So the plan today was to go see the doctor at 11:20, and the hairdresser at 12:15, stroll along the main street to take some photos since it was a nice day, and come home. Right. Come 12:10 I had yet to see the doctor, and when I was finally called in was confronted with two learner doctors who happily cross-questioned me for a further 15 minutes before the actual doctor arrived. Not that i would have minded any of this if I was not supposed to be somewhere else. So I phoned the hairdresser from the surgery and am now seeing her tomorrow. Sigh. Still, since i forgot to take the camera with me, this is possibly not such a bad thing as now I have a reason to go in and take photos. Assuming the light is good. Which it may not be as rain is forecast for tomorrow (I will believe it when I see it). The doctor/s and I agree that I have an allergy rash. The cause seems to be moot and the cure is a nasty sticky ointment. So now I have to wait for it to go away, meanwhile trimming out all potential allergens from the diet. So there goes milk, tomatoes, bananas and nuts, all of which have at some time of my life caused an allergic response. I suppose I should also cut out capsicums as these are related to toms. And no topical applications (sunscreen, moisturisers etc) until it all goes away. Then introduce each of them back into the lineup, one at a time, with a 24 hours pause between them to find out which is the offending item. Sigh. Meanwhile, since they had so much time on their hands, the beginner doctors decided to order various fasting bloods for me tomorrow morning. I usually rise between 5 and 6. The surgery opens at 9. Could be interesting seeing if I can hang in there for that long ... Still. Now I can have the bloods, wander around taking photos and then see the hairdresser, so just a reprise of today really. My neighbour-of-many-children was carted off to hospital last week. I understand he is dying (but then that has been the report every time he has gone in the last four years, so I was not too concerned). It seems this time he really may be dying as the entire clan has uprooted itself and gone to Hobart. This probably explains the absence of children for the last few days. The animals, apparently, have been left to fend for themselves. This afternoon I spotted two people wandering around their back yard peering into sheds and such like so wandered over to see who they were, since I did not recognise them. They evaded my several requests for their names and identities, but claimed to be the neighbour's friends (though I have never seen them before, anything is possible). But to me they looked dodgy. So I have called the neighbour and left a message asking her to confirm they were there with permission. I guess if I do not hear back within 24 hours I will have to assume it is OK... It's a worry though, since these two said they were bringing in two horses to keep the grass down. I pointed out the fences were not stockproof and they assured me they would see to that (unlikely). So more fun and games with stray livestock it seems - compounded by the moral dilemma associated with the neighbour's imminent death ...