GETTING THE NAME OF BLIP "OUT THERE"

You all know me by now, any excuse to get the name of Blip “out there” so this morning, as we had to go to our favourite Opticians, Leightons, I decided to take JH Ted with me - and I knew that the staff would be happy for me to take a photograph of him, so popped him into my bag. 

Mr. HCB had an appointment to have his ears looked at by Adam, the Audiologist, and I had an appointment with Kate, the Manager, to have some new nose-pads put on my glasses - our big excitement for the day - well in these troubled times, you have to take your excitement when you can!

We were greeted by Lauren, Wendy and Kate and could tell  by their eyes that they were all smiling - with Chris was hovering in the background - he still doesn’t know quite what to make of us!  We do like all the staff and get on with them well, and there is always much laughter when we go in there, so on a rainy and grey Monday morning, it lifted our spirits and we hope it lifted theirs too.

Adam whisked Mr. HCB away to do things to his ears - and you don’t want to know what he had done and came out of them!  I, meanwhile, asked if JH Ted could try on some new glasses and Lauren was happy to oblige, finding some small frames.  I sat JH Ted on the Maui Jim stand and job done!  Mr. HCB actually has a pair of these sunglasses and says they are very good, so perhaps the next time I need some, I will have some like his - you’re never too old to have a trendy pair of “sunnies”!

My new nose pads were soon done but Mr. HCB’s treatment took much longer.  When he came back out into the reception area, Adam came with him and confirmed that after his treatment, he wasn’t to wear his hearing aids until tomorrow morning, so - and he chuckled when he said this - sadly Mr. HCB wouldn’t be able to hear me as well for the rest of today.  I always knew he had selective hearing anyway, so wasn’t too bothered.  However, on the drive home, I did tell Mr. HCB that if he wanted to watch the football on TV tonight, he would have to listen with the sound turned right down, because he would normally listen “through his ears”.  He said that was fine, which is good - now I don’t have to listen!

We are grateful to all the staff in Leightons for their care and concern and for the treatment we received today - it doesn’t take much to make the HCBs happy!  After we left, we did some shopping in the Co-op and now, it looks like being a dull, grey and wet afternoon, so Netflix here we come and it certainly beats doing housework - apart from which, my friend gave me a fridge magnet that says I mustn't do any on a day which ends in a "y"!

“Blindness separates us from things
     but deafness separates us from people.”
Helen Keller

P.S.  In other sad and frustrating news, our D-i-L, who works in a Care Home, has tested positive for Covid again, despite having it last year and being double jabbed and boosted - we all still need to take care.