The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 03: Come On In

[Handley_Page]

I'm not allowed to drive but my legs are wobbly and I can't walk far.

The hospital rang this morning. They want to see me urgently for a scan but only appointment is 8.45 tomorrow morning. I will probably be there most of the day. They reinforced the prohibition on driving. The first bus from my town to the hospital doesn't get there until 9.30 am.

Did I say I'm not allowed to drive?

The alternatives are an expensive taxi, if one is available at peak school run times, or my wife drives me in her small Skoda, then dumps me because she has to go shopping and then collect grandchildren in the afternoon. Both parents are unable to collect tomorrow - a rare event which wouldn't have been a crisis except for my hospital appointment.

Eldest daughter needs her car jump started. The most suitable car is one of my ancient Volvos which my wife has never driven. They are automatic and she has always driven stick-shifts (Manual in Brit English).

Did I say I'm not allowed to drive?

The so-called Ambulatory Clinic means what it says. From the front entrance you walk the full depth of the hospital site, and then the full width. With my wobbly legs that is going to be a real challenge, and then back afterwards to the main entrance and a possible bus ride home.

The hospital coffee is revolting and in plasticised mugs. I'll be dreaming of real AH Coffee...

Have you considered requesting transport (either from Hospital volunteers or the Ambulance service) ? I worked that way for me.
Good Luck, Ogg.

Why is it colder here than in England? 3C here.

Fresh coffee for one and all.

Ogg, stay safe out there and good luck with the machines. And no driving. Right.

HP, the brand of instant Hot Chocolate I use is called Swiss Miss. With or without Mini Marshmallows. Less than $5 for a thirty pack. Just add boiling water.

[1] The last few days have seen a ridge of high pressure to the south-west of Lands End. So the wind (which generally comes from the west), takes a circuitous circular excursion rounf the high pressure and picks up warmth from the sea.
At least, that what I understood from our local weather expert/s.

[2] You might care to try Cadury's Chocolate.
I don't understand why anyone would put a marshmallow in it, but. . . .

 

[oggbashan]

Why is it colder here than in England? 3C here.

...

The main reason for a milder climate in the UK (and Ireland) is the Gulf Stream which takes warm water towards the British Isles.

The secondary, variable, reason is the Jet Stream which often brings warm air from the Atlantic to the UK.

The third reason is that no part of the UK is that far from the sea which keeps temperatures from extremes that occur on continents.

Locally? The temperature around my house is cooler in summer and warmer in winter because I am so close to the sea. The air temperature can vary by 2-3 C depending on whether the tide is in or out.

 

[oggbashan]

Have you considered requesting transport (either from Hospital volunteers or the Ambulance service) ? I worked that way for me.
Good Luck, Ogg.

...

1. The journey by ambulance yesterday shook my back more severely than the bus journey. Ambulances are basically panel vans and their suspension is rubbish.

2. If you had seen our hospital volunteer drivers? Most are significantly older than me and their cars aren't as well maintained as mine.

Tomorrow eldest daughter is driving me in one of my Volvos so I should be OK.

 

[NotWise]

Yikes! Have you ever heard of the Pornocracy? Being a mere Protestant boy, I never had until yesterday. It was the period from 904-964 CE when two generations of women used sex, politics, and assassination to control the Papacy. The time is also known as the Saeculum obscurm (Latin for Dark Age), but I like Pornocracy, which interprets from Greek to mean "Government of Harlots." The bad times went on for nearly a hundred years after the Pornocracy.

Anyway, it feeds into my story to be placed in Spain circa 1000 CE. The western church at the time was corrupt from top to bottom. Convents and monasteries were generally "owned" by local nobility who funded them. In feudal areas, the institutions were vassals to the local lords.

I haven't found a lot about convents and monasteries at the time. I think they were all Benedictine, but I'm not sure if the habit of noble families sticking their unwilling daughters into convents had started yet. I assume it had.

So, the church is mostly secular and at a moral low point, war makes men scarce and women horny, the lord funds a convent that he regards as his, and it's populated with girls from noble families who don't want to be there.

What follows naturally? And then they all buy absolution.

 

[Hypoxia]

Anyway, it feeds into my story to be placed in Spain circa 1000 CE.

Iberia was Muslim then IIRC. [/me scurries for a historical atlas -- no, the other, with bigger print] Okay, Muslims had been booted from Leon and Navarre (northern Iberia) by 1050 CE -- but I bet local religious sites were fortresses, like Dominican (domination) missions in Mexico, and religious orders were martial. A time of warrior-priests, yes?

And then they all buy absolution.

A holy Get Out Of Hell Free card provides great comfort and cover. Your timeline is a bit early for indulgences -- but blessings have always been for sale. Hey, what is forgiveness worth if you haven't paid for it?
_____

Rain increases. Flood and avalanche warnings blare. Our roof leaks not. Whew. Coffee in the morning, folks.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Yikes! Have you ever heard of the Pornocracy? Being a mere Protestant boy, I never had until yesterday. It was the period from 904-964 CE when two generations of women used sex, politics, and assassination to control the Papacy. The time is also known as the Saeculum obscurm (Latin for Dark Age), but I like Pornocracy, which interprets from Greek to mean "Government of Harlots." The bad times went on for nearly a hundred years after the Pornocracy.

Anyway, it feeds into my story to be placed in Spain circa 1000 CE. The western church at the time was corrupt from top to bottom. Convents and monasteries were generally "owned" by local nobility who funded them. In feudal areas, the institutions were vassals to the local lords.

I haven't found a lot about convents and monasteries at the time. I think they were all Benedictine, but I'm not sure if the habit of noble families sticking their unwilling daughters into convents had started yet. I assume it had.

So, the church is mostly secular and at a moral low point, war makes men scarce and women horny, the lord funds a convent that he regards as his, and it's populated with girls from noble families who don't want to be there.

What follows naturally? And then they all buy absolution.

Warrior Bishops: The Development of the Fighting Clergy under the Ottonians in the Tenth Century

Medieval churches on the Spanish frontier : how elite emulation in architecture contributed to the transformation of a territorial expansion into Reconquista.

Building Monastic Cloisters in the Iberian Peninsula (8th-11th centuries): Regular Layouts and Functional Organization1

A Wall of the Faithful: Spatial Analysis of Military Order Architecture on Medieval Iberia's Religious Frontier

YOu gotta write this one, I really want to read it!!!!!

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Morning all. Coffee please, if its ready.

Hope y'all have a nice day.

 

[NotWise]

YOu gotta write this one, I really want to read it!!!!!

Thanks for all that, Chloe! It runs true that there's quite a bit of information after 1000 CE, and especially after 1200, but very little from Christian Spain leading up to 1000. They may have been too busy with their wars to write things down.

The story will be in the fourth part of A Valentine's Day Mess, along with Manny and Claudia's battle with Angelito to recover the amulet made from her menstrual blood. As in parts two and three, they will tell the story to each other (mostly in bed) from their shared ancestral memories. All placed around Dias de Muertos.

You'll probably be disappointed by the length.

 

[oggbashan]

I can drive again!

Eldest daughter drove me to hospital and stayed with me, mainly for my hearing problems.

I was checked, thoroughly, again for blood pressure, blood, reflexes (what reflexes! Even when my physio uses his largest hammer there are no reflexes), skin sensitivity, muscle tone etc.

Then I went for my first ever MRI scan. They wanted to do my head and neck but because my head is inclined forward they had to put two large cushions under my bum to tilt my head. They couldn't tilt enough to do my neck. Brain shows no indication of any problem so they think it is all caused by my ankylosing spondylitis in the neck which they couldn't scan.

The consultant decided that since my brain is apparently working and my real problem is wobbly legs that I CAN DRIVE safely.

I was discharged from his clinic and will be referred to a neurologist in a few weeks/months time. That might be sooner if I use my paid-for medical insurance, but there is no urgency. My legs might be wobbly but I can do most things for myself including climbing stairs but have some difficulty getting dressed without aids. Now I can drive again my radius of movement is 100+ miles instead of the 100 yards/metres with a walking stick.

I'm drinking coffee, proper coffee instead of the hospital machine dispensed muck.

Now to repay daughter by collecting her when she takes her car for its annual test. She will borrow one of my Volvo estates while I drive the other one.

 

[TxRad]

Morning tropes, uh, troops. Fresh coffee is now available in both the front and rear mess areas. Uh, wait.... Okay, I had to shift writing gears.

Good morning friends and the not so friendly. Welcome to Hump Day. and fresh coffee.

After checking out some of the research data Chloe and NotWise have slapped around in here, I now understand why I don't do historical stories. Well, there was the one western but I just winged it for the most part.

ETA: Morning Ogg. Good news, good news. I love good news.

 

[_Lynn_]

Coffee needed.

I've just been to my doctor about my unsteadiness. She thinks I've had a mini-stroke, was horrified that I had driven to the surgery and has summoned an emergency ambulance to take me to A & E urgently.

I drove back the half-mile home. Now I wait...

The ambulance arrived shortly after my previous update. They checked me over by the roadside and found me ridiculously fit with a slightly raised blood pressure. Pulse good. Blood oxygen at 100%. ECG no adverse signs.

They drove me to hospital and I endured the usual wait as a low priority. Two hours before blood pressure etc taken - again no problems. Another two hours before I saw a doctor who concluded I probably hadn't had a mini-stroke. He asked me to squeeze his hands hard and then said 'Ouch!'.

I'm not allowed to drive but my legs are wobbly and I can't walk far.

The hospital rang this morning. They want to see me urgently for a scan but only appointment is 8.45 tomorrow morning. I will probably be there most of the day. They reinforced the prohibition on driving. The first bus from my town to the hospital doesn't get there until 9.30 am.

Did I say I'm not allowed to drive?

Been there, too, Og, including the horribly uncomfortable ambulance rides and no driving (and six months was forever). Glad you've had a good report after all.

I'm fighting yet another bout with a virus. Talked to the doctor's office and if it keeps up another few days, then I have to go in. My son is bringing ginger ale this afternoon so maybe that will stay in.

 

[oggbashan]

Been there, too, Og, including the horribly uncomfortable ambulance rides and no driving (and six months was forever). Glad you've had a good report after all.

I'm fighting yet another bout with a virus. Talked to the doctor's office and if it keeps up another few days, then I have to go in. My son is bringing ginger ale this afternoon so maybe that will stay in.

Two days unable to drive and walking distance very restricted was awful. Now I can drive my comfortable Volvos I feel much better, even if I am not. All the two hospital visits have proven is what I haven't got wrong with me. It is reassuring that my brain scan and blood tests show nothing untoward but I'm still wobbly on my legs and my speech is still slurred.

Going to and from the hospital, walking considerable distances inside the hospital and sitting for hours on hospital chairs have increased my back pain. That should ease after a quiet day at home. It usually does but I have several things I need to do that I should have done in the last few days.

Best wishes with the virus.

I'm on my third cup of coffee after getting back home.

 

[Kantarii]

Morning tropes, uh, troops. Fresh coffee is now available in both the front and rear mess areas. Uh, wait.... Okay, I had to shift writing gears.

Good morning friends and the not so friendly. Welcome to Hump Day. and fresh coffee.

After checking out some of the research data Chloe and NotWise have slapped around in here, I now understand why I don't do historical stories. Well, there was the one western but I just winged it for the most part.

ETA: Morning Ogg. Good news, good news. I love good news.

Funny, you mentioned historical stories. The old diary I use is technically a historical account, mostly autobiographical, but I get what you’re sayingI can see you writing a western, complete with the desert scenery, roudy saloons, gambling, outlaws, hangings, and whore houses( can’t forget those) err..
That’s can’t and not Kant

 

[TxRad]

Funny, you mentioned historical stories. The old diary I use is technically a historical account, mostly autobiographical, but I get what you’re sayingI can see you writing a western, complete with the desert scenery, roudy saloons, gambling, outlaws, hangings, and whore houses( can’t forget those) err..
That’s can’t and not Kant

The western ended up in non-erotic. Maybe if I decide to continue it, it will have some sex in it.

My latest story hit the new list at 11:40 this morning. Uh, is that early for tomorrow or late for today? An hour into it, it has 94 views and 1 vote, a 4. Oh well, it is a series I'm trying to finish up.

 

[ishtat]

I haven't found a lot about convents and monasteries at the time. I think they were all Benedictine, but I'm not sure if the habit of noble families sticking their unwilling daughters into convents had started yet. I assume it had.

The Benedictine order came into being in 509 AD and they pretty much had the field to themselves until the Franciscans about 1209/1210 came along, shortly followed by the Dominicans 1216, Augustinians a generation later with oddities like the Carmelites Carthusians etc a bit later still. One reason for putting daughters into Convents was that Kings demanded a fine (one off tax) from their Barons when they married off their daughters.

In the part of Gloucestershire(UK) where I came from, an interesting situation arose in the 13th century when the local Earl's eldest daughter died just before her planned dynastic marriage. Solution? substitute daughter number 2. The problem was that she was in a convent and the Abbess refused to release her. Solution simple, the lord sent round a gang of his men, they raped all the nuns, including the Abbess, then accused her of running a brothel - worked a treat - they were saving the women!

 

[Handley_Page]

I liked that term "Pornocracy". It says a lot.

Ogg, it's good news; I'm pleased to hear it.

I've got some new pills for my sciatica, starting tomorrow.My blood tests reveal a need for more control of my blood pressure.
"Ye gods, woman, aren't I taking enough of them ?" (My doctor is a lady.)

Meanwhile, I have been missing my coffee. Is there any available please?

 

[NotWise]

The Benedictine order came into being in 509 AD and they pretty much had the field to themselves until the Franciscans about 1209/1210 came along, shortly followed by the Dominicans 1216, Augustinians a generation later with oddities like the Carmelites Carthusians etc a bit later still. One reason for putting daughters into Convents was that Kings demanded a fine (one off tax) from their Barons when they married off their daughters.

The dissertation that Chloe posted on Medieval churches had little to say about who was running the churches. There was a brief reference that the convents and monasteries were local sects and not organized under the Benedictines until fairly late (10th or 11th century, I forget) when Cluny had its influence.

In the part of Gloucestershire(UK) where I came from, an interesting situation arose in the 13th century when the local Earl's eldest daughter died just before her planned dynastic marriage. Solution? substitute daughter number 2. The problem was that she was in a convent and the Abbess refused to release her. Solution simple, the lord sent round a gang of his men, they raped all the nuns, including the Abbess, then accused her of running a brothel - worked a treat - they were saving the women!

I've read a few other scenarios where convents are raided and nuns are raped -- sometimes even against their will. One was of a group of returning Crusaders who occupied a convent for a night. All the nuns got pregnant. That seems impossibly unlikely, but someone made an opera out of it.

 

[TxRad]

One cuppa coffee coming up, HP.

I've been writing but.... With my stories, there is always a butt...

 

[Hypoxia]

Then I went for my first ever MRI scan... Brain shows no indication of any problem...

I've had several brain scans in recent years that all came back negative. So officially there's nothing between my ears. I blame my infant skull fracture. Meanwhile, best to you.

After checking out some of the research data Chloe and NotWise have slapped around in here, I now understand why I don't do historical stories. Well, there was the one western but I just winged it for the most part.

By now, anything before 1999 is 'historical', but I think you mean times before we were born. I've done a few of those but did not fret too much about real details. Build a colorful scene and run with it.

I can see you writing a western, complete with the desert scenery, roudy saloons, gambling, outlaws, hangings, and whore houses( can’t forget those) err..

My two westerns include all those. They come with the territory, I guess. One of mine is about real people whose public lives are well-documented but whose private life I invented. That's fun.

I liked that term "Pornocracy". It says a lot.

Plot bunnies literally swarm, emerging from that word. Stories: historicals, alt.histories, alt.worlds, isolated cultures and cults, sardonic views of current life, etc. A near-future White House or Kremlin run as a brothel. A restructured Vatican or Wall Street. A teledildonic cryptocurrency. Yowzah!
_____

EDIT: Midnight now. Heavy wind and weather. A half-inch of rain is forecast for this hour. No animals are howling in the night. Whew. I couldn't take that.

 

[Handley_Page]

Well, so far, my pills work; I've actually managed to scramble eggs for my breakfast !
(this is more recently missed as a real pain!)

If this was summer, we'd be basking in the warmth; it ain't so we are at -1C;
beautifully clear, azure skies, but bloody cold.

Any coffee left, please?

 

[Hypoxia]

Tremendous atmospheric river (Pineapple Express) here, drenching fire-nuded hillsides and washing-out roads, rivers, towns. Rain on our roof is louder than heater blowers.

Just before 2AM here. I should puff a few and try to sleep. Stop reading news sites -- they only make me form opinions and other obscenities. Stick to funny puppy vids for safety. Oh look, a young pit bull and a snapping turtle! No, that's too political.

I'm trying to formulate a goal for tomorrow, but failing. Coffee first. Life later.

 

[TxRad]

It is morning, Kind of...

Fresh coffee for the thundering herd. Well, for who ever stops by.

Back in the day, I dated a nuns daughter. Don't ask and no one will have to die. I always thought the word father fit the local priest to a tee but what did i know.

There is never life before coffee. Existence, yes, Life, no. Scrambled eggs for breakfast. Now that is ambition.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

"Thundering herd." Nice way to describe your svelte and buffed clientele...

Darned good thing you make a good cup, sir.

 

[NotWise]

"Thundering herd." Nice way to describe your svelte and buffed clientele...

That makes the clientele almost as virtual as the coffee.

 

[TxRad]

A virtual girl in a virtual world, having coffee with a virtual squirrel.

Life is but a dream.

By thundering herd I meant a large group. I only make a profit on volume.