Potholes and Traffic Cones

The road I refer to is the M25. If ever there was a road not fit for purpose, that is it. My hospital is in Kent so each visit is quite a trek but well worth it. Danielle, my chauffer for this trip, drove with consummate skill, scoring 98% on my insurance app and entertained two small girls at the same time – brilliant! Along the way we came across so many cones and traffic restrictions but no workmen. I would put money on it that nothing had happened to the roadworks since the first time I went to visit. If we had been in Singapore the entire orbital would have been completely retarmacked before 3am one morning and traffic would be flowing as normal by rush hour. Why can’t we be more like that?

We stayed overnight in Maidstone at a hotel with a swimming pool so the girls could have a swim. I sat on a lounger with my leg propped up, silently criticising people’s swimming styles. Misery had set in. I wanted to show them. Errrrr. I want to swim!

After swim!

I warned Danielle before we set off that potholes in Kent are so much worse than round where I live. There are lots of very narrow lanes around the hospital and all of them are pitted with gaping holes, large enough to damage the chassis. Very quickly she got used to swerving and turning the trip into a slalom. Where are those men from Singapore to fix our roads? 

This week my trip to Benenden was to have my back slab removed and a full cast put on. If I had left the back slab on for much longer, it would have disintegrated. Almost every morning I needed to rewrap it as the bandage came loose while I slept. Having a full cast is progress as I can now put my foot on the ground. It’s a bit painful but it is so much better. I can even hold half a cup of coffee and move now - happiness almost restored. The wound from the op is about three inches long and is healing nicely according to the experts.

I also have a “boot” to put over the plaster. I am not sure how well I will get on with this as my toes hang over the front of it. The size up fitted me like a clown’s shoe which would have been a trip hazard. For now walking through puddles is not going to happen.

Being on two feet has made it possible for me to tidy up the kitchen and use the dishwasher. Again, this is a big bonus. Meanwhile, when I am not spending half the morning doing something that used to take me ten minutes, I am writing Naser’s story – hopefully for publication. To date, I have written more words about one thing than I have ever written before. Being limited in moving around is a bonus when writing a book!

Thump Trump is my meme from now on. Thump baby, Thump. I was heartened to see the crowds welcoming Zelenskyy in London and the thousands waving Ukrainian flags in the USA. I bet the Zelenskyy meeting with King Charles was the equivalent of the middle finger. Diplomacy 101.