Strange winds

The winds do blow. It seems to have been a regular visitor this week. They’ve been quite strong. With the result our garden is looking a bit worse for wear. Our beautiful tall majestic sunflowers are bent double. Some stalks have broken so I’ve brought them in in the hope the buds will open up cheering our kitchen. I’ve not ventured too far up – I’m not confident my balance will keep me up & I couldn’t be bothered to get my wheelchair or mobility scooter out for the purpose.

We’re feeling somewhat bemused, now another couple of friends want to go on holiday with us, on a cruise no less. We’re in two minds. We do want to encourage them to have a holiday but a cruise...

One of them is in a wheelchair full time, having had one leg amputated just over a year ago. This summer he’s had a heart attack. All this has knocked his confidence. He hears horror stories of “accessible” holidays that weren’t accessible & shudders. How could they cope if there was a problem? His wife is a similar age to me & reasonably healthy. However he is a heavy man for her to push & pull around. But both would like a holiday. She is not the strongest of people. I am much stronger & more flexible than he or she is so I am able to help the Fox if a hill/ramp is steep etc. He is not.

We said we would have a think about it, maybe see what we could find out that should work well for us all. We’re half thinking the solution may be Lake Garda where we’re going next month. They like to go on water at some point on their holiday hence their suggestion of a cruise. However, there are numerous ferries on Lake Garda which are supposed to be wheelchair accessible. We can check while we’re there how easy they are to use, & the hotel facilities at the particular hotel we’re staying in.

We’ll also look at cruises. It certainly won’t be Fred Olsen. Once going with them was enough for us! We hadn’t thought of going cruising again quite so soon, but if it gets our friends a holiday it will be worth it. We can always have a land based holiday on our own some other time next year. Whether we go with this couple or not, it certainly won’t be until next year now.