Eccentric Amblings and Ramblings From Gnat Bottomed Towers
The life and adventures of a mildly dotty old bird.
Thursday, 3 April 2025
What a plank
Wednesday, 2 April 2025
Cool Dude
We have good news. Let me first introduce Mr GBT by his proper name...he's called David and he's been my lovely other half for almost 35 years. Firstly the tumour has been completely removed and it hasn't spread either in its original site and the CT scan has shown that there isn't any elsewhere. He now will have a follow-up procedure and some specially targeted doses of chemo. They are going to hit it hard this year so that the little b*gger hopefully doesn't put in another appearance and then six monthly lots for the two years after that. It was an aggressive form which doesn't show itself until much later, but the universe was on our side and two chance things came together and it was discovered purely by chance when they were investigating another issue. I've always held my Pagan beliefs dear, but this has cemented them and they've been tested like never before.
Speaking of magic and how I seem to stumble across quirky things on a very regular basis, this rather natty little mobility scooter tootled past me and then drew up round the corner on Monday. The minute I clocked the 'Cool Dude' on the back I couldn't resist having a quick word with the vintage driver. He made me laugh and when he explained why he's got it and how it's given him back his independence following a life changing accident last year he most definitely lives up to his moniker. He very kindly let me take a photo of it.
Arilx
Monday, 31 March 2025
Reed Bunting
Another beautiful day and enough time to flash those new nature reserve cards of ours. This time Mr GBT managed to walk out to the first hide where we spent a few joyous minutes watching some of the woodland birds coming on to the feeders and then had the pleasure of viewing a Great Crested newt on the live feed from the pond camera whilst we had a cuppa. Earlier this month we saw our first ever Common Reed Bunting at Woods Mill. It's a rather snatched photo as it wasn't exactly hanging about to have its photo taken.
All these things add to the richness of our days.
Arilx
Saturday, 29 March 2025
Saunter on a Saturday
Our world has dramatically shrunk to twice weekly visits to the hospital. We had what felt like a major setback this week, but we did know beforehand that it was always going to be a possible result of the surgery. Thankfully we've always been decent lateral thinkers and good at coming up with practical solutions using what we've already got in to meet unexpected challenges. By the next day we had dusted ourselves off and had worked out that we could enjoy an hour of birdwatching whilst sat in the comfort of the visitor centre at our nearby nature reserve. It was so relaxing and we even stopped for a cuppa in the cafe. Spying on the antics of a grebe, grey wagtails and the egrets was magical and we have now invested in an annual membership. Going forwards it's within walking distance of home and Mr GBT is a keen photographer so we'll cover our outlay in no time once he's fully up and running.
With the level of caring I'm doing at the moment it's very important that I keep myself well so that I can do my best and remain vigilant about my anxiety. I realised a few years ago that walking and taking photos of beautiful or interesting things is a very important tool in my armoury. On some days when Mr GBT is resting and my energy levels are high enough I go for a saunter. I've been out in the sunshine today enjoying all the new Spring flowers and admiring that Aston Martin!!
Arilx
Friday, 28 March 2025
Pals
These two pals were hanging out together in a field that we passed on our recent Cuckfield walk. I don't know what it is about donkeys, but I always find them so cheering.
Have a great weekend folks.
Arilx
Tuesday, 25 March 2025
Off duty
I would say that today has been a good day.
Monday, 24 March 2025
Uckfield vs Cuckfield
Ah the vagaries of this language of ours. Over in East Sussex we have Uckfield, which as you might rightly assume, rhymes with duck and here in the West we have Cuckfield which is pronounced Cookfield. 🤔 With Spring beckoning (I take it on a day by day basis weather and temperature wise) and the mercury rising I risked a chill by removing my vest (I jest) and we trundled over to Cuckfield for a gentle wander a couple of weekends ago.
We are now almost a week past surgery and Mr GBT is improving in small ways each day. It has been and continues to be exhausting in ways I'd never anticipated before everything went awry. I'll simply let the images do the talking, but it feels like another small win and has given me a boost being able to put a post out.
Arilx
What a plank
I have looked at this piece of wood in Horsham Museum on many an occasion and wondered what its backstory was. The only thing I knew for sur...

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I'm leaving today's post in the very capable hands of The Cure. Was a huge fan back in the day and still enjoy hearing their unique...
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Isn't it a tad frustrating when you see something you think you'd really enjoy and you can't manage it for a multitude of reason...
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Mr GBT didn't really want to visit an art gallery whilst we were in the Midlands last month....he's a clever fellow though and dist...