Progress Report 14/09/2010

Aspire Channel Swim 2010 Update + + +

This morning I managed to complete 34 lengths, giving me a total so far of 66 lengths, just over a mile. 21 more to go. Not quite time to put on the coffee and warm the croissants yet!

I feel quite tired of course, but I had a COLD shower (yes you did read that correctly) after the swim and feel quite refreshed as well. More news tomorrow. I shared the lane swimming with a triathlete this morning, talking about his open water swimming. I felt quite useless as a comparison, until I remembered that with this challenge, distance is more important than speed. Which is just as well as he was completing the lengths in about one third of the time it was taking me :)

Thanks for reading!

Aspire Channel Swim 2010

Today is the first day of the Aspire Channel Swim 2010. I have been in training (as followers of this blog will know) for a few weeks now, and today was my first chance to put some lengths on the record towards the total of 1416 x 25m lengths for the 22 miles of the swim.

If you check out my fundraising page (see the link next to this post) I have managed so far to raise £40 towards my target of £100 so I am pleased with that, and hope more people will be able to donate to this very worthwhile cause.

So.. how did I do?

I managed to complete 32 lengths, that's half a mile. That is also a personal best distance for 2010 for me, so I am very pleased with that. I am tired now, of course, but I am sure I will be able to get back in the pool tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Latest!

What a dreadful week it has been. First I lose my best friend, then my mother has to be rushed into hospital again (second time in a month) and this time she was admitted and kept in from Tuesday to Thursday. Thankfully she is now home and I am able to visit more easily at her home. I hope when she sees the doctor today she will have some news about how they are going to help her.

Tribute

Friday 3rd September

Today I lost my best friend of the last nearly 20 years. Kathy was a lovely woman. Kind, generous, understanding, fun to be with, no nonsense or airs and graces, she was always there when I needed her. I know she was such a good friend to very many people, neighbours, family and friends alike, and will be very sadly missed by them all.

It is very hard now to go into town, remembering all the times we would bump into each other without planning it, but then go and have a coffee together and enjoy each other's company. Also the many times we met by arrangement for meals out, movies, day trips, nights at my home with a bottle of wine and good conversation, even a shared trip to London - those will not happen again and I find it hard to think about the big hole Kathy's loss leaves in my life.

I know she is at peace now, and I am grateful for that. She and I both believe in the resurrection, so we look forward to a happy time when we can see each other again.

Sleep well Kathy, love always.

Target reached!

Today I managed to swim 24 x 25m lengths, my target daily distance to enable me to complete the 22 mile Aspire Channel Swim event over 12 weeks starting September 13th 2010. At least I now know that I will be able to do the minimum required, and as my stamina develops I may be able to do more lengths each session, which will take the pressure off for completing the swim.

I have 20% to target donations already, thank you! Please see whether you are able to make a small donation to Aspire by using my fundraising page (see the link at the top of my blog - Justgiving)

Maulberry our youngest cat is not well today. I have made an appointment for her with the vet for next Wednesday, and if she is no better, they may need to give her antibiotics :(

Our Japanese lesson today went well, despite me not being able to remember the Kanji for today. I really need to get down to some serious revision of the Kanji, as we are up to 150 now and if I am not careful I will not be able to progress.

Liz came round with the new husky puppy, Katana, and she is really beautiful. I hope she isn't too much of a handful!

That's about all the news for now. Take care one and all ^.^

Busy Busy Busy...

Today I went to draw money from my account and pay the bills, then to the pet shop for straw, shavings, rabbit food, cat food for Maulberry (adult) and for Zinnia (Senior/Light) before trailing home to drop it all off. So, it was about 12 when I finally got in the pool for my swimming training. I managed 22 x 25m lengths today, so I am still making progress towards my target.

After swimming, Eli and I had lunch in Mama's restaurant in Scotch Street. Finally we did the grocery shopping and went home. A lovely sunny day, spoilt a little by learning that Ian Harte has left Carlisle for Reading. I can't blame him wanting to play in the Championship when he gets the offer, but we will be sad to see him go.

On the plus side, Ben Marshall is coming back on loan for the first half of the season, and we have a new loanee from Leeds, Lubomir Michalik, a Slovakian International defender who should give us some height in the back line.

We shall see how things go on Saturday against Swindon. A bit unsettling for everyone, and likely to cause a few misunderstandings on the pitch until they get used to each other, but I am sure things will work out.

Liz seems to have gained a husky puppy and lost her man (due to what, I don't know.) so I am sure there will be lots to catch up on when she gets home sometime tomorrow. It is never dull here!

Great Footie Day!

Early rise and into the swimming pool for training today. I swam 20 x 25m lengths and felt much better doing it, less tired and my arms are definitely getting stronger. I am well on the way to my target distance of 24 lengths per day for the duration of the charity swim. Donations now up to £20 (thank you for your kindness) so I am well on my way to my target to raise £100 for Aspire.

Eli and I went to Brunton Park to see Carlisle play Preston in the totes.com league cup this afternoon. Goals from Ryan Bowman and the new trialist Yannik Salem saw us through to a clear and well deserved victory. I look forward to the home match against Swindon on Saturday ^.^

After the match Eli and I did some shopping then stopped by Liz's to mop up the lake in the kitchen (freezer is defrosting due to power outtage).

Home finally and time to catch up with blogs and such like.

Mine's a cup of hot water please....

Score!

Today I got up early and made cheese omelette for breakfast. I went swimming and completed 18 x 25m lengths in 18 minutes, a new personal best for 2010. I am very pleased with the way my training is going at the moment.

I returned home and got changed before heading out with Eli to Brunton Park. It was open training day today with an opportunity to meet the players and get autographs and photographs so we were really looking forward to it. Eli had her photo taken with Matty Robson, her favourite player.

I got changed again when we got home. Hazel and I went out on the ministry today, starting off with a call on one of my neighbours, then some street witnessing in town. As the continental market was there for the Bank Holiday, the city centre was very busy, so I was able to speak to a few people. Hazel and I had a nice time, even though we didn't get much response.

When I got home, our friend (ex-neighbour) Steve called round for a cup of tea in the garden and to spend some time with his favourite cat, Maulberry. She used to go visit him when he lived in Charles Street, and she misses him now that he has gone to Longtown to live, so it was nice for him to come round for a quick visit to see her again.

Finally, after getting changed (again) Eli and I went round to Liz's house to check everything was ok. The power was off, so we took the stuff from the fridge and freezer to bring to our home to keep here, as she will not be returning until Wednesday. I don't think the ice cream will last that long ^.^

Cooking dinner now...

New Personal Best

This morning I swam 16 x 25m lengths which is my new personal best for 2010. I am ahead of target in my training for the Aspire Channel Swim, and feeling confident that I will manage to complete the challenge.

This afternoon I attended a meeting for worship at the Kingdom Hall and we had a lovely talk about the benefit of meditating on things to gain deeper insight and understanding.

It is a very windy day, and I had to fight the gale all the way home on the mobility scooter, and felt really cold when I finally arrived home.

Tomorrow being a Bank Holiday I may go swimming but I will have to be early because Eli and I are going to Brunton Park for 10.30am for the open training session with Carlisle United Football Club.

Catch you later!

Ahead of Target!

Hello again ^.^

Update re: Aspire Channel Swim 2010 training - This morning I swam 14 x 25m lengths, a new pb for the year. I am now ahead of my target working towards 24 x 25m lengths per day for the charity challenge next month.

Re: Mum - had text today asking if I had phoned her (I did, but nobody picked up) informing me that the signal may be better in Cork.....! (Does she think she has told me about this trip before? Even more worrying, HAS she told me about this trip before and I have completely forgotten?... argh.. I can't think about it now!)

Re: Carlisle United Football Club - there is an open training day with opportunities to meet the players and get autographs ^.^ on Monday from 10.30 to 12.30 at Brunton Park. Eli and I will be going, naturally ^.^

I have guests coming over for lunch so I must cut this short and get back to my cooking.

Best wishes

Just one of those days...

This morning I managed to swim 12 lengths, a new PB for this year and on target for my 24 lengths per day schedule once the charity swim starts. So far so good...

Then the bad stuff started. Alex is in hospital (heart attack) in an inaccessible part of West Cumbria. I have no spare funds and no transport and nobody to take me there so it is sit at home and fret time when I should BE THERE.

Next.. when trying to find info in order to get sorted ref Alex.. found out that my Mum has gone to Galway. As far as I knew, she was going to be in Yorkshire for a few days then back home. I wonder why, when I am the one doing the research into the IRISH side of the family tree.. nobody bothers to inform me ahead of time that such a visit is likely??? And why do I only find out because I take the trouble to call one of my family? They ALL have phones, mobiles and the internet, and I never get told anything unless it is bad news for ME, and not always then.
Maybe because nobody gives a damn about telling me anything anyway.

In future, my family (and I use the term advisedly) can just get on with it.

So here we are on a Friday evening, miles away from the one member of my family I can say without reservations treats me like family, while he lies in hospital with almost nobody to visit him!

Life can be the pits sometimes.

The thing about personal best is...

First things first.. the Aspire Channel Swim. This is my third year of participation in this charity event. The objective is to swim the distance of the English Channel (22 miles) in a swimming pool during a 12 week period. This year it starts on 13th September, so there is not much time left for preparation and training.

The first year I took part with a team named "Swim Like Bricks", chosen because between myself, Eli and Joan, the team members, none of us could swim far or well. Eli and I had only just started going to the pool. My personal best was 2 lengths at the time, and Eli could about manage a width of the pool. Joan was our star member with a personal best of about 40 lengths. To cut a long story short, we completed the distance as a team, and individually we managed 22 miles for Eli and myself. Joan completed 20 miles before having to retire due to ill health.

Last year the same team (this time named "Fantasy Starfish") plus a few good friends, took part again, and completed the distance as a team. I managed to finish the 22 miles individually as well. Eli was recovering from major surgery and was not able to do very much, but she still supported us well. Joan and I have since had deteriorating health, and have not been back to swimming for almost the entire year since the event.

That brings us to this year's swim. I am going solo for this event as Eli will not be well enough to take part, neither will Joan. I have begun my training and so far (this morning) managed a personal best of 10 lengths - a distance of 250m. To complete the 22 miles I have to swim 1416 lengths of our local 25m pool. I plan to do about 24 lengths mondays to fridays with weekends off. This gives me the opportunity to catch up if I have to miss a day through poor health or for other reasons.

Why am I telling you this?

Two reasons:-

1) Aspire do wonderful work, and I want more people to know about the charity and about the Channel Swim.
2) I want you to support me with messages of encouragement on this blog, and , if you can afford it, I want you to please make a small donation to the charity using my fundraising page online at www.justgiving.com/JosieMAlderton-MakingWaves

It doesn't matter how small an amount you donate, they all add up!

Thanks for reading. Please visit my fundraising page soon, and check back on this blog for regular updates about the Swim.

slow progress is still progress ^.^

Training for the 22 mile Charity Swim continued today with a new personal best for the year of 8 lengths (200m) in about 10 minutes. If I increase the distance by 2 lengths each session, I should hopefully be able to complete the required 24 lengths per day for the Aspire Channel Swim.

I had coffee with my friend Tina, then completed a costume alteration when I got home. I spent some time in the back yard in the sunshine while the rabbits had a run outside for an hour or so.

Back to Japanese study for me.
Take care all.

How to lose track....

Yesterday was Monday, but not, as I believed until nearly 3.30pm BANK HOLIDAY Monday! My whole day was thrown out of whack because I was under the mistaken impression that it was a Bank Holiday, so no shops would be open, ditto swimming pools, restaurants and such like.

So.. I didn't go swimming, when I could have. I didn't go shopping, when I could have. I did go to the only restaurant I was pretty sure would be open near to our home (Woodrow Wilson) for tea.... and got stuck there for the duration because of the really heavy rainfall that decided to grace us with its bounty of spare water.

The only redeeming feature of this weather was that I decided I didn't want to get soaked going home so I would rather go see a movie (next door) and hope the weather improved by the time I came out (which it did).

I saw "Salt" - the new Angelina Jolie film, and made my way home at about half past ten.

So, today... I had to get back on track!

Swimming update. I managed my pb for the year of six lengths today. Tiring, and a bit slow compared to last year, but at least I did manage to complete it in 7 minutes.

Home for lunch, fed cats, put on laundry... this afternoon I have to study Japanese for my lesson on Thursday.
Busy busy busy..... ^.^

A busy thursday..

This morning I had planned to go swimming, but the weather was very changeable, and I had two deliveries to wait in for, so it was nearly eleven by the time Eli and I set off for the pool. Today I managed to swim 4 lengths (100m total) before lunch. We had lunch in Woodrow Wilson in Carlisle then went home so I could do some costume alterations for Ray in time for him to travel to Inverness and the Hebrides this weekend with Swede Dreamz Abba Tribute Band.

At 3pm we met with Sarah and Chris for a curry before heading home. This evening I sorted out some fabric to cover some cushions to turn my bed into a daybed. As I use my living room as a bedroom as well, I need to make it look more like a living room during the day.

Tonight Ray picked up the costumes and we discussed some more problems with the family tree (his father and my mother are first cousins) then I finally was able to come online to catch up with my blogging!

I think my bed is calling me.....

Skype

I am now skype activated and ... I own a microphone/headset thingy.. so I can now HEAR my skype calls instead of having to type messages :)

I love this technology stuff!

It's been too long.....

Argh! Just got back from first training swimming session. I managed... 2 (yes... 2) 25m lengths and I feel absolutely exhausted! It has been months since I was in the pool, and it really does show :(

Never mind. I have a few weeks to train before the Channel Swim starts, so I just have to do my best and build up slowly.

Bye for now

Josephine Alderton is fundraising for Aspire

Josephine Alderton is fundraising for Aspire

Aspiring Channel Swimmer

It's that time of the year again and I am putting on the goggles, squeezing into my swimsuit and dipping my toe into the water for the Aspire Channel Swim 2010.

Those of you who have been around my facebook/twitter/blogs for a while will know this is my third year. In previous years I have been part of a team [2008 was with "Swim Like Bricks" and 2009 was with "Fantasy Starfish"] but this time I am going solo.

The Aspire Channel Swim starts next month and takes place over 12 weeks. 22 miles to swim, which I will be doing in The Pools, Carlisle. Please visit my fundraising page regularly to keep up to date with how I am doing. If you have the means to sponsor me even better, every penny helps and will be gratefully received.

Obviously, the swim will be taking over the blog rather a lot over the next 12 weeks, so you will also be able to track my progress here, and in the usual places (twitter, facebook).

I apologise in advance if it gets a bit repetitive! (so does swimming up and down a pool for 22 miles!)

best wishes

Radio Cumbria

Hello everyone!

Well it seems I am in demand again by Radio Cumbria, this time for a brief interview choosing a piece of music for the Juke Box on Kevin's show at 3pm, and chatting about things such as learning Japanese and why I like "Drumming Song" from "Lungs" the album by Florence and the Machine.

I hope you all get a chance to hear me live on radio :)

Radio Cumbria "Little Cumbria" anniversary

Steven Greaves asked me to record a 'special' for his feature "Little Cumbria" on Radio Cumbria, with highlights of the last 12 months. Here is what was recorded, to be broadcast next week Monday to Friday afternoons.


Monday:-

In September last year I took part in the Aspire Channel Swim for the second year running. This annual event takes place in swimming pools all around the country to raise money for Aspire, a charity which helps people regain their independence following illness or injury that leaves them wheelchair bound. The objective is to swim the distance of the English Channel in your local pool, in a twelve week period between September and December. It's 22 miles, so here in Carlisle that means over 1400 lengths of the 25m pool. I really enjoyed the challenge, and was able to complete the distance in the time allowed. More importantly, I was able to raise some money for the charity, and made some good friends at the pool. I plan to take part again this year.

Tuesday:-

After many years considering the idea, Eli and I decided we would like to adopt a cat. We wanted to give a loving home to an old cat nobody else wanted, and decided to visit Animal Concern. They had an old cat that might be suitable. Eighteen years of age, never allowed in the house by her previous owner and fending for herself all her life, Foxx seemed like the ideal candidate. Who could deserve a home more? But wait, what about Zinnia? Born blind in one eye, now eleven and in need of a new home, having been shot by an air rifle in the throat, surely she deserved a loving home too? Eli could not decide between the two, especially when a large black cat crawled into her lap and promptly fell asleep. Maulberry, a three year old stray, had been in the refuge for six months and had been rejected because of her size (can you imagine?). So hard to choose between them! We ended up adopting all three. Our home is now divided into three 'territories', but Foxx, who is the smallest, rules the roost.

Wednesday:-

A definite highlight has to be the trip to Wembley to see Carlisle United contest the Johnsons Paint Trophy Final against Southampton. It was a very early start, a very long journey and a large expense from our fixed budget, but none of that mattered when we arrived at the stadium. The staff were pleasant and helpful and showed Eli and I to our seats in the disabled section behind and above the goal, to the left as the teams come out of the tunnel. We were treated to a couple of warm up games to lead up to the moment when we saw the teams come out to warm up for the match. I don't know how they felt but I know Eli and I were very proud of them to have got to the Final. The opening ceremony went by quickly while we waited for the moment of truth. As it happened, we didn't win the game. That didn't matter. It was a fantastic day out, and one we will remember for many years to come. Well done Carlisle. Same again this season, please! (maybe even win it this time).

Thursday:-

I am very fortunate to have three daughters and three grandchildren, so it is hard for me to imagine the distress felt by those couples who find they are unable to have a family. I know we live in a time of austerity and government spending cuts, but it would be hard to refuse help to those in that situation. My brother and sister-in-law had been trying to have a child without success for years. They had eventually been offered IVF treatment but had not yet had it when family circumstances suddenly being changed led to them fostering three girls. A few months later, to everyone's amazement and delight, they are now expecting a little boy of their own. Congratulations and best wishes to them both!

Friday:-

Eli and I have been learning Japanese since April and plan to take our GCSE exams in the subject next year. Our teacher, Harumi, comes to our home once a week to give our lessons, and we have become good friends. She and her husband Peter invited us to their home in the countryside near Roadhead for a meal with their family. We were collected by Peter and on arriving at the house we removed our shoes (standard practice in Japanese homes) and went to the conservatory to have our Japanese lesson. Afterwards, hungry and pleasantly exhausted with the effort of so much concentration, we all sat down to a home-cooked Japanese meal of miso soup, sushi and apple pie with ice cream. Delicious! Lovely company, lovely food and a definite highlight of the year. Domo arigatou, Harumi San!


If you get the chance to listen, there will be three people each day giving their diary entry, or in my case, the highlights above. It is an insight into what Cumbrians are up to.

A Japanese evening

Hello everyone!

Yesterday afternoon, Eli and I went to the home of our tutor, Harumi Sensei, to have our Japanese lesson. After an hour of very hard work (yes it was difficult doing adjectives, modifying and affirmative and negative, present and past tense) which we nevertheless enjoyed very much, we then joined the family for dinner. We had miso soup and sushi, followed by apple pie and ice cream. Everything was homemade and delicious! We had a very pleasant evening.

Today the sun is shining, my groceries have been delivered, the rabbits and cats fed and watered, and I am waiting for my carer to come and prepare an early lunch. I have a funeral to attend this afternoon, so I need to be ready in good time.

Tomorrow Eli and I plan to take at least one of my grandchildren, probably Nicky, to see 'Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief' at the cinema at the Kids a.m. show.

Enjoy your day everyone.
Bye for now.

how time flies...

A big thank you for following and a bigger apology for being absent for so long. I have been trying to get my first Japanese essay finished (see my Japanese blog, there is an English translation too) and trying to cope with poor health these last few days. Normal service will be resumed, hopefully, very soon.

The world is full of acronyms....

FMS... easy to say, impossible to understand unless you have walked a mile in the shoes of a person with it. Actually some people with it would really struggle to walk a mile, or even a few steps in some cases. So what is it, and what does it do to a person?

First the boring stuff. Most doctors either know little about it or nothing at all. They know OF it, and have various ways of making you feel worse without really helping. A few enlightened souls actually admit to not being able to do anything to help or cure. The very rare gems (I hope I have found one) actually do have something that may help, and even reverse this dreadful condition.

FMS - Fibromyalgia syndrome - has been known in various guises since the middle ages but until the middle of the last century was usually called Fibrositis. It was considered one of the things getting older could bring you, along with arthritis, senility and other wonderful conditions. It affects everyone differently but usually includes bodywide pain in joints, muscles, bones, brain and anywhere else you can think of, severe fatigue, irritable bowel and bladder, nausea, vertigo, headaches, visual impairment and a host of other stuff I lump together under the heading of "FMS other". Oh did I mention forgetfulness??

Nowadays you may find a GP who has either

1) heard of it but knows nothing about it, or
2) uses the latest (i.e. ten years out of date) methods of treating the symptoms (which don't work) but believes they work, or
3) is knowledgable and honest enough to realise that the previous methods don't work but it's all they have (they think)

That is all going to change...

My GP admitted on my next to last visit that the only help she could offer was that set out in the NHS guidelines, and refer me (yet again) to a rheumatologist. I pointed out that on the last few occasions I had seen such a specialist he had told me there was nothing he could do for me. The 'treatments' on offer of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and mild exercise had been tried and had failed. Physiotherapy, Hydrotherapy, anti-depressants (which rot your teeth so they crumble away, by the way) and various other things had also proved useless as long-term solutions. She was completely at a loss how to help me. I told her that being the case I would go and research myself and see what I could find.

The internet is a blessing and a curse. I found something that may work, and will try it, but I also found many people STILL advocating either that FMS is all in your head, or that if you only eat right, get enough sleep and regular exercise you can lead a perfectly normal life. Yeah right!

So here's the deal...

I have discovered the Guaifenesin protocol for FMS (Google it, its fascinating) and will be starting it as soon as my medication arrives from the US. It isn't available here on prescription, surprise, surprise. I have informed my GP on my last visit that I will be starting it and combining it with a low GI Diet. I printed out for her the UK Fibromyalgia website information on the protocol with dosages, diet and so on, and will keep her informed of my progress. I am sure there will BE progress!

So wish me well, literally, please! And watch this space for updates on the situation.

One day, I hope to be able to walk a mile in MY shoes :)

Radio Diary

I was asked back in March to do a one week radio diary for the programme "Little Cumbria" on Radio Cumbria, during the week before Carlisle United Football Club were going to Wembley Stadium, London, for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final. Recently they sent me a CD of the broadcast, and I have reproduced it here:-

Monday - My usual carer was on holiday, so her replacement arrived to make sure I was up, showered, dressed and breakfasted (or at least had a cup of coffee) ready for the day. Not much hope of it today as the medication I am on makes me feel nauseous and exhausted all the time. It is supposed to lessen the risk of an angina attack, but it seems to do this by lessening my ability to be perpendicular for more than five minutes at a time. Eli and I had lunch at Mamas restaurant before doing some shopping and visiting the library to borrow a Japanese language course. I have been learning Japanese for a while. When we got home I got into bed and played computer games.

Tuesday - The carer arrived very early this morning but I did not really want to get up.. these pills are the absolute pits. However.. after a while I did get dressed and Eli and I went into the city centre to pay some bills and do some shopping. We had lunch in the Old Arcadian. On the way home Eli picked up a new computer game and then we had a quiet time together for a couple of hours. We headed to Brunton Park for the football match against Yeovil, which Carlisle won. We try and go to as many home games as we can. We have season tickets and we are going to Wembley on the supporters coach. It will be a very early start as we put the clocks forward that weekend!

Wednesday - Eli went to do my banking and pay some bills. I didn’t feel up to it so I stayed in bed. We had lunch at home then at 3pm I went to the Doctor as I needed a repeat prescription. I was feeling a bit better so we went into the city centre via my other daughter’s house to drop off some post, bumped into my grandson on the way. We did some shopping then looked around for some jeans for Eli. Several shops later.. still no jeans. She couldn’t find any that were affordable or that fitted well (or both). We were exhausted so we popped into Subway for a break (and so as not to need to make tea later). We must REALLY have been tired. We fell asleep by 8 o’clock!

Thursday - Eli and I met up with Chris and Sarah for lunch in Woodrow Wilson. The very friendly waiter made us smile. The food was good and so was the company. Went into the city centre to try and find Eli these elusive jeans. TKMaxx came up trumps .. two pairs were suitable and purchased. Also cat food and litter and sundry shopping .. then into New Look for a blue t-shirt for Eli to wear to the Johnsons Paint Trophy Final at Wembley. Naturally, they had an offer on so we ended up buying 3 pairs for £12! Not bad. My grandson came round after school as his Mum was out walking the husky puppy, and as it was raining, he stayed with us until she came to pick him up.

Friday - This morning we are broadband enabled.. eventually.. after much muttering and grumbling and re-reading of instructions and plugging and unplugging.. my iMac is now ourMac until we can get Eli’s computer attached to the router. Finally... emails load before you can make a cup of tea, facebook updates more than once an hour and twitter is as quick as it sounds. Progress... I think. My weekly carer came to take me out in the car, so I went to get an ethernet cable, then a much deserved coffee and cake. It gave Eli some quality time with my computer. Now that we have a fast connection in my room, I may get to see more of her. Happy days! The only thing that worries me now is.... what’s she going to burn for supper?

I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Hi honey, I'm home!

Sorry for the delay in posting to this blog. A lot has been happening, some of which I will try and update on here.

It's convention time in the JW year again, and our congregation was assigned to the Newcastle convention last weekend. We travelled by coach with our brothers and sisters each day for the three days Friday through Sunday. This entailed getting up at five a.m. to get breakfast and showered, dressed and prepared in time for the taxi to get to the Kingdom Hall for 6.45am.

As you can imagine, travelling when coping with a chronic disability is never easy, but with the help of my friends I was able to manage with the wheelchair. Eli of course was a tremendous help as always, despite her own health issues.

We arrived in Newcastle each day at about 8.30am, in good time to find places in the auditorium and get settled before the program began.

A few of the highlights:

Two new brochures were released, dealing with the question of whether life was created or evolved by chance. One is very in depth for those who wish to look deeper into this issue than the information provided in the other brochure. They look very interesting, and I am going to enjoy discussing them with people in my local area.

A new book was released, to help us cope with the difficulties we face in these critical times. It compares the situation facing Jeremiah, who lived in times very similar to our own, and how he coped with Jehovah's help. I am sure I will need to refer to this very often! We will be studying it as a congregation later in the year as well. Very timely help indeed!

On the saturday, 24 new brothers and sisters were baptized, which was a lovely event to witness, as we were able to view the baptism in the auditorium in a specially constructed pool in front of the platform.

Sunday brought us a new full-costume drama about the flight from Jerusalem just prior to the Romans destroying the city in the first Century. It was very thought provoking, as of course we are living in a time of similar upheaval.

Also, on the Sunday, a new DVD was released, detailing the beginnings of the modern day organisation. Eli and I watched this on Monday evening, and enjoyed it very much.

Unfortunately, following three days of travelling and sitting at a convention, the body does make you pay for it! I have been very sore and exhausted for the last three days, and only today am I starting to feel a little better. However, the benefits of attending far outweigh the problems it stores up for the body to deal with.

We have a busy weekend ahead of us, as we are looking after my grandson while his mum attends a wedding in Scotland. In the meantime, it is a beautiful sunny day and I am going to the library soon. I have completed the Japanese Language A part I and II Beginners so I am going to see if they have B part I and II Intermediate for me to borrow.

Bye for now!

Japanese diary Day Six - Wednesday

(English translation)

Wednesday 9th June 2010

Today we are having horrible weather. It is cold. My friend Sheila came to my house at 8.30 am. My friend Tina came at 11.30. Eli, Tina and I went to the post office and the bank. Sheila did not come with us. She went home. At 12.00pm Eli went home. Tina and I went to a restaurant. We had coffee and a sandwich. At 1pm Tina went to work in the Shopmobility Carlisle branch office. I went to the library. Later I returned home. Eli and I had lunch at 2pm.

Japanese diary Day Five - Tuesday

(English translation)

Tuesday 8th June 2010

Today at 11.00am Eli and I went to a restaurant for breakfast. At 1pm Eli went to Brampton to visit friends. I came home at 1.30pm. Shiela arrived at 5.30pm and left at 7pm. Eli returned to the house at 9pm.

Japanese diary Day Four - Monday

(English translation)

Monday 7th June 2010

At 12 noon Eli and I went to the post office and the bank. Later we went to Tesco to do shopping. We returned home at 2pm. I was tired so I went to bed and watched dvds.

Japanese diary Day Three - Sunday

(English Translation)

Sunday, June 6th 2010.

Good evening!

Today it was cloudy. We woke up about 11.00am. I went to a meeting for worship this afternoon. Eli and Nicky did not come with me. We had our evening meal together before he returned home about 6.00pm. He returns to school tomorrow. The holiday is ended.

Japanese diary Day Two - Saturday

(English Translation)

Saturday, June 5th 2010.

Good evening!

Yesterday it was sunny again. I did not go anywhere in the morning. In the afternoon my grandson Nicky came to our house. Myself, my daughter Eli and Nicky had dinner together. He played computer games with Eli until bedtime. He slept at our house.

Japanese diary Day One - Friday

(English Translation)

Friday, June 4th 2010.

Good morning!

Yesterday Harumi Sensei came to our house at 7pm. At 8.30pm Eli and I went to Botchergate to have our dinner. We returned home at 9.30pm.

Today it is sunny. Eli and I are not going to the shops today. My grandson is coming later. He will return home tomorrow.

What are you doing now?

Thursday during my Japanese lesson, my Sensei Harumi-san requested I keep a diary for one week in Japanese. I will be posting it on my Japanese blog, with an English translation on this site.

At the end of the week I will continue with the diary in Japanese only. This site will revert to its previous format.

Hope that explains things clearly enough. Take care everyone!

Twitter Lists and How to Speed your Tweets!

Lists are a sorting tool to help you speed up your use of Twitter - here's how it works:-

Example of Timeline of those you follow:-

Name Relationship to You Interests determines which Lists you put them on

Mr A none learning English

Mr B brother family, sports

Miss C none learning English

Mrs D none Cooking

Mr E friend friends, keeps dogs, learning English

Mr F work colleague colleague, keeps dogs, writing

Miss G work colleague colleague, cinema

Mr H friend friends, sports

Mr I none sports

Sport TV none sports

BBC News none Learning English

Miss J sister family, cooking

If you only want to see those tweets to do with sports, you call up the list for sports. If you want to catch up with family quickly, or with work colleagues, or what is happening in the world of cinema, you call up the list for that interest, and the people on that list are the only ones that appear on your timeline. It works in a similar way to when you perform a search, only you have already selected the people who will appear by adding them to your lists. When you follow a person, you can select one or more lists to add them to. You can also just add them to lists without actually following them, so that your timeline is much simpler to read.

I hope this explanation is useful, but if it is not clear, please leave a comment and I will try and explain it more fully.

Happy Tweeting!

Friday-Frustration-Fish & Chips-Fifth Element!

Today I went shopping. I bought some shoes, but when I got them home to try them on they did not fit well. I visited my mother and we had lunch in the garden. In the afternoon my daughter and I went into town and took the shoes back to the shop. We had tea in a cafe - fish and chips! On the way home we telephoned my other daughter and arranged to call round to visit. We brought my grandson home with us and he will stay the night. We are all going to watch a movie together now - "The Fifth Element".

Progress!

Hi everyone!

I have got a quote for a furniture removal firm to bring me my daughter's old (but nearly new!) 3 piece suite to my house, take mine (also fairly good condition) to my brother's house and take his (past its best now) to be disposed of. So, musical suites and everyone will be happy!

I have booked for a skip to come to be filled with all the rubbish from the back yard (old broken furniture and stuff that was in the loft when we got here and don't want) so I can finally get the yard sorted with the rabbit runs for the good summer weather. This will give me somewhere to sit and read in the fresh air too! It also gives me an incentive to clear out of the house anything I don't use or want. Good stuff will go to anyone I know who wants it, or to charity shops, or for recycling, or last option, on thursday, in the SKIP and bye bye clutter forever (I hope).

This means... by the time the new football season starts, I will have got the house sorted, spring-cleaned and ready for decorating. It has been an awfully long wait since the replastering and installation of the new heating boiler in the kitchen and fire in the downstairs room. I feel like I have been living in a building site for months.. .maybe because it IS months!

I will keep you posted on how it goes.

Take care everyone.

Decisions...

I haven't been able to update my blogs or to be on Twitter much over the last week, due to health reasons, so I thought it would be easiest to make this entry to my blog to bring everyone up to date on the various things ongoing at present.

Japanese Language...

One month of studying completed. Our Sen-sei, Harumi-san, is an excellent teacher. So far we have covered Introductions, Offering and receiving business cards, Telephone numbers and Addresses, Time and Date, Days of the Week and Months of the Year, 30 Kanji (including 10 numerals), the Hiragana and Katakana. I am struggling a bit with the kana but I plan to have them well memorized by the end of this month.

So, decision number one is, how far do we plan to go with the language study? Eli and I have requested that our Sen-sei teach us up to GCSE level (aiming for grade A or B) in time for the exams in 12 month's time. Normally this workload would take two years, but we hope we can be ready sooner as we are having intensive private tuition. It is good to have a goal.

Health...

Without going into the gory details, I have fibromyalgia syndrome, angina and vertigo to deal with. I have discussed the situation at length with various doctors and it appears conventional medicine can do very little to help. I have therefore taken decision number two - to investigate alternative therapies which may be helpful in alleviating at least some of the symptoms, and perhaps improving my quality of life. Watch this space!

Family History Research.....

It seems I am at an impasse on this side of the water (Irish Sea) so decision number three is to take a trip to Ireland (both Eire and Northern Ireland) as soon as this can be arranged and as soon as I have all the information in place to ensure I can ask the right questions to get the answers I seek.

That's about it for the update tonight. I wish all my readers a very peaceful and pleasant weekend.

Here we go!

After three lessons, we have agreed with our Sensei, Harumi-san, that Eli and I will try to pass the GCSE exam next summer (2011) and, provided we get a reasonable grade, progress to the GCE 'A' Level exam the following year.

I am very positive about learning Japanese. So far I have managed to learn to recognise 30 kanji. I am still poor at writing them but I am practising hard. Eli and I prepare well for our lessons and practice together to help build on what we are learning. It is good to be able to do something interesting when I am stuck in the house so much at the moment.

Today is the last game of the League One football season, and our team (Carlisle United) are playing away against the league leaders, Norwich. I hope we win, because it would be very nice to go out on a high. However, Norwich are obviously the best side this year and it is a long journey too. Do your best, boys!

I am a bit down at having to miss the weekend assembly at Dumfries. Most of the congregation will be attending, and I feel very sad that I will not be able to see everyone. It is one of the three times in the year when I get a chance to see all my old friends, and it is such a nusiance to be unable to get there due to health issues. Plus, although I do get the information eventually, it is always wonderful to hear the entire program first hand, with everyone else.

I will give my friend Kathy a call later, and Joan, as they are both struggling with health problems and won't get there this weekend.

I will be starting a Japanese journal shortly, www.josiemccall-japanese.blogspot.com with English translation after each post. I hope my followers will enjoy that as well as reading my other blogs. The Blogs can be seen at (www.josiemccall- [please enter here the name of the blog you want to read] .blogspot.com) and you can put one of the following names:-

incoming - my personal journal (this blog)

japanese - my haiku in English with Japanese translations (being updated)

this will also include my new Japanese journal soon available

focus - my early writing (poetry and prose fragments)

innerdark - my first collection of poetry

solo - my second collection of poetry

toybox - my plays and screenplays

spiderweb - my short stories

stutter - my first collection of songs

throat - my second collection of songs (ongoing work in progress)

tilted world - my artwork and other writings

Thanks for looking. Please do feel free to comment on ANY of the blogs, they are all for public view and I welcome your thoughts and constructive criticism!

Beatrix Potter country - for Japanese visitors

There has been a great deal of misinformation and therefore misunderstanding of the recent reporting of a 'surcharge' demanded of Japanese visitors to the Lake District.

As I live in Cumbria, the Lake District is my 'back yard' in a manner of speaking. I have therefore decided to try to clarify the situation for the benefit of my Japanese friends.

Here is the article which appeared in our local newspaper explaining the situation:-

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/japanese-visitors-asked-to-give-5-each-towards-lake-district-upkeep-1.702955?referrerPath=news

If you can't get the page to load, don't worry, I have typed out the article below.

JAPANESE TOURISTS TO BE ASKED FOR FUNDS

(There is a photo below this headline with the byline:-

Fans: One in four visitors to Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Farm is Japanese - and they spend on average £700 per head during their stay)

(main article continues)

£5 donation bid for Lakes conservation

They love the Lake District thanks to Beatrix Potter - now they being asked to cough up to help with its conservation.

Under new plans, to be launched next week, Japanese visitors to the county are to be asked for a £5 donation to support conservation work. It follows fears that the annual stream of tourists isn't putting enough money into the upkeep of the picturesque region.

In return, they will be given a pin badge of Peter Rabbit, Potter's most famous creation.

It is hoped the scheme, by the Nuture Lakeland charity, could raise £25,000 - a - year towards the upkeep of footpaths and supporting wildlife projects.

However some local businesses fear that seeking to extract more money out of Japanese tourists - who already spend nearly £700 - per - head on average while in Britain - could risk alienating a key market.

Potter's books became popular in Japan during her lifetime, with tourism to the Lake District boosted further by the release of the 2007 film Miss Potter starring Renee Zellweger and partially filmed in Cumbria.

Today, one in four visitors to her Hill Top farm near Sawrey is Japanese, and they make up around 10,000 visitors a year to the Lake District, forming a key source of revenue for scores of local businesses.

But amid fears that they are not contributing towards the conservation of the Lake District as a whole, the 'visitor payback' scheme is being launched to get them to help out. Before they leave Japan, visitors on tours which will follow the Beatrix Potter tourist trail will be asked to make a £5 donation in return for a badge and a certificate.

The money will be shared between local conservation projects.

Junko Ishiwata, a Japanese tour guide now based in the Lake District, backed the idea.

"I think people would like to donate money after they see the scenery on offer here because we love nature." she said. "It obviously depends on what people want to do but I don't think £5 is very much to give when you think about how beautiful it is here."

Visitor payback shcemes are already used to raise money for several scenic parts of the country, including Loch Lomond and the Cotswolds, often run by local hoteliers.

Supporters say they are a good alternative to charging visitors to national parks, as happens in many countries, and the Beatrix Potter scheme could be extended to other nationalities.

Window dressing

By popular request, here are some photographs of the blinds/movable canvas screens I have arranged on my bedroom windows.

Above is the view at night. In winter I hang curtains on a pole across the top of the window.

I wanted a modern, minimalist look to my room, even though the house is about 100 years old. Japanese interiors seemed to offer the best influence, so I decided to get bamboo roller blinds. These were great for filtering the sunlight and for allowing light in while offering privacy during the day. At night, however, it was like living in a goldfish bowl.

I decided that I could not afford rice paper shoji for the windows, and looked around for an alternative which was cheap but which offered privacy while allowing light through. I chose artists' canvasses because they met these criteria and were lightweight for fixing on curtain wire at each side of the window frame. They are attached by the wire through metal 'eyes' on the rear of the canvasses to enable me to slide the canvasses up and down to allow access to the sash windows for opening, and to be versatile to allow differing amounts of light into the room.

I was hoping for a sunny morning to demonstrate fully how well they work, but in the absence of the sunlight, I hope you can still get a good idea of them. I will eventually, I hope, have a good day for the photos and will upload some more.

Feel free to comment!

apologies for the delay in posting....

Hi! sorry for taking so long to post to this blog. It has been a very busy week. The highlights, if you can call them that, are a visit to the doctor, who required a second visit for blood tests, and a visit to the dentist, who had to extract two teeth. I was not feeling too well afterwards yesterday, so had a short nap in the afternoon before getting up to go and watch the football. It was the Schools Under 18 International football match between England and Scotland. It was a very exciting game. England won 2-1. The most surprising thing was the behaviour of some of the spectators. I was very annoyed that they let everyone down, smoking on the premises (forbidden) and drinking in the stadium (you are allowed to drink but not in sight of the pitch) and the foul language in the family stand!! However, for those of us who actually go to watch the game and support the teams, it was a very good game and more equal than the score suggests. There are definitely some up and coming players for the national sides in a few years.

I feel a little better today, still sore after having the teeth out but not to worry. I am looking forward to having a meal with friends this evening, which will be a pleasant event.

I will try to do better with my Twitter and Blogging, health permitting.

First Japanese lesson

Saturday:

I decided it was time to catch up on my personal journal. Thursday was busy as Eli had to go to Freeman Hospital in Newcastle for a check up (she had heart surgery last year). I did not go with her this time so some friends met up with me and we had lunch together in the Woodrow Wilson Pub in Carlisle. After Eli returned from the hospital, we had our first Japanese lesson with Harumi Sensei. It was very interesting, with Harumi Sensei speaking almost entirely in Japanese and Eli and I doing our best to understand what she was teaching. We had to learn how to recognise some of the basic hiragana and katakana, for the names of countries and some simple and useful everyday phrases.

I am really looking forward to next lesson, and am making a strong effort to learn all 46 of the basic hiragana by then.

On Friday we had a quiet day as Eli was tired and I was not feeling up to doing much, but in the afternoon we visited my sister-in-law. It was the first time since she and my brother moved into their new home that we had a chance to go and see her so it was good to have the opportunity.

Saturday.. football day of course. I was not feeling well after a bad night with toothache so I slept a bit later than I wanted to. I eventually got up at lunchtime and Eli and I went to the football match for a 3pm start. Sadly, Carlisle lost to Oldham by 2-1 but it was a sunny day and we were with friends so it wasn't all bad.

We are hoping to attend the under 18's schools international England v Scotland match which is being held here in Carlisle on Friday. I hope to post about that next time.

I feel like I haven't had any time to do any writing or artwork for so long now, because of my health being poor and having such cold weather I haven't been out much. I really must make the effort now spring is here and get writing again and creating installations.

Watch this space :)

Wembley

28th March 2010 - Johnston's Paint Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium, London

00.00hrs - listened to the Saturday Rock Show on Radio Cumbria. They were doing a 'Fest' of Jimi Hendrix intersposed between rock from the last five decades. It was the perfect backdrop to our preparations for our trip to Wembley.

00.59 - Put the clocks forward and suddenly it was

02.00 - Only an hour before we have to call the taxi company to confirm booking. Eli and I are up, showered, dressed and busy packing our lunch box and checking we have flasks of hot water to make tea or coffee on the journey.

02.30 - Alan arrives and I cook eggs on toast for breakfast for us all. Alan has been to a cup final before, but Eli and I are really excited about our first trip to one. Also, none of us has been to the new Wembley stadium so that is going to be very interesting.

03.00 - Eli called the taxi company and they are sending a car in about ten minutes. It is time to check we have all the stadium tickets/coach tickets/wheelchair/medications/ warm clothes etc.

03.10 - taxi arrived five minutes early so we all got loaded up and headed for Brunton Park, home of Carlisle United Football Club!

03.15 - here we are at Brunton Park. Lots of people here already and we are not due to leave until 04.00. We wait fairly quietly (lots of houses nearby with sleeping occupants).

05.00 - finally we are off. One or two hitches meant we are all late setting off but nobody seems worried as we are now on the road to Wembley for sure!

05.15 - well... apart from a couple of stops to pick up other people :)

The Journey was fairly uneventful. Roadworks of course on M6... nothing new there. One stop for 45 minutes to refresh ourselves then back on the bus and straight to London.

Arriving at Wembley, we are struck by how BIG this place is.. and by how run down the area it is built in is. It is understandable that it is here for two reasons:-

1) People don't want a football stadium in their nice area because it will lower house prices and they will have to put up with paying for policing and so on....

2) If you build a brand new stadium in a run-down area it will hopefully regenerate the entire surrounding area and bring a lot of business and money into it...

Still, it is sad to see the state of the area and makes us hopeful that the regeneration is soon and sufficiently sustainable.

As we headed for the disabled lift from the basement parking 2 level (ground floor) up to the main concourse, we tried to take in the size of the building and the views all around us. But nothing compares you for what you see as you enter the main stadium seating area.

I should mention here that the stewards and all stadium staff were pleasant, cheerful, helpful and informed and made our visit as free from worry as it could possibly be.

So... here we are! We arrived at the wheelchair seating section directly opposite the big screen in the North Stand and with a view of the entire arena which it is almost impossible to describe. Television coverage does not prepare you for the experience. As the stadium filled we were treated to some preliminary entertainment, including the ladies under 13 and the men's five a side finals. The big screen opposite us showed highlights of the road to Wembley for both finalist teams, so we were able to relive some of the wonderful goals we had seen at Brunton Park or on television.

The main event finally started. Fireworks, Flaming tall drums and air balloons carrying the crests of the clubs, the national anthem and finally... the teams prepared to face off.

The volume produced by over 50,000 Southampton fans was incredible. We Carlisle fans were noisy, as usual, but we were heavily outnumbered. However, there were times when we drowned out the singing from the others. The sound was a physical presence nearly blowing us over whenever a goal was scored (there were five in the match).

I will not dwell on the game. We lost. We played as well as could be on the day, but it was not good enough. However, all the team should feel proud because they did us proud. It was clear even from where we sat that every player was determined to play their heart out for the club and they never dropped their heads or gave up to the last whistle.

So.. 1-4 was the final tally and we were runners up this year. We stayed to applaud our lads getting their medals and of course, we applauded the Southampton lads for their brilliant win too, because we are big enough to be gracious in defeat.

It was quiet on the bus home, not because we lost, but because Carlisle is a very long way from London and most of us hadn't slept in over 40 hours. Regardless of the outcome of the game, a visit to Wembley to support your side is a fantastic experience. To be part of that was something Eli and I may never have the opportunity to repeat. I hope we do get the chance though!

Japanese dramas

Japanese dramas

First Person/Third Person Perspective Stories

First Person/Third Person Perspective Stories