Boxing Day!

So..... to blow away the cobwebs and get out of the house for a bit We went to a nearby village called Rotherwick.... and came upon this lot!.... So, for those of you who don't recognise them they are "Morris Men" .... who drink a lot.... dance around a bit to some accordion music ....and hit their sticks on .... well anything really, (but hopefully not each other).... then drink a whole lot more!

Morris men are usually thought of to wear white.... but not this lot ... they are The Hook Eagle Morris Men, and as you can see, not only do they wear black.... they also put black polish on their faces.... and then wear black sunglasses!

As far as we know, no-one was injured.... and quite a lot was raised for charity.... and it was lovely to be in the sun..... (even though it was quite cold).

Hope you have all had as much entertainment and are now looking forward to the New Year celebrations.....

J xoxo

Happy Christmas to Everyone! Joyeux Noel !

And I'll be raising my glass along with Stuart to wish all friends, and especially those who may be reading this blog, a truly Merry Christmas...... and a great New Year ..... may 2009 become synonymous with good health, happiness and prosperity for one and all!

Joyeux Noel a tout le monde ! Nous trinquerons a la sante de toutes et de tous ! Profitons bien de la compagnie de nos proches et....

....gros bisous a Cecile, la "star" de notre photo en compagnie du Pere Noel sur la Place de l'Horloge en Avignon !

xoxoxoxo

Gilbert White's House in Selbourne

The festive season may be rapidly approaching but there's still time to squeeze in a bit of culture! .... On Sunday, Stuart and I visited the house and gardens of a British 18th-century local naturalist, Gilbert White... not a patch on Buffon (!) but the house also contains the Oates Museum... one member of the Oates family was with Scott on his fateful Antarctic expedition in 1911.... very interesting.....

The odd thing in the garden that I am sitting in is, well, your guess is as good as mine but it was gifted by the Bonham-Carter family (if that means anything to anyone!)

Anyway, time to get back to wrap up some presents....!!!!

xoxoxo

Christmas shopping!

I hope you're all enjoying choosing those presents.... whether it's a last-minute session or just for a few small bits to finish.... The lights seem to have been up for ages..... these in the photo are lining the main street in Avignon.

This end, we have already started on the mince pies.... trouble is, the home-made ones can't keep up with demand, so we're now cheating with shop-bought ones!!!!

Be back soon... xoxoxoxo

Back now ....

Well it was lovely to go back to southern France for a few days..... although there was plenty to cram in, so no time for lazing around..... two glorious days of sun followed by wind...then rain ....a good excuse for lighting the fire! Here are a couple of photos of places some of you may recognise .... and then maybe not!

Anyway, in the next couple of days I'll write a bit more to bring you up to date .......

Look at this! .....

I said Id try to find some stuff that might be of interest locally ..... and here are two examples of ...... well not really sure what the turkeys are all about .... but probably more easy to keep than the real thing!

The other one is of a local chap cutting a hedge ..... but actually sitting on the top of the hedge as he cuts it! .... amazing!.... Health and safety at work? ... whats that mean then?!

Off to France for a few days...more medical stuff and other gubbins...

Have a good weekend....Christmas shopping maybe? Have fun!

xoxoxo

Glomerular Filtration Rate Test ..... Going Nuclear!

..... Which sounds an awful lot worse than it was ..... (in fact the worst part was probably the hanging around!) .... this was the last test Im going to have for a while, and was just to measure how my kidneys are working.

Im now booked in to have my "transplant" early in January, and so I don't have to go back to the Marsden at all until then..... thank goodness! So far I feel pretty good... a bit tired sometimes.... and maybe the weather doesn't help much. The doctors and staff are all very confident and pleased with results so far .... so .... keeping everything crossed!

Theres therefore not going to be much medical news in the next week or two.... but Ill try to find something of local interest to keep you up to date with what Im up to.....

An Early Start!

... and on a monday too!

So today it was all about collecting some stem cells ( if there are any!) from my blood, and I had to be at the Marsden first thing.... Well the two possible outcomes I had been told about were :

1) You will have no stem cells .... in which case we will talk to you about plan "B" ... (whatever that is!)

2) That there are some stem cells and we will collect them over the next three days, until we have enough for your transplant.

So the the first thing the nurses did was a blood test to see about the stem cell count.... and because that takes a couple of hours for the results I went to a meeting about preparing for the transplant. I was also shown around the rooms on the ward, and there was one which was like a small living room.... for the patients ... which will make a nice change to being stuck in my room.

Anyway... back later for the results and they were all very pleased as my cell count was 45! ..( thats quite high apparently!) ... so immediately hooked up to the machine you can see... all very painless ... and I sat chatting to my nurse Amy for the next three and a half hours while the machine did its stuff. She checked its progress continually.... and at the end made me a cup of tea... sent me home to ring in at 5.30 for the results of how many cells they had collected that day.

So .... later when I phoned I am pleased to let you know that they have collected all the cells they need for the transplant today....at the first "sitting".... an outcome they hadn't told me about ... and so Im not going back tomorrow! .... so a good day ... and a great outcome!

Red sky at night......

..... shepherds delight .... (actually theres a warning of snow coming!).... had to pop back to the Marsden today as apparently one of the tests I had was now out of date .... amazingly they were all really apologetic ... the nurses ..the matron .... even the doctor! .... they thought they should have realised last week. The other surprise was that everyone seemed to know my name! .... even the receptionist .... didn't know if I should be pleased or worried?

I'm also now on blood boosting injections (for five days)... so I feel really good.... now I know how those cyclists feel..... and I go back on Monday for the next bit!

So since its friday..... its off to the pub ..... but only for one..... honest!

The Old Ruin!

.... And no! Im not the old ruin! .... So this morning because the sun was out.... (you have to take advantage of it when you can! ... rightly as it turned out later)... I went for a walk in a village nearby called Old Basing.

Im not supposed to be hanging around in enclosed spaces, where there are people .... to reduce my risk of picking up an infection ... So a walk seemed a good idea ... and prevents me going "stir crazy" ..... The pictures are some of the things I saw on the walk.... The Great Barn has still got the cannon fire damage caused by Oliver Cromwell when he flattened the Palace that used to stand in Old Basing .... The pond is an old Saxon fish farm ....

So... two days after the first chemo Im still feeling pretty good.... no nausea... that I was told might occur .... bit more tired than usual maybe .... and Im not due to go back to the Marsden until next Monday .... so still got my fingers crossed.

Ready.... Steady..... GO!

Well it was a pretty early start today.... and the beginning of the stem cell mobilisation ..... so there were a couple of transfusions .... the first just hydration and the second the first real "chemo" ... theyve given me anti nausea stuff ..... and so far ... a few hours later ... so good! as I feel fine...... fingers crossed.

Now Im supposed to stay at home and keep out of trouble for a week..... Hmmmmm ..... will try very hard to...... but!......

On the mend!

Okay... feeling much better ... and even went for a walk today by the canal ... the Basingstoke canal that is ..... well lets call it more of a ditch! ... as you can see from one of the photos it was just a little bit windy today as well!

The old ruin with no windows isn't where I'm currently staying.... Its called King Johns Castle, and is apparently the place King John left in 1215 to head of to Runneymede to sign the magna carta.

The marsden appointment has been rearranged for Friday coming .... so fingers crossed....

Here comes the sun!

..... Well it came out for a minute or two anyway! .... so ... pleased to report that today I feel significantly better. My local GP, who has been very caring, thought that I had a stomach virus in addition to the chest infection over the last few days.... so you can imagine how bad I felt.

Anyway... today the appointments at the Marsden have been rescheduled for next week ....

So! as Victoria said.... just a sidestep on the road to recovery .....

Grey, Grey, Grey.....

I had quite forgotten how grey the skies can be, here in November! .... And they match my current mood in some way, as I have managed to pick up a chest infection from somewhere .... which has left me feeling pretty rough. The doctors have given me some antibiotics to sort it out ..... but they have the side effect of .... well you don't want to know! I'm back to see the doctor tomorrow ..... hopefully feeling a lot better.
In the meantime.... better retire to bed ...

Bringing you up to date.......

I arrived back in England on the 19th October just as the clocks are about to turn back an hour .... boy! does it seem to get dark early here!

There was just the one appointment at the Marsden .... which didn't seem too tough... as I thought... except that it was for a bone marrow sample.... so not quite that nice! Anyway on the plus side they are using my french xrays .... rather than bombarding me again! .... and it was very nice to have all 17 examined and explained to me by the registrar; together with an analysis of my latest blood test .... and reassuring to hear that I am an "early" case, whos response to treatment has been very good; because up until that point I had been very much "in the dark" about my situation....... so that was good news!

So the next stage in treatment is scheduled for the first week in November; and so I was looking forward to some R & R ...... But with visitors from France and family stuff as well ..... kept me pretty busy. I did manage to go for day out last weekend to see the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth ...... Except! ... I had not been told about the South Coast Run .... so Portsmouth was gridlocked! .... Headed off to Bosham instead and had lunch at a place called "The Anchor Bleu" ... which wasnt French at all!

The othe picture I took on my day out..... I may have discovered what the english do with their barges ....... Should give some of you some ideas!