Paint. Aaaaggghhh! Spoke to Q after work and she was returning from IKEA via a car wash and some shop

Work meetings galore this morning, including presenting to the design authority. So, you know what the drill is... It always appears that the busiest work days are the busiest with regards to E, too.  Whilst I was presenting to the design authority, NRS healthcare arrived to sort out E's air mattress (again). The technician arrived before the carers, so I had to answer the door mid-present.  The carers arrived a bit later, just as my call finished, and they hoisted E out of bed whilst I completed a couple of urgent actions.  Five of the cells needed replacing! Five! No wonder the mattress was sagging in the middle. Back to work, whilst playing text ping-pong with the plumber who I hope will replace our shower. More calls, including one I almost forgot.  Had to wing it on that one, but I think I got away with it. 😀 A slight deviation via meditation and lunch, then back to work. Work is over and time now for the Idler, with tonight's guest, Clare Pollard, author and poet. Enjoya

Busy day ahead with a planned digital outage owing to installation of smart meters. (Smarter than whom, exactly?) Work looks likely to be very busy, so you know what that means. The morning was interrupted by a pair of community matrons who arrived to change E's catheter and count the medication. Early afternoon the phone rang and it was the man who is coming to fit the meters. Can he come early? (I think there's a cure for that) Yes he can indeed and he does. Apparently he can fit/replace the meters but the supplier's system is down so he can't do the connection to their network. Apparently I'll get a call next week. I didn't think anything of it, but until they do that all the gas and leccy is free. I think I've solved the nation's energy problem. What's surgical's number? This weeks poem, 'Benediction', by James Berry resonates in a way I have yet to fully understand.  I love the phrase 'spreading shawl of black night', I shall

Back to work again, but with the added excitement of a dentist visit, though in all other respects it's likely to be a quiet day, excepting work. I started the day by creating samples for two separate bowel-cancer screening tests.  Now that's what I call entertainment! Not. Work is definitely the better option. After an additional lunchtime meeting that I volunteered to attend, it's time to get ready so that I can present clean teeth to the dentist. Obviously the teeth come with my head and the rest of me. I didn't get then couriered across. Just to avoid the possibility of misunderstanding.  Back from the dentist after my hygienist visit and check-up.  I need a ruddy filling. No wonder dentists go on holiday to such far-flung destinations. Managed to juggle a few appointments to keep the week of 24th October free (I will be working still, naturally).  Plans are emerging. Son #1 has done a little better in establishing his new routine and has managed a call with the GP

It's sons 1 and 2's birthday a week from today, so getting things ordered and planned for that special occasion are high on the agenda. It's also World Mental Health day and I'm sure I'll be doing something related to that. Apart from those things, I have only one thing on my agenda for today: relaxation. First up, reading the rest of the weekend's papers whilst drinking my second coffee of the day. As I was reading, I noted that this is one of the first truly relaxing Mondays at home that I've managed in a while, they usually end up being very busy with stuff. After lunch, I decided to watch Simon Reeve in South America (Peru and Bolivia) which was both shocking and breath-taking in equal measure.  I read a bit of 'Dracula' after that (the book club book) before deciding to listen to some new music -   the latest albums from Dungen, black midi, Willow and a bit of The Big Moon. At least two albums that are stunning and one that's unexpectedly go