August 2021

August 31, 2021

Hard to believe that the end of August has come round already. What with injuring myself on 31 July, recovery has loomed pretty large over the past four weeks. I’m pretty much there now, though there are some lingering effects. There is still a little patch of bruising under my eye, and I’ll have a small scar. My bump is still pretty prominent and surprisingly painful to the touch, and the surface of my cornea feels different in some subtle way. Oh well…

Started my day with meditation and a run, then bannetonned and baked my sourdough from yesterday. Our friend Rob is in town for a couple of days, en route to his brother’s wedding in Scotland in September. Despite it being my first day back at work, I had to balance catching up on everything with prepping for this evening’s dinner.

We ended up having sourdough and olive oil, with olives, proscuitto, and baba ganoush to start; roast chicken thighs with broccoli and chorizo, and mash; a cheese course, and a chocolate-raspberry tart for dessert. It’s been ages since I’ve cooked a dinner party style meal. Nova was at work, but Lyra joined us.

Repaired to the living room to finish the wine, and ended up talking until 1am when Nova got home from work. Eventually we popped Rob in and headed to bed.

August 30, 2021

Bank Holiday Monday and the last day of our summer vacation. I planned to go for a run, and had even put on my running gear. But Nova is working her third double shift in a row, and Adam drove her to Dalston again. I got started cleaning up her sty of a room and ended up sticking with the task until it was done.

Changed the bed, sorted out mountains of clothes on every surface, organised the drawers and closet, hoovered and did her laundry. It was pretty much lunch time by this point, and I made pepperoni eggs for brunch for Adam and me. I had the idea of doing some email triage before work starts tomorrow, but I couldn’t summon much enthusiasm.

The Waitrose groceries arrived early, bearing little resemblance to what I’d ordered. We’re having increasing food supply chain issues, and there already dire stories in the press about how the lack of Eastern European workers we’ve excluded, and red tape we’ve created around import/export, Christmas is going to be severely impacted. Fruit and veg is rotting in the fields with no one to pick it and pigs are growing too large to slaughter on farms due to lack of meat processing staff.

Tofu pho for dinner and a second episode of Peaky Blinders. We are loving this show. Waited up until Nova got home from work at 12:30am. She’s getting pretty burnt out – only one more double shift to go, a single shift and then a day off…

August 29, 2021

Slept surprisingly poorly last night. Our bedroom gets light quite early at this time of year and there were a lot of airplanes going overhead from about 5:30am. It’s great to be reunited with the coffee machine though…

The house is overdue for a good clean. I did next to nothing all August, and now Nova has been living here on her own. Adam drove Nova to work for 10am, and I got started on the housework. I focused my main efforts  on our bedroom, but also did three loads of laundry, hoovered the upstairs, swept the kitchen floor, scrubbed all the sinks etc. It looks much better for it.

Finished the second half of Ocean’s Thirteen which we’d abandoned last night when Nova got home. It made a lot more sense this time round, having seen the first two films and also staying awake. Adam went off to see his mum, and we ate when he got back – chicken satay and an Asian slaw. We’re starting in on Peaky Blinders, as Lyra is finding Better Call Saul too depressing.

Watched the first episode of OJ Simpson: Made in America while we waited for Nova to get home from work… 

August 28, 2021

Another day, another mini crisis with the beauty website… Fortunately it is much easier to pack up to go home than it is to go away and Adam was able to manage most of it on his own while I sorted out this year’s student membership details, and resolved a technical issue with the WordPress database…

Got away shortly after 11am. The journey was pretty smooth aside from a traffic snarl up around Junction 25, but otherwise we made good time. Lyra had her headphones in the whole way – the better to pretend we don’t exist – and we listened to You’re Wrong About, the first few episodes of their mega deep dive into the OJ Simpson case.

Home about 5pm and shifted straight into unpacking and putting away. The three of us are completely on the same page with that one. Nova would happily leave her suitcase open and unpacked in the middle of her bedroom floor for weeks on end. Adam ran Lyra to Crouch End so she could see her friend Alex, after which we settled down to watch Ocean’s Eleven.

I had no problem staying awake for that, so we moved into Ocean’s Twelve. Not as good a film as the first one, but I enjoyed the European locations. Nova still wasn’t back from work, so we made a start on Ocean’s Thirteen while we waited for her to get in. It made a lot more sense this time round, with the other two fresh in our minds.

Nova got home about 11:30 and we had a catch-up before bed. She’s doing a double shift tomorrow, and has to be at work by 10am. She’s certainly getting a lot of hours, and is no longer the newbie – four people have left and been replaced since she joined in July…

August 27, 2021

Giant crumpets for breakfast, we’re becoming big fans of those babies… There are daily things that need to be done on the beauty website, and I ended up working through the morning.

Adam and I went for a seven mile walk round Denby Dale, one of our nearest villages. Their claim to fame making ginormous (12 tonne) meat pies to mark coronations, royal births and such. A couple of the pie tins are in use in the town as planters.

It was nothing like the scenery of the Dark Peak, but very pleasant all the time, and pretty easy walking. We’d grabbed a sausage roll and brownie in town before we set off, and found a bed at the halfway mark stopped for a late lunch. Nice view of the Emley mast – not many places you can’t see that thing from.

Had a bath and a G&T when we got home, then headed out for a pub dinner at The Sovereign. I’d planned to try something different, but  that house burger was calling my name. Both Adam and I ordered it, while Lyra went for the fish and chips.

I was too full to go to bed when we got home, so we had a go at watching Ocean’s Eleven. We really should have watched them in order, but there it is. Apparently I did even worse with this one than I did with Thirteen. I’ll give them another go when we’re back home…

August 26, 2021

Eggs baked with pepperoni and cream, made by Adam while I did some work on the beauty website.

Thursday is market day in Penistone, so we headed into town to check that out. There were a number of stalls in a large covered area at one end of the Tesco parking lot. We went in wearing our masks, but open on all sides, and they didn’t feel necessary. Bought a pork pie, some baking, a tub of olives, a chew toy for Luna and a pair of slippers for Beulah. Lyra got a little purse and a pair of white Boohoo track bottoms for a tenner that she was very pleased with.

Headed back to the cottage for lunch – the pork pie, salad and two of the bits of baking – the mini lemon cheesecake and the rhubarb & custard strudel. Needed a little lie down after all this unaccustomed early eating. Took to the sofa with my Anne Tyler novel (Ladder of Years), and spent a very enjoyable afternoon reading.

Chicken fajitas with guac for dinner, after which sat down to watch Ocean’s Thirteen, which Adam bought for a quid in the charity shop yesterday. Made it about halfway through, then dozed off and on for the rest of it. To bed about midnight…

August 25, 2021

Poached eggs and regular crumpets for breakfast. I’d hoped to go to Haworth today to visit the Bronte parsonage, but with limited numbers due to social distancing, we weren’t able to secure a slot. We’re on the waiting list in case something comes up in the next few days, but chances are we’ll have to save Bronte country for another occasion.

Instead we headed for Holmfirth, a picturesque Yorkshire village that was the setting for the UK’s longest running comedy sitcom, Last of the Summer Wine. Apparently, people travel considerable distances to visit it for that very reason. Having never actually seen the show, I thought it would be an idea to watch an episode on YouTube in preparation, but it’s pretty terrible.

Drove through the village and parked up at a reservoir a couple of miles further on. There was a seven-mile circular walk that sounded really good, at least to Adam and me. Lyra was not impressed, but we’d agreed that she’d do at least one walk with us during the week, and this seemed a good bet. The sun had unexpectedly broken through and if anything it was a bit warm.

We crossed the reservoir then climbed up the bank on the opposite side. Lyra was grizzling about how steep it was, but it didn’t last long after which we stayed on a ridge line for the next few miles. There were definitely all sorts of people tackling this walk – couples who looked to be north of eighty, an obese woman in sandals, a couple with a large toddler in an umbrella stroller, a pair of goths in head to toe black and pointy boots. This cut no ice with Lyra…

Made it back to Holmfirth with just enough time to hit the specialty ice cream shop, a few charity stores, and the craft beer café before heading back to the cottage. No one was that hungry when dinner time rolled round, so we just had cheese and crackers, cold cuts etc. and called it an evening.

August 24, 2021

Another mellow day of holiday in south Yorkshire… We’d arranged to meet Bryn (who moved north last year after he and Millie split up) at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park near Bradford. It’s only 20 minutes up the road, and partway between us and where he’s now living.

Strolled around the grounds taking in the odd piece of sculpture and catching up. They’ve an impressive collection of artists – Ai Wei Wei, Damian Hurst, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore etc. – and numerous others I didn’t know the name of. We didn’t cover the whole park, and the “map” they provided was such an abysmal piece of information design that there was no point in worrying about what we were missing.

Ate a sandwich in the café area then went our separate ways. On the way back home, we took a detour to visit the Emley Moor transmitting tower. It turns out that it’s the highest freestanding structure in the UK, and taller than the Eiffel Tower. We’ve been seeing it from everywhere, so it was satisfying to actually pinpoint it in the landscape.

Veggie soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. Stayed up a bit late finishing my novel, Mayflies by Andrew O’Hagan. I thought it was really good, but not as impressed by it as some folks have been.

August 23, 2021

Slept well, but that damn jigsaw puzzle meant it was our usual six hours instead of the eight I’ve been growing accustomed to… Had a bit of breakfast then headed off to the Peak District for a proper walk. Lyra opted to stay behind in the cottage, which suited all of us. She wouldn’t have enjoyed the walk, which would have meant we couldn’t enjoy it either…

Drove to Crowden in the northeast corner of the national park, known as the Dark Peak. It’s pretty bleak and remote, and this extract from the Peak District website sums it up accurately:

“Our Vision for the Dark Peak is of a wild and remote landscape with large expanses of upland heathland and blanket bog, fringed with clough woodlands and semi-natural grasslands. A landscape where healthy functioning peat bogs, heathland and broad-leaved woodland store carbon and water resources and provide habitats for a range of species.

Degraded moorland habitats will be restored through re-vegetation of bare peat and gully blocking to retain water. Blanket bogs will support plants like cotton-grasses, sphagnum and bog asphodel, together with a range of invertebrates and birds. Appropriate grazing and burning management will maintain diverse heathlands with a range of dwarf shrubs such as heather, cross-leaved heath, bilberry, cowberry and crowberry. These in turn will support invertebrates like craneflies, mammals such as mountain hare, and birds such as red grouse, short-eared owl and merlin.”

The walk started with a stiff climb to the top of Hey Edge, after which we pretty much stayed high. There was some up and down, but the main challenge for the first half of the walk was negotiating all that blanket bog. It was pretty much impossible to stick to the path as we negotiated our way round pools, puddles, streams and sodden stretches of mossland.

Ate lunch at the Black Hill trig point, which was where our path intersected the Pennine Way. The route back to Crowden was paved with flagstones for some of the way, but these were underwater in numerous places. Adam fell a couple of times, once from slipping off the edge of a flagstone and planting his leg up to the knee in boggy water.

We forded Crowden Clough and its tributaries every few minutes before beginning a long, tricky cliffside ascent to Laddow Rocks. It was technically challenging and physically taxing, but the weather was perfect and the views outstanding, so felt well worth it. One minor annoyance – I’d left my FitBit charging at home. Adam kept getting announcements on his about getting his “Sherpa badge” or smashing some distance record, while mine was stuck on the 200 steps I’d done before breakfast…:-(

Bath and a beer when we got home, then out for a pub supper at The Sovereign, at the end of our road. In bed by 9:30 this evening…

August 22, 2021

The weather looks a bit brighter today – still grey, but at least it’s not raining. Given the summer we’ve had, the forecast for our time up here isn’t too bad. A mix of sun and cloud with temperatures between 18° and 21°.

Toasted giant crumpets for breakfast (I didn’t even know these were a thing). I’m not a particular fan of crumpets, but these were pretty darn good:

Set off by 11am to Pigs in the Wood, a pig sanctuary a few miles up the road. Changed into raincoats and wellies, then queued at the gate and received a little talk on the best way to pat pigs and how not to get your fingers crunched off when feeding them.

The ground was pretty muddy underfoot at times, and the wood was on a slope so you had to step carefully. There were twenty pigs on site (half an acre each). Some people brought food with them, which you were meant to hand in to be “prepared” – checked over and chopped into chunks. We hadn’t brought any, and after the fingers speech, we weren’t bothered about doing any feeding.

The pigs were pretty bolshie about being fed, and would march straight up and maybe give you a nudge. Some of them were pretty damn big as well. Adam and I patted a few but Lyra felt intimidated by them. “I’m waiting for the right pig,” she said. “I’ll know when I see it.” We found this pig at the end of the trail – a relatively clean piglet, lying on its side in the sun.

Drove on to Cannon Hall Park – the local stately home – a few miles up the road. Had a round of bacon sandwiches for lunch in their cafe, then made a tour of the grounds, including half an hour in a pedalo swan boat feeding ducks, which was the high point of the outing for me.

Hit the Tesco in Penistone on the way home to top up yesterday’s grocery shop. We’re pretty good now — we’ll buy bits and pieces during the rest of the week, but we’ve got a good week’s base of food in now.

Chicken with roasted red onions and broccoli for dinner, with sautéed cabbage and chorizo and garlic bread for dinner. Played a bunch of rounds of Uno with Lyra.. After she went off to bed, Adam and I tackled a 500 piece puzzle, which kept us busy until 1:30am…

August 21, 2021

Despite all yesterday’s stress around Nova’s visa, and our evening out, I was still feeling the chilled out after-effects of our spa break. Had a coffee, then shifted into getting packed and organised for our week in Yorkshire while Adam made pancakes.

Met Millie for a walk and a coffee in Highgate Woods – the first time I’ve seen her since her friend Tracy died of cancer. She’s still coping with that, and up to her ears in work stress as well. It was good to catch up in person and give her a hug.

I’d said goodbye to Nova before I left, as she’s working an 11am–11pm shift today (with a dinner break of course). They’ve given her more shifts this week (not just weekend work), and she’s no longer joining us in Yorkshire (she had been planning to come up by train for a few days).

It’s a shame, but also really good for her to be earning some money towards her time in Madrid. Now that she’s worked as a waitress, she can maybe pick up something similar in Spain, which would be great for her language skills.

Set off about 1:15pm. The weather was drizzly and the traffic crap at first and we made pretty slow progress to Leicester. Stopped for petrol and coffee and things picked up after that. We fairly clipped along to exit 37 (just past Sheffield), where we exited the M1 and headed west towards the Peak District.

Nice scenery up a here – hilly, moorish and a bit bleak. Found our cottage in Shepley without incident, and were given a tour by the caretaker. It’s beautifully appointed and a good size as well. We have a sitting room and a dining room, two big bedrooms and the nicest bathroom I’ve ever been in possession of.

Settled in, got the fire going and head a cup of tea before heading out to the shops. I’d brought most of the food from home (Nova will be eating at work), but there were some gaps we needed to fill. Made cauliflower sweet potato tacos for dinner, which chips and Lyra’s guacamole to start and chocolate for dessert.

We were pretty tired by this point and headed to bed by 10am. The adjoining cottage was having a party, and we could vaguely hear their crap music, but it wasn’t a problem falling asleep.

August 20, 2021

Had vague thoughts of going to the gym before breakfast but ended up sleeping through until almost 8am. Showered and headed down for some food. I had them prepare poached eggs today, which I supplemented with smoked salmon and goat cheese from the buffet.

Took a post-prandial walk round the grounds, then spent an hour in the spa before checking out – steam room and pool. I had a stubborn sebaceous cyst by my left eye when we arrived that the steam room has magicked away. A similar thing happened when we went to HongKong I recall…

Dropped in on Beulah on the way home. She is contemplating taking herself off for a spa break so we brought her a brochure, room  service menu etc. Swung by the optometrists as well to pick up my contact lenses. She has diagnosed the bump in my eye as a pinguecula, which is a benign build up of fatty tissue. The head injury wouldn’t have caused it, but it has made it more noticeable and irritating. Here’s hoping it calms down soon…

Nova had another appointment at the Spanish consulate today about her study visa. We thought that everything was finally sorted, but they still aren’t satisfied with her level of health coverage. It looks like we’ll need to buy separate medical insurance, which the consulate recommends buying it from a Spanish provider. Unfortunately most of them require you to have a Spanish bank account, but we found one that didn’t.

This wouldn’t be an issue if her European health card (EHIC) hadn’t expired. The replacement (GHIC) card should have arrived already, but because she applied when she was already planning to study abroad, she’s gone into some special student hell where they are demanding a Spanish residential address before they’ll issue the card.

I remembered Michaela mentioning that her niece lives in Madrid, so we’re chasing that up as a possible address we can use. What a completely unecessary mountain of expensive red tape entirely brought about by that fucking Brexit…>:-(

Made a start on the packing for Yorkshire tomorrow, but there wasn’t much time before we needed to head out to the Red Lion and Sun for Rachel’s birthday. Joined her in a frozen margarita to start, followed by only one bottle of sauv blanc, which was a relief. I had the grilled trout with sticky rice and pak choi, which was delicious.

August 19, 2021

Slept more than eight hours last night. The bed is enormous – I can stretch out like a starfish without being able to touch  Adam. I can lie across it without hanging off either side. I don’t know why anyone would need a bed so large, but it’s kind of neat…

Breakfast is  included with the room,  one of those hotel buffet deals. Started with a bit of cheese and fruit, then hit the hot station for a fried egg, bacon and sausage. Headed back to the room so Adam could do a bit of work, then down to the spa for some lounging about. Two jacuzzis (one more aggressively bubbly than the other), a sauna and a gorgeous steam room. Between times we swam a few laps or reclined on poolside loungers.

Headed out for a bite to eat mid-afternoon (smoked salmon sandwiches), then back for our massages. We’d booked the double treatment room, where we both had deep tissue massages. My woman used her elbows and forearms to considerable effect, eally grinding into the knots in my lower back and left thigh. Mostly stayed on the right side of painful, and I’m sure it did me good…

Recuperated with a cup of herbal tea, before shifting gears for the evening. Changed out of our bathrooms and headed to the cocktail lounge. I was going to go for a G&T (or maybe a martini), but they had this whole menu of cocktails based around the history of Sopwell House. I ended up opting for a “Viceroy”. It sounded like a vodka martini with a twist – vodka, Noilly Prat, lemongrass, star anise.

When the waiter delivered the drinks, he said “Taste it first, not everyone is happy with the flavour.” I had a sip, confirmed that I am okay with lemongrass and star anise and off he went. But the more I drank, the more I realised it was a much different drink than billed. It was very sweet for one thing – they’d clearly used a lot of lemongrass syrup. And there was no sign of the Noilly Prat.

I’d drunk most of it by this point, but called the guy over to to clarify what was going on. It turns out some guests had found the drink too dry and strong, so they’d changed it up by substituting the Noilly Prat with Martini Bianco, doubling the syrup and halving the vodka. When he offered to make me another one the original way, I didn’t say no. I shared it with Adam, and we both felt it was much better.

Ate dinner in the brasserie again, due to the restaurant being closed because of covid staff shortages. They gave us a complementary glass of prosecco for the inconvenience. I had a chicken Caesar salad and Adam had grilled salmon. Made it to 9:30pm before crashing out this evening…

August 18, 2021

Adam was up almost all night prepping for an Intersport workshop he was delivering at 7:30am. I thought I’d slept pretty well myself, but when I checked the FitBit I’d only managed four hours. When I work late into the evening, it’s hard to switch my brain off at bedtime, and it was nearly 2am by the time I managed to fall asleep.

After meditating, my first task was to send out the August Festival newsletter, after which I launched the British Beauty Week landing page. There was a lot of fiddly stuff to do round that, and it took over two hours to sort out. Moved straight into mocking up a version of a classfinder for my fitness charity client, using the paid version of Events Calendar. I’m hopeful I may have found a good solution for them at last…

Set off for our mini-break about 3pm. The hotel is up round Luton and we arrived before 4pm. Checked in to find Adam had arranged a bottle of champagne. Quaffed a couple of glasses, then hopped into my robe and slippers and flapped off to the spa for a facial. I mentioned the black eye to my therapist, and said to do what she would normally do and I’d let her know if anything hurt.

It was lovely to lie back and have someone stroke and massage my face for an hour. I’m hopeful that it might stimulate the circulation, break up congestion or whatever, and help the bruising and stubborn lump to heal.

Had a shower when I got back to the room, then headed down for dinner around 6:30pm. The higher-end restaurant is only open on weekends at the moment, so we ate in the brasserie – burger and fries for Adam, steak, broccoli and chips for me, and split a passion fruit crème brulée. The food was all really nice. In bed before 9pm. Adam was asleep immediately. I attempted to watch an episode of NCIS, but lasted about fifteen minutes.

August 17, 2021

Vivid dreams last night…

I was back in Prince George in the old house. There was someone new in the Carmichael’s house. He’d put a high chainlink fence round the property had two cows in the back yard.

Mum was living on a king-size bed on Winnepeg Street at the bottom of KGV. I went to visit her, sitting on the edge of the bed, which was piled with books and papers and stuff. She’d found a coupon in the Citizen for free cannoli, and wanted to get some. Mum, dad, me, Wade, Paul Carmichael and a First Nations woman I sort of knew in the dream (Mona?) set off on foot.

We hadn’t gone far when I looked back and saw mum resting on a park bench. While we waited for her to catch her breath, Mona dug around in her purse and pulled out an ornament we used to have in the PG house. “I work at Halvorsens,” she explained. “I see stuff from your house all the time, and always bring it to your mum.”

We arrived at Halvorsens, which was a big sprawling second-hand market, similar to the seedy end of Camden. Within minutes we were all separated. I looked at old books, and teapots, and then got into a food area. I bought a massive blob of black cotton candy, which looked disgusting and burned like fibreglass when I tasted it. I was just asking myself why the hell I’d bought it, and how I’d managed to lose everybody when I woke up…

I haven’t been outside in two days, and was determined to go for a walk. Adam and I did a lap round the Woods. It’s not a very nice day – both muggy and cold somehow. Feeling a bit meh today, but really up against the gun now. I have a lot to get done before we go off for our mini-break tomorrow.

I felt kind of shit when I sat at the dining room table, so I moved to the sofa and worked from there. Spent the whole morning resolving a technical issue with child themes not working properly. Nobody to bill for that unfortunately…

Made myself a salad for lunch and cracked on. Lyra was doing some maths work so I ended up doing a fair amount of that as well… Kept at my work until about 8:30, by which point the girls had rustled up some dinner – panfried salmon fillets, creamed spinach and potatoes. Better Call Saul and bed about midnight.

August 16, 2021

I’m going to have to really crack on with the work for the next few days before we  go on our mini-break on Wednesday. I can’t remember if I mentioned it already, but Adam has booked a spa hotel in Hertfordshire for two nights. We have a couple of treatments scheduled – a facial and a massage for me – and will otherwise lounge about in the sauna/jacuzzi, hang out in our room, or eat in the two restaurants. Very exciting…

I did my injury photo as per usual this morning, and when I took a closer look I realised that I’d managed to capture whatever it is in my right eye that’s been messing with my vision. Despite an eye exam to the contrary, I generally feel like I have something in my eye. It often swipes across eyeball when I blink, almost like an amphibian inner eyelid, occasionally blurs my vision and interferes wiith my contact lens.

I’m not sure what it is, but there was a little lump sitting on the inside of my iris. I’m wondering if it could be something that was scraped off my cornea when i scratched it, but it so why hasn’t it been blinked out by now?

Sent the photos to my optometrist, but she’s on holiday until Thursday, so don’t expect to hear anything back before then, if ever…

Worked on the beauty site for much of the day, and also on installing a child theme for the architecture site update. I want to apply my learning from my web design course to this project and build everything by the book. I couldn’t get the child theme to respond properly, and ended up enlisting the help of my friend Rocky in South Africa, to see if he could spot something I was doing wrong.

Made a bobotie for dinner, which I thought was delicious (Lyra less convinced). Nova had ended up going into work to cover someone who called in sick, so it was the three of us for dinner. Finished the first season of Better Call Saul, which I’m really enjoying.

August 15, 2021

Dad’s anniversary today – six years already. August 15 is not a date that registers with the rest of the family. I used to feel bummed about them not remembering (and mum’s date as well), but now just make a point of telling them, which works better all round. Pretty sure that’s another way that meditation is helping me…

Adam went to play football at 8:30. When he got back we did the usual weekend fry-up. After that I pretty much worked all day, and crossed several more things off my list by dinner time.

Nova headed off to work mid-afternoon, and Adam went to visit his mum late afternoon. When he got back, I made coconut peanut chicken stirfry and coleslaw for dinner, which we ate in front of Better Call Saul. Life is pretty dull these days…

August 14, 2021

Normally I’d go for a run on Saturday, but the optometrist has told me to take it easy for the month to avoid jarring my retina, in case there’s anything she didn’t pick up in my eye exam. I imagine that’s being over-cautious, but I’m going to heed the advice…

Did some crossword puzzle in bed, then hopped up and made carrot cake muffins for the family. Ended up eating around 11am, making it essentially a brunch. Afterwards, Nova set off for her shift at Mildreds today, and Lyra headed over to her friend Lola’s house.

I put in half a day’s work – I am so far behind after the down time for my injury. Went for a walk round the neighbourhood – Suicide Bridge then back through the Miltons – to mark the end of the work day.

It was just Adam and me for dinner. Chicken Caesar salad, and watched a couple of episodes of Better Call Saul before bed.

August 13, 2021

Friday the 13th… I can be superstitious and always notice when a Friday the 13th comes round. I figure I’ve had enough bad luck already this time and didn’t give it another thought…

I generally try to take things a bit easier on Friday, but I had a busy one today.  Prepping all morning for a meeting with my beauty client about the looming British Beauty Week. I’d pitched for (and didn’t get) a commission to do a stand-alone website, but am ending up doing most of the work anyway.

Headed straight from that to an in-person meeting with my architecture client. They want a website refresh, so we spent an hour going through ideas around that.

On the way home, I bumped into Richard and Rachel who were taking Luna for a special birthday walk. I  up joining them for a little spin round the neighbourhood and a catch up. We’re talking about going away together to Cornwall in October, which would be nice if it comes off. Adam and I worked out that we haven’t had a holiday since we went to Bornholm as a family two summers ago.

Nova is working all weekend at Mildreds. We’d usually get a takeaway, but we have a lot of groceries around at the moment, so I ended up cooking. G&Ts, pork chops with celeriac and roasted kale for dinner, and a good dent in a nice bottle of red wine.

August 12, 2021

Happy 70th birthday, Greg! Headachy again today, but the yellowness is finally starting to fade. My eye is feeling more normal all the time, which is my main concern. 

Adam is taking the day off to go to the cricket with Doron. They set off about 10am. The weather was supposed to be nice again today, but we’re back to grey and drizzly, which is a shame. Meditated, worked in the morning, then headed to Finchley with Lyra after lunch to visit the optometrist.

I was told not to drive, and was planning to take the 143, but Lyra convinced me to book an Uber. My appointment was first. She did a range of tests – around eye health, vision, and contact lens fit.

My eyes are healthy, the injury is healing nicely, my vision has got a bit worse in my left (non-injured) eye over the last three years, but stayed the same in the right. We’ve kept my prescription the same to strike a balance between reading and distance and avoid varifocal lenses for now.

She put those dilating drops in, and had me wait while she tested Lyra. Her maths teacher had flagged up that Lyra could read the board from the back of the room and should have an eye test. Lyra said the guy’s handwriting is illegible, but she was overdue for an optometrist visit anyway.

Turns out her eyesight is perfect – she had been a bit long-sighted when she was younger, but that has corrected itself now. I had to return for a few further tests, after which we were free to go. The whole thing had taken almost two hours, most of which Lyra spent waiting for me, so I treated her to a Baskin Robbins sundae before we caught the tube back to Highgate.

My eyesight was a bit wonky from the drops, so I was relieved when my 5pm meeting was cancelled. It settled down eventually, and I cracked on with work. Adam got home later than planned, due to the rain delay. He’d been drinking beer all day, and headed off to bed after zapping himself some mac&cheese. 

I eventually logged off and finished the second season of Cardinal before heading down myself.

August 11, 2021

Worked at home in the morning, then caught the Tube to Shoreditch for a team lunch at Culpeper. It’s the first time that all five of Jx’s UK staff have been in the same place. Alice is visiting from Austria and Cami travelled up from Brighton.

We’d booked a table on the roof terrace and for once the weather gods smiled on us. There was an awning over the tables, but it was also warm enough to sit outside (not a given at all this summer). Share some appetisers, then had fish and chips and a peach pavlova. Two bottles of champagne as well to celebrate forthcoming Cami’s wedding on Friday.

Got a phone call from the doctor while we were having lunch, which I postponed until I got home. The follow-up consultation I was seeking yesterday, not a response to my complaint itself. She fully supported the optometrist route, but also tried to justify Matt insisting that I go to A&E. Not an easy circle to square…

I asked why if she thought seeing an optometrist at this stage was such a great idea, then why didn’t they recommend it themselves? To which she said that it can be difficult to get an optometrist appointment. Not as difficult as getting a consultation with my GP I thought, but there was no need to get into an argument with her.

Straight from that into a meeting with my beauty client. Things are behind on the preparations for British Beauty Week, but things finally seem to be coming together. Lots to do in short order though…

Made mac&cheese for Lyra and Adam’s dinner. I wasn’t hungry myself, though I ended up having a glass of wine and some cheese etc while we watched the final two episodes of Top Boy.

August 10, 2021

Meditated and then went for a walk on the Heath. I wear sunglasses whenever I go outside, partly to cover some of the bruising but also to protect my eye, which is still a bit sensitive. As it heals, it feels like there might be something on the surface or maybe under the eyelid. It doesn’t hurt, but I don’t like it anyway and want to get it checked out.

Called the group practice at 1pm to get a follow-up appointment with a doctor. The receptionist asked for some details, looked at my notes and said that the doctor I spoke to eight days ago advised that if there was any change in my vision I should go to A&E immediately.

I said this wasn’t a change in my vision, to which he responded if I chose to ignore my doctor’s advice it wasn’t his problem, and hung up on me. The reception staff at the practice have always been rude and unhelpful but this set a new low.

I then called my optemetrist who was super helpful. She took me through a series of questions, determined that my symptoms didn’t warrant an A&E visit, and set up an appointment for a thorough check-up on Thursday.

I was still angry when Adam got back from work, and together we drafted a complaint which I sent before dinner:

I’m writing to complain about the treatment I received when I called the practice today (1pm, Tuesday 10 August 2021). Having looked on your website and at NHS Services, it sounds like I should be contacting Nicola Davies or Claire Robinson directly. I am unable to find their contact details, so am expecting that this email will reach both of them.

I called today to follow up on a visit to A&E (Friday 30 July) and previous telephone consultation with Dr Rudd (Monday 2 August). More than a week after my telephone conversation with Dr Rudd, I remain in discomfort. In particular, I am feeling uneasy about my eye injury, and wanted a follow-up appointment with a GP.

The person who took my call (Matt) was rude and unhelpful. He referred to my notes where it said if there is a change in my vision that I should go to A&E. I explained that those notes are over a week old and don’t apply to the reason for my call. I said that there hasn’t been a change in my vision, but that there might an issue with the cornea or eyelid that needs investigation.

Matt refused to give me an appointment, said that if I wasn’t going to take my doctor’s advice it wasn’t his problem, and wouldn’t tell me his last name (“none of my business”) before hanging up on me.

I’m a 56-year-old communications professional and former senior manager in the NHS. I have no difficulty expressing myself and am reasonably knowledgeable about medical issues. At the end of the conversation, I felt disregarded, belittled and patronised. I was still anxious about my eye with no medical recourse except to waste my and A&E’s time with an unnecessary visit. I was also left with the disturbing feeling that non-clinical reception staff are taking it upon themselves to make medical judgments on behalf of the practice.

I remain convinced that I should be seen by a GP and not A&E and Matt’s misinterpretation of Dr Rudd’s notes of more than a week earlier have denied me access to primary care that my recovery from my head injury merits. It is unacceptable that patients of Highgate Group Practice are treated in this way. I would like an acknowledgement of this email, an apology from the practice, for Matt to be reprimanded and receive training to improve his treatment of callers, and the appointment/consultation with a GP that I was seeking.

Felt better for writing it, but not holding my breath that it will lead to anything…

Cod dugleré and broccoli for dinner, Top Boy, bed…

August 9, 2021

I sincerely hope I have a better work week than I did last week. I’m feeling overwhelmed again, and the recuperation time hasn’t helped the situation…

Got some housework out of the way then started in on the events plugin I’m configuring for Beauty Week nnext month. Lots to learn…

Nova headed off to Southampton around noon. Her former flatmates are  all meeting up at Izzy’s house for a few days. It’s lovely the way they’ve formed such a tight group. She hasn’t had her work shifts confirmed yet, but has been told they mainly want her for weekends.

Drove Lyra to Crouch End so she could hang out with her friend Alex – my first time behind the wheel since the fall. I’m able to wear contact lenses again, which is good, as my peripheral vision is better, and I’m used to seeing that way.

Made Korean rice bowls for dinner with spicy ground beef and quick cucumber pickles. Adam was working this evening so I watched an episode of Cardinal before bed.

August 8, 2021

What a difference a day makes… Despite another decent sleep I woke feeling headachy and glum. Moped around listening to EarHustle and playing phone games for ages before summoning the resources to start my day.

Fry up for brunch as per usual, which Lyra helped me make. After that I retreated to the sofa with an icepack for the headache, and that was pretty much my day. Adam and Lyra went off to visit Beulah, Nova headed to work, and I alternated between slumping about and little bits of activity – defrosted the freezer, sorted some laundry etc, but felt very low energy and mood.

Having done some Googling of concussion recovery, it is appropriate to be returning to gentle exercise once the symptoms have abated. I’d hoped the persistent headache was behind me, but maybe not. The hematoma on my head is still surprisingly painful, but apparently that might last for another couple of weeks. Depression and irritability are common symptoms as well…

Made lamb burgers, Greek salad and garlic yogurt for dinner when Adam and Lyra returned, which we ate in front of Better Call Saul – my pick for our next TV show. Finished season two of Top Boy after that, so can now resume season three.

Nova got in a bit earlier this evening. The restaurant wasn’t that busy on Sunday (aside from takeaway orders), and I think they close earlier as well. She’s off to Southampton for a few days tomorrow to see her friend Izzy, returning in time to do weekend shifts.

August 7, 2021

Another good night’s sleep. Not sure if it’s a side effect of the head injury, but I’ve been sleeping like a log. Aside from the bumps and bruises, I look remarkably fresh.

Popped up full of energy, made muffins, meditated, and had a family breakfast when everyone was up. After that I pootled around doing housework and various jobs. The girls set off for an outing together riding the DLR and taking the cable car crossing to North Greenwich.

Adam and I headed out for an afternoon walk. I wanted to assess the state of the Woods after all this rain. I’d quite like to start some gentle running again (once I do some reading around resuming exercise after concussion).

It was a bit mucky in the worst places, but nothing dreadful. Carried on up the Parkland walk to take in the view over the city, then down towards NLPAC, where the girls used to do drama classes. There’s a pub on the left that I’d never noticed driving there. (It’s a narrow, twisty road and I was always focussed on getting to the wider bit without meeting oncoming traffic.)

Stopped for a drink on the terrace before making our way back home through Queens Woods. Met Pasc and Fay at the top of the path. I had my big sunglasses on, and it was a while before she noticed my injuries. I’m still pretty yellow.

Made the chicken chorizo thing from yesterday for dinner, which turned out nicely. Finished watching The Politican with Lyra, then cracked on with the second series of Top Boy before bed. I was hoping to wait up until Nova got home from Dalston (practically the exact spot where Top Boy is set), but got too tired.

August 6, 2021

I’m sleeping so well these days. I felt pretty good when I woke up this morning, my headache was dialled down another notch. I’m trying to manage without a steady supply of painkillers. I almost made it through yesterday, so expect I’ll do even better today.

Took care of a couple of niggling work things, then meditated and headed out for a walk. Down the High Street, across Suicide Bridge and back home via the Miltons. I was hoping not to run into people the way I did yesterday, and did pretty well – aside from Rachel walking Luna. She’d already had the story from Richard, so I didn’t have to go through the whole saga.

I picked up a few groceries from the Sainsburys on Archway Road and considered buying myself a bunch of sunflowers but thought my family might see  it as passive-aggressive so I refrained.

Put in a bit of work, then switched on the Canada v Sweden women’s soccer final. Around half time, it occurred to me that right about now last week, I was fainting and falling on my face. Just then the doorbell went. Lyra went to answer, and returned with a beautiful mixed bouquet of flowers from Wade, which included sunflowers.

The rest of the match was very exciting. Canada equalised with a penality, hung on through extra time and won on penalties. Go Canada!

Found it hard to shift gears back to work but ticked a couple of minor things off my list. I’ll probably do a bit of work this weekend to make up for my lackadaisical approach to work this week. I was going to cook a chicken chorizo and cauliflower thing for dinner, but by the time Adam came home it had got a bit late to start cooking.

Nova was off working her first shift at Mildreds in Dalston, so the three of us ordered sushi from Iro Sushi. Adam chose The Big Chill for movie night. We both really enjoyed seeing it again, but Lyra found it slow and sloped off downstairs to watch Love Island at 9pm.

I wanted to wait up until Nova got home from her waitressing shift so we finished the first series of Top Boy, which was so tense I couldn’t watch in places. The timing worked perfectly and she walked in just as the credits were rolling.

She did a split shift – 12-4pm then 5-11:30pm – which must have been pretty tiring. Sounds like it well, the team she’s working with is really nice, and the staff meal of “Mexican surprise” (roasted veggies topped with melted cheese, salsa and guac) was very tasty. (Might give that one a try.)

August 5, 2021

I was determined to step outside the house today for a walk and headed off straight after meditating before I got distracted by other things.  Nova had an errand in the village and came with me. Made it most of the way round Waterlow Park before I ran into Helen. Kept my big sunglasses on and she didn’t comment, though she may just have been being English.

Ran into Richard, then Lynne and Helen Y on the private road. Gave them a good look and a rundown of the story. They were all pretty shocked by the bruising. As Lynne put it, “you really are the most terrible colour!”

Lunch was fried eggs on a bed of sautéed spinach and bacon, with a dollop of Greek yogurt. Eggs and yogurt aren’t an obvious combination, but it works. I was cutting it fine for my in-person meeting with my architecture client, but Adam dropped me down there.

They want to refresh the home and project pages so we talked that through in some detail. They were both pretty concerned by the state of my face and insisted on driving me home after the meeting. It’s kind of funny – I’m feeling so much more myself, and think I’m looking pretty good, considering, but it’s clearly a shock for people. On the plus side, face recognition has started working on my phone today, which says something…:-)

We had a Jx team happy hour scheduled for 4:30pm, but Adam and I were the only staff to turn up, so we gave it a miss for this month. Lyra was out with her friend Olive, so I made dinner for three – sausages, green beans, potatoes/cauliflower mash. Chia puddings for dessert.

I read about a study with migraine sufferers that showed eating more foods with omega-3 and avoiding omega-6 cut this incidence and severity of attacks by a significant amount. Unfortunately the best source of omega-3 is oily fish. Lyra isn’t going to embrace that change of diet, but walnuts, chia seeds and flax seeds are good sources as well.

August 4, 2021

Sat to meditate this morning instead of lying on the bed, which feels like progress. I still have a constant headache that needs a steady regimen of painkillers to manage and half my face is a shocking Simpson yellow, but on the plus side the glassy numb feeling in my general forehead is shrinking, my eye is a lot less swollen, and the suture tape is almost ready to come off.

Once I realized that the main point where it was glued to my face wasn’t actually over one of the cuts, I dampened it with a wet cloth and then worked carefully and patiently to detach it completely.

If it was somewhere else I would have probably left it until it fell off, but the sharp edges of the suture tape stabbed and irritated my eye every time I blinked. I feel a lot better with it off and was even emboldened to pop contact lenses in for the first time since the incident, which mades a big difference in terms of my peripheral vision.

I was home on my own for a good chunk of the day, which I felt a bit funny about. Kept checking in on my health and whether I felt hungry, thirsty, faint etc. Managed to do a reasonable amount of work and had a couple of meetings – one on Zoom with the camera actually turned on, and shipped some text to my Irish client that I’ve been feeling guilty about not getting around to.

Adam popped home briefly to change for football. I made cauliflower sweet potato tacos, which I ate with the girls while watching an episode of The Politician.

August 3, 2021

Every morning when I wake up, I do a little inventory of how I’m feeling before getting up to check my progress in the mirror. This morning the nasty headache persists, my two big bumps (forehead and cheekbone) are very sore to the touch, while most of my forehead is still completely numb. It feels sort of glassy, or that strange sensation when you put the fingertips of both hands together and then flex and unflex your knuckles. The eye stabs are still happening, but maybe less frequently.

The mirror tells a more positive story. My eye is noticeably less swollen, moving from deep purple to burgundy in colour and the cornea scratch looks thinner. Pretty much the whole right size of my face is a nasty urine-yellow colour, and there’s a considerable bruise on my jawbone I hadn’t even noticed until today.

Meditated lying on the bed, then got up and eased into my day. Tried to work, but I’m not feeling very motivated, plus the head and eye pain is a deterrent. My eye is generally okay if I keep my gaze fixed, but as soon as I start shifting around (reading, cooking, etc) I get ambushed by eye stabs. Ah well…

Nova was in Cambridge today visiting her friend Michaela, and Lyra headed off to meet Alex in Camden and then have a sleepover, so it was just Adam and me for dinner. Made a broccoli blue cheese crustless quiche and a tossed salad – simple and nice.

August 2, 2021

Meditated again this morning – glad to be making space for that again. It’s going to be a while before I feel ready to run. I’m not going to wear contact lenses until the tape comes off the wound and the cornea scratch has healed.

Called the GP for an an appointment. That process works differently now. It starts with a phone call from a doctor, and then a follow-up in-person appointment if needed. When the call came, the GP had my A&E notes to hand. She said that the stabbing eye pain was normal in this situation, but to go back to A&E if my vision suddenly becomes blurry. She also said that I can start showering and that the sutures should gradually fall off once I start getting them wet. 

Eased myself gently into work, keeping my camera off for this morning’s Zoom meeting. I think the state of my face would be a distraction. Afterwards I took a break and had my first shower in days, which was wonderful. I tried not to get my face wet, but it was inevitable what with washing my hair. The water loosened the scab on my chin, most of which has now come off. 

Worked until 5:30pm when Beulah called to see how I was doing and we had a long chat. Adam and Nova headed over there for a visit after dinner. I watched an episode of Top Boy and read my Christopher Brookmyre novel until bedtime at 11pm.

August 1, 2021

Rabbits! Actually I forgot to say it first thing, but remembered within a few minutes so hope I still get a little luck from that…

Coffee and crossword in bed, followed by a lying-down body scan meditation and then up to face the day. I decided to get properly dressed today as another step towards normalcy. I’m not allowed to get my bandages wet for at least another day, which rules out showering. Sat in the sun with my second coffee and chatted with Nova who’d gone to a friend’s gathering last night and over-indulged.

Adam made a fry-up for brunch, which hit the spot with all of us. After that I retreated to the sofa to watch films with Lyra. My eye bothers me when I move it – I have a little scratch on my cornea, plus the sharp edges of the bandages can stab me at times. Lying flat and watching telly feels pretty relaxing eye-wise.

We started with Love, Rosie (her pick) then moved onto The Fundamentals of Caring (mine), both of which hit the spot. 

Adam and Nova made dinner about 8pm – salmon with creamed spinach, new potatoes and green beans. More of Nova’s cherry cheesecake for dessert. 

The next door neighbours brought round a stack of these little instant ice packs when they heard about my injury. They are the opposite of those pocket handwarmer things, and get super cold. I put one on my face at bedtime, and it is pretty much the high point of my day. I only have two left, so have ordered myself a box from Amazon.