What a palaver…my credit card has been taken over by another bank and I rarely use it, just for any emergencies. I received a reminder to use it or lose it couple of months ago so I made a small model purchase of paints and glue. Today I received the bill and it has taken me half an hour to register and pay it. I have a list of passwords, PIN codes, etc…as long as my arm. No wonder the elderly can become confused by it all.

I promised some stories from my nursing past and some are memorable but many are quite sad or indicative of the poor state of affairs in MH.

I worked many years ago with a patient who believed he was in contact with aliens, so much so that he was writing a book about the interface between aliens and the world’s religions. To be honest, in forty years of MH nursing his was the only case of an individual who spoke about UFO’s and alien contact. A belief in the supernatural or aliens doesn’t indicate mental illness although I do wonder about some of those I encounter in the world of the strange and unusual. This particular chap lost his career, marriage and home because of his beliefs and associated behaviours, sadly often involving the police and other agencies. He often presented as irritable, could be extremely rude and he would refuse to meet with me or other staff at times and he did eventually disengage from community services. On one particular winter afternoon just as it was turning dusk, we met up and went for a walk as he preferred to talk outside away from the listening devices he said was at home (Alexa anyone?). This was before mobile phones and the internet. As we walked along his street he suddenly announced “Street lights switch off when I walk past and I have to be careful. It’s the device they’ve implanted in me”. As we walked past each street lamp each one switched off and it did this along the length of the street on our side only and the same when we turned the corner into another street. All the other lights were on as were various house and shop lights…This happened on only one occasion and to this day I remain flummoxed by the incident.

I worked briefly on an inner city adult acute admissions ward, one that was known for violent incidents and a rapid turnover of staff and I was there as an agency staff nurse. Several incidents come to mind but I’ll tell the tale of an extremely dense doctor and I learnt a salutary lesson from it. A patient from the travelling community received a visit from his extended family who had arrived after a long journey from Ireland to see him. They had requested taking him out for a meal and it was agreed that he could go out with an escort. I was on duty the following day when I was asked to provide the escort and I refused but my refusal was over ridden by the duty doctor. Despite my explanations that the family’s intended restaurant was the local pub, that the patient didn’t like me and that there might be difficulties getting him back to the ward, my objections fell on stony ground and the trip went ahead. After two hours of drunken abuse and threats from this chap and his refusal to return to the ward, I returned and called the charge nurse and duty doctor to discuss this. I also called the on-call Consultant and on-call manager. A full scale heated debate ensued with recriminations flying hither and thither but it was eventually agreed that the duty doctor was wrong to ignore staff concerns and insist on the trip especially in light of my documenting our discussion prior to leaving the ward with the patient and my objections to it. The patient…well he returned at midnight rather the worse for drink and slept off the family visit. He was discharged the following Monday as the Consultant agreed with the nursing staff that he did not require hospital admission as there appeared to be very little wrong with him! My salutary lesson, always document any concerns and to stick to my guns and refuse to engage with silly directives. 

That same ward saw a food riot one Saturday evening when what I can only describe as ‘slop’ was served for tea. Mixed veg curry made with mixed veg and a few handfuls of curry powder thrown in. We left the patients to the food riot and after fifteen minutes we suggested they clean it up and we will buy pizzas in. Same was agreed and we paid for a dozen pizzas which we all shared out. No blame attached to the patients as it was awful food and steps were taken to improve the menu and the choice of foods. This was nearly forty years ago and many in-patient units now encourage patients to buy, prepare and cook meals as part of promoting independence and avoiding institutionalisation. That MH unit closed many years ago and it was near a well known bridge known locally as suicide bridge, not the best placement. It was the unit I worked a night shift on and returning home the next morning a car reversed around the corner and ran into me. I was so tired after a busy night I said I was alright and continued to walk home which handily was only fifteen minutes walk away. I woke up after several hours sleep covered in bruises and struggled to walk so an enforced week off work but luckily no lasting damage!

I didn’t work on that unit after that incident as I secured a few weeks working in the Priory in one of their private units which really was an eye opener when comparing and contrasting with the NHS equivalent. That’s another story and an amusing one which I shall save for next time. Just relating the above memories has really opened up the floodgates and more memories, long buried and forgotten are coming back.

TTFN.

 A stressful start to a Friday as an emergency visit to the vets with Sherlock who was dehydrated and shut down for the last 24 hours. We feared the worst until I tried to get him into the cat carrier and I now have the scars to show for it. The vet checked him out and pressed his bladder and Sherlock passed a small amount. But even the vet was shocked by the amount of urine Sherlock then copiously deposited all over the examining table, floor, me and the vet! It turns out Sherlock has an upper respiratory tract infection so the options were the expensive £1000 plus stay in, bloods, x-rays, etc…or an anti-biotic jab now, anti-biotic tablets for the next two weeks and home immediately. The latter agreed as it was £900 cheaper and I  really wanted him back home and stress free. He goes back in two weeks as he also has arthritis in one of his legs and, as I suspected, possible thyroid issues as he has lost weight but until recently he had an enormous appetite. Poor old fella, he’s curled up in a cardboard box now and ignoring me for putting him through trauma. The cat box hadn’t closed properly and he nearly escaped in the car park so my stress levels were also raised! He is also grounded for a few days to ensure he rests, drinks plenty of fluids and we can monitor his progress. 

The two photos show progress on the two current builds. The Beaufort isn’t the worst kit I have built but it’s not far off it. I have used CA glue, sprue goo, Mr Surfacer and plasticard inserts to fill the gaps plus a clear part trimmed from another kit to fit the front screen. It still looks a mess but it has finally reached the point where I can consider airbrushing it. 

The MB6 was brush painted using Tamiya acrylic paints and Mr Modelling Levelling Thinner, the latter added 40:60 to the paint and it brushes on smoothly like a dream. The weather is slightly cooler now so I can return to airbrushing paints without worrying about it drying out too quickly in the airbrush. 

It is also No.1 sons HGV driving test today after a week of lessons and tests so that has also been stressful.  He will be able to drive the large rigid trucks, not the articulated vehicles but that will come at a future date. I am astonished at the amount of vehicles he has driven in the past five years in various jobs, from large rigids to EV’s, vans and extremely expensive luxury cars when he worked on the RoRo deliveries from Europe. Fingers crossed he passes today but I still believe he will move to Sweden next year once he has this qualification and his Irish (EU) passport. 

This was when I last had interactions with Swedes, 1983 at the top of Masada in Israel. I’ve never been to Sweden so perhaps one day…Back to sorting out the cats as Winnie is missing and her tracker is playing up. 

TTFN.

 

I can add images today…I have no idea why some days I cannot upload photos to the blog and yet, despite  nothing on my part I can add images on other days. Bizarre. That’s a test image of the Valentine tank I built over the past week. A new kit and straight onto the desk notwithstanding the hundred other kits in the stash! A very easy and simple build as is generally the case for Tamiya kits. The standard joke within the modelling community is that you put a tube of glue in the box and shake it, kit built. A ‘shake n bake’ kit.

I still have the 1/72 Encore build of the Bristol Beaufort on the desk and it is slowly coming together. Lots of gaps, missing parts and filling, sanding, repeat required. It will be a slow job but I’ll get there. I started another kit from the stash…

It’s a ‘What if?’ Kit of the Martin Baker M.B.6, an aircraft that never made it beyond the design stage. This kit shows a version of what if the war continued into 1946, usually a subject I avoid because it seems to consist of enthusiasts of strange luftwaffe jet aircraft including a flying saucer. 

My usual approach to wings with no connecting points was adopted; measure, mark, drill holes, cut staples to size and glue in place using CA glue. You can just make out the two staples in the wing prior to fitting. I have left it to set and will then fill the wing root gaps with a mix of CA glue and talcum powder. That sets solid and sands down very well.

There isn’t too much happening here as the heat finally got to me and left me feeling very lethargic and with little appetite. We now have a hosepipe ban…because the UK doesn’t have a wet climate! What we do have is companies that run public services, charge their customers a lot of money, pay their shareholders large dividends and invest sweet Fanny Adams in the infrastructure required for the 21st century. It’s too hot to rant so I will leave it there as UN duties with Mindy and Winnie are calling me. I hope you are all keeping well and hydrated.

TTFN.

 So much for considering my next build as immediately after the last post I picked this kit out, read through the instructions and before you know it, I had started a new build! A 1/72 Bristol Beaufort by Encore models, a 1993 kit from an old Frog mould from the seventies. Lots of gaps, ill fitting parts, a missing prop very basic with alien aircrew. They don’t look like human figures at all.

This was the progress this morning with the main clear parts masked off for painting, the engines built up and painted plus new props from the spares box. A lot of sprue goo used as filler and the extra flash on the kit parts was used to fill gaps. Huge gaps around the clear parts requiring filler and I will use Mr Surfacer to smooth out the lumps and bumps. A very troublesome build and for me a thoroughly enjoyable challenge.

I have an Airfix kit of the Mk.1 Bristol Beaufort, a more recent kit with more detail and it’s like comparing a Ferrari to a Reliant Robin. But the Encore kit is of its time, made in Russia for an American company and based on old worn moulds.

Apart from modelling we spent the afternoon out buying a new mobile for Sue as her old one had died. I was gobsmacked at the price of mobiles and especially iPhones. We found a decent mobile at a reasonable price but I am still astonished that people will pay over a thousand quid for a phone. Crazy! But buying the phone happened at a fortuitous time as I received an unexpected tax rebate yesterday. I was expecting some money back but it turned out to be more than I expected. A very welcome bit of news. I am trawling through a few stories from my previous life and No.1 son helped today after he asked me about some of the places I had worked at and about some of my experiences. I need to jot them down and work on them as the last three years I haven’t really given any thought to them at all. I learnt a new phrase this week from a video about retirement: “La dolce far niente.” I thought it was apt and it translates as “The sweetness of doing nothing”. An interesting video and there are loads of similar videos out there about the transition from working to retirement. My take on it all…it’s whatever you want to make it although good health, money and relationships will dictate what you can and can’t do. I’m glad I found modelling and I have always enjoyed reading and music so that keeps me occupied and happy. 

TTFN. 

 Phew! What a scorcher this past week has been although slightly cooler today but the Met office is predicting a heatwave next week and talking about late 30’s C, possibly 40°C plus. We have the fans ready, ices in the freezer and we will continue to do what we can to keep the house cool. However, today the back door is shut and Winnie is again grounded for today. She again disappeared yesterday and she was eventually found by No.1 son cowering amongst the dumped rubbish pile in the alleyway. Piecing together the days events and the finger of suspicion points to Mindy chasing her away and terrorising her. Poor little thing, she is frightened by Mindy who is in the dog house. UN peacekeeping rules back in action!

Regarding the hot weather modelling has taken a back seat whilst I enjoy the garden and sunshine.The above three models of the Armoured Recovery Vehicle, the EBR-11 French armoured car and the Jagdpanther have been weathered and clear coated. The Jagdpanther is complete and the other two require some basic decals as I am keeping them simple.

The Japanese ‘Nate’ aircraft is finished and the 1/48 Sopwith Dolphin is slowly having the rigging attached which is a slow job requiring a lot of intense attention. The hot weather has an impact on painting and I do wonder how modellers in the hotter states in the USA and Australia cope, possibly air con is a big help. I am finishing up these models before starting a new build and as always, I am unsure what to do next. I want to build one of the bigger kits but there’s no hurry as the hot weather is too good to waste. 

I also took to thinking about my career as it is nearly three years since I retired and occasionally memories drift smoke like through my consciousness, particularly when I am sat out in the garden enjoying the birdsong and watching the cats at play. Some pleasant BBQ smoke memories and others pungent  burning house memories. It got me thinking that perhaps I have reached the point where I can write some of them down, suitably anonymised as to person, place and time. I will sketch a few out over the next few weeks and apply keyboard to virtual paper. We shall see how it goes.

Otherwise, time to enjoy an hour or so in the garden before the full sun hits the back garden.

TTFN.

 

We have some Snapdragons in the wildflower patch and we have no idea where they came from. This picture was taken a week ago and they have grown but today it has rained…a lot. As it has for the past week and it’s been colder than usual as well. Not that we’d have got much use out of the garden with a variety of different building jobs going on around us plus the added beat of the pile drivers on the new housing estate. I worked out this morning that we have had four plus years of building works going on in the locality, no wonder the road is cracking up and the noise and dust throughout that time. But when it stops, it is lovely and quiet around here, surprising for the centre of town.

Two out of three current builds as work in progress with a 1/35 scale Jagdpanther shown above and a 1/48 Sopwith Dolphin below.This tank destroyer went together fairly easily and fairly quickly and now requires a clear coat, decals, a further mart clear coat and then final weathering.

I have dropped the biplane twice and this is it after repairs, a mess quite frankly and the rigging is proving troublesome. I knew it would be a difficult kit as it’s a short run low pressure moulding from a small manufacturer with white metal parts requiring CA glue. With kits like this requiring rigging I tend to do 15 - 20 minutes and then leave well alone until the following day or, in this case, the following week! The Sherman armoured recovery vehicle requires research as the kit is not a true rendition of the bewildering variety of ARV’s based on this tank. Hopefully I can have these builds completed in the next week or two and I can then decide on a large build for the next three months, in between garden time if the weather permits.

I have started reading my kindle again but Amazon have stopped supporting older kindles so any books I downloaded but not opened are now unavailable unless I buy a new kindle. I won’t as I tend to read real books and the kindle was useful for when I went away or breaks at work. I have several opened but unread books on it and I have a few that I like to reread. Factual or reference books, especially history or modelling tend to be real books as they are easier with regard to photos, maps and diagrams. As you can see, I discovered why I couldn’t download photos and it was an issue with the Mac which I now rarely use, preferring the ease and accessibility of the iPad. Now sorted and I am happy to return to blogging.

Not much to say otherwise as the quiet life of retirement is slow but wonderful. Nearly three years now and apart from mobility issues, I must say I enjoy being in a cul de sac of life away from the rat race.

TTFN.

Hooray! I can log in and post pictures again. 

Sadly I am full of a horrible cold which has laid me out for the past few days. I had started work on some  kits from the stash, a Sherman M 32 armoured recovery vehicle and a M3G3 ‘Nell’ aircraft. I then discovered I needed string and some chains for the ARV and whilst waiting for the post I made a start on another kit.

 The Sopwith Dolphin in 1/48 scale, a kit requiring a lot of trimming, sanding and filling as an old short run kit. I have built a Sopwith Dolphin before but in 1/72 scale. All in all I have been keeping busy with modelling during these difficult times and the cold and wet weather of the past couple of weeks. Back to the Olbas oil and tissues.

TTFN.