Week 3: w/e 8th November 2026
Hello to you all and thanks for taking the time to read this. From a health perspective, this week was mostly dominated by the arrival of a heavy cold, from the early hours of Monday morning. By Sunday evening, the impact had lessened, but it has not gone yet. Whilst hoping that this week would be ‘respite week’, it turned out to be anything but. Some of the chemo effects were still there on Monday and Tuesday, although thankfully, a lot less. The impact from the cold overtook everything and left me with very congested sinuses, which made me feel tired. That took care of the whole week, with no real variance, which makes for a boring read for you.
In the midst of that, I had arranged to meet with Howard and Matt on Tuesday evening and I made the final call on Tuesday morning to go ahead. Howard very kindly picked me up on the way through to the location (then dropped me home again). We met Matt there and I will say that it was an excellent night. We chose a local place that we have been to before a few times, and it has been voted within the Top 10 establishments within the UK, for the past two years. We knew the food was good and they had expanded their dessert menu, which helped further. It was a great catch up and, as we have not seen each other since the earlier summer months, lots for us to update on, plus reminisce on shared memories. For me, a real food for my heart and soul, following a challenging couple of weeks. And of course, I once again forgot to get a photo! Always too engrossed in chatting!
However, my decision to go out resulted in me being impacted further in the days afterwards, pretty much not long after arriving home. The tiredness was increased and the sinuses got worse. It was 100% my decision, despite Sandra strongly recommending that I cancelled. Another example of my pig-headed fight against what I am dealing with and the many aspects of my life that it impacts. The health impact did not detract from the enjoyment of meeting with those two great friends and I am glad that I went on, on balance.
Thursday was my pre-chemo bloods and we once again planned various tasks for that day. They done another combined session at the clinic, which once again made things much quicker and we did not have to wait too long either. On our way back home, we diverted off to the farm shop we have mentioned previously, picked up some of our favourite foods form there, but also had some very nice brunch in their cafe. That was a real lift for Sandra and a nice way to spend the later morning. It was nice to see Sandra relax a little, enjoy her food and also enjoy scooping up some food treats for home, after watching the impact of the past few weeks on her.
We covered off the other tasks on the way through to home, but they too proved a little too much for me, pushing me back further, regarding the impact of the heavy cold. Following that, the rest of the week was very much a ‘take it easy’ end to the week, bar one brief trip out to our nearby town, which did not take long.
Again, a mostly ‘cold-filled’ week that prevented us from doing pretty much anything, except what I mentioned above. Alanna brought the grandkids over for an hour on Thursday afternoon, as they were having their flu jabs after that and we have decided not see one another from then, for the next couple of weeks, due to the heightened risk to me. Karl and Rachel invited us to join them for Remembrance Sunday, nearby, but on Sunday morning, I had to deline, due to still feeling bunged up and tired. Sandra and I made the decision to have a ‘battery-charging’ Sunday, to put me in the best place possible, ahead of chemo session no. 4, which is on Monday afternoon.
As you will have come to know, whilst feeling like this, I can still pretty much forge ahead with the writing. I undertook some photo scanning and placement for Hazel’s manuscript, then updated her on current progress. I am now awaiting her for additional images, before I can move that project forwards. The ‘117’ project was progressed too and by Sunday evening, 98 biographies are completed, or 84% of the total - some very interesting characters in this recent batch! As I am now stalled on Hazel’s project, I have begun the very start stage of my next planned project, which is the companion book to my ‘Schule Tölz’ book which many of you have. It will cover ‘Schule Braunschweig’ and the majority of the current material belongs to the same person who made ‘Tölz’ possible. Connected to this planned project (health situation permitting), I have sent out a request to fellow collectors on Sunday and that is already yielding additional material, which is exciting.
In summary, another week of health restricted activities - the third in a row, punctuated by the very nice Howard and Matt meet up and Thursday brunch. Thanks for tuning in and sharing your supportive comments. Regards
Peter