This will have to start as a retrospective. As years start and end in September for me, I can look back over the past, rather vacant and unstructured year, and at least pinpoint a few moments when something was happening.
Last Septmeber, I have to remind myself, was still a time when I was up and down the line to Paget Ward for my chemo. Dressing up to try to pretend to myself that it was a treat, which of course it was. Someone, namely Ellie the lovely nurse, was trying to do something helpful for me. Let's just ignore the sticking needles into an arm devoid of anything resembling a vein. Bless you Ellie, the only nurse who seemed to be able to find one. Good bits, (were there any?) looking for blackbirds in Finsbury Circus and striking up a relationship with the very surly Eastern European woman who brought the trolly round, snapping,
" Sanvichis, drink."
at the little clusters of people clustered around the bags of dripping fluids, hopefully poisoning the poison out of us.
And so it was for September and October, life revolving around the trips to Barts and scattered with invitations forcing you to grird your loins and wrap your head and stride of into the great normality, hoping you can cope with the way people look at you and determined to be positive. Going to nice places and eating lovely meals you can't taste. What a cow I sound, I know they all meant well. It was just such a trail to have to make light of it all the bloody time.
Then a sparkle of light relief when I organised the Church Hill Road TulipWatchers to plant their Spring Green bulbs on November 5th for me and Monty Don. That was fun, or at least something like it. Carol and Ivan won with this amazing effort. Miranda, Malcolm, Mick and me trailed in a few days later. Never did find out what happened to Valerie's.