Ratboy, the son and heir, has been in hospital. He has managed to snap his ACL, needed major knee surgery and thus went under the knife. I would like to say thank you to everyone who looked after him during what is now a fairly routine operation but nevertheless a worrying time for his Mum and Dad. It was only a twelve hour stay in Derriford but we saved a fortune in food and electricity that afternoon.
At seven o’clock we had the call to come in and see him and despite pleading, the surgeon sent him home, having refused my request to have him neutered or keep in over the weekend. So, sadly the bills are creeping up again. The Xbox is slightly warmer than the wood burner, Sky Movies delivered their bill by parcel post and the local Coop are taking on extra staff to compete with the near Olympian demand for pizza and Jaffa cakes. Does anyone know if Haribo is available on prescription? Any road, on the plus side he can’t drive but what we save in petrol goes out on ketchup.
Trying to find Ratboy in Derriford was a task in itself. First to park! I enclose a photo of the car park signage saying ONE WAY. I drove past this twice, once from the left and once from the right. As there are no arrows to indicate which way was one way…and I was only going one way at the
time, technically no law was broached.
Then to reception. From a distance the welcoming doors of Derriford looked like a Turner painting mainly as you still have to walk through the fogs and mists from the first smokers of spring, with drip in one hand and fag in the other. Emerging from the ‘cloud base nicotine’ I entered reception, past the bakery and café packed with people on strict hospital diets whacking into pasties, sausage rolls and cream cakes, past the empty shop selling fresh fruit and into the main newsagents, stacked with choccy bars and sugar laced fizzy drinks. It is here that I enclose the second photo of the day, the selection of books on offer for the patient. ‘God Bless the NHS’ The Truth Behind The Current Crisis (HALF PRICE..I wonder why) may not be the best reading material if you are about to have something whipped out. But to place it right by the title ‘Kill Me If You Can’, does show a remarkable lack of marketing. I once climbed onto our local airline, when we had an airport, and sat there listening to the soothing music to calm the nervous air passenger…..they were playing the hits of Buddy Holly! Didn’t he die in a …..
Anyway, twenty minutes later and with a £2.20 parking charge, Ratboy was back in the car. Then home, with every pot hole testing the stitches and aesthetic. Thank you Derriford, at £2.20 it is one of the cheapest and most entertaining days out in Plymouth.
Fitz
