A Very Eduational Day · Tuesday May 8, 2007 by Abbie
After our usual early morning read in bed of a Discworld book, we had a quick breakfast and then went off to the disabled swim session. The people there must be getting used to us because some of the more mentally able adults spoke to us. One introduced himself as Jack of Shrewsbury (names changed to protect the innocent, both the town and the person!) and it was clear that where he came from was very important because he needed to know which town or village we were from. We also head about some excitement in town involving some police cars which turned out to be a training exercise!
Ram was good and seem to tolerate me talking to them, which is a good sign that he is settling in well with this crowd.
Afterwards we went into the little shopping area of town, and went to go down to the ‘wind and sky’ shop to see if we could get a kite Frisbee and to see if they have some ankle supports that would fit Ram. We got a tip off from someone in Boots when we went in to complain about Boots changing the form of their supports so that they don’t work any more. She was a windsurfer herself and said that she had some and was sure that I could get them in a shop that sells windsurfing things.
Much to our amazement the shop had closed! This is the third shop in that row that has closed! To turn the buggy round on the narrow pavement I had to go further down the road and passed a shop that we had never seen before. It was an exotic pet and bird shop.
There was no one in there but the critters and the owner, so we had a wonderful 45 minutes finding out all about the reptiles and having a chat with the parrot! Ram has been talking about what he would like when Arrow the arthritic dog finally dies, and it looks like he has his eye on a bearded lizard. It even seems that we would be able to take one with us when we went to visit Ram’s friend Banana. We discussed it on the way home, and he does like them but really does want to wait until the dog dies. She is 14 now, but since we have got her on the Glucosamine , turmeric and anti-inflammatories, she is feeling much better so it could still be another couple of years.
When we got home there were two parcels of books that we had ordered. One of them was The Boys’ Book: How to Be the Best at Everything by Guy Macdonald. Ram was enthralled by it, and has put book marks in the pages that he likes the best. On of the first to be marked was How to Insult Someone and Get Away With It. It involved long words, the idea being that most people wouldn’t know what they meant. The first one was asinine which I did know and it disappointed Ram. Luckily a few of them I didn’t know.
We then settled down to watch our rental DVD which was Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog. It was one of those films that was emotional, but it was also full of adventure. Ram isn’t good with emotions but I think it is important for him to see his mum cry at sad films, just so that he gets used to the idea that some people, especially women, can’t always control their tears!
We had to break for after school TV as it was the start of The Roman Mysteries, a dramatisation of the books by Caroline Lawrence” which we have read and referred to in my blog entry from last year ‘Yo Saturnalia!’
We both really enjoyed it and I have a feeling that it may even start our interest in all things Roman again. Although I think we will have to wait until we have finished the Discworld series first!
After supper we watch Return of the Tribe, which was about a tribe from Papua New Guinea. It was very interesting not only to see how they handled being in such a different country, but it gave Ram a look at London, a place he himself have never been.
Another full day was finished by yet again a Discworld book. We are on the second book in the series now, as we read a few out of order. This bit of escapism was nice at the end of a day that was full of educational opportunities!
Just wondering about the ankle supports – maybe I’ve missed something, but what are they and why were you buying them? My child has AS and tiptoe walks – wondering if this would be a help in some way.
— Su May 11, 11:41 pm #
Hi,
We originally got them from Boots. But Boots have changed their supplyer and they are no good anymore. At the moment we have contacted our physio who originally recommended them and are trying to find another suitable source for them. I will post to the email list when we get them!
— Abbie Green May 22, 07:20 am #