Tuesday and I wake up with no new book to read which is a bit of a crisis as recently I’ve been reading for an hour before I get up. I check my social media, send WhatsApps and emails and order Fragile Things and selection of short stories by Neil Gaiman. I copy an advert for a Japanese wood block printing course for beginner to a friend who is into all things Japanese. I check my bank accounts and find that the household has lived within its means and when I check the fuel bill its lower this month, which is a surprise. So by the time I get out of bed at 9:30 the days life admin is done. I eat a lazy muesli breakfast and check my availability to eat with with friends in February. At the moment my availability is confined by not knowing when my PET scan will be.
STOP PRESS: As I draft the blog I get a phone call from The PET scan shop who arrange my scan for the Thursday the 16th of February. This is excellent as it means I can now plan my month. The only embarrassing moment in the conversation was when I could not remember my full email address, but I got over that and the booking was made. The other good news is that the scan is taking place at the hospital that is closest to me and the easiest to park at. Result all tound I think. For once a plan comes together.
I intended to go to the Shed but I got side tracked by trying to arrange a dentist appointment. Not the easiest thing in the world to achieve. Eventually I get through and the receptionist finds me a space in my Dentists “packed” diary. Monday the 6th is the earliest I can get so I take it. I have a bacon sandwich for lunch and then prepare to train. I’ve decided I need to break the mould of training, I feel Spring approaching, I see it in my garden, so time to change. I decide to row for and hour and a half, something I have not done before. I get into my kit, leaving off a layer and I also collect a water bottle from the fridge. I strap into the rower and set the controls for 90 minutes. I set my Fitbit going and set off on my long row. What appears to be most important is to focus enough to keep the discipline of the slower rate required. This is more mind than body. I row through the 80s, the 70s, the 60s, the 50s, the 40s to half way and then get to the 30s. In my head I am prepared for the 20s and teens to be the tough and they are. I have to concentrate to not try and rush to the end. I make it to the end. A new personal best, unexpected at this stage, but it reinforced my old belief that when things are looking bad then that’s the time to push yourself and take charge. Today feels like that. This is Rocket at his best, this is Rocket Booster time for real.
I record my session and then shower. I let my eldest daughter plait my hair before going out to see the Queen Experience.
My partner and I grab pizza before we drive into town to the concert venue. We arrive early and have coffee before getting into the auditorium. We have great seats, my youngest daughter has chosen well.
The concert gets under way, its Queen tribute and its loud. The audience is in general my peer group, which is fine. Its good to see so many people of my age surviving, however my overwhelming impression is how bloody dull their clothes are. There is no colour, I feel conspicuous and pleased to be so in my Guardians of the Galaxy T shirt. My plaited hair is not an issue but the lack of colour is. I comment about this to my partner on the way home and discover that she has deliberately not bought anything black since coming out of lockdown, I had not noticed. From now on I want to bring colour back into the clothes I wear, its time to get the bright pink jacket out again. The concert gets more intense in the second half after ice cream and a comfort break. The audience is up on its feet, well most of it and doing what British audiences do best, clap out of time. My partner and I had a fun time. At the end we let the rest of the audience go in order to avoid the mad rush out of the car park. We ambled over to the car and before setting off emptied all the half drunk bottles of water in to the windscreen washer tank as it was empty. It made the drive back so much easier.
Once home it was coffee and scone for supper before taking my meds and finishing off the draft of the blog. Its been a good day and as I said I sense that Spring is in the air. Tomorrow I will have more Neil Gaiman to read, and will be having lunch with friends including one who is back from Bermuda for a short while. Yes Spring is definitely coming.
