Worse Things Happen at Sea..............

Hello, my dear Bloggeroos!

As promised, here is my tale of the water leak in my kitchen.

(Oh! How exciting!)

So, there I was, doing last minute checks before going on one of my much anticipated visits to see my son Phil, his missus Claire and my grandchildren, Hollie and Jayden.

So, my packing was done.

Windows checked.

Boiler turned off.

I went into the kitchen to empty the rubbish bin.

It was then I noticed a small puddle on the floor. I took a closer look.

It looked like there was a tiny drip from the middle of my water meter under the worktop.

"Well, flippin' 'eck!" I said to myself. (or something like that.)

It was the tiniest of drips, and I didn't want to miss my train.

I went upstairs and found the largest bath sheet I own, and dropped it on the floor beneath the drip.

"That'll do it."

How wrong could I be?

On my return a few days later, the leak had got worse.........

Well....no.......it wasn't quite that bad! But the carpet tiles were defying gravity and bobbed along on half an inch of water!

I rang the Water Company. Leaks on or before the meter are their responsibility.

Leaks after the meter are mine.

They promised to come within the next few hours.

I fetched a mop and bucket and relevant equipment.

After clearing up most of the water, I noticed that the leak was dripping from a joint to the side of the meter. (i.e. a joint that was my responsibility.)

My youngest son is plumber, but he lives 200 miles away!

I thought that I'd have a go at fixing it, and then ring the Water Company and cancel their visit.

I went to get my grips.................

Not KIRBY grips, a pair of these.....................

I put the grips on the joint and tried to turn it. Now, it's a well known fact that I'm a bit weak in the wrist. (I'm also a bit weak in the head too, but you knew that, right?)

Oh no, I couldn't turn it...........I'm gonna have to call a plumber.........that's gonna cost me money, ouch!

At that very moment, there was a knock at the door. The man from the Water Company had already arrived.

Some of you know that I have a few health problems.

Sometimes I need to use a walking stick.

I always try to remain positive and live as normal a life as I possibly can.

Normally, I would never use my illness as an excuse for not doing something I'm capable of, or to

use it to my advantage.

Until now.............

In a flash of inspiration, before opening the front door, I grabbed my stick.

I let the Water Man in and walked slowly, using my stick, through to the kitchen with him following me.

"I was just about to ring you," I said. "I'm not sure it is at that meter now I've cleaned up most of the water."

"Don't worry, Missus. I think I can see the problem." he said.

I used to be a bit of an actor.

I conjured up the best "sad old woman face" I could muster...........

"You'll have to bill me for this, right?" I asked with a quiver in my voice..........

"Don't worry, love," he said.

"It only took a couple of minutes. I won't charge you. The office don't know where the leak was." said the Water Man.

I can't believe I did that!

Still to come................................

More Celebrity lookalikes in my family.............

.............and here's a couple of sneak preview photo's from Mumsie and Daddio's 60th Wedding Anniversary Party.

Mum encouraging Auntie Moo to get with the beat!

Mum and Dad really enjoying themselves!

I'll be back soon..........

Take Care!

Frank Sinatra or Celebrity Lookalike????

Hello my dear Bloggeroos!

Well.......it's been chaos here at Dollytub Cottage over the last coupla weeks.

I had a wonderful time at our local Tax Office a few weeks ago............

No, really, don't laugh..............

It turns out - they owe ME some money.........

Yay!

Then I went up to stay with my youngest son and his family for a while............

I came back to a water leak in my kitchen, more about that in my next post.

So, Daddio continues to improve, and thanks you all for the good wishes.

I now have the photo's of Mum and Dad's 60th Wedding Anniversary Party, but there are loads, so you'll have to give me a bit of time to find some you might like.

Luckily for us, we have some very useful family members, and my eldest son, Alistair is a fantastic photographer. (He teaches it, in fact!)

Sorting through some pics on my computer, I began to realise that we seem to have more than our fair share of Celebrity Lookalikes in our family!

The pic at the top of my post is of my grandson, Jayden.

You've got to admit, he makes a great Frank Sinatra.....

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Here's a pic of my youngest son, Phil..............

or is it ....................

Luke Perry?

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My sister, Mandy...............

or is it....................

Joan Sims?

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Mandy's hubby, David.................

Could be mistaken for............

Victor Meldrew! (Although "I don't believe it" myself.)

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Here's brother Les.............

Not only is there a strong resemblance, but he is nearly as funny as..............

Barry Cryer, the comedy scriptwriter.

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My eldest grandaughter, Hollie...................

She would love to sing and dance like.......................

Shirley Temple!

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I've got a couple more lookalikes for you in my next post.

But, in the meantime.............I must check my kitchen floor to see if it's dried enough to put the flooring down.

Take care!

Ooooh! Celebrity Gossip..........

Where have I been?

You may well ask..............

But first.............

Thank you so much my dear Bloggeroos for your kind get well messages for my dear Daddio following his minor stroke.

He now thinks he's a celebrity!

First......he gets a full colour pic of himself in our local paper. (Giving a donation to the British Heart Foundation - the money was raised at Mum and Dad's 60th wedding anniversary.)

And now..........he's been told about the comments left for him on my blog.

DAD: Wow! What you mean the worldwide web really IS worldwide?

ME: Yes, Daddio.

DAD: So, there are people all over the world know about me?

ME: Yes, Daddio.

He now imagines that he'll be invited to take part in...............

Celebrity Big Brother.....................

or.........

I'm a Celebrity Get me Out of Here!

or, at the very least.................

Strictly Come Dancing................

Admittedly, he's a real whizz on the dancefloor............

Mum and Dad...................Dad with his "Girlfriend" Janet.

And.........as he has mentioned to us all on numerous occasions,

he's 8 months younger than Bruce Forsyth!

(He looks like Brucie too, without his specs!)

Daddio continues to make improvement.

He is flirting with the District Nurse and the Physio Lady, who see him at home.

The Physio Lady wanted to see how he managed outside and walked with him the 500 yards to the local shop.

He was so pleased to be seen by all in the neighbourhood walking along the main road with a young woman on his arm!

Mumsie was pleased with the twenty minutes peace!

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My postings will be a bit hit and miss for a while.

I'm in the process of sorting out an income tax return............groan.

I'm also visiting my youngest son and his family.

My granddaughter is 5, so I'll be partying up there, too!

And, speaking of family..........

My other son managed to snap this piccy when everyone was in Lincoln for Mum and Dad's Party last month.

Four of their six great grandchildren!

(The first three are my grandkids, the fourth is my great nephew.)

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Right, then...........

Back to the paperwork.........

See you all soooon!

Daddy's Home!...................

Hello my dear Bloggeroos!

Thank you so much for your get well wishes for my dear old Daddio, following his minor stroke.

The doctors were well pleased with his progress, and passed him fit to return home yesterday.

He is now managing to walk without his stick. Apart from a bit of numbness in his leg, there seems to be barely any after effects.

I've mentioned before that Mumsie has had a few operations, so luckily they already have a stairlift and a bath seat.

We are all so pleased to have him home again.

Mumsie did make me laugh on Monday...........................

ME: Is Dad having another brain scan?

MUMSIE: He's already had one.

ME: And?............

MUMSIE: Oh they didn't find anything.

I swear she gets dafter every day!

Hopefully normal service will resume as soon as possible.

Three Wheels on my Wagon...............

Where have I been?...............

You may well ask!

I've not really been anywhere much, as it happens.

Mainly between Car Dealerships and the Hospital. (More on the Hospital bit further down the page.)

Anyone who, like me, is on limited income and drives around in an old banger will know the fear and trepidation and that 'knot in the stomach' feeling that strikes us when we see in our diary.............

M.O.T. due on car.

The M.O.T. tester had said that he didn't think it would go through this year.

My friendly mechanic Brum, said it wouldn't go through this year.

The bangs, rattles and scraping noises told me it wouldn't go through this year.

But, as usual, my optimistic, positive attitude got the better of me.

"Oh well, chuck it and chance it. Yer never know."

I should have known better.

On my way to the mechanic, I switched on the radio.........................

First song playing was..............

"(I was lost in a) Fool's Paradise"

So I gulped and shivered.

Even though I was alone in the car, I gave that silly little nervous laugh we give when feeling foolish.

The next song on the radio was.................

"Three Wheels on my Wagon."

I groaned at the thought, remembering that lovely day last Summer..............

............when the weather was warm and sunny. I'd had a lovely lunch with my family.

I'd been driving home. I turned the steering wheel, it turned...............

Unfortunately, one of the wheels didn't!

Brum my mechanic tenderly replaced the thingummy jig on the whatsname, and I was mobile again.

So whizz forward six months to last week................

Driving the car to be tested, I felt as though I was taking a beloved pet to be put to sleep.

The car had belonged to my late partner, Liam.

Apart from his guitar, it was the only thing that I had of his.

It was a 1994 red Nissan Primera 1.6. Following Liam's death, I sold my own car, also a Primera, as his car was the better of the two.

So, now both cars have now gone to the great scrapyard in the sky.

Maybe it's a good thing. Just one more milestone telling me to keep moving forward.

(sniff, sniff)

Now to find another one......................

I could have probably managed with a smaller car. But, I do like running Mumsie and Daddio around. It's more practical to have plenty of room............Mum has a bit of difficulty as she's had trouble with her joints and has had loads of operations............

I also have to take into account that I need to have a car with a very adjustable driver's seat to accommodate my gammy legs and a dicky back............

Hey, I've just had an idea, maybe I should have got .................

an Ambulance!

On second thoughts, there'd be nowhere to sit my nodding dog!

Oh YES!

As luck would have it, after much searching, I found the perfect car......................

Yet another Nissan Primera.......................

Do you like it?

It's a bigger engine and it's the Sports version.

It's really nippy. Mumsie's had a couple of rides in it......................

she says the g-force made her face feel like this......................

Ha!Ha!Ha! Mumsie, you're priceless!

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On a more serious note...............

Daddio had a mild stroke on Thursday morning and was taken to hospital.

He is doing really well. The main problem was that he had problems with his left leg.

He is using a stick, but he has already recovered most of the feeling in it now.

Luckily Mum acted quickly.

The stroke has not affected his speech or thought processes.

He is in good spirits, and is flirting with all the nurses!

He is taking part in a drugs trial, and it certainly seems very effective.

We are hoping that he will be discharged on Wednesday.

Hopefully, I will be back here blogging soon with some photo's of Mum and dad's 60th Wedding Anniversary Party!

And a Good Time Was Had by All, plus Auntie Moo Strikes Again!

Many, many, many thanks for your lovely comments for my Mum and Dad's 60th Wedding Anniversary.

The party was great fun!

About 8 years ago, Daddio had to have a Triple Bypass Surgery. Instead of presents our family requested donations to the British Heart Foundation.

We raised almost £500!

The BHF contacted our local newspaper, The Lincolnshire Echo, and they called round this morning to take some photo's of my parents.

The photo will hopefully be in tomorrow's paper.

Long term followers of my blog may remember that we also did this for Daddio's 80th Birthday party a couple of years ago, when we raised almost £700!..............

Dad's pic in Lincs Echo 2008

My eldest son, Alistair teaches Photography. Mumsie designated him "Official Photographer".

Ali took dozens of pics, but he has yet to edit and crop, so watch this space!

He even got some great shots of Mumsie and my Auntie Moo messing about.

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Speaking of Auntie Moo.............

I was chatting to her and Mum at the party, and asked them to remind me of any funny incidents regarding the pair of them.

Here we go..................

In the 1960's one of the first shops to become a self service supermarket was Lipton's.

(Better known nowadays for their speciality teas.)

Not long after the one in Lincoln opened, Mum, Auntie Moo and I went in to do some food shopping for Christmas.

We had never seen anything like it!

Foods piled high, new exotic food and drinks begging to be tasted.

There were ladies on almost every aisle offering free taste samples to shoppers.

Among the foods we sampled, never having tried them before were.............

Edam cheese, although Auntie Moo thought the red bit was awfully chewy!

(I am rolling my eyes here!)

Mum tried and bought some Ski yogurt. Although she didn't allow us to eat a whole pot in one go, convinced that it was 'too rich' and would make us sick!

Mum was keeping a close eye on Moo. She had a rather hefty bag slung over one shoulder and Mum could see that this was an accident waiting to happen.

After they'd bought their food, they decided to look around the alcoholic drinks.

This was unusual as Mumsie's family were Salvation Army and neither of them drank alcohol.

There was a very nice lady offering glasses of......................

Mum took a small sip.....................

Moo gulped a glassful.

Moo then realised that she'd forgotten to buy some bacon,

so we walked back into the Food Hall.

At the end of one of the aisles there was a huge display of eggs.

Aunty Moo popped the bacon into her bag,

and proceeded to fling it over her shoulder, like Santa with his sack.

We heard a crash..........we put our hands over our eyes............

Me and Mum hardly dare look.................

We peeped through our fingers..................

The eggs were all over the floor!........................

Well we must have had our Guardian Angel with us that day, because...............

Not one egg was broken!

We were asked to leave the shop though..............

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