Home - then back to Devon with Jayne!
I popped back to London on the Tuesday after Easter as Mike was being seen by the consultant the next day and I wanted to be around in case he got a discharge date. Wayne started on the flat roof as I was leaving - which was good timing (until the weather turned!).
I went to see Mike on the Wednesday and was there for 3 hours - just got back to the car before the 3-hour parking period expired. Unfortunately I couldn't stay long enough to hear what Derry had to say - although he had appeared on the ward to do his rounds he didn't get to Mike before I left. However Mike texted later to say that the dressing was now off and he would be off the hot air bed on Friday and sitting in the chair on Monday. Great news - and also the easiest for me logistically as I could now take Jayne straight to Devon after picking her up at Heathrow the next day.
Thursday was the hottest day of the year so far, with lots of sunshine and blue skies. I spent the morning doing enough shopping to see us through for a few days, got some Lebanese mezze for supper that evening, and took Suki for a couple of walks. I took a photo of the forsythia in the front garden for Mike, just in case it was over before he got home. It was looking magnificent.
I got to the arrivals entrance of Terminal 4 at Heathrow at exactly the same time as Jayne emerged - couldn't have timed it better if I had tried -so the car park charge was only £4. It was great to see her again. We managed to get all the bags etc in and then set off. Obviously we talked a lot on the way down - so I didn't need any sweets to keep me going which was good.
We arrived at 6 pm, unpacked the car and flopped in front of the TV - with Lebanese mezze and a glass of red wine before having an early night. The next day I went for a long walk with Suki from the house (my car was blocked in by Wayne and roof workers) to Parke via Mill Marsh Park, up to the end of the field, back along the railway track and then under the road and back through the estate footpaths. It's amazing how much Parke had dried out just by having a few dry warm days. We didn't do much else that day except talk. We again had a lazy evening in front of the TV - red wine went with Lasagne this time - and another early night.
It was chucking it down with rain on Saturday morning so I didn't get out with Suki until 10 am, although I had woken and got up reasonably early - feeling the benefit of the early nights. I went to Yarner Wood and had a lovely walk, the rain having stopped by then. The little stream was an absolute torrent - I have never seen it so full and fast flowing. I decided to capture it on video - and as I was doing so Suki made an appearance as if on cue - walking across the screen and then back again and exiting stage left!
I met Bobby in the wood with his two dogs, one of which was a very new rescue munsterlander. He told me the stream was actually the leet that fed the Potteries in Bovey, and ran past the Edgmoor Hotel and on to Bovey, through his garden.
Jayne had a more productive day and did most of her washing and sorting out. It was interesting to see her gradually come round to her normal self over the first few days. By Sunday she was feeling up to going out for lunch - we went to the Copper Kettle and had a really nice meal, and then on to Trago for a mooch and I got a few bits and pieces. On Tuesday Jayne came out walking with me to Yarner Wood
and on Wednesday to the Moor. She got very wet feet on the moor as the ground was still very muddy and waterlogged and she can't walk in wellies.
Unfortunately the "new" tarpaulin which Wayne had purchased only 2 days previously did not prove to be waterproof and the garage got soaked with all the rain. There was water running down the walls and dripping off the beams. And of course the one thing that suffered the most was the jigsaw puzzle board that I had been trying to keep safe. The final ignominy was seeing the roofers then using it for their bits and pieces on the garage floor. It went in the skip!!
I went to see Mike on the Wednesday and was there for 3 hours - just got back to the car before the 3-hour parking period expired. Unfortunately I couldn't stay long enough to hear what Derry had to say - although he had appeared on the ward to do his rounds he didn't get to Mike before I left. However Mike texted later to say that the dressing was now off and he would be off the hot air bed on Friday and sitting in the chair on Monday. Great news - and also the easiest for me logistically as I could now take Jayne straight to Devon after picking her up at Heathrow the next day.
Thursday was the hottest day of the year so far, with lots of sunshine and blue skies. I spent the morning doing enough shopping to see us through for a few days, got some Lebanese mezze for supper that evening, and took Suki for a couple of walks. I took a photo of the forsythia in the front garden for Mike, just in case it was over before he got home. It was looking magnificent.
I got to the arrivals entrance of Terminal 4 at Heathrow at exactly the same time as Jayne emerged - couldn't have timed it better if I had tried -so the car park charge was only £4. It was great to see her again. We managed to get all the bags etc in and then set off. Obviously we talked a lot on the way down - so I didn't need any sweets to keep me going which was good.
We arrived at 6 pm, unpacked the car and flopped in front of the TV - with Lebanese mezze and a glass of red wine before having an early night. The next day I went for a long walk with Suki from the house (my car was blocked in by Wayne and roof workers) to Parke via Mill Marsh Park, up to the end of the field, back along the railway track and then under the road and back through the estate footpaths. It's amazing how much Parke had dried out just by having a few dry warm days. We didn't do much else that day except talk. We again had a lazy evening in front of the TV - red wine went with Lasagne this time - and another early night.
It was chucking it down with rain on Saturday morning so I didn't get out with Suki until 10 am, although I had woken and got up reasonably early - feeling the benefit of the early nights. I went to Yarner Wood and had a lovely walk, the rain having stopped by then. The little stream was an absolute torrent - I have never seen it so full and fast flowing. I decided to capture it on video - and as I was doing so Suki made an appearance as if on cue - walking across the screen and then back again and exiting stage left!
I met Bobby in the wood with his two dogs, one of which was a very new rescue munsterlander. He told me the stream was actually the leet that fed the Potteries in Bovey, and ran past the Edgmoor Hotel and on to Bovey, through his garden.
Jayne had a more productive day and did most of her washing and sorting out. It was interesting to see her gradually come round to her normal self over the first few days. By Sunday she was feeling up to going out for lunch - we went to the Copper Kettle and had a really nice meal, and then on to Trago for a mooch and I got a few bits and pieces. On Tuesday Jayne came out walking with me to Yarner Wood
and on Wednesday to the Moor. She got very wet feet on the moor as the ground was still very muddy and waterlogged and she can't walk in wellies.
Unfortunately the "new" tarpaulin which Wayne had purchased only 2 days previously did not prove to be waterproof and the garage got soaked with all the rain. There was water running down the walls and dripping off the beams. And of course the one thing that suffered the most was the jigsaw puzzle board that I had been trying to keep safe. The final ignominy was seeing the roofers then using it for their bits and pieces on the garage floor. It went in the skip!!
