Boat or car for speed ?

With a sandwich for my lunch ( just in case ) we left Colchester midday in brilliant sunshine, only to get stuck in the mother of all traffic jams on the A14 for at least an hour. Having escaped we then made good time until another jam on the M1 for yet another hour. There was no obvious reason for either jam and traffic flowed freely before and after each one.  At a couple of points I considered our journey might have been quicker on Tardis Two, but overall it was no contest. At least we kept warm and dry

It was raining heavily when we eventually got home, so we put the central heating boiler, kettle and gas fire on before I popped to the village for fish and chips.  Full up with food and tea/coffee we spent the evening warmly flaked out in front of the TV, which prior to Colchester we considered to be quite large.  Our friends TV is of cinema proportions which makes ours look minuscule in comparison, but we'll get used to it again I suppose.

Garden centre hunt

A good night's sleep, clear head and early start to our search for a garden shrub. Garden centres these days have very little to do with selling plants and more with restaurants, Christmas decorations and garden statues. However, the huge one we visited also sells crafting stuff which immediately attracted Lynne. After being talked to death by the verbal crafting salesperson we quickly found the shrub we were looking for plus one we were not. We had lunch in the restaurant which boasted a quite bizaar menu, Lynne having a fish-finger toasted sandwich with chips !

The meals were large, tasty and very cheap.

I bought and downloaded the new Cat Stevens ( Usuf Islam ) album when we got back to our friends and blissfully listened to it for the rest of the afternoon. It is more blues orientated than his earlier stuff but excellent. I love it.

All in all a good day.

Colchester by land

Sunny morning and clear head, albeit after a restless night's sleep, my own fault for watching Arsenal commit European footballing suicide I suppose? 3 -nil up at half time against Anderlecht but then managing to draw 3-all.

3.5 hour drive to Colchester in mostly brilliant sunshine, uneventful apart from getting lost in torrential rain between Cambridge and Stanstead airport. Easily done.

Planned a trip to see "Sunny Afternoon"in the new year, the story of how The Kinks first started.      A theatrical success to date and soon to move to the west end of London, but a no-no for Lynne unfortunately.

Fog

After a very foggy beginning the day has become sunny, but far from tropical. A busy week scheduled including a few days in Colchester with friends and a day in Chester with grandchildren. Lynne is due to visit a craft fair in Birmingham too. Relaxing, eh?

The foggy weather cleared, but my foggy head didn't, despite my return to bed after breakfast.  Lynne produced bread and soup lunch but opted not to provide a lift to our nearest garden centre to look for a particular (but uncommon shrub she wants) which prompted me to pump to up my bike tyres as an alternative.  However, a quick practice in the garden convinced me a ride to the garden centre and return trip with a potted shrub was not advisable, but a return to bed certainly was.

In depth discussions

The reason for missing our lunch arrangements with Chloe yesterday I can reveal was an in-depth discussion about my current health and better ways of dealing with it, which proved most revealing and very useful

 We said what was in our hearts rather than in our heads and talked about what we knew rather than what we imagined. Fact rather than fiction.

Lynne and I agreed my recovery has been slower, and less "complete," than either of us had expected or hoped for iat this stage. 

I have yet to come to terms with my fitness changes and lack of ability to concentrate for any length of time, my increased need for sleep, my loss of driving licence for health reasons and subsequent reliance on others for transport (lack of "convenience"), my frustrating lack of short-term memory etc. etc. etc.

But even so, I am in a happier frame of mind, particularly when on the boat, although I know I must get out of the habit of differentiating between the two lifestyles. It's a bit like comparing life in the Bahama's      ( holidays) with life in Leicestershire ( home ). Given the circumstances I suppose it is inevitable I prefer life on the boat but I do not wish it to diminish my love for home.

Folding bike repairs

It is lightly raining this morning , restricting any attempt to investigate  my flat tyres, which are painless. We are searching for  local bike repair shops. In daylight I managed to confirm the bay shrub had been correctly moved and watered-in.

Better late than never Lynne remembered we should be meeting Chloe in Coventry for lunch. Once again she was representing Surrey in a national inter-county ten pin bowling competition. By the time we arrived she and her team were wiping the floor with all opposition and were unbeaten, as they remained throughout the day, winning yet another trophy and title. For a very rare treat ( ? ) we had tea at Nando's accompanied by deafening Portuguese music. Whatever happened to romance ? 

Folding bikes

Lynne is fine today and our GP has given her some gunge to stuff into her dodgy ear, which seems to have improved the hearing situation a little. We have obtained a couple of secondhand lightweight folding bikes for the boat . They will prove usefull for shopping trips and journey's between locks next summer, if I ever get the damned tyres inflated.

I gave up with one front tyre in almost total darkness. Within seconds of being inflated it was flat again. I'll have to wait for daylight before investigating further, but managed to move Lynne's beloved Bay tree/shrub to her preferred position more by feel than sight. I think I watered it in but again I'll check in daylight.