satguru 
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Me too on the beer actually- I've only been there once at 14 and there was no age limit so spent a week drinking the very good Spanish and Moroccan lager. I had no ill effects and a great time was had by all. We were also meant to go to Portugal but they were closed with cholera. We stopped just the other side of the border instead, as if the germs knew to stop there. We did get away with it and Vigo was very nice, but always like another tick on the travel list if possible.
Reply #1481. Sep 22 10, 7:37 PM
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| Lochalsh
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Well, try 0:40. *sheepish*
Reply #1482. Sep 22 10, 7:37 PM
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| Lochalsh
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Vigo's very nice. I've spent some quality time there, drinking Albariño as well as beer, eating pulpo (octopus), and taking dips in that cold, cold ocean.
I've been to Portugal once, and that was only for lunch--we drove over from Salamanca.
Reply #1483. Sep 22 10, 7:42 PM
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| lesley153
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"... Chris Matthews ... might have used that word..."
Oh dear - why didn't he? Bizarre!
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Cardiac Rehabilitation was a hoot. I think I was probably the second youngest. There were fifteen of us and you might have expected us to be sitting (standing, walking) around looking pathetic. No chance. Not a drip of self-pity in the room. Just a crowd of people eager to get well and stay well, mostly loud and generally outgoing and cheerful.
My blood pressure was OK at the beginning of the session, so they weren't too bothered about it. My pulse was 60. After about an hour and a half of exercise, a variety of exercises for 45 seconds at a time, it went up to 106 but recovered to 64 after a few minutes.
One thing we were asked to do was to raise one arm, drop it behind our backs, put the other hand behind us at waist height, and reach up to clasp fingers behind our backs. As far as I could tell, I was the only patient who could do it, and only one of the cardiac nurses could manage it, so I felt quite smug. It just reinforces what I've been saying for years - if I didn't have all this crap wrong with me, I'd be quite strong and healthy! |
Reply #1484. Sep 23 10, 11:05 AM
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| Professer
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Is good to hear that Lesley hope i soon will be able to say same
Reply #1485. Sep 23 10, 2:00 PM
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| Lochalsh
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...if I didn't have all this crap wrong with me, I'd be quite strong and healthy!
________________
Lesley, I say nearly the same thing about myself. The basic framework is solid (and rather cute ;)), and I simply need to tweak the minor faults in it to be just as peachy keen as I was in the days of old. Wait: These are the days of old, and I'm aging ever more rapidly as I go.
I'm delusional. You're on the mend, though, and I'm glad for it.
Reply #1486. Sep 23 10, 2:25 PM
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Jazmee27
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Good news, Lesley-just what we want!
Reply #1487. Sep 23 10, 2:40 PM
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garrysouders
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Best report ever, old England made a good one when she made you. wish I were there to give a real hug in person. I tried the arm lifting thing and found I am not all that flexible. ((())))
Reply #1488. Sep 27 10, 6:29 AM
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| lesley153
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Thanks you lot - and Garry, you made me blush! You've been talking for years about celebrating your retirement with a trip in this direction. What's keeping you? When do I get a real hug, not an electronic one?
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The least flexible people trying the hand-clasping thing were walking round with the upper hand at the nape of the neck, and the lower hand at waist level. There was one exercise that would have made you smile, and flexibility was not a part of it - standing-up "press-ups" against the wall.
I did like the exercise bike. I've never been on one before, and I've never got the hang of riding a real bike (I might as well be on a Bucking Bronco), and was disappointed that it was for only 45 seconds at a time... but I did get two goes! And thank goodness they didn't put me on the treadmill. :)
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Report from Portugal. Sprog is there with one of the college orchestras, and I think they're doing a concert tonight and coming home on Wednesday. I told him about one of my trips to Portugal (25-odd years ago) when I'd had a sea bass, and the waiter had commented quite passionately on my obvious love for fish, and congratulated me for knowing what to do with a whole fish, and eating it all. I suppose he'd seen tourists who wanted theirs headless, tailless and filleted, rather than cope with bones? or be reminded of what they were eating? Last night, he sent me a photo of what had once been an enormous fish, but was now reduced to head, tail, and a very clean skeleton. Mummy envious and politely drooling.
Later he called the police when they found a well-dressed Portuguese man with a bloody scalp, lying on the pavement, drifting in and out of consciousness. He said the police were efficient, police and ambulance "dealt with him," and they left. Mummy proud - they could just as easily have stepped over him. |
Reply #1489. Sep 27 10, 7:15 AM
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| C30
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Lesley........Cardiac Rehab., fun innit? Preferred the rowing machine myself......used to set off as if I was taking part in the Putney to Mortlake race.!
Then they got us to each take a shot at the net?, whatever it's called, in Basketball.....quickly discovered why Basketball had not been one of my sports in my youth!
Reply #1490. Sep 27 10, 9:03 AM
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| lesley153
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Ray, it was magic! Of course, I've only done one out of eight. The novelty may wear off. And there isn't a rowing machine - what a swizz!
I think I know why basketball wasn't one of your early favourites. In our youth in England, it was played by girls, and it was called netball (cf baseball and rounders). You weren't tempted to play netball, were you? |
Reply #1491. Sep 27 10, 10:00 AM
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| Professer
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Sounds like you had fun Lesley Glad you are most certainly better and well done Jonathon for his actions in portugal.
Reply #1492. Sep 27 10, 11:13 AM
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| lesley153
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Thanks, Gary, I did and I am looking forward to the next session.
And I am delighted that Jonathan doesn't step over people. A few years ago, he and his ex were wandering around central London, when he looked up at a nearby roof, and there's a man standing close to the edge and looking like he's about to jump. J rang 999, identified the building, and told the police there was a jumper on the roof.
As he got closer, he saw a group of men standing in the doorway, apparently oblivious to an imminent suicide attempt above their heads. He pointed up at the jumper, and the men said "Nah, it's one of them":
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Event_horizon_sculpture.jpg
So he rang the police again, and said false alarm - but I think they'd already guessed.
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Please excuse me for a moment while I kick myself.
I've just had an email from my sister-in-law. Nice, friendly. But not very chatty. Not even a subject - just a link. Ooh that's a bit suspicious, even though it is from my SIL, and addressed to a lot of other people I know. Perhaps she found something interesting, and wanted to share it, without bothering to type anything relevant or personal? I know better than to open it, though. She would have put a word in the heading, or a couple of words in the body, and a signature, so no, this isn't her style, and I would be daft to open it. In fact, I never open links like this - they always go straight to the bin. **click**
Oh nuts. It's a Viagra ad. I'll have to tell her, so she can run an anti-worm thingy. What do I tell her? Suppose she doesn't know what Viagra is? She'll insist on definitions and explanations.
Think I'll phone my brother. |
Reply #1493. Sep 27 10, 12:33 PM
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| Professer
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Well if it keeps the peace wit the sil thats the way to go. saw the doc my doc wanted me to see today is slightly encouraging but time will tell, but he specialises in skin ailments so maybe he will do me proud.
Reply #1494. Sep 27 10, 1:28 PM
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| lesley153
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| Perhaps he will indeed. It's about time you saw a specialist! |
Reply #1495. Sep 27 10, 1:33 PM
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| Lochalsh
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Dramatic photo, Lesley. To me, it has 'solitude,' in both acceptances of the word, written all over it.
Here ya go, Bedford Hugster: (((((((((Lesley))))))))
Reply #1496. Sep 27 10, 2:21 PM
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| C30
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Lesley.......they had a whole host of "fun" things for us to do in Cardiac rehab.........cycles, the dreaded treadmill, rowing thingy, a sort of step-up/step down machine........and ended the session, by everyone throwing a basketball at whatever the net thing is called. I have to admit, I never got the ball within a country mile of it!
As for playing netball.....when supposedly doing woodwork at school (which I loathed), much pleasure was derived from gawking out of the window at the girls playing netball - wouldn't have minded joining in! rofl
Back to Cardiac thing........after each session, we all retired to a room where we were given mats and a pillow, and taught relaxation......I had to give up on this as my snores interrupted things.
Well I mean.........I am narcoleptic, get me to relax, and as sure as eggs are little eggs, I will go to sleep....and when I go to sleep.....!
Reply #1497. Sep 27 10, 3:44 PM
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| lesley153
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Lochalsh, I agree that it's dramatic but I'm afraid I only know one definition of solitude. If I send you some hugs, please will you tell me the other one?
Oh and did you know that Gormley is repeating his "Event Horizon" project in New York City? There were fears there, as there were here three years earlier, that the statues would prompt reports of suicide risks to the police, and I'm sure the fears were justified. Jonathan can't have been the only person who didn't know about the statues, and assumed he was looking at a jumper.
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Ray, how did I know that your involvement in netball would be as a spectator? I did, I did, honest! :)
When I were a lass... and we knew our place... boys did woodwork, metalwork, tech drawing. Girls did domestic science, which meant making and embroidering gingham aprons, and using white sugar, white fat and white flour to make essential basic dishes, like sausage rolls and apple crumble. During one such lesson in the DomeSci "lab," one of the boys came in wearing his gym shorts (nice). He'd ripped his trousers, and he knew exactly what to do: take them to The Girls. The Girls would know what to do.
In an ideal world, all children would at least know how to mend a tear or a ripped seam, or sew a button on, even if they drew the line at dressmaking, tailoring or darning. In practice, I wouldn't be surprised if sewing was now forbidden in all British state schools, because sewing needles and scissors, nasty, sharp things, don't satisfy Health and Safety requirements.
Actually, there was one boy in the DomeSci class. I remember a big grin atop stubby nicotine-stained fingers buried in a bowl of cake mixture. Lovely.
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When we got to the sixth form, we were offered a choice of non-academic activities, a term at a time. None of them really appealed to me, except the one that including working with wood and creating things from bits and pieces. My little voice said I can't do that - "it's for boys" - and immediately changed its mind - "says who?" I was the only girl in the first group and the only member who managed to sand wood without burning it. The things we created were put on display for parents' evening.
The second term, more girls than boys applied for the group. So, a small break with tradition, but not an earth-shattering one. The school magazine at the end of the following year still carried a supermarket's adverts for smart "young men" to be management trainees, and a few (smart?) girls to train on the cash registers. Yes, that was the dark ages.
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Mats and pillows? Luxury! We did our relaxation sitting in plastic chairs. Nobody snored, though. :) |
Reply #1498. Sep 27 10, 5:33 PM
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Cymruambyth
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Lesley, your recollections of your 'boys do this/girls do that' school activities made me glad that when I lived in the UK I went to all-girl schools. We were never told that there were things we couldn't do. Our art mistress actually had us welding metal scupltures!
Reply #1499. Sep 28 10, 12:05 PM
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| lesley153
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At school, I thought single-sex schools were silly and unnatural, and I'm glad I'm at a mixed school, because this is like real life. Only recently have I come to appreciate that single-sex schools are so much better for girls's self-confidence, without the presence of boys who do their best to remind girls what they can't do, like maths and sciences: and mixed schools are better for boys, because of the supposedly civilising effect of girls.
I remember one tiny incident in a maths lesson when I was in the sixth form. George Bullen was in his late 70s by then, and he was a wonderful teacher. A bit scary, perhaps, to start with, when you were very young - but strict, humorous, and brilliant. Generally regarded as the cleverest pupil in the year, was a boy called Keith, known as Brainbox. These days he would be called a Boff and beaten up for being too clever.
Mr Bullen asked a question, and put your hands up if you know the answer. He invited Keith to give the first answer, and it wasn't the same as mine, so I kept my hand up. Mr Bullen then asked whey most of the girls had put their hands down when Brainbox had answered. His answer was wrong, and why did most of the girls think he must be right because he's a boy?
It can't have been that tiny an incident to have remained in my memory for all these years. George Bullen - you were wonderful!
I know that the staff of girls' schools are still saying that they are so much better for girls' self-esteem. I wonder if boys are still telling girls that they can't do sciences and maths? |
Reply #1500. Sep 28 10, 3:16 PM
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