Eyes Right!

      This week has been almost normal so far -  and it's only Wednesday. On Monday I was  summoned to the Brighton Eye Hospital for a check on my right eye which is afflicted with AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration). I had been due for a check up in February just as we were beginning to be really aware of the Corona Virus, so my appointment had been postponed. Anyway I had not been back and it was long overdue. I have to admit to being very nervous, not only because the eyes have been a bit blurry, but also because I worried about the condition getting worse. Luckily
though the opinion was that there had been some improvement after the last course of treatment, and they recommended three more injections in the eye over a three month period. All the eye tests, scans and examinations were done without fuss and I have to say that the doctors and nurses were all wonderful: very efficient, kind, thoughtful and, without exception, from the BAME community. It was a sobering experience which made we realise just how much we owe to these people who work for our NHS, which is (at the moment) free and without equal. I made sure to thank each  and every one who treated me and left feeling rather blessed. I  just hope our Government will reward them properly in the future - it's all very well clapping them, but a decent pay rise is long overdue.
      My little garden is crying out for some rain. The roses are all in bloom and looking lovely, but everything is desperately dry. I keep on watering, but they need some proper rain. I'm trying to grow a few edibles, Climbing beans and nasturtiums are climbing well, but the spinach seeds just disappeared  and my strawberry plants are all leaf  and no flower. So far it's a B minus I'm afraid.
      Big Grandson is staying with me for a few days and we are looking forward to watching a bit of football this evening. We are having spaghetti Bolognese and strawberries and ice cream for supper, and will no doubt be glued to the TV. Manchester United are playing and I guess young Marcus Rashford will get a special cheer because of his successful venture into politics in getting the dreadful Boris to agree to feed hungry schoolchildren in the Summer Holidays. Good for him! He grew up with a single-parent Mum and was one of five children, so he knows what he is talking about.
      What a lovely young man!

Another day, another dinner...

      In this time of Corona Virus, meals are becoming all-important aren't they? When  I speak to friends, which I do every day to save my sanity, we always discuss what we might be having for supper and compare notes. The lucky ones are those who are growing their own vegetables, like my Aristocratic BF who has an enormous garden (and two chaps to help) and who grows just about every vegetable: potatoes, beans, tomatoes, kale, broad beans, lettuce, radishes and even asparagus! She is also growing strawberries (wild and cultivated) and raspberries. So her cup, or plate, is overflowing. I must admit I'm pretty envious, especially about the asparagus and the raspberries. However, I am re-doing my little front garden and putting some edible treats in pots, where I hope they will thrive in the sun:  I am sewing spinach seeds (the everlasting variety) and nasturtiums because you can eat the leaves, flowers and the seeds (and they are lovely to look at too). I also have a couple of green bean seedlings which I hope will flourish in pots and I  have two wild strawberry plants which simply appeared in the garden. I'm also taking cuttings of Sage and Rosemary to go with my self-seeded Chives and the aforementioned Aristocratic BF has promised to send me a root of mint too. As I am inexplicably off vegetables in general, those should keep me going. I can still manage Spinach and Carrots but the thought of Broccoli or Cabbage or Kale makes me feel physically sick! Weird I know, but there it is.
      My most successful meals so far have been chicken breast wrapped in bacon (cooked in the oven with a sprinkling of garlic, herbs and wine) and dear little lamb chops treated in much the same way, both with the addition of Aunt Bessie's Roast Potatoes! These last were a gift from my nextdoor neighbour, courtesy of the Co-op who were giving them away one day last week. I had never tried them before, but I have to tell you that they are amazing. When I think of all the years I have spent peeling, par-boiling, shaking them in flour to fluff them up and then popping them in with the roast,
I do wonder. Aunt Bessie's are just popped into a hot oven for half an hour and come out perfectly cooked. Sorry if this is beginning to sound like an advertisement,  but they are truly sublime
       Heigh-ho! I'm obviously another victim of lock-down deprivation, but I think I'm staying sane. Only time will tell :))