S.W.A.L.K

23 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , ,

Being away from my hubby Hasan is very hard and I miss him terribly. We talk everyday on Facetime and on the phone, but it’ll never be the same as being together in the same place.

So when my next door neighbours daughter, Rhianne, went on holiday to Kusadasi I took the opportunity to send a present and a hand written card to Hasan, something for him to keep and read whenever he needs to. I think a hand written note is very special especially when the message is personal and written with love.

Hasan also used Rhianne to send a present back to me, he bought me a lovely bracelet and a new link for my Pandora bracelet. He didn’t send me a hand written note, but I know that he took his time to find me a gift that he knew I would love.

This time apart is so difficult, especially as the contract seems to be taking forever to arrange at the hospital, preventing me from progressing on the course as quickly as I would like. If I were busier with the course maybe I could cope better with not having Hasan with me. But until I’m working on the unit I can’t get stuck into my reflective assignment, because I need to reflect on something I experience during my nurse practice.

I have to keep reminding myself that I’m here away from Hasan to make a better life for us, so that he can have more opportunities than he does in Turkey.

I remind myself that everyday when I need a hug and a kiss from him and I miss him so much it hurts.

We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but we know our marriage is strong and we love each other very much.

So no matter how much harder it gets I just need to stay positive and carry on.

Water water everywhere

06 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

At the beginning of last week my friend Jane and I needed to pay a visit to the city of Bath. We go there quite often as it’s very close to home, so we have our favourite places to go to. On arrival we were starving so we made our way to what we consider to be the best and most cosy cafe with the tastiest food, but to our bitter disappointment we discovered it was closed down.

As it was pouring down with rain we didn’t hang around for long moaning about it and we didn’t really feel like trapsing around in the foul weather, so we only made it as far as the Pump Room Restaurant. We were enticed inside by the smell of delicious food and the lovely piano playing.

The main building of the Pump room started in 1789 and was completed in 1799 and is a grade 1 listed building, the original building has been added to over the years and it is very handsome. It sits above the natural hot springs and visitors can still take the waters from the spring, the water is an acquired taste as it’s warm and smells like rotten eggs.

Adjacent to the Pump rooms are the Roman Baths, the hot springs that supply the baths were first discovered by the Celts who built a shrine at the site. The Roman Baths were probably built on the orders of Emperor Claudius and were added to and improved over the years of the occupation until the Romans packed up and moved out in the 5th century AD. The visitor site is quite big and well worth the admission fee.

If you find yourself in Bath, don’t be put off by the grand facade of the Pump Room and dismiss it as a bit posh or pretentious. The food is relatively reasonably priced and delicious. Most days there is a string quartet serenading diners and sometimes it’s the pianist who played so beautifully for us on our visit.

Bath is full of delights and I never tire of it, it’s small and perfectly formed for a charming day out.

Girl power

03 Jul 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I was reading my “Woman and Home” magazine today and there was an article on the importance of friendships for women.

I’m lucky to have many friends, women and men, that I have met through the different areas of my life such as; nursing, guiding, bringing up my boys, travelling, exercise classes etc. But I’m even luckier to have a core group of girl friends who have all, in their special way, been an invaluable support especially over the last few years.

I feel I need to name them all as if I’m making an Oscar acceptance speech because they could be reading this post, well at least I hope they are!

My good friends from work are Jane.B, George and Kate, when we are able we meet up on Fridays to have coffee, catch up on gossip and have a mooch around the shops. They also keep me updated with the news from the unit, which is essential to me now as I will be working there on the Return to nurse practice course.

Living next door is my lovely neighbour and friend Debbie, she is always around for good company and she is also my companion and support at fat club.

My friend Bev has her own health problems that are similar to mine and a very lively grand daughter to run around after, but she always makes time for coffee shop meetings to listen and chat.

Married to my brother, Sharon is fabulous, I consider her a friend and a sister and she lets me kidnap my lovely little nieces very often.

My best and oldest friend is Jane or BB as I affectionately call her, (long and complicated story to the name), we have known each other for about 30 years. We first met through scouting and although initially we didn’t spend a lot of time together, when we started having our children we became inseparable. We have shared many good times and plenty of bad times together. We have been ill for about the same amount of time and both seem to be recovering at he same time too, so we are supporting each other trying to get our lives back on track. Jane is going through her own personal problems at the moment, but we always seem to have a good time and often laugh until we cry.

A good friend listens, doesn’t judge, gives advice if needed, says nothing if that is best, tells the truth even if it might hurt, will give support unconditionally and tell you if your bum looks too big in that skirt!

I know my recovery wouldn’t have happened so well if it wasn’t for my special group of friends and I wouldn’t be without them.

……..and what do you say?

20 Jun 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I was watching “This morning” yesterday and Gino D’acampo was cooking with Holly and Phil. Holly was making a point of reminding Gino to say please when he asked her to chop something or put something in the pan to cook. It got me wondering about manners and how important they are to us Brits and are they as important to other cultures.

Like many people in this country I was brought up to say please and thank you all the time and manners are very important to me. When I first met Hasan and started living with him I did get annoyed with him when he didn’t say please or thank you, it just didn’t occur to him to do so. Obviously there are words in Turkish for please and thank you but I rarely heard them in the same context as we use them. Teşekkür ederim  means thank you and is used to reply to someone asking about someones well being, response to a compliment, but not when being given something like a drink etc;  lütfen is the word for please and I hardly ever heard that uttered in all the time I spent in Turkey.

Hasan and I used to argue about it quite often because without saying please it felt like he was just barking orders at me and I really didn’t like it. Also it really bugged me when I made him a cup of tea or gave him something and he never said thank you. It only took a short while for him to see the light and he quickly caught on that if he wanted an easy life he should remember his manners.

So after watching Gino being prompted several times by Holly on the show I’m thinking maybe it’s the same in Italian culture.

Pause for thought

14 May 2012 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , ,

I’m off to Turkey tonight to spend some time with my hubby, Hasan, before the season gets really busy for him and before I get stuck into the return to nursing course. This will probably be the last visit before the season ends in Turkey and I know it’s going to be so hard for us as it’ll be the longest we’ve been apart since we’ve known each other. But what will keep me going while I’m missing him is it’s all for the greater good. This is the plan we agreed to follow to ultimately make our lives better in the future and no matter how difficult it is for me to be away from him,  I must remember that.

I’m not going to be taking my laptop with me as there is nowhere safe to leave it in the hotel. So I won’t be writing any new posts while I’m away because my fingers are a bit too big to type out a complete post on my ipod touch! I am however taking my trusty notebook so I’ll be composing some stories to share when I get back to Blighty.

So goodbye for now to my loyal band of readers and I’ll see you in 2 weeks.

 

How to talk Bristle

06 May 2012 1 Comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

Thought I might carry on the language theme from the last post.

Although I grew up in Bristol I don’t really speak Bristolian. I speak with a West country accent and really pronounce my “R’s”. But occasionally the odd Bristolian saying will make it’s way into my vocabulary that will throw my hubby, Hasan, into complete confusion. So for this post I have delved into the fascinating world of talking bristle and chosen a few popular phrases that would be heard regularly on the 75 bus or on the streets of Bedminster, or Bemmie to us locals, and explain in plain English what they mean.

Ark at ee  He’s got a bit of a nerve saying that

Ow bist me babber  How are you today my dear?

Wer’s ee to  Pardon me could you tell me where he is?

Gert lush init  This is jolly nice

Cheers drive  I say bus driver thank you so much for that wonderful journey.

So if you are a stranger to Bristol and find yourself in this great city you will have some idea of what is being said to you and if you go on the bus don’t forget to thank the driver!

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