CYCLE 2 DAY 13
Another London day, so an early start and a drive to the station. I’m in a routine now and pick up my tickets and head for the train. I’ve got this off to a tee and catch an earlier train. I read the papers for the meeting and then read more of What If. For some reason I get distracted and order Bill Bryson’s The Body. A Guide for Occupants. I think that I am missing my recreational reading and laying in a stock of reading materials for the days I feel tired. Once again it is not long before I see my favourite Tracy Emin and get mentally ready for the crush of the underground. Today it was tight but not unbearable.
I arrived at the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) with plenty of time to spare and head for the staff cafe, looking forward to my croissant and sauceages. I meet the project manager in the que and we survey the options together. No sauceages! The she remembers, “its meat free Monday”. For godsake can’t the psychiatrists behave like normal people and stop nannying everyone? We both choose todays special breakfast offering which is a tomatoe, egg, cheese muffin. Sounds good until you try to eat it. Tomatoe juice and pips everywhere. Ed Millibands bacon bun looks like kids play next to this. The project manager leaves to prep for the meeting and I play with my phone checking e-mails adn WhatsApp messages.
The meeting has six of us locked together trying to tease out questions related to enabling environments and enabling organisations. We push issues back and forth and try to model what we want and how we go about asking and finding what we want. We do this all day apart for the break that we take for lunch. The RCP has provided its salad lunch. Very healthy, no meat of course, its bloody Monday! As an omnivorous mammal I can feel my urge to hunt emerging from the jungle of my mind. By the end of the afternoon we have made some progress and know what we are delivering and by when and by whom. I dash for the tube, but get strangely diverted in to the Tesco local and find myself eating a mustard and ham sandwich on the way. The inner hunter in me is pleased with meat. I make St Pancras in time to catch an earlier train and settle down to read again.
I get home to find my partner is out with our guest for the night. Outside my house there is a huge pile of earth and a large trench. I remember that the waterboard were due to install a new street stop cock. It looks like there has been an attack of giant moles. I am assuming they will be back tomorrow to fill the trench and make good the pavement. I shall be in York, so I will not know until Wednesday.
So now its time to cook, feed the eldest daughter and then play musical cars. As much as I like my “toy” the Suzuki Jimny is not the car to drive to York in. Its fine for local stuff and is a real winner when the weather gets bad as it becomes a four wheel drive or HD vehicle. It has saved us all sorts of problems in bad weather, which is why we keep hold of it, but motorways are not its natural habitat. So I move cars around and get the Mazda out for tomorrows journey. I’m looking forward to York as it is somewhere I know from my days of working at The Retreat. A busy evening of organising for the trip and tidying up various bits of admin and writing the blog. Its been another good day and it looks like the third week of each cycle is when I am at my best. We have lots planned for this week and this weekend. I will get my 21 day injection on Wednesday and have my blood taken at the GP on Thursday in readiness to start cycle three next Tuesday. These cycles appear to roll round quickly at the moment. At the end of cycle three I will be half way through my chemo and heading for Christmas. However right now I’m focused on this week and trying to manage my energy sensibly. Early night tonight. For those wondering, there is no sign of the frog in the new pond, I think it is wisely staying out of sight.
