Hello to you all and thanks for all of your concern and supportive words, following last week’s not so good update. Regarding that development, I now have a bone scan scheduled for the 27th of January, but I need to chase up the second one he mentioned. The face to face discussion with him will be the 6th of March, the first face to face in more than two years. It seems very far off for us, when we just need to know (don’t want to know, but need to know scenario is back again!), but guess that he is busy with other sufferers before that. I have had a busy week and that has kept my head and body focused and not dwelling too much. I am trying to be practical and pragmatic, but ask me again after the scans / when the face to face date gets close! I still feel physically okay, apart from the annoying discomfort, so I am focusing on today’s reality.

Dodging the weather again, I fitted in 3 walks with times of 13:09, 13:20 and 13:25 - with that last one feeling quicker than the first one! These walks continue to be a key part of my overall battle and I do like getting them done, even if the mind and body are not always willing! I also had Physio on Monday, which was straight forward enough. No more needles, but plenty of kneading and machine massaging.

As touched on above, the past week was a very busy one, with Monday being one task after the other, which was helpful in distracting my mind. Tuesday evening seen me out with Howard (Matt was due to be with us, but had a last minute important change) and once again I forgot to get a photo! That was a very enjoyable catch up with both of us chatting about a wide variety of topics; the next date is in the diary for early March, for the 3 of us.

Time with both Alanna and Karl took place on the usual Wednesday and Thursday, but once again, heavy rain impacted what Karl and I could do. Sandra was off Friday, which then gave us most of the afternoon together (she had appointments to take care of too). Saturday saw me up at the farm where we store the military vehicles, with me meeting up with various friends from our historical society, but also hosting 2 visitors who came to view some of the vehicles that are being sold.

Sunday was more relaxed and I had plenty of laptop tasks to catch up on - contacting many people (following the vehicle activity) and sorting book orders and the like. Although we initially planned not to go out, Sandra had a change of heart after lunch and we ventured out for a stroll along a nearby promenade. We had hoped to meet up with Karl and Rachel en route, as they had asked us earlier in the day about joining them, but as we had left our decision a little later, they were ending their walk, as we were starting ours. It turned out to be a bit colder than anticipated, so we did not stay out too long. Our walk took us along the coastline that was recently badly impacted by a storm; the evidence of the damage was notable and parts of our walk was through deep shingle that made the promenade indistinguishable from the beach; that shingle is usually 4-6 feet beneath the concrete promenade!! (this week’s photo was taken on that walk)

Last, but not least, I began the proof reading phase of Volume 7 and I have completed 2 chapters of that. Sandra has also checked through the maps for me - with some corrections needed on those, plus I received the last couple of photos from a historian friend in the USA. That gives me plenty to work through in the coming weeks, but the final elements are coming together nicely.

In summary, a very active week that proved a good distraction from the recent negative health developments.

Your supportive words were very helpful last week and I thank you all for those.

Regards

Peter