This is travelling UK style - trip to Norfolk and Suffolk

Sorry so far behind - must catch up on the last couple of months.

So after returning from Somerset with Sarah, I took off with Robert on a driving tour of Norfolk and Suffolk.  I made him pose for many embarrassing photos.  Luckily he is a ham of the old school and didn't mind.

Here he is enjoying a ham sarnie (sandwich) and a hot drink (coffee) sitting on the boot (trunk) of the car.  We are just about to get to Ely which is a cathedral city with the most amazing Norman church.  holy cow.

 Good Jam haul from the village fete.  It was very fun; there was lots of junk for sale, a tambola, funny games, and tea and cakes in the church.

Proper village fete.

Time to set off back to the big smoke but one more picture of Sarah and her Mum in front of the cottage.

Wells Cathedral

Part of August Bank Holiday weekend trip to Somerset was a quick whip around the ground of Wells Cathedral. Which as frequeently turns out, is a pretty interesting place with a ton of history - smack in the middle of rural England.  The present cathedral was begun in 1175 on the sight of a much earlier Saxon church from about 705.  the 1175 church was the first English Church to be built in the French Gothic style.

The adjacent Bishop's House is surrounded by a moat with swans - who apparently can ring a bell for their supper.  Now these swans also apparently feature in the film Hot Fuzz. So this post gives you both historical facts and  movie trailor what more could you want?

swans (not ringing the bell)

Somerset with Sarah

Leaving merry olde southe London behind, we set off on our August Bank Holiday trip.  Sarah has agreed to drive and I have agreed to passenger (!).  We are headed to Somerset, specifically a little village (actually the second largest village in Somerset) called Everchreech known as Evrecriz in the Doomsday Book.  My goodness my parents live in a a place that was dredged from the sea in the 20th Century and this place dates back to before the Doomsday Book which was 1086. 

Pfffft - Stonehenge?! We have Woodhenge

Here I am centred on the ley lines.  Despite being bank holiday weekend it was cold.

On our trip to Somerset Sarah took me to Woodhenge - a timber circle 2 miles from Stonehenge.  It was discovered in the 1920s from an aerial photograph.

June and Roger celebrate summer

 June embraces the summer (needless to say it was cold and windy and looked like rain).  We had just had a nice lunch at the marina were they keep their boat.

Roger points out France.

July garden

 Next update on the garden. This is the 3 July BBQ.  Adam as usual is supplying scale.  Its really flourishing. I have been spending a lot of time out there, when its sunny. When I move back to SF I'll need a garden of some sort.

Jen relaxes and the garden entertains

Bob and Jen came again to visit this summer.  You know I am obsessed with my garden this year.  Well, Jen and Bob approved!  Here's a beautiful picture of relaxing Jen taken by Bob.

We had a lot of fun in the garden this summer.

Garden 28 May

Here is farmer Adam visiting his plot (my back garden) after 2 months.  My how she has grown. TO remind you, here is what she looked like on planting day 1 April. Adam will be my scale from now on - he's six foot - six inches.  That front fox glove plant is about my height - I'm 5'2".

I asked for an English Cottage garden and look what I am getting.  It was a BBQ day for Spring  Bank holiday weekend.  Weather was grey and cold; after almost 2 months of glorious weather. We considered lighting a fire after huddling round the BBQ outside but ended up just turning on the heat.  Ah, British Summer.

here's what 49 looks like

a bit battered all sorts of new scars but not bad.

Can't smile as its meant to be my passport photo - apparently evil-doers don't smile or something.  I still don't know why they don't let you smile

birthday shoes

For my birthday I bought shoes.  a celebration of walking again.  still slow and with a stick but better and better.  Time to move out of lace up daps, trainers, sneakers, or kicks and into childlike red, flat, mary-janes.  Not sure what that says about my currently mindset, but I also bought a pair of green flats and flowered Doc Martins! So now set for a walkable spring. 

Birthday drinks and dinner very lovely.  Getting older by the minute!

leg 9 April

have held off on the gross leg pictures but as this blog is sort of my diary, too, I thought I should record the leg with scar.  Its not too gross right now just a heck of a scar.  In April I have made some big strides .  Back to work full time and walking with out a stick around the flat and office.  I still look like a toddler but getting more stable.  Not quite so freaked out when someone walks near me too quickly.

March was tough as I kept thinking I would be better more quickly.  This is taking forever. So as it is 9 April, it has been six months and seven days since I was hit.  Still hurts a lot, when I first stand up.  At physio I am now doing small lunges and standing on one leg.  Have been ok'ed to use the cross trainer getting on and off is a bit tricky but its nice to be doing something that makes your heart go.

Roll on, summer!

new garden

To go with my new deck, my friends planted a new garden.  Lucky me I now have something to look at as I stare out the window. will take pictures as it grows.

This is Adam, the designer and his trusty dog Miko helpfully digging holes.

Adam, Gary and Meko after garden clearing

The beginning of the great garden updo.  The deck looks so much better that Adam tells me we need to cut everything back.  So after a lovely lunch or was it dinner he forces Gary and to a lesser extent me to help him clear out the debris.

I've never seen any one so quick and decimating with the secateurs. Slash, chop, bash, rip out - boom! The back garden is now tidy.  I've given him a budget and next week, Easter Bank holiday weekend we will get cracking.  So exciting.  I've never really been a garden person before but I am looking forward to this small space.

flowers flowers spring is coming!!!

return of more mobility aids

Well some of them anyway - here in my tub are the raised toilet seats and seating assist cages as well as a shower stool.  So I can climb up the step (one, omg, can it actually only be one step?) shower and stand up to take a shower.  Yippee...    Yay...  hurray...!!

Thank you, Camden Social Services, but you can have them back now.

I am obsessed with my legs

Not really, but I do take a lot of pictures of my feet/leggs, well, who wouldn't be if you were in my shoes (sorry).  Any way last weekend I went out and bought a whole slew of fancy socks and tights.  If you have to wear sneakers at least your socks can be cool.

This will be Ceri's birthday present

but in much brighter yarn as chosen by her in January.  I wont finish it until the summer but am looking forward to see how it turns out

walking to physio now

this doesn't look like much but its the hill that I must down and up to get to the Royal Free hospital. 

This is the one that Dad pushed me up in December and now I must walk up and down it on my own. This bit is actually ok, up a bit further it moves to cobble stones which is tricky for those who are learning to walk again. 

Someday soon I will skip up this.

my new stick

Not much too look at but this Fischer stick represents another part of the walking process.  Nice ergonomic handle, basic black, aluminium, plastic with a rubber ferrule at the bottom.  This looks like a Porsche to me.

They call them sticks here, not canes.  Canes are made of cane - sticks is the generic name.  Who knew?

As soon as possible I am heading to James Smith & Sons (est. since 1830) to buy something more beautiful but this will always be my first...

mobility aid goes back

Good bye wheelchair! He she is all packed up and ready to be picked up.  OAt Jan  appointment they said move to full weight bearing (FWB).  So byw bye wheelchair as I'll soon have a hand available to carry stuff around. Hope to be off the crutches and down to a walking stick as soon as possible.

Have hydro-physio this week and hope to convince the physio I can move to a stick.

This makes me almost as happy as taking the zimmer frame back to the hospital once I conquered the crutches!

Uncle David tests out the truck

My Uncle David has built a scaled down boat and now he's building a trailer for it.  Of course the trailer needs to be pulled by a car so here we are testing the remote controlled monster truck.  You will be pleased to know it can easily pull four pounds - so all it needs now is a gear box.  A gear box!!??

At least its sunny out on my perch above the turning basin, so I'm happy just watching.

This is the way to start the New Year - nice temperatures in the Tampa Bay Area