Change of plans

On Thursday, I decided to ring the hospital to find out what was happening concerning the problem I had with my hand last month. I thought I’d best let them know I was going away soon & give them the dates so they wouldn’t organise an appointment & then dismiss me as I hadn’t shown up. I had been told at Neurology to ring in about 2 weeks’ time if I hadn’t heard anything. I hadn’t heard & it was now three weeks. You can imagine my surprise to discover I had an appointment 9.45 am the next day, on Friday. They reckoned they had sent a letter. I assured them I hadn’t received a letter. It was fortunate that I had decided to ring when I did.

I hastily changed my hair appointment, 9.30, at Heysham. There was no way I could have kept that & got to Lancaster by 9.45. Fortunately they managed to fit me in on Thursday afternoon.

The hospital trip was inconclusive. I clearly haven’t got anything too serious wrong with me. No signs of stroke, no trapped nerves. They suspect there’s a problem with my neck. However, as I’ve regained my grip & nearly all my sensation in my hand & fingers, it doesn’t seem worth investigating further at this stage. The doctor seem to suggest I’ve probably got mild angina but again, until it gets worse, it’s not worth doing anything about it. Otherwise I seem to be in robust good health.

Now I just keep my fingers crossed that nothing worse happens & there isn’t a recurrence of a problem with my hand. I just hope it wasn’t a sign of something worse to come. However, I’m putting it at the back of my mind & turning my attention to Norway & our holiday.

New neighbours

They seem to have moved in. Who? The starlings.

Each morning, as I venture towards the kitchen my ears are assaulted by their raucous cries.  Now, this year, whenever you venture into the garden you hear them everywhere. Come the evening they outcompete with the more mellifluous sounds of the blackbirds.

They seem to have moved into, & presumably nested in, the huge tree in next door’ garden. When we first moved here, nearly 20 years ago, that tree was the nesting place of the collared doves. After many battles, some fatal, the doves yielded to the magpies. Now the magpies have given way to the starlings.

As for our insect house, that is definitely proving an attraction to the bees. Some hollow tubes have been blocked off for eggs to hatch. Most times when you look at the house a wriggling striped backside can be seen up a tube, hard at work. We put the house just near the lavender, always a bee attractant.

The garden has really filled out now. The pergola midway up the garden is covered with a mass of white clematis & sweetly scantly mauve wisteria. Further up the garden, beyond the white lilac tree & the large white hydrangea, huge pink clematis flowers have opened up. Today some dark purple & yellow irises have unfurled. There are azaleas, red, pink & white. In the wild garden under the silver birches bright red poppies are appearing. The Solomon seal is flourishing & laden with its creamy seals. Summer is definitely here.

Ready for adventure

Yesterday we went into Lancaster. The knee braces have been got, the waterproof trousers bought along with some ordinary trousers. We’re nearly all set for our holiday.

We’ve yet to get some kroner. Norway’s an expensive country. This times we haven’t got a drinks package so I suspect we might be tempted to buy some drinks, alcoholic or not, on land, to try some of the local bars & cafés, rather than just drink on board. Tea, coffee & water are free on board ship.

Meanwhile we’re looking at maps & realising just how much further north we’re going than we’ve ever been before. Alaska, which we had thought was as far north as we had been we discover is more or less on a parallel with Bergen. We went a bit further north than that on our last Norwegian cruise. The furthest north was Hellesylt. We’re going a lot further north this time, way into the Arctic Circle.

We’re trying to come some conclusions on what clothes to pack. The warm spell we’re experiencing here at the moment has thrown us into confusion. A quick look at the weather forecast – admittedly rather early at this stage to be accurate – indicates Bergen, too, is having a warm spell. Even at the most northernmost point they predict above freezing temperatures. So do we take summer or winter clothes? I suspect layers are the answer. Maybe some lighter clothes for Bergen & Ålesund, plenty of woollies for further north.

We’re also speculating on the food on offer. With its long coastline, fish is high on the diet of Norway. That should suit us. We’re looking forward to trying some Arctic char. We have some fond memories of some char we were once given that was caught in Windermere. However, elk, reindeer, those are unknown meats for us. We’re guessing they are going to be more akin to venison. As for fruit such as cloudberries, we're totally lost.

Whatever else can be said of this trip it should be an adventure.