Yesterday did not start off too well as Meg had a rather disturbed night with two periods of extreme anxiety exhibited, one at about midnight and the other about 5.00am. But by the time the couple of carers arrived, Meg was somewhat calmer and she is always so much better once we have got her washed, dressed and in her wheelchair. Having said this, one of the carers was pretty new and inexperienced so I lent a hand on the occasions it was necessary. We knew that there were things going on today which would mean that our current routines would have to be modified and the most important of these was a visit by a physiotherapist (specialising in equipment) accompanied by a trainee. The physio evidently had to be given a brief history of Meg's condition and we manage each day and was quickly appraised of the situation. He unequivocally recommended a special 'Riser-Recliner' type of chair and was going to get in touch with the representative of the firm straight away that afternoon. We should expect to wait for about three weeks to get a more specialised call by somebody from the supplying firm as well as the physio himself and as soon as they have assessed what kind of chair Meg needs to fit her needs, the ordering process can go ahead. If we are fortunate, I feel that we may be able to be supplied with this more specialised chair by Christmas. As soon as the physio and his trainee had left, we immediately got Meg prepared for a walk into town as we reckoned we had a window of opportunity of about an hour and a half open to us. So we popped down the hill, picked up our the copy of our daily newspaper and finally made our way to the Post Office. Here I handed over the TV unit that EE had supplied for us and which was superfluous to our needs and, naturally, I am ensuring that I hang onto the receipt of postage for dear life as I shall be charged for the unit if it is not returned within a certain time period. I had already been supplied with a pre-paid plastic bag to return the unit but evidently a trip to the Post Office was called for. On our way down the hill, I bumped into our Irish friend but we could not stop for a chat as I explained that I needed to get up and down relatively quickly. When we returned home, we got the care agency manager himself (he often puts himself on a shift when staff shortages threaten) who had evidently put himself on duty as he needed to give additional bits of training to the second care assistant accompanying him. After this, it was time to cook ourselves a beef dinner, rather late in the day but still very tasty. Meg and I were particularly looking forward to the second episode of 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' which did not disappoint - this particular production by the BBC gave an excellent portrayal of rural life (in Dorset?) in the early nineteenth century and the quality of the acting, as well as the story lines, were compelling. There was one scene in it which reminded me of an incident from my own past. The novel (and the film) contains an episode when Angel (the male hero) meets the four milkmaids from the farm where he worked and carries each of them individually across a flooded path when they were on their way to the Sunday morning service. Each of the milkmaids (and of course Tess herself) were completely enamoured of Angel and almost swooned at the prospect of being carried across the flooded path by him. When it was announced that Angel and Tess intended to marry, her three milkmaid companion burst into tears because the man of their dreams was suddenly as they say, 'spoken for'. Now the incident from my own occupational life mirrors this in a way. As a young 15-year old, I was supervised by a young manager at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate by a young but exceptionally handsome young manager who I shall call 'Lionel'. Now all of the young waitresses yearned to catch the eye of 'Lionel' although he was way beyond their socioeconomic standing and experience and so the prospect of an engagement were slight in the extreme. However, I was present with a group of these waitresses when it was announced that 'Lionel' had in just in fact got engaged to a person in his social circle and, being present when the news was broken to them, I witnessed several of them openly burst into tears. If this sound incredibly quaint, it did in fact happen that way. To compound matters, Lionel was removed from their midst whilst his well-heeled family sent him on a gastronomic tour of Europe. He was such a talented young man ( and an exceptionally good manager to boot) that I suspect that he was being groomed for managerial experience in one of the elite London hotels such as the Dorchester.
Yesterday, was of course, the last full day of campaigning in the US presidential election. Up to one half of the electorate have already voted (some 75 million) and so their votes are 'locked in' and not susceptible to change. So although there may be last minute gaffes (or more likely insults) flying around, it may be that it is too late for these to have real impact upon the outcome of the election. Much more sinister is the army of lawyers assembled by Trump (and perhaps matched by the Democrats, although I doubt it) who are standing posed to sniff out the slightest opportunity for a legal challenge as the polling results emerge in the hope of snatching some advantage in what has been labelled as probably the most closely fought election in American electoral history. In their appearances on Monday, both candidates will be shadowed by final polls that suggest the race is even. The final New York Times/Siena College poll of Pennsylvania, published on Sunday, found it tied, with both candidates garnering support from 48 percent of likely voters. So this particular key state may well be in the hands of a thousand voters. However, the latest news appears to be that Trump has been slowly gaining support in the State and chipping away at the small lead enjoyed by Harris to date so I would not be surprised if this absolutely critical state (and probably, but not invariably, the whole election) does swing Trump's way.
© Mike Hart [2024]