What are you all up to

Stopped off at Chirk Castle for a stretch of the legs around the woodland in wonderful  colour. It looked like they had had a substantial leaf fall so we ended up studying the leaves. Quite fascinating and enjoyable.

Had our lunch then went to see a lovely little known Castle in Whittington, just east of Ormskirk. A bit of a ruin now but it's been around for about 800 years and a settlement well before then. There's a handy tea room there. We took the opportunity of calling into the church as it was opposite. It looked fairly modern, well about 100 years modern, but it had some of the original items dating back to 1200. Not very photogenic, a bit like myself Always interesting seeing new places.

We were going to call into the Iron Sculpture place on the A5 just south of Ormskirk, but a) it was packed b) it was only an hour to closing and c) it was extortionately overpriced. So we headed to a new to us CS between Ellesmere and Shrewsbury. Just us on site so very peaceful.

Tda & Heddlo, thanks for the heads up on the church at Kirkdale, I think we will call in there tomorrow, and also get a walk up the dale, as we have to go into Lidl at Pickering to stock up before our next move.

Enjoy your latest trip away WN. Hope the CS suits you, we would be interested in a visit there if it is OK.

The day was not as bright as the previous ones but the forecast was for it being dry with some wind and a bit if sunshine so OH did another round of washing before we ventured out. First stop was St Mary the Virgin's Church on the Ebberston Estate before we drove up to West Heslerton Brow where we had a walk along the Wolds Way. After lunch we visited Scampston Hall where we did the estate walk. It is another HHA property that we have not been to before, but we will return at a different time of the year to see the walled garden, the hall and its garden when in full bloom. 

We have had some very worrying news this week.  After waiting almost 2 years following a referral by our optician, OH was finally given an appointment at the eye clinic in Glasgow, and has been told she has the beginnings of Glaucoma in both eyes.

This is something she has to tell the DVLA about, and they might decide to take away her driving licence.

The Doc she saw said that in her opinion OH was OK to continue driving, but she is not the one making the decision. 

OH has not noticed any problems when driving, she is a good but cautious driver, always has been. 

She is however struggling with her mobility due to dodgy knees, though that does not affect her driving, just her ability to walk very far. 

Living where we do, having lost our local supermarket, and not having much of a bus service, certainly not one that takes you within easy walking distance of a supermarket,  a car is pretty much essential, certainly essential to have a decent level of independence. 

I can, and do, drive when we go out together, but sometimes we need to go our separate ways, especially when the grandchildren need to be taken care of. 

And to get to DD’s house, to look after our grandchildren, a car is essential. 

She has been given eye drops to reduce the pressure in her eyes, hopefully that will work, laser treatment and surgery are also available, but who knows what the DVLA will decide, it is very worrying.

Kj

You may find the Glaucoma UK website useful. At a quick glance they say only 12% of drivers lose their licence due to Glaucoma. Because Margaret uses insulin she has to go through a few hoops to maintain her licence. After she had a cataract operation which she reported on her next licence application they sent her for an additional peripheral vision test, which the DVLA paid for. 

I suspect in the future us oldies will be subject to more and more tests to check that we are safe to drive?

David

K, if it’s any help with the stress, my Mum was diagnosed with Glaucoma in her late 70’s. She is now 95, still has Glaucoma, but can still see with and without her glasses very well. She had a regular twice yearly check with the Opthalmology Dept at our local hospital and has two lots of drops to apply daily, but has kept serious reverses at bay. She had her cataracts sorted as well, with only a minor hiccup in terms of pressure in one eye. Of course I realise each individual is different, but it isn’t all doom and gloom. 
The supermarket in this day and age isn’t an issue to be honest. Most do deliveries. Not sure about Aldi admittedly. Not sure if it still applies, and with you being in Scotland as well, but blood relatives, children, can get free eye tests in England if a parent has Glaucoma, myself and my sister get a free check because of Mum, so worth exploring for your children? 
It’s sad when age starts to creep up on you, and there’s no doubt it can affect independence, but we had to ask our parents to think carefully about some of the things they did, try and help them make adjustments to keep all safe. Hopefully, if changes have to be made, you can all manage to do the same. Hoping things work out for you.

Thanks David and TTDA, I am most likely overthinking things at the moment!

The doc said she will most likely be fine, DVLA may want to make their own check on the situation.   We do already have free eye tests, at least for we oldies, will say to our daughter to get checked too.

OH has already found the Glaucome UK website, she said it was very informative, so that is good.

Does she need to do anything  with our car insurance?

Generally, if it’s a condition notifiable to DVLA, then you also need to tell your insurer, plus telling the insurer of any other vehicle where you are a named driver.

A almost warm day spent at Beamish museum, they've opened a 1950s town with a cinema that's actually an exact copy of the Grand from Ryhope (Sunderland) where my in laws would have gone to as well as a record and electrical shop.

Interestingly enough 67 guineas would be worth about £1500 today, while the early stand alone 'iplayers' would have set you back around £500.   

A day of walking in the Ellesmere area of Shropshire. We saw a Swallow flying quite close over the mere, quite late this far north.

Enjoyed the day. Still just ourselves on this very quiet site. Home tomorrow. Funny how one can feel refreshed but be knackered at the same time.

Kj - Sorry to hear the news. However take some solace from the fact that my brother has had Glaucoma for the last 10 years and is still driving with everyone knowing who needs to know. I get a Glaucoma test every year being a relative, foc, but clear at present. So hopefully won't be as bad as you fear.

Sorry to hear your news KJ. I hope it turns out alright and that your wife can continue to drive. It’s always a worry with these things, especially as we get older. We seriously considered moving a year or so ago, even putting our house on the market. It was a lot of hassle and for various reasons we decided to stay put, we are within walking distance of a bus stop, the Dr, Hairdresser and a decent sized shop in our village. As we get older I think these are all important, and, although we would probably still like to move, we really do have to also consider maybe not having the convenience of a car one day.

WN, if you really enjoyed examining leaves then you should visit our back garden. Yesterday I spent 3 hours raking and picking up 8 large tubs of leaves, I filled the large garden green bin. Not nice crisp leaves but wet slimy ones. They say the average oak tree has 200,000 leaves, 2 oaks drop their leaves in our garden so I reckon I have another 300,000 leaves to go before they are all down.