Chalky

Mum got off the bus yesterday with her friend and as she went into her flats they spotted a grey bundle huddled on the floor. Her friend Carol knew what is was an African Grey Parrot. He was soaking wet and shaking like a leaf, they coaxed him to come to them which amazingly he did easily and carol took him to her flat, her husband had a parrot for years. There he gradually thawed out and made himself at home.
Meanwhile mum rings me to ask what to do about finding an owner. She said someones going to be heartbroken to lose him and he's safe here.
The great power of facebook kicks in, within 10 minutes of me posting it and sharing someone comes forward and said they'd seen one was lost on a pet site her friend ran. She gave me a phone number. A lovely truly amazing lady called Hazel who made it her personal mission to reunite this pet with it's owner. She knew the road name where the parrot was lost from but had no phone number, the vets had asked her to put him on her site but the vet was closed. She drove to the road and knocked on every door until she found the owner then drove her to pick up her beloved parrot, Chalky aged 35... a very naughty boy. A happy story for one lucky bird, a night spent freezing and he wouldn't have been here here today!

Chalky 

amazing children

31 years of paediatric nursing and still one child can touch your heart in such a way you cry on the way home. I have been truly blessed to choose my profession, mind I wanted to be an adult nurse but I got persuaded to do a few shifts on the baby ward by the Manager Miss Jones.
Never having much experience with actual babies (I was a nursery nurse as well but 3-5 year olds were my specialty) I was a bit anxious but soon realised this was my forte. I'm not your average coo over babies, my colleagues would agree whole-heartedly. But babies really are a lot of common sense a hefty bit of good basic knowledge and a gut feeling when something isn't right. You learn to listen to your mothers worries about their baby, you learn to use your eyes for tale tell signs of something just not right.
I was right 100% slap bang in the middle of what I was good at, what I needed and I loved it. These days I look after lots of different ages and today was teenagers and one child who was so brave and so lovely I had a little tear at their amazingness.
I guess the day when the kids stop making me feel this way is the day I should leave and get a job in a cafe!

Birthday!

I was never good at being pregnant, my first pregnancy I spent much of the time in hospital on an IV. Hyperemesis Gravidarium. The same thing the Duchess of Cambridge had. The second time round, well she was a mistake, a slip of contraception that if I'd truly thought about I would never have done as the first time round was so damn horrendous, however a lucky mistake because she was a little cherub and still is 22 years later.
So 22 years ago today I had spent a few weeks in hospital, with declining blood results and increasing blood pressure. Still vomiting, which had suddenly turned into a haematemesis (vomiting blood) I was ill. Really unwell. The doctor said I needed a naso gastric tube. A plastic tube inserted down the nose past the throat into the stomach.
The little midwives had not passed once since training, three times they tried and finally I said oh give it here and passed it myself. Tip if you ever need one do it yourself and swallow a lot! Then they couldn't feel her moving.. so they rushed me to theatre where someone did feel her, so back to the ward. Then at about 11pm all hell let loose. I got worse, the blood was frank, her movements stopped and I had a crash caesarian section.
I woke up after the anaesthetic and although was unwell felt like me again. I knew I'd never have another baby. Two pregnancies like that are enough for anyone, not sure about princess Kate though... maybe one more for sibling support in the future?

Weston

Just booked to go to Weston next month for a night, you can get some really good deals on a Sunday night there. I love Weston, not too much travelling yet you feel like you are 'away' from everything. I found a 'lost' child there 2 years ago on the beach. We'd been watching the airshow and I'd caught the tail end of a tannoy announcement that 5 year old boy was missing, lewis. wearing swim trunks. I thought no more of it but as the planes flew off we began to walk to the other end over the sand, it was a lovely day , hot sun was baking the sand. I however had a cold a bit like today and has almost lost my voice.
I was behind Steve and caught him glance down at a child walking past us. I did a double take and saw the dried tears on his cheeks and the panic stricken look in his eyes and knew who he was,
I bent down and said in the worse hoarse voice possible when you're trying to gain a child's trust, Hi are you lost? Are you looking for your mummy? I'm Trin  I'm a nurse. I'm going to look after you and we will find your mummy. He looked hesitant but held my hand. I looked around, we were miles from the other end and no one around at all. I saw lifeboats racing up and down the water and lifeguards at the waters edge. I realised he'd last been seen in the water. There was no one near us so we began to walk to an ambulance in the distance, I thought they'd have a radio to talk to the lifeguards. I said to lewis, if you ever get lost again you need to look for someone like that ambulance to help and with that the ambulance took off! Damn, we carried on and found a lifeguard van, there were wellis by the passenger door but no lifeguards. A man ran up to me, is this Lewis he said excitedly... I guess so I said. Lewis held my hand tighter. The man ran off to the waters edge and eventually a coastguard man arrived. He radioed someone and a 4x4 came to collect Lewis. They insisted I went with him as he trusted me, so I left Steve to hurry down the other end by the pier to meet me. On the way I spotted some water, I made Lewis drink some, he looked dehydrated to me. The coastguard was radioing the policeman with Lewis's mum. He kept asking if we were sure this WAS lewis and describing his swim shorts.
We finally reached a large crowd of people who'd gathered to watch this poor mums distress. I suddenly had a thought that she'd probably thought him drowned. The coastguard opened the car door to a wailing sound and the most distraught mother sobbing with relief. It was hard not to cry watching it, the coastguard said to her this is the lady who found him for you...Thank you thank you she said, I said he was a lovely child in my ever fading voice and nipped away quickly and waited for Steve then had a good cry when I saw him at the emotions of the afternoon.
A happy ending, no weirdo found him and snatched him, he wasn't lost at sea... scary how you can look away for one second and they've disappeared on a busy beach. If I could do one single thing in the world I would want madeleine mccann's parents to know what happened to her. That would be my one wish. Lets hope it happens in my life time for them.

Is there life on Mars?

7 am just switched on the pc in work and half heard the guy on the radio said they'd heard of the passing of David, I didn't catch the surname and so a few seconds later when I heard the word Bowie I was floored.
A few minutes later my work colleague came in almost in tears.
Do we really realise how much a person whose not in our lives yet he is actually means until he's gone?
The music followed me throughout my life.
I listened to Bowie rather than the popular Bay City Rollers in school, probably influenced by my brother and I am grateful to him for that.
I adore Ziggy! I memorised every word.
Life on Mars is my out and out all time favourite song,
"can I have a glass of water" Does anyone get the reference?
Then he reinvented himself with Lets dance and China Girl. Fashion, Heroes, Major Tom..... all these tracks all these times, They meant something. Labyrinth.. Man who fell to earth I loved that film. Cat people, Crazy, demented, epic, genius, different, handsome, beautiful boy. David Bowie.
You never wanted to be boring David.... You weren't. Not for one second. 

See these eyes so greenI can stare for a thousand yearsJust be still with meYou wouldn't believe what I've been thruWell, it's been so longAnd I've been putting out firewith gasolineputting out fire with gasoline

Bowie 1983

Bristol

Reviews

We did it another month with everything paid on time, we've had some bad times over the last couple of years and January is just the worse month but we did it yet again, Happy Me!
Silly old Slug and Lettuce sent me an email asking for feedback from the awful New Years Day meal. So fired on I did a trip advisor review too. If you read my trip reviews they are 99% positive, I try to see the good in everything but last weekend we had three awful meals if I'm honest. Well 2 dreadful and one sort of ok.

Been unwell, TBH I shouldn't have been at work but I have my own patients and it is so hard to cancel them and let people down. So I probably made myself worse, been a real struggle today. I want to lie in bed and read.
I read Room by Emma Donoghue. It's out soon as a major new film and had rave reviews. The book
is amazing written as the child in the first person and completely through his eyes. It's subject matter of abduction and abuse is hard to take but done in such a way that makes it easier to read. Anyways I wont issue any more spoilers but it's uplifting written so well and is fresh and thought provoking. I can't wait to see the film.

Klepto

Can't help it, always seem to return home with more pens than I went in with and double joy today 2 pens including a super stylish papermate with ultra nib.
Struggled today, feel rubbish but the thought of 4 days off spurred me on! Got to nip to Beirut tomorrow though to pay in some money my mum lent me to pay the nurses registration fee, quite disgraceful, It's gone up from £100 to £120 in one year and we had no pay rise for 4 years. I'm fully supporting the Junior Doctors action. Something needs to be done. People are actually not becoming nurses or doctors as the pay and hours aren't worth the stress.
I love my job though. My workplace is so lush! I'm really lucky I guess very lucky.
Half way through reading Room the book about the girl kidnapped and locked away for 7 years.. It's honestly amazing. Cannot wait to see the film.

Well failed to make my mark on Blogger yesterday so I guess I just accept some days are not possible. Felt rough, worked most of the day. Discovered the headlight bulb and reversing lights were broken. Had to drive in at 6 am today with only one light which I did not like at all.
Work was manic... loads of kids and most seemed to be babies. There's a certain age between 1 and 2 when taking bloods is really difficult, guess what age they all were?
So I nipped in Halfords on the way home to get the bulb fixed. I was about 4th in line so sat in the car shivering. Watching people carrying boxes of paper out from Staples and cheap loo roll from B&M . The car next to me had a large man in a high Viz vest, big guy, just standing by his car, then the Halfords man comes and pops a replacement bulb in his brake lights. Took about 4 seconds. I was shocked. Men go to Halfords too?
Well Steve would have gone but he'd have sent me in to do it!
We should be at skittles tonight but both of us feel rubbish and my nose won't stop running. Besides it's at the dreaded Conservative club with Steve's memorable score of 4. Yes 4!

Steve wants to know what I did to his car? A little mud never hurt anyone... surely?

normality tomorrow!

Today was a housework frenzy after the Christmas nonsense.! I was well into it when Danielle came home to say her back windscreen has smashed! Quite proud she never made a huge crying fuss about it as my girls often can do!
Spent a while sorting out her insurance etc and had to have the ex husband over to patch up her car until they can mend it.... he is very good with anything like that.
The drive looks like a scrap yard now!

We have some friends we met several years ago, I met Dan in Salsa classes and he met his husband Paul a couple of years back and they got married last year. I was their witness. Such an honour. Luke was Dan's friend from uni and we seem to have just fell into a really lovely genuine happy friendship that sometimes I wonder why are they our friends? We are so much older and they seem so much cooler than us, I hear Luke saying yes we are. He got married to Carrie last year and we went to his wedding too.
We went bowling and then to chiquitos for dinner.
I lost as normal.
I did have the bars up... One throw I manged to get none even with the bars up! Second throw I dropped and it rolled backwards to wards Luke, he was laughing and kicked it back to me, I tried to stop it but it rolled onto the alley very slowly until right at the last minute it too hit the gulley at the top and I had a score of nil.
They couldn't stop laughing
Gits.
Back home now. Just finished off the Christmas Advocat. Amazing stuff. When I was pregnant I was sick like Princess Kate was... spent loads of time on a drip.
But I could drink advocat,,, loads of it. Weird. Both girls like it too.
Think thats Christmas finally finished though!
Next year will be so exciting.. this year SHOULD be a good one... but lets see. xx

New Years Day Cats Candles Cars

Happy New Year!
Last night we partied with the Jackson family. I've known them since I was about 5 years of age! Grown up together. They are a wild crazy bunch but each and everyone of them solid gold in their own way.
I didn't drink.... WHAT? Yes it's true. I drove and volunteered to pick up Emma and Jon. Emma is a fab girl but wow it doesn't take much drink to floor her.
Getting her out of the car was interesting! 
Got up today and watched the Vienna concert. We keep meaning to go one year. There was one bit where some young lads prance on stage in sailor suits. Steve said... "I think they are the Vienna Boys Choir, I recognise some of them!" In what context? He is a funny one.
Then we picked up the rents and took them out for New Years Day lunch. I'd chosen Slug and Lettuce at the harbour side as it's quite new, clean and nice.
We booked a table for 2 pm. Arrived to total chaos. Tables with dirty plates, frazzled staff. The staff were REALLY lovely but were working on minimum staffing levels, a 45 min wait in the kitchen which seeing we booked was awful. We ordered and they'd run out of burger buns, then they ran out of chips and replaced them with sweet potato chips without asking... It was a bit crazy but not the staff's fault but not somewhere I'd go again tbh.
So we got home and took the rest of the decorations down. The wallpaper looks hideous, it's gradually becoming unbearable. It will have to be decorated this year.
Thing is we use any spare money for holidays. I couldn't survive without my adventures. The house is so tiny and packed full of nonsense it gets forgotten.
Steve found a lovely big picture to put on the wall. My fault the wall looks discoloured... candles smoke. 
I LOVE my candles! 
Oh I also did something to the car, bottomed it out on a kerb in town, the exhaust looks a bit dodgy. Stupid car. I hate it, it was forced on us after the accident die to the money we got.
Cannot wait till August to get a new one... still think it will be a ford though.
I swear these cats have a live mouse under the sofa, they are going berserk trying to get under it.
Why have I got 5 cats?
Whhhhhy..... Boxing Day I came down in bare feet and squidged on something in the front room, yes a dead mouse, I nearly freaked. Really had to force myself to calm down. It was disgusting. 
That's cats for you!
I hope 2016 brings me much happiness and sorts out loads of stuff to make our future brighter!
We shall seeee.
LY xx