Wednesday 11 August 2021

Life as we now know it.

Well folks, it looks as though we have to contemplate life without TV as we know it 'indefinitely' according to the message on line.   The transmitter has been on fire (6 fire engines and smoke pouring out of the top of it according to my informant) and if you look it up on line it just says out of order indefinitely.   Still available on iplayer for those of us on more up-to-date sets.   It is my book next on our Book Group and I have  chosen Hemingway's 'A Farewell to Arms' - I must do a presentation on it on the first Monday in September and as I have now read it twice I shall now watch all eight programmes on him on iplayer again so that I am well-prepared.   It's an ill wind.   The trouble is our October book is In Patagonia (Bruce Chatwin) which I read and absolutely adored years ago - I am desperate to start it again but must get my notes for my 'presentation' ready first.

What fascinates me is that there is no mention of the fire at the transmitter on line, there is not a single word about it in The Times today - it seems to be a non event.   Now that I have worked out, with the help of friends and my son, how to still get any programmes I wish to watch I am happy to wait.

Friends S and T called for a coffee (I managed not to throw it all over the carpet this time) and a chat.  They brought runner beans, tomatoes, a cucumber, a courgette and a patty pan from their garden and I was able to exchange them for some huge cultivated blackberries brought to me this morning by my carer - I shared them, eating my half in a fruit salad at lunch time.

After a lovely day yesterday it begins to look very much like rain here now at teatime.   I don't suppose my garden would say no to a drink. 

I am rather cross with myself.   On leaving hospital last October I was  given a series of exercises to do which were aimed at strengthening the hip I had broken.  I did them for some months until I got strong enough to walk daily with Prisilla, which - as you know - I am still doing.   Yesterday I tried to do the exercises again and found that I could no longer do any of them - my muscles were no longer capable of stretching far enough.   So I have started doing them again every day - so far yesterday and today.   I find them very tiring but already I can feel myself loosening up - obviously I have to do both.   Let's face it winter will soon be here with its slippery paths - I will not always be able to go out with Priscilla so now I must concentrate on getting those muscles strong and supple again.   I will keep you posted on my progress.

Raining gently - big black clouds  - see you all tomorrow.

28 comments:

Rachel Phillips said...

You should sleep well tonight if you're going to watch all 6 episodes of Hemingway again. Best of luck, you will be flawless in your presentation, knock out. You can watch all live stuff on Iplayer so you won't need to miss tv. I just Googled Bilsdale transmitter and there's a lot of stuff about the fire on line.

Rachel Phillips said...

Or even 8 episodes as I see you mention. Good lord. And you read the book twice.

Susan said...

When we had summer holidays at our in laws we never watched TV. It was a welcome break and I think we were all happier for it. On the other hand since my recent illness I think I would have become depressed if I hadn't had all those lovely British dramas to binge watch on Netflix. Good for you with the exercises. I used to teach a senior's exercise class, now I can barely do them but they are worth their weight in gold.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

I've never had a TV though I did watch a lot in the time I was looking after my mother. The news of the fire was on the BBC News website this morning but rather hidden away. Good luck with the Hemingway presentation; I'm sure I did less work than that when it was one of the set books for A-Level English. Good luck with the exercises - not many people have the drive that you seem to have.

gz said...

You do have some good books on your list!

Yes, keep up the exercises! They are a faff, but are worth it. I have a job getting Pirate to do his...he hasn't exactly been impressed by having physio appointments by phone then an email with exercises that I had to print out for him.
We have had a fair bit of rain here, enough to make planting out ok and I haven't had to water!!

Derek Faulkner said...

A second very warm and non-stop sunshine day here again today, life is that much more enjoyable.
If you can't watch TV do your exercises, seems a good swap.

Sue said...

The exercises are very important. You should give yourself a treat or reward after you have done them!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Yes Rachel plenty on line but not a word in the papers. I am indeed watching live TV on line using iplayer -

Debbie said...

I saw the news about the transmitter on the BBC website and thought of you! We don't have a TV and haven't had since about 1995. Too many books to be read..........

Rachel Phillips said...

I expect it will be in your local paper but not national news. They're too busy with declaring the end of the world is nigh to write about your transmitter.

Yellow Shoes said...

I heard news of the transmitter fire on Radio 4 at lunchtime and immediately wondered if you would be affected.
A little exercise is better than none. x

angryparsnip said...

So happy you are getting some rain, when I was visiting around your area many years gogo I loved seeing all the House Gardens.

Heather said...

I have collected a nice assortment of DVDs for when I can't find anything worth watching on television. I hope your service will soon be up and running again.
What a treat those vegs. must have been, especially the runner beans - my favourite.
Good luck with the exercises. I too have some I can no longer do. Perhaps I will take a leaf out of your book and try them once more.

CharlotteP said...

There's not much in the food line to beat an exchange of home grown (or home-made) produce. Home grown runner beans are really the only sort worth eating, commercially grown ones are always allowed to get too big!
Keep up the exercises, they will definitely be a good way to keep your fitness up through the winter.

Tasker Dunham said...

If it was a London transmitter it would be national news.
You might be able to pick up the Belmont or Emley Moor signal. I think it depends how high you are. We can get Belmont even though we're near Emley. It's interesting how the East and West Yorkshire local news programmes differ.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Tasker I am getting what they choose to call Yorkshire News but none of the readers are familiar and it all seems to be about the Sheffield area.

Susan said...

You will be well prepared for your book group presentation. It seems you have a good back-up plan to replace TV. It does seem odd that you are being told the outage will be indefinite. When we have had an outage the community goes wild and refuses to pay for the duration of the outage. This probably motivates the effort to restore operations.

Janie Junebug said...

Hemingway was a mercurial fellow. Good for you for getting back to the exercises.

Love,
Janie

Joanne Noragon said...

Getting back to the stretching work is a good thing.

Red said...

I find that when I'm given exercises it's best to continue with them. As you say it keeps your muscles from getting stiff.

Bonnie said...

What a treat it is to receive a gift of fresh garden vegetables! I'm sorry your television is still out but I'm glad to know you have another method of watching some programs. You are very wise to get back into doing your exercises. I have a hard time keeping up with things like that but when you do it makes a difference!

Cro Magnon said...

I read about the fire in my online paper, and presumed it was why you had no TV. Personally I find having no internet far worse.

Librarian said...

A combination of frequent walks and daily exercises is certainly the best you can do. Because of my eye operations, I was not allowed to do sports for weeks and am now feeling the consequences. Only recently I was able to go running (if you can call it that!) again, and I have started to do the exercises I learnt decades ago for my back again (I have scoliosis). It really makes a difference.

What is a patty pan?

Jules said...

I read about the transmitter yesterday. I wondered if you had been affected. X

Bovey Belle said...

Use it or lose it is only too true I hope that you will soon limber up and feel the difference, especially now that autumn is almost upon us and then inevitably winter of course.

What a pain about the tv transmitter. You would think there ought to be some urgency to replace it!

Debby said...

It seems that we are caught in another cycle of thunderstorms. They come and they go, and then they come again.

It's really nice to be able to have such a productive garden that you are able to share freely. Your friends probably were as glad to give as you were to receive!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Regarding the transmitter - yes I am affected but I can wach the BBC programmes through iplayer and I rarely watch itv so am quite happy.

Thanks for responding everyobe - between you all you keep me upbeat.

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