BRONWEN - Ar Ddiwedd Dydd (Live from Fieldgate)

Bronwen Lewis is a 25 year old young woman from S Wales who started to translate pop songs from age 15 and has gained popularity though Radio 1 and Tik Tok.. she gigs singing pop songs in Welsh and writes her own songs too.

She has a super recording of Carole Kings, 'You've got a Friend,' 

For an unknown reason I can't get the video of it, but here is the link.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100050476959949

Chrisxx

Do you have one?

What I'm asking is... do you have a Degree in Hindsight??

If only we did what a lot of heart ache we'd save ourselves. I used to constantly say 'hindsight?' to my eldest son. Five years ago when we thinking of moving here, my eldest son was bemoaning the fact that his photography job, altho' paid enough for him to live,  left little time for a social life, as he had to drive great distances and work most weekends. Looking for other jobs in your 50s wasn't easy and jobs that paid as much as his photography work, all wanted a Degree Qualification. Of course he had dropped out of Uni when he was diagnosed with Crohns. 

But there were night courses where he could get a degree in Arts with photography as his main subject. It would have been a 3 year course with some day classes. I offered him financial help if he had to cancel a booking photography day to attend a college that day. We looked at jobs he could get, even teaching.. which wouldn't have been arts but maths. And the salary was good with paid holidays, sick pay and a pension. ( He is self employed ) There is a big shortage of maths teachers and he excelled at maths and had the previous year coached a neighbour in his 30s, who was trying to get an 'O' and  'A' level in maths to do a college degree course! The man passed and was very very grateful to my son and said he should be a teacher! He has even helped sons of friends of mine, via face time or zoom to solve tricky higher level maths homework!

But my son wasn't too enthusiastic about a 3 year course. Since then what with covid and lockdown, his life has not been easy and here he is today, still working weekends and driving all over the country!  Although now he is supplementing his photography work with his growing Ebay business and is in the position of being able to turn down work he doesn't fancy doing. Even told one firm not to bother contacting him again, because they always paid him last minute, which he said was very satisfying. And he does now have a social life meeting friends regularly and having some weekends free. 

But he is still self employed and doesn't reckon he will retire till well into his 70s! If only he had taken that chance, he'd have a degree now.

Hindsight is cruel in some ways and yet other ways life saver. What so you think?

Chrisxx

Feeling delicate!

 Since my accident in the supermarket, nearly 4 weeks ago, I have had a problem sitting comfortably.  I didn't crash down on my posterior, but I did injure it and its been very bruised and tender. So when I'm feeling delicate I tend to read what I term a 'comfort' read. 

And books by Elizabeth Berg is my go to author. 

Her writing style is gentle, its well written and her stories are from a female perspective, delving into relationships and emotions, just what you need when you don't need excitement.

'Home Safe' is about Helen a successful author in her fifties recently widowed, reassessing her life, trying to unpick her past life and how she now has to proceed. Drowning in her grief, she is shocked to discover that her gentle loving husband hadn't left her as financially secure as she thought. The story weaves around her finding out what happened and her need to find her own new life path. A writers block, her constant need of her 27 year old daughter Tessa, is part of her problem in trying to reshape her life. 

I loved her analogy of life:  'Like gathering berries in an apron with a hole in it. Why do we keep on? Because the berries are beautiful and we must eat to survive. We catch what we can,. We walk past what we lose for the promise of more just ahead.' 

If you like books that are about women in life, written in a gentle way, you will enjoy books by Elizabeth Berg. I don't want to write too much about this book to spoil it for anyone, who decides to read it,

It is the 8th book I've read by this author I love her books.

Chrisxx

You have to laugh!

 Isn't annoying when things go wrong. We were happily having a second cup of tea yesterday morning watching TV and I thought to change the programme.  Clicked the hand controller and the screen froze..I tried to switch off to reset it and nothing happened??  Dh switched off at the TV set,  and then switched back on and it was the same. Must be the batteries in the hand controller, so he changed them, still the same, frozen screen. I phoned my son and he said you have to leave it switched off for at least 5 mins. So we did and tried again, nothing! 

Well I said before we start looking at new TVs, because we've had this one since 2016, lets look on line.

So I searched for 'What to do if a Sony Smart TV screen freezes?' There were hundreds of answers.. we were looking through them and then Dh said.. 'hang on I'll redo the batteries, perhaps they aren't in properly. Oh nooo I had them in upside down.' We were both hysterical laughing, my son was relieved for us,  as they were just packing up their motor home to drive home to W. Wales, but he would have come round if we hadn't sorted it.

I am still laughing a day later, because Dh was an Electronic Engineer!! 

But we are relieved its ok altho' we have our emergency fund and were quite happy to buy a new one.

Chrisxx

My moneys worth?

 I needed a Dr appointment yesterday and dreaded the 8 o'clock scramble, even though our surgery has a new phone system it can still be problematic. 

I'd had my tablets changed because a few months ago the ones I had been taking for years were unavailable? The Ukraine war?? But the new tablets just didn't suit me, my insomnia was awful, night after night awake. And I have an ear problem, itchy and can ache. So to hear I was number 41 in the queue on the phone didn't fill me with hope. But within minutes I was through and offered an app. at 3 pm.. 

I saw a Dr I'd seen before!! Very efficient, young, slim, very boyish looking with a foreign name, I like him.  I did ask for a double app, time!.  Sorted out my tabs right away, back to my original ones and even suggested that the new ones could be the cause of my imbalance in walking! 

Then looked in my ears and his otoscope showed an image on a small screen of inside your ear! Wow, he showed me it, fascinating. He then looked into my hair, at my head around my left ear and thought the problem started there. 

Then he checked my blood results for my thyroid test I had a few weeks ago and although they are within the normal range, it was borderline and is the cause of my difficulty in losing weight, so made a note for me to have another test at the end of the month.

So I came away with prescription for my original tabs, ear spray and hair shampoo. I felt I'd had my money's worth and had a good appointment, really gave me a lift! Thank you Dr Yasir!

Chrisxx

Welcome Autumn

 

Chrisxx

A drippy town visit, but we're happy!

 I'm taking a leaf out of  Angela's blog and in future any anonymous or unnamed comments will be deleted.

On Saturday's we like to go to town, just for a coffee and a mooch around. I wanted to see if the fruit shop had any Victoria plums, and it did! We do have a plum tree and did have some this year, one each!! But we have high hopes for next year, as it is a new tree. We will feed it and prune it where necessary and top dress the roots, it will have all our TLC!

We have been desperate for rain and we had some Thursday, in fact it was a deluge. We drove to the front prom and watched it come down like 'old women and sticks' from inside the car..Happy memories of the times we did that with Nell having a car picnic, which she loved so did we! Remembering the time we had cream puffs and the icing sugar on them floated off, all over us and her nose!

And on Saturday as we came out of Costa (new toilet code c2468z.) there were just a few spots of rain, so we hurried along, to the veg shop, and bought the plums, to the Spar for a TV times (its in the old Coliseum cinema) and then to the Kitchen shop, so Dh could buy me a new china mug, as he'd had a mishap in the kitchen. It is a lovely shop, one of the six Maple franchised shops and has beautiful china and bits, they all have wonderful gifts, or clothes, or jewelry, just amazing things and I think an asset to the town.

Of course we had to but two, pricy but worth it! The design by Clare Tupper, heard of her? Neither had I!

By that time the rain was a steady drizzle, no mac, and no umbrella, so we got wet walking back to the car. It didn't bother me because I didn't have to worry about getting my £27 hair do wet, because I just do it myself.. we did have to change our clothes when we got home and with a quick flash of our heating and a cuppa all was well.. The rain we were so desperate for has arrived! All I want now is, for it to rain at night and leave our days pleasantly dry!

Chrisxx

When you're down..

 ....this is what I look at. Isn't she a 'love' ? I have reversed photo searched this and all that came up was her dress, so guess its an AI pic. But I love it and look at it when I feel down.

She reminds me of my Grand daughter who had a lot of sass when she was little with a mind of her own.

When they used to visit me, we always went to Grandma's shop in town... 'Woolworths!'

I used to give her and her brother money to chose what ever they wanted, as long as it conformed to their mum's rules! No army stuff for my grandson and no plasticine. It seems it had ruined a carpet in the past!

On one occasion my granddaughter had chosen a pink vest and knicks with a Sindy pic on them. All was ok with some colouring books and pencils and a few small packets of sweets. 

A week or so later I had a phone call from my daughter to tell of my granddaughters 'crime!'

It seems she had been dressed accordingly that day for a PE lesson in school in a white vest and knicks, as they used to strip down to that for the lesson, she was 4.

But unbeknown to her mum she had gone back upstairs and changed into her Sindy set, which wasn't discovered till bed time!!

Cricky it was like the crime of the century, all my fault, but fortunately for me, they lived 64 miles away and I could replace the phone receiver! 

She loved that outfit and I thought it looked very pretty. Just thinking about this and my granddaughter when she was 4, has  lifted my spirits!! She's really very nice now too at 31 years!

Chrisxx

When you have a little visitor.

One of  Dh's twin daughter's and husband and grandson have come for a holiday here, not staying with us, but an Airbnb.. they like to come every summer. So Dh has gone to the beach to play at being grand dad. He's wearing his bathers to go in the sea! I have reminded him of his age and that the Coast Guard had put out notices of extremely high waves, so to approach the sea with care!

They arrived Monday later than expected, with the holiday traffic and came here for a very late lunch. 

Dh had planned all sorts of things to suit his7 year GS.. Food was a selection of BBQ meats, baked potato and green salad with coleslaw and a French stick of bread. But his grandson has decided to become vegetarian, altho'  his mum said he really a pescatarian as he eats fish and also a Cheese Burger! I asked like a burger with cheese.. emmm she said, but we don't say anything!! It seems some friends at school are vegetarians. 

Anyway Dh being very much himself, trimmed chopped and shaped a variety of veg, including carrots, celery, beetroot, baby home grown tomatoes. tiny mange tout peas and cheese, displayed on a very pretty plate it did all look rather nice. He had already set up one of the bags we've used to grow potatoes, which had soft dry soil, for his grandson to dig for his own potato! That was exciting for him.. and he ate all the potato that had been baked with butter and his crudités! 

Followed by strawberries, meringue and ice cream, and so did we..

Honestly it was all delicious, the BBQ  meats, coleslaw, baked potato and butter; all foods that are not our SW meal plans, especially the ice cream, it was truly 'lush!'

So nice to have a change of food now and then, and we didn't need a breakfast yesterday.

Chrisxx

Blogs

 Why do some people write a blog and why do some people who don't blog, read them and even leave comments or don't? I have been approached by some one who reads my blog, doesn't blog nor leaves a comment. She might even be reading this?

Everyone has a reason; a diary; a point of view; venting about life; or teaching a life skill; or ??

I write mine, just because its a sort of life experience record and I take enjoyment in sharing and I love reading others. I did find it upsetting,  that some people could no longer access my blog and it might be their anti-virus has an ad blocker, because I was being bombarded with an anti-virus firm, even though we already have one. I wasn't the only one being targeted by it,  when we looked on line there were hundreds of people asking how to get rid of it. Dh eventually sorted it out and it stopped. 

But those people never came back to read my blog and I'm slowly losing my inquisitiveness to read theirs. I do read blogs and not always comment, probably because we don't have anything in common, but I like reading their blog! Also I've stopped following some blogs if their writing is blasphemous or they use swear words and some have left what I think is a 'I'm superior to you comment. on mine!' Is that their vanity or mine??

Very sad when a blogger dies and sad too when their partner dies, I really feel for them. But also sad when someone decides to stop blogging like Rhonda. I have  followed her blog for years and have already missed her.

I've made so many friends on line through my blog and l hope to keep reading about them and making new. Why do you blog?

                                      Chrisxx