WHO'S A BIG BRAVE BOY?

Well, Mr. HCB of course!  

He took me to the Community Fridge this morning because he wanted to deliver some Christmas cards and do one or two other little jobs and it felt very festive there.  We had oodles of mince pies and other goodies, such as bananas and satsumas and of course, they all had to go today as we aren’t open again until 6th January 2025.  

There was a good atmosphere and it was good to be able to chat to various customers.  Most of us were either wearing a Christmas jumper or something else Christmassy and we do hope that our customers will manage until we open again in the New Year.  There were lots of home-made cakes today for those stopping for a coffee in the café and again, it was good to be able to chat.

I found a green octopus in the box with animal toys and was considering adding it to the Silly Saturday Gang, but a lady in the queue expressed an interest in it, and Alistair said to me rather scathingly, “It’s a dog toy, Maureen!”  He then proceeded to put it on my head, almost knocking off my bauble hat and then asked for my phone to take a photograph, so I thought I would add this to the collage, so you can have a laugh at my expense.

Interestingly, we didn’t have as many customers as normal today, but those who came seemed in good spirits.  I feel for those who won’t see their families this year and as you know, we try to get alongside them and chat.  Some of our regulars weren’t there, but hopefully we will see them all again in the New Year and I know they all appreciate the food that they collect each week.  

Apparently, in total, various volunteers have made up almost 170 Bags of Hope, many of them containing some lovely toys and whilst I was on the desk at the front, a lady brought in a bag of new toys saying they were all duplicates for her daughter’s birthday, so she thought we might like them.  I told her that there would be some smiles on little girls’ faces when they opened them and she said she was pleased to help.  

Mr. HCB collected me at 1.15 and off we went to see our Dentist.  It as quite a job finding a parking space, but we found one eventually.  He was first in and told me afterwards that the dentist administered the injection and then whilst his gum was getting numb, did the clean and polish.  When he came downstairs, he was smiling - a bit lopsidedly, but smiling nevertheless!  Debbie, the lovely receptionist, gave him a “Big Brave Boy” sticker for his jumper so I asked him to stand in front of the door to t he Smile Room, so I could take a photograph - did he really think he would get away with not having one taken?

The middle shot is the front of a card from our lovely Blip friend, Heidi - which arrived this morning - very apt and it made us both laugh - and it made the Dentist and the team laugh too.

The last shot is the delightful Debbie herself, wearing her “nod to Christmas” - her Mulled Wine jumper.  I know I say it every time we go to visit, but we do love our Dentist, Sat, and his staff - Clare the delightful Dental Nurse and Debbie, Receptionist Extraordinaire - who always makes us laugh - and not many people can say that about their visit to the Dentist!

Mr.  HCB is now having 40 winks - having had some fizzy paracetamol - and I will make him some soft scrambled eggs later.  He is always so good to me when I am “under the weather” so it’s only fair that I do the same for him.  We are due to go for Afternoon Tea at an hotel about 12 miles away tomorrow, and he insists he will be back to normal by then, whatever normal may be - at which I raised my eyebrows!  No doubt there will be photographs, so watch this space!  

It was bitterly cold today, so stay warm.  M xx  

P.S.  Apologies for not commenting last night - I didn't get home from practice until almost 10 and I was very tired, but will try and get round to commenting later.