I wake up in a hotel bed after a crap nights intermittent sleep, my partner does the same, we both feel rough and under the weather with a lot of aches and pains, which is a real pisser as we are going to the Shropshire Sculpture Park to day. I take my morning meds before going down to breakfast. Its the usual British buffet breakfast, no need to say anymore. Despite myself I cannot resist doing the full experience of cereals, cooked breakfast and of course toast and marmalade. When we are full my partner and I retreat to the and prepare ourselves to travel the thirty minute drive to the sculpture park.

Its impossible to miss the entrance of the Shropshire sculpture park, for starters it has this over looking the entrance not to mention a dragon or two.

I parked up and my partner and I walked towards reception to to get out parking permit and wrist bands but before we even got to it there were these to see.

At reception we collected our wrists and pathetically got the girl behind the counter to put on them on for us, and then we wandered off into the main area of the sculpture park. It was amazing everywhere you looked there were amazing constructions some caste and some recycles and apparently all for sale! Of course as Brits and me with my dickie prostrate my partner and I went for a pre-emptive piss before exploring and discovered that toilets can be an interesting and surprising places to be. This chap was sitting in the middle stall of three.

Then of course when comfortably ensconced in ones own cubicle there was this for company plus a useful info notice.

Having got comfortable there was then the mirror to contend with.

So having got the message that nowhere was going to be free of recycled metal my partner and I started to wander around the vast park with our mouths open and not quite sure where to look first. The first field is an animal scape, which can be wandered around, it is full of cast animals ,and the more we look the more we saw.

As we wandered around we found more and more things to see. One was the heroes tent where I found Rocket and Groot who I’ve put at the top of he blog and my favourite, a famous Banksy turned into 3D, again all out of recycled parts and machinery. I just loved this.

We wandered around finding things and taking photos for ages until it was time to have lunch which we duly did in glorious sunshine and with a skeleton in a wheel chair.

With lunch done my partner and I continue to wander around and kept finding new things. There are some small pieces, some fun pieces and some monumental pieces. Here is an example of each.

I and my partner had expected not to be at the park long but we spent the whole day there, including a large ice cream. Then just as we were walking to the car park we discovered a whole new bit of the park and so we wander off once again to look at the new sculptures. Eventually we were both tired, my phone had run out of battery and my partners was getting low and we need it to get us back to the hotel. So we retrieved the car and made our way back to the hotel a thirty minute drive away. My partner has lots more photos of the sculptures so I expect more will turn up on the blog. It really was a brilliant day and somewhere where children would love, no wonder it won the “best day out” award.

Back at the hotel my partner and I refresh in the bar before going back to the room to find the dodgy bathroom door had been fixed, the sliding doors on the wardrobe had been fixed but still no BBC 1 or 2. We dined in the bar a bit later and sat outside over looking the hotel grounds both of us reading until it became chill. I hooked up my laptop and watched a European football final, Spurs beating Man U. After that it was al preparation for another nights sleep. I had found the room fan and put it on in the hope that it would alleviate both my and my partners hot flushes in the night that were so invasive and disturbing last night. I down my night meds and get my head down knowing I have to drive home tomorrow. ITs been a good day, a day when I was feeling ropey to start with but got better and better as the day went on but by the end I was completely out of spoons, hence no blog drafted.

Thursday, a better nights sleep and so it was time to pack and indulge in one last hotel breakfast. On a table close by was a number of men who had known each other for 37 years getting together for breakfast together having met up the previous night. They were delightfully English, at the end of their meal and in saying their farewells they very primly shook each others hands and went their separate ways, so English, no hugs, no cheek kissing, just a very measured goodbye and a hand shake, lovely. We saw some of them in the car park later doing the last round of farewells, handshakes, already done that, just a few “good to see yous” and “see you next times” as they went to their own cars and departed . My partner and I finished breakfast, packed our bags in the car, settled the bill and drove home using the combination of my cars SatNav and my partners google maps on her phone. Went splendidly until they disagreed at which point it was a case of picking an option and going with until they coalesced once more. Of course it got to the point where I knew where I was and they became redundant.

Home and straight into life admin, checking the emails, reading the meters, collecting drugs and unpacking, whilst the garden guy turns up. There is a new mattress topper to air and put on, and of course the blog to catch with. Most important is that I have signed the letter of agreement with Rulers Wit and paid an upfront amount to get my fourth Cancer Years collection up on Amazon, it is to be called The Cancer Years: Ordinary Brave. So I have editing and the torture of other people inspecting my work to start, but I feel glad that I have found a British based team to do he work rather than going back to the Americans.

The evening beckons and I do not know what I shall be doing yet but tomorrow is a 28 injection day and a bloods day. It being a bank holiday the injection has to be this Friday, so I am liable to lose a chunk of the next two to three days as I deal with my injection soreness and the other side effects. Next Wednesday is my oncology review so I have to keep training, taking my vitals and drinking copious amounts of water. Its not my favourite time but I am here and intend to stay here, there is much to do and much to write.