Back from the Wars!
Well, I'm back home. The holiday was good, although there were a few ups and downs in there. I'll do the down sides first, then bore you to tears with my excited ramblings about stuff. Lots of STUFF!
Down sides:
Some people pissed me off. Nothing new really, and it always happens, but I got over it pretty fast. Too many other things doing.
Injuries. Yup, I lived up to my accident-prone life. I currently am recovering from the following:
While puting an eyelet into very heavy canvas, I managed to miss the eyelet die with the hammer and hit my left index finger instead. I peeled it from halfway between the nail base and the knuckle up the side of the nail to the top of my finger and split the nail at the same time. I sat and looked at it and said "Well that's not very good, is it?" It's healed nicely so far, so it's not been too much of an inconvenience.
I was dog-sitting for my friend. I will at this point say that Timba (Full name Timba Fluffikins Wolfie- Don't ask. She's not my dog) is a German Shepherd/3rd generation Timberwolf cross, but has the most adorable temperament. She is, however, a complete "Wendy" (Thank you Kate for that expression. I love it) and runs for Mummy if anything goes amiss or makes a loud noise. Big dog + scared of loud noises left me with a friction burn blister on my right index finger as she pulled the lead through at a vast rate of knots, and the drag pulled my seat over, digging the arm upright into my thigh and skinning my elbow on the ground. The bruise is approx 6 or 7 inches in diameter, round, and currently purple round the edges with a fetching puss-yellow coloured interior. It hurts, just in case you wanted to laugh more at my misfortune. I sit down and the first thing I say is "Ow".
I also became the main course for any Mosquitoes in the area. I don't usually get bitten, and other people do, but this year, they made up for it with a vengeance. The total count of bites is as follows: 14 bites over my back, 5 on my hands and arms, 7 on my right leg and 23 on my left leg. I ended up going to the chemist and getting antihistamines and bite cream (didn't work) then went to the on-site medics who said to take antihistamines and use bite cream, then when I told them I'd already done all that, gave me steroids. They worked till another few mozzies decided to have a go. When we got back, I went to the local minor injuries unit because my left knee was swollen and painful with two large blisters on it from bites. They were happy that I'd done all the right things, but gave me antibiotics and more steroids to stop the itch and kill off the low-grade infection I picked up from being the Mozzie Main Course. Some of the bites were accompanied by big red welts, bigger than my hand could cover and very hot, but fortunately these seem to be receeding. The blisters were popped in hospital and I just have to keep them clean and dressed now, and I have to remember to take my tablets. For the record, soluable steroids taste disgusting.
The other down bit of the holiday was finding out that one of my friends passed away. He was a lovely man, and my parents' best friend. He will be missed sorely. He was the one that gave me the final push to get on with my christening gowns, and there will be one made in his memory.
I suppose I should get to some of the nice bits really.
Well, what can I say? It was hot. Damn Hot. A little too hot sometimes, but we got around that with plant sprays filled with water and regular damping-down sessions. We all hugged the shade and drank plenty of water, so no dehydration cases on our patch. A lot of laughs were had with the various people we have met over the years who were back again, and we made one or two new ones as well. The evenings were a scream frankly. We all sat around with a few drinks and chatted till we all got tired then one by one drifted off to bed. With the heat though, it was hard to have a lie-in. I was up most mornings by half seven, and on a few occasions at half six. Only twice was I in bed later than about one in the morning and once was because I was having a laugh with the lads on a very quiet but warm evening and the second time was accompanying one of our lads to hospital to get checked out after a nasty fall. He's fine for the record, although a bit stiff.
I did my stints up on the gate, yelling at people to slow down, mind the traffic lights or turn on their headlights after 9pm. We also chatted and laughed with some of the people stopped at the lights, or others who wandered through on their way to and fro. The best laugh was Floozy, a big Diamond T (I think... don't beat me if I got it wrong) towing a huge great gun. The guys who brought her were brilliant, and so much fun. Top blokes.
The off-road course was a bit quiet with not many punters out playing. That was probably more to do with the heat than anything else, as it was absolutely scorchio. The quietness was ablessing in disguise at one point though, because the company that run tank tides round the course managed to wedge their 432 (Big tracked APC) in a hole. Our boys did their best, but in the end, we had the REME to give us a hand getting the 432 out. It eventually got towed off the course about 5 hours after it went in the hole, filled with water, threw a track off inwards and got covered in mud. I'm glad I'm not the one fixing it!
I did loads of cooking, which was fun. We abandoned breakfast in favour of brunch and had a regular guest in our mate Tony, who has loads of stories from when he was younger and frequenting the local jazz clubs. Dinner was always late because of the heat, and the regular staple of custard was on the menu more than once for pudding, although mars bars and rice pudding made an appearance on one occasion.
Anyway, there's a storm brewing, and it sounds like a biggie, so I shall continue tomorrow just in case...
Down sides:
Some people pissed me off. Nothing new really, and it always happens, but I got over it pretty fast. Too many other things doing.
Injuries. Yup, I lived up to my accident-prone life. I currently am recovering from the following:
While puting an eyelet into very heavy canvas, I managed to miss the eyelet die with the hammer and hit my left index finger instead. I peeled it from halfway between the nail base and the knuckle up the side of the nail to the top of my finger and split the nail at the same time. I sat and looked at it and said "Well that's not very good, is it?" It's healed nicely so far, so it's not been too much of an inconvenience.
I was dog-sitting for my friend. I will at this point say that Timba (Full name Timba Fluffikins Wolfie- Don't ask. She's not my dog) is a German Shepherd/3rd generation Timberwolf cross, but has the most adorable temperament. She is, however, a complete "Wendy" (Thank you Kate for that expression. I love it) and runs for Mummy if anything goes amiss or makes a loud noise. Big dog + scared of loud noises left me with a friction burn blister on my right index finger as she pulled the lead through at a vast rate of knots, and the drag pulled my seat over, digging the arm upright into my thigh and skinning my elbow on the ground. The bruise is approx 6 or 7 inches in diameter, round, and currently purple round the edges with a fetching puss-yellow coloured interior. It hurts, just in case you wanted to laugh more at my misfortune. I sit down and the first thing I say is "Ow".
I also became the main course for any Mosquitoes in the area. I don't usually get bitten, and other people do, but this year, they made up for it with a vengeance. The total count of bites is as follows: 14 bites over my back, 5 on my hands and arms, 7 on my right leg and 23 on my left leg. I ended up going to the chemist and getting antihistamines and bite cream (didn't work) then went to the on-site medics who said to take antihistamines and use bite cream, then when I told them I'd already done all that, gave me steroids. They worked till another few mozzies decided to have a go. When we got back, I went to the local minor injuries unit because my left knee was swollen and painful with two large blisters on it from bites. They were happy that I'd done all the right things, but gave me antibiotics and more steroids to stop the itch and kill off the low-grade infection I picked up from being the Mozzie Main Course. Some of the bites were accompanied by big red welts, bigger than my hand could cover and very hot, but fortunately these seem to be receeding. The blisters were popped in hospital and I just have to keep them clean and dressed now, and I have to remember to take my tablets. For the record, soluable steroids taste disgusting.
The other down bit of the holiday was finding out that one of my friends passed away. He was a lovely man, and my parents' best friend. He will be missed sorely. He was the one that gave me the final push to get on with my christening gowns, and there will be one made in his memory.
I suppose I should get to some of the nice bits really.
Well, what can I say? It was hot. Damn Hot. A little too hot sometimes, but we got around that with plant sprays filled with water and regular damping-down sessions. We all hugged the shade and drank plenty of water, so no dehydration cases on our patch. A lot of laughs were had with the various people we have met over the years who were back again, and we made one or two new ones as well. The evenings were a scream frankly. We all sat around with a few drinks and chatted till we all got tired then one by one drifted off to bed. With the heat though, it was hard to have a lie-in. I was up most mornings by half seven, and on a few occasions at half six. Only twice was I in bed later than about one in the morning and once was because I was having a laugh with the lads on a very quiet but warm evening and the second time was accompanying one of our lads to hospital to get checked out after a nasty fall. He's fine for the record, although a bit stiff.
I did my stints up on the gate, yelling at people to slow down, mind the traffic lights or turn on their headlights after 9pm. We also chatted and laughed with some of the people stopped at the lights, or others who wandered through on their way to and fro. The best laugh was Floozy, a big Diamond T (I think... don't beat me if I got it wrong) towing a huge great gun. The guys who brought her were brilliant, and so much fun. Top blokes.
The off-road course was a bit quiet with not many punters out playing. That was probably more to do with the heat than anything else, as it was absolutely scorchio. The quietness was ablessing in disguise at one point though, because the company that run tank tides round the course managed to wedge their 432 (Big tracked APC) in a hole. Our boys did their best, but in the end, we had the REME to give us a hand getting the 432 out. It eventually got towed off the course about 5 hours after it went in the hole, filled with water, threw a track off inwards and got covered in mud. I'm glad I'm not the one fixing it!
I did loads of cooking, which was fun. We abandoned breakfast in favour of brunch and had a regular guest in our mate Tony, who has loads of stories from when he was younger and frequenting the local jazz clubs. Dinner was always late because of the heat, and the regular staple of custard was on the menu more than once for pudding, although mars bars and rice pudding made an appearance on one occasion.
Anyway, there's a storm brewing, and it sounds like a biggie, so I shall continue tomorrow just in case...
posted by Me at 1:05 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home