Springhill,
Cullybackey
31st
January, 2025
My Dearest Cousin,
Hoping this letter
finds you and yours in good spirits. I am sorry to have left this
letter so long, but life got in the way as they say. A great deal
has happened since I last dropped you a line, and not all of it was
good.
Were I to dwell on
global occurrences I might depress us both so much that we should
have to take to our beds for the remainder of the winter. Instead, I
will concentrate on domestic matters.
We had quite the
storm last week, quite unsafe to go out of doors with all the bits of
hedges and trees blowing about. Sadly the middle bay of our
polytunnel lost its covering and of course, the children’s
trampoline rolled away taking the washing line and part of a small
tree with it. The trampoline is wrecked but it could have been much
worse. Our friend Howie lost his polytunnel, glasshouse, hen house and hens. His hens were not blown away, Foxy took them.
Such opportunists, foxes.
Still, we were lucky
to keep the electricity. It didn’t even flicker. Others were not so
fortunate with thousands of people without power for days.
The next thing was I
got another stomach bug. Remember I had one just after Christmas.
Throwing up for 12 hours and off my food and feet for another 12. No
fun. Folk keep telling me it’s a virus, something going around but
funny it always seems to happen when I have been ‘over-indulging’
which is something I tend to do when my friend Cinta is having a
sleepover. I’ve decided to eat more sensibly for a while and not to
take alcohol at all. So far so good.
Speaking of eating
sensibly, Bert has been told he has Type2 diabetes! Swisser could
hardly believe it as he has always been slim. On Tuesday had a long
day at the hospital having various tests as his blood sugar was
extremely high. They were even considering starting him on insulin!
Querying he might have Type1! Which would be highly unusual for a man
of his years. Instead, he is on another drug and has to do a prick
test before and after meals so we are both going to be eating
sensibly from now on. The good news is that his blood sugar score has
more than halved and the lovely nurses are pleased with him. Bert has
been fortunate not to have had much to do with hospitals etc. and
cannot get over how lovely everyone is. I told him it’s because he
is a lovely patient.
Of course, he is a
little bit sad that he can’t have cream and lashings of golden
syrup on his porridge anymore. I have told him he can have it as a
treat on his birthday.
But poor Cinta! When
she was with us at the weekend she said she had five days off work to
look forward to and was so happy about it. But that evening her dog
Dora (sister to our Jess) collapsed while out on a nighttime walk
and had to be carried home. They managed to get a vet’s appointment
the next day but the news was very bad. The whole family are
heartbroken. They brought her out to bury her here yesterday. She got
a lovely spot between the hamamelis and the hebe. It’s strange to
think that next January (If we are spared!) and the hamamelis is in
full bloom again she will be gone 12 months. The life of a dog
is not long.
Which brings Judy to
mind. I cannot see her being with us a year hence. Oh! I will be glad
to see this month over and done with. Too much anger and sadness and
not nearly enough hope.
I shall finish now
before I drive you under the bed covers. Perhaps the next time I
write there will be some more cheerful news to report
Your loving, hopeful
cousin,
Nelly
Dora and Jess in their younger days. Dora at the front
Hamamelis Pallida