Prescriptions and chemists

Every so often, Keith and I need prescriptions renewed and the usual process is that I ring the surgery (only between 11am and 11.05am of course, otherwise there is no answer), ask for the prescription and it is sent to the local chemist for me to pick up a day later. The surgery and its local chemist are both a few miles away but recently our local branch of Boots, which is nearer and more convenient, has begun offering the collection service so, for the past few occasions, I have used them. There are, however, certain drawbacks:

• Prescriptions can't be collected early as there is no pharmacist until 10am.
• Sometimes, presecriptions can't be picked up at all, if the pharmacist doesn't turn up.
• Prescriptions take a day longer because they are made up in Boots in town and then sent out.
• If they haven't got the medication in stock, they just don't bother.
• If the prescription contains a misprint (eg 1g), they don't bother contacting the surgery to check it out.

So, after experiencing all of the above on different occasions, I decided to call it a day and ask for future presecriptions to be sent to the independent pharmacy near the surgery, as before and today I went to pick up the latest ones. Within the couple of minutes it took me to cast a quick glance over the make up stands and work my way to the counter, the assistant had my package ready and waiting and had only to check my name and address.
"How did you know?" I asked. She nodded to the pharmacist. "She told me."
I have no idea how the pharmacist knows my name as I only ever go there every few weeks to pick up prescriptions and haven't been for a couple of months, but I was most impressed.
Why on earth did I  even consider going to Boots rather than coming here? I thought as I went back to the car park.
The answer, of course, was that Boots is nearer and I can call there when I do the weekly shopping but some things are more important. From now on, it will be the independent pharmacy.

Off in the caravan again

Friday saw us wending our way westwards again, this time to the delightful town of Aberaeron just south of Aberystwyth. The campsite here was smaller than the one we stayed at in Barmouth but had all the facilities we needed plus a pleasant coastal walk of about a mile into the town. Keith and I have been to Aberaeron before on our Sundays out. The last time I remember visiting was on a cold and rainy day, but this weekend  the weather did not disappoint, apart from a couple of showers and some wind at times.

The sea defences have been improved and it seems as if a lot of money has been spent around the town itself. Many of the Georgian houses are beautifully painted in delicate ice-cream colours and not so delicate colours too, but to equally pleasing effect.

Keith was able to zip around comfortably on his bike and Paddy loved being able to charge down the field at the speed of light on the couple of occasions that it was quiet enough to let him and walking up some of the side streets, we could almost have imagined ourselves in a French town.

Even the toilets were newly painted and sparkling! 

I even spotted a lovely little boat in the harbour which would suit me down to the ground...

or maybe not.

Engineers

Got this in my inbox this morning from TK. Enjoy.

Understanding Engineers - Take One
Two engineering students were walking across a university campus when one said, 'Where did you get such a great bike?'
The second engineer replied, 'Well, I was walking along yesterday, minding my own
business, when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike, threw it to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, 'Take what you want.'
The second engineer nodded approvingly and said, 'Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fitted you anyway.'
Understanding Engineers - Take Two
To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.
Understanding Engineers - Take Three
A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, 'What's with those blokes? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!' The doctor chimed in, 'I don't know, but I've never seen such inept golf!' The priest said, 'Here comes the greens keeper. Let's have a word with him.'
He said, 'Hello, George! what's wrong with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?' The greens keeper replied, 'Oh, yes. That's a group of blind fire fighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime.'
The group fell silent for a moment. The priest said, 'That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight.' The doctor said, 'Good idea. I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there's anything he can do for them.' The engineer said, 'Why can't they play at night?'
Understanding Engineers - Take Four
What is the difference between mechanical engineers and civil engineers?
Mechanical engineers build weapons and civil engineers build targets.
Understanding Engineers - Take Five
The graduate with a science degree asks, 'Why does it work?'
The graduate with an engineering degree asks, 'How does it work?'
The graduate with an accounting degree asks, 'How much will it cost?'
The graduate with an arts degree asks, 'Do you want fries with that?'
Understanding Engineers - Take Six
Three engineering students were gathered together discussing the possible designers
of the human body.
One said, 'It was a mechanical engineer. Just look at all the joints.'
Another said, 'No, it was an electrical engineer. The nervous system has many thousands of electrical connections.'
The last one said, 'No, actually it had to have been a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?'
Understanding Engineers - Take Seven
Normal people believe that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Engineers believe that if it ain't broke, it doesn't have enough features yet.

Teeth!

Sunday was memorable for me biting into an apple and losing a chunk of filling from one of my molars. I have done this before and there is little of the tooth left but enough, I hope to hold another filling. I just can't bear the thought of having to actually lose any of my teeth. Since then, my tongue has become gradually more and more sore from the sharp bit of tooth which it catches on whenever I talk.
Luckily, I only had two clients today and none yesterday, of course, as it was a bank holiday but I did have a longish  lunch with a friend and that involved a fair amount of talking.
Tonight, the sore tongue means that I shall be talking as little as possible, which Keith might be quite pleased about (although he would know better than to admit it, of course!) and tomorrow, I am off to the dentist.
What joy!

Keys in another context

Something on television the other night turned our conversation to wife-swapping parties, the kind where everyone throws their car keys into a bowl and then takes pot luck.
 "I suppose you've been to lots of those parties?" I said (joking!)
He looked thoughtful.
"Yes, but the trouble was, I never managed to get a decent car."
So, how do we break it to him that that really isn't the point of the exercise?

A Mother's Story: In memory of Hugh

A Mother's Story: In memory of Hugh

Washing up - or not

Picture the scene: a bowl of washing up water still in the sink. You can tell it's washing up water by the bubbles floating on the top. On the draining board, four inches from the bowl, Keith has placed his dirty plate - not in the bowl, but  four inches away from it on the draining board.
WHY??? I ask.
He answers:
 "Well I wasn't sure it was washing up water, you might have been bleaching the sink" (Not sure how osmosis was supposed to occur between bowl and sink, but I let that pass.)
"Well, the water might have been there for you to wash your socks in."  (Wot???)
It is clearly a man-thing, so if any male reader can explain to me why men find it totally impossible to put dirty dishes in the right place, I would greatly appreciate it.
Mind you, at least he now leaves them on the right side of the kitchen  - progress of a kind.