The sun is shining. Yes, I know that sounds seriously weird and highly unlikely, but we have blue skies and SUN. I intend to sling on my oldest clothes in a min and go out and weed and tidy up my rose bed just outside my window. My neighbour in the next door flat has put me to shame this week out there in the cold and wind getting on with it but I am more wimpyish and need sun on my back before I start yanking out the old couchgrass.
Not a good week this week. Lovely two weeks in Madeira, gorgeous island, packed with flowers and loveliness and drove home on Monday evening, again sun shining and clear roads and all well. Then for some inexplicable reason I felt awful, miserable and fed up. Then another tummy upset, but mild this time. OK does not take a genius to work out it is all linked and I sat down to ponder. Since I came back from Australia I have been on the go, lots of interesting things to do, places to visit and I have not been quiet or had time to think. Been up in London, children had chickenpox, helping out and rushing around and since March I have barely stopped. Also, and this is the real reason for my slump and sliding back into panic attack and depressive mode, is that I have only had time to really sit down and take in the fact that my darling daughter Kathryn is likely to stay in Australia, at least for the next few years, if not for ever. I knew deep down that this was probably the case, but now it has been confirmed it has knocked me sideways. I know it has upset my other daughter as well and I was full of brave words Well it is her life and we have to Accept it but it is not easy and I have found myself wandering around this week in tears and feeling pretty shit.
Combined with my tummy upsets, which Kathryn insists I should see the doc about, I decided to gird up my loins and get an appointment with my GP in the brand new shiny medical centre to which they have now moved. Appointments can be booked online but before you have this facility you have to sashay into the centre to prove who you are, fair enough, so as I had spent fifteen minutes on the phone trying to get an appointment only to be cut off when a humanoid finally answered, decided best to turn up in person. So I did and all was well until I uttered the fateful words 'I would like an appointment with my GP please'. The date on which I made this request was the 28th May, please remember that. I was offered a ten minute appointment on 26th June……….
OK by the time I had stopped bouncing off the walls, tearing my hair out and doing my best John McEnroe impression 'You cannot be SERIOUS' I was told that this was the earlierst I could get in and 'Was it urgent'. I looked the receptionist in the eye and said that as I was upright and cogent and obviously not dying it was not presently urgent but it might well be by 26th June and was there another doctor I could see (or a tea lady or a cleaner, anybody) and was rewarded with another appointment 'Well I can squeeze you in with Dr Thingummy on 11 June'. So I took it only to discover that it was at 7.10 AM and I noticed a fiendish glint in her eye as she told me this. I adopted an air of sangfroid and said I will take it.
Now I know what is the matter with me, have been here before, know the meds I need and so I decided to see if I could beat the system and go online to order a repeat prescription and get ahead of the game and the appointment. Logged on with the user name I had been given and the incomprehensible password which I was to use only once and then change, did this, ok all well. Ah but then I discovered that if you wish to order a repeat prescription you have to go into another system which needs a new user name and password and it cannot be the same as the other. Got that? Ok so did all this – heaven knows how people who are feeling like death manage to deal with this and ordered it. Went through, no prob and then I get an email saying fine yeh you can pick it up but I have to allow 60 hours EXCLUDiNG weekends before I can collect it. I did this on Saturday morning so by my calculations I have to wait until Wednesday or Thursday to pick up.
Exhausted by all this I made a cup of tea and laid down for half an hour. I am going to explore this brand new website some more as I am sure somewhere there is a page where you can interview yourself, diagnose what is wrong with you and admit yourself to hospital…….
OK rant over. As I said, the sun is shining and am going to do some gardening in a bit. Twenty two books awaited me on my return, I have got the ticket I wanted for the Die Walkure Prom with Bryn, I am seeing my darling girls on Wednesday, I had a pedicure this week and have shiny bright pink toenails and there is lots of tennis on the telly at the mo (will not mention the one day cricket against NZ), I have just had a boiled egg and soldiers and, well that is enought to be cheerful about.
And look at this pottery I bought in Madeira. Yes, I know I need more pottery like I need shingles but could not resist it. And this morning I have just purchased a Coronation Mug from Emma Bridgewater.
Kettle on now, gardening gloves at the ready.
Au reservoir.
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