So today has been a rather different day. The two carers came along at 8.20 and one of them, although new to the company, is tremendously experienced having worked as a psychiatric hospital and it was immediately evident that he knew exceptionally well how to communicate with patients so this fills one with confidence. Once Meg had been breakfasted, we decided to set off for town but decided to visit the large Asda store in the centre. This is because I know that there are a variety of things sold within this store that are not easily obtainable elsewhere so I had a little shopping list in my head. Although the store is large, I was pretty successful in obtaining almost everything that I wished to obtain including some things that I happened to buy when I say them on the grounds that they might prove useful. The principal things that I wanted to buy are some of those what I termed 'strip' calendars which are quite narrow and thin and which I just happen to have in one or two convenient locations around the house. Often these are animal designs (cute little puppies) that are not really to my taste but beggars cannot be choosers as they say. But I also managed to renew supplies of some other items which I find particularly useful. One of these is a supply of Asda's own 'instant mashed potato' and I tend to use this for one cooking function only which is to supply a thickening agent to gravy. So instead of using cornflower which is typically used for this purpose, I find that a few sprinkles of instant mashed potato does the job for me. I also managed to buy some light bulbs and one or two items of party stationery thinking ahead to our little celebration which is now about ten days off. After we returned home, I made us a risotto and tried hard to follow exactly the recipe used by chefs which does involve sprinkling some of the arborio rice into the clarified onions to toast the rice a little before adding the chicken stock. This worked out fine and I even had some spare which I have frozen up ready for the delectation of my carers who I know particularly likes this. During the afternoon, we treated ourselves to 'Question Time' which is broadcast on Thursday evenings and usually runs for the best part of an hour,. As it happened, I saw the first 20 seconds of this and the last minute and slept during the whole of the rest - which is not an uncommon occurrence these days. Whilst on the subject of extreme tiredness, I am finding these days that when I am particularly tired, I tend to put things down and completely forget where I have left them. A case in point was the beautiful striped mug for which I have already have a huge affection even though it was only purchased yesterday for the princely sum of 50p. This seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth and the same sometimes happens with articles of clothing. But experience has now taught me that in the case of pottery to look in the microwave (in which they almost inevitably are) or in the washing machine or dryer (where clothing is often to be found).
Almost inevitably, one's own life becomes intertwined with that of one's carers. Without wishing to be obtrusive, carers often talk about their children and domestic activities. We have had a fairly new carer for the past two to three weeks who is a resident of Bromsgrove and is the mother of a young child of about four. She is a fairly slightly built person ad certainly not as hefty as some of her colleagues. She has a fairly shy nature but is eager to learn and evidently is growing in self confidence as she gets more and more successful episodes of care under her belt. So I was amazed when she let slip that she was actually a kickboxing champion of the UK, presumably in her weight allocation of that is how the sport is organised. Of all of the carers that we have, this lady is one of the least likely candidates to be a kick boxing champion. It rather reminded me of a mature student that I used to teach at the University of Winchester. This particular student was a little short and. not exactly podgy but she once let me know that she was the long jump champion of Dorset. Normally, one things of long jumpers as long-limbed, quite tall and lean and with a fair burst of speed down the athletics track so this student, too, surprised me at the time.
Reform UK could replace the Conservatives as the second-largest party at the next election, former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman has predicted. The peer said Nigel Farage's party 'seem to have an argument and they seem to know what it is'. Speaking to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, she opined 'I feel quite conflicted about this because I do not want to talk up Reform,' she said.'But I actually think that Reform are going to replace the Conservatives at the next election because they seem to have an argument' Her words highlight the increasingly bitter battle between the Tories and Reform following the general election, which saw Mr Farage elected to parliament for the first time. We have seen political parties come and go before e.g. the SDLP but whether the Conservatives will ever be replaced is a tall order - after all, the Conservative party has been one of the most successful political forces for a century or so now. We could, though, end up with a divided centre-right. One of the reasons why Margaret Thatcher was so successful was that the opposition to her was divided between the Labour Party and the Liberals/SDLP and only about 2 voters in 5 actually voted Conservative. So we may yet see the 'mirror image' of what was witnessed in the 1980's.
© Mike Hart [2024]