There was a shocking story in my local evening paper recently about an elderly woman who had been waiting for a hip replacement for thirteen years. Thirteen years!

This story raised a dust storm. When hospital records were check it was revealed that her name had been taken off the waiting list without her knowledge!

Last evening there was a further development reported in the newpaper. The woman is to have her hip operation - pretty damned quick! Isn’t it wonderful what a bit of adverse publicity can do?

So doctors and nurses have been ordered to check patients for malnutrition. Not before time. A recent article highlighted the fact that a large section of the population is malnourished. What an astonishing situation for the 21st century.

Surely the elderly must be the most vulnerable group in this respect, often through no fault of their own. I have always maintained that the older I grow the more important it is that I get good home-cooked meals on a regular basis if I am to stay healthy. Commonsense dictates that eating well establishes a base for the aging body to fight off infection and perhaps diseases.

Many older people miss out here because due to arthritis or rheumatism they are unable to handle saucepans etc. or able to stand for periods of time at the cooker because of painful backs. The elderly who are in other respects healthy are left to get on as best they can. As far as I can see there is no provision for them. Why?

It stands to reason that if an aging population is kept as healthy as possible, (and good regular food plays a big part here) the NHS will save many millions in the long run.

For many years I have suffered from arthritis in hands, back and knees, to the extent that standing about day to day in the kitchen cooking meals was imossible. I knew I had to find the money from somewhere to pay someone to come in and cook a midday meal for me at least three days a week sometimes four. But not every elderly person can afford to do this.

It is all too easy for the elderly, especially if living alone, to make do with quick frozen meals and junk food – the easy option. The less a person eats the less they feel they want to eat. In no time at all they become malnourished leaving the body with little defence.

Meals on wheels? I have tried them and would not recommend them. Some of the meals brought to me in the past were barely edible and they had to be paid for – sweet corn, sweet corn and sweet corn! Even this system was changed a few years ago. Now frozen meals, enough for a month, are brought to the elderly for storage (refrigerators provided – more expense), and they are expected to help themselves. This just won’t do.

Yes, check for malnutrition by all means, but those whose job it is to protect the nation’s health should be looking at ways and means of preventing malnutrition. Money is found for other less important things. And the fact is that our population is an aging one and, with medical science improving all the time will continue to age.

Elderly people want and need help in their homes. Weigh the cost of implementing an army of home carers against the cost of providing hospitalisation and care in expensive professional care homes. Prevention is better than cure.

Visited Hubby again today. He is still very sleepy and not all that well, I think. That cold he had has taken its toll on him. He has no substance now to help him fight back.

Poor old darling.

I have been down to Singleton Hospital this morning to have my chest X-rayed. My doctor doesn't think they'll find anything - just a precaution.

I'll have to accept that it's being overweight that makes me breathless on times. But at my age it is difficult and perhaps not very wise to lose weight. Older - Oh come on! - elderly people need good food on a day to day basis, and I love my food.

The main problem with being weighty is that it is murder on the knees and back.

I know - even if I can't lose weight I should do more exercise - but walking about indoors and walking outside is very different. Perhaps when the summer comes I'll make more of an effort.

Hubby with his puppy Monty

I visited my Hubby again yesterday. He was very sleepy, and his chest was slightly wheezy; he had a slight cough. He must have had a cold last week. That's where I caught mine, I suppose.

The visit was my first time out since my cold, and I felt quite exhausted. I usually stay two hours, but he was sleeping most of the time, so I quietly left after an hour and a half. I must say I felt a bit depressed coming home.

I had intended to take Monty. Good thing I didn't.
Another time.

When we were young and heedless. We thought we would be together for ever.

I was contacted by the local newspaper this morning who are doing a St Valantine's Day feature. Abigail wanted to know if I had recollections of a particularly memorable date.

My most memorable, I told her, was when I met my husband. I'll never forget that day. We met at the best dance hall in Mumbles and I promised to meet him for a date the following day. I did and we were inseperable for the best part of 50 years afterwards.

It's so sad to think that now after all this time we must live apart because he has to live in a nursing home to be nursed 24 hours a day. And I'm here all alone now, apart from my dog Monty, of course.

Well, that's life.

Tried to get down to some writing - but first visitors turned up, and then later I had a large dinner!

Tried again but my head is still full of something which makes it hard to think straight. Feels like cotton wool.

My laptop has righted itself - somehow. Don't ask me. Last night I finally took courage and turned off the power. I expected the battery to go flat, but when I reconnected the power this morning - lo and behold! everything was working as before. Reconnected the hub - all peripherals are working including the ones from the 2nd lap.

:D Feeling better after my cold so tomorrow, hopefully, I may even be able to start writing again. I've got a lot of catching up to do - and I feel I'm coming to the end of the novel - but it all has to gell properly. Take my time! Don't rush. There is still the rest of Feb and part of March.

The screen of my laptop went Pphut! Yesteday morning, just when I was about to start work of the last leg of the novel. Good thing I save everything as a matter of course every time I finished work each day. Thank heaven for flash drives. Luckily I had another machine standing by, but it wasn't linked to any of my peripherals i.e. my external drive for storage and of course printer. Had to spend writing time updating this.

Electroic equipment breaking down at a crucial time - every writers' nightmare. Let's hope that by the weekend I'll be working again - if only these sniffles don't turn even nastier than they are now. Have n't had a cold in years. I think I know where this one came from!