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2007 - June 17th - Sunday

HAPPENINGS BEFORE JH’S DEPARTURE ON 1450 TRAIN FROM PLYMOUTH

JH loaded up her wheelie with a view to a stay of up to a fortnight away from home; JH watered her tomatoes and hanging basket, but the rest of the garden was very wet – there were disastrous floods in other areas of the Country; John and Sally, Alistair’s dad and step-mother at No 62, who are dog-sitting, will be watering JH’s garden whilst JH is away – as Alistair and Vicki are away on their honeymoon!



 

At about 9.00am, JH phoned Paulin Ward and JH was told that there was a bed available for her – so JH rang Ruth in JHH and left a VM message to say JH did not need accommodation.   However . . . at about 11.30am Kathy rang JH to say that she had been told that there was NO bed available for JH, and that they were expecting JH tomorrow, but Kathy, herself, had one! 

Kathy said she was having a meal with the Lorraine’s family and that she planned to go into Hospital at about 5.00pm. JH explained that JH’s train ticket only allowed her to travel out on the date printed on her ticket, ie, today, and JH also explained that her bed in JHH had been ‘cancelled’; Kathy said that she would phone Charlotte, the Staff Nurse, back and explain JH’s situation, ask for JH’s bed to be reinstated, and ask Charlotte to phone JH at home – as JH did not have a mobile; Charlotte spoke to JH and explained that they had had an emergency admission and so that was why a bed was no longer available; Charlotte said she would phone Ruth – and subsequently rang JH again to say a bed had been reinstated for JH in JHH that evening.


 

JH sent an email to Ray to explain that, for the second time, there was not a bed available on Paulin Ward for a Donor!  JH sent a copy of the List of telephone numbers and addresses to Ray for insertion in JH’s Hospital Notes.

JH set off from home at 2.05 pm:  JH met John and Sally Clapp – who were looking after the animals in No 62 whilst Alistair and Vicki, JH’s next door neighbours, were away on their honeymoon (as already mentioned, and about time, too, so everyone said)!  John undertook to keep a ‘neighbourhood watch’ on No 64, and do any essential watering for JH (although JH noted that he was somewhat incapacitated by severe rheumatoid disease).  JH caught a very late No 43 Citybus (half-hourly Sunday Service) to the Railway Station, and so had time for a cup of tea before catching the train departing at 1450.

JH plonked herself down in an aircraft window seat – thinking that it had just been vacated according to the seat-reservation ticket – but had failed to notice that there was a second trip booked {on the ticket} from Exeter to Paddington: so JH moved when a lady and gentleman – who were unnecessarily very apologetic - got on at Exeter and wished to occupy their reserved seats.  JH found another seat by a table, after JH and another lady had disturbed the ‘love birds’ asleep in the opposite seats, and ‘asked permission’ to remove the latter’s bags off the unoccupied seat {JH thought she had seen the ‘love birds’ in another train, or perhaps in the station}. 

At Exeter, a man got on who was bronzed and looked like ‘the outdoor type’; he spoke on his mobile, anxiously and rather a lot, and just when we were going though Maidenhead, he waved his itinerary at JH and asked where ‘Euston London’ was; JH said that she would show him the way to Euston Square Station; he had a tremor, and scars on his face; it was apparent that, if he stopped to think for a minute he ‘took things in’ and overcame his angst.  When we went into Paddington Underground Station, he looked around him – almost in excitement – and said ‘there’s nothing like this in Exeter!’!  Although JH made a move to get off with him at Euston Square (where JH used to get off when working as a Student Nurse at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital) he said that there was no need as he was happy to find his own way to Euston (main line station, to which there were lots of direction signs).  He told JH his name, which JH promptly forgot; furthermore, he explained that he was on his way to Hemel Hempstead where he would be working for a cabling firm who were involved in some sort of construction work on the M1 motorway.  So . . . JH changed, at Kings Cross, from the Metropolitan Line train to a Hammersmith & City line train to Whitechapel.

In due course, JH arrived at Paulin Ward in the RLH, after collecting the keys to JHH from the Security Office.  Ralph gave JH a hippo, and a hug – as did Kathy (ie a hug not another hippo).  JH left with Ralph, so that she could collect her wheelie from the Security Staff, before their shift changed (as she had been asked to do).  Ralph had been ‘detailed’ by Kathy to buy the latter some sweets, but the Hospital Shop had just closed, so he went out to the shops in Whitechapel Road, and JH walked round to JHH. 

Whilst JH was watching Coast on BBC TV, another gentleman came into the sitting room and regaled JH with the story of his wife’s pancreatic cancer: JH recollected that, in her final EGA Nursing Exams, she had been asked by Dr Chadwick to state the main presenting symptom of pancreatitis – to which Dr C added ‘and if you know this you will certainly get the gold medal’; JH rather tentatively said ‘indigestion’, but was told by Dr C that very severe upper abdominal pain would better describe the patient’s ‘indigestion’.  So JH listened attentively to the husband’s distressing tale – as she could always watch the repeat of Coast.  As another lady and gent then came into the sitting room – with the hope that they could watch Britain’s Got Talent, JH watched the finalists’ performances with them: the winner was an opera-singing tenor – whose name JH has, of course, forgotten.


External Website:

www.rockstarotts.co.uk

We are a small hobby kennel situated on the outskirts of Plymouth. We are a 15 minute drive from Dartmoor where we take our dogs for runs or to swim in the river.

Alistair & Vicki are a husband and wife team who have a passion for rottweilers and have owned them for many years. We very much believe that the rottweiler should be 'fit for function' and strive to keep our dogs in tip top condition.....



 
 
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