NHS

I am beginning to think that the flavours of this century are internal inspections and Type 2 Diabetes.


I went to see my Sisters today and my youngest Sister told me that her Husband had gone for a colonoscopy, not the full one where they put you to sleep but an inspection of the sigmoid portion. They found something but nothing to worry about. I then told her that all of us had gone through the same procedure. We all had gone and had a colonoscopy. Mind you, only 3 of us had gone and had the procedure going down the throat. Her Husband had not had the pleasure of that yet.


Now my eldest Sister's husband has Type 2 Diabetes, and she told me that my Cousin has also Type 2 Diabetes. I wonder if most of the adult population has it. I guess it is the diet we have now although I have regular vegetables and potatoes. Very very rarely do I have chips.


Now I went to fill up with diesel. It was 137.7p a litre. I had just under 45 litres in and the cost was £48. This saved me £2.50 on what it would have cost me here. It has been many weeks since I last filled up and the average mpg is 71.9. That is quite good as I do not go on long journeys. I managed to get a herring for my dinner. It was nice but as always, I seem to suffer afterwards for getting it. Still it is only occasionally I have one and it is good for you.


I rung my mate up with the news. I was a little deflated when he told me that the diesel was only 1.36p a litre at Tesco in Skegness. In Grantham it is ASDA. They say that it is the only supermarket that has a fixed price throughout the country. So at least you know what you would pay wherever you are.
By the way, I managed to get my money back from the Post Office. £80.94p. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the name who the Postal Order was made out to. A poor effort of spelling my name. With the accompanying P.O. came a letter stating that I could pay this into my Bank Account. Well as I know them well, I decided to go and see them and explain what had happened. The teller, who I know well and has been there many years looked at the name, smiled and told me that she would put it through and expected it to be cleared. A few moments later she confirmed that it had been cleared so at least I am now £80.94 pence better off after waiting for almost 2 months. More soon.

New Potatoes

This week end has been very windy but I got up this morning and as it became more daylight there developed a frost. Ice was on the bird bath so it was getting to zero.
I decided to dig up my tomato plant out of the polytunnel as it can not stand much of a lower temperature as the greenhouse can. I only have a couple of tomato plants left in the greenhouse and they only have a few tomatoes on. With luck though I will have tomatoes until the end of the year.
Anyway I decided to dig up the few, well quite a few actually of self setters potatoes. I set them in January and February this year. I must be getting sloppy because I thought I had dug them all up but I must admit I must have missed well over a dozen potatoes.
With the tomatoes and cabbage in the greenhouse I decided to leave the potatoes that had begun to grow. So when I dug up the tomato plant in the polytunnel, I decided to dig up the potatoes also. I did not get too many off the plans. Well one produced plenty but the rest produced less than that one. I then went into the greenhouse and dug them up. To be honest, I was surprised and altogether I guess I dug up about 3lb or well over a kilo of new potatoes.
So this lunchtime(dinner to me)I scraped some new potatoes, they scraped very well and had some gammon with carrots and cabbage, both out of the garden. I also had a few tomatoes.
The potatoes tasted very good indeed.
I have every intention of going to see my Sisters in Grantham on Wednesday, I intend to do a little shopping too. I have not put any fuel in my car since I last went to Grantham. I think that was either late August or early September. Actually, just had a look in my diary it was on the 11th. August. Mind you, I am getting low on fuel. Will inform of my usage when I fill up. More soon.

Viewed solar system

I managed to get to see my mate this morning. The weather was nice and sunny after overnight rain. The journey was not so good as the sun is very low in the sky and the roads were wet. I managed to get there though.
On arrival, I noticed the panels and how neat they were. This time was about 10.30am. My mate came out to meet me and I gave him a few beetroot and carrots. He gave me what I had asked him to get for me. After a good look, in we went and he showed me the inverter, at that time the electricity being generated was just under 1.3kw an hour. However an hour later it was generating 1.5kw per hour. I was impressed. He told me that up to date, he had generated over 20kw hrs of electricity. He had also managed to get his installation registered and so all is now more or less complete.
As we were walking around I asked him to show me his gas cooker. He told me that it had gone back as it was not suitable. He had a couple of engineers out to look at it and he told me that the flame was not stable. It sounded like a lack of air but I said nothing. He then told me the last engineer told him that there was not enough air getting to the cooker. Out came the instruction booklet and he had enough clearance according to the instruction booklet. However the engineer told him that he was recommending the cooker was returned and that a full refund was given.
I told him that this was great news as I had lay in bed thinking that he had just bought a gas cooker when, now he was producing electricity he would be better off with an electric cooker. Not only was it easier to install as he had a cooker point but it would be a lot cheaper to buy than a gas cooker. I told him that the best cooker would be a convection electric oven which would be fan assisted. Not only would the food cook quicker but it would be more efficient and have the added advantage that if there is a power cut, he has the gas hob as a standby. He seemed impressed by the idea. All there is at the moment is a convection microwave oven. .O.K. as a standby but not as a daily cooker.
Yesterday, I went online and ordered a watchmakers magnifying glass. I thought it typical as I expected it to be delivered today and I was at my mates place. It is rare that I have a bit of fortune but today I did. Normally the postman is here around 10.30am but this week my regular postman is on holiday so delivery is about an hour later.
I arrived back home just before noon and had no mail. I then got my dinner ready and just as I sat down to eat it, about 12.30pm. the doorbell rang. It was the relief postman. I asked him why he was so late. He told me that he had trouble with the van. He could not get a reverse gear and had to push it a couple of times but it was alright going forward. Anyway, it helped me to get my goods, most unusual for me to have something go right. More soon.

Visiting Friday

Last night I rung my mate up and told him that if it was alright to call on him on Thursday. He told me that Friday would be better as first, the Nurse was coming to see his Mother and secondly, he will visit the dentist to have a chipped tooth files down. It costs him nothing as he is the official Carer for his Mother. The long shot of it all is that I will go and see him on Friday morning. He did tell me a little of the system. On Saturday it was a lovely sunny day so he told me it produced several kilowatts of electricity. On Sunday and Monday although the weather was dull he told me that he managed to get about 1 kilowatt of electricity so it looks as if he is on to a winner. On Friday, I will know more.
Today was cool and mainly dull but as it was dry I decided to make a start on burying my leaves that I have collected in a trench where my runner beans will be next year. I did manage to get one half of the ground done. I used one bag of leaves so I have enough for the other side of the ground. I had done enough for this morning so I went in, had a rest then got my dinner ready. Yesterday, on my way to get my pension I went and put in my repeat prescription in so that it could be delivered to me today. So this afternoon I stayed in patiently waiting for my prescription to come. Typical, it did not. It annoys me. They think when you are old you have nothing better to do than to sit in all day waiting for a delivery. So tomorrow I will have to stay in again waiting. I hope it arrives tomorrow or I will complain. More soon.

dark dismal days

November is certainly living up to it's reputation. Dark and dismal. Saturday did brighten up a little but on Sunday and Monday it was foggy and dark.
I saw the next door neighbours on Sunday, the recent arrivals. I was surprised that he seemed concerned that he had not seen me for a week or so. I told him that I hibernate in the winter months. I went on to tell him that my mate had solar panels fitted. To my surprise he then told me that they had looked into it and their house was not suitable. I queried this with him and asked which survey company had told him that. Replying he said that they could tell by satellite. I pushed him a little further and he told me that they were in the process of selling a property so that had been put on the back burner. Mind you he did say that they could have a bank of solar panels on their about 3 acre paddock. It faces almost due south. I am convinced that they could have solar panels fitted to their roof if they so desired they face the same as I do but they are situated much higher and where they block much of the early sun to my property. They have no such objects blocking them.
Now later tonight I will ring my mate up and it is my intention to go and see him on Thursday so I will get to know all the latest news. I know that on Friday and much of Saturday he had sun so he will tell me exactly how much of electricity he has produced. I will be waiting with all ears to know what he has produced.
When I changed providers of my telephone and broadband, my old provider sent me a final bill in early October. There I was in credit to the tune of just over £80. This does not seem much to a lot but it is almost a weeks state pension.
Well today, I went to get my State Pension and asked the man who looks after me if they would credit my card which I used to pay my bills with. He told me that they would probably send a letter with a bar code letting me access my money. I then told him it was over a month ago and that it informed me that I would be refunded within 14 days. He told me to contact them immediately.
Well, when I got home, I rung the Post Office(original provider)and told them that I had not received my refund. What a performance! I was told that it must once again be processed and that would take up to another 2 weeks. She asked me if I would hold while she sent the details to"God only knows" so that they can start to process the money. I wonder if I will ever get a refund. If it takes as long as it did to get my Bond out. This was a Bond that was bought by me from the Post Office but was authorised by the Irish Bank. When it was due. Normally you get the money back. Not with the Post Office. It is put into a savings account that can not be accessed from the Post Office. It can be only done by telephone of online. What a palaver that was to get my money back. Oh well we will see what happens. More soon.

Surprise

I rung my mate up last night and got a big surprise.
I tentatively asked him if he had a visitor that day. To my surprise and delight he told me he had. Not only had the installers of the Solar System had called, they not only came, they actually completed it in a day.
He told me that they arrived soon after 8.00am that day and worked almost none stop. They did inform him that to do the installation and get it completed in a day. they must be done before it got dark as there had to be light to make sure that all was up and running.
He had a few bits of fortune. First he was to have Hyundai Solar Panels but they were not immediately available so they fitted Sharp instead. This was good as there is a 25 year guarantee on the panels ans they should be 80% efficient at the end of 25 years. I told him that this was good. He also told me that they assessed that the income from the system would generate over £1000 per annum. He told me that they thought he would be well over 90% efficient. He said that the system was up and running and it did produce .5 of a kilowatt and that was near dusk. He will let me know just how much electricity it produces when the spring and summer months arrive as during the winter period it will not produce too much. At 43+p per kilowatt hour it will produce, this will be a cash generating project. Bear in mind that the price will increase each year in line with inflation.
Overall, he told me he is thrilled with the system and has checked all other equipment that has been fitted such as the inverter and has found that the fixtures were of the highest standard.
The only person who was not pleases was his Mother, she was left shut inside. I told him that this is normal. Her space has been invaded but she will see the benefits, hopefully.
It is my intention to go over to see him next week so I will have an update and a tour of the system. By the way, the sun shone for quite some time today, so he will have some idea as to what it will be able to generate. I am looking forward to seeing the system. More soon.

Quiet times

It has been a quiet period for me, having changed my ISP I am limited to how much I can spend on the net so have not been active lately.
On Saturday my mate rung me up. I had suggested that he contact his electricity supplier to find out how long it would take to get everything completed once he had his certificate.
To be honest, I didn't think he would bother, but contacting them he did. He told me everything and it seems as if it is almost immediate once the supplier has had the notification and certification required.
He then contacted the installer and asked all relevant questions and found out that hopefully they would be arriving on Thursday 17th November and expected to be completed by the following day and that the certificate of completion would be given to him. By the way, I forgot to mention that when he contacted the electricity supplier, they sent him the relevant form, incidentally reached him the following day. All he has to do is get the certificate number and send it off. He told me that he will send it by e-mail and also send a copy by recorded delivery. I hope that all goes well. I intend to go and see him one day next week so see the installation. I am looking forward to seeing it completed.
Last night as I was about to sign in on my blog the phone rang. It was the guy who took over my business in 1997. Yes he still keeps in touch. I first of all asked him how he felt. As usual he told me he was fine, but I know he has had at least 2 heart attacks.
He told me something that I thought I would never hear. His busiest weekend of the whole year was the first weekend in October. Yes it was better than Spring Bank Holiday, which as a rule is far busier than any other week in the season. If one recalls though, the weather was fantastic that weekend. I told him that it was a bonus and that it would have helped him sell a lot of goods that he would have thought he would have to store it until next season. He told me that it was hectic as he was not prepared. Quite natural really as generally most places would be considering to be closing down around that time. I'm pleased for him and his wife that there was a bonus weekend. Mind you, with his condition he is not allowed to fly so I did not ask him if he was going away for a short holiday. I will ask his wife when I next see her. More soon.

Went visiting

Well, this morning was bright and sunny early on. I did something silly. I went and got some plums out of my freezer and decided to poach them. Like I do, I went to do something else. the next thing I knew was a smell of burnt plums in my saucepan. It was a horrible mess and had to dispose of the burnt plums. The saucepan was well and truly in a mess. I managed to get the carbon off after about an hour. Being in the catering business for all those years helped me.
When I was about done cleaning the saucepan, I looked out of the window and noticed that it had gone dull. That was good I thought because the sun would not be in my eyes.
Well I got everything ready including the paint and some carrots. It was then just before 10.00am.
I put my recycling bin out got the car out and off I went. It is only about 14 miles but although there were very few vehicles about, within 5 miles I ran into fog. By the time I arrived at Skegness it had lifted a little.
I rung the bell and my mate came to greet me. He had a few things for me so he suggested that whilst the boot was open he bring them out and put them in the boot. I then was ushered into his home.
I immediately went to see his Mum. She is alert but to be honest is very frail. She was very pleased to see me, she had the oxygen tubes fitted. I must admit, the house didn't feel too warm. Mind you, I do have mine very warm.
My mate then took me out in the garden to show me what he had done. It is me, that has got him to grow vegetables and fruit also.
His greenhouse was looking well. He still had many small tomatoes on. His grape vine was looking well. I was surprised as I had given him a couple of cuttings that my Italian friend had given me. I only kept one and set it. His greenhouse is a lot smaller than mine but he has 2 vines. I suggested to him that he should prune them heavily soon although they are not as advanced as mine are. My leaves had dropped off. His are only just turning. I told him to prune them before the end of December.
After this we went back in the house and I spent about an hour talking to him and his Mum. When it was time for me to go, I shook her hand, it was very cold. I mentioned it to my mate, he just told me that if she got too warm, then she found it very hard to breathe. I hope that she gets better.
We then went outside the front and he showed me where the solar panels would be fitted. He did say that he had heard nothing from them so he was getting a little worried. I told him to contact his electricity provider and ask just how long it would take, from getting the certificate saying it was fully installed and working. I told him that from now he has about 4 working weeks so if it takes no more than a week to get it certificated, then he has about 2 weeks grace. It all depends on first, when they fit the solar panels and secondly, how long the paperwork takes. I will keep all informed. More soon.

Nothing to report

Over the last few days, nothing has really happened. Weather has been dull but generally mild. I also heard nothing at all from the Solar Panel firm. Mind you I didn't expect to hear anything at all considering the attitude of the guy who was doing the surveys.
My mate's mother is out of Hospital but has oxygen and is on it most of the time. I hope that she improves so that she can do without that. I was going over to see him today but he told me the Nurse was there this morning to see to her. I told him that I would go over to see him tomorrow.
I am going for 2 reasons. The first reason is that I can take his Hammerite paint back to him and the second is that he has bought a few things for me over the last few weeks so I will go and pay for them and of course bring them back home.
The update as to his Solar Panels is that on Saturday last week he had a surveyor come and do a complete survey. As far as I know, all is well and he told me that they will have the system installed well before the cut off date of December 12th. I hope that all goes well as he is only 61 so should get at least 20 years of benefits. the cost was a little more than I could have afforded so I decided not to pursue the matter any further. To be honest, I know I would not have been able to generate the 95% that most can. I also know that I would never have been able to get my money back so I am satisfied. Anyway he will, I hope give me the latest update on his Solar Panels. I will pass the latest news on. More soon.

A little sad

Yesterday, I was a little too sad to bother with my blog.
As you know, I have decided to try to have solar power installed. It is sods law I guess. Just as I started to bother, the Government has decided to cut the payments made to everyone who produces electricity through solar power from 43.3p. to 21p. This will come into force from December 12th, this year. My friend sent me an e-mail and later told me that the larger payments would continue until April next year.
Well arrangements were made for a survey to be conducted on Wednesday 2nd. November this year at 1.00pm. Well yesterday morning I had a phone call from the guy who was going to to come and do a survey. He first asked me if I was having a 4kw fitted. I told him I was looking for a 3kw. He then told me he was snowed under and he could not get to me today. He then suggested he could do a survey over the phone. I could see that he was not really interested. Anyway he gave me a quote. I told him that I was not sure that I was acceptable to get enough solar power as I had a large house next door. He brushed it off. I also told him that I wanted a basic system as I did not expect to live another 10 years. He then upset me by stating he didn't believe me. I guess there is no answer to that.
Anyway I e-mailed my friend with the quote he gave me, which was far too expensive for me. He e-mailed me back stating that the quote he received for the cheaper panels was over 20% less than he had quoted me over the phone. So I guess that I will not be getting any solar energy.
I will, naturally keep all informed if something does come out of this. More soon.