4th March, 2012
We have four weeks until we leave for Greece. The time is rushing away. In our planning for the time away, we service the car and we service ourselves. Dentist appointments for both of us and an haircut for Pauline are planned for the end of March. Neither services are well supplied on the island and would mean a time consuming and costly trip to Athens. Unfortunately, my teeth have decided to anticipate the treatment. For a week now, one of my teeth has been giving me a nagging ache after eating or drinking hot or cold things. I’ve tried to manage the pain like the truly stalwart man I am but it has got worse and more persistent and I can’t see myself holding out until my appointment. Pauline will phone for an emergency appointment tomorrow morning.
We have actually seen rain today. I’m surprised to find myself pleased to see it. Enjoyed a day in with the Sunday papers and the pain in my tooth didn’t stop me enjoying Man. United’s humiliation of Harry Redknapp.
5th March, 2012
9.00 am and Pauline is phoning the Dentist for me. They will see me at 3.00 pm today. En route, we call in at Sainsburys and, when we get to the Dentist, the news isn’t good. I have developed an infection by trying to hold out until my booked appointment and will now have to have a course of anti-biotics. There are two possible approaches to the tooth which is at the upper, back right and is already more filling than tooth. I could have extensive and expensive root canal surgery followed by a crown but that would take three months to complete – three one hour appointments for the root and then a two month wait before the crown is fitted. Unfortunately, we leave in four weeks and it couldn’t be fitted in. The other possibility is to have the tooth removed which would make eating on that side difficult without a denture. You really know you are old when it gets to this stage! The other problem with having serious dental work is that I am on Warfarin – the anti clotting drug. The dentist is insisting that I have an INR test and reach 2.0 – 2.5 on the morning of my treatment. The treatment will be on March 15th in the afternoon. We go home to phone the hospital. They are not pleased about it but say turn up in the morning and we will do it. So far so good!
6th March, 2012
Quite a grey day this morning. I am catching up on correspondence. I have done the research on biomass safety, put together a quick report and sent it off to the Management Company with our concerns. I have also sent a copy to the Doctorate student from London University who I had been cooperating with in her research.
Did a bit more Greek shopping – building up our first aid kit with plasters and bandages, insect repellent and bite soother, pain relief tablets. Crazy that you can only buy two packs of Paracetamol at a time from a supermarket in case you want to overdose on it. On that basis, they ought to restrict half the food stuffs they sell. Pharmacies are on strike in Greece at the moment.
7th March, 2012
Remembered to send an e-card to Catherine for her Birthday on Friday. Managed to use an old photo I had.
I was surprised to find an almost instant and lovely reply in my email box which was nice. It is just amazing to have a little sister of 57. In a moment of nostalgia, I went back to the village of our birth – to Repton High Street – virtually by Google Maps and walked up the street from The Square to The Cross, pausing at our village Primary School and thought of Mum and all the time she invested in us. I really do have too much time on my hands.
8th March, 2012
My tooth is giving my terrible trouble. I am in agony and still have a week to wait, officially, until I have it is to be extracted and then only if my INR is acceptable. Pauline, who is good at these things, phoned them this morning and demanded an earlier appointment. I will now have it out on Monday afternoon, thank goodness.
I was embarrassed to watch United lose to Bilbao at home. It was very poor.
9th March, 2012
Woke up to news that Greece had crossed the magic line in its ‘haircut’ or bond swap initiative. At least 85% of creditors had agreed to take a cut and be repaid the rest a long time off. This mean that the Greek government will now receive the rest of the bail-out money. The great worry, as the black lining to this silver cloud is the fact that growth isn’t happening. The vested interests, pharmacists, doctors, lawyers, taxi drivers, train drivers, electricity workers, air traffic controllers are all still agitating against the government’s policies. Unemployment is ridiculously high with youth enemployment approaching 50% and yet retail prices are remaining stubbornly high. The only area that we have found sensitive to the recession is in hotel prices. They are decidedly lower this year and news is that many hotels are closing and/or being sold off.
10th March, 2012
A beautiful, sunny, warm Spring day today. We are registering 16C this afternoon. Not working, we don’t get ‘that Friday feeling’ but Saturday is still a special day. Saturday paper, bacon sandwiches and fooball on television. Pauline is going out shopping with her sister and her niece for underwear. That’s outside my expertise so I’m staying at home. I think they are going to Walton on Thames. Had a text message exchange with Ruth as we watched Bolton beat Queens Park. A really important but badly officiated match. Ruth was in the pub watching with her friends.
This goal snatched from a Sky broadcast shows QPR clearly scoring with the ball well over the line as the goalkeeper clawed it back but it was disallowed:
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