Happy Birthday 50p!

  Good news yesterday my Dad was discharged from hospital with some back up at home. He's not very happy to have outsiders coming in telling him what to do but is happy to be home with Millie who I swear was smiling when we left in the evening.
  Yesterday was also the 50th anniversary of the 50p coin. A very interesting young man with an enormous amount of knowledge of coins was talking on BBC Breakfast all about them. I found it fascinating as I had always loved collecting different coins. I have carefully hung onto this 50p from when we joined the European Union in 1973 and now find out there were nearly 90 million minted and are worthless. All these Beatrix Potter and Paddington Bear 50ps I'm hanging onto are probably a waste of time as they have had millions produced. The only one he said was worth looking out for was the 250th Anniversary of Kew Gardens which only has 210,000 produced and is now worth £70 to £80. I had one of these in my collection but it has disappeared.I probably bought a loaf of bread with it on a day I was short. I found him so interesting I was thinking about 50ps all day!

  Although I was excited when these new coins came were introduced in 1969, I quickly realised how much I missed the old 10 shilling notes. I would often get one in cards from my Grandad who lived in Liverpool. Birthdays and Christmas a lovely crisp 10 shilling note would fall out of my card and he would send one in a little letter when we went on holiday for spending money. I felt so rich with one in my purse, 50p coins just didn't feel the same. My Mum must have had the same feelings for them as we found these in her dressing table drawer.

 Our eldest son came round yesterday evening and we talked about his new flat which he should be moving in to in about four weeks. It is the bottom floor of a three storey Victorian terrace he bought back in May but it was a complete wreck that had been empty for over twenty years. Trees had grown right through the walls in the kitchen extension and it smelt as if every local cat had moved in! Totally unfazed he has worked and planned with a builder since then and it is completely unrecognisable to the flat we visited back in May. He  has only let us see photos of the progress and now we are getting close to the big reveal. I can't wait. 

  Slightly better day today weather wise I hope. I'm off to deal with physio appointments, tablet changes and stocking up my Dad's fridge. I hope everyone has a great day. xx

Life As A Student Nurse In The 1970s

It was another busy day yesterday. Dashing around all morning to get everything done, over to feed Millie straight after an early lunch and then on to the hospital. My Dad was still in quite good spirits but is starting to worry he won't be going home any time soon. We tried to reassure him it will probably be Tuesday but he is not convinced. There was no opportunity to ask anyone or just to talk to a member of staff even today as for some reason, and we found this when my Mum was a patient too, hospitals are like the Marie Celeste at weekends, everybody disappears and you are just walking around empty corridors with no staff.
  It was all so different back in the 1970s when I was a student nurse. The hospital I worked in always seemed busy and full of life. It was packed with us student nurses and not a hospital administrator or any office staff in sight. We all lived in the nurses home at the side of the hospital which had five floors. We shared bathrooms and toilets and there was one kitchen and one laundry room on each floor. I loved my little room, it overlooked the park and was lovely and quiet. I had posters of Snoopy, Clint Eastwood and Freddie Mercury all over the walls which I had bought at the local Woolworths. My Mum had bought me a wonderful retro bedcover and matching curtains and I thought it looked so modern. I never bothered cooking really as we had a big canteen that always had music playing and a choice of really cheap meals. The best part for us was the enormous sitting room. It stretched right down the entire side of the ground floor and had French doors all down the side to the garden and swimming pool at the side. The noise at break times in the sitting room would be deafening with everyone laughing and joking and the air would be thick with cigarette smoke but that didn't seem to matter in those days. I can see us still all perched on the sides of each others chairs just laughing. Once a month there would be a big disco put on by the hospital for us we could invite guests and a DJ played all the hits from the time until the early hours. I can't hear those old 1970s songs without being transported back to that room.
  At Christmas the doctors took over the Out Patients department and put on a Christmas Revue which it seemed like, the entire hospital attended. There would be songs, in jokes and the House Officers made digs about senior doctors they didn't like. They got away with murder for a day and everyone would be laughing about for weeks. We all supported each other and no matter how busy or stressful a day was it would end in laughter. Sometimes I think a lot of the problems now with stress among the staff in the NHS is not because the work is that much worse but the support network has gone. The fun and laughter seems to have definitely gone. There was never a time when my old hospital felt as lifeless as this weekend visiting my Dad.
  My big regret is that I have no photos of all the rooms which have given me such happy memories. We just didn't take photos like that in those days. In a pile of discarded photos I bought recently for my lovely collection of old photos I found these ones inside The Nelson Hospital in Wimbledon in the 1970s and they really did transport me back to those happy days of life as a student nurse.

  It's a dreadful morning here, pouring and dark and looking at the weather forecast not much let up during the day. I hope everyone has a good day and the weather were you are is a bit better than here. xx

Not The Best Of Days

Yesterday was not the best of days. My Dad's hospital appointment dragged on and the doctors decided to admit him while waiting for tests on Monday. He was in good spirits but unhappy at being in hospital. We are hoping after Monday he will be home again.
 My sister and I went to his house to feed Millie who was sitting on the stairs looking accusingly at us, as if the whole problem was our fault. She was totally unappreciative that we had left my Dad waiting in casualty, driven through heavy traffic in the pouring rain struggled around Pets At Home to find her favourite Felix in gravy pouches and Go Cat for in between meals. We drove back to the hospital to reassure my Dad, who by now had been transferred to a ward, that she had eaten and was fine and that yes that we had left the heating on for her in the morning and evening and the hall light on for her overnight so she could see were she was going!

  I have decided it is hardly any wonder she misses him. As we all do.

A Mystery To Solve

I have been sorting through a number of old pictures to mend and either use or sell. I often buy old framed or unframed paintings or prints when I am out bargain hunting and I have decided enough is enough I must work my way through large box fulls I have in boxes in the loft. The first one I got out was a print of a young 1920s woman which I love and as it simply needed taking apart cleaning and re doing all the masking tape it was quite easy to repapir. It is called "Reverie" or Daydreaming and this is definitely one to put up on our wall. I love it.

  The second was a watercolour of a cottage and river I bought it a while ago for £2 at out local charity saleroom. I had noticed that just visiblle above the mount was the top of a signature and had meant to investigate so I cut the old tape of the back to take the picture out. Inside the back of the frame were four pages from an old newspaper called Reynolds News dated 1948. When I removed the newspaper on the back of the painting were a few sketches of buildings and the title "A Corner Of The Upper Thames In Picturesque Buckinghamshire KMB 1916" Well there was one question answered I knew where the painting was of. I moved the painting up in the mount and now the signature could be clearly seen Kathleen M Blake 1916. 

 What of the newspaper I wonder, an article in it may have a connection with the artist or place in the painting, it may have been put in when being framed just for interest to someone all these years later who discovered it or it may just have been put there to fill a gap in between the frame and the painting. I can't see any obvious connection reading through it although it is very interesting, who would have thought probelms with a nudist colony next to a school in those days!

I have searched on Ancestry.co.uk and found a 1911 census record for a Kathleen Muriel Blake born in 1890 and living in 7 South Place, Mill Lane, Marlow, Buckinghamshire. The occupation given on the census is artist. I think this is probably the Kathleen who painted my picture. I'm certainly going to have a try to find out something about the her and this one is definitely being put up on our wall to keep. A little bit of mystery makes it all the more interesting to us.

  It's a wet miserable day here this morning. I wish I could stay in and investigate more but my Dad has a hospital appointment this morning so I have to brave the elements and meet my sister to take him there. Have a great day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

Our Vintage 1970s Caravan

  What a lovely bright day it was for the most part yesterday. It was wonderful sunny but windy drying weather and I have been sorting through items to wash and dry for our vintage caravan. Last year we had a lovely little 2 berth 1970s caravan but it was tiny and we quickly realised this year that with four dogs it was too much of a squash so we sold it and bought a much bigger caravan, a Royale Touranger made in 1974. We bought it on facebook from an old couple who seemed so nice but we quickly found out that they had strategically placed items to hide patches of damp and then reassured us there was no damp. We should have checked more carefully but never mind it hasn't been the end of the world. My Dad has worked hard on it during the summer, which he has really enjoyed, and now the damp is all fixed. Sadly it meant we couldn't get away in her but now the major problems are sorted out we can spend the winter fixing the smaller ones and just before the spring we intend to have it resprayed.

   We have called her Suzi and I am always on the look out for 1970s items for her, it is such fun. As she is so much bigger than our last caravan there is so much more space to put things. I am always finding bits at jumble sales and car boot sales. I am quite mean with what I am prepared to pay so don't buy much on ebay. It's all the more fun when you find something really cheaply so I don't mind waiting.

   I am on the look out for some nice retro material to make new curtains with and I want a bright 70s looking shower curtain to make the little shower room nice and bright. It is going to be my ongoing project all winter and I am really excited to do it all. It has a proper little kitchen area with an oven and grill so we will be able to cook more as we only had a two ring hob in our other caravan. All in 1970s pans of course! This is one of my favourite recent finds at our local charity saleroom.

    Today I got out to wash this lovely crocheted blanket I bought at a jumble sale a while ago. It needed a bit of a repair some of the squares were coming unsewn from the next one but other than that it was perfect and only £2.

  I am going to take lots of photos of the progress over the winter and will be recording them all in this blog. It will be nice by the spring to hopefully look back and see all that we have achieved. I love a winter project to work on as it always makes the cold days when it's not much fun being out and about more enjoyable.

  It's another bright start to the day today which is World Mental Health Day. I hope everyone has a brilliant day today and finds time to spend some of it doing something they enjoy, but sending special thoughts to anyone reading this who is going through difficult times I really hope things improve for you soon. xx

An Evening At Downton Abbey

Yesterday was a really enjoyable day. We went to visit my Dad during the day who was in good form as we admired plants in his garden and he told us tales of the neighbours over a cup of tea.
  In the evening my sister and I went into Epsom and had a meal at the Caballo Lounge on Epsom High Street. It is a cafe bar that me eldest daughter and her husband discovered a few years ago and has a decor that warms my collectorholic heart! The meal was fantastic value, delicious and staff so friendly. In fact I could happily move in. It is completely dog friendly. It even has little dog bowls around so they can have a drink. Well worth a visit, I may take Cassie next time.

   After we had finished our meal we had a bit of time to kill, and as the rain had stopped and it was a mild evening we had a walk around Epsom to look at our old teenage haunts. Woolworths, The Wimpy, The Odeon, Chelsea Girl all long gone. It was such fun to remember them though.

  After our walk we went to the new cinema (how I miss the Odeon!) to watch the Downton Abbey film. We enjoyed it so much, two hours of total escapism. The outside world didn't exist, I was transported back to the 1920s and loved every minute. My sister and I are real Downton fans, as our Mum was too, and last year after my second operation she treated me to a trip to Highclere Castle in Hampshire where they film the series. It was a really bright spot in what was a bleak time.Sadly we were not allowed to take photos inside the castle which is beautiful so we really enjoyed seeing the rooms again on a big screen.  It has definitely made me want a return visit there as it such a enjoyable day out. Here are a few photos I took on our day there.

On gloomy wet days in winter I often look at photos from the summer to cheer myself up and I think I will be revisiting these ones a few times on those sort of days. The sun is shining here this morning and after all this galavanting there is quite a lot to catch up with. I hope everyone has a great day whatever you are doing. xx

  

Growing Roses From Seeds

 I think yesterday the seed of gardening was well and truly planted for Scarlett. She loved every minute of our planting and compost is her new favourite word! We chopped open the rose hips and interestingly only the ripe orange ones really had proper seeds inside. I had picked all different types to see which was the best but without any doubt it was the bright orange ones that held the most nicely formed seeds. In future I will be patient and leave the hips until they have really ripened.

  We put the seeds on a layer of compost and then covered them with a second layer. I used root boosting potting mix from Miracle Grow. I have no idea if that will make a difference or not but thought it was worth a try.

Scarlett took the whole procedure very seriously as you can see! She then planted a pack of crocus bulbs. The instructions said close together but not touching. I had to have a bit of a rearrange when she wasn't looking!

They were covered with compost too and both trays watered. Apparently it is important to keep them very moist but not wet. The seeds were put in a sealed plastic bag and have been put in the fridge for 12 weeks. The crocus bulbs I covered with a black plastic bag and have put them at the back of the shed. Hopefully it will be cold enough for them there. They will be brought into the warm three weeks before Christmas and they should flower by Christmas. This is called forcing the bulbs and is what has been done to all the pots that are in the shops at Christmas time.  

  The rose seeds will be taken out of the fridge at New Year and into a warm light place. The instructions say in the right conditions 20% to 30% will grow. I have no idea if any of this will be successful but it was all worth it just to see the pleasure Scarlett had from doing it all. Fingers crossed as I think success may well spark an interest in gardening with her in the future.

  Tom and Scarlett have both gone down with bad colds but hopefully I may be able to avoid one. The weather is quite bright and not really cold so I'm hoping the more I am out and about in the fresh air the more I will fight one off. Have a wonderful day what ever you are doing. xx