Not Just a Granny

Flick the switch

March 3, 2020 by notjustagranny

One of the most irksome aspects of getting ‘older’ is….you get forgetful ..like forgetting a word you know you know, but…it sits on your tongue and when you no longer need it, it pops into your head. 🤪🤪🤪 How often do you say “where are my keys, or phone? – usually it’s in your hand 😂😂😂 or going into a room and forgetting why you’re there. Annoying, to put it mildly.

But one of the things that annoys me the most……I forget to flick the switch. My phone battery usually lasts much the whole day depending on my activity. But now and then I have to charge it up to last till bedtime. So I plug it in and carry on with my day. A few hours later I go to unplug it and continue my use. Except….

Except when I look at the battery it hasn’t charged. I curse the phone; bloody rubbish they make these days….and then I realise 🙄🙄🙄 I forgot to flick the switch. Urgh

How often does that happen to you?

Posted in idiot category, memories of days gone by | Tagged baby boomers, getting older | Leave a Comment »

Life after a miscarriage

January 15, 2020 by notjustagranny

I don’t understand why women who have a miscarriage are not given the proper emotional as well as physical care after. Losing a baby is traumatic. Why the medical profession refer to the baby as tissue to be disposed of is shocking. You ask any woman who has had a scan confirming a pregnancy whether she identifies with it as a baby or viable tissue, evenat 4 weeks…the medical profession need to be more compassionate and change their language. Whether a 4 weeks or 4 months or term, a loss is still a loss and needs to be treated as such. Far too many people take the stance of ‘of well, it happened to us too and we weren’t affected, or we turned out okay, or we managed ok’ – perhaps not. Trauma has a way of presenting itself in many guises and if you had to dig a bit deeper, you’d likely find that there was an effect, one way or another.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51093999

Posted in family and relationships, Health | Tagged losing a baby, medical profession, miscarriage, PTSD | Leave a Comment »

Granny and Jamie’s adventures – Canterbury

January 7, 2020 by notjustagranny

Had a wonderful day in Canterbury today with the boo 💙👶🏻🥰 travelled to Canterbury by train with Mummy who had a dentist appointment.

Mummy and Jamie reading the newspaper

Then Jamie and I set off on an adventure… first walking through the ancient Pilgrim’s West Gate,

Jamie at the West Gate, Canterbury

stopped for a quick hello to Geoffrey Chaucer,

Geoffrey Chaucer

then to the cathedral to see the Christmas tree and nativity scene.

The Nativity scene at Canterbury Cathedral

Jamie loved the Christmas tree

We stopped to say hello to the horse on the way out.

The wooden horse

And then we strolled along the Roman city walls

The Roman City Walls

before joining Mummy for tea and pancakes. Afterwards we walked back to the cathedral gate for a quick photo

Canterbury Cathedral

then onto the train and home.

On the train

Fast asleep

I got in a good 5kms walking today…added to my 1000 miles target for 2020.

We left Mummy in Canterbury coz I gifted her 3 days while I babysit Jamie, and treated her to a 2 night stay at The Falstaff Hotel so she can have a rest, unwind and do some business planning for 2020. Looking forward to seeing @lemonfeatherphotography and @businessstoriesphotography go from strength to strength this year.

Once we got home, I had a cup of tea, Jamie had a snooze

Asleep in his cot

and then we played all afternoon till Daddy got home.

Its so much fun unpacking the socks

Then it was bathtime

Bathtime

and after a lot of milk, Jamie finally settled for the night.

In all a wonderful day. Rerun tomorrow without the trip to Canterbury. He really is the best company. We had so much fun. I got down on the floor with him to play and he got so excited he bit my eye 😂😂😂😂🤪🤪 crazy kid.

Its really wonderful to see him looking so well again and especially as he seems to be back to full strength with his feeding…hoorah.

Posted in cities and towns of the UK, Granny and Jamie's adventures, my Canterbury Tales, walk 1000 miles 2020 | Tagged canterbury cathedral, chaucers canterbury tales, Granny and Jamie's adventures, walk 1000 miles | 4 Comments »

Granny and Jamie’s adventures

January 4, 2020 by notjustagranny

I got some fantastic gifts from my daughter this Christmas (I always get fantastic gifts….she’s a star gifter) and this was one of them…..a little diary for mine and Jamie’s adventures.

Granny and Jamie’s adventure diary

The first adventure to go into the book will be our trip to London to see the Snowman sculptures. I love this idea, and the only thing I have to figure out, is what format to follow.

Jamie and The Snowman

I may just have to wing it and see how it progresses. It was such a wonderful day, albeit short and he was poorly, but he was so well behaved and so sweet. I wish it wasn’t so cold that day, I would have loved to take him out the pram and show him the sculptures properly. But I was concerned about taking him out the warm and into cold every 5 minutes.

Jamie and Granny on the train

Jamie looking adorable

Besides him being poorly, it would have been tiring for him….but as he gets older, it’ll get easier. Next week we’re going to Canterbury 😊👶🏻🥰💙

Posted in cities and towns of the UK, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, me and Peanut | Tagged a day trip to london, Granny and Jamie's adventures, granny to jamie, the Snowman | Leave a Comment »

Walk 1000 miles 2020 Day 1

January 2, 2020 by notjustagranny

I decided to follow the #walk1000miles challenge again this year, particularly because I didn’t do much walking last year and because I really want to complete the Pilgrim’s Way.

With the weather what it is, it was very tempting to just snuggle under the covers and sleep during my break again, especially coz I am still so tired, but I resisted the temptation and set off yesterday for my 1st walk of 2020. I didn’t go far mind and only did 2.0375 miles….. so only 997.9625 to go 😂😂😂….and then I went back to the house and had a 45 minute snooze.

I was reminded once again that East Peckham has absolutely nothing to distinguish it (that I could see), besides being a Domesday Book village, and my walk did nothing to change my opinion. Although to be fair, there is a Hop House I could see, a few older cottages and the church, so I guess that’s something. But I do wonder why people actually choose to live in some of these places. Besides that its quiet, there is just nothing, and it’s miles from anywhere …..just why?

Something to ponder, but not to know.

I’m delighted that my daughter has decided to do some more walking this year as well and she’s joined the Facebook page. She also wants to focus more on her photography business this year, it will be an opportunity for her to get going again.

Posted in cities and towns of the UK, Domesday Villages of England, walk 1000 miles 2020 | Tagged domesday book villages england, walk 1000 miles, walking, walks around the UK | Leave a Comment »

Driving in the middle of nowhere

November 26, 2019 by notjustagranny

The area that I’m working in is very near to a designated Dark Sky area….and it lives up to its name. Its DARK at night. So dark that if I’m standing outside I can barely see my hand in front of my face.

Its super cool for a restful sleep (I like it pitch dark when I sleep), but it’s not super cool when you have to drive in this dark, which I had to do last night.

Just after my break yesterday I realised that my face was swelling up again; same place as last time. That pesky parotid gland again 🙄🙄 And remembering that I ended up in hospital for 3/4 days the last time because I ignored it, yesterday I went into a bit of a panic.

I still have 10 days of my assignment to complete and I cannot afford to lose that much money. Besides which the agency wouldn’t be able to find a replacement for a few days. So I immediately got onto Google and did a search, found a surgery, cajoled the receptionist to get me an appointment and to her absolute credit she booked me in immediately.

And thus it came about that I had to drive in what can only be described as a black hole. The only benefit is that on the obscured turns, you would see a cars lights for miles. But on unfamiliar roads, with nothing to show landmarks, it was a bit nerve-wracking.

However, I’m glad I did, because the doctor put me onto some kickass antibiotics and that seems to have held the infection at bay…for now. At least it hasn’t gotten worse. As for the dark sky, just maybe before I leave we could have at least one night of clear skies, I might just get to see the stars 🤨🤨🤨😉 Do you think the universe might comply with my wish?!!

Meanwhile, the grey skies continue and the forecast is for much the same for the next week

Posted in around the UK, It's my life, Uncategorized | Tagged driving | Leave a Comment »

23.01 an evening with Levison Wood

November 23, 2019 by notjustagranny

Okay so this post is a bit out of date LOL. I really didn’t get to do much blogging once baby arrived. However, since I am no longer living at ‘home’ I’m working my way through my drafts and updating as I go…..so this particular evening dates back to 23.01.2019….10 months ago LOL…blimey talk about slow….anyhow

At Cadogan Hall for the ‘Evening with Levison Wood’ in aid of Tusk Org. Looking forward to hearing more about the adventures of @levison.wood #WalkingtheNile & #Arabia – disappointing to discover that the books are presigned and there’s no ‘book signing’ at the event as such, as I understood it would be. 😂 😂 I brought both mine with. 😏😏Ah well. Still, I’m sure the event will be interesting. (update: Mr Wood graciously agreed to sign my books after the event, which I thought was super cool) Actually its quite weird to be in #London again, haven’t been for what feels like ages. The last time I was at Cadogan Hall was for the Scarlet and Gold Military Band event a few years ago. Time just flies

A most enjoyable Evening with Levison Wood at Cadogan Hall listening to tales of derring do and adventure. Loved watching the snippets of film and hearing anecdotes of people and places while travelling around Arabia, as well as his work with Tusk. Its shocking how many beautiful animals are being slaughtered for the greed of a few. 💔💔 After my initial disappointment apropos the book signing, after the show, I decided that I would ask once again if it was at all possible for Mr Wood to autograph my books… One of the Tusk ladies asked on my behalf and I’m delighted to say that he very graciously agreed to sign them for me, albeit a bit hush hush. 😊😊 I shall treasure these books and one day I will read them to my little cherub Jamie and hopefully awaken a sense of adventure and world travel in his soul.

walking the nile levison wood, books to read, book recommendations

such an interesting albeit scary book at times. a very good read

Travel travel travel… It really does change your perspective and perception of other people’s lives, values and beliefs. I wish more people could/would travel and adventure in other countries, I’m pretty certain the world would be a better place. Meanwhile, I’m back on Granny duty while Mummy and Daddy catch up on sleep, and as I write I have a wee baby boy cuddled up in my arms. I’ve been singing him a lullaby and he’s fast asleep. He’s already changing and I’m pretty sure he’s put on a bit of weight 😂 😂 😂 ergo my arm is getting tired from holding him up. I’ll have to do some weight lifting to keep up. 🤗🤗👶🏻💙💕 Thanks again to @levison.wood for a most enjoyable evening and for signing my books 📚

Said goodbye to my Mountain Warehouse backpack tonight. I bought it nearly 2 years ago intending to use it for the #Camino2017 pilgrimage from Porto to #SantiagodeCompostela but bought the #Osprey Tempest instead, which was much lighter, and therefore never used this one. I tried to sell it since I paid nearly a day’s pay for it 🤔😯 but no success. I was going to donate it to a local charity shop but the thought of someone who could afford to pay a decent price for a backpack, buying it for next to nothing, I decided instead to donate it to Centrepoint, the homeless people’s charity. They assured me it will go to a person who would get the best use of it. I’m well happy with that 😊 I’ve sent it onto its next journey with god-speed and good-luck.

Posted in book reviews, It's my life, Travel | Tagged adventure, an evening with levison wood, cadogan hall, long distance walks, walking the nile | Leave a Comment »

19.01.19 Peanut is on the way

November 19, 2019 by notjustagranny

At 00:1038 on Saturday 19th January I uploaded an instagram post “HOORAH!!! 👏 👏 👏 Finally I can say #Peanutisontheway❣️ 👶🏻💙 We’ve just arrived at the hospital. My daughter has been having on-off contractions throughout the day and night before, but now they’re coming full on. Hold thumbs all goes well 😊😊💕”

And so it came to pass, right on schedule at exactly 40 weeks from conception, in the wee hours on the morning of the 19th January 2019, prospective parents and ready packed suitcase in the car, we set off on what we hoped would be the real deal….the arrival of baby Jamie. We checked in at the QEQM and straight to the labour ward. All week we had been focusing on room 8 since that was the room with the birthing pool as well as which it was large enough to accommodate the 3 of us as well as my daughter’s Doula and the midwives.

lucky number 8

On the way we contacted her Doula, Maisie, who lives in Deal and she arrived not long after we did.

After a quick check of all mother’s vitals, baby’s vitals and some monitoring they decided, after about 40 minutes that she wasn’t yet far enough along to stay in and suggested we go home, that she have a nice warm bath and come back later. Besides which the cramps/pains had subsided by then.

00:38 on the 19th – Maisie (Doula), Mummy and Daddy waiting for Peanut

Home we went….at about 4am 19th January. We prayed all the way that Room 8 would still be available when we returned. Fortunately home was then only a 10 minute drive away.

Less than 2 hours later I phoned the labour ward once again and advised them – I didn’t ask if it was ok this time…I TOLD them – we are on our way back!! When we arrived, they confirmed that yes, she was now in full-on labour, 5cms dilated with what we had correctly classified as proper contractions, coming thick and fast and PAINFUL!! Taking her breath away. How my heart ached for her.

Thankfully Room 8 was still available and we settled in for the long haul….this was it and finally I could say…..

PEANUT IS ON THE WAY hoorahhh!!!

We set up the room as best we could with the candles and lights she wanted….but frankly she was already so well advanced that she was only aware of it all in the periphery of her mind…..her Mama instincts were in full flow and she could only focus on one thing….breathing through the contractions. As she has said herself, if we had stayed in the first time around earlier that morning, she would probably have enjoyed setting up the room, getting into the pool earlier and just relaxing in that environment. But as it turned out, by the time all that happened, she was too far along to really enjoy it all.

In due course we asked if they would fill the birthing pool, since she was keen to have, if not an actual water birth, then at least her labour in the pool. As baby was breech, it wasn’t really conducive to or safe for a water birth. It was hard going by now as she was having very strong contractions and in a lot of pain. But with careful guidance and assistance from us all, we got her safely settled into the warm water. Her husband stripped down to his swim trunks and settled in beside her to offer support. Maisie and I hovered around and provided support between vitals being checked and by now, gas provided by the midwives….who I might add were amazing.

19/01/19 – 08:22 in the birthing pool – beautiful beyond compare

At some point the Consultant that had upset them both so much a week before by insisting that because baby was breech that she HAD to have a c-section, brought in the ‘big boss’; the head Consultant – despite their constant protests and saying that they wanted a natural birth as far as was possible, he insisted that it was God’s will. How I restrained myself from slapping him for making such a stupid comment is beyond me. Seriously??? An induced c-section is NOT safer than a natural birth and mothers have delivered breech babies for centuries…my daughter was herself a breech baby (albeit eventually a c-section due to sudden complications). As far as the pregnant parents were concerned, they were in the right place if there was an absolute necessity to deliver by c-section.

By now my daughter was in a tremendous amount of pain and focusing only on the contractions and the imminent birth. This woman, who shall remain nameless, marched in like some Nazi surgeon and despite the position my daughter was in, bent down at the side of the pool and insisted that she, my daughter, tell her all the dangers of proceeding with a breech birth. Wtaf???? At which point my son-in-law absolutely lost it…..he rose up out the water like some sort of underwater god, water streaming off his body, and with his hand pointing in her direction, told her to “fuck off out of here right now”. LOL If you knew my son-in-law you’d know that that was so totally out of character as to be like chalk and cheese. He doesn’t ever swear. Long story short…..the two consultants left pretty pronto.

Meanwhile the contractions were now becoming so powerful and so painful that my daughter could no longer keep herself upright and we were becoming fearful she may slip under the water. She struggled to stand and was so weak that she could barely lift her head never mind stand up to get out the pool. So, as she recalls, I put on my Mother voice and with all the Mama power I could muster, I spoke right into her ear and pretty much commanded her to “get up and get out the pool”. Which gave her the strength to actually get up.

From there on things got hazy and crazy with the pain escalating and the midwives in and out. Trying all sorts of different positions that were really not at all ideal, they eventually brought her a birthing stool and finally she was in a comfortable enough position to give birth. It didn’t take long before we saw baby’s wee bottom appear and as he slowly made his was into the world we all did our best to comfort and ease Mummy’s pain. We took turns to hold her hand, mop her brow with a cold cloth, rub her back and shoulders while the midwives provided the gas and medical advice. So far, so good.

Suddenly his legs popped out and then his wee body and arms and shoulders…..very nearly there. A breech birth is really difficult to witness and frankly I was terrified…..but I kept my wits about me and kept taking photos and videos so they could have a record of the birth. They had the absolute best midwife in attendance that you could ever wish for in this world. Although this was her first breech delivery, she was calm and collected and reassuring, offering guidance and a commentary of where he was and how he was progressing. Suddenly and apparently not ideally, his body went white as he prematurely drew breath…but his head was not yet born and now she had seconds to get him out. With the Granny on the sidelines shouting “don’t pull him” she gently slipped her fingers into the birth canal hooked her fingertips above his cheek bones and with a deft sideways twist she slipped his head out. 12:45 on the 19th January 2019 our beloved baby boy was born.

But, now he wasn’t breathing, so she rubbed him down vigorously and gave him a solid thumping. My heart stopped LOL I’d never seen a baby being thumped like that…and you know how fragile we ‘think’ they are. She quickly passed baby over to the midwife on standby who rushed out the room to put him on a ventilator, and returned less than a minute later with baby Jamie lustily yelling… “Hello world, I’m born!!”. Hurrah, he had breathed on his own. What a CHAMPION!!!

19.01.19 at 12:46 Mummy, Jamie and Daddy

It was crazy after that. We were all crying, the midwives were checking vitals, my daughter went into meltdown, and Daddy was sobbing. She simply couldn’t handle all the emotion and was still struggling to deliver the afterbirth and just couldn’t hold the baby, so instead I gave baby Jamie, all 7 lbs of gorgeous newborn to Daddy for some precious skin to skin. To our amusement and Daddy’s intense embarrassment, baby immediately tried to latch onto his nipple hahaha

19.01.19 13:02 precious skin to skin time with Daddy

We attended to Mummy and got her settled, wrapped up in a towel and then she was able to hold her precious son. It was such an amazing experience and I am so joyful and grateful that I was there to support them, provide reassurance, my boobs to rest on (for Mummy’s head during contractions), and witness the final stages of Jamie’s incredible journey into this world.

19.01.19 Mummy, Daddy, Granny and Jamie

My precious daughter is now mother to a beautiful precious little boy….and I am finally a Granny 🙂

Posted in family and relationships, gratitude, It's my life | Tagged baby, first baby, first time parents, giving birth to a breech baby, natural birth, newborn | Leave a Comment »

I’ve been trepanned

November 17, 2019 by notjustagranny

As mentioned in an earlier post, since logging off both twitter and facebook I needed something to read in the mornings before work, so I gravitated back to workpress. I also realised that except for the post on toilet paper in June, and barring the odd repost or quick article prior to that, I hadn’t blogged for over 3 months and most particularly since my grandson was born. My posting activity compared to previous years looks quite scarce.

I have over 100 drafts waiting to be posted, 90% of which are about my delicious grandson and his journey since he was born. I cheated a wee bit and used my (daily) instagram posts as the basis for the drafts, but somehow I just haven’t had the time to actually flesh them out, checking for spelling and grammar (my bugbears), add images and actually get as far as posting them.

But now that I am no longer living at what used to be my home, and since I am working more (to save on accommodation costs), I have more time to blog….and I’m making up for lost time 😉

So, whilst reading the next article on the fantastic blog I discovered under the tag ‘Saxons’ : ‘the traveller’s path” I came across the word ‘trepanned’ on her post ‘Bald’s Leechbook: The Doctor is in‘ – and the word literally jumped off the page at me and I had an epiphany…..I too had been trepanned. LOL

When I was about 15 months of age my mother fell down a flight of stairs with me which resulted in a damaged head and a brain bleed. So the surgeons drilled 3 holes into my skull; 2 on the right hand side of my head and 1 on the left in order to flush out pooled blood and bone fragments. This left 3 small indentations in my head that make for a good story today (and over the decades 😉 ) and I get perverse pleasure out of making people feel the bigger hole in my head. They’re usually very squeamish about touching it, but I insist….. hahaha!!

What was weird to me is that I have told that story many times over the years, and I’ve read the word ‘trepanned’ many times whilst reading various books, but I have never associated the word with what had been done to my head. Till today! So there it is, I too have been trepanned. I am however rather glad it was done in the 20th century and not the 8th 9th or 10th, since I think the survival rates of the patients were not as high then as they are today….although to be fair, as the author mentions in her article, many people did survive and this is known due to the fact that when ancient skeletons are dug up at various archaelogical digs, they sometimes find skulls with holes that show signs of having healed. Of course some of said holes are acquired during battles fought and possibly won, but some are of a shape and size to indicate trepanation. Fascinating.

To conclude the story about my trepanned head, the fall down said stairs was as a result of my Mother wearing stiletto heels. One of the heels got stuck in a groove and resulted in the fall. From what I understand my Mother lost a baby as a result of the fall and I had to learn to walk again and ended up wearing support boots for many years. There’s one photograph in particular that I can visualise as I write, and that is one of me at the top of a slide, wearing a little embroidered dress and pair of solid brown leather boots that reached halfway up my tiny little legs, securely buckled. My Mother is standing at the bottom of the stairs and still wearing heels. Interestingly (to me anyway), I don’t recall my Mother ever saying whether or not she suffered any damage to her body beyond the trauma of losing the baby, which apparently was a boy.

Courtesy of wikipedia – Trepanning, also known as trepanation, trephination, trephining or making a burr hole (the verb trepan derives from Old French from Medieval Latin trepanum from Greek trypanon, literally “borer, auger”) is a surgical intervention in which a hole is drilled or scraped into the human skull, exposing the dura mater, to treat health problems related to intracranial diseases or release pressured blood buildup from an injury.

And in case I haven’t whetted your appetite to find out more, or induced shudders of repulsion, here is a nice shudder inducing graphic image to get you going LOL Hopefully I was unconscious when the surgeon drilled the hole in my head!!!