Three weeks since my last post! Shocking! I'm very sorry and hope I haven't worried anyone. I'm not in the hospice yet though my assigned nurse, Janet, did visit last week to meet and ask lots of questions, including one which gave me pause for thought: are you at peace? I was having a Dylan Thomas moment and more inclined to 'rage'!
I'm much the same, up and down, and easily exhausted but I am more uncomfortable in my liver are and tum generally. Beginning to need painkillers more. In fact last week I had to accept the dreaded wheelchair! Actually, after the initial tears, I enjoyed it very much as I could really relax and look at things, rather than wondering where the next seat was. Geoff was happy to push and I could hop out to walk to the wheelchair inaccessible places of interest, such as the jungle area in the Lost Gardens of Heligan, or if the path was too steep.
So in the last 3 weeks we've been ticking off items on my 'Bucket List' and having quite a lot of fun. I've even, with all the good food, put on a few pounds. Phil and I enjoyed the Bath Spa experience, though we didn't have any treatments and it was very crowded. The open air pool on the roof was amazing, with its views and hot water from the thermal springs. The day was quite cold so we had to dash in and out. Downstairs is an indoor pool with currents. On the ground floor are all the saunas, hot and cold rooms. But best to visit out of season.
The week before last we spent in Si and Ruth's very comfy holiday house in Hastings, end of terrace, three floors, very central and convenient. Phil and children came down one day and they all, including Geoff swam, seemingly untroubled by the water temperature!
I'm much the same, up and down, and easily exhausted but I am more uncomfortable in my liver are and tum generally. Beginning to need painkillers more. In fact last week I had to accept the dreaded wheelchair! Actually, after the initial tears, I enjoyed it very much as I could really relax and look at things, rather than wondering where the next seat was. Geoff was happy to push and I could hop out to walk to the wheelchair inaccessible places of interest, such as the jungle area in the Lost Gardens of Heligan, or if the path was too steep.
So in the last 3 weeks we've been ticking off items on my 'Bucket List' and having quite a lot of fun. I've even, with all the good food, put on a few pounds. Phil and I enjoyed the Bath Spa experience, though we didn't have any treatments and it was very crowded. The open air pool on the roof was amazing, with its views and hot water from the thermal springs. The day was quite cold so we had to dash in and out. Downstairs is an indoor pool with currents. On the ground floor are all the saunas, hot and cold rooms. But best to visit out of season.
The week before last we spent in Si and Ruth's very comfy holiday house in Hastings, end of terrace, three floors, very central and convenient. Phil and children came down one day and they all, including Geoff swam, seemingly untroubled by the water temperature!
In the afternoon (after some excellent fish and chips) we took the funicular up to the castle with its fantastic views. The rain caught us there but everyone enjoyed the hot chocolate (and bakklava) at the Turkish restaurant back down in the town.
However, the bucket list item was the De la Warr Pavilion in Bexhill along the coast. I have the mug, now I've been inside the building . It was an extraordinarily ambitious building in the Modernist style for a quiet, conservative town like Bexhill in the 1930s, and not entirely welcome. But it does make amazing use of the sea views, promenade and light. And these days is much loved and extensively used for exhibitions, meetings and social gatherings. The rest of the time we mooched about the lanes, sat on the beach watching people being relieved of their food by the gulls and generally relaxed. On the way home we visited Hurstmonceaux castle, a beautiful red brick 16th century building, for many years after WoWar the Greenwich Royal Observatory HQ and now gifted to a Canadian University. Lovely gardens.
Last week we went down to Cornwall to visit the Eden project and the Lost Gardens of Heligan, where I needed the wheel chair for the longish walks. We were very impressed by Eden, a huge engineering and educational project with the rain forest and Mediterranean 'biomes' but we loved Heligan, such devoted, mostly volunteer almost archaeological rediscovery and the recreation of the Victorian gardens.
We stayed in a very comfortable hotel (Carlyon Bay) with great sea views and excellent restaurants (had a lovely anniversary dinner on the 17th). Too cold for the pool, and we don't play golf. Nothing would get Geoff in a spa...so lots of the popular facilities were wasted on us. Still it was only minutes away from both gardens so very convenient. And if course we had to visit Mevagissey, the first trip we took from Dartmouth in our first term/ few months of marriage. Sadly it poured with rain!
Otherwise this last 3 weeks we've bought a new mattress, visited my sister and brother in law to inspect their small but perfectly formed garden under construction in Devon, and visited at last the Great Bustard site on Salisbury plane where these magnificent big birds are being bred (and now wild breeding) so that they are securely back as a good population returned from extinction (in the 1840s).
And we've started a quite big adventure (for us): a painted portrait of me! I would have been flattered at 40 but now not so keen.... Geoff is enthusiastic and we liked the artist and his work when we visited on Saturday so on Thursday we're going back for a photo-shoot with a few props including the cat.. should be an experience.
Lots more things being planned but most exciting is Si and Ruth's wedding on 26th October. They're coming down this weekend so we will be updated. They've had a week in Majorca after Si did his London-Edinburgh-London bike ride in under 4 days (very good time and picture on face book). Phil and family have been in Edinburgh (by train) and France. They'll join us this Sunday and then lastly Chris will get back from Croatia on Monday and join us for the end of the bank holiday. So a busy family weekend to look forward to.
Many thanks for all emails and cards, promises of prayers and hugs. I love you all. X
