Crossing the line

Dear Sheddists,

we enjoyed a truly memorable time today at our youngest grandson's school Sports Day.

We shared the playground with wheelchairs and walkers, splints, straps and supports and sixty or so very enthusiastic and very special young people. They didn't let their disabilities get in the way, to the contrary, this was a celebration of everything that is positive in this world and it was a real privilege to be there.

Led by the tireless Jody and a phalanx of teachers and assistants every single child took part. There was no fierce rivalry, no manically competitive parents raging from the side-lines, just wall to wall smiles and a determination that every child should cross the line to cheers and applause.

At a time when the country seems torn by conflict and messages of hatred fill the air-waves daily perhaps we all have something to learn from our special people.

Yours as ever,

electrofried(mr)

 

Lost and found

One of the joys of running multiple film cameras is the unexpected pleasure of discovering a long forgotten undeveloped film.  I have a little Olympus Mju II tucked deep in the glove-compartment of my car that rarely sees the light of day, but last week it was pressed into action once more.

The Mju II is a fantastic compact which you can hold in the palm of your hand. It has virtually no features or fancy controls, but it looks great, is as light as a feather and has a fantastic lens. I have a second one I take with me on occasion when I go to watch football but this one stays in the glove compartment just in case I forget to take a camera with me when I'm out in the car.

It was pressed into action last week when I wanted to do a little impromptu lunchtime street photography.  I carry a Leica Minilux (another of my favourite 'little 'uns') in my work satchel but discovered to my horror I had just four frames left to shoot. The Mju was rescued from the inner recesses of my car and I scraped another two or three shots out of it before it too reached the end of the film. And that's when the fun starts!

I got the film developed yesterday and to my great joy I discovered some pictures on it of my eldest grandson's Sports Day last year.  Not great photos, but ones that bring back fond memories and here they are…

Family life .. a return to the 'ups' and 'downs' of the real world

Dear Sheddists,

thank you so much for following the trail of this somewhat meandering blog as we journey together through my three month sabbatical.  Today's posting explores the reality of our family life, blessings and burdens alike.

A fitting outcome

We're fresh back from adventures in Cornwall and our youngest grandson is fitting once more. This time it's a big one,  meaning the emergency medication must be broken out.  Here's what Great Ormond Street Hospital has to say about it ....

'Midazolam belongs to a group of medicines called benzodiazepines, which are used to treat a number of different conditions, including seizures. If a seizure lasts for more than five minutes, it may be difficult to stop unless treatment is given. It is therefore important that rapid treatment is given to stop the seizures and therefore prevent status epilecticus.

Status epilepticus is a condition where a person has a seizure (convulsion or fit) or a series of seizures that last for 30 minutes or more, without a complete recovery of consciousness.'

As a family, we've lived day by day with the threat of a major episode never far away and within the hour our dear grandson and his mum are hospital bound on-board an ambulance.

Much to the relief of us all he's released come the evening.

Respite in sight

By co-incidence, he's booked-in later that week for two days at a local respite centre, meaning we get to look after his elder brother.

Four years old and with the capacity to speak non-stop for several hours at a stretch without seemingly drawing breathe we're in for an interesting time, and so it proves to be.  The high-light of his visit is a trip to a local sports stadium for the last of his gymnastics classes for the term.

It's such a joy to watch him climb, crawl, jump and tumble through a carefully constructed circuit, pausing only to chat up the girls on his way round.  Clearly, a bright future lies ahead.

A sporting life

And things continue to get better a few days later when we attend School Sports Day at eldest grandson's nursery.  We behold a veritable sea of bright, beaming faces, the children shepherded expertly by a crack troop of teachers between track and shade.

The event finishes in some style with a series of push-car races featuring the very best in faux-plastic automobilary!

Postscript

Being part of a family means sharing in both good times and in bad times alike.  Our daughter rang this morning to say our previously non-verbal grandson is currently making a series of very interesting sounds.

Bearing in mind he was given just twelve months to live not so long ago that is most definitely one of the good times ... and in more senses than one a most fitting way to end this short post.

Yours as ever,

electrofried (mr)