It been a busy month for Creature. Early this month it was our Jab Day when he takes us to consult our Physician and we is weighed and have our Jabs so we will not be hurt by various illnesses. And if a Horrid Flea do bite us it is rendered sterile by our Program jab and any eggs it lays from then on will not hatch.
I was first up. I do not really like being mauled about, kind though Anna from Sweden tries to be. So she gave me a very good examination and I was weighed as well, I had put on 80 grams since last time and Creature was pleased with that. Inbetween being picked up, put down on the table (not put down in the sense of being permanently asleep Eccs, just in case you were wondering, wergh!) etc I curled up and kept very still and let them talk. Creature told Anna I was being difficult about taking my medicine for my stomach. It not my fault if I hate the stuff and they decided not to force it down me but to keep on offering it to me in case I change my mind. And then I had my jabs - one for illness prevention, one for the fleas destruction (that one smarts a bit), and a Steroid injection to ease my arthritic joints.
Then Creature got Claire out of our Basket and let me return to it, which I did with as much dignity as I could muster.
As for Claire's examination, she kept on trying to get off the table, silly Cat. When they weighed her they found she had lost 300 grams but she still stocky so no worries there. AND she squawked a bit when she had her flea jab. When Creature let her come back to the basket she hurried in with no dignity at all.
And then came payment. Creature had guessed £160 and he wasn't too far out, it was £177 if I does remember rightly. He gave them the plastic card quite civilly, he has been known to freeze with it still in his hand at the shock of the expense. It worth it, I thought to him, it worth it worth it worth it! And then he took us home.
That not the only expense for Creature. He and Our Gran had old analogue TVs so they had to buy new ones wot they got at John Lewis, and they bought the aerials for them there as well, and Our Gran has a new glass stand for her TV with 2 shelves under the TV shelf. So when we next visit Gran I shall investigate those shelves to make sure that she has put her Photographs and Ornaments in them properly. Creature told me they were ages in John Lewis, it took longer to take their orders and pay for them than it did to choose their TVs. Good thing there were chairs for them to sit on while they waited for the orders to be taken and payment made.
Then Gran did her shopping at the M&S food hall wot at the other end of the John Lewis building. Creature went to have a look at the M&S canteen - smallish, most tables occupied and a big queue for coffee and butties. So he thought Our Gran won't like this too much, and then he saw an even better reason for not going there - Greasy Pete in the distance, who was boss of Creature's Dad many years ago. So Creature hurried away before he was spotted. Gran was fed up anyway by then, so when she had paid for her groceries Creature took her home.
The day after this adventure in Southampton, Creature collected his old Friend wot used to car-share with him, and they met another Friend and Friend's Wife at Keats wot Creature and Gran's favourite restaurant. They had a jolly good lunch there and tried not to reminisce too much about Work because the Wife had not worked at HCC so not fair to leave her out of the conversation. They will probably do it all again in May. Creature likes keeping in touch with them.
And then last Thursday the TV was delivered to Gran, and next day a SUBL came to put her stand together and install the aerial. That all worked very well, and Gran is pleased with it all. Creature had to show her how to use her remote control, for some reason she thought she had to press the relevant buttons at the same time, I ssuppose she getting old. On Friday Creature will show her how to use the teletext as she has not worked that out for herself. The only minus with her set is that the sound is a little tinny. But she is happy with it.
Our new TV came yesterday. The aerial SUBL (same one as at Gran's) arrived before the TV did, and we kept him under close surveillance. He was able to get on with the aerial, and the TV arrived just before he was ready to connect it, so there was no delay for him. By then I had decided he was harmless and curled up on one of the armchairs. But I decided to leave for another room when he started drilling in the wall for the aerial cable to come indoors, because I did not like that noise. Then he showed Creature how to tune the TV for all the channels. And then he left.
Creature thinks the sound quality is much better than on Gran's, but then it was £160 more expensive than hers. And he can get things off the internet like I-Play, he found he had a spare Ethernet connection cable so he tried it direct into his router wot has 4 Ethernet slots and it works. He also has an HDMI cable for streaming things via his computer if he wants to, so he is all kitted up for that sort of thing. He has yet to read the instruction book in any great detail, one thing at a time says Creature.
We like the new TV as well.
So that was the new pensioner's January. His cash balance at the bank is reducing a little as a result of this expenditure, but he knew it was coming so no worries.
Wergh! 
You didn't have to buy new TVs. NFA has a freeview box for hers and it works using the old TV.
But getting new electic things is exciting so a good excuse.
Well done to Midge and Claire for gaining and losing weight as required.