Sunday, 8th January, 2023
The day is moderately warm and sunny. Unusually for January, we haven’t had the heating on for ages. Bought Pauline a new Liquidiser yesterday from Currys. It is by Bosch and the quality of the German manufacturing means that the solid glass goblet is so heavy, Pauline can hardly carry it empty never mind full of liquid. I’ve told her it will be good training for her upper arms.
My next toy is going to be a wireless colour laser printer which will free up space and cables in the Office and allow Wi-Fi printing from iPads and smartphones.
I’ve decided on this one which is incredibly cheap until you realise that the toner costs almost as much as the original printer.
It will be replacing another Brother which I’ve had for about 15 years. They are great workhorses and I hope this will be the same.
Did 40 mins on the treadmill yesterday. Going to do 50 mins this afternoon and then an hour on Monday. I intend to be up to 1.5 hrs by next weekend. Keep you informed if I live. …. I’ve done my 50 mins continuous and don’t feel too bad. Chatted to Kevin who is 73 today. Makes me feel so much better that most of my friends are so much older than me. Kevin seems happy going out on his bike each day. Must help keep him alive. I’ve also contacted my boyhood friend, Jonathan, who has lived in Boston, Massachusetts for 50 years and who I had hoped to visit this time but circumstances got in the way. Maybe next time.
Monday, 9th January, 2023
Lovely start to the day with clear sky and lots of sunshine. I’ve been eating porridge for breakfast since I’ve been ill and I’m getting addicted but, along with freshly squeezed orange juice, it feels very healthy. I know oats lower cholesterol so let’s hope its working.
Had quite a refreshing phone call over breakfast. It was from Printerland where I’d ordered from yesterday.
Are you sure you want to order that printer, Sir. Of course, we are happy to supply it but there is a much better one for your needs, a newer product which costs much less to resupply with toner. It costs just £40.00 more but you can claim that £40.00 back from Xerox and get extended warranty.
Quite refreshing really. Well it persuaded me and my new printer will arrive tomorrow. Two minutes later another phone call from The Urology Department at Worthing Hospital. I was only referred to them on Friday and the Consultant’s secretary was speaking to me first thing on Monday morning. Would I be available for a telephone triage consultation with the Consultant this afternoon? Of course I would. ….
… The Consultant has just phoned and told me I will be given an MRI scan in the next few days. I can hardly believe the NHS service I am receiving.
If I’m going to die of prostate cancer, I’m going to enjoy myself first and definitely achieve my ambitions. I’ve always wanted to go to Thessaloniki (or as the Greeks know it, Saloniki) in Northern Greece. It has its own Electra Palace Hotel in the same group as the one we use in Athens.
For a week at the end of May a suite with a lovely sea view will cost us around £2000.00 and Easyjet flights are incredibly cheap. So that is the plan. I am looking to book it today.
Well, I’ve achieved both aims for today. I managed an hour on the treadmill and I’ve booked 5 nights in Thessaloniki 15th – 20th of May. Easyjet flights are also booked. Looking forward to it.
Tuesday, 10th January, 2023
What a horrible, dark and wet morning. Not even warm today – only 9C/48F. certainly not inviting. However, I have to go out … to buy a light bulb. We have been in this house for almost 7 years and I cannot remember having to replace a light bulb. Last night, the central light in the bathroom flickered and died. When we unscrewed the glass, we found an element that we had never bought before.
This strange contraption has 4-pins and just pushes in. Where can you get them? Amazon will deliver this afternoon but I have found them at Screwfix and Toolstation which are not far away so that’s where I’m going this morning. At £15.00 for two, they are not cheap but 7 years is fairly economical.
Been out to Sainsburys where the carpark is under cover. The day is just incredibly horrible. Pauline says that prices in Sainsburys are noticeably going down. I am blissfully unaware of any of that just as I haven’t got a clue about practical things like light bulbs. I celebrate my lack of knowledge in these areas. That is what wives are for. I’m happy to concentrate on booking flights and hotels, buying computers and red wine. All the difficult things.
Going to do 70 mins on the treadmill today. Really feeling stronger by the day. Probably split my exercise in to two sessions so as not to overdo it too soon. The new printer is being delivered today and I don’t want it leaving outside in this weather so we are home for the day. Going to look at a couple of French trips for March and June/July. That’s my expertise even though it’s very stressful.
Google have sent me my travel record for the past year and it tells me that I have travelled the equivalent of once around the world. Now that’s an idea …. actually travel round the world in 180 days.
Wednesday, 11th January, 2023
Lovely, clear, dry morning with the remnant of a moon still up in the sky. Had a message from Kevin’s wife, Christine, over breakfast which was nice. She was asking about my recovery. Got to get away from talking about health. We had a pleasant exchange. I was able to tell them about our travel dates arranged so far including time in the North of England when we hope to meet up.
All my friends up there were telling me about too much rain and flooding was featured in the Manchester Evening News yesterday. It was so horribly wet down here yesterday that I decided to order light bulbs from Amazon rather than go out for them. A pack of 2 arrived at 7.00 pm last night. One of the two didn’t work. I’ve got the bother of returning it now.
On this day, 11 years ago, we were living temporarily in the ‘Shoebox’ in Huddersfield and we instructed our solicitors to go ahead with the purchase of our property in Surrey. Eleven years ago! Where is this life rushing to?
Well, today we were rushing to charity shops and clothes disposal banks. Pauline is spending hours going through wardrobes and throwing out clothes that we will never wear again. They are either two big or too garish or just haven’t been worn for so many years that it’s pointless storing them. Today, we took 4 black bags of my clothes plus a bag of knee length leather boots that Pauline hasn’t worn since we left the North of England
Normally, we take things to the Hospice Shop but they were closed so we took them to Link to Hope which was nearby.
As we were near the beach, we dropped in to enjoy the sunshine. Quite a few others had gone even further and taken to the waves.
Thursday, 12th January, 2023
Well, thank goodness for our Gym. Certainly not going to be out walking for a while. Rain, rain, rain and the darkness. Had a phone call from a Consultant in the Radiology Department at Worthing Hospital yesterday. She asked me if I was available to go in for a full body, MRI scan on Sunday afternoon. Who could say No to that. Of course I am available. I am extremely grateful.
My little sister, Skinny Lizzie, was featured in The Guardian yesterday. She has just taken on Head of Social Care at Surrey County Council. You can read it here.
At our age, the death of icons of our youth can really bring us up short. Jeff Beck’s death has been announced and, although he was 7 years older than me, it makes me pensive. I notice that Dave Weatherley posted a retrospective this morning. I must admit, I know very little about him other than early tracks of my youth. Let’s hope there is a Silver Lining.
Friday, 13th January, 2023
Friday 13th. If you are superstitious, which I am not, hold tight! Beautiful day here with lovely blue skies and sunshine. Out early for an annual review at the surgery. Things seem to be getting back on track … apart from the question mark hanging over the prostate scan on Sunday afternoon.
Kevin has contacted me and pledged to stay alive until October when we will meet up again. I like that commitment. I will meet it. It means more to me today for some reason. Do you care ?
I have been having a problem with DHL for a while. I ordered a new printer on Sunday and was told it would be delivered on Monday. On Monday, I was phoned and told that there was a better model. I accepted that and was told it would be delivered on Tuesday. DHL contacted me on Tuesday to say they had my printer but couldn’t deliver it until Wednesday. It wasn’t. I phoned them and they promised it would be delivered on Thursday, It wasn’t. I phoned and they said they were inundated with parcels and would deliver it on Friday.
It was delivered today after 4 days of inconvenience. I will put in a formal complaint. This is unacceptable. I had also ordered a new, bedside radio alarm to replace one that had been at my bedside for 15 years. It is one of the most important items of my daily life. It starts every day. The old one had buttons that were beginning to fail.
The new new one is DAB or has digital radio stations and will charge my smartphone over night. It will see me through the next decade and then I will only need to replace it twice more before I am admitted to the Care Home. Do you care? Probably not! Well Dear Reader, that is your choice.
Saturday, 14th January, 2023
Friday 13th turned out to be a good day in that Pauline was told the skin blemish on her cheek was sun damage but not cancerous. Additionally, she will be offered 6 monthly check-ups by the hospital going forward. Just hope the news from my scan tomorrow is as positive.
Still raining. The sea must be full by now. We live between the Sussex Downs and the beach. It provides us with beautiful landscapes. Julie was telling me about the screen printing she was working on in her conservatory when an invitation to a local gallery came in accompanied by this lovely piece.
Because of the weather, I’ve been spending my time doing things which stress me but which I enjoy. Firstly, I’ve set up the new printer on our Office network. Still trying to configure wireless ‘air’ printing but that is nearly solved. I’m also setting up the radio alarm which is proving more difficult with a dreadful manual from a respectable producer – Roberts Radio – but it is not as intuitive as it ought to be. I will get there in the end. …….
… Been mulling it over all afternoon while watching Man. Utd thrash a very poor Manchester City team to go 3rd in the table. Suddenly, the solution appeared before me. Final whistle, big cheer, went straight up and completed the setup. Good afternoon’s work! Poor old Kevin is bemoaning Huddersfield conceding a 98th minute equaliser to Hull of all people.