it's not what it used to be!

_{Hello all,}

_{I type, this week, distracted by Italy v Costa Rica on TV in the background. At the moment, England are still in the World Cup, maybe not by the end of typing!}

'Sorry, cheers, thank you’ 

_{Hmmm, my three most commonly used terms. OK, everyone always accuses me of saying ‘sorry’ too much. The chances are that I am not sorry, I say it as an ‘excuse me’ so much. ‘Excuse me’ is a term that I feel a bit too self-righteous. By saying ‘sorry’, I automatically apologise for the situation, and the chances are that the person, now feels in the wrong, uncomfortable that they have forced a disabled wheelchair user, to apologise. I win, but without aggressiveness.}  

_{Kingston Market Place, finished! :)}

_{‘Cheers’ is just an alternate way of saying ‘thank you’. Lazy, but I find myself saying ‘thank you’ so much, it works.}

_{‘Thank you’ keeps everyone in a good, positive mood. Basic manners, seem to surprise many! Now in a wheelchair, many many people seem so surprised to be thanked. I am now in a position where I feel like I owe so much to everyone. My drive for independence, means that I rarely say ‘please’, but I know how much is given, so, thank you.}

_{A strange experience, I admit, but hey strange things happen. Tuesday I was wearing a top over a t-shirt. Both ‘medium’, hehe, but I am no longer a skinny cyclist, they were tight. I needed help from my physiotherapist, earlier in the day, removing them. I had forgotten to ask my PA in the evening. So, I ended up sleeping in my ‘upper’ clothing. Hmmm. They were too tight for me to remove. I needed help, but I was tired. I began to get almightily stressed that I couldn’t manage this alone, but zzzzzzzzzzzz… I awoke in the night, feeling abysmal, that I had ‘failed’. I was lying awake, my angry mind would not let me sleep. I was tired though. I then gathered my mind together sat up, and attempted yet again. I knew that part of the problem was my stress at the situation. I took a deep breath, and calmed myself. With great effort, I managed to do it! Joy! I could now sleep, happy with my own ability at calm myself and successfully tackling the problem.}

_{Hmmm. Italy are losing! Problem. You cannot rely on others to tackle your problem.}

_{My next note, concerns overhearing a conversation by the riverside.}

My earwigging serves me right

New York shopping spree

Shopping list decisions

But if I were to go….

   

_{Two women were discussing a visit to New York, and how much they would spend on a seemingly endless shopping spree. ‘We want go here, then here, then here, then here, etc…’}

_{I realised that if I were to go, I would not be able to plan like this. I don’t know anything about New York’s ‘accessibility’.}

_{My fear applies to anywhere in the world. I only go, if I can. I feel that this doesn’t make the world smaller, but it makes ‘my world’ smaller. No, it basically ruins any joy of surprise. Wheelchair users have to plan.}

_{Dammn. Out we go! Perhaps a mistake, not playing any Gunners, against Uruguay. No excuses!}

 The two strongest leagues in the world, have lost all 4 of their first matches!

_{Hmmm, money destroys. Spain, and England are homes to the strongest football leagues, in the world, with the richest club teams around, yet neither national teams are strong enough to avoid defeat in the world cup. It could be argued that this ‘oil money’ is used to buy foreign players (in both Spain, and England). Club teams are getting bigger and bigger and so ignore ‘homegrown talent’. Homegrown talent goes abroad. The world is getting smaller. The world cup is not what it used to be (say 48 years ago), hmmm.}

 _{a bit of National Pride, before we fly from Brazil! :(}