Tuesday 10 February 2015

Hospital visits.

This morning was spent in a Bistro drinking  coffee with friend,W, amd then after a quick 'meal deal' Tesco lunch it was off to hospital for two routine visits.

The first of these was to the Hearing Clinic, which is held every Tuesday afternoon in our local Cottage Hospital in Richmond (our nearest town).    No appointment is necessary and the clinic is from 1.30 to 3.30pm.   The trouble is that every one tries to get there early and the cards with a number on are not put out until 1pm.   Luckily I got card three so only had to be there until around 2.15pm (arrived at 1.45 to be in good time.)  The other job I had to do there was to go to the X Ray Department and make an appointment to have my knee X Rayed to see if I have reached 'Knee replacement' time yet.   Here I was very impressed because the technician said there was no need to make an appointment, he would do the X Ray there and then, which he did.

Waiting meant casual reading and, as usual, I took one of my Ronald Blythe books.   He is an old and treasured favourite and I have most of his books.   They mostly consist of pieces which have been published weekly in the Church Times.   I am not in the slightest bit religious but I do enjoy these snippets of information, some of them about the Bible, some about the happenings in the countryside, or the people of his area (he lives around the area where Benjamin Britten lived), and the ones I enjoy best - the ones about natural history.

I was reading his snippets for February in 'Borderland' and found a bit on interesting facts about snowdrops, which you may or may not know.  Their Latin name is of course Galanthus - gala=milk and
anthos=flower - the milk white flowers of February.   He says, quite rightly, that once planted they should be allowed to wander at will so that they colonise where they choose to go.   I do agree here - I love the way ours have woven their way in and out of the Scot's pines.   The other thing he says is that in olden days at Candlemas they were called Candlemas Bells and recognised as the flower of purification, but in pagan times they were thought to be unlucky.

It is little facts like this, dotted through his books, which I love so much.

Fog descended here mid afternoon - I felt it was really more heather burning smoke than 'real' fog, but whatever it was it has gone now and it is another clear, starry night, with another bright sunny day forecast for tomorrow.   Every day brings us nearer to Spring.


8 comments:

Mac n' Janet said...

Enjoyed your blog today, as I usually do. I've been sick since we got home from Florida and have had a couple of Dr visits.

angryparsnip said...

What a wonderful book. What you commented about was so very interesting. Love finding out little facts like this.

cheers, parsnip

Heather said...

I wonder why pagans thought that snowdrops were unlucky. I love them and look forward to them every year. Ours are spreading well and I can now dig up small clumps to give away without causing any obvious gaps.
I'm sure it has been a bit milder today than of late, but I have felt cold. An early night perhaps.

Philip said...

I've always thought that there is nothing as white as a snowdrop. They gladden the heart.

Frugal in Derbyshire said...

Our snowdrops are only just peeking through, whereas a friend, who lives close, has some in full flower. A dull grey day here and quite chilly.

Cloudia said...

What a lovely Day Book entry.
Fine reading




ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
<3

Terra said...

Your waiting room reading sounds charming. I do love snowdrops.

Frances said...

Did you take the snowdrop poem to your poetry group? We were at a wedding in Richmond a few years ago….what a beautiful little town it is, though rather hilly!! We stayed in a guest house down by the river, so we had a lot of climbing to do.