Yesterday turned out to be quite an interesting day. After I had got up and written a bit of my blog, which I generally do first thing in the morning, I engaged in a bit more of my tidying up activity. To help Meg n her last few years and months of life, I acquired a variety of walking aids including a sort of triangular walking aid that I have seen many elderly frail people utilise in the nearby park. But unfortunately Meg never got on with this and when I tried it out with her, she tended to steer it into the side of the path so it had to be abandoned. So now I have stored a couple of these walkers in an upstairs walk-in wardrobe were they are out of the way but accessible if and when I ever need to use them myself. In Waitrose, there were more hugs from the regular members of staff who had seen me for the first time since Meg's passing and I treated myself to one of their 'free' cups of coffee as I had actually taken my mug with me so that as a card holder, I could have one of these. On my way back up the hill, I called in at my Italian friend and we spent a pleasant half hour in the warm sunshine, drinking coffee and reminiscing about the lives of our respective spouses. After I returned home, I received a phone call from our solicitors so after I have collected the death certificate on Monday, we can make a journey to the nearby town of Kidderminster to collect the original of Meg's will on Tuesday morning. For lunch, I did not want to do any cooking so had quite a healthy lunch of a tin of tuna, enhanced with 'Thousand Island' dressing and some mayonnaise and then eaten on a base of rice biscuits. When I am on a more even keel, I intend to cut down on carbs quite radically and I think rice biscuits are a good way of doing this.
I knew that the Ukrainian lady with whom I was in contact to dispose of spare medicines and dressings was due to call around at 2.00pm. She appeared very promptly and she was accompanied by a friend who was herself a refugee from the Hungarian uprising of the 1950's. I think that apart from the fellow feeling, she came along as the Ukrainian lady did not speak English particularly well. I raced around getting whatever medicines of which we still had some supplies both in the bedroom and also in a downstairs kitchen drawer so we finished up with a bag full of medicines as supplied by the District Nurses, a bag of medical aids of various kinds such as slip sheets and my final collection of the pills that Meg has taken over the years. To cut a long story short, the two ladies were absolutely delighted to accept all three bags of supplies and one item they thought they would find particularly useful. Meg had developed a pressure sore on one heel which had developed what is called a 'deep tissue injury' and the District Nurse had supplied two large boot-like appliances that protected the whole of the foot. These had proved to be very comfortable for Meg and she actually slept in them for the last week or so of her life. The two ladies thought that they would prove excellent for injuries to wounded Ukrainian soldiers amongst whom I suppose foot injuries can be quite common. So they left my house more than happy with what I was able to supply for them and they were actually to be loaded onto a van and would be winging their way towards the Ukraine as early as tomorrow morning. In exchange, they insisted on giving me a jar of Ukrainian jam and we promised to keep in touch so that as and when extra medical supplies come our way, we always have a good home to pass them onto.
Knowing that I was going to be away for the next couple of days, I thought I had better mow at least one of the lawns. I did the first one in two tranches, treating myself to a choc ice on between the two cuttings of the first lawn. Refreshed by a bit of a rest, I managed to cut the back lawn as well so felt I had done a good afternoon's work. I must say that as I mowed the lawns, I experienced a great deal of happiness that I had managed to get these medical supplies into the hands of those who desperately needed them. I also enjoyed telling Meg's departed spirit what had happened to some of her now redundant medications, and I am sure that she would be so happy that these were not just thrown away but were to be utilised almost immediately. I have been promised some photographs to 'prove' that the medicines have got through to the correct places but even if the photos fail to materialise I am sure the medications will be put to excellent use.
I have to ensure that I am well and truly loaded up with gifts and goodies for the birthday part celebrations when I am to leave tomorrow, I have a plant, a large cake, wine and some other comestibles to donate to my host tomorrow and I am looking forward to meeting up with old and loyal friends. The journey is of the order of about 135 miles but I know it very well and I will just toddle along giving myself a break at the half way point. Yesterday evening, I had a video chat with my sister in Yorkshire and after the funeral is over, I am going to go up there to spend a few days with members of the family not seen for years. I was also delighted to receive a text message from the Ukrainian lady thanking me for the donations of medicines and dressings. She indicated that she was going to send me a lost of the things that are particularly needed and this will be useful because some of these items I might be able to spare from this house as I carry on with my de-cluttering efforts.
© Mike Hart [2025]