Back, just

Back, tentatively, after a busy month.   One from Oxford, when I did the old 'compose and wait' thing until something vaguely interesting appeared in front of me:

I think this is the famous Lamb and Flag pub on the left.  The ginnel takes you from St Giles towards Parks Rd. 
Spotmatic, FP4+ on Foma 133 paper.  There was a wide dynamic range in this scene - the sun was bouncing off the whitewashed wall on the left while the passageway itself was in deep shadow.   Tough to meter and tough to print - the detail has almost been lost in the shadows, as you can see.

It's a month since I was in Oxford, although it seems like six.  In that time mother had her fall and was hospitalised for just over a couple of weeks.  A few days after her fall I turned 60 and my brother turned up unexpectedly from the States.  That was good timing - he was a great help getting mother's house ready for her coming home.  I wrote last time there was some debate whether or not that would be feasible but true to form she decided to give it a try and so home again she is.  She's getting stronger, albeit very slowly - I guess the body doesn't heal too quickly when you are a nonagenarian.   For the moment she's accepting some help from a care team, who come in three times a day for help with personal care and meals.  The meal prep part is a 'heat and serve' service, so they don't actually prepare meals.  What they will do is make a cup of tea and microwave whatever food has been left out for them.  They are in and out in 15 minutes, max.  It is a good help, although obviously it could be a lot better.  The girls are all very pleasant but it's clear they are stretched to the limit - they don't have time to chat.  The worst aspect is the timing of their visits - there are no set times.  So they might come one day at 12 noon, two o'clock and then 4 o'clock.  The next day it might be 8am when they come.  Or noon again.  So there might be no help between 4pm and noon the following day - and that's a long time for someone who is virtually bed-bound.  Obviously I'm able to fill in the gaps but if I wasn't there, well, it would be worrying.  We'll see how things progress.