Smörgåsbord: Don’t you just love that word? It’s of Swedish origin but it’s currently trendy in England (and the UK) to use it to refer to a random collection of information or things! So I couldn’t pass up the chance use it! And Smörgåsbord is now my own meme ~ so do join in if you want to, with a post about random things in your own life or neck of the woods! Leave me a link if you post so I can visit!

My random stuff  (in no particular order of importance):

1. Thinnerview.com is a website you might like to take a look at. You upload a photo of yourself and it does a makeover (it can make you slimmer, remove blemishes, etc). It could be seen as providing an incentive for anyone wanting to lose weight, OR could simply another way of making anyone who is less than perfect crave the ideal body image. After all, who amongst us is perfect?
2. From April this year, ALL people living in the UK who are undergoing treatment for cancer, or for the effects of cancer treatment, are entitled to apply for FREE prescriptions  ~ but few know and even less claim an exemption card. So PLEASE spread the word if you have a friend in the UK who might benefit. For more information visit:  Cancer Research UK
3. A National Bullying Helpline has been set up in the UK. It is a charity set up to help eradicate Bullying in all corners of our society; in the Workplace, the Playground, in the Home and in the Community. If someone you know in the UK needs support ~ let them know!
4. My dear little grandson is going into hospital on the same day as me for surgery to have gromits fitted in his ears and his adenoids out ~ send him good vibes please ~ I love him to bits.
5. I bought a new pair of shoes last week ~ high sky scraper heels!  Heck, I know I can’t wear them YET but I wanted to show I was thinking positive about my upcoming surgery on my tibia (chondrosarcoma) and I thought they would be an incentive for recovery! That’s my excuse anyway! (Anyway, since when did a gammy leg stop a girl buying shoes?) LOL!
6. My new grandchild is due in October ~ I can’t wait! She will be my third!
7. Since it is September I’d like to remember an old friend of a friend ~ Jonathan Silver . I spent many a happy hour at Salt Mill enjoying the art of David Hockney (a personal friend of Jonathans).  A close friend of mine and close business associate of Jonathan lived opposite Salt Mill ~ so when I visited him the first place we went was for a coffee with Jonathan over at t’Mill. Sadly, Jonathan died on September 24th 1997  of Cancer ~ and the UK lost a wonderful, generous and gifted man. Take a virtual look round the 1853 gallery HERE.
8. Fancy reading a poem? September 1st, 1939 by W H Auden is my choice for a September Autumn day.
9. I have decided NOT to take my laptop into hospital with me. Why? Because truth is I spend way too much time on the computer and thought it would do me good to take an offline break! A sort of “cold turkey” !! LOL! So I’m taking a heap of books with me to read instead.
10. There’s a lot of debate going on in the USA at the moment about medical care. Before you make your own decision about how you feel, PLEASE read Mark’s story. Mark was a dear friend of mine who died of Chondrosarcoma earlier this year. Mark is one of the bravest people I have ever known. I miss him ~ and he could have still been alive today if he had received medical care at the right time.
11. I can’t wait to read the new Dan Brown book: The Lost Symbol. You either love ‘em or hate ‘em ~ and I LOVE Dan Brown books. Pity I didn’t get a copy to take into hospital with me … DRAT!
12. ♥  I LOVE my cats!  ♥  Visit Milo and Alfie’s blog HERE
13. I’m not superstitious! No really I’m not! So why did I insert this extra point when I realised that I had made a list  of 13 factoids? Hmmph!
14. My fave Post Secret today is: