SHERINGHAM DIARY 9 ~ Pickles, Cakes & Stable Work.

Over the last few months, Jnanasalin has become an enthusiast for making Jams, Preserves & Pickles. This has its origins in a Cucumber & Dill Pickle he successfully made in the early Autumn. since then its progressed rapidly through making Mint Sauce, Marmalade, Red Cabbage Pickle, Chilly Jam, Raspberry & Plum Jam, Mincemeat and Cranberry Preserve. These now have a designated shelf plus our Xmas Pudding and Cake all to themselves in the Pantry.  I'll keep you updated on new additions as and when they arrive.

Having survived his heart attack and breaking his leg near his hip, my Father, aged 91, has also survived the perilous operation to pin his leg. At present he's in a care home at least until the New Year, my Sister and I hope this will become a permanent arrangement. There's no one to keep a close enough eye on him when he's in his own home. Anyway this is still uncertain. What my Father will say should social services ask him whether he'd prefer his own home or a care home, is lets say, unpredictable. If he does stay in care then there will be the sorting through of his possessions to do, etc etc.

The Hebden Valley

Jnanasalin and I have done a lot of long car journeys over a weekend during the last month. Driving up to see my Father in hospital, in case he didn't survive the operation. It was worth it for the conversation I had with him. My Father laid flat in bed, me holding his hand, as he told me about how beautiful it was standing at the top and looking out over the Hebden Valley and how in the distance it was all bright sunlight, I found this quite moving. A couple of weeks later we did the exact same journey again to see my Father in his new care home, when he was far less talkative.  The weekend after we travelled to Nottingham to see Jnanasalin's family. After three weekends spent travelling and visiting, we were needless to say a bit 'car lagged' and looking forward to a relatively quiet and relaxing Christmas at home

JS & his Mum + polar bear (no relation)

My new work, has quickly transcended its novelty and attained the status of a predictable routine. It can feel like being in a cyclical dream where you go over the same ground again and again, but never finish or escape. When I'm handling this well, the work is smooth and easily executed, when I don't, the back pain tends to get worse and makes it tedious and hard going. Though these are typical emotional fluctuations inherent to me and any repetitive task. Nonetheless it is stable steady cleaning work, it doesn't completely drain me, and can leave a modicum of energy for more creative pursuits, such as Cottonwood Workshop. Though adjusting my mode of orientation from 'cleaning head' to 'creative head' does appear to frequently misfire.

The care homes I clean for are half way houses for people with a mental, behavioural or social handicap that requires a degree of supervision or medication. From my daily cleaning routine I know some residents have, to put it politely, 'poor toilet etiquette'. I can only take a guess at what debilitating mental realm they live in. They can be abrupt, rude, paranoid, neurotic or just generally unpredictable, but then that could describe one or two apparently 'sane' acquaintances of mine. The hardworking staff do tend to look a bit weighed down by the nature of the environment they work within.

One resident is permanently fed up, always complains about not having any money, that the food is crap, and the staff care more about her not smoking in her room then they do about her. She wanders in a lonely patter around the home with an unlit roll up in hand, constantly in search of a cuppa tea,. Her mood fluctuates, one day she'll be quite friendly and chatty in a toothless sort of way, on another she'll be abusively calling me a prat, a cunt and that I ought to be sacked. Though she did apologise to me once, confessing that it was her who was 'telling you to fuck off from behind my door' as I was in the process of cleaning it.

There's an elderly lady who, in the complaining tone of a small child, is always whining 'But I don't like cabbage'. Initially the first thing she'd asked me was 'Who are you?' , I'd tell her my name, and after this she'd say 'I don't like beards', 'Why do you have a beard?' Nowadays, the first thing she says when she sees me is 'I don't like beards' so I'm taking this is a form of recognition a bit like saying 'Hello, its you again'. Someone mentioned Christmas was coming, to which she said ''I don't like my brother, he doesn't bring any presents' I found out that in her past life she'd once been to university to study French, so where that intelligent and intelligible woman has disappeared too is anyones guess.

Another woman can be quiet and withdrawn, but then has periods where she sings, chants or rants loudly and raucously from her room, often day and night. The other day, unusually, she was publicly ranting incoherently in Reception, whilst I'm keeping my head down mopping the floor around her. It was all rather bizarre and a tad unnerving. So I've gone from unstable work with relatively stable people at The Two Lifeboats, to stable work with relatively unstable people here. Life? its amazing what you end up doing.

Our Xmas Cake made by JS

Its was our first Christmas in Sheringham and our first Christmas after living in a Buddhist community for eight years. So this year we've been completely free to celebrate however we wanted and when we wanted.  We've decorated the house and it looked really beautiful with a much larger tree than we've had before, a mantelpiece garland, lights, door wreath etc. Our Christmas meal was well planned and executed, as you might expect. For the first time we took a walk along Sheringham's wind swept beach promemade on Christmas Day. We also entertained for the first time when we had our friends Sam & Pete over for a meal on Boxing Day. Its all been quite lovely and civilised.

Now 2018 is here, we are just a tax return and three months away from having lived in Sheringham a year.  The past year was filled with many firsts, finding somewhere to live, moving, settling in, finding work, JS learning to drive, plus general adjusting to how things work on the North Norfolk Coast. Who knows what the New Year will bring? Wishing you all the very best for 2018.