Waiting once more

We got to the hospital on Monday. While I was there I was physically examined & had another mammogram, the first since my op. Now we wait for the results. As far as can be judged from feeling around, there is no cause to worry. However, there is an inevitable sense of unease when the tumour I had removed was not discernible by external examination alone.

Meanwhile I go on my travels. The idea of much of a holiday in Britain is waning. The nights are drawing in. At the end of the month the clocks go back making it darker that much earlier. There is always an inevitable dead time, between when shops, museums etc. close & dinner time. When it is so dark it seems to stretch so much longer. On top of that the weather is also turning more wintry. Although you can wrap up against the cold, getting soaked all the time is no fun. In a wheelchair the tops of your legs get truly sodden. The only places in Europe we can think of where the weather shouldn’t be too bad, are the Canary Islands & we don’t fancy going there. Some of the Med coastline may be mild, but often it’s turning very wet. We may yet manage a few days away in this country, but we’re really thinking about somewhere exciting for the spring & next year now.

Instead I’m travelling in my mind once more. The jigsaw I’m doing is of London & Westminster Bridge. As for the novel, “The Sea Garden” by Deborah Lawrenson, I’m in France & the Porquerolles islands off the Provence coast. The author clearly knows her south of France. I can almost taste her simple lunch of tomato & caramelised onion tart, followed by a leaf salad with a tangy dressing & some freshly grilled crayfish. I marvelled to at her “low, verdant hills berried with red roofs". I’ve yet to discover the meat of the book but it certainly starts well & draws me in.

Ile de Porquerolles, I think

The Porquerolles we’ve seen from mainland France. I wondered about visiting. The problem to my mind is that the islands are car free & hilly, not an easy combination for wheelchair users. This way I can happily explore without the exertion needed of the Fox or of me.