Monday, April 30, 2012

Alarming

I imagine most people have at one time or another experienced that "Sunday night feeling".  I can now with some certainty state that Sunday nights are made much worse by the burglar alarm going off six times during the night - 10.20pm, 3am, 4.50am, 4.55am, 7.15am x 2.

The sound of the alarm is now like a form of tinnitus in my ears constantly reminding me how tired I am - and yet also surprised that none of my presumably very tired neighbours have been banging on my door.  Perhaps I should set the alarm.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Borders

We went to Scotland with my sister and nephew for a week over Easter. We stayed in a really nice cottage in the Scottish Borders, which was on a sheep farm. We were woken up one day by sheep and lambs loudly bleating due to an overnight downfall of snow.

We had a really good time (and the snow didn’t hang about) and explored the Borders, walked by the sea, ate waaaaaaaaay too much food and generally enjoyed ourselves. We also spent some time in Edinburgh, and it must be the third or fourth time I have been there and I still don’t “get it” as a city. I just can’t seem to connect with it or feel that I really know what Edinburgh is about. Most places we go, whether big or small I feel as though I have somehow got a sense of what that place is like. For example, while we were in the Borders we were staying near Lauder and got a sense of what that village is like by spending some time walking around the local area, stopping for coffee, visiting the local butcher’s shop and so on. But Edinburgh continues to evade me, and I say that as a Londoner. G, a Scot, is obviously horrified by this and says we need to go back soon to redress this.

Since we’ve got back, work has been really hectic and I am counting down to use going to Porto in a couple of weeks’ time. I also have developed a pain in my shoulder for some unknown reason. I really am not suited to a working life.

Sunday, April 01, 2012

Clots

I can’t wait to be off for Easter. Not a moment too soon. Mum has been doing pretty well since her operation, although she was really tired. But last Friday night she phoned to say she was going to A&E because she thought she had a blood clot. We went and met her at A&E and over three hours later we were able to all go home with a probable diagnosis of blood clots and a commitment from G to administer mum’s injections to thin her blood.

The next morning, mum phoned to say that the pain had got much worse and she needed to go back to hospital because the pain had got much worse overnight. So we went back to the hospital and they carried out lots of tests. After several hours, mum was officially diagnosed with blood clots and they also found a shadow on her lung. For a while it looked like mum would have to stay in hospital, but in the end they decided she could go home. G had to continue administering the injections until other medication kicked in. Mum went back to the hospital on Monday and she was then diagnosed with pneumonia, which is what the shadow was on her lung.

Mum’s operation a few weeks ago went remarkably well, and when they did the biopsy they found more cancer, which shows that it was the right decision to have the mastectomy. But the complications of late have been more trying for mum (not that the operation or recovery was a pleasant experience for mum). Fortunately, mum is a very positive person and has been very resilient to all of these developments. She still retained enough presence of my mind that when the leaflet turned up from the local Baptist about Easter services (yes, *that* local Baptist church) she tore it up and threw it in the bin.