Movement

I’ve found through a bit of research that it’s important to keep moving if you have Parkinsons disease. So I wobble and shake my way along to the shops or to the pharmacy and back. Trying to get my slow steps in. I have looked at my movement counter but although I’m almost always getting a couple of thousand of steps in every day my heart rate barely registers!

What to do? Then someone from my surgery suggested a Parkinsons group that does table tennis (ping pong). I’d played this on the dining table at home as a young teenager and thought I’d have a go. My worker from the surgery came down to introduce me to the group a week ago. I needed that support because I find it hard to integrate with new people because of anxiety.

So..  I went, and found that I can hit a ping pong ball across a net! I was getting my feet tangled a bit and sort of felt rather static. But I could do it. I went back this week and I’m happy I can progress. I’m going to keep going. It’s only a fortnightly thing, but I hope it will be good for me. I ache in places I didn’t know I have though!

Eloise

If you had to change your name, what would your new name be?

Change my name, change my face…

Change my world.

Why Eloise? I just like the sound. I’m not even sure if I’ve spelt it correctly? If you add a U it becomes Elouise, which just sounds like you’ve misspelled Louise?

I also think it could be written e-loise… An electronic version of the name. Better than  e-louse (an AI version of a woodlouse?).

I was going to be Samantha, but I really don’t feel like I’m one of those. I think its too cuddly and feels like a princess name?

Eloise does sound rather proud and exotic? We all have our own ideas of how words work. Your favourite word might be something I hate. We mentally add connotations onto a word or a phrase. And I no no one called Eloise, I just like the sound… Am I strange?

Mystery?

For several years I was involved in a local community group that produced the Penkhull mystery plays. I was impressed by how the group wrote stories from scratch, made props like this green face, and organised music and stalls alongside the plays to make a wonderful mix of fun and theater for a local audience. I was  sometimes involved, helping paint scenery and took small parts in the plays.

Sadly the Pandemic stopped all of this and it’s taken a few years to try and come up with New Mysteries. Firstly we are putting on a small theatre performance called Harpers Titchy Theatre, with 3 minute plays, a few stalls and hopefully some music. The plan is that if this works we can put on a 20th anniversary year Penkhull Mystery Play in 2025. Wish us luck (or a broken leg)!

Etruria Canal Festival

Drawings for the Stoke-on-Trent urban sketchers group.  I was sorry not to see any other urban sketchers there at Etruria today but I was just there to sing with Clay Chorus and the Boat Band. I was getting a lift there and back with someone so I couldn’t stay. First drawing, The Forge with someone sitting on the wall. The second was across the canal on the car park looking back at the festival while waiting for the Shuttle bus. Hampered by a stiff breeze and my hat blowing off twice!

Full and Part time jobs

What jobs have you had?

But..

I’m not saying what! A few of the people here know what my jobs have been, but I am not willing to share with everyone, and  as these prompts are viewed by more than my  friends those other people do not need to know.

I’m not a secretive person but I think we all have a responsibility to ourselves to keep our information safe. There is an increase in the amount of phishing on the Internet.

I will say I have had full and part time jobs, I’ve worked with people and on my own, also with machinery. I’ve never been a manager, thankfully. I enjoyed working with most of the staff although I could tell some tales about the bad behaviour  of some and the wonderful things others have done beyond what was necessary.

Prompts are interesting, they make you think, but some are easier to answer than others. Work gets you money to pay bills and pay for housing, the ability to use sports facilities and other entertainment. I am glad I had responsible jobs but I’m glad too that they are behind me now.