Freddie, once more

I really miss Freddie s blog , finding out how he's doing every day , a window into someone else s life and such an inspirational one at that . We miss people according to how they impact on us , what they mean in our day to day lives and , how much we think about them and how much they make or made us think and how what we thought changed us . ( That's what I'm thinking now anyway , as I write this . )
I think abut Mandy , who was my sister in law , whenever I'm on my bike , usually when I'm panting up a steep hill . Mandy was probably the fittest woman I knew , my head would be down as I struggled up some mountain ( they all seemed like mountains to me ) in the Lake District and I would hear this weird clicking noise and it was the gear change on her bike as she steamed past me , head down as well but how it looked effortless . Mandy who taught me without making any effort , how to be a Mother with a capital M , producing tiny notebooks and pencils and felt tipped pens from her bag when we all went to the pub or a hotel bar to eat and the kids were tired and grumpy , and she would have thought ahead to stop off in a little newsagent or toyshop to supply herself with bits and pieces to keep them happy just long enough till the food arrived . Mandy who only ever really wanted another baby ......because of how she felt about her beautiful daughter S who is eighteen now but who was only sixteen when she helped her aunts carry her mum down the aisle in her coffin .
Sometimes nothing much makes sense

Rather a dispiriting day involving a malevolent tea shop in Alnmouth . There had been so many severe weather warnings that we had called off various sunny weather plans thinking they would all be washed out , but in the event though it was very chilly , more like March than May , it didnt rain torrentially nor blow the promised gale so it felt like the day was wasted somewhat , waiting for the worst .

Barter BooksBarter Books - One of the largest second hand book shops in Europe. was as ever though and I managed to get several paperbacks and check out the dogs section for Pug Manuals . It seems Pugs are very Popular at present though , and the shelves were full of cocker spaniels ( been there , done them ....and lovely they were too , except the smelly ears ) and lhasa apsos ( sp?) whch looked both flowing and hairy and elegant .
We then drove on to Alnmouth and the aforementioned tea shop which I pictured crawling with incubus and succubus , though possibly it was more to do with my mood . Even the fact that they called their vegetable soup , broth , irritated me so it was as well when I settled down in front of a further two episodes of Six Feet Under ( more tv in the daytime , where will it end ) . Pearl snuggled up with me . She wasnt impressed with George .

The highlight of the day was playing Hide and Seek with Honey , a cute little six month old we're Calling on , all black and very playful , wriggled like a squirrel when I picked her up , all she wanted to do was chase little toys around and pounce from behind doors . The wood floors meant she skidded a lot but she seemed to like that , a bit like a child sliding along the hall ....

South Shields ...

Brilliant sun shine and no cats to feed until afternoon .
We managed to make it to the ferry landing by ten thirty with the bikes , camera and a lock in case we wanted to stop for coffee , in high spirits and raraing to go . Despite having lived near the ferry for over twenty five years it was my first time on board . There seemed to be hundreds pf people disembarking as the ferry arrived and a crowd of us ready to head for South Shields and the other side of the river . We left the bikes on the bottom deck and sat up on the top in the sunshine , slight wind blowing .
The cycling was great , no hills , very little traffic as we headed along the sea front , wending our way along the backs of little boatyards which were all a hive of activity , mostly men working on the boats but the occasional woman pulling on a wet suit and ready to launch herself .

A definite sense of being on "the other side" , from our side the beach ( left ) is visible and the fun park and the pier and the red lighthouse but I wasn't expecting these concrete people all in conversation in little groups , not the flatness of the landscape on n this side inn sharp contrast to the steep slopes and cliffs and drops into the sea of North Shields and Tynemouth .

More later , I was dragged away at this point to assist with the sale of a car ( the MR2 has finally gone ......) and its delivery to Gateshead ....Another story

I managed to read a map , the first Ive done in ages . Map ? A to Z more accurate , anyway it ook me a few minutes of stopping the car , turning the page round a few times to work out what was what then , hey who needs a satnav anyway .
But , I did pay loads of money for it when they first came out and now I cant get the maps working and it cant be right to just ditch it . I find what looks like a warehouse and a garage all rolled into one , very much a man's world kind of place but once I find my way in the three men are very friendly and seem to know what Im talking about " you know the code thing where you ring germany well I cant get it to work whenn I input it and now you cant ring them like you used to so can you show me ? " I realise as Im talking I must sound incoherent and one of them looks at me quizically like D does late at night when I talk total nonsense and he tries to make a story out of what Im saying or asking
" Are we talking satnavs here ? " he says " and are you talking the vdo and the icq code "
I realise looking round me hat this is a big company and they sell a million other things besides this particular satnav with the poblem .....

But they dont seem to mind . Its Friday morning and the place is deserted . He tells me they can definitely help but Margaret who knows about them , has phoned in as she is a bit ropey this morning , so they will take my number and she will phone me . Result !
Im more than happy with that , and head off to Debanhams which is just down the road , attached to the MetroCentre and manage to squish myself into some size ten jeans ( though I do bend my longest nail in the process ).

Its the start of a good day ....

CatCalls

A new CatCall arranged yesterday for this weekend and possibly some more dates in August , a lovely little six months black kitten who retreated into her yard and sat and watched me from there . Long and thin with a big fluffy tail , she looks like one of her parents was somebody posh and the other , less posh but fluffy .
The dogs havent got back to us though its still possible , but we have a busy weekend ahead so if they dont thats fine too. A bike ride is planned for tomorrow involving a trip on the Ferry ( my first ) , though the forecast for the weekend is not good so we are hoping to beat the rain . I bought a cat magazine and almost a dog one , but resisted as that would send out all the wrong messages . I did think of buying it then hiding it but thought that wasnt wise . She might think we definitely are contemplating that pug , and Im not , really , am I ?

pugs and satnavs

I was wrong . The post it note (Electronic ,Post-it Software Notes - vnunet.com ) on my laptop screen didnt say Look into getting a pug for Nat , it said Look into buying Nat's pug . There is a difference though subtle .... but it made me think , with its implication that there already is , somewhere out there, a Pug that is Nat's and the message to me was about finding that particular pug , not finding any old pug .

Having spent hours yesterday at home writing a report for court , staring at the screen , searching for the right turn of phrase that couldnt be nitpicked to death later , if it came to it , I awarded myself a few minutes research last night ( pugs , the breed , availability of rescue pugs etc ) . An hour later I was still there , staring at endless cute pictures of pugs crossed with boston terriers ( Buggs ) , pugs crossed with cavaliers ( Puggaliers ) , pugs crossed with chinese crested somethings or others . Its endless . The funny thing is that in the cat world if your cat got out and gets together with a non pedigree you wouldnt be thinking of selling the kittens ( for money , you'd be wondering how to find good homes for them ).... but these cross puppies are still selling for £1000 .....But hey , who cares they're so sweet . ....Just hope N isnt reading this .

Off to get my SatNav fixed ...... another never ending saga of the maps , the codes , the CIQ authorisation system which involves ringing Germany then being told ( automated phone message , polite German voice .. We are sorry that we no longer exist , try the website to get your maps now ...) to get on your computer and manage that way .

But , and this is not inconsequential , I fear becoming lost in Dunston without the SatNav to direct me to the satnav mending shop .
Wish me luck ....

a tree in a bed and no Dogs

Another Belsay Hall picture .

The MR2 is still outside the house . The couple who came on Sat and agreed to pick it up on Monday , didnt ring to make arrangments on Sunday so following another flurry of interest yesterday , someone else is coming tonight . Fingers crossed that it goes before D blows a gasket .

The RS2000 is fixed though, petrol pipes replaced and car itself serviced and declared immaculate and worth much more than D paid for it .

CatCalls are coming in now for the next few weeks but neither of the DogCalls have materialised . Shame really , I was looking forward to the Labrador and corgi and dogwalking at the weekend .

Yesterday was a desperately stressful day so I watched two more episodes of Six Feet Under Series Five , Nate s funeral . Several pieces of flapjack came in handy as well .

Reflecting how much I would like to work in a hospice , but that as far as I know there arent any in this area for children and thinking of Freddie , as I do a lot , it seems all wrong . I wonder what it takes a to open one . Money , I suppose .

An electronic post it has arrived on my laptop :

"Look into getting a pug for N "

Hm.