Friday and its chemo day but also today its builder badger day as well as they are coming in to put a deck into the garden on which to stand the swing seat. So I am up at 7:30, taking my meds and having some toast. There are entrances to be unbolted to give the badgers access and I take down the washing line so it is not in the way. With all that done I await the builder badgers. They arrive dead on time. There is the master badger and a new labourer, so the first things to do is get their coffee preferences, one black, one white, no sugars, so a simple order to take. There is the usual catch up chat and then after coffee the badgers get in with the job while I retreat to the sofa and rest and catch up with my messages, social media and news feeds.

By lunch time I have organised some stuff and thought about what I am going to wear to chemo. The days crosswords have been done and my choice of books to take to chemo has been made. After a cheese roll lunch I get into my suit and short sleeve shirt and begin the process of getting an Uber. By 2 o’clock my partner and I are siting in the Uber on the way to the hospital. We arrive at our usual drop off point and walk through the hospital to the oncology unit, but my partner goes to the hospital fruit stall to get strawberries while I hand in my “dance card” . It turns out that the fruit stall is out of strawberries so we have to settle for cherries, which means no champagne but Chianti instead should I fancy it.

My appointment is for 3 o’clock but the standing joke is that it will always be at least 30 minutes after the due time. It turns out to be true this time. I settle into a bay and organise my water bottle, books and Twix to see me through the session. I get the cannula in my hand and loaded with my pre chemo meds.

My vitals are taken and once again my heart rate is up, like last time. It appears that I do not like being at chemo or at least my heart says that. Thankfully this time I did not need an ECG and was able to move straight into my poisonous Yew tree juice. I read for a bit, nap and generally try to relax. My hours chemo ends and I receive my saline wash through.

At last I am free to go and I wander out to my waiting partner who is on her own. We both get comfortable and then head for the hotel opposite to pick up another Uber.

Once home all I want to do is get out of my suit and into some comfortable and clothes. I also want to check what progress the builder badgers have made.

Its an evening of simple food and rest. I end up watching the snooker and then I get drifted into watching Get Carter an early Michael Caine film set in Newcastle. So I take my meds late and get myself to bed at 1 o’clock in the morning.

Saturday arrives and I am feeling fully chemo’d. I just want to rest, my partner leaves early to go and see her mother with her brother. I take my vitals, drink hot water and check my messages and social media. Eventually I get up and dress before taking my morning meds and having pizza for a late breakfast treat. Luckily the world snooker championship is on TV so I lazily watch a brilliant semi final session. I lunch on pastries and watch the women’s European cup semi final. I am pretty much functioning on automatic.

I spend my afternoon watching snooker and football while keeping an eye on the football scores hoping Brentford can manage a win. Snooker is my favourite as a place in the final is up for grabs and it is a close game. I feed myself soup and pastries until my partner returns from visiting her mother in hospital and then going to her house to clear things like the fridge and rescuing the house plants.

The early evening arrives and there is tea followed by lazing and watching TV. All I am doing is resting and running on automatic to get me through the fatigue of the first few days of the chemo cycle. As always my evening will end with my night meds and a retreat to bed hoping for sleep. Ideally tomorrow I would like to train or get some new planters to plant out my sunflower seedlings.