Thursday 3rd November, 2011

Shopping and the Vicar Comes for Tea
 

My hip is still not comfortable. Last week, it felt as if "all the pieces" were in the right place. In other words, the pieces of bone that are broken were properly aligned. This morning it feels as if they are not quite in the right place. I am not a medical expert, so that may be total rubbish, but that is how it feels.

I did not sleep well last night, particularly in the early part of the night, so I am still feeling very tired.

This morning Sue and I went out to buy Chris a washing machine and tumble dryer for his new house. We found a very chatty saleswoman, who wanted to continue explaining the features of the washing machine even after we had said, "yes we want to buy one". I got close to saying "If you don't shut up, you are going to lose the sale". The tumble dryer was a challenge, because Chris does not have room for a standard sized dryer. In the end, the decision became easy because there was only 1 that fitted the space available.

I did some work in the afternoon.

Clive Hawkins, the rector of St. Mary's came round for a cup of tea at the end of the afternoon. This was a very different conversation compared to the first time he came round. On that occasion, I had not had my change of diagnosis, so the conversation was under the shadow of a potentially terminal illness. This time, we were able to focus on the positive aspects of my experience, hope for the future and my experience of a relationship with God and how that has been strengthened.

In the evening, I had a Hampshire County Swimming Committee meeting.

So it is not true to say that the day was not affected by my illness. At the start of the day in particular, I was very tired and both my hip and digestive system were uncomfortable. Obviously Clive's visit was primarily because of my illness.