Logistics

Next time I escort my spouse around Europe I shall be all prepared . Thanking God for universal signage is my first Gloria . The most welcome signs are

• Lift.      I urge all fellow travellers to learn this one and the next one as
  
  
  they are both welcome and necessary . Who remembers the station at York before lifts were obvious and for public use. Years of carrying luggage up the steps after the demise of the Porter used to make me dread a journey before it started. How could I as an able bodied under 60 even justify the need for Assisted travel. It was great when my sister Sue and I took our Aged parent to Iona in her wheelchair and used this service, it took all the angst out  for us. I marvel at the way 21st C travelling in Europe has been greatly helped by LIFTS, and even the smallest towns now seem to have them at the Barnhof.
• WC     This sign is linked to Lift as the 2 go together . For those with Additional needs, wheelchair or pushchair or walking frame , just finding a loo on the flat is a human right in  my mind. In Switzerland we have learned quickly to have a supply of 1 or 2 CHF ready for the entrance fee. We do not mind paying this at all as the WCs in Heidi Land are far better than the best of Scarborough. The free ones in the courtyard of Basels Town hall were welcome , and thanks to the signage we were able to have coffee in the Market Place sitting in the sunshine without worrying .  
• Wheelchair Friendly  

  

  Speyer Cathedral

   this is the  new sign that I have been looking out for. It goes with the previous 2, but means no steps for my beloved, and in the case of the wonderful Speyer Cathedral , no heavy doors to open .  I did actually have to push C in a wheelchair for the first 3 days of our Rhine River trip . It was a learning curve for me , used only to pushing aged parent who weighs 6 Stone.The pushing was ok , but quaint cobbled streets defeated me , tram lines bewildered me and the prospect of rain made me realise I had not brought my own waterproof.

So Ive just managed Basel's tram system   .I didn't need signage . I knew where the trams were because I saw the tram lines . The numbers on the front of the trams referenced the map for me. It took me a little while to know which side of the track to stand .  I am now trying to find out where a bus stop is .

The Brownlee brothers keep going

This Sunday afternoon I am watching Alistair winning the World  Triathlon. More importantly for me and for Yorkshire , his brother got going again after his bike failing, and he is finishing  only a minute later.

Keep going , keep going its saying to me. 

Its been a trough for the last few months.

• Although I'm glad that after 5 cancellations I finally got my routine keyhole surgery done , Ive been trying to cope with the way my Mother is sinking into Dementia, and finding I have had to admit I cant keep going twice a week to Beverley. My husband is my priority , as now know that all his health difficulties this year may be helped with open Heart Surgery, so we await the go ahead judgement  when we return from our Holiday of a life time. I hope to blog it as we go  and bore every one rigid with the Heritage sites of the Rhine as we do the cruise from Amsterdam to Basel. I have not even been able to think about it , knowing that it could be cancelled at any minute  as Colin is not able to go at all. He is being so patient and calm himself, and as I watch him struggling to walk a few yards and I find  negative thoughts surfacing and imagine scenarios abroad. I am kicking them into touch now. 
• My allotment is generally the place where I shine and show off to family and friends. BUT new neighbours at the plots next door are not only amazing landscapers and planners and clearers and weeders , they  both have rows and rows of huge brassicas and potatoes and the prospect of winning Best Plot.  My allotment partner already has the best crop of Elephant Garlic I have ever seen , and will soon have a stone free portion of our plot. 
• Though-I can claim to have an unusual Plant on my bit of land as my Echium does its Little shop of supposed Horrors, and know that as yet I have not been challenged for bringing an alien to disrupt the brooding calm of Filey Allotments. (I say this as there seem to be huddles of Car owners disputing as where to park , and mutterings of discontent , but in the scheme of things they just all need to grow up).
• Even the kudos I give myself doing my Plant Surveys for NPMS has paled. Who am I trying to kid, I can't tell the difference between any of the sedges and rushes , and It will take me some serious study to do so. 

So , as Ray said last week in her Daydreamer Blog, I too am, or have been , in the Doldrums. I am getting wind in my sails again  as I try on  dozens of outfits, read the Rhine Maps from Stanfords and plan which of the 36 museums In Basel needs a visit from me.

Peveril Castle taken by Reuben

And this afternoon after our family Sunday Lunch at 5pm our  small boys have been telling of their week away in a cottage Derbyshire . I let Reuben age 8 borrow my Digital camera and we have had a slide show on the TV from this laptop. R has taken 497 pictures. Some are the usual small grandson stuff with accompanying tales , mostly of Lavatories, but Colin and I have really enjoyed all the entertainment for Sunday evening as the boys talk us through the holiday .
Im ready to get going again , will try to be positive, thanking God and counting my Blessings.

One of Rs many selfies