More messages from the residential home.: Hello... - NRAS

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More messages from the residential home.

18 Replies

Hello everyone,

It’s very quiet here this afternoon so I’m tempted to get back into bed and catch up on the sleep I lost during the night. The tea trolley is due round soon, however, and I daren't risk missing that – it has become the highlight of the afternoon!

Monday is ‘outing’ day and those residents who are able to get on the mini bus go on a little trip to a mystery location (which, from what I can gather, is generally one of only three possibilities and so, therefore, not that mysterious for those of us with our memory intact). There is always a great flurry of activity which involves rushing through lunch and charging down the corridor with zimmer frames ahead. Coats are donned and then they wait, sweltering, for the next hour and a half for the bus to arrive. There is a great fear of being forgotten.

Unfortunately, the bus is not wheelchair friendly so I have not been able to make a break for it with the rest of the dirty dozen. The prospect of sitting on a bus, staring at the sea and eating ice-cream seems mightily inviting at the moment and my new best friend W was keen for me to join her.

W, bless her, is a no-nonsense northern lady who, despite having shrunk to less than 4ft is, nonetheless, much more mobile than I am. I’m not sure how old she is as it seems to rise every time she mentions it to me – this week she is 100 years old apparently, although last week she was in her mid 90’s. I can understand that you can easily lose track of time in here but that is a little extreme.

She spent some time this morning showing me how her false teeth have become too lose at the top. I had already spotted that though as they do tend to fall out when she speaks. I did try to be helpful and suggest something to keep them in but fear that I may have recommended polyfilla rather than polyfix – oh dear. Apparently she did have some somewhere but somebody stole it during the night (just the sort of thing I would target if I were a burglar). On the bright side, however, she found her glasses in the bottom of her bed; they had been missing for three days.

W used to cook for Agatha Christy who lived in a river-side house not far from here and confided that she could be a bit of a handful “If she liked you, she liked you. If she didn’t she didn’t” The two of them got on like a house on fire and I can see why.

Anyway, the reason I wanted to mention W is to acknowledge the encouragement she has been giving me during my stay here. She thinks I am very brave and a lovely girl (oh, it’s such a long time since I’ve been a girl). When I asked her what she thought of my new haircut last week she said to me, “You look like a film-star darling, now live up to it”. So, here I am: an obese, post menopausal lady with funny shaped joints that don’t work properly but now determined to project Sophia Loren from my every pore. It is the very least I can do. Thanks W. x

18 Replies
sylvi profile image
sylvi

Oh what a laugh, it sounds like your in the middle of a sitcom. I remember going to dawlish converlesance home 17yrs ago and the highlight of the week was a trip to dawlish on a saturday for drinkie poohs and we had to get through some drink as the bus came for us at 10.30pm and like you we couldn't miss the tea trolley. We also used to be able to go out in the mornings but we had to be back for lunch.

That blog of yours is so funny and entertaining, it brought a smile to my dull day.

Love sylvi.xxx

I really had a laugh reading your blog. Can't tell you how much you cheered me up. My 98 year old mum is in a care home as she has Alzheimers, so visiting her can be a trial. Keep up the blogging.

Love

Carolyn

I just love this blog and 'W'.

More please,

Christina xx

cris1728 profile image
cris1728

Love this blog and the positive and comedic you express despite your difficulties and challenges

cris xx

helixhelix profile image
helixhelix

That cheered me up! My favourite Sophia Loren quote is "everything you see I owe to spaghetti" so I hope they serve Spag Bol often at the home to help you on your way to voluptuousness ..... Polly

earthwitch profile image
earthwitch

I just love the way you are finding fun and humour in what a lot of people could interpret as a very depressing situation. I think you should definitely keep on blogging, but make sure you keep a copy of it all together - at some point it would make a lovely published story! You are definitely are a natural writer.

_andy_ profile image
_andy_

yes more blogs from the residential home,, please ... this sure beats eastenders ..

andy xx

Brilliant blog, made me laugh.

Keep it coming.

Mary x

Dotty7 profile image
Dotty7

I really did laugh out loud. Fantastic.

Brilliant blog - my mum was a W and never made it to residential home stage (deliberately set out to avoid it many of her nearest and dearest feel) but I like to think this is how she too would have seemed if she had. Well done for keeping sense humour Dow powerfully intact - short story writing could indeed be your next career move young woman!Tilda xxx

cazh profile image
cazh

Loved your blog. It cheered me up, just when I needed it. You're a great writer, to find the humour in such a situation. Can we have more episodes please.

cazh profile image
cazh

Loved your blog, it cheered me up no end. You're a great writer to be able to write with humour in such a situation. Please can we have more episodes.

caggy profile image
caggy

Hi ya, Oh lovely, can't help but laugh, thank you. Hope your're healing well, a cheerful spirit helps.Love Carol

tiger profile image
tiger

Fantastic blog, reminds me of some of the characters in the elderly care home where I work. Our residents get taken out quite regularly and twice a year about 5 of them go for a 3 day holiday to either Lourdes or the mediterranean coast, accompanied by lucky members of staff who get to share a bedroom with them!! Thankfully I haven't been asked to go.............yet.

Hope that your recuperation is going well. Wendy x

allanah profile image
allanah

You really do have to write a book about this stay it would be a great situation comedy!! love Axx

Tinwoman2 profile image
Tinwoman2

Oh my, this was funny Creaky & made me laugh too. The times & people you are having there sound lovely. I can just see you as a young Sophia Loren in the movies. You do write great short stories.

Christine

Thanks for your comments everyone. I'm glad you all had a bit of a giggle.

To be honest, had it not been for you guys on the site putting a positive slant on my incarceration I may have fallen into a rapid decline.

Feather and Tilda both alerted me to the opportunity for some real character observations and it has put a completely different slant on my stay here.

So its sounds like you have chosen a good care home xx

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