The New thing was visiting Churchill’s War Rooms today. It’s just as it was in the film I saw – primitive   and pretty bleak and very cramped, but with a typically British stoic feel to the whole place. My semi working ( as in the charge is unreliable ) IBot got me there, after Linda got me ready. My fixation definitely worries me, as I seem less and less rigid all the time, as time goes by. I’ve decided to limit movement as much as I can, though that’s my own common sense kicking in, rather than my surgeon’s advice.

Friday im expecting to be told that I’m going to be admitted straight away for bed rest followed by surgery, but we’ll see.

If I end up staying in hospital I’ll miss such delights as my skin cancer check up next week – Gawd it looks like one way or another I’m going to be claimed soon! Never mind.

Thanks to the usual suspects for their support, and to Linda for introducing me to some new mind concepts. In return I’ve introduced her to such shocking movies as Movie 43 and In Bruges,  neither being everyone’s cup of tea…

New?

Met the incomparable Lester, engineering enthusiast extraordinaire, who came to assess my iBot plug last night – I t’s fully charged at the moment and hoping for a day without close shaves with Linda, including amongst other things a visit to the Churchill War Rooms in Westminster, which IS accessible.

Tomorrow is all about the eve of my visit to have my CT scan to assess my broken screw – if I was a betting man, I’d put my money on the likelihood of further surgery to replace the screw, before the rest ( that was depending on that screw ) starts to bend and break. I’m not a structural engineer, but  if the foundation is weak, then surely the Tower falls down eventually…?

New today ?

Linda, Mark, Mike and i went to a lecture about WW2 escapes from POW camps.

There were 36,000 successful escapes by allied troops… escaping was A DUTY for ‘ our boys ‘, so they blimmin did. Escaping was a whole industry, and completely ingenious ways of smuggling in maps etc to the prisoners were invented.

Guess how many successful escapes there wer by German soldiers ( back to Germany )….?

One.

One only got away, from captivity in Canada. I wonder why that was? Presumably they weren’t imbued with the duty to try? Or Maybe they were just not very good at it. Ever so good at killing people, but not so clever at laterally thinking about escapology?

Fascinating 75 Minutes…

Im getting more convinced that my fixation isn’t happy. I’m getting pain that I didn’t used to get. The surgeon said that I should do nothing differently, and NOT do less. Historically his advice hasn’t always been necessarily good for me ( in my opinion ) so I have been more careful, in so much as I can be.

On Friday I have a CT scan, to tell all. I’m expecting it to lead to more surgery to replace the broken screw, but we’ll see. I have a date that evening, so I’m going to be cheerful come what may, I’ve resolved.

Lets just wait n see.

I learned a ( new ) important lesson yesterday. It’s to trust your instincts – well they are there for a reason, and are the essence of you as a creature. I’m talking in my case about ‘ choosing ‘ a partner. Basically, you HAVE to heed the warning signs and listen to the alarm bells that your INSTINCT is telling you loud and clear that someone isn’t a fit for you. She may well be a perfect fit for someone else, but for you she’s never going to work, no matter how much you are  prepared to bend to her will, by way of ‘ trying to make it work ‘.

I think also that your friends should feel free to tell you what they think too – after all, they are your friends, so if you don’t respect their opinions, then either they aren’t your friends, or you aren’t their friend. If you can’t trust your mates, then they aren’t actually your mates, are they?

After watching the Churchill film, it’s apparent that without him at the helm, the Swastika would indeed have flown over Buckingham Palace. He listened to the people, whose instinct it was to never, NEVER surrender. To me, in my situation, it was such a powerful film. Never give up, and if you fight for long enough and hard enough, you WILL win.  Like Shackleton, my hero, Churchill knew never to give up.

When i commîtted suicide last July, i wasn’t giving up, i was choosing a different path. No one made me do that, it was right for me at the time, and my choice. My choice now is to live on and make the most of what i have left.

Enough said.

New yesterday – well I’d never seen a George Bernard Shaw play, and I’d never been to The Orange Tree theatre in Richmond. Tbh, it was bloody brilliant. I had no idea just how clever that writer was, or how similar in so many ways human behaviour is now compared to all those decades ago when the play was written. Thanks to Toby and Cress for the invite, and my date for coming. Thanks to Pia for the invite to her birthday celebration, not thanks to the frosty reception I got from lots of my pre divorce friends – that was an experience, I can tell you…. all ‘ dealt with ‘ quite calmly by myself though, I must say.
New today – met a cool lady online, and a first for Linda and i, going to the movies. The Darkest Hour promises to be really good. I find myself more and more interested in WW2 as time goes by, the horrors of The Holocaust, and the cruelty of the Nazis. Human cruelty of course goes on, and its fascinating listening to Linda’s Robert Mugabe tales, as she is from Zimbabwe.

Gotta sleep!

Lots has been happening, not all good, but I’ll dwell on the positives!

My carer left,but her replacement is thus far astoundingly good…. I’m so happy to say. Even writing ‘ so happy ‘ is something I’ve not done for almost 5 years, so read into that what you will….

The iBot is still working, with its Toby repair, and ongoing tweaks by Toby, and 6 total strangers continue to be doing their best to assist me. Huge thanks to Cliff, Volker, Simon, Lester, Poppy Anne, and Mark Lesbirel for instigating their support via a post in Cool Components..

Not such great news is that I noticed I’m no longer ‘ straight ‘. No, not gay or ‘questioning ‘ but simply that my tummy button is no longer in line with my willy, unless I’m cock eyed… ( that was a joke ).

An x Ray revealed that as per the image, my bottom left screw into my pelvis has broken. That s one of the 2 screws that were ‘ impossible to break ‘, by the way.  No surprises there then, as it’s me I’m talking about, after all.

The Triride is also not working properly, and needs repair.  As they pointed out that the 2000 km I’ve done on it in a year far exceeds anyone else’s use of one, im obviously pushing it like one never has been ? Again no surprises?

So not ALL good, but I’m not getting all depressed about anything – worse has happened to me, my by line.

Linda and i have pledged to ‘ do something new every day’ so that’s what we’re doing. Yesterday we went into Tower Bridge for a self tour – what an AMAZING structure that is!

7 mm diameter cable….

As measured by my ruler from Poundland..

I was asked what length the charge cable was. 

It’s 141cm.

Lettering on the side too.

Today I tried another self balancing wheelchair – the Segfree – it’s half Segway and half seat. It’s higher up than a wheelchair and about the same size as one, but balances on 2 wheels and goes along at 12.5 mph, so quite nifty, with a range of 16-24 miles, and is easy to charge ( without breaking the cable !)

it comes in an off road version too, which is the bollocks, I have to say. If I stick a 2 foot cushion on it I can be 6 feet tall – simples!