Insult to Injury

Yes, I know I was probably not walking with my usually jauntiness because of the pain in my back, but was there really any reason for the young slip of a lad behind the counter at the garden centre restaurant to whisper to me, ‘And don’t forget your free cup of tea and apple crumble’ before applying an ‘Over 60s’ discount to the lunch that Andy and I had on Monday? Was there? Really?? Maybe he was confused by my white hair? Maybe he needed to go to Specsavers? Maybe he was just a social inept who ought to get his facts right before flinging his ageist attitude into my day and making me feel thoroughly depressed?

Or maybe I am being over-sensitive? That’s probably more it, yes? I mean, here I am approaching 54 years of age and I should be thankful that I have this incident to relate in all its comedic glory. Many people never get to be mistaken for over 60. My sister, for example, was only 22 when she died, and my father only 56. Cystic fibrosis claimed two of my cousins in their 20s. Friends have been taken in their 40s. So shut up, Denise. You are here. And the discount was worth £6.10.

I had a fleeting moment of wanting to go immediately to a hairdresser and have my hair cut short and dyed brown. But Heather the Bride-To-Be has banned me from having my hair cut or dyed because she loves my hair as it is. So does Andy. And I do, too. But I did feel it was getting a bit too long and straggly at the ends - ‘Hair you can sit on’ as Dame Edna Everage would say - so I DID go to the hairdresser (I’ve been once in the last 4 years) and put myself into the capable and flamboyant hands of Eddie (young, energetic, fan of musical theatre, rarely eats baked potatoes) who said I should return to the garden centre restaurant and ‘sass out’ the insensitive employee with this new hair do...

...which I have black and white filtered because it makes my wrinkles look less obvious. Eddie removed about 8 inches in all (that’s 12 inches if you are a man and need to adjust your ratio for illustrative purposes) and put through several layers to give it bounce and ‘sass.’ He liked the word ‘sass’ did Eddie.

My sciatic back has improved enormously this week! I am so happy! I have continued to use the various repair methods mentioned in my last blog post along with a Qi Gong exercise routine recommended by a good friend. I am thinking I may well continue with the Qi Gong because it is a lovely mix of physical and spiritual. It’s like slow ballet to lullaby music and is very happy making. Also, when I was massaging my back on Monday I felt something pop, like bubble wrap, and it immediately felt better. I consulted my veterinary surgeon about the pop and he said if it made my back feel better, it was a GOOD thing. Anyway, all that remains today is a teeny tiny and occasional twinge of stiffness at the top of my hip. I even tried an experimental dance around the kitchen to K.C and the Sunshine Band and ‘That’s The Way (uhuh uhuh) I Like It (uhuh uhuh)’ and all was well.

My Student Learning Agreement from Shrewsbury College arrived this morning for me to sign and return and I have been given a student number! Although I don’t start properly until February, I am already doing some of the book learning, currently reading ‘The Empathy Instinct - How To Create a More Civil Society’ by Peter Bazalgette, which is very interesting if a bit sciency. I did a bit of sewing this morning as I received another key ring order, and I am wearing my hand knitted blue jumper I completed a couple of months ago which has reminded me to crack on with the pink version I started, currently squished in a knitting bag between the sofa and bookcase. 

May September continue to sass!