Monday 3rd to Sunday 9th March 2008
After living with my sinusitis for over four weeks, at last I have a CT scan on my sinuses on Monday afternoon. I am told that a scan result will be with my consultant for my Thursday clinic. I do a bit more clearing of the garage.
I go up to Earls Court on Tuesday for my first working day for 14 months and to discuss a contract and what Martin and Steve want me to do. I take the 8.26am train, getting to the office at 9.45am. Just right for me, except that I have to catch the school bus from here! I have an hour or so in the office chatting with the old team before Martin and Steve arrive. All seven of that main team are in and make me very welcome. I am made even more welcome by Steve and Martin. It is great to be back, but even nicer is the warmth of that welcome from the top duo. Almost brought a tear to the eye! Martin has an interesting project for me looking into consultation arrangements across London. I don’t have the complete specification today but it looks like six months’ work to me. My plan is to take early opportunities to get out and about and see how I cope with walking the streets of London, climbing up and down tube station stairs and generally exercising myself as I predict quite a bit of my future working life this year will be. I am free for the afternoon, so I test out my stamina straight away, by travelling across to Holborn to meet up with an old analyst contact from my 2006 project. It is a very worthwhile visit in all respects. I walk a total of about two miles, some of it unnecessary as I go to the wrong station for my train home. It is quite exerting and I cough up a load of gunge sitting on the platform at St Pancras, but I consider that I passed the test. I catch a bus home from the station and get home at 7pm. Quite a day!
On Wednesday I finish sorting out the garage contents and take a load of rubbish to the tip. I leave a message on Pete Korell’s blog, including asking him to email me if he has time.
I have a morning clinic at Brighton on Thursday and see Sangeeta. My CT scan shows that the right drainage hole is still blocked, but I have to say that it is feeling slightly better. Carry on with the nasal drops. She tells me that I have an appointment with the ENT team in the pipeline for sometime soon. My blood results today are - Wbc: 3.3; Neuts: 1.7; Lymph: 1.2; Hbn: 13.3; Plt: 96. I do not need a GCSF injection and can wait for the next clinic in two weeks to see how the neutrophils progress. I am to continue with the Pentamidine nebuliser, which I am scheduled to have in two weeks time. I then go to Staplefield for lunch with another former work colleague Dave Scales. We go back to 1976 in the Burgess Hill CID, when he was my boss, but we haven’t seen each other since May 1997. It’s really great to meet again and we do an immense amount of catching up.
I have another day in London on Friday, getting up early to catch the 7.19 train. The team has organised a national conference of Neighbourhood Policing and I have a sitting and listening day. It is very relaxing and I make a couple of useful contacts for my impending project! I even have a chat with Tim Godwin who comes in the do the closing speech - yet another blinder of course! He is delighted that I am back. We babysit for Matthew and Charrise in the evening, including my driving them to and from their friends. Today is another test for me, as not only do I have a day in London, but I drive a total of 76 miles, half of which is after midnight and an hour or so dozing on the settee!
We have Tony and Pam visit us for the weekend. We meet up at the Royal Oak for lunch on Saturday and have a leisurely rest of the day with plenty of chatting. We have an energetic walk on Sunday morning up at Wakehurst Place. It isn’t that we walk very far, but the first half is mainly downhill and so the second half is mostly uphill - and very steep at that! Another test for my dodgy lungs! My stomach has seemed to be well back to normal for the past two months, so I decide to stop taking my daily Omeprazole tablet ands see what happens. For the first time in my living memory there is only one club from the top flight - Portsmouth - in the semi-finals of the FA Cup. The others are West Bromwich, Cardiff and Barnsley - who beat Liverpool and Chelsea in their last two ties.
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Sorry Roland I haven't written in a time but have been busy sortiung things and trying to keep level headed if that could ever happen HaHa My email should work just type in duffer@new.rr.com in the address box and it should work. Try a test message when you read this and I will fire a lettter back to you. Sounds like you are doing OK hope them sinus problems clear up they give me some problems now and again. Going back to work is also a good sign and keeps the mind busy. Sorry I would write more but that is where I have to head off to WORK :( Take care Roland and talk soon
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