Last night in my drunken negotiation's with mum we agreed to meet today for shopping and lunch at Morrisons!

I had warned her about the heat, and standing around in bus stops but she assured me she would be ok, and she was desperate for cat food so I eventually agreed...Earlier this morning I phoned her and tried to put her off as the forecast was set for 31 degrees. It was all to no avail, she said she was going anyway, with out without me! So, at 11:30 I sauntered down to the bus stop for the short trip to the shop and lunch. Mum had been waiting at my stop when I got off, and instantly began wailing about the heat. I felt like saying I told you so but didn't, I just let her moan on. We shopped and I picked up a large plastic table mat which I wanted for the table in my spa so I wont get rings on it. Mum liked them too and she bought two of them, they are wipe clean and very handy....I was just about to find out just how handy they are.... Then we had lunch of fish and chips of which I had a pensioners portion (smaller) as I was not really hungry and we parted company at the traffic lights outside Morrisons car park! Mum didn't want to come back to my house today as it was indeed too hot (shock) and she wanted to get back for the cats, so we went for our seperate bus's. Now the wonderful smoking ban forbids smokers from smoking in bus stops so I stopped in the shade of a tree about 100 yards from the stop and lit up, and enjoyed my ciggie! Ahead of me at the said bus stop were several older people, and it looked pretty crowded, but I finished my ciggie and went to join them as the bus was due. I managed to squeeze my ever widening backside onto the end of the red bench next to a very frail old lady and a man and a woman in their 50's. It was indeed absolutly stiflingly hot as I waited and looked up the road for my non existent bus. Quite suddenly the frail figure next to me began to slide forward and in horror I realised she was fainting!!! The couple in their 50's were her daughter and son in law and began to help her. Without thinking I gently but firmly got hold of her arm to steady her, and suggested to the couple that they should take her jumper off as her face was bright red and she was obviously boiling hot! The th'ree of us eased her out of her blue cardigan as my mind was buzzing with things I could do to help this poor lady!...suddenly I got it!! Out of my bag I got the plastic place mat and began to fan her vigorously with it.
"Oh that's wonderfull!!!" the man had exclaimed "Thank you so much!!"
The lady began to come round, with the wafts from my place mat, and the glazed "not with it" look gave way to a more focused gaze and a delighted smile form her! As We waited and I wafted, I spoke with her daughter and son in law. It turned out this lady was 88 and had suffered two bad heart attacks last year!!! ...why on earth would they bring their frail elderly mum out in 31 degrees heat? this really had really got me baffled!!! The elderly, like babies also, do not have the same heat regulations systems that we have as adults!
By the time the bus arrived (which was late) she had come too sufficiently to stand with aid from her daughter and we helped her on the bus. They could not stop thanking me, but it wasn't thanks I wanted, I was just helping, and I hoped they realised that taking out their mum in heatwave weather is not a good thing, in fact its down right dangerous!!!
I hope there was a lesson learned today...as I wont be around next time!