It’s been a year since I started doing these round-ups of things that haven’t warranted a full blog post at the end of each month. There’s a few things to talk about this month, which has once again been a busy one. Work has been busy as it’s the start of term, and we’ve had some time with family to mark Christine’s birthday.
Bradford Flower Carpet
Bradford may no longer be UK City of Culture, but that doesn’t mean that cultural events aren’t still happening in Bradford. On Friday, on my way into work, I had a quick peek at the flower carpet in Centenary Square, which was made up of over 300,000 flowers and put together by volunteers. Hence the photo above this blog post.
Sadly, as flowers don’t last forever, the carpet was dismantled yesterday. Quite how many more cultural events we’ll have in Bradford remains to be seen, as the local authority have redirected £400,000 of culture funding to re-opening a tip near Keighley.
Health update
Last month’s health update warranted a full blog post, but this time I’m just doing a couple of paragraphs. I did have another minor seizure this month, making it number four. Like the previous two, this happened at bedtime, whilst already in bed, and seemingly resulted in no ill effects apart from me having bitten my tongue. I had forgotten to take my Levetiracetam in the morning, so I’m putting it down to that. As a precaution, I have a strip of Levetiracetam in my work bag now, and so far there’s been no repeat.
I’ve had some more blood tests, following my Osteopenia diagnosis, and I’m now having weekly physiotherapy sessions along with additional exercises. My mobility continues to improve, but I still need assistance with showering, and some actions like getting dressed and putting a backpack on still have to be done in a rather ungraceful way.
Fuel prices
Although I’m not driving at the moment (and that latest seizure has reset the 12 month timer until I can drive again), I’m becoming increasingly glad that we ditched our diesel car for an electric one. As I write this, the price of basic diesel at our local petrol station has broken the £2 per litre mark – for Americans reading this, that’s more than $10 per gallon at current exchange rates. For premium diesel, which we were recommended to use every other time we refuelled, that’s now £2.16 per litre. A full tank would therefore cost close to £130.
Meanwhile, when we charge our electric car at home (which we do the majority of the time), our electricity prices are fixed at 24p per kWh until August 2027. And, we can use some of the energy from our solar panels and battery to lower this further, along with Weekend Happy Hours from our energy supplier. A full charge costs about £6 and offers around 150 miles of range, compared to over £100 for a full tank of diesel in our old car, which would give around 400 miles of range.
Of course, the fact that most lorries use diesel is going to have a knock-on effect with prices in shops, as delivery costs go up. So, the sooner we can get away from fossil fuels and switch to more sustainable sources of energy, the better.
