Papworth at last!!

I have received my summons to Papworth for testing. I get to stay for three days while they test me for all sorts of things. What I am not sure of yet is whether I get an answer at the end of the three days or whether I have to go away and wait again.

Nick has to come with me as part of the process is talking to the transplant coordinators.

Depressing weather!

The balloons did not go up on Saturday. This time there was no wind. Unfortunately getting up at 4.40 did not do my system any good at all so I have done very little this weekend.

My sister came to stay to see the balloons and to visit the pottery shops. She did at least manage to get the china she wanted. She also stopped off to see Worcester's Shrub Hill station as we had heard about the tiles there in a 'News from the Past' event. Unfortunately it is still under wraps and so she couldn't see much.

I went out for a walk round the village tonight as I hadn't been out all day and I needed the fresh air. It is difficult to exercise when you don't have the energy but if you don't exercise, you don't get the energy. I seem to be permenantly tired at the moment which I think is something to do with depression (probably caused by the rotten weather).

Balloons - hopefully

Last weekend we didn't get to see the balloons - the weather was awful! This weekend it is Northampton Fiesta, so we are having another go tomorrow (Saturday). Northampton is only an hour away so it's not too bad if we don't get a liftoff in the morning.

I spent last Sunday in bed but went to work on Monday and Tuesday. This was a mistake as I then spent Wednesday in bed and Thursday having a slow day before going back to work on Friday. I am preaching at Acocks Green next weekend so I must get down to some preparation. My voice is getting worse and I can hardly sing at all now but I still haven't had my follow-up appointment with the speech therapist. I tried to ring today but there was nobody there. I think the NHS is closed for August!!!

Russian Family History

I am now the proud owner of a second-hand laptop computer. This has the advantage that I can sit downstairs in the evening and use the computer and internet whilst my daughter talks to her friends on msn upstairs. For the last few evenings I have been investigating Russian using cyrillic script.

One of my husband's ancestors had a flax mill in Russia prior to the Revolution in 1917 and we have some letters from him in Russia. They are on headed paper but obviously the text is in cyrillic. Using a cyrillic character set and babel fish, we have worked out most of what it says but there are several fonts and some letters look totally different in for example cursive and non-cursive script. I have also located some pictures of Thomas Tong and his wife in the Russian Archive at Leeds Uni so I need to see if I can get copies of those.

This weekend (weather permitting) we are going to Bristol to the Balloon Fiesta. At the moment that looks like Saturday evening for the Sunday morning launch but who knows?

Back from holiday in sunny Yorkshire

Back at work after a weeks holiday in Stump Cross near Halifax. We had some average weather and some good weather, returning home on Tuesday when the rain started.
We visited the Piece Hall in Halifax where farmer/weavers used to come to sell their pieces of cloth. It has had a varied life including a spell as a fruit and veg market but currently houses a lot of small businesses with the open space in the middle being used as a temporary beach for children and an outdoor stage.

The B&B we stayed in was called Field House in Staups Lane and run by Pat and Geoff Horrocks-Taylor with help from their spaniel, Bronte. We had a lot of family history research to do and spent time in Halifax library as well as Leeds library but still managed some walking and sightseeing. It was lovely to be able to leave the windows open at night and only hear the trees and birds.

Daughter Holly had a great time in Poland with her orchestra but came back very tired after a tyre-burst on the trailer delayed them on the journey home. Never mind, she has nothing to do now until RESULTS DAY in late August.

New wildlife

I seem to have acquired a pied wagtail as a temporary garden inhabitant. He (or more likely she) is on the front lawn next to the roundabout, frequently nipping out into the road to collect a dazed insect. Presumably there is a nest near by but I haven't found it yet.

In the hedge at the back of the house we have a song thrush nesting. I haven't seen any young ones yet but the adult is flying backwards and forwards with beakfuls of grubs. I saw a mistle thrush at St Peters the other week so Balsall Common seems to be bucking the national trend in terms of thrush numbers.

Trying to stay positive.

I seem to have had one cold after another for the last few weeks (or perhaps it is just one which won't go away) and as I have said colds are a problem when you are on O2. I'm still not feeling wonderful but I have a holiday next week and we are going to Yorkshire to do some family history. Teenage daughter will be in Poland with her string orchestra so Nick and I will only have ourselves to worry about!

Great news on the transplant front as another of us Lammies has got to the top of the list and had her lung transplant. That's three this year!!

My little flittermouse is either not visiting my garden or he is coming out later after I have given up for the night. There still seem to be plenty of insects and it's definitely not too cold, but it does stay light later.

The swifts have come back for the summer. I'm not at all sure where they nest because we don't have any cliffs (real or pretend) in the village but they have been screaming overhead on sunny days. Usually they would be out this evening but aren't, so perhaps there is an insect shortage.

Just as I typed that last line my flittermouse went zoomimg across the window. It's nearly 10 so he is later.