My ‘ routine’ in the morning includes being in a standing chair ( where I’m strapped into a standing position ) for an hour.
To do this, my regular chair has to be taken outside to my terrace, and swapped for the Standing chair, which is kept outside under cover.

This morning though I needed to adjust a brake on my chair, so I asked my help to take the wheels off and turn it upside down, and then spin it around so I can reach the right part with a spanner. I can’t bend, so the only way to do it is with one arm from a lying position in bed. Having finished that, my help said ‘ it’s a bit dirty, so I’ll brush the mud off it ‘
I suggested she do that outside ( obviously ) to make less mess.
Ultimately the chair had to go outside anyway, because it was being swapped for the other one.
Get this for logic though –

She CARRIED the wheelchair ( minus the wheels ) outside, brushed off the mud, then CARRIED the chair back inside, then put the wheels on, then pushed it outside again…
I watch with a mixture of amusement and complete dumbfounded’ness as she does this kind of thing. I mean I love her to bits for her general dedication to me… but sometimes I do wonder how she’s managed to stay, well, stay alive..

Jabbed!

Turns out that my letter was en route, which had allowed me to get an appointment.
Very straightforward all of it.
I came home and cranked for an hour, having forgotten to take it easy. … I definitely don’t have any weird side effects, though I slept deeply last night ( which I don’t do very often )

So all good then!

And I’m getting the vaccine!
Tomorrow, at the Stoop. That’s the Harlequins rugby club in normal times.
That’s good. Actually I just filled in a form ( having not had a letter yet ) online, and bingo! I’m in.
Both my mum and Dad in Wales have had theirs – important given they live in the most COVID deadly part of Wales – more people have died in their locality than have in whole countries … 🤦‍♂️

As it’s both their birthdays this week it’s been a good ‘gift’ – the vaccine, I’d say.

And I got my Triride back from Italy yesterday – oh wow it’s good. I went out for a spin and it’s actually better than ever. It’s had lots of parts replaced, and the software updated so that it’s more economical on the battery, meaning I can ride in Eco mode and go further. That’s great, because quite often I wonder whether I’ll have enough charge to get home from places…. and now I’ve a few more miles in the tank.
So thank you Triride Italia, and Nathan that has dealt with it, and also to Colin Flounders, who did loads to help me with it. Tbh I can’t thank these guys enough – both of them are in wheelchairs themselves, yet manage to do stuff that ‘ ought’ to be impossible for them.

Right, arm cranking time again!

Just thinking about this pandemic, from start to now. When it began I was in a relationship with a girl from near Johannesburg… you might say a South African variant..

Now I’m going out with a lady from Sevenoaks… you might say a Kent variant ..

As for the prevalence of the Brazilian variant in the world of online dating..?? …… well … that would be telling ! 😳😂

I’m currently on the Ghost Train to Sevenoaks…. only me in the carriage again…

It’s tricky without my Triride. My substitute ‘ cheap ‘ replacement doesn’t have enough power to even get me up the ramp onto the train. The guards always seem a little bemused that I can’t get up a 5 foot ramp and need a push. Anyway they do always oblige… obviously, or else the train wouldn’t be able to leave with me only half on. I do wonder at what point ‘ health and safety’ will forbid them to give me a little push. …

But after 6 weeks I get my Tri back this week! Gawd I’ve missed it, but definitely stayed positive. How? By exercising a LOT. I’ve been cranking for 2 hours a day 5/6 days a week. It’s losing the weight borne of not being able to exercise properly for 7 years that gives me the positivity. After ‘ only ‘ a month I can see glimpses of ‘ the old me ‘ ( physique ) coming back. That makes me happy! I reckon give it another month and I’ll be almost there. Obviously the exercise is accompanied by not eating much. I don’t have a thing about food so it’s not hard… and as time has gone on my appetite has diminished, so Win Win.

Almost there… and with the lovely Lizzy .. x

And again a massive big huge thank you to my homies that come to my aid when I can’t do stuff.
This time around in particular to Rob Stainsby, Toby St, and Marky P.

Such top fellas… I’d be otherwise stuck !
❤️

I’ve just listened to a really good book, one recommended by a buddy of mine whom I saw last week ( socially distanced obviously )

It’s called 12 rules for Life, and has had a lot of critical acclaim I found out.

Whilst all 12 rules seem make an awful lot of sense, there was one which keeps appearing in my thoughts. That rule was Be friends with people that want the best for you.

I then found myself going through people in my head that I regard as my friends. It was quite remarkable actually. All of those who I regard as genuine friends I could easily assign with the ‘ he/she ( definitely ) wants the best for me ‘
And when I thought of people that I regard as acquaintances rather than friends, and asked myself whether those people ( genuinely and definitely in my opinion ) wanted the best for me, every single time time it was a straightforward no that I didn’t have to ponder.

Likewise it was the same in reverse. For many people I know, when I ask that question it’s an immediate ‘ yes, I always want the best for this person’ but for others when I ask that of myself I realise that the same sentiments don’t exist ( and not because I feel an ill will towards them, but just that actually I just don’t think of them in that way ).
We all know I think, which people in our lives, upon hearing about some misfortune or downfall ( possibly even their death ) we’d be very upset or concerned for ( devastated even if it was their death ) and which people we wouldn’t have those reactions about. That’s not to say we ever have to voice it out loud, but we DO know.
What’s very useful though, is to think of people whom you’ve perhaps wondered about often, that you haven’t heard from for a long time, and then to ask yourself ‘ does that person want the best for me ?’ And again there are those who you are definitely a yes, with the rest being a no, and there never seems to be anyone that you have to deliberate over.

And it’s a really really good exercise in working out who is important in your life, who you should spend your time on, and who ‘ doesn’t merit’ your time in the same way.

It’s not as though it’s possible for you to ‘ be friends’ with EVERYONE, and similarly it’s not possible that EVERYONE cares about you.

Try it and you’ll see what I mean.

Since my thinking has returned to ( close to ) normal, I have no explanation for my few month lapse in brain power.
Ive just had the results back from an antibody blood test that I paid for, which said I had not had COVID.
I’d put my brain fog down to Long COVID… but evidently it’s not that, and in any case it’s pretty much gone.

Hopefully my usual level of ( hilarious ) posts will resume before long?! 😳😂

Tbh if I had contracted it it could only have been from online date(s) pre Lizzy… as I just haven’t been close enough to anyone else since this all began.
Mind you I suppose I could have had it in say March… and not had symptoms… and then had Long COVID ( but you don’t normally have the combination of asymptomatic infection and them Long COVID ) and then lost all my antibodies…. well who knows!?

Having been away in my Bubble for a few days ( riding the ghost train to Sevenoaks ) I do wonder what my lodger, the Porn King has been up to in my lounge.
I asked him to make sure he cleaned the room thoroughly before I came back.
King Wan I call him.. tho not to his face!