Flu jabs - or not

 We always have a communication from our doctors' surgery in the early autumn about flu jab clinics. A couple of weeks ago we realised that we had not had any communication this year so my husband phoned them up - and actually got through to speak to someone* - and got an appointment for 11.20 this morning. They said that they had decided not to do a flu jab clinic this year but patients have to ask for a regular appointment. So I reckon a lot of people will miss out because of this. I remember reading somewhere that it was more important than ever to have a flu jab this year with Covid etc. 

Yesterday we got a reminder text about going for the flu jab at 11.20. So we rearranged everything that we were supposed to be doing today and drove to the surgery in time to be just a little early but not too much. The receptionist could not find our appointment and asked us to sit in the waiting room. Half an hour later we were called to the reception desk and told that our appointment had been cancelled yesterday as they had run out of vaccines. But they did not tell us! So we came home, had lunch and then at 1.30 pm we got a text telling us our appointment was cancelled... 

When we were out and about this afternoon, we went to Boots and asked about a flu jab but they are out of stock of vaccines too. Hmmm...

* Our surgery has a phone service where your call is kept in a queue until it is your turn. Perhaps your surgery has a similar system. With ours, you ring up and told that you are number 29 in the queue or whatever and then you wait and wait and wait. then you eventually are told you are number one in the queue. And then it cuts you off. And you start again. And again. Until eventually you might get a person answering, perhaps two or three hours later. Rubbish system!

Birthday treat

 I have had a lovely weekend. It was my birthday last week and my family clubbed together to send us on a trip to the West Midland Safari Park. We went yesterday and had a fabulous day. My son came and brought our three granddaughters and we drove there in our car. We all squashed into one car for the tour around the safari bit because we were travelling in second gear in a huge queue of cars and did not need seat belts. The two youngest granddaughters were supposed to go on a trip for their birthdays which are both in August but one fell and broke their arm just at the wrong time and this was a sort of consolation prize unbirthday outing for them.

It was a lovely warm and sunny day and we had a picnic lunch sitting outside at a picnic table. We had a fabulous time feeding any animal that would come near enough to let us feed it. I didn't realise just how slobbery giraffes are : ) We saw all sorts of animals: tigers, white tigers, lions, white lions, umpteen kinds of deer, some strange type of cattle, dholes, painted dogs, rhinos with two baby rhinos, hippos, sea lions, penguins, a red panda and lots of others.

We had a really great day out together and you get a free return visit too. I am looking forward to going back and seeing the animals we missed this time. It was definitely one of my favourite birthday presents ever : )