Doggybollocks

I tried hard to find an apt word for my situation. This week I got notification on my appointment to see a doctor about my sore heel. This appointment is for March 7^th, 2025. I figure by the time I see a doctor I will have been reduced to shuffling along the aisles of Tesco in my bedroom slippers – and possibly matching jimjams. Although, these days jimjams are now upgraded to loungewear. Six months’ wait is doggybollocks! However, on the radio it said the wait to see someone if you want an ADHD diagnosis is 2 and a half years! Even bigger doggybollocks.

I am looking into alternatives and I now have an open referral letter from my GP so hopefully I won’t sink to such desperate measures as to go shopping in loungewear! I have also come to wonder, if Donald Trump didn’t succeed in making America great last time round, how does he think he’ll do it this time? Nobody in the media has mentioned this as yet. More doggybollocks - God help us.

I have been told by the passport office that my old passport was water damaged so I had to send a signed letter to tell them how it happened. How do I know? It left my hands when I handed it over at Wolverton post office in perfect condition. Perhaps the passport office drop the occasional one in a bucket to see if it floats? Who knows? Also, my first attempt at photo wasn’t good enough. So, I have had to submit another one. I went to CMK to get a professional one done. The woman in the shop said that my white hair doesn't give a big enough contrast and AI can't see that it is hair. It seems that nothing goes smoothly.

As for my day to day ramblings, things aren’t so bad. I cycle. I get wet. I swim and then expect to get wet. On Thursday, a lady stopped me to tell me I was an absolute inspiration. She said I made it look effortless. Praise indeed! The other week I helped a man, previously known to me as Mr Tidalwave. His style was such that it caused big waves – so big they washed me into the lane ropes when he passed. I lent him my paddles and told him to lengthen his arm pull. It worked. He’s faster than before and I get a better swim too. He told me it is now much smoover, fanks. Praise indeed!

As for the holiday that wasn’t, Diane loves Greece so much, she is still there and now Jeremy has joined her. These circumstances aren’t as good as it seems. Diane fell off a Vespa-type bike on the island and she is now awaiting an operation on a badly broken leg in a hospital in Argos. This is not the Argos near Sainsburys. It is a town on mainland Greece. My heart is with her even though my lack of passport won’t allow me to be there in person.

View from Claydon House on a Sunny day

Claydon House, Florence Nightingale stayed here

I have also had my fill of culture - an art exhibition and a stately home. I went to Claydon House - a National Trust property this week. It is not far from me and well worth a visit. The guided tour was brilliant and I got to see where some of the Bridgerton scenes were filmed. Apparently it is the setting for a number of period films!  There is an exhibition of Vanessa Bell's work at MK Gallery. Vanessa Bell was Virginia Woolf's sister. Brilliant art work on my doorstep. So life is not ALL doggybollocks, just little bits of it.