A Red Warning & When Asking Advice Isn't Always the Best Thing...

There's no denying it, it's cold... very cold. Group today was not very well attended though I suspect the weather is just one of the reasons for staying away.
The drive to Spalding was without event, apart from having to stop once or twice for the screen wash nipplets to thaw out. Luckily I'd had the sense a couple of days ago to fill it with concentrate.

View looking towards Gedney Church from A17

Tomorrow looks set to be dicey. There are warnings of heavy snow for most of the UK and the highest level red warning has been issued by the Met Office. Thankfully I don't need to venture out tomorrow and I made sure I collected a couple bags of firewood on the way home today, so I should be OK.

A friend is looking for a new car and we were asked our views and advice at Group on a particular model she had seen. Having the laptop with me, I looked it up on the What Car? website. The ratings were not very good. It scored just one star for reliability and quality and the same for its interior and features. This didn't go down very well and I did wonder whether it is practicable to ask someone their views and advice when buying something as big as a car. I know from experience that ratings and reviews are normally the last thing one consults when buying a vehicle. Often, we are sold on looks and appearance failing to take into account miles per gallon and ride comfort. As well as the crass reviews, the garage she was intending to buy it from was also lampooned.
The whole thing left me wondering if I would seek advice when deciding to buy a new car. I soon came to the conclusion that I would not, preferring to trust my own instinct and experience. After all I've never had a bad experience buying a car and they've always lasted a few years without major incident.
Sometimes it can be highly beneficial to invite the views of others. But there are occasions when some things should be handled alone.

The First Snow

Today we had the first snow of the year. The newspapers with their doom laden predictions have been threatening it for days. This morning, here in South Holland, we woke to a light dusting and as the day progressed, the snowfall became heavier. I had dropped our car of for its MOT in the morning, something we had been dreading as we ended up leaving our last car with them. Thankfully, they found nothing too wrong with it and we were charged just £90, a lot less than we were expecting to pay.

The drive back wasn't what I would call fun. Our little Saxo has very little grip at the best of times and is devoid of any modern safety features, so I took it very gingerly remaining in a high gear and trying not to brake too much. It certainly paid off and I arrived home safely to a warming log fire.
I'll see what happens overnight before making any decisions about tomorrow and whether I attend the Group. It's likely that freezing temperatures will make ice the major problem.

CBT and an Eastern Front

Not a bad day really. A little shopping in Wisbech and it was the first time our new little car had been used. It performed very well, very well indeed in fact.
I had my CBT assessment in Spalding at 2pm. It was just a load of questions about the problems I have and how they affect me. I scored quite high on the depression and anxiety grade and the woman who assessed me did remark that I may benefit from some different medication. She said she would make a note for my doctor.
I did have some difficulty locating the place at first. I had thought it was on the main road, but it happened to be tucked away down an alley way. I did in fact notice one of my support group members departing the place and that was how I managed to locate the entrance. Despite having the assessment today, there's a long waiting list for the CBT service and it could be many months before I am next seen. It was suggested that I try to find a book called 'CBT for Dummies' at my local library. I'll do this on my next visit.
A bit of a to do in Sutton St James today. Someone has taken a shot at a police officer and armed police have now closed the village and access to surrounding roads. It's an ongoing situation as I type this and negotiations are apparently underway to bring the situation to a peaceful end. It's really strange when you see a local village on the TV news. My sister lives in the next village at Tydd St Mary just a few miles from there.
We are once again being warned of some severe weather. It's possible we will have some heavy snow over the weekend but it's by no means certain at the moment. The weather system is coming from the East where temperatures across Russia and Eastern Europe are as low as -30 degrees C. It's looking at the moment as if this could be the worst winter in many years. We'll see...