9/4/2026 Newmarket and new specs

A beautiful sunny day today and really hot, it’s just a bit unfortunate I had to go to a Newmarket to pick up my new specs instead of enjoying a day on the beach. I fear it may have been my last opportunity! 

I booked myself a Bolt which came and picked me up to take me over. The driver was particularly chatty, which was ok but I wasn't feeling that sociable when I woke up this morning. It's been a really hard week, I'm missing Si so much and every step is hard going. Wading through molasses is not a good feeling. It hasn't helped that the weather has kept me inside so I'm feeling a bit like a caged lion. I’m trying really hard to keep my bain occupied with puppy stuff cooking and bee learning, which is helping a bit. I had a face time with Frank and he's no longer the biggest puppy, but Lee seems to think he's going to be really leggy like his mummy which is fine by me. 

The drive over to Newmarket was thankfully uneventful and I was there in plenty of time so went to the red rabbit for a nice coffee. Once I drank it I went to pick up the new specs. The girl with the pink hair was dealing with me and is very familiar with south wales as her auntie, her mum's best friend lives there so we had a long chat about all things wales. She was telling me it's her graduation next week and is undecided what to do with her hair, I said go bright pink, and rock it which I think is what she planned anyway. Her degree is in computer coding and she was saying that she worked in the opticians while she was studying, they offered her a promotion to stay on and while her husband thought it was a waste of her degree, it turned out she was in the right place at the right time. Her little boy had lost his colour vision and was almost totally blind. By working in the optician she was able to get him scanned quickly in the store and they found out what the problem was.  It's been sorted now and his sight has returned which is incredible. Life is funny sometimes isn't it. 

I love my new specs, the every day ones are bright pink and oversize, and the sunnies a lovely purple frame and the darkest polarised lenses that are allowed over here. The next grade up is for people with light sensitivity and if they are worn in a tunnel or car park they are so dark that you are assessed as technically blind. Making them illegal to wear. They do seem to be a lot darker lens than I have in the old ones but maybe it's because the sun is way brighter here. Who knows, they are as cool as poo anyway and I love them . Si would have loved the purple framed sunnies for sure, which is why I got them. His favourite colour. 

Wearing the new pink ones I popped into the little gift shop to see the lady in there and we had a lovely long chat. She's coming to visit family towards the end of the year in Wiltshire so i’ve given her my phone number and invited her to stay if she wants to. 

From there I went on the hunt for a jumper and a waterproof jacket to get me through the cooler evenings. A jumper is something I didn't pack when I left. I knew I would be going straight into an aussie sumer and would have no need for one and up until now i’ve not needed long sleeves. But, the weather is definitely changing and it's significantly colder in the mornings and as soon as the sun has gone down. I looked online for a jacket and found one in The Warehouse. Unfortunately the store in Newmarket is too small to stock the pink one i wanted and they only had black. I tried it on for size and it's a really nice fit. I don't want black, even if it matches my soul! I did however find a lovely bubblegum pink sweatshirt for $7 and a long line vest for $3 total bargain! and it is after all now very much vest weather

From the warehouse I went to Glasson to pick up a knitted oversize teeshirt that will be great to add as an extra layer as it's quite chunky. Ideal for the plane. 

With my new clothes tucked into my rucksack I popped into woolworths and picked up some fruit. The red kiwis are amazing here and they're so cheap too! Also good for you! From Woolworths I sat on the blue sofa and consulted my list and had everything I wanted so decided to use the loo before heading out to pick up a bolt. 

Whilst in the toilets the fire alarm went off and the voice over he tannoy advised everyone to evacuate the building. Annoying given I was mid pee! Quick hand wash and I made my way to the escalators which were lucky just outside the toilets. The queue was heaving, and once again the power of the crutches worked to my advantage and people were very kind and made room for me to get on. The mall was full of kids, it being the Easter holidays and they were screaming and shouting there's a fire and we're all going to die. There's me thinking to myself I should be so lucky.  All the shop's shutters were slamming down and people were being escorted from the banks by security guards. Once outside there was complete mayhem, I just picked my way through and crossed over the street out of the way as the fire engines skidded to a halt outside. I ordered the bolt and it arrived in 2 minutes which was fabulous. We came back via the britomart and followed the coast back to St Heliers. It's such a clear day, one of the clearest for a long time and boiling hot. The beaches at Mission Bay. Kohimarama, and St Heliers were packed, and the promenades were chockablock with cars and people. I contemplated going into the cafe for a coffee but opted instead to go straight home to sort everything out. Morg was taking my bags home with him tonight ready for me to move out tomorrow. 

Packing took longer than I expected, and I decided to throw a load of washing in the machine to get me through the next two weeks. It washed and dried really quickly so I was able to pack it into the bags ready for Morgan. There was an awful lot of food to go to Morgs too, which was unfortunate, it ended up i had 6 bags for him to take home with him, most of it was food to be fair. 

Morg came down for his dinner, and duly admired my new specs. (Good boy.) Our tea was a bit of a mish mash, breaded fish pieces and hash browns with a side accompaniment of peas, half a bag to be precise. At least they broke up the beige colour of the dinner! Morg's plate looked significantly more colourful with a large helping of ketchup. 

He didn't stop long after we’d eaten. He's had a really hard day, but on the upside his boss has given him another pay rise which he was gobsmacked about particularly as he's leaving in the autumn. It's nice that his boss thinks so much of him and is happy to reward his hard work financially. 

Once he'd taken the bags I cleaned the apartment through. I didn't have to but I wanted to leave it tidy and I had nothing else to do. I've really enjoyed staying here, the facilities are the best and the environment is really homely, which is another reason maybe i haven’t felt the need to go anywhere. Weather hasn't helped in that respect though. I think it's the hill I have to walk up to get to the apartment that puts me off going out. The effort is too great. And I am fundamentally lazy. 

All ready for the last leg of the trip now, and I'll soon be home. I fully intend to be more independent and not so needy and helpless when I get back so hopefully I won't be so much of a burden on you all . 

Much love

Mrs Leonard

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