Porridge for Breakfast, The Ordinary Life of a TTP Survivor

I'm not sure where October has gone,  it's flown by.  British Summer Time finishes today (28/10/2023) and our clocks go back one hour.  It means we get an extra hours sleep, or an extra hour partying 🤭, I know what it will be in my case! Spring Forward, Fall Back! The garden is beginning to sleep,  leaves are falling and flowers have turned to seed.  It's not quite winter here though.   We still have some surprises,  we saw three Red Admirals when the sun was shining this morning.  This Hydrangea is blue when it first flowers,  gradually they change to pink.  It's next to our compost bin and is a real beauty.  The Cyclamen continue to flower in the gravel. The very last flowers on the Japanese Anemones,  they have been incredible as always. This photo doesn't do the Sea Holly justice,  the stems are a bright blue.  The Ice Plant is still going strong,  if a bi...

A while ago I discovered there are Dinosaur 🦕  footprints near Swanage on the Jurassic Coast.  I did a little research and found out exactly where they are and how to get there.   When a family member suggested we meet up at a midpoint for a weekend, I knew exactly where I wanted to go 😁.  No questions were asked 🤭. There is a walk involved,  and we parked at Spyway Carpark.   It's National Trust and there is a fee to park.   Access to the site was free of charge.   I had the instructions from a website,  but they weren't especially clear.  Leaving the carpark we followed the footpath and turned right at the cross path with the signpost, going slightly uphill.  Instructions said to follow Priests Way south for three quarters of a mile, ok if you know which way is south!  Its difficult to judge how far you've walked when you're chatting to family and friends,  I wish we had taken a map with us.  ...

It's been a very mixed week.  Not only the weather,  that's certainly been confused,  but my diary too. Monday started with our campervan having new brakes, and me, a trip to the dentist.  Both were relatively painless on my bank balance,  but equally both were necessary if not emergencies.  Tuesday was much more fun.  We had tickets to see Bill Bailey and he was clever and funny.  Barnstaple is not my town of choice but the show was a brief respite from the worries of the world, I haven't laughed so much for a long time 😄.   Thank you,  Bill!   His political observations are spot on. We had thought we might start our Christmas Shopping but Halloween was everywhere.   I don't get Halloween at all.  When I was a child I don't remember it being mentioned.   We made Guys out of old clothes,  built stacks of wood for bonfires on allotments and waited for 5th November, with anticipation,for the fi...

It may have been the busy weekend plus the Covid vaccination, but I've had a lot of fatigue this week.   A couple of really lazy days, naps, and easy meals.  It's been very wet too, and I'm a bit of a fair weather walker now. Thankfully,  by this weekend I was partially restored and able to get a decent amount of steps in.  The sun has returned and, the rain and wind have gone, it's a lovely,  if autumnal day. I read on Facebook that someone had seen a murmuration of Starlings down by Butlins and I walked down to the seafront yesterday,  doing a loop.  Somehow it's always nicer coming back a different route, and I much prefer walking a circle.  Leaves are starting to fall from trees and dusk is getting earlier by the day.  I went down around the suggested time but didn't see a single Starling.  The weather had cleared by then, but not one.  At least I got steps in.  Murmurations are something I need to work on....

This weekend we've been away with family again.  It's always exciting and exhausting, and I wouldn't miss a moment of it 😊.  We did the whole thing on public transport again, our way of avoiding the stress of motorways and cutting our footprint.   We travelled around on underground trains and London buses, its good to see them being well used.   We also walked for miles!  Collected conkers in Greenwich Park,  and played!  😊 I like to visit Camden Market occasionally.   Always busy but so interesting, I'm fascinated by the underground stables where horses were cared for.  Yesterday we came across these umbrellas, so uplifting!  🤭 Travelling home yesterday,  we decided to walk from Camden Lock to Paddington Station.   It took about an hour,  but under 3 miles, along a flat tow path. We've walked this stretch several times, and saw more people and boats this time than ever be...

Had a really great walk on North Hill, Minehead, today.  The weather was dry but not too warm, almost perfect for North Hill.  The wind always blows my cobwebs away 😊. We parked in the car park right at the end.  There were hardly any cars, we had the Hill almost to ourselves.  Setting off down towards Allerford Woods, we turned right at the large wooden cross.  The path is fairly narrow and on the side of the hill, care is needed.   There are so many paths on North Hill, its a bit of a maze really.  We always try to stay aware of our surroundings and don't do very steep paths.  I'm not giving instructions on this route  just a record of what we did.   The view today was amazing, right across Bossington Beach towards Devon.  Belted Galloways grazed on the slopes. And the path towards the Beacon.   Fungi, I don't trust myself to touch anything! The Beacon, 36...

I woke early.  The hallway was so bright I wondered if we'd left an outside light on.  It was an almost full moon, my phone said 4.17am.  I went to the bathroom, before going back to bed and recited nursery rhymes and long forgotten poetry in my head. I couldn't sleep. At 6.30am I went downstairs and made tea.  John was still sleeping and I didn't disturb him.  The sun was rising and the sky was moving from night to day. Looking East One of these mornings,  when sleep evades me  I will walk down to beach and watch the sunrise.   Or may be drive our mini campervan and make my tea down there. A dream had woken me.  Yesterday Facebook had given me a memory from 4 years ago of being in ICU with a full relapse.   I vaguely remember dictating the post to one of my sons, I don't think I looked at it again, I was too afraid to see the words.  Last night I read all the supportive comments from family and friends.  ...