Post 474: Not Much Sleep, But More Cheerful.
You lot made me smile today.
Reading all your replies about first cars brought back some wonderful memories. Thank you for sharing them. I loved every one.
I came from a two-wheeled family really.
First there was the pushbike, then the motorbike, and not until I was twenty-one did I finally own a car.
I’ve told you before about the mortgage and having very little money, so I won’t bore you with that again.
But the timing was extraordinary.
I’d only just passed my driving test when I met my Darling.
Suddenly I wasn’t just a lad with a motorcycle.
I was a young man with a bright red Ford Fiesta Mk1.
It even came fitted with grass-track tyres and one of those enormous foam rear spoilers that screamed “boy racer” despite the fact it barely had enough horsepower to frighten a pigeon.
To me, though, it was magnificent.
Every weekday I’d watch the clock at work, waiting for the 4.30 buzzer to sound so I could stamp my clock card, jump into that little Fiesta and drive the forty-mile round trip just to see her.
Just to hold her hand.
Just to hug her.
Just to steal another kiss.
That little Fiesta gave me freedom.
More importantly…
…it gave me the chance to fall hopelessly in love.
⸻
Sadly today wasn’t quite so romantic.
My poor Darling has been suffering with a dreadful migraine.
Nothing has really shifted it.
A cool, dark bedroom, tablets and plenty of rest have helped a little, but not enough.
The slight temperature and lack of appetite tell us this isn’t one of her usual headaches.
By this evening she’d managed a little fruit before heading straight back to bed.
So today I’ve been Nurse U.
I only wish I could actually make her feel better.
⸻
In a moment of complete insensitivity I asked whether she’d like to think about a holiday.
Wrong audience.
Wrong timing.
Wrong husband.
She quite rightly wasn’t interested.
In my defence, after six or seven weeks spent staying fairly close to home because of both our health problems, I’m beginning to feel the walls closing in a little.
I’d simply like us both to get out somewhere together.
Nothing ambitious.
She suggested a gentle stroll to Pooh Bridge.
Now that sounds absolutely perfect.
If we both manage it, we’ll even have a game of Poohsticks.
Sometimes the smallest adventures are the best ones.
⸻
Talking of Pooh…
The bowel screening kit arrived through the post today.
You know the one.
The tiny little sampling stick that somehow expects you to perform surgery with all the grace of a laboratory technician.
Thankfully I’ve done one before.
To my great surprise, I didn’t have to wait days for nature to cooperate.
Within hours the sample had been collected, packaged and posted.
Job done.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but I actually felt rather pleased with myself.
It’s an important test.
Fingers firmly crossed that everything comes back as it should.
⸻
I took my Darling’s car to work today because my neighbour has been sorting out my brand-new locking petrol cap for the Mini.
The MoT inspector had pointed out that the old rubber seal had perished so badly it was allowing petrol fumes to escape.
Thirty years of faithful service had finally caught up with it.
Unfortunately replacement seals don’t seem to exist anymore.
Nowadays it’s easier to replace the whole thing than repair it.
So I ordered a complete new cap.
Lovely.
Except…
One of the two keys had a broken plastic head.
Cue my overactive imagination.
“What if the good one breaks?”
“What if I lose the key?”
“What if I can’t get petrol?”
The Mini only has a tiny twenty-five-litre tank and, thanks to the carburettors being set up more for fun than economy, it gets through petrol surprisingly quickly.
Fortunately my neighbour came to the rescue.
He found a key blank that will work properly, complete with a proper metal loop for the key ring.
Problem solved.
I can finally stop worrying.
Well…
…about that, anyway.
Honestly, I must be exhausting to live with.
⸻
Sleep, however, continues to avoid me.
I’m writing this in bed.
My Darling has already asked me twice to switch the light off.
I’m simply not tired.
The aches are slowly returning now the steroids are being reduced.
Tomorrow is my final tablet.
The pain is mostly down my left-hand side now.
If it continues I’ll probably ring the hospice on Monday for some advice.
I’d really like to manage without steroids if I possibly can.
They’ve been wonderful.
I just don’t like depending on them.
Wouldn’t it be nice if life were simple?
⸻
Before coming upstairs I watched a fascinating documentary about a comedian who lived on nothing but fried chicken for thirty days.
It wasn’t really the food that interested me.
It was seeing the scale of the industry behind it all.
The farming.
The processing.
The waste.
The sheer size of it.
Quite astonishing really.
It also reminded me that cheap food often isn’t truly cheap.
Somebody, somewhere, always pays the price.
⸻
I’d better stop there before I turn into Victor Meldrew.
“I don’t believe it!”
Good night.
Take care. 
️
