Monday 28 February 2011

Nearly ready

We're nearly ready for the off. One man has already been round to check on stop taps, electircity & central heating boiler. We're packed. PD is getting in such a state about our going away that I did most of the packing yesterday so we can get to the Pub today. We're both feeling very tired, very stressed and not a little despondent. We feel as though we're being turfed out of our own home to go to Cyprus, not our first choice of destinations. I'm telling myself, & the Fox, all will be easier once we get going.


So tomorrow we're off. We're staying in a hotel near the airport. Hopefully we're meeting up with the Fox's brother for the evening. Maybe that will help us feel in holiday mood.


I suppose what is worrying me more is getting back. I'm assuming they've finished in the bathroom, but they can't fix things like grab rails without me being here to show them where my hands naturally go to grab a rail. I tried to organise the Occupational Therapist to come on as soon as we're back, but they can't arrange anything until we're back. I'll make sure I have my last shower just before we leave Cyprus as I can see it may take time to sort out the grab bar & seat for me to have a shower at home. I just hope they can get here within the week.


As if that isn't enough, I've got a couple of trips to the medics already arranged for the first week after we're back. I even got sent a hospital appointment for while we're away - nothing to worry about, just a routine breast-screening - which I'm in the process of getting re-scheduled.


It's always tiring getting back. It won't be helped by the fact that the flight times have been changed so now we won't arrive back in Manchester until 1am & then we will still have to drive up here. That will be another hour plus travelling before we get home. Then there's all that washing & ironing to do, a big food shop to re-stock the shelves & fridge, post to wade through, friends to catch up on etc without these extra things to do & worry about.


I'm just hoping, once we've left the house & are safely down in Manchester, we'll be able to forget them all until we come back. Here's hoping!
 

Saturday 26 February 2011

The new look

We pick PD up on the way to the Pub. He instantly comments how good my new look is. The Fox instantly comments that I look like a mushroom. PD thinks this is no way to speak to me & says as much.

At the Pub, Fran & Den and Mr P all say good things about the new hair-do. PD then goes on to comment how the Fox had said I look like a mushroom. They, too, were put out and protested that I was nothing of the sort.


Personally it doesn't bother me. I agree with the Fox. I even take his words as a compliment, far more valuable than the rest. I had a mushroom look 30 odd years ago & felt it suited me then. It's a joyous & fun look, a bit cheeky as I can be at times. I feel it makes me look younger even though the mushroom is now silver grey rather than chestnut brown-red of old. I know the Fox loves his mushrooms, including me. I know he has looked, seen & appreciated. I can ask no more.


The rest were also bemused to realise that we were having mushrooms in yesterday's dinner, Suffolk pastry, a sort of vol-au-vent with a bacon & mushroom filling.


Maybe a mutual love of mushrooms is what keeps us together. Certainly a few jokey comments help.

Friday 25 February 2011

Reassured

The phone rings. It's the company who are doing the bathroom. We've not heard from them since we put in the order. I've been telling myself not to worry as there's nothing much to say until next week. Anyhow they've just rung in case we're starting our holiday on Saturday. If we were, they thought they ought to ring to arrange the collection of a key. I assured them we weren't leaving until Tuesday so we would be in when they arrived. We thought that wise just in case there were some last minute questions to answer & to show them where stop taps, fuse box etc were. 

It's curiously reassuring to know they were still expecting to come on Tuesday, that they had remembered we were going away and were efficient enough to check about key arrangements before we maybe went away. After the Fox hearing tales of workmen who started but didn't complete a job when someone went away for 3 weeks, I feel these people seem reasonably organised & on the ball. It's always a little anxious-making when it is someone you don't know. We've warned our neighbours of what is happening in our absence. They will keep an eye on things while we're away.

I'm also a little reassured by my reading. We bought a guidebook on Cyprus. The chapter on Paphos was very dry reading. Most of the places it mentioned we saw when we last visited Cyprus. But as I progressed to the chapters on the Limassol & Troodos mountain areas my interest has perked up a bit, even though the writing is still as dry as can be. It's certainly not the sort of book that inspires much!

Meanwhile, today, I'm off to the hairdresser's. It's time for a holiday shearing. And it's a suitably wet day too, just right to wash out any styling by the time I get home. Fortunately the Fox is going to take me up in the car so I shouldn't get too wet.

Thursday 24 February 2011

Brassens

Last night, after being enchanted by watching "Madagascar" BBC2 - I love watching those lemurs flying through the air or bouncing across the land with their long tails held high or just stretched out on their backs, enjoying a bit of sun - we settled down to some music & conversation.

We went more folky with John Denver, followed by Georges Brassens. I always feel that Brassens is a sort of French Jake Thackery. They have the same lugubrious air. I always find myself smiling. I wish my French was good enough to catch the meaning of the words but, from the sound of them, they are very colloquial and very jokey.

I've just had a quick look at Jake Thackery on Wikipedia. He's a singer I associate with having short slots on TV in the 60s. I gather from the Wikipedia entry he was influenced by Brassens so maybe I've got them the wrong way round. Maybe I should have said the Thackery is an English Brassens. To me, though, it's the other way. Possibly that's a reflection of the fact that Thackery entered my consciousness before Brassens.

Still the really important fact is that we had an enjoyable evening, chuntering away to each other, with a glass of wine and some fun  music in the background

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Getting ready

Usually at this time before going away on holiday, I'd be in a frenzy deciding how best to use up the fresh food in the fridge. But not this time. Somehow there seems to be very little in it. It's more a case of deciding on meals that won't leave half tins of this or that. 

The fresh veg to use up consists of two red peppers, some cherry tomatoes, some spring onions and some chillis. As I say not much. All of them can go in a last minute stir fry. After yesterday's meal there's a half tin of tomatoes also. 

So instead I'm working my way down the freezer once more. Today's it's floddies - to the uninitiated they're somewhere between bacon rostis & bacon pancakes. We'll have a whole tin of baked beans to accompany them. Simple but satisfying.

I'm not sure whether I'm looking forward to, or dreading this holiday. I felt we exhausted this particular corner of Cyprus when we visited there nearly 10 years ago. I would have preferred going elsewhere but it was more of a case of finding at short notice a disabled room at a reasonable price, preferably in a place where we stood a chance of a bit of sunshine & warmth. It hasn't helped with the Fox coming back from the barber's having heard the tale of woman who went away for 3 weeks while her bathroom was done. She returned to find the bathroom stripped bare but nothing new installed. It took another 3 months for them to complete the bathroom. I hope our installers are going to do better than that! I suppose, too, I'm still anxious about what this call-in to the surgery is about. I really don't want yet more problems, more complications, more medication.

Tuesday 22 February 2011

The Norman castle

As usual last night, I put the radio on while I tried to drift off to sleep. It was mid-programme. Suddenly my ears pricked up.

It was talking about a medieval castle in excellent condition which is still being used as a prison, a castle that still dominates the city in which it stands. I instantly found myself thinking about our local castle in Lancaster. 

The programmes went on to describe the Wiches' Well and the contrast between the prison conditions for those women and for today's inmates. Still no place was mentioned. Now I thought of the Witches of Pendle Hill who were imprisoned, tried and ultimately executed at Lancaster Castle.


We went on to the cell where George Fox of Quaker fame was incarcerated for a time. Definitely sounding like Lancaster, I thought.

Next we were told of the large well inside the building. Still, today, it holds gallons of water. It was tested a few years ago and was found to have a high level of purity, definitely drinkable. I couldn't help thinking such a well was essential in medieval times, when people could end up being besieged in the castle for long spells. I'm still thinking of Lancaster.

The castle in question holds a law court still in use today. By now I was convinced it must be Lancaster castle. At last I was told I was correct.


These days part of the castle is open to tourists. Indeed the Fox did work as a guide there for a bit. 


I gather it is intended that this Norman castle should finally cease to be a prison in the near soon. One comment at the end of the programme caught my ear. Because the castle was leased as a prison, it apparently ensured that the castle has been kept in a good state of renovation over the years. The prison service is obliged to ensure it remains secure - they don't want prisoners escaping - & so they have always maintained it well. Whether someone else will be able to afford to maintain it as well is debatable.The council is clearly hoping to make it much more of a tourist attraction when it ceases to be a prison, to make it much more a part of the life of the city. 

Most locals have never visited the castle, just seen it from the outside like me. Needless to say it's not very wheelchair accessible, so when we had a French friend staying with us, the Fox took him around while I visited the nearby Priory Church. Our friend was amazed to discover the castle was built by Roger of Poitou. His father is called Roger and Roger comes from Poitou. It became the in family joke!

The programme by the way was "Within These Walls" on Radio 4, starting at 11pm.


Lancaster Castle main gate


Shire Hall court Lancaster Castle
                                                                             

Monday 21 February 2011

Re-arrangements

Today's meal has had to be re-arranged. I was thinking of doing something with bacon, floddies or a cheese pasta medley perhaps. Then I ventured into the laundry room, where the freezer is, and saw a small bag on the floor. I'd had a good rummage in the freezer the day before, dropping things on the floor as I reached down into the chest. Somehow I must have missed this bag in the putting back process. Needless to say it has thawed out, so I feel I have to use it up quick or just throw it out.

And what is in the bag? 4oz of cooked rabbit. I've looked through my cookbooks but I can't find anything much for cooked rabbit, and certainly not for so little, so it's going to have to be an experiment. My mother always referred to rabbit as "poor man's chicken", a reference to her childhood in the 1920s, when chicken was expensive & rabbits were plentiful, especially if you lived in the country as she did. Anyhow, with this comment of Mum's in mind, I'm thinking of adapting my turkey quiche recipe, using rabbit instead of turkey. It should be something different if nothing else.

Meanwhile I'm feeling unsettled by a letter that came this morning. It seems the results from the blood test the other day weren't good. They've arranged further appointments for me when we should be in Cyprus. I've hastily got on the phone to re-arrange the times, so now, the first week back I'll have two appointments at the surgery.

An extra worry on a holiday. Just what I needed! As if we weren't anxious enough about what will be happening with our bathroom and whether it will be completed by the time we're back.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

A good trip

I couldn't resist having a break from the consultation document to tell you about my wonderful trip out on my Mean Machine, electric scooter. As so often, I was off to the fish shop &, as usual, I went along the prom.

As I approached the prom the first thing that struck me was the number of dogs, all accompanied by plastic bag carrying owners. Balls flew in all directions. Some dogs gamboled in the shallow water of the slowly ebbing tide.

I continued on. As I passed one stone jetty, I was surprised by the sheer number of birds. The waders were out in force scooping up any food left on land or in the last bits of water. First there was a flock of black and white birds - oystercatchers, too busy fishing to stop to make their high-pitched piping. As they ended, a flock of tall brown waders, curlews I suspect, did their hunting. Between their bony legs a flock of smaller birds, knots I think, scampered. On the damp sands were the gulls.

On I went, bought my smoked haddock, then returned back along the prom. By this time the water was much further out. I couldn't help noticing how many runners & cyclists were passing, headphones in their ears. I wouldn't want to do that. Apart from the fact I find headphones irritate my ears, to miss nature's sounds would be such a loss. I could hear the whistle of the wind, the gently lapping of water on the sands, the calls of the birds from the piping of the oystercatchers to the raucous screams of the gulls, the cheery greetings of my fellow prom users.

I continued along to the doctor's as far on the other side of us as the fish shop is on one side. I stayed on the prom more or less to its end. At this end of the prom, the cliffs give way to open fields, usually inhabited by a horse or two. By this time the fishers had largely moved off. The oystercatchers had moved into the fields on the land side of the prom. Presumably worms etc making a tasty alternative after the more salty fare they'd just had.

Eventually I reached home. my fingers were frozen, despite wearing my gloves all the time. I was ready to put my hands around a nice hot mug of tea. It had been enjoyable trip, even if cold. 

As for the smoked haddock that made, along with a little smoked salmon, a thoroughly enjoyable, moist, tasty,smoked fish tart for our dinner treat.

Monday 14 February 2011

Tiring times

I can see it's just as well there's no cooking for me to do today. It's turning into a pretty traumatic one already.

Today is the day for my annual blood pressure & blood let. I casually mention that my ankles are swelling up a bit in the evening. Instantly I'm told I must see the doctor soon, a view which seems to be reinforced when the nurse can't find any pulse & my blood is exceptionally reluctant to come out of their veins.On the way out of the surgery I make an appointment. We'll be back at the surgery for 1.30. It seems to be regarded as urgent. I've had the problem for a few weeks. There's no pain but they regard it as urgent. We'll see what the doc says this afternoon.

Meanwhile I'm having problems with my response to the Disability Living Allowance consultation document. It seems the government's interactive IT system has gone down. There's a message to send in responses by e-mail instead. They don't bother to state whether what had been saved has gone through or not. My initial reaction is to say the failure is a reflection of the government's lack of real interest in what any responses may be. They are giving repliers a few extra days to reply in, so I am telling myself I'm just being cynical. I'll just have to have a few days of concerted work to reply to all the questions, or at least as many as I can in the time allowed. 

I feel I was making some important points, so I feel I should have another go. Whether they're read is a different matter. But it is tiring on me to do it again. This may end up being my last block for a few days as I'll be too busy on the response.

Sunday 13 February 2011

Time off

It seems strange not cooking for a few days. The Fox is now more or less back to himself, eager to cook after his break. So yesterday we had his Brazilian pork (see his blog) - it was good though we both agreed we could have fancied a bit more chilli in it. Today he's doing his kedgeree. Then tomorrow we're off out to dinner with PD & Lin at Ricky's, our favourite Cantonese restaurant.

This latter meal is to make up for the meal we all missed at the end of January. With both PD & the Fox being so ill, we hadn't joined the others then. We decided on the date early in the week. It came as a bit of a surprise on Thursday when it dawned upon us that it was Valentine's Day on Monday. None of us had really been thinking of it as a romantic gesture. We'd hardly be going as a foursome if we had!


The Fox's attitude has always agreed with mine. It's a poor do if you have to wait for one day of the year to admit you love each other. We believe in celebrating our love every day & throughout the day. It's something special that should never be taken for granted.

However, that's not to say we're averse to the idea of taking advantage of a special Valentine offer at the supermarket for a box of chocs & a bottle of champagne for £14 for the two. And the latter we're happy to pop when we get back from the restaurant, using Valentine's Day as an excuse, rather than a reason, for so doing.

And maybe after my three days of rest, I'll feel as though I'm getting on top of things & have a bit more energy once more. Just in time for Cyprus.

Saturday 12 February 2011

It's on its way

The Fox suddenly comments on the front garden. Regular readers will know this is my herb garden, the one bit of the garden I've planted & tended all by myself. Al, our gardener keeps an eye on the back garden which is far to big & low for me to cope with, though he did allow me to plant up the bog garden.

Anyhow the front garden is my pride & joy. I regularly raid it for culinary purposes. But some plants I've put in for a bit of colour or a change of texture, rather than practicality. They all have herbal or medicinal properties. 

What has caught the Fox's eye are the first signs of spring. There are a couple of little stands of golden crocuses & a few snowdrops coming into flower. The oregano, too, is starting to look fresher as new life flows in. At the bottom of the fennel the first bright green fronds are  uncurling. Spring is on its way there's no question about it, even though I suspect we've still got a bit more winter & cold weather to go.

Friday 11 February 2011

Abstract painting

Yesterday was a strange day. The sun shone brightly. The mists swirled around, constantly changing. One minute all looked bright, skies blue, the next minute the garden had disappeared into the white of the mist.

In the afternoon we ventured out. First we set off to the doctor's (to collect a prescription). As we drove along the road, I was commenting on the weather. The Fox hadn't noticed how odd it was. Then we turned a corner & suddenly the distance turned white. 

After the surgery we went on to Morrisons, observing the ever changing scene. Fortunately the mists never closed in too close to make driving a problem. After that we went on to the Pub. As went along the prom, north past the golf course, we were surprised by the sight of Hest Bank. This village is on a hill. At first all you could see was brilliant white vertical rectangles floating in the air, dislocated from the ground. It looked like some sort of abstract paining. It was only as you came closer that you realised that the white vertical blocks were in fact the chimneys on the houses.

By the time we came home an hour or so later, the mists had cleared. Instead we had a brilliant sunset had appeared, all reds & oranges. Breathtaking.

Thursday 10 February 2011

An unexpected visitor

The Fox decides to open the back door. I'm busy cooking & it's getting steamy. He goes to kick the leaf off the top step, when the leaf jumps over his foot into the kitchen. It's a frog! We then spend the next few minutes trying to encourage him back out of the door. He, of course, heads for the hinge side. Eventually I manage to scoop him into my hands while the Fox opens the door wider. I open my hands & the frog leaps through the air. Soon he is disappearing among the bags of  pebbles & slate for a breather before venturing further into the garden.

This little frog certainly has quite a kick. I felt the force of it in my hands. The frog had to have got up a couple of steps, each several inches deep, before it had even got to the top step in the first place. We were surprised to see this visitor so much on the move at this time of the year. We expect to find them on the step in summer, but in Feb!

Our appreciation of wildlife was further increased with watching "Madagascar" on BBC2 last night. The range of terrain & weird wildlife that produces was vast for such a small area of land. I loved watching the lemurs leaping around, with their tails held high. Beautiful!

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Forgotten treasures

It's amazing what sometimes you find when going down the freezer. So it is that today we're having pheasant. The other half of the brace we had a while ago. This one has been sitting at the bottom of the freezer for ages. Still, I'm proposing to braise it along with some dried & rehydrated porcini mushrooms. It will certainly be something different.

Yesterday, the Fox finally felt up to cooking. He made some turkey muffn pizzas ie the pizza bases were split muffins. He enjoyed doing it. I enjoyed having a day off cooking. And the meal was simple but flavoursome. The tomato spread on the base tasted really fresh with a good herby finish.

 It's good to have the Fox more like himself again. Now I feel I can start to let go & relax a bit, get on top of my tiredness & aches. I can start to turn my thoughts to a holiday in Cyprus.. It's coming up fast.

Tuesday 8 February 2011

"Guilty"

As you can see I've not got to my meeting at the university. Last night I dithered for ages but finally came to the conclusion it really wasn't wise. Much as I feel the proposed cuts in the provision of adult social services is important & that the council just might take more notice of a spoken voice rather than a written response - they still haven't answered the question I asked in my response as to the whereabouts of this meeting! - it doesn't alter the fact that the timing sucks. With the Fox having been ill all last week, I'm already very tired. I was ready for bed last night by 9pm. It took me over a week to recover from the two hour local meeting. Five hours of discussion will just about kill me off. The Fox assures me he is up to taking me. I'm not entirely certain if that wouldn't result in a second relapse. No, I concluded, I just have to accept I'm disabled. I'm not Superwoman. I've sent in written responses. That will have to do.

So this morning I'm awake at 7am, earlier than usual but the time I would need to get up in order to attend the meeting. Conscience strikes. It says "Guilty", which is always conscience's role as the Fox points out. The inner voice continued, "You're just being lazy". Despite feeling I ought to make the effort to set off, I stick to the conclusion that it is just too much, especially when I end up wondering how much the authorities even listen at these consultation session.

Wouldn't it be nice if one of these days conscience could come to the verdict of innocent?!

Monday 7 February 2011

All that noise

It's been a wild weekend.The rattle of bin lids flying around the street has been almost constant.Our  refuse bins & recycling boxes are in the garden shed but I'm left wondering what you can do if you don't have a shed or garage to put them in. Then there's the regular slashing of rain on the windows. I'm not surprised there's been flooding in some areas. I tell myself it's nothing by comparison with what Australia's been having this winter. I'm grateful to think we put a new roof on top of our home a few years ago. It was shedding tiles like nobody's business & this has certainly been the weather to encourage them to fly.

All this weather has at least encouraged us to have a quiet weekend. The Fox was out of Saturday, too groggy with cold. But on Sunday he revived sufficiently to cook dinner, my first day off for a week. It was only quick & simple, fish fingers, chips & peas. He admitted all the movement did take a bit of a toll on him, but at least he managed & without any immediate adverse effect in the evening. Maybe he's finally managed to conquer the bug. Hope so.

In theory, tomorrow I'm going to a meeting about the proposed Adult Social Services cuts. Whether I go or not very much depends on how the Fox is. I don't fancy driving to the university in the morning, spending half the day there & driving back late afternoon. I just get too tired & liable to fall off to sleep at the steering wheel. So we'll see what happens. Meanwhile I'm off back to the Disability Living Allowance consultation document & getting my answers drawn up & sent.

Saturday 5 February 2011

The relapse comes

Wishful thinking has been playing its part the last couple of days. The Fox seemed so much better, I got on with the ironing yesterday. In the afternoon we popped to the butcher's for some chicken, anticipating a more experimental meal for today. Then we popped into the Pub for an hour's chat with our friends, all of whom seemed in good spirits. We came home & the Fox was positively sinking. He enjoyed eating his turkey croquettes which he'd planned to fry up in the evening but felt too far gone to actually cook even though I had prepared them in the morning. After the meal he crashed out. The rest of the evening was spent half-dozing, half-watching the TV, definitely semi-conscious. The backlash had arrived. His recovery has taken a step back. Now I await to see if it's just the tail-end or a re-sinking into misery. 

Meanwhile I've had to go ahead and cook the poached chicken with lardons & lentils. I've also par-boiled some new potatoes to saute later on. It's more work than I would have liked to do when the Fox is ill, but I don't want the ingredients to go to waste. It has to be admitted the leek was beginning to look a little past it as it was. I can see I shall have to have a few more days of getting back to basics food-wise. I just hope the Fox picks up soon.

He wasn't best pleased when Mr P, the music teacher, came into the Pub, admitted he was streaming with cold, asked if I had any paracetamol on me (he knows I always have some with me in case my knees flare up into too much pain) & sat down with us.Thus colds are spread &, in our opinion, it is only courteous to others, to stay away when you are in such ill-health. We've been doing our best to avoid me getting it. So far I'm fine, just looking very tired according to Mrs B, & we don't want that to change.

Thursday 3 February 2011

Flagging

The time has come to admit I'm flagging. Tiredness sweeps over me in great waves most of the time. I even contemplated bed before 7pm last night. It's just as well the Fox is on the mend. I'm just hoping the outing to the shops yesterday (see his blog) hasn't put him too far back.

And what have I done to make myself so exhausted? Apart from fretting over the Fox, I haven't done a tremendous amount more. I've made, cooked, cleared & washed up after, every meal unaided. But then I do cook most days, & often more elaborate meals than I've done this week. I've not had my mid-week break when the Fox cooks, but that, along with the washing up, is about all that's extra.

I've made more teas, & taken them through to the lounge so we can sit further apart - we've been doing our best to avoid me going down too. I've been getting up from chairs without the Fox's help, though most of the time I've used my electric riser recliner chair so that shouldn't be too much effort. 

But I'm whacked. It goes to show how little upsets the delicate balance of my well-being, just how dependent I am for the Fox's assistance to achieve what I do. His well-being is essential for my well-being. I suspect that's nothing new. It's always been important for my happiness, just not always for my physical well-being.

Hopefully things will be back to normal soon.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

On the mend

It is with some relief that I say that the Fox is on the mend. He managed to emerge most of the day from his blanket & make the effort to chat a bit. He even watched the TV a bit with more attention. He's still far from his normal self but at least he's heading the right way.

Today I'll have to make a trip to the shops. We're short of milk, potatoes & butter. We'll run out of the milk this evening I would think. The rest will last one more day at most. The Fox is hoping to venture out with me. He's got to the stage of feeling a bit stir crazy, always a good sign. We'll see how he's doing by the time I'm ready to go.

Meanwhile it's back to basic cooking. Breakfast for dinner today. I've got some beautiful-looking back bacon. It came from our usual farmer so it should be good. To that I'll add an egg each, some baked beans & chips. As I say breakfast for dinner.

I'm quite looking forward to doing something more ambitious, but, without the Fox's help but with the extra exhaustion from fussing around the Fox & keeping myself going unaided, I think simplicity is the key. Something to fill the hole but is quick & easy to do & with minimum washing up. Gourmet dining can wait.

Tuesday 1 February 2011

Still fighting on

Well yesterday's meal at Ricky's ended up being for 4. Both the Fox & PD were struggling under the weight of cold. The Fox spent most of his day wrapped in a blanket trying to keep warm despite his brow burning when I touched it. Not a good day. He didn't seem any better by the time I went to bed. I'm just hoping there's some sign of improvement today.

Meanwhile I've gone ahead & made a shepherd's pie for today - good comfort food at a time of distress. It's also easy going this evening, just a quick warm up with a few extra veg. 

Tomorrow one of us at least is going to have to venture out. We'll be needing milk. If things haven't improved I'll probably just pop round the corner to the nearest shop on my Mean Machine & content myself with just milk. Food is very much in the air. If he doesn't improve soon I suspect, as my energies start to flag, we will end up on take-aways delivered to us. 

Still all this taking things easy has meant I've finally finished my preliminary reading on the Disability Living Allowance consultation document. Some questions I cannot answer. What are the particular problems incurred by disabled children as opposed to adults? I only became disabled in my late thirties so have no personal experience. The only child I have known who is disabled is the sister of a schoolfriend, long before I became so interested & involved in disability issues. If any of you have any useful advice on the matter please don't hesitate to let me know. Otherwise I can see the question remaining a blank, due to ignorance.

The one good thing, so far, is that I've not shown any symptoms of this cold. I just hope things stay that way.