Monday, its an evidence review morning in preparation for a pre review phone call latte in the morning. So a quick muesli breakfast and I am picking my way through documents checklists. I prepare a list of queries for the service team I am reviewing and indulge in a second coffee of the morning. At the appointed time I dial into the Teams meeting and we set about going through the preparations for the review day. It is a positive and constructive meeting and ends on time. I’m looking forward to the review day and the additional evidence that is coming to me.

Having concluded work for the morning I order my next lot of drugs and ring the GP surgery to make next Mondays jab appointment. Just one of those routine tasks that pop up with monotonous regularity. Then I drive my partner into town to the opticians. Once she is called in I go shopping rather than hang around. I of course get drawn into a stationary store where I cannot resist sparkly pens and a notebook. As I swing by the opticians there is no sign of my partner so I head for Waterstones. Once in side I am truly lost, I do not think I have ever come out without a book and today is no exception. I cannot resist a volume of Alan Ginsberg’s poetry and songs. As one of the originators of the American beat generation he was way out on a limb and an extremely interesting, challenging read.

By the time I swing back to the opticians my partner is looking at frames. Its a relatively short process of selection but the techno bit of lens selection and measuring takes much longer, during which I missed a call. Having settled the selection, ordered and paid we return home.

I am hungry and rootle through my quartermaster stores and find a tin of tomato soup that I consume with a wedge of cheese. I slowly get changed in readiness to train. I really do not feel like it, I’m feeling tired and energy less so I take a breath, grit my teeth and get myself into the garage and onto the rower. Its tough going but I grind through the time and by the end I am pleased I’ve done it. This is after all something I see as my “medicine”, one of the things that gives me a sense of some control of what is happening to me. It is at the low motivation stage that I need these things to make myself keep doing them. This session was one of the grind.

I finish my session and get ready for tea, which we ate as we waited for the Tesco delivery. In anticipation of the delivery I move a car off the drive just as the ninja police speed van parks itself on the grass central verge and begins its trapping for the night. Of course the jolly Tesco delivery person turned up on time and there was the usual rapid unloading of trays and storage of fridge goodies as quickly as possible. the rest of my evening is used to write the blog and read Ginsberg.