An eastern taste to the day

The Fox has got his new ears, ie a pair of hearing aids. He's now trying to adjust to wearing them. He has been warned it may take a little while to adjust to them. If he finds them too uncomfortable just take them out - most people find about 3 hours at a time is enough for a start - then try to build up to wearing them all day. Yesterday he managed 6 hours, so hopefully it will get longer. 

As we were in Lancaster, we decided to pop along to the shops & buy some yellow bean sauce at the oriental supermarket. The Fox is intending to go Chinese with his cook this week.

Then we went along to Caton to a place specialising in cruises. I'd seen a cruise on-line that sounded wonderful. It tours in the Far East, going from Bali to Singapore, via, among other places Brunei, the land of my birth.

I've always wanted to visit Brunei. I left there to come to England when I was about 2 so have no first hand memories. Or do I? Some things I seem to know without knowing why. Is it just that my parents used to talk so much about life in Borneo? I'm not sure. There were books, photos & other memorabilia around the house. Most of the visitors who came to stay or dine with us were people my parents had known in Brunei, so inevitably talk tended to turn to memories of life in Brunei. I would like to see & make some of my own memories of the country, its people & wildlife. This cruise seemed to the answer.

So off we go to Caton to find out a bit more. What we soon discovered is that cruise is not until Feb 2014, not '13 as I'd thought. Booking now seems rather early especially when our health is variable & the £500+ deposit would be non-returnable. The actual cost of the trip is tremendous mainly because the only wheelchair accessible cabins are penthouse ones with a veranda, among the most expensive on the ship. The assistant did find some other cruises stopping at Brunei but the rest of their itineraries did not excite us as much or the only accessible cabins were inside ones & we want some window at least. Instead of booking a fabulous holiday we came back with brochures, prices & itineraries to mull over, feeling generally confused.

By this time, it was after 5pm so we stopped at Ricky's, our favourite Cantonese restaurant. Ricky warmly welcomed us. We had a delightful meal. Ricky was astounded that I seem to have lost so much weight - since they discovered I was hypothyroidal & have been on appropriate tablets a few years ago I've lost nearly a stone in weight. Even so I can't help thinking this is a bit of Ricky's flattery. We came home weary & exhausted.