27/12/2019 0 Comments Ligaments, Halloween, Practically Perfect, Doctor’s Certificates and a Good ChristmasWelcome back Dear Reader - for reasons that I’ll expand upon later, I have had a pretty quiet time since my last diary update. I have been able to make up one of my Lego sets - the magnificent Flintstones house and car. “The Kids” gave it to me for my birthday. As always there are some lovely details, but the construction itself was very straight forward. Now I just have one more in stock - the much more tricky VW Camper Van that Jenny gave me last Christmas. On 28 October Jenny and I went to Bognor on the annual stay at Butlins with Layla and Jen’s Mum. This one was a little different as it was Halloween themed (rather than Winter Wonderland). Accommodation was in one of the three Lodges facing the sea. I was forced to take things easy due to mobility problems, but I did venture to the newly opened pool even though the slides and rapids were out-of-bounds for me. It was very enjoyable but I did find that sitting still is very frustrating. Due to the favourable pricing structure we booked up a few days for next year in April before we left. A day after we got back, November 2, Jenny’s niece Molly had a 6th birthday party making Pizzas at the Pizza Express in Weybridge. The guests seemed to have a good time, but this old man was forced to sit and smile. On Friday November 8 - (yes, Dear Reader - a school night) - Jenny, Layla and I went up to London’s West End to see the stage version of Mary Poppins It seemed to be based on the classic Disney film of the mid 1960s, with some extra elements which may or not have been from the other books. Sets and staging were brilliant - particularly the fantasy sequences where costume changes were blink your eyes quick. The cast was great - Zizi Strallen was Mary Poppins, Charlie Stemp was Bert and 86 year old Petula Clark as the Bird Woman. A really brilliant show with just enough magic on show - “Practically perfect in every way !” Monday 18 November became Christmas Cake baking day. We are having one gathering for Jen’s family in December, and another for the Ratcliffe clan, so I split the mixture to make two half sized cakes. I called in the Estate Agent on Tuesday 19 November to start the marketing for the sale of the house. We discussed values and what needs to be done to ease the sale. She suggested a few things and strategy. Doors needed painting, grouting cleaning and sorting and general cleaning up. It was a fair list, but not as extensive as I thought it might be 😉. Friday 22 November, and off to Dorking Halls we went to see Frozen II. Enjoyable enough, but not I am told as good as the original (and I have never seen in it's entirety). Saturday 23 November, and off to see my Mum for the first time in a few weeks. Jenny and I had a flying visit to Staffordshire for the weekend of 30 November, visiting Jean and David, doing a little shopping and visiting family graves in Alton. On Monday 2 December, I went to the East Surrey Hospital for a physiotherapy session to see if I might be (or when I would be) fit to return to work. It had been a fraught few (the best part of 7) weeks of inactivity , pain and instability since early October. I had self certified for two weeks, had a short holiday for another and been given a doctor's certificate for 4 more weeks ! Not being able to freely move because of pain in my left thigh was bad, but what was most frustrating was having to tackle stairs only one at a time. Happily, progress had been made and I returned to work (on "short time" 6 hour shifts) on 4 December. Things have been improving steadily since then. Since then, we have had family gatherings for Christmas for both sides, a lovely relaxing Christmas and the traditional cough / cold has kicked in.
Jenny and I visited the Duchess last weekend and she seemed pretty good. We have big news to be announced in the next few months, so here is to a great 2020 after what has been all-in-all a pretty good 2019. Have a good time, Dear Reader ... See you soon Love to all Ian
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