Yesterday, I woke up relatively early and it a source of some relief to me that Meg seems to have had a good night's sleep. I am organising her medication so in addition to her normal pills, Meg is also taking some Piriton which is basically an anti-allergen medication but the type we have just successfully ordered from the community pharmacist attached to our GP practice says that it may induce drowsiness which is exactly what we want. I suspect, as well, that when Meg gets put to bed by the two young people who know her well, she gets into bed into a relaxed frame of mind which again is helpful. Sometimes Meg falls asleep just before the evening carers call but I am attempting to keep Meg awake at this time as its putting her to bed so much easier. In the morning, the care manager called around as he often puts himself on a shift, accompanied by one of his regular staff and they have the facility of being able to jolly Meg along if she is taking some time to arouse herself in the morning. Tuesday is the day when Meg has a 'sit' session and it is always helpful if it is someone that Meg knows well, as it was yesterday. This morning, we went down the hill eager to catch up with our usual Tuesday friends but were quite disappointed when no one else showed up. Nonetheless, we had an interesting time in Waitrose. After I picked up my copy of 'The Times' I noticed in the T2 section that they had an article of good alcohol-free lagers. I turned to the feature and noticed that the brand of which I am particularly fond and which is sold in the store was listed as the favourite beer of the reviewer. So I brought this to the attention of two of the staff that I know well so that they could bring it to the attention of the manager - he might have been interested to know that a beer he stocks has been so favourably reviewed. On the way out, we were given a bunch of 19 white, pink and yellow roses wby some staff who often think of us. I bought a chocolate cake in the store and on my way home, I popped in to see our French friend to whose house we are going for a coffee morning next Friday. However, she was not in but I called at a (near) neighbour who is our Irish friend and let her have the cake so we can give it to our mutual friend before Friday. As it Meg's birthday on Thursday, we can have a sort of delayed birthday celebration only a day later.
Knowing that the sitter was due to call, I had arranged to go down into town to the EE shop to get my new phone (iPhone 16) brought into commission. The sales staff were exceptionally good and managed all of the technology for me but it took about an hour and a half to get all of the downloads done and the set up procedures (face recognition) completed. Then, on the recommendations of the EE staff, I went across the road to a mobile phone shop and bought both a glass protector for the screen, a new red case and also the requisite charger which is just as well because my existing ones might not have worked. So I got home about a minute before the carer was due to leave. In anticipation of today, I had applied to Tesco mobile for a free SIM card and after a bit of fumbling about managed to get this inserted into my old iPhone with, as it happens, a new number which was very easy for me to memorise. Then of course, the SIM being free had no credit on it so I had to get this organised but this is relatively straightforward for me as I have a Tesco PAYG program/app on my computer so it was easy to stitch in a 'Family and Friends' entry and get the top up organised fairly painlessly. This evening, I have just about got the relevant app downloaded into the new phone, having to remember that it is the PAYG version and not the contract version of the app that I need. Then I have in effect a second iPhone that I can use as an emergency phone or more likely as an extended MP3 player and a lot of the functionality of the apps will still be there but I have to wait until Meg is well and truly asleep before I can have a little play. But so far, so good. I still have a billing issue to sort out with EE but I can do this in a day or so. I had been so long in town, there was not really any time to cook a normal lunch. So I made a sort of omelette with masses of tomato and onion and the meal was ready in 10 minutes. Then afternoon, I replayed the 'Genius of Mozart' program broadcast the day before but which Meg had not seen. Then we went in the late afternoon onto YouTube and discovered a sort of instant history program that did a quick resume of the plot of Amadeus, going into some depth whether Mozart was actually poisoned by an arch rival as the film suggests.
As we were watching the 6.00pm news, it had become apparent the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East is now unfolding. After Israel's invasion of Lebanon. Iran has responded by launching some 140 missiles, some of them ballistic, towards Israel. The Israeli 'iron Dome' system has intercepted the majority of these but by no means all. Meanwhile the USA who is supplying Israel with whatever arms it wants is standing by helpfully as Netanyahu is pursuing his war aims with no restraint whatsoever. Of course, the moment is opportune for the Israelis as America in just over a month away from the presidential elections and will not dare to restrain Israel for the sake of the electoral consequences. Consequently, the conflict in the Middle East is spreading as many predicted that it would and we may even be on the brink of a huge regional war as Israel battles with every state on its borders and has the firepower to inflict the most terrible damage as has already been witnessed in the Lebanon. We can only wait and see whether the international community can exert any pressure for a ceasefire but the prospects this evening look exceedingly grim.
© Mike Hart [2024]