I go to bed thinking "no need to get up early tomorrow as I've nothing on until the evening, so I can have a lie-in," but then I rarely do.
You will see I have used lay-in and lie-in as I'm never sure which is grammatically correct.
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As I lay or lie in bed musing on the day ahead numerous bits of rubbish float around. Things like why do I remember places from previous visits to places but then can't find them when I return but then realise that I have found them? Yes that all sounds like nonsense but let me explain.
On our recent holiday we made return visits to St Mary's which is the major isle of the Scillies and then Fowey (pronounced Foy) in Cornwall. We have visited both before.
We previously visited St Mary's on a day trip so only had a few hours there. Those hours were spent seeing as much of Hugh Town as possible, walking as many lanes and beaches as possible and having coffee at a beach bar. The one place that stands out in my mind was a beach with a nice grassy area in front of it. Tried very hard to find it on our return visit as we had four or five days on the island. Try as much as we could I failed and then realised it was the green and beach that we sat on every day of our trip. I had just got it into my mind that it looked different.
Same thing happened in Fowey. On our last visit we got fish and chips which we ate overlooking a harbour. Couldn't find this area on our recent visit as I had certain landmarks in my mind and then I realised that we had been sitting in this area during the day!
What tricks our memories play.
While on the subject of the Scilly Isles, I am currently reading the first in a series of murder mysteries set on the Islands. They feature Detective Inspector Ben Kitto and are written by Kate Rhodes. Virtually every area in the UK we visit now has somebody writing murder mysteries. It makes you think that we live in a totally lawless society - murders by the bucketload in Norfolk, in the Cotswolds, in Northumberland, on the Scilly Isles. The first in this series sees a young girl murdered on the Isle of Bryher. There's only about 90 people living there, so they all automatically become suspects! I suppose while watching I just have to suspend my belief after all if you live in Midsummer or the surrounding areas there is a murder every week of the year!
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On Tuesday I had another jab. I was offered this one a few weeks ago and I'm always up for a shot in the arm. This one covered numerous bronchial illnesses and Sepsis. In a few weeks I will have one for Shingles and then there's a COVID booster and the annual flu jab. So much to look forward to as I said to the nurse.
It's a bit ironic that on holiday my leg swelled up and a pharmacist was concerned that it was Sepsis. Turned out it was likely a horse fly bite as the leg went back to normal after a few days.
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On Wednesday we had the latest talk organised by the Friends of Hethersett Library. This one was by renowned Norfolk author Phyllida Scrivens. I have known Phyllida for a number of years and she is always funny, warm and certainly grabs your attention. This talk was on her book The Great Thorpe Rail Disaster of 1874 which saw people die when two trains collided on a single track between Norwich and Yarmouth. Both went down the track on a night when the rain was hammering down and visibility was virtually zero. Once they were on a collision course (through human error) there was nothing that could be done to stop them. The ironic thing was a second track had been laid but couldn't be used as it hadn't been passed by an inspector!
One of the intriguing figures in that drama was Dr (later to become Sir) Peter Eade. He was a surgeon at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and was in the accident but received only minor injuries. He had an illustrious career both in medicine and politics and had a road named after him in Norwich. I find him a benevolent and fascinating character.
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There's something I need to get off my chest that will probably make me unpopular but here goes. When I get up in the morning I usually start my working (?) day by tuning into Breakfast Television on the BBC. This is something I have done for years. At the present time they seem to be obsessed by illness. Virtually every feature seems to feature somebody who is suffering from an illness or disease of some kind.
Over the past few days I have got absolutely fed up with this. So today when they were talking about illness I decide to watch Good Morning Britain on ITV which was much more interesting. Firstly they shredded MP James Cleverley who told us exactly why the Government can't do anything at the moment to help people struggling with rising prices. Presenter Richard Madeley didn't let him get a word in, continually saying "but we need action now, not when there's a new Prime Minister."
Then we had consumer guru Martin Lewis completely losing his temper on behalf of people who will be suffering mental turmoil from rising energy prices. Lewis fell just short of using four letter words but did say "bloody" at one point and told us in no uncertain terms what would happen if the Government doesn't take immediate action. Then we had good old Tony Blackburn talking about working on Pirate Radio in the 1960s and avoiding answering questions about changes in Radio Two. So at 9 am Good Morning Britain (and the main reason I don't watch it is the number of commercial breaks there are) finished and I turned back to Breakfast TV and what were they doing. Yes - they were interviewing people about illness.
I want to be entertained by television early morning and not to be depressed.
And that as they say is all for today folks.