Days 358 to 360

Yes it's almost a year since I started this blog. Actually it's a year yesterday(Thursday) that I had my first session of chemotherapy and not only my life changed but so did Ev's as well. For me there is no fanfare of trumpets or anything special. What I have to do is get on with it.

Today I bring you I hope some good news. Ev is back home from her unplanned holiday alone. I don't want to go into detail here about all of her experiences but suffice it to say I think it unlikely she will travel to Florida on her own again certainly in the foreseeable future. I can say she looks remarkably well and healthy.

Next month we are going on a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords and we have just heard from Cunard that we have been upgraded. This has come as a very pleasant surprise. I think Ev has deserved this.

I can also report that I have now managed two days in a row without being woken up by acid reflux. Getting a new V shaped pillow has definitely helped.

Also in the good news tray is that Jack has had some great results in his Physics, Chemistry and Biology Exams.

All in all then as May approaches I am I hope in good heart.

Days 359 and 360

At last some decent weather to report. Well all things are relative but a daytime temperature of 18 degrees and sunshine will do me.

I had a strange couple of nights. Despite a long drive from North Yorkshire I didn't sleep too grand on Sunday night/Monday Morning. Consequently about 9PM I sat down in a chair. This was fatal as I dozed off for a couple of hours. I then woke up at 1130 and couldn't go back to sleep for a while. It was nearer 2 in the morning I went to sleep. The good news though is that apart from a brief lot of acid I didn't wake up until 930.

Speaking of good news Ev's flight home is confirmed for Wednesday night so she will God willing be back home Thursday Lunchtime. It's been a worrying 2 weeks but it will be good to see her again.

Days 352 to 358

First of all apologies for not blogging whilst in North Yorkshire. It is possible to use a laptop at the Caravan and hopefully I shall do this when we are next up there.

My last post detailed my concerns for Ev. Fortunately the ban was lifted very quickly last Tuesday. It appears several long haul BA flights took off before permission to land in UK Air Space was given. This could be the only explanation of how a flight from Vancouver landed 2 minutes before the official lifting of the ban. Bear in mind the journey time here of 11 hours. Much has been written by what I call the 20/20 visionary and wise after the event people that the ban was unnecessary. We now know this to be the case but you can only imagine what would have happened if a plane had gone down and it had got out that warnings had been given. Ian and Lorna cancelled because they could not get a flight before 2 May nearly a week after Ev gets back. What this shows I guess is despite the recession loads of us are still able to fly round the world judging by the number of Brits still stranded.

As for Ev herself I have been speaking to her every day. She remains remarkably resilient but it can't be too much fun for her. Last night she told me one of the other guests had asked her if she played Scrabble. This comes under the heading of can a Duck swim? The only snag here is one of do they use American or English Spellings? I think this is one case where it is safe to leave them to work it out.

One other positive thing about Florida. We have a three week share. Cousins David and Mary Ann have bought a unit for two of the weeks we are there and Cousins June and Bill have bought a unit fot the third week. All of this has made me wonder how much more expensive it would be to fly via Canada. It would be a thought if we have another ash cloud fiasco.

I enjoyed my week at the caravan. Gosh I feel a little guilty in even saying that. Sleep pattern has been uneven. A couple of days I woke up with acid problems. One night in particular was unpleasant in that I had to get up. Otherwise courtesy of drinking water I went back to sleep. Not for the first time the pattern didn't follow any kind of timetable in when and what I ate. As far as swallowing is concerned, I am delighted to report that I am starting to worry less about leaving portions of food uneaten in Restaurants if the servings are too big. This applied to a bowl of chili con carne on Thursday and a whopping chicken Caesar salad on Saturday.

Though I would like to see people when I visit the North East I am mindful that I still need to rest. For example on Friday I had no visitors and decided to chill out completely. It was a day for reading and sleeping. This came in handy for what turned out to be a long journey South so please don't be offended. I had intended to leave the caravan at around 4.00. In the event I left half an hour earlier which was as well because there were two hold ups on the M1. I did arrive in plenty of time for the ferry having had two rest stops on the way. The total journey time was 8 hours 20 minutes. It will be interesting to know how long Ev's flight on Wednesday will take.

Time to go an do some programme preparation.

Dayys 349 to 351

The weather remains bizarre. Having been beautifully warm on Saturday, it turned quite cool on Sunday here in North Wales. Today I am heading for the caravan in North Yorkshire. Christopher tells me that it's been snowing on the Pennie Tops. Well at least I got to wear my sun hat for one day.

I continue to be concerned for Ev. She remains in Florida on her own in the timeshare complex. Air Space continues to be closed though there are signs one or two airlines are starting to run out of patience with the blanket ban. At last Ministers are taking time out from one of the most lacklustre election campaigns I can recall to discuss the issue. Ev is not due to fly back until a week on Wednesday and the hope is that the ban will be lifted in time for the backlog to clear before she travels. There's talk of using the Royal Navy and commandeering merchant ships to get Brits home. This morning I heard an airline spokesman say there are 60,000 British Tourists stuck in Tenerife alone. The Airlines can't continue to fork out for people to stay in hotels. As far as Brits being stuck in North America there is also talk of flying to airports in Southern Spain and using land and/or sea transport from there. Problem is of course that if the authorities give the all clear and a plane goes down there will be all sorts to pay. As far as Gillian's Parents are concerned there will come a point where it ceases to be worth their while going. What a nightmare.

All this has inevitably put something of a damper on my own travels. Christopher and Gillian have looked after me wonderfully well. I spent a very enjoyable Saturday Evening with some good friends of theirs. Health Wise things continue to improve. It has been helped also by being able to spend some time with Harry. But there have been no acid attacks for some days now and the cough has eased considerably. Last night I managed to eat my first burger since the operation. It was of course without the bun but I suffered no ill effects.

I am about to head off for Topcliffe hopefully with lighter traffic now the rush hour is over. I shall head for the Library in Thirsk or Middlesbrough later in the week to bring you up to date.

Day 348

Once again I am having an improved night's sleep. I woke up just the once through the night with some coughing. It's been three or four days since the last attack which has got to be good news.

I spent a pleasant morning with Gillian and Harry in Wrexham. Whilst Gillian was at the Dentist I took Harry for a walk. It may not have tired him out but me I needed a short sleep which I managed this afternoon.

The Volcanic Ash continues to cause all kinds of headaches not least to Gillian's parents who can't travel tomorrow and nobody seems to know when things will change. Ominously there are rumours that if this crisis lasts too much longer there may be lay offs in the Airline Industry. Still at least those who live close to the airports are getting some peace and quiet.

Days 346 and 347

This last two days have seen Ev and I on our travels. But before mentioning that I have to thank my guest on Angel Radio Stewart Murray. He was a joy to interview about his life thus far. At 89 years young he was as sharp as anyone I have interviewed. He does a nice line in voices as well imitating Rab C Nesbitt and a Public School Army Officer.

One of the pracical difficulties of having had cancer is that when it comes to travel insurance most companies run the proverbial mile. That added to my distaste of flying meant that for me going to our timeshare in |Florida was a non starter. I felt this was not really fair on Ev so I suggested she went. The idea was that she would spend part of the first week with Cousins June and David along with the wonderful Mary Ann and Bill. She would then spend the following 10 days with Gillian's parents Ian and Lorna. Fortunately Ev flew yesterday. That was before of course Icelandic Ash intervened. As I wrire this I don't know when Ian and Lorna will be able to go. Watch this space. I spoke to Ev tonight and she is fine.

From all of this you will have gathered that the cough and acid have continued to improve. I am staying with Christopher and Gillian(not forgetting Harry)for a few days. It is nice to escape the normal routine for even a short while.

I am looking forward to a pleasant day tomorrow.

Days 344 and 345

Hello folks.

It's been a better news day. To begin with I only once woke up with a coughing bout and was able to go back to sleep fairly quickly. I went on the scales and found that I have put on 2 lbs. since last week. The lesson of that particular story is to make sure I eat proper meals albeit in reduced quantities. The good Doctor Cave thinks I am at about the right weight which cheers me up no end.

Gill called from the Hospital. She had got the Biopsy Reports from Southampton. They tell of no nasty cells but do talk of inflammation. That is almost certainly caused by acid which in turn causes coughing. Other than Linctus, Gavescon and Lamprozole(which by the way I am already taking) there's not really a lot else that can be recommended. The good news is that voice, acid and cough are getting better.

In addition to Angel and Hospital Radio, I do a show on an Internet Station. The Computer generated playlist is very clever but the disadvantage is that you can't prefade to check that the song title displayed on screen matches with what is being played. Thus it was good fortune that I just said it's T Rex because what was shown as I like to Boogie was in fact Children of the Revolution(Phew).

Yesterday we went for a meal at a newly opened hotel/restaurant in Wooton. From a personal point of view it was okay in that the menu contained items that were easy to digest. I have to say however that considering how quite it was the service was extremely slow and although not bad I wouldn't describe the quality as outstanding. All of which is a pity because the location of the Hotel is very pretty. In the Evening I went to a service at the Methodist Church in which both Andrea and Ev were involved. It was very simple and very effective. Sadly I had left my reading glasses at home and therefore couldn't see the words of the Hymns.

Tomorrow we are both of on out travels. I hope to be able to blog whilst I am away but it may be towards the end of the week before the next entry.

Days 342 and 343

Things are definitely improving, Mind you having some decent weather helps.

For a start I had an uninterrupted night's sleep for the first time in ages. I was able to mow the lawn today without feeling shattered at the end of it. You feel at last Winter is starting to lose its grip.

The voice is getting better and certainly the acid does not feel quite so bad. From all of which you will gather that morale has somewhat improved.

The Island comtinues to surprise. One of our roads had first the no entry signs coverd over, then a sign for two way traffic and finally a sign saying road closed. You work that one out.

Long may this improvement continue.

Day 341

Thankfully today was much better. I didn't have an interrupted night's sleep but I reckon overall I managed 7 hours kip. The cough is still with me but not nearly as annoying.

The weather certainly helped reaching 16 degrees this afternoon with more or less sunshine non stop. My guest today was a man from the local Branch of the Ramblers Association. They are busy organising all kinds of walks for the Summer.

On the food front, I made sure I had a proper meal today. It was smoked Cod, Cauliflower, Broccoli and mashed potato since you ask.

Morale is definitely on the way up.

Days 338 to 340

There is no point in keeping any kind of blog if I am not going to be honest. Therfore at the risk of being called an old Whinger it's not been the best these last few days.

I put myself on the scales this morning and was not suprised to find I had lost four pounds in the last week. On Monday and Tuseday I have been eating/drinking soup and Cheese Quavers with some chocolate thrown in for good measure. This is entirely my fault. In defence I can only plead that when you don't feel hungry it's easy not to bother. Today though I decided to be positive and went to a local Fish Restaurant and had Scampi and Chips. I didn't finish it but that didn't matter. For my tea this evening, I had a Lasagne meal for one courtesy of Tesco and will have a pudding later.

The othet thing that is wearying is the wretched cough which shows little sign of going away. It continues to interrupt my sleep. Fingers crossed that it will improve.

Tomorrow we are promised sunshine and a temperature of 13 degrees. I can't wait. Who knows that could prelude a rediscovery of apetite and an end to coughing.

Days 336 and 337

I really ought to blog at the end of the day. Shortly after blogging on Friday, I went for a lie down. Though I dropped off to sleep, I was woken with a mouthful of acid which made me cough quite violently. Fortunately I did recover well and enjoyed a delicious Chicken Maryland Gillian had cooked. After Harry went to bed we played a fiendishly clever card game which was both taxing and fun.

Saturday saw us watching the big match Chelsea at Manchester United. We then went to a local carvery for a meal. Unfortunately I didn't appreciate the size of portion when I ordered Pasta Carbonara. There is of course no shame in not being able to finish it but I guess it was a reminder that I can't eat as I used to.

Today we have been to the Easter Food and Drink Fair at Chester Racecourse. This is a marvellous location. Virtually all the produce sold is locally grown. I managed Hog Roast with some stuffing and it was absolutely delicious. We also got some stuff to eat at Tea Time.

The wintry weather just drags on. A cold wind meant we all had to wrap up well.

On a health note, the acid seems to have taken a turn for the better but I still have an irritating cough. Hopefully courtesy of medication that will disappear.

We are off to the Caravan tomorrow and hopefully my next blog entry will be on Wednesday.

Days 334 and 335

Well we made it to Holt for Easter but what a carry on.

The sedation I had had on Wednesday meant a 24 hour driving ban. I had a guest booked for Angel Radio otherwise I wouldn't have done the show. Ev in coming to collect me was held up in traffic which meant by the timewe got back we only had about 20 minutes to get everything sorted before going to the ferry. Fortunately Ev had packed most things earler in the day but it was all a rush.

Once on the road we hit Easter traffic which meant us taking a different route to normal which resulted in the journey taking an hour longer than normal.

The good news is that apart from a brief period of coughing, I had a decent night's sleep which is more than can be said about Wednesday night. So far, touch wood, the work the Consultant did seems to be working though I won't really know until the results of the Biopsy come back. I suspect this will be given to us at the next clinic I attend probably in May.