The Garden Fence - proper Old Style support and chat!

MrsCD

Sorry @Catsacor I don't know anything about those types of dolls houses, but someone else might. Nice to see you!

pollyanna_26

MrsCD said:

Polly, I liked the Batman and Robin episode best. I think I would like to be Wonderwoman, but I'd be more like Bella Emberg's version from Russ Abbott's show!!!😆😆😆
DD used to dress up in her red wellies and bathing costume with her skipping rope around her waist to be Wonderwoman! 
All the spiders we've ever had were called Fred. I did that when the girls were little so they wouldn't be frightened of them.
I remember Hester posting. I liked her talks about the waterways. Glad she's ok.
The back door is in a sort of recess so I need to have a think on how to put a curtain up. A tension rod could work but I don't know if it would stay up when we open the door.

As long as the tension rod is above the door is should be fine. I've got one sitting in my Amazon basket at the moment  my front door is half glass- the top half it's really cold in the hall this time of year and through the winter although there are draught excluders wherever possibleThere's a good amount of wall above and clear of the front door so the pole will go from side to side on that.

Loved the Robin and Batman episode. I only had to remember to start laughing again..

You've triggered a memory now. Eldest dd was very athletic always at gymnastics classes or running. Can't remember how old she was at the time but she used to climb  up on the back of the sofa wearing black tights something red I can't remember what and a headband she'd made herself with a big gold W on it

I'd be shouting get off the sofa . I'd saved for a long time for that made to measure sofa There was an awkward space where the sofa would go and my existing sofa was blocking the door to an understairs cupboard which for some strange reason the gas meter was in though the electric one was outside in a cupboard.

The sofa I had was an Ercol lovely and big with a solid wood frame . It was too big and a nightmare to try to move enough  for the meter reader.

So I ordered the made to measure  sofa and a matching armchair . I sadly waved goodbye to my Ercol sofa and the big matching armchair I really miss that armchair it was firm, supportive and comfy but I'd rung a friend in a local charity who help people needing furniture etc and thought well no good splitting up the pair they'll kie a comgy armchair.

Pretty well every day dd1 would do her Wonderwoman lauch off the back of the new sofa yelling WONDERWOMAN . I'm sorry you were also a victim of the wonderwoman days but it's quite comforting to know I wasn't the only one and there were others out there. I used to ask myself why me? DD2 used to tell dd3 to put her hand down the side of the sofa next to the seat cushion for a nice suprise and youngest would fall for it every time. Always some sort of creature made of rubber with long dangly  legs. I'd be saying you stop doing it and you stop listening to her and putting your hand down.It was the sort of things we'd often see in fairgrounds.

Sometimes I'd think this is like trying to herd cats. However the resident cat was often in the kitchen or dining room playing hide and seek with his litte frog friend. My friend a few houses away had a fish pond and she used to watch the tadpoles turning into frogs and count the frogs. Unknown to us both Ollymog had adopted one of her tiny frogs.  I used to wonder why he'd suddenly run in to the house and spend a lot of time in the kitchen or dining room.

One hot day I was in the kitchen with the back door open when he came running in gently holding something in his mouth.

The something ran under the washing machine I couldn't pull that out but it was already heading for the tumble dryer I couldn't move that either it made a break for the dining room and through to the front room and I realised it was a tiny frog and they were playing hide and seek.....

I told my friend she and her husband loved Ollie. Although they were dog people Ollie would go to visit them every morning , he was the only rescue cat we never managed to keep indoors, he was year old the vet estimated when the RSPCA rescued him from a Skip he'd obviouly had a rough time but when we went to choose a rescue the staff said some of them don't seem to want rescuing but Skippy as he was then called- I always thought that a cruel was at the door of his cage saying take me home.

When we went back to collect him we renamed him Oliver as we left the building we'd both said he reminded us of Oliver Twist. Please Sir,,,,,,

he still had a little frog friend and visited a friends big collie each day and they'd sit together in the sunshine. None of us were interested in snooker but Ollie was so we'd suffer some snooker for a while or watch the football with him as sat  in front of the tv

watching the ball sometimes he'd go behind the tv to see where the ball had gone. Sometimes he'd be trying to direct the ball towards the goal and we'd shout No Ollie wrong way ManU are the ones who need a goal.

The night he didn't come home I was shaking his bag of treats on the front drive. he usually came home at dusk  to watch his beloved Queen dvds following every one of Freddies moves.

He would go to bed with youngest and kept an eye on her letting me know if she needed me.

We were up very late waiting for him when somone rang the doorbell my friends husband holding something wrapped in a blanket. He was in tears and said It's Ollie we heard a noise earler and I found him in the gutter outside our house he's been hit by a hit and run driver.

He's buried in the garden under a Rosemary bush. We never had another cat one adopted us but lived in the garden but didn't want to come indoors she looked ill so we put food and water out for her but otherwise she didn;t want any contact with us.

After a while she could barely move so we got her in to the cat carrier and drove her to the vetShe howled all the way there. The vet said best I put her to sleep but youngest said let her die umder her favourite bush in the back garden so the vet prescibed some painkillers to mix with her food but she wasn;t eating but was drinking. A few days later we found her under her favourite shrub at peace We buried her under the shrub.

Sometimes during the pandemic I've missed a cat but if I look at the mantlepiece there is a photo of Ollie in a frame. He's sitting proudly on the bonnet of my sons brand new car. My son had had a second hand one but when he was tranferred to Crewe depot he needed a reliable car. I only have to look at the photograph to remember that day. My son was at the front of the car begging get off the bonnet Ollie. You'll scratch the paint Ollie It cost a lot of money Ollie. I thought I have to take a photo of this as my son begged Olie to move. I'll buy you a lot of treats Ollie. You can have my roast lamb on Sunday Ollie. Ollie adored roast lamb and would be in front of my feet trying to grab the slices I was cutting though he knew he'd get the bits.

There wasn't any roast lamb in the kitchen that day and it was going dark when Ollie finally ambled in the house looking for his dinner.

My son was exhausted he'd wanted a dark green car like a British Racing Green and the only dealer with one was miles away and he'd driven therein his old car his best friend went with him as son was giving him his car he lived just round the corner from us so he;could follow behind son

I often think my hair should be pure white but it isn't my haidresser put a semi dye on it when I  wanted a change but when I was due another one she was ill and someone else in the salon offered to do it. She messed it up not just the should be barely there colour  bur a permanent.

The salon owner offered to rectify it but I walked out and never went back. All my children and myself had had their hair cut there as well as me.

my hairdresser who'd also cut the childrens hair went mobile.

I watched a lovely programme on BBC 2 earlier MrsCD. You may have seen it before but I hadn't it was The Lakes and really lovely.

pollyx

pollyanna_26

Catsacor said:

A family member, adult, is getting the dolls house/miniatures hobby.

She's right at the start of this new journey and i wondered if any of you, on this subforum, had/have any enlightenment/words of wisdom for someone starting out, with nothing other than a needlefelt mouse she's bought herself !
TheOldThreadHouse - Etsy UK

This mouse is 12cm high and a lot of the miniature houses-sections are clearly for smaller occupants .... 
I thought i'd ask on here, she's not a forum or joining person hence me doing it - but i can't be of any help to her because it's not my thing....

Any thoughts ??

Sorry I'm catching up and only just noticed your post. hester who i mentioned today used to make lots of tiny things for her grandchildren from bits and peices and the were lovely.

There is also a thread on the forum full of crafty people who make al sorts of things in an OS way so not expensive or big outlays.

I'll need to find the name of that thread as I haven't looked at it for some time.

When I find it I'll post again.

ETA Found it is on the OS forum under the headline Crafting . There are a lot of threads there covering different crafts so a trawl through those may find someone doing dolls houses/miniatures  or someone who can direct you to the info your family member needs.

There's also a Chistmas thread where posters are working on lots of crafts I'll have to find the name of that. The other thread i was thinking of must be on the list on the Crafting page there are lots of different threads on many subjects but there is link to search at the top of the page.

Catsacor

MrsCD said:

Sorry @Catsacor I don't know anything about those types of dolls houses, but someone else might. Nice to see you!

Thanks for that 🤗

Catsacor

pollyanna_26 said:

Catsacor said:

A family member, adult, is getting the dolls house/miniatures hobby.

She's right at the start of this new journey and i wondered if any of you, on this subforum, had/have any enlightenment/words of wisdom for someone starting out, with nothing other than a needlefelt mouse she's bought herself !
TheOldThreadHouse - Etsy UK

This mouse is 12cm high and a lot of the miniature houses-sections are clearly for smaller occupants .... 
I thought i'd ask on here, she's not a forum or joining person hence me doing it - but i can't be of any help to her because it's not my thing....

Any thoughts ??

Sorry I'm catching up and only just noticed your post. hester who i mentioned today used to make lots of tiny things for her grandchildren from bits and peices and the were lovely.

There is also a thread on the forum full of crafty people who make al sorts of things in an OS way so not expensive or big outlays.

I'll need to find the name of that thread as I haven't looked at it for some time.

When I find it I'll post again.

ETA Found it is on the OS forum under the headline Crafting . There are a lot of threads there covering different crafts so a trawl through those may find someone doing dolls houses/miniatures  or someone who can direct you to the info your family member needs.

There's also a Chistmas thread where posters are working on lots of crafts I'll have to find the name of that. The other thread i was thinking of must be on the list on the Crafting page there are lots of different threads on many subjects but there is link to search at the top of the page.

Hiya, thanks for that, i had a very quick search in the craft forum but the posts listed were so out of date so didn't look further.... '09 etc etc.
I'll keep my eyes peeled though.

MrsFarmer19

Morning all!

a crisp 4 degrees here this morning, but quite foggy at 5.30am.  Sun is out now and I'm tempted to put some washing on the line!  Got a birthday cake to decorate that's being collected tomorrow, rabbit stew just gone in SC as I've had a request for some from a lad out of the village - hoping it tastes as good as the last one!
Once the cake is iced I'm going to take the dog on a nice walk, she's been really poorly since June (eventually found out she has the dog version of MRSA!) but she's fit enough for a decent walk today I think and I know I'll feel better myself too.
Hoping everyone is doing ok
Jx

grandmanerd

Mouse houses
Minatures can be very expensive, so I'd probably go down the 'Blue Peter' route and cobble together what I can - eg toothpaste tube top for a wastebasket and then ask for special bits as gifts. Will it be strictly for adults or will it need to be safe for visiting children? Start by working out what is to scale for the mouse - some doll's houses are for Bar bee type dolls (I hate bar bee) and some are for smaller dolls/ animals/ peg people. There is a Maileg toys do a whole range of mouse sized accessories- it might be worth looking at their stuff to get some ideas. But a simple bed could be made from a 'cook's matches' box. Duvets, sheets and blankets can be made from scraps, a padded type headboard wouldn't be difficult. What skills does your friend have - woodworking, sewing, crochet? Magazine or catalogue pages can be used for backgrounds and pictures for the wall.

Someone on the OS threads used to do doll's house stuff but I can't remember who (greenbee, Angie/ thriftwizard, someone like that). They used to go to special meet-ups to trade/ swap with other fans - whoever it was specialised in flowers and window boxes. Etsy have plans for sale for furniture and even whole dolls houses but pinterest has lots of upgrades of basic houses (the big Swedish firm do a good one) or if she's planning a whole village of mice in houses wooden boxes from hob-e-craft or the worx could be used. Most of the upgrades involve buying a mass produced second hand house and replacing the lurid array of pinks with  a more tasteful scheme. Some people use lolly sticks to make parquet floors.

I'm planning a dolls house for my grand-daughter but it will either be the basic one (many can be used a s bookshelves when she outgrows it) or put together from strong cardboard boxes. The one thing I have bought (she was only born in July, this will be for when she's about 3 yo) is a wooden greenhouse (with raised beds, cold frame, little vegetables and other accessories - watering can and wheelbarrow) complete with a little 'grandma' doll with grey hair in a bun. It was very expensive but I bought it at sale price, a new customer discount, free delivery and I looked at it several times until they upped their offers. It's something a bit different, both baby's mum and myself are gardeners and I want to take it out and play with it now, even though I'm not a dolls house kind of person.

Superheroes
Not a new thing. My brother climbed up onto the toilet/ coal hole roof when he was about 4 yo (he's 60 now) and jumped off - he was being Superman and expected to fly. My sons once warmed up jelly cubes in their hands and then attempted to 'Spidey' walk up their bedroom wall. They were partly successful because the jelly handprints nearly touched the 9' ceiling and they were sensible enough to do it where their beds were so they hit the mattress when gravity took over.

Cats and snooker
DS1's cat used to sit on top of the tv and try to catch the balls as they moved - we had some video games where balls travelled down the screen and you attempted to match them before they landed on the others and he liked that one as well.

Still ill
I have a hospital appointment tomorrow at Salford. I'm still not better but I really want to go - it's over 3 years since I've been (pandemic and then them trying to catch up - they were probably diverted to COVID wards during the pandemic). My favourite CPAP mask developed a rip 3 weeks ago and I'm using an older different model so would like a replacement plus some consumables if they have them. No point in postponing the appointment because I'll have got better and been floored by another bug, so I'm doing it.

Thankfully today's meeting with my brother and niece got called off as both myself and my niece have 'bugs' and my brother could die if he spends time in the same room as us. You asked why I needed to see him polly. I don't really, we're just trying to keep his anxiety levels down. He's obsessed with how much he will get from mum's estate and if he'll have enough to get through to retirement (only a year 3 months and 8 days for me now, but 6 years, 4 months for him) as he will lose his UC.

He's already fretting that they won't renew his PIP (which he will keep as it's not means tested) next year. He was involved in an accident with a car and a motorbike when he was 8, the doctors told my parents he'd be in a wheelchair by the time he was 30. He's broken a lot of other bits since then including elbow, ankle and pelvis and when he was working at an all night garage he was held up first at knife point and then about a year later by 4 men with shotguns so his 'nerves' are shot too. 

He also has no idea about his pension entitlement. I tried to talk him through his working life a while ago but it was like wading through treacle. So niece added that to our to do list. His laptop isn't working atm. Last time I saw him he didn't know whether to buy a camper van or not and also talked about investing in gold. He doesn't really want to share mum's lodger (because it will make things complicated when one of us dies - not that he'll be doing any sorting). The best thing he could do IMHO is to take full responsibility for mum's lodger - he'd have the rent as income and retain the house as an asset. Mum's lodger has been in grandma's house for nearly 30 years so he's not going to stop paying the rent now. However I'm wary of saying that because he's likely to jump the other way out of sheer cussedness. 

I only know I have an appointment because of a text reminder - don't know if the actual appointment letter has gone to mum's (I only recently checked that they had my current address and phone number). I was planning to try to go there but now thinking I can manage with my dob and other info I can recite off the top of my head. May just go to pick up a timetable from the bus station, see if there are any strikes, pick up my puzzle book (shop at the back of the bus station) and buy sandwiches and drinks to take with me tomorrow (the hospital franchise prices are horrendous) and get me through the next couple of days (I want toast, preferably toasted teacakes). Then I can come back and rest more in preparation for the trek. planning to go early because of the morning rush and don't know how long it will take me to negotiate my way across the hospital - at least it's not Manchester Royal.

pollyanna_26

Just a quick post GMN It's freezing here and my hands aren't happy. I'm wondering whether to make a hot drink fill the hot water bottle and go back to bed and try to read my book. Part 2 of a trilogy by an author I like but have struggled to concentrate for the past year.

The 3rd and final part will be landing at dds today just a paperback but will be wirh the 2nd to last ever Rebus hardback.

 I spent a lot of time on Ians twitter feed and I 'don;t normally do twitter. So ther time came when he said he was working on one last Rebus.

I switched to Amazon googling Rebus and it was a very long time before the book came up there for preorder with a very long wait but today is delivery day. She is not well and thinks she has picked up flu is unable to continue seeing the dentist at the moment as her gums aren;t healing I did warn her not to use that practice as they were hopeless and caused a lot of damage to     dd2s perfectly healthy teeth . They were BUPA too and it was costing dd2 a lot of money to have the teeth they'd chipped and other things rectified . I said to her walk away and find another dentist you're just there for regular check ups on your very good teeth not remedial expensive procedures .

She did find a good dentist back when there were NHS dentists with appts.

I've told youngest  as the lovely BUPA dentist who was treating her wont be back in the practice she needs to leave a message for Superdoc to ask if he did manage to find some suitable dentists on his search. As a single gp practice with just a locum he'salways overwhelmed with the workload and his work at the hospital trust where he's on the board.

It's quite likely he may have found a suitable dentist but it's buried somewhere on his laptop or in a drawer now they're on flu jabs .Two thoughts re your brother as your visits are to calm his anxiety is he online so you could do it online?

Would printing off advice for those timesand posting that advice to him would that be worth a try?

I hope all will go well with the visit to Salford.

I was replying to dusty the other day she needed to go out to a PO to collect the 2nd COL payment and do some shopping, Juat a short walk  and the PO  was 5 minutes from the shops; but she had gone on  a bus and was saying she thinks. she's picked up a bug

You said you thought you'd picked up a bug when you  recently became ill

I don;t remember how you'd travelled or if you walked but I began to cut back how often  I went out

It's usually once a month now. When I had to go the local surgery , pharmacy and shopping recantly and go to the Post office for my 2nd COL payment I was walking through rain and wind, Did get everything done.

I focus on the fact dd, myself annd her BF have never had Covid, She and her BF had flu 2 winters as he goes to the village shops almost daily and it seems to be habit.

I;d already posted how long before a pandemic youngest and I discovered buses were hubs of infection especially in flu season not to mention covid which was waitng in the wings.

We stopped using them and the odd bout of flu stopped happening. So many people aren't wearing masks now if they ever did. The NHS is fearing the months ahead flu and the virus figures rising are a perfect storm.

If you can afford it I'd acvise you to go to Salford in one of the taxies you sometimes use when shopping. You'd already thought  you'd picked up a bug and Dusty was thinking the same after a short bus journey.

Not everyone has good hygiene and our last flu season bus ride, Many were coughing and sneezing only a couple of produced a handkerchief if the others bothered at all they  would use the back of thier hand to wipe their nose. I remember dd saying oh that's gross!

When their stop was near  they'd stand up and ring the bell the  using that hand then started making their way to to the fornt of the bus holding every  handrail  on their way to the front. The same thing applied to other passengers though not all had sneezed on the hands or coughed in someones face as some were.

We pretty well fell off that bus when it neared a local park . Not our intended destinaton we walked the rest of the way after sitting

for a while in the park in sunshine and fresh air.We hadn't touched anything on our way    off the bus and someone had already rung the bell.It was annoying not to hold the handrails on the way to the front;

When we sat in the park I got the always in my bag anti viral and antibacterial foam out of my bag.We;d been using it for years especially  in Flu . Norovirus and other seasons.

The door to our GPs surgery was big and heavy glass that needed quite a hard push so I;d use the foam to push it open in the waiting room when patients were coughing and sneezing and children were obvious Norovirus or German Measles cases.that

used to annoy me especially if there were pregnant women  in the waiting room.

Even Superdoc had the heavy handle on the outside  of his very heavy consulting room door sprayed . I spoke to him one day about the obvious Norovirus and German Measles cases were mothers were saying they.ve been  running to the toilets and throwing up for over a week or they've got this rash and are very out of sorts wonder if it's the soap I use niow.

I'd look over and see a very miserable child whose hands and face were covered in a rash  I recognised  and think it isnt the soap,

Superdoc said noone was supposed to bring those things in to the waiting room  or his consulting room. There were clear guideline on the surgery website or a mention of symptoms on the phone to book an appt would make that clear.

Looking at symptoms online on the NHS site not only had the symptoms but pictues of rashes too.Some posters were printed and on  the walls of the waiting room but it never solved the problem which was both a risk to other patients and a waste of a busy Drs time,

pollyx

 

 

pollyanna_26

MrsFarmer19 said:

Morning all!

a crisp 4 degrees here this morning, but quite foggy at 5.30am.  Sun is out now and I'm tempted to put some washing on the line!  Got a birthday cake to decorate that's being collected tomorrow, rabbit stew just gone in SC as I've had a request for some from a lad out of the village - hoping it tastes as good as the last one!
Once the cake is iced I'm going to take the dog on a nice walk, she's been really poorly since June (eventually found out she has the dog version of MRSA!) but she's fit enough for a decent walk today I think and I know I'll feel better myself too.
Hoping everyone is doing ok
Jx

You sound much more positive already. With your day ahead planned. Cake making sounds lovely there's something very theraputic about baking then icing.

i hope you and your dog had a lovely walk and it did her good too

Planning a day gives you structure there will be days you wont feel like going out .It was too cold here today and I'm fine for shopping. I filled a hot water bottle nade a hot chocolate put my arthritis gloves on and went to be to see if I could read the book think I slept for about three hours. The book was on the floor I will catch up with it the final book in the trilogy arrived at dds this afternoon along with the new Rebus so I have to finish the 2nd  before I can start the third.

I've never tasted Rabbit Stew my favourite is Lamb Casserole with lots of parsley dumplings, Flat leaved Parsley grows like a weed in my garden so there's never a shortage I just gather a lot  I do grow and freeze a lot of herbs chop use some for a stew or something . I discovered a long time ago it's much cheaper than buying in supermarkets. Fresher too

pollyx.

Catsacor

grandmanerd said:

Mouse houses
Minatures can be very expensive, so I'd probably go down the 'Blue Peter' route and cobble together what I can - eg toothpaste tube top for a wastebasket and then ask for special bits as gifts. Will it be strictly for adults or will it need to be safe for visiting children? Start by working out what is to scale for the mouse - some doll's houses are for Bar bee type dolls (I hate bar bee) and some are for smaller dolls/ animals/ peg people. There is a Maileg toys do a whole range of mouse sized accessories- it might be worth looking at their stuff to get some ideas. But a simple bed could be made from a 'cook's matches' box. Duvets, sheets and blankets can be made from scraps, a padded type headboard wouldn't be difficult. What skills does your friend have - woodworking, sewing, crochet? Magazine or catalogue pages can be used for backgrounds and pictures for the wall.

Someone on the OS threads used to do doll's house stuff but I can't remember who (greenbee, Angie/ thriftwizard, someone like that). They used to go to special meet-ups to trade/ swap with other fans - whoever it was specialised in flowers and window boxes. Etsy have plans for sale for furniture and even whole dolls houses but pinterest has lots of upgrades of basic houses (the big Swedish firm do a good one) or if she's planning a whole village of mice in houses wooden boxes from hob-e-craft or the worx could be used. Most of the upgrades involve buying a mass produced second hand house and replacing the lurid array of pinks with  a more tasteful scheme. Some people use lolly sticks to make parquet floors.

I'm planning a dolls house for my grand-daughter but it will either be the basic one (many can be used a s bookshelves when she outgrows it) or put together from strong cardboard boxes. The one thing I have bought (she was only born in July, this will be for when she's about 3 yo) is a wooden greenhouse (with raised beds, cold frame, little vegetables and other accessories - watering can and wheelbarrow) complete with a little 'grandma' doll with grey hair in a bun. It was very expensive but I bought it at sale price, a new customer discount, free delivery and I looked at it several times until they upped their offers. It's something a bit different, both baby's mum and myself are gardeners and I want to take it out and play with it now, even though I'm not a dolls house kind of person.

Superheroes
Not a new thing. My brother climbed up onto the toilet/ coal hole roof when he was about 4 yo (he's 60 now) and jumped off - he was being Superman and expected to fly. My sons once warmed up jelly cubes in their hands and then attempted to 'Spidey' walk up their bedroom wall. They were partly successful because the jelly handprints nearly touched the 9' ceiling and they were sensible enough to do it where their beds were so they hit the mattress when gravity took over.

Cats and snooker
DS1's cat used to sit on top of the tv and try to catch the balls as they moved - we had some video games where balls travelled down the screen and you attempted to match them before they landed on the others and he liked that one as well.

Still ill
I have a hospital appointment tomorrow at Salford. I'm still not better but I really want to go - it's over 3 years since I've been (pandemic and then them trying to catch up - they were probably diverted to COVID wards during the pandemic). My favourite CPAP mask developed a rip 3 weeks ago and I'm using an older different model so would like a replacement plus some consumables if they have them. No point in postponing the appointment because I'll have got better and been floored by another bug, so I'm doing it.

Thankfully today's meeting with my brother and niece got called off as both myself and my niece have 'bugs' and my brother could die if he spends time in the same room as us. You asked why I needed to see him polly. I don't really, we're just trying to keep his anxiety levels down. He's obsessed with how much he will get from mum's estate and if he'll have enough to get through to retirement (only a year 3 months and 8 days for me now, but 6 years, 4 months for him) as he will lose his UC.

He's already fretting that they won't renew his PIP (which he will keep as it's not means tested) next year. He was involved in an accident with a car and a motorbike when he was 8, the doctors told my parents he'd be in a wheelchair by the time he was 30. He's broken a lot of other bits since then including elbow, ankle and pelvis and when he was working at an all night garage he was held up first at knife point and then about a year later by 4 men with shotguns so his 'nerves' are shot too. 

He also has no idea about his pension entitlement. I tried to talk him through his working life a while ago but it was like wading through treacle. So niece added that to our to do list. His laptop isn't working atm. Last time I saw him he didn't know whether to buy a camper van or not and also talked about investing in gold. He doesn't really want to share mum's lodger (because it will make things complicated when one of us dies - not that he'll be doing any sorting). The best thing he could do IMHO is to take full responsibility for mum's lodger - he'd have the rent as income and retain the house as an asset. Mum's lodger has been in grandma's house for nearly 30 years so he's not going to stop paying the rent now. However I'm wary of saying that because he's likely to jump the other way out of sheer cussedness. 

I only know I have an appointment because of a text reminder - don't know if the actual appointment letter has gone to mum's (I only recently checked that they had my current address and phone number). I was planning to try to go there but now thinking I can manage with my dob and other info I can recite off the top of my head. May just go to pick up a timetable from the bus station, see if there are any strikes, pick up my puzzle book (shop at the back of the bus station) and buy sandwiches and drinks to take with me tomorrow (the hospital franchise prices are horrendous) and get me through the next couple of days (I want toast, preferably toasted teacakes). Then I can come back and rest more in preparation for the trek. planning to go early because of the morning rush and don't know how long it will take me to negotiate my way across the hospital - at least it's not Manchester Royal.

Thanks for that.
Yes, she's thinking she'll have to make a lot of things herself as she doesn't know much yet - but is in a position to be able to buy all the bits ready made if she can, cost not an issue (🫤 )