Apple blossom

The day started after a plea for help from No 1 son late last night. He checked his NHS App to find that one of his vaccinations had been missed. He needs it to be complete for a trip later this month.

When he received the jab back in January he didn't get a card either. There is a helpline (119) for this kind of issue, but they say online that it might take 21 days to call you back. He goes away in 20 days. He was advised (on 111) to visit the place where he had the jab so they can check their records to determine which vaccination, the batch number and the date. As he doesn't drive he asked me to pick him and take him, so, by recent standards, it was an early start for what was likely to be a 60+ mile round trip for me.

He had just got in the car when he received a call from 119 - less than 12 hours not 21 days. He had been talking for about 10 minutes by which time we were about to get onto the motorway with no junctions then for 8 miles. Still not knowing if it was getting resolved I decided to abort the motorway entry, and, a few seconds later, he was told his records should now be updated from the information available to them. Thankfully we averted a short but unnecessary trip down the motorway to only have to return.

The apple blossom was taken at mum and dad's who I visited afterwards.

The extra is of my 88 year old mum and a good family friend and helper, Gosha. Mum had forgotten to ask her carers to wash her hair this morning and, because of her condition, when she thinks of something nowadays, she can't let to go, so, she asked Gosha the moment she stepped in the door. As usual Gosha simply couldn't say no, so, between the two of us, we carefully washed mums hair by the kitchen sink, the only place where mum can do it because of her debilitating arthritis. Not elegant, but we got the job done. One happy mum. Lovely smiles from both of them.