Malcolm Pointin

Despite being away we managed to watch the documentary about Barbara and Malcolm Pointin.( Malcolm and Barbara :Love's Farewell ) Shocked by all she had to do , how she managed to keep on doing everything for him for all those years whilst he became more and more difficult to manage . Particularly shocked by his aggression , and by how she seemed to manage not to retaliate when he made definite attacks on her pulling her hair hitting her squeezing her hands very hard and generally appearing to shove her and manhandle her . However much she knew this was not the "real Malcolm " whom she said had always been a very loving and gentle man , I still find myself wondering whether in her shoes and under extreme duress I might have snapped and attacked back with verbal violence or even actual physical hurting . You hope not , but ......
Incredible to think that he survived for so long and that she went in caring for him day after day , and by the looks of things with very little support . Knowing all the furore about whether Paul Wilson had actually filmed the moment of death , I found it hard to grasp what this was all about . There was enough there to exercise people about the tragedy of Alzheimers and what little help is there for those whose lives are affected . It seemed to me that Malcolm started dying well over ten years ago and that it was this ( process of )"dying" and "death" which interested Paul Wilson , rather than an attempt to film any one particular moment .

Keswick

I have dozens of Lake District type photos but this is the one that appeals at the minute , Coffee shop newly opened with amazing grass in pot outside.

Guinea Pigs watching Big Brother

The Guinea Pigs are not amused ....though they seem to enjoy family life . In the kitchen they squeal loudly whenever the fridge door opens , especially if its D as he can't resist them . In the sitting room they seem to make constant little twittering noises .

Keswick , Cumbria

Keswick this morning . We packed up and left Lamplugh early and drove to Keswick and found a coffee place which just opened yesterday . Consequently they didnt know how to operate the tills and had not worked out the difference between a carrot cake and a cheeesecake and kept trying to deliver us the wrong order . But when it arrived it was delicious and the ambience was just what we needed for leaving the Lakes and the return home , which was traumatic for various reasons .

The one I' m struggling with most is the broken laptop. There seems to be a loose connection between the top and the bottom ( base ? keyboard , not sure what its called ) and every few minutes the screen loses all definition and cant be used . When it is working , and I'm assuming this is connected , its almost impossible to get upper case . Im worried because I want to get back to blogging but also once the Day Job is operational again , I shall need it urgently as I have four days report writing mostly for court deadlines .

Three CatCalls tomorrow to look foreward to, and one of them involves Kittens . Bliss.

Auntie Laura is still here , and is watching Big Brother with two Guineas on her lap . They chunter quite happily , though they are less than impressed with Carol's moaning ( apparently ) .

windermere...and broken laptop

one of the places we spent the last few days . .... great weather , only one splash of rain just as we set off to walk round Buttermere . So wierd to be back in a full sized house , (with full sized cats and guinea pigs ). But , and tragic this for blogging , my laptop is unwell .
If i disappear temporarily , thats why . Argh ......

almost too late

As we left there were two people still daring each other to paddle through the sea to get off the island .

When I enlarge this picture ( click ) I can amost feel the heat still in the air

N's "eightes reject hair "

I post this picture from yesterday and these thoughts at 8 30 am on Monday morning when I should be packing to go away as so far all I have done is get breakfast and put out my phone charger and the camera . The duvet cover will be next on my list . D meanwhile is doing all the mundane stuff that I would forget ....I would be thinking of food but I see he has started that particular collection whilst I was still asleep . This probably says something about me , that my phone and camera are the things I want with me the most ... and my pile of books of course was done last night .

CatCalls keys are handed over to Laura who is taking over here and will be looking after Deb's cats and attending to the watering of their fabulous cottage style garden . Hoping there will be no dead baby mice brought in by the cat-who-looks-like-an-owl . Mr Upstairs was at home yesterday( relief) but was not amused by us and our attempts to ingratiate ourselves . Sitting hugely on a sheepskin rug he stared blankly at us and refused to engage . He is not a cat who humours cat sitters , and I've found in previous times that if I try too hard he simply moves out for the duration and goes to a neighbour who feeds him cat crunch ( not permitted as he has kidney troubles ).

I post this picture of N and Harvey yesterday though I fear N will make me take it down as she looks so unlike herself when her hair is naturally curly like this . Laura and I are completely struck by how like my sister she looks . Laura also has dark hair ( N s is much lighter than this before the hairdyeing phase took hold ) and though N doesnt have our bone structure there is something about her that is so like my sister when we were younger .

Odd experience yesterday morning . Laura and I had been out to Deb's and were walking back in the sunshine deep in conversation when we saw a girl walking towards our house . Not realising who it was till she spoke " Hi Mum " ....a shock to realise I had not recognised my own daughter and a growing recognition that she is no longer completely a part of me , but that she has a whole other life elsewhere . If I'm lucky I get to peep into that world sometimes , when she tells me things she does with her friends or she has a rant about the things that get to her , or just evenings like last night when she got into the car with us all so full of everything that she talked nonstop half the way to Seaton Delavel . When I turned to D at one point and said " youre very quiet " and he said , simply , yes , then a few minutes on added " It would be hard to get a word in really " and I realised what he's up against with me , Laura and N and H all talking loudly and often at cross purposes and in counter conversations against the noise of the radio vying for air space against N's mobile phone being used as MP3 player .

It will be strange being away from it all .....

To the packing .....