Yet Another First!

About a couple of months before I was due to have my knee replacement I was phoned by the secretary of Pudsey St Lawrence and asked if I could play for two weddings. The first one was two weeks after my operation, and I said that I wouldn't be able to play for this one, as I would not be able to drive so soon after my operation, but the other was to take place today (Friday 26th July) which is about six weeks after surgery, so I took a calculated risk and said "Yes, I'll be able to play for the wedding on Friday 26th July."

If you know the layout of St Lawrence Pudsey, you will be aware that there is a long footpath from the road to the church door, and to gain access to the organ requires that you climb three steps and then swing your legs over the organ bench. Walking the length of the drive with a music case full of music and also having two walking sticks to control can be a trifle chaotic, so I persuaded the good lady to accompany me and carry my music brief case for me.

We arrived with plenty of time to spare, only to be greeted by the organ tuners who were completing tuning the instrument! when they had finished I clambered up the steps and swung my  legs over the organ bench. I found playing the instrument was quite straight forward, but what I hadn't reckoned with was that the bride would be in the region of forty minutes late!

I can comfortably manage about 50 minutes in any one position before the operated knee starts to stiffen, so to help matters I will then either have a walk about or change position. Neither of these options are particularly easy when you are seated infront of a congregation, and in full view of all who are in church!

View of the organ pipes from the organ console, which is situated at the front right of the church.

Unbeknown to me the Bride was to be 38 minutes late arriving at church, and I had started playing music for the guests, before the Bride arrrived at 1.28 pm The wedding was scheduled to start at 2.00 pm. By the time the service had concluded (at around 3.18 pm I had been sat on a very hard wooden organ bench for 110 minutes! My knee felt like it was dead, and it was with great difficulty that I managed to crawl off the organ bench, down the three steps and on to the church floor!

Luckily by the time I had taken half a dozen paces I was beginning to get some feel back into my knee! When we drove into Pudsey I said to Dot I'm going to celebrate the first wedding played - and I wonder if you can guess how I did that???

Yes, you've got it in one!

I called in a couple of charity shops and purchased four CD's!

So I'm now sat at my computer, with an ice pack on my left knee, listening to one of the CD's!

By the way I have a first wedding to play for at Bingley tomorrow.- But I've already hit the Bingley charity shops earlier in the week!!!!

Driving, Walking, Visiting Charity Shops, and the Odd CD or Two Purchased

What with all the excitement of the birth of Prince George, the family news tends to have been pushed on one side, so now that the dust has settled let me catch up a little on the more mundane stuff.

After visitng my consultant last week, he declared that I was fit to drive. A visit to my physiotherapist also got the response that I could now start walking (without sticks if I felt secure enough), so taking advantage of these pronouncements and the recent fine weather we visited Settle, Feizor and Austwick.

That meant me paying a call at one of the charity shops (Help the Aged) in Settle, and purchasing a couple of CD's.

This week I have also done a Shopping run to Asda, and whilst I was there I took a  walk around Shipley Market Place, and guess what - there are about six charity shops in the Market Place! Help the Aged, Heart, Scope, Cancer Research, An Animal Charity Shop and the recently opened Martin House Charity Shop.

Well I had been told to do a bit of walking, and a circumnavigation of the Market Place and a visit to all of the Charity Shops certainly seemed to fill the ticket (and cover a good distance), as I had already walked all the aisles in Asda prior to going round all the Charity Shops! Needless to say I picked up a few CD's - all at bargain prices - I mean at 50p a time you can afford to throw them away after you have listened to them, and not feel that you have wasted your money!

On Wednesday (yesterday) I had to call in at the Natwest Bank in Bingley, and again, the Charity Shops were visited. I purchased 9 CD's and four DVD's at the Jubilee Outreach of Yorkshire shop for the bargain price of £4.50! 

A selection of most of the CD's I have purchased from various Charity Shops over the last week or so.

George Alexander Louis Windsor - Prince of Cambridge

Well, the title says it all. There you have it! The final piece in the jigsaw.

This morning George had a visit from his Great Grandmother (aka The Queen), and Prince Harry also paid his repects.

Now the family have left Kensington Palace for the leafy lanes of Bucklebury, where, it is hoped, they will be able to do a bit of family bonding without the intrusion of the press.

Looking back on the events of the last few days, I really feel that Prince William managed the press extremely well. No news items leaked out before he intended them. We had to wait a couple of hours before we knew that George had been born, then the following day we had to wait until around 7.30 ish before he and Kate departed from the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital Paddington. He conducted himself in a very responsible and mature manner, granting the press three or four minutes and graciously answering all their questions. It was mid afternoon today before we got knowledge of the chosen names.

If William is to be our future king - I am impressed!

What a Photo Shoot!

There must have been a few million megapixels used yesterday around 7.15 pm! I refer, of course, to the pack of photo hungry photographers lining the road outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London. Many of them had been camped out for more than a week, in the hope of getting the elusive scoop shot of the new prince.

For those of you who are Royalists here is a selection of some of the best shots of the new Prince of Cambridge and his parents as they emerged from the Lindo Wing.

The New Prince of Cambridge

I wonder, if you, like me, have been carried along on the wave of emotion which has been sweeping the country since the announcement that William and Kate were to be parents?

The cynical me was thinking "Oh no! for the next nine months there will be nothing but expected baby news etc.", but as time has progressed I have experienced the same kind of feeling which swept the nation when we hosted the Olympics, and particularly when we started piling up the gold medals.

Here was some good news which we could rejoice in, amidst all the doom and gloom we had been getting.

As interest grew to excitement, and excitement grew to fever pitch (espeically last Saturday, which was the rumoured expected birth date of the baby) the world's media were on "full throttle." Then during the early hours of Monday morning (around 6.00 am) Kate and William arrived at the Lindo Wing (via a back door) and wonderfully, apart from two very observant press men, nobody else witnessed their arrival.

As the news of their arrival leaked round to the front of the Lindo Wing the world's media leapt into action. There were suggestions that Kate had been brought in for a medically induced birth. All sorts of wild rumours were being pedalled by the world's press. There were constant re runs of how the birth would be announced  - a messenger would take a sheet of paper with all the necessary details to Buckingham Palace, where it would be attached to an easel and displayed in the grounds at the front of Buckingham Palace, so that all the gathered multitudes could see for themselves all the details of the new heir to the throne.

The tea time news bore no items on the birth of the new heir, and infact, it had been decided to give a press release sometime after the tea time news, which gave the news that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4.24 pm today. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well. [This was the wording on the announcement which was displayed on the easel outside Buckingham Palace.] We were told that the baby boy weighed 8 lbs 6 ozs (none of your metric weights here!)

And so the rejoicing began.

Members of RAF Valley had sent their congratulations, and I liked the comment that was made by one of the Princes colleagues. Get back here soon - the football team needs you!

Then there were interviews with villagers from Bucklebury, (where Kate spent her formative years) some of whom didn't know the news of the birth when they were being interviewed.

We live in a wonderful and slightly quirky country, complete with lots of traditions. Apparently the two local pubs in Bucklebury were unable to start celebrations last night, as they both close on Monday evenings.

The village church had decided that they would ring a peal of bells in celebration of the event, but were unfortunately unable to do so as one of the bell ringers was on holiday!

So I am left with a nice warm glow, and a smug feeling that Kate and William managed to outrun the press and put the news out in the way they wanted!

To the new family my heartiest congratulations!

Rubyblog

Good Morning there all my canine chums! It's Ruby here. Whilst the Lord an Master and the Countess of Cottingley are out I've taken control of the keyboard!

I've been having a look at some of his previous blogs and thought "How Boring!" so I've decided to sit down and write you a blog of my own. I mean, who wants to hear all about knee replacements, physiotherpists and the like?

So let me start off by telling you what I got up to yesterday......

It seems the Lord and Master and the Countess of Cottingley had been invited to a barbecue and as it was with Simon and Sarah I was allowed to go too. They have a little fluffy dog called Raffi, who has a thing about my ears I think the term is he "Earo" worships them. Anyway we arrived up there about 1.30 and were warmly greeted by Simon and Sarah, and guess what......

They had very kindly left me a dish full of Raffi's food out on the kitchen floor. Well it was too much of a temptation not to eat it, (and let's face it, it would have been churlish and ill mannered to refuse it!) so I promptly tucked in.

After a little while, the adults were deep in conversation and Simon disappeared outside, and in a short space of time reappeared with the most delicious smelling burgers and sausages. The table was set in the dining room with all sorts of goodies (and I have to admit that I was almost drooling at the thought of all the delicious food) but I remembered not to beg. I have discovered that my - I'm a poor starving, under nourished, unloved dog look works wonders, and in no time at all I was being fed sausages!

Not long after Raffi and I went for a walk to the nearby copse, and played chase the ball.

Shortly after we returned the gentlemen had retired to the kitchen where they were talking computers, whilst the ladies were in the dining room, deep in animated conversation. Raffi and I went out on to the patio and snoozed gently after our exertions.

I had a really enjoyable time, and the Lord and Master and Countess seemed to have enjoyed themselves too!

The REAL Country of Origin of Your Food

I was browsing through Facebook last night and I came across the information above. It seems that someone has provided us with the bar codes of the real countries of origin of our food.

There have been many requests in the press for the shops and supermarkets to inform us where our food is coming from, but the information they provide on the packaging is often a travesty of the truth. It seems that the country of packaging, or the country of processing can be listed as the country of origin and, let's face it, this is often NOT the case.

Now, with the help of the table above, you have the ability to work out the true country of origin of your food!!

Normal Service Has Been Resumed!

Those of you long enough in the tooth to remember the early days of television will no doubt recall those wonderful moments when, for some reason or another, the broadcast broke down. Quick as a flash the TV company had a screen which read "Normal Service will be Resumed As Soon As Possible!"

Well, I am pleased to be able to tell you that this has now happened in the Bentley household.

Let me enlighten you. Officially after my total knee replacement I have not been allowed to drive until I got the all clear from Mr Taggart my consultant. I paid him a visit today, and after examining my knee, he pronounced that I could discard the "Baron Hardup Stockings" (otherwise known as TED socks or anti embolism socks) and resume driving.

Having the kind of weather we have experienced over the last few days we decided to resume out usual jaunts. We were originally going to head for Pateley Bridge, but being deep in conversation we missed the turn off the Bingley Relief Road and found ourselves heading Skiptonwards.

Here I am, complete with the latest fashion statement (a sunhat!) all ready to set off.

Having discovered we were heading towards the A65 it was not a difficult decision to alter our plans and make for.......

(bet you've guessed it.....)

Settle and Austwick. We arrived in Settle to discover that it was Market Day, very busy and no parking in and around the market square, so after a very brief stop, during which I patronised the Help the Aged Charity Shop and purchased one CD and one DVD  [How surprising do I hear you say?], we moved on.

We had heard tell of a super little tea room at Feizor, which is the last turn off right before Austwick. Feizor is a typical pretty limestone country village three quarters of a mile up a dead end road leading off the A65.

Elaine's Tea Rooms in Feizor. Ir is already well known and well established and sports an award from Trip Advisor as one of the top tea rooms in the area!



Dot and Ruby just up the lane from Elaine's Tea Rooms in Feizor.

We spent a leisurely three quarters of an hour on  the premises, and chatted to the owner, who it turned out had four labradors, one chocolate two black and one sandy labrador.  We were encouraged to take Ruby in with us by the sign on the door which read "Dogs and dirty boots welcome!"

Dot discovered a lovely walk from Feizor to Austwick, so whilst she and Ruby headed for Flascoe Bridge, where Ruby was sure to have a swim in the stream, I drove round by the road.

On the way there I took a few shots of Austwick and the surrounding area.

Approaching Austwick

    Approaching Austwick

 

Cottages in Austwick

It didn't take us long to decide that we would dine at the Game Cock, which always offers superb meals, well cooked and beautifully presented. Dot went for the Home Made Vegetarian Curry and I ordered the Game Cock Giant Burger.

The home of magnificent food usually prepared by the French Chef/Owner Eric.

We rounded the day off with a walk up what the grandchildren call Rabbit Walk (They once saw a rabbit dash across their path here!)

 

and a look at some of the flowers on display in some of the gardens.

A final look at Austwick from the bottom of Rabbit Walk.

St Swithun's Day Proverb

Yesterday (15th July) was St Swithun's Day. According to the proverb....


St Swithun's day if thou dost rain, For forty days it will remain, St Swithun's day if thou be fair, For forty days 'twill rain nae mare.

Saint Swithun's day falls on the 15th July and the proverb forecasts the weather for the summer. It dates to Anglo-Saxon times and the burial of St Swithun, the Bishop of Winchester Cathedral. One local legend suggests the proverb originates from the day the saint's remains where moved from the graveyard to a tomb. To show his displease with his new, more sheltered home the saint summoned a storm onto the town which held for 40 days.

While this obviously isn't based on scientific theory, there is some basis to the idea that the weather in mid-July can be used to predict the weather pattern over the next 40 days.

If this is the case, and Paul Hudson, the weatherman on BBC's "Look North" programme seems to believe it, we could be in for some hot sunny weather. His forecast yesterday predicted at least ten more days of hot sunny weather!

More Progress

After about a fortnight of frustration, when nothing appeared to be progressing (at least not at the rate I had expected) I can report some good news. Today, for the first time since long before I had my knee replacement I have managed to climb the stairs in the recognised manner ie one foot after the other and not the hippity hoppity fashion I had adopted for the last few months - right foot up one step, right foot up another step etc. I recall going to the physio department the week before last and the physiotherapist asked me to try and climb up one step using my "operated knee" to lead with. The result was excruciating pain and a few choice swear words! All last week I have been concentrating on getting the operated knee to do a bit more work - basically a series of bending and stretching exercises, which culminated in one where I put the operated knee up a step and swing backwards and forward ten times, then try to climb up the step I am on using the "operated knee" to lead with. "EUREKA!" Today success. I have climbed the full flight of stairs (all thirteen) twice in the recogised manner. Next week the triathlon!!!!!

Wow! - Progress Report

Hasn't the weather been amazing over the last week or so? If you think back to last year, at this time, the Great Yorkshire Show was cancelled after one day due to the downpours which watelogged the site.Yet now we have seen the sort of weather we used to expect at this time of year. Whilst I have been "confined to barracks" as it were, I have been making the most of the fine weather, and sitting outside in a chair in the back garden, fairly early in the morning, before the sun got really hot. The good news is, however, that I "took the bull by the horns" (well the car by the steering wheel really) and ventured out for a short drive. After dropping a cheque off at the Yorkshire Clinic I drove down to the bank to do what I laughingly call a "bank raid", then to the garage opposite the church in Bingley to fill the car up with petrol, then up to Woodbank Nurseries so that Dot could buy some plants for the garden. I walked from Chapel Lane to the Bank (with one stick) and from the petrol pump to the garage shop (again with only one stick)so you will see that some progress is being made! Today Dot has an appointment at the Hairdressers at Saltaire, so I will be driving again! I may even venture into Asda in Shipley for an exploratory trip!!

For Better or Worse, In Sickness and in Health........

I am sure you will recall the Queen commenting on her Annus Horribilis. Well it has been a bit lke that in the Bentley household, with the main exception being  that it all seems to have been contracted into about fourteen days! 

Let's go back a little way in time first. As you all know I have been suffering from an athritic knee and it was decided to go into the Yorkshire Clinic for a total knee replacement operation. This took place on Tuesday 11th June, and went well.

 I came out on Saturday 15th June, and had been given a series of knee exercises by the Physiotherapist. Approximately a fortnight later (on Monday 1st July) I was booked in for a 45 minute physio session with Aideen Farrell, one of the physiotherapists.
Aideen is a slim, gentle girl with a delightful lilting Irish accent which I swear has aphrodisic powers! Being put at ease and lulled into a sense of security I was put through my paces, and this is where the name physiotherapist changes to physioterrorist! My knee was asked to stretch, bend and do all kinds of exercises it had never experienced since the operation, and at the end of the 45 minute session I felt like I had been put on the rack and stretched!

What is it the pundits say? - "No Gain Wthout Pain" - well if that was true I should have been skipping about like a young Spring Lamb!!!! Over the following week, and sticking religiously to the exercise regime, things have tended to slowly improve, and to be honest I can sense a difference. The only problem is that if I stay in any one position for more than about 40 minutes, the knee joint stiffens up and it takes about 5 - 10 paces before it is working properly again. Hence the fact that to stop it stiffening up I have become the original "Fidgety Fred." 

If you have read this blurb so far, you may well be wondering why I have mentioned at the outset that it has been a Fortnightly Horribilis. Read on, and as the stripper says,  and all will be revealed.......... 

Let's step back in time. Sarah, for some years has been suffering with athritis problems in her neck, and these flare up from time to time and she has to go on a TENS machine to try and relieve the pain. If this is unsuccessful she has to visit hospital for injectons into her neck.

This was the result of her last visit to hospital

Hannah was successful in gaining promotion to a year leader, and we decided that we would take her and Ben out for a celebratory meal to the "Lord Rodney" in Keighley, but at this point in time I was not too happy at venturing out, so we decided to have a celebratory Aagrah Curry at home. This was fine until you learn that Ben (Hannah's husband) suffers from Hay Fever, and spent all the meal with a tissue stuffed up his nose, and Dot spent of most the meal sneezing her head off! Hannah has been off it with a woozy head and feeling sick since then.

And Rachel? She discovered a couple of days ago that they had a water leak in the cellar, and she has been busy collecting buckets of water and trying to stop a major flood. Various water board officials have visited, and the last I heard was that they were passing a camera up the pipes to see if that could reveal the cause of the problem.

On Wednesday Dot went down with Sickness and Diarhoea and she is just about getting over it, when on Friday night I was feeling sick. If felt like an army of little men in hob nailed boots were doing a war dance in my stomach! Fortunately I haven't been sick (yet!) but I spent most of Friday night sitting and dozing in my office chair just in case I was sick, so that I could grab a bucket and not cover the bed or floor!

Dot has a notice on the kitchen wall which reads "Family is everything" and I must confess they have come up trumps whilst we oldies and sickies have been incapacitated. Garry has ferried me to the Clinic, Hannah has done lots of shopping. Sarah has been a bit out of it having been in hosptial, but she has kept ringing up to see how we were progressing. Olivia has popped in to keep an eye on us. Thank goodness for families!

The Best Laid Plans.......

Whilst recuperating from my knee surgery I planned on making a dent in the pile of books I had waiting to be read. My wife bought me the latest Ian Rankin Rebus novel [Standing in Another Man's Grave] for Christmas (2012) and it had laid on my bedside locker, unopened, due to the pile of books still waiting to be read. Broad hints had been dropped ("Are you ever going to read that book I bought you for Christmas?") so I took it with me into the Yorkshire Clinic, and by the time I came out I had read it!

It had been my plan to read some more books when I returned home. Indeed I did start a book by John Betjeman and a Val McDermid novel too, but waking in the early hours of the morning was not condusive to reading, so I took to watching the odd DVD instead.

I had a pile of DVD's waiting watching - among them a were 10 remastered  DVD's of James Bond films, and over the last few days I have viewed all these. There were, however about a hundred other films still left to look at! So I have made a start on these!

Among the ones I have enjoyed have been Chaplin, the Richard Attenborough Biopic of his life, A Chorus Line, also directed by Richard Attenborough, and based on the Marvin Hamlisch musical of the same name, and Iris, the biopic of the life of the novelist Iris Murdoch.

Hot or What?

There has been quite a lot of comment on the BBC internet news this week about the hot weather that is being experienced in the United States.

I regularly get e-mail funnies sent to me from my wife's best friend's husband.

The selection of photos which follows arrived in the early hours of this morning, as proof positive that the temperatures are soaring in the States.