A Sad Passing

On Wednesday evening we had to have one of our cats, Hubble,  put to sleep. A blocked bladder caused a very rapid deterioration from fit as a fiddle on Tuesday morning to no hope left (or only one, but that required a lottery win to pay for it ) by Wednesday evening. Much as I find cats very much a far second to dogs in terms of affection it was still an emotional moment when the decision had to be made. I stayed with him throughout the process , and it struck me that at 50 years of age I have seen dead bodies before (animal and human) but this was the first time I had seen anything actually die. A small injection in his leg and he, very peacefully, simply took one last breath and settled his head down comfortably and quite literally passed away. All over in about 30 seconds No fuss, no pain, it was clearly the kindest thing to do. I really can not understand why euthanasia for humans is so taboo, under the right circumstances it has to be a better option than continued suffering.
His twin brother Bubble is no doubt  going to miss him - he appeared to be trying to rouse Hubble  before we had to take him to the vets so, if cats are able to, he probably understands what has happened.
A thank you as well to the vet, she dealt with what can never be an easy situation in a very efficient but compassionate manner.
R.I.P Hubble :(

Hanging Gardens of Bursledon

Didier Drogba's penalty hitting the back of the Bayern net signalled more than just the end of the the football season (with apologies to L1 & 2 play-off participants still to come).  It also signalled the start of the dreaded  "can we make the garden look nice" season .

So yesterday was a combination of walking around a local NGS garden that was open to the public, searching for inspiration, and wandering aimlessly around a local nursery trying to guess what plants in a 3 inch pot are going to look like in a month or two's time. (Dead probably, but let's stay positive).

Ended up with half a dozen different plants which I have forced into our 2 hanging baskets outside the front door. Mrs Wurzel was happy with the effort so that's 1 brownie point to my name.  Apart from last years pumpkin episode any attempts at gardening do not usually end up as intended, so I am not expecting a Hanging Gardens of Babylon Bursledon but if either basket ends up looking anything  like the one below I will be reporting back with pride. Come to think of it I'm sure they've picked the same colours so who knows?

Meanwhile .....

..... back in the World of Wurzel it would appear that absolutely nothing has happened. Well I seem to have neglected this for 5 whole months anyway. Pick one or more of the following for the reason

a) Lack of inspiration

b) Too busy

c) Forgot password

d) Been in a coma

e) Wife has only just paid the ransom to the Somali pirates  .

Now I've rekindled the urge let's see how long I can keep it up for this time. First step, change the background picture from beer to coffee, seems more appropriate these days. 

Next step, write something interesting.  That may have to wait till tomorrow. And the interesting part may be stretching things just a bit too far.

Not That I'm One To Complain ............

............ but in an effort to avoid the crowded car park and queues at the checkout I offered to do the Xmas "big-shop" online

Click to enlarge

               

'kin useless :(

EDIT Now I've got into site and no delivery slots available from Tuesday 20th till the morning of 27th
Double 'kin useless

Time To Dig Out The Thermals

Following a glorious autumnal day (see Sunday's post), today, only two days later,  it appears winter may finally have arrived. For the first time this year I had to scrape ice from my car windscreen this morning. Not quite to the extent in this photo but ice nevertheless.

Time to dig out those hats gloves and thermals

Autumn

Autumn, a photo by Wurzel on Flickr.

Autumn

Saved By A Spanish Super-Hero

Last week I had a very enjoyable week in Spain with the family. Not content with sitting on the beach all week, one day we took a drive up into the mountains of the Sierra de Espuña. Whist there we came across the village of Aledo seemingly clinging to the edge a steep slope just asking to be explored. Our hire car was a Seat Ibiza, not the biggest of cars but certainly no micro-mini, and as we drove around the almost medieval looking village the streets, presumably designed for donkeys not cars, became narrower and narrower. Soon we had literally inches to spare on either side, and just as I was contemplating folding in the wing mirrors we came upon a right angled left-hand bend. The picture below is one I have found online, I can't be certain but I am pretty sure it was this bend, with us approaching from the right and turning towards the camera position.

The picture, if anything, makes the road look a lot wider than it did at the time, and as I tried to negotiate the turn I soon realised I was wedged - any further progress would result in a crumpled right front bumper or left wing (or both). I wasn't worried about causing a traffic jam, the whole village was deserted, presumably on afternoon siesta. Reversing though simply wasn't an option, and I was already thanking my lucky stars I had been talked into the extra insurance at the car hire desk.

Suddenly a dark curly haired Spaniard appeared in front of the car. There were 4 of us in the car, none saw where he came from . He was just there as if by magic! In rapid, incomprehensible to us, Spanish he gave me instructions, signalling with his hands which way to turn the steering wheel, whilst dancing from side to side inspecting the sides of the car every couple of inches. I still don't know the Spanish for stop, but language wasn't a barrier, I sure knew when he was telling me not to go any further.

After half a dozen or so manoeuvres we were round the bend. I stopped so that I could at least wave him a thank you. But he was gone. There was hardly room for the car to have even passed him, yet he had simply vanished. Not one of us saw where he went.

He may have only been wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, no cape or mask, but to us you were our Spanish Super-Hero. If by some chance you ever read this, a big muchas gracias. If you even exist at all that is !