https://wessexcare.com/news/105-keep-elderly-warm-in-winter#:~:text=Elderly%20people%20should%20change%20out,some%20extra%20heat%20if%20necessary.

For venturing outside, ensure that your relative wraps up warm in gloves, a scarf and hat. Elderly people should change out of damp or wet clothes immediately to prevent extreme coldness or even hypothermia.

Socks and slippers are essential for keeping feet warm, and a blanket over the legs can be used for some extra heat if necessary. If your relative suffers with coldness, electric blankets and hot water bottles can be a great investment to provide some additional warmth at night.

Mary was going out for a meal with some former colleagues who had taught underfunctioning analysis and triquacking theory.She stood in her bedroom, surrounded by piles of clothes, wondering how hot the restaurant might be and how cold and frosty the air in the road by the bus stop.
I think I’ll phone Pete she told herself.
Pete answered on the first ring.After so many years, she still recognised his semi- South African accent and pleasing,humorous voice
Hello,it’s Mary Dear-Brown here, she said shyly.
Hello Mary Dear-Brown, he responded instantly
Why, he sounds like the Amazon website, she thought to herself.That figures!
Hello Pete, I was wondering if you could give me a lift to the restaurant tonight
You don’t need a lift, it’s on the ground floor, he informed her quietly and sensitively
I mean in your car.I can’t drive now.
Why not? he said testily.
Actually, I never took the Test because I always drove very fast
Why didn’t you use the brakes? he teased her.I reckon you might have passed.
I stopped the car and vowed never to drive again but now it is a problem with Stan dead.I can get a cab if you are too busy
Well, what time do you suggest we meet? Shall I come earlier?
Why does he say that,she pondered
No, it will take ages to put all my clothes away.I can’t make up my mind what to wear.
Why not just copy Hilary Clinton? he asked
I must not buy any more clothes.Shall I dress smartly? Or smart casual or unsmart?
I know, said Pete.Shut your eyes and pick up 3 things off the bed and then wear those.
Mary closed her eyes.When she opened them she had a pair of Arran legwarmers, a green silk shirt and a black pleated Windsmoor initiation silk skirt.
I suppose if I wear my new long camel coat, the leg warmers will be hidden, she whispered.She took a bottle of dandruff shampoo and washed her light gold locks and then waxed her bikini line by mistake.
My goodness, why and how did I ever think of doing that, she pondered ruefully?And in the winter who wears a bikini?
Dressed in her almost pure silk outfit, the legwarmers hidden under thigh high red leather boots, she created a buzz in the restaurant as she climbed in through the window followed by Pete in his yellow wool suit,shirt and green tie.
Why did you come in via the window, asked Tom McDonne, the former head of the maths department.
We didn’t see any doors, she cried gaily.And Mossad wants more women agents so I thought MI5 might like to see me.
Who is this Mossad, Tom asked angrily?
It’s the Israeli intelligence service.You must have heard of them.
But they don’t want old people! Tom told her ignorantly
That’s why we came through the window, so if any spies are here they will see how agile I am still.And I still know what uncountable infinity is.Aleph, aleph.Null.
Tom led them to a long table.
Wow, it’s a log table Mary screamed.I’ve not seen one for years.
Well, with computers and such like we don’t really need them anymore, Tom revealed.
Are they real logs, she queried.
No, they are vinyl, the waiter admitted furtively.Easier to wash.
Mother never washed my log tables, Mary told the men impudently.
Let’s order some food, Tom said, as they all sat down
I fancy the Polish Hussar Roast, he admitted.
What has a Polish Hussar ever done to you, Mary asked?
Nothing yet but I live in hope
And so do all of

All this year erratic winds have blown
Cold in winter,humid in the spring
Whirling human minds like little stones

Ethics,truth,humility disowned
In their place what will the demons bring?
In this era, winds erratic blow

All the owls and other birds have flown
They sense the truth, there is no lingering
As whirl our human minds like pebblestone

In the blackbirds garden, they say :go
As they flutter on their open wings
Even in that place, winds strange do blow

Under masks of sweetness, poison shows
Bombs are nuclear, once mere arrows stung
As whirl our ancient minds, as mothers moan

On the cross, the Christ in grief still hangs
Underneath, the proud snake shows its fangs
All this year the monstrous winds have blown
Stirring up our patterns,seeking form

Shedding tears there’s nothing much to say

Everybody dies in their own way

While we’re healthy we can bawl and shout

Serious illness makes us feel afraid

Conscious of the messes we have made

Remember birthdays and the bag of cards

When they’ve died it feels so cruel,so hard.

We like to think we’ve got a chance for Grace

We can’t know the time of death or place

Our house is up  for sale it looks so small.

The vestibule has gone there is a hall

I can’t believe the other people dwell

In a place that we lived in so well

We had no inside toilet we felt cold

Menstruation bleeding we were bold

So we look at photographs with care

But still we see no toilet anywhere

The one outside has disappeared from view

Whatever do these people have to do?

Excretion is a nuisance for us all

But go on sweetheart let your sad tears fall

For rears are clean and will not do us harm

Uric acid rarely has much charm

Do you need to save money? You need to look at subscription that you’ve got

The Radio Times costs £4.50 to buy in the shop

I can’t read it anymore even with a torch

Cancelling  that will save you about 250 pounds a year

Or if you pay my subscription you will save about —£100

Why have I kept on getting it question mark because to me a home without the radio Times just not seem like a home because I’ve read it since I was a child but really it’s no pleasure now

In any case it’s easier for me to read what is on the radio just in the BBC listings online

I don’t find the radio Times easy to read online and the radio programs are only a very small part of it

I don’t waste time watching the television very much. I don’t know why companies waste money making more programs about people like Prince Andrew. I don’t want to think about him.

So ASDA fuel we’re going up 10% in October you may like to look at these savings

Do you like Weetabix? Well ASDA are selling a 48 pack for approximal the same price as

waitroses 24 pack

But Waitrose sells their own brand of corn flakes very cheaply just 1.20 for a large pac

https://www.bigissue.com/opinion/uk-riots-poverty-social-unrest/

My hands remember my small cat

My sensory imagination grows stronger

I feel the fragile beauty of her facial bones

I touch her ears gently with my fingers

I gently feel her spine

She turns over and gives a little moan

But does not open her eyes

Trust.

Oh little cat so warm so loving

I miss your presence

In these random acts of memory you come back

To my senses more alive than when you were living

And then I have to move and you leave me again

https://wp.me/papJrZ-69

https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jul/20/flow-state-science-creativity-psychology-focus?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2019/mar/21/best-windows-laptop-screen-size-poor-eyesight?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Blind sight scattered my wits Like whitened bones Across the deserts of my mind. I descended into darkness. Love shrank into the tame cat By the fire,unacknowledged hate Grew to fill the room. I stared too much. A full stop grew gigantic Crowded out All the words in the sentence I saw nothing but this dot Now a gigantic black hole Into which I was dragged. An energy coming from within my own head Sucked me into the black hole. That place was the wrong sort of darkness. Within that full stop, Love Fundamental became invisible. Disappeared into the dark. I dragged my eyes away And saw the moon appear,so eerie, It shone,grey silver. If I had opened my eyes wider I would not now lament What I destroyed in the wormhole Of the black dot that drew my eye Into a tunnel of darkness It blinded me to the light Did not let me read the sentences Beside the full stop. An error of focus left hate Unacknowledged,unmitigated, unredeemed, Kept from love or goodness Afraid to spoil my love with hate, The fear of hate became That which spoiled all else else, By freezing Love itself.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/sep/15/all-the-rage-why-anger-drives-the-world-josh-cohen?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

A symbol is a well in which we dig.

To find the holy water we desire.

The light is not apparent at the start

  The  work the heat. the force and then the fire…

We do not have the light to act as guide

Stumbling down the darkness like the mad

And when we stop and stare in our dismay

We do not find  the light for we are sad.

Yet despair itself has merit,makes us pause

The slowing of the mind the heart,the blood

Helps us see the light that  we will praise

Paradoxes, opposites and shades.

Help us learn the world and sing its prayers.

Today I’m mainly thinking about saving money and I’ve already managed to say some  myself by changing my phone tariff.

My living room faces is North northwest and it’s very cold right now

I have got severe osteo arthritis I have also got rheumatoid arthritis so I can’t move about a lot

I hate it when the air changes to autumn coldness It’s essential to wear socks or stockings. When the weather is really cold wool is the best thing.

And you need to wear at least one more layer of clothing. Even when it’s not a problem to pay for heating it just seemed wasteful to have it on in September in some rooms but sometimes that has to happen and if you’re short of money what else can you do?

Sometimes lightweight fine merino wool sweaters are  good

Covering up your neck and throat is very important especially when you go outside in cold weather. If that area of your body gets cold you are more likely to have a heart attack especially if you already have angina.

Inside the house it also helps. Maybe a lightweight scarf for something around your throat makes a big difference

Now many people wear fleece instead of wool

It’s hard to find pure wool sweaters in places that used to sell them very frequently like marks and Spencers.

And the cost is very high

If you are going to visit somebody their house may be very hot so you have to think about these things nowadays

Cardigans or fleece jackets are good. Partly because you can take them off without causing offense to anybody

It’s what women going to the menopause learn that is wearing  fine layer is better than one very thick layer because you can’t take that off easily and you may very well cause some surprise if you’ve got nothing underneath it or if you’re wearing a zebra striped bra which is a little bit too small for you but you like is anyway

That brings us onto underwear. It’s difficult to find woolen underwear but there is thermal underwear which ones you he ave bought it should last for quite a while

But should you waste your money on zebra striped bras or something else leopard skin print knickers question mark well that very much depends on your lifestyle

If you have a partner who is turned on by you wearing that sort of underwear then maybe you should buy it but if not whatever your fantasies are do you actually need to actually wear it in reality rather than just fantasizing about it?

That’s a difficult question to answer.

But it might be more economical just to wear beige or black underwear especially maybe more sensible if you’re likely to have to whip your clothes off with a hot flush or a panic attack.

I once went to college wearing some red corduro trousers and the zip broke while I was giving a lecture on some boring mathematical topic like pascals triangle

And I was wearing white underwear which is not the best sort but my lecture was so interesting that the students’ eyes remain on my face and nobody looks at anything else.

We had some very nice students

If you want to wear zebra striped trousers I would recommend wearing zebra strikes underwear as well or making sure the trousers have elastic waist and not a zip

I’m not sure if you can save money by wearing the zebra striped trousers it depends where you can buy them from. If you have a market that sells them for ten pounds each then that probably is quite cheap although there won’t be very warm but then you could afford to have two pairs of them

This is one of the secrets of warmth.. wearing more than one of the garment

Or it will make more sense to wear some cheap black leggings underneath your trousers.

If you don’t plan to give a lecture on Pascal triangle then I think you will be ok wearing any kind of trousers

Since then I have an aversion to red trousers. And I forgotten what a triangle is not to mention the ellipse and the parabola and the other beautiful geometric forms that we used to study

But my students did very well they were very hard-working kind people

So in other words use your imagination

It’s worth spending money on certain things like wool

Making me our own jumpers is not economical. Wool is very expensive and also unless you like knitting with very fine wool you’re going to produce sweaters which most people find too hot when they have Central Heating. But if you don’t have it knit one for yourself and it will last you for a long time

Knitting is an activity which can bring about peace of mind similar to what you get when you do meditation and you also get a product

I believe it’s caused by the rhythmic movements and the rhythm of the pattern itself for example Shetland layers might be a pattern of horseshoes on the sound and I have done that and I it’s it’s a wonderful thing to do.

So you can combine benefits from knitting meditation and producing something beautiful as long as you are that you or someone else will actually wear it or that you can sell it because all I’m writing about today is saving money reall whether it’s short term or long term

If you have a friend who lives near you you could save a bit of money by having them to lunch once a week and then the following week the reverse because it will save money on heating and also it might so a little bit on cooking

What’s a pity we can’t live on grass and leaves but there we are m

Stan was feeling somewhat glum,nay even despairing,on Monday morning.
Mary had gone to work on her new folding 6 gear bicycle with own basket and an extra basket from Wells-next -the- Sea 1995
[the wicker basket now somewhat grey in hue.]
He was left at home sorting out all his art work and materials as well as doing the baking,cooking and bathing Emile,the delightful yet trying male cat.
Sunk in dark misery,Stan sat in an old uncomfortable chair in the darkest part of the room, while Emile snored on the rug by the bright French windows
.Stan went through all the possible reasons for his state of mind.Was he guiltyabout his flings with his alluring next door neighbour Annie?
Could it be his failure to toilet train Emile? Or his omitting to carry out the penance given by Father Brown after Stan confessed to stealing sweets on the way to Confession in 1956?
The longer Stan brooded the more reasons he found for his depression.
He could hardly get up to make a cup of coffee ..even instant seemed too much trouble.Would he even clean his teeth which somehow he’d failed to do?
The doorbell rang… it was a new cord for his laptop as Emile had been chewing the current one ,and 29 books in a sack from Amazon which his wife must have ordered,as he had no recollection of any such foolish spending.
How would they pay the bill on the credit card? he ruminated.
Later in the day.Annie peered through the window.She tapped on the glass with her well manicured blue finger nails.
Let me in she cried.
I’m too tired for any hanky panky he murmured lovingly as he ran his fingers through her thick red tresses.What is this delightful perfume,beloved,he questioned her.
It’s Poison! she replied.Oh no,sorry it’s Iris and Jasmine Eau de toilette from the Bodyshop.
Despite his lowly sunken state Stan loved this perfume.He sniffed rabidly at her well rounded form
.Well,shall we have some tea,she enquired.
Stan sat there hand on chest.I’ve been feeling a little gloomy,he muttered.She peered at him.
You look terribly pale,Stan.Where’s your angina spray?
I can’t recall,he said.Oh,here it is in my vest.
What a strange place to keep it,she responded.
Mary made pockets for all my vests.at one time you could buy vests with pockets
She’s good at sewing despite being so clever.In fact she loves doing things with her hands.
Annie got the GNT spray out and handed it to him.
Have you got a pain?
Well,yes,now you mention it,I do,he replied verbosely.
Well,in the name of God, use the bloody thing,she whispered endearingly into his left ear.
He opened his mouth,raised his tongue and with his hand resting lightly on his chin he pressed the button with his forefinger.
His head began to throb.
Annie appeared with a cup of Earl Grey tea and a biscuit.
Why,you look a little better.Do you need another dose?
No,I feel much better now.I’ve had it before.
He drank the tea but didn’t eat the biscuit which he threw out later in crumbs for the field mice in the shed.
His spirits began to rise.Why did he always forget that physical ailments can worsen a mood?He still felt a trifle glum but nothing a meringue wouldn’t put right.
OK,what shall I make for Mary’s supper? he enquired.
You sit there in the window and I’ll just make my special spaghetti,Annie replied gaily,as long as I can stay too.
Yes,I’ll open some red wine he said youthfully,and we can have fried apples and bananas for pudding with non fat Greek yoghurt.
What a wise choice she murmured gently into his ear………that will use up some of the newly picked apples,the bananas were from Lidl’s as usual.
Well,Stan you look better.said Mary happily,You’ve been pale all weekend.Was it Annie who cheered you up,not to put too fine a point on it?
Actually it was nitroglycerine,he said roguishly,but Annie made me use it.
But for us women you’d be dead,she replied equably.
But for you delightful creatures I wouldn’t be here at all,he moaned ecstatically.
Now then Stan,control yourself she urged,After all we have a visitor,Annie!
What a hoot,he thought as he twisted spaghetti round his fork in a careless manner splashing tomato sauce all over his new green acrylicjumper.
Thank the Lord for washing machines,Mary said.
I didn’t know Jesus invented them,Annie said with a tone of mild sarcasm but no-one bothered to reply.

As told by Emile to the local paper.
And believed by all of us

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Characters/ClassicalMythology

Artemis

Goddess of young women, of virginity, childbirth (yes, both at the same time), Women’s Mysteries, forests and hills, hunting, and, later, the moon (along with Selene). Essentially a liminal goddess who protected women throughout their lives. The Romans equated her with their goddess Diana.

---

• Action Girl: A talented archer and warrior.
• All Amazons Want Hercules: The only man she may have been interested in, depending on your myth, is the great hunter Orion. Unfortunately, Apollo disapproved of their relationship and tricked Artemis into killing him.
• Amazon Brigade: Had a train of warrior nymphs assisting her in her hunts. They were sworn to virginity and severely punished if they broke their oath.
• Archer Archetype: She emulates Zeus by standing on the peak of a mountain and shooting down arrows on whatever she feels like.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Actaeon, Callisto and Niobe are the most famous victims.
• Does Not Like Men: And that’s putting it mildly. Pretty much the only guys she was pleasant to were Apollo, Orion, and her priest Hypolitus.
  • It’s often subject to Flanderization in modern media. No, she didn’t like men, but looking at her relationship with Orion, Apollo, Zeus, and others, she didn’t dislike them either. Considering how much misogyny was in Classical Mythology, that’s actually rather impressive.
• Half Identical Twin: Her brother Apollo.
• Humanoid Abomination: A surprising example (especially when considering how Olympians are essentially humans with powers), her Ephesian depiction, while humanoid, makes her pretty much Lovecraftian. To the point that some Cthulhu Mythos writers identify such statues as an image of Shub-Niggurath.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Was tricked into sniping Orion from an island while he was in the middle of the ocean.
• The Lad-ette: Commonly portrayed as such in modern media, but the original myths often suggest otherwise.
• Lunacy: She was associated with the moon.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Rough-and-tumble Masculine Girl to her brother’s artsy Feminine Boy.
• Naked First Impression: This happened with Actaeon. It didn’t end well.

• Plague Master: She was also the goddess of disease, plague, and sudden death.
  • More so with her nymphs. In his Hymn to Artemis, poet Callimachus asks himself what nymph obtains Artemis’ love and then proceeds to list her favorites.
• Virgin Power: Was one of the three virgin goddesses, along with Athena and Hestia.
• Western Zodiac: Traditionally associated with Sagittarius, as the archer.

Why not donate to McMillan Cancer Care if you are British?See more photos

http://www.redonline.co.uk/health-self/self/reading-poetry-is-good-for-you

 

“It reduces feelings of isolation and depression

As readers we take comfort in knowing we are not isolated in our struggles. Somebody has felt this way before! If you’re anxious, melancholy or grieving, the poet’s words mean that you no longer have to feel alone, and poetry can give hope for the future and even some excellent advice. Dorothy Parker’s splendid company at any time, but particularly if you’ve just been dumped.

It can boost your mood

Poetry isn’t just for leaning on during hard times. It’s a thrill to read a poem that encapsulates – more elegantly than we ever could – how it feels to be deliriously happy, or perfectly tranquil, or deeply in love. It’s one of the reasons that sharing poetry is so popular at weddings.

It can take you to the country in the heart of the city

A poem becomes an incantation to transport you from the humdrum daily world, an escape hatch from the commute, the queue and the waiting room. Choose verses about dancing daffodils, dappled things or stopping by woods on a snowy evening to provide yourself with a mental gulp of healthy fresh air, a magical five minute trip to the countryside while you pound the pavements.

It can calm you down

When I find I’m really about to lose my temper, counting to ten is good – but reciting a silly poem is better (out loud, it has the added benefit of getting the attention of tantrum-throwing children, but in your head is probably better for the platform when your train is delayed.) The poems from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland are my go-to for these times. It’s impossible to grit your teeth while mentally running through ‘You are old, Father William’s perky stanzas.

It can say what you can’t

Poems can also say something we might find difficult to, if we can’t find the words to comfort the bereaved, or are too bashful to talk about our affection. Candlestick Press (http://www.candlestickpress.co.uk) publish a range of beautiful pamphlets covering all manner of subjects from kindness and tea through friendship to cycling, which can be sent instead of a disposable greetings card and enjoyed over and over again.”

Cracks in the pavement
Look like rivers approaching
an estuary.

Natural beauty,
the shapes and forms wandering,
sanctifies the road.

Cherry trees branches,
A wide canopy of leaves.
Blossom blows away

Sung geometry,
held still and made eternal,
Catches at my throat

The black cat’s run, the birds unfold all day

I sit down here and with my totty pray

Ye cast o’ foolish thoughts, you raped my will

. We’ve each enraged the bureaucratic mill.

Oh frigid purse, I never meant to pay!

The sky ‘s a-spark, the air is warm and shrill

The saturnine demoted knelled their way

With this feathered pounce, my sample quill,

I cite the cheque and date it for next May.

Oh, tit for cat, the tiger’s bed ‘s astray.

Yer life is settled by a harlot’s will

The sky ‘s a shark, the air is sharper still

Artists sensed  the coming ot the war.

If they can’t do this what are they here for?

When defences fail we see with shock

The true state of affairs,no longer blocked

Who will look or listen to bad news?

No one counts the likes nor notes the views.

Long sight is a gift except for whores.

Yet those with short sight see right to the core.

When the bombing starts, words run amok

The speed’s too quick  to measure by a clock.

Politics old crosswords give no clue

The head is missing what’s the foot to do?

Fragmented borders, bodies serve in lieu

There must be separation, old from new

Those who were once holy now are damned

Take the brain out now,thought must be banned

Bodies run like automatic drones.

One by one they fall beneath the stones

In autumn when the leaves burn bright

We used to see the geese in flight

But now the sky is dull and still

The heavy sun sinks without will.

The geese fly out where I can’t see

And so their lives are closed to me

So the city is more bare

Even sparrows disappear

Watching geese gave me much joy

I often stopped to see them fly

I envied them their  spread out wings

The beauty of this made me sing.

But now my mouth is shut and cold

My heart and body grow more old.

The city with its belt of

of green

Is choked by houses small and mean.

Yet in the pavement small weeds grow

To the cracks a life bestow

Sometimes daisies,sometimes grass

There is never total loss

And tbrough the eye within my mind

The image of the geese I find.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2010/04/humor-and-poetry

Extract:

In 1993, I took a left turn one day out of my MFA program and found myself at the National Poetry Slam in San Francisco. There I discovered several poets who were funny for the sake of being funny. Particularly Hal Sirowitz from New York (“don’t stick your arm out the window, mother said” and Matt Cook from Milwaukee (“it was easy to write the Great American Novel, back when there were only five American novels”) Both poets initially delighted me and confounded me: There are no similes, a voice in my head said. What would Tom Lux (my first teacher) say? the voice continued. Despite my resistance, I believe those poets gave me a kind of permission to explore humor a little more vigorously in my second book, The Forgiveness Parade (1998), for “I thought the word loin and the word lion were the same thing. I thought celibate was a kind of fish”. Perhaps in that book there were places where I was too vigorous in my pursuit: looking back there are a few poems that are just a little too jokey somehow, a little one-dimensional.

I am becoming aware of how some humor can set a roadblock for the poetic speaker, making it impossible for the speaker to get back to a serious place. And how some other (less frequent) uses of humor can leave that door open. I want to leave that door open

I remember funny things we did
Peering into windows lit by lamps
Climbing cliffs then chased by geese and dog

Walking down from Redcar, sea so still
After Saltburn Pier, the cliffs high jump
I remember all the funny things we did

Wandering Whitby in a sea grey smog
Eating a pork pie cut into lumps
Climbing cliffs then chased by geese and dog

Old Hunstanton , white sands where we’d sit
The wild spikes of the gorse spread out unclamped
I remember all the colours,scents, and that

I feel the joy inside my heart is lit
Woe is leavened by old nature’s stamp
Climbing high then chased through mud by dogs

We see in shadows shades are not so stark
In Studland Bay astonished by skylarks
I remember all the humour and the love
Climbing cliffs then caught by geese and God

We were chased by geese in Devon after climbing a cliff.No doubt chased by a man after we peered into his garden