I’ve been credited with saving a life…

Someone I once met, whilst with Lizzy, had decided he’d couldn’t take any more and was going to check out ( kill himself ).
This particular gentleman is an artist, and really has a fantastic talent. I’d bought something from him for Lizzy a few months ago.

Alerted to his situation, I sent him a fairly long message, telling him ‘ my story’ – detailing my mindset, from dark and without hope or joy, through to being at peace and genuinely ‘ enjoying life ‘.
After a while he replied and told me that my contact had made the difference, and that relatively his situation hadn’t seemed quite so dire, and that his thinking had been changed.

It’s worth it, isn’t it, helping a lost soul, and there being a happier outcome because you took the time. Having been on the receiving end of amazing love and friendship without which I wouldn’t be here, I can testify that giving of yourself to a lost soul is a very worthy endeavour.

Tonight I go with, my friend Kerry, to meet Leigh n Bev in north London and see the crazy De Staat. Last time I saw them it was beyond good, despite having had a railway calamity on the way. Now you can book assistance ( ramps ) online… and it actually works too.. Fingers crossed because K is as feeble as a kitten, and there’s NO chance she’d be able to get me on or off a train… 🤦‍♂️🤷

And he went, with wee Lizzy, to watch James McAvoy playing Cyrano de Bergerac, in the Harold Pinter theatre last night.

Bit different to be honest. Not what I was expecting. A very modern take on a very old tale about a wordsmith with a massive nose who couldn’t get the girl because of his conk… but still was able to write to her by pretending to be someone else – well it could only happen in a play, after all.

Strangely they didn’t feel the need to actually give James a massive plastic hooter; instead you had to imagine he had one (?) Maybe Jimmy Mac is too vain to wear a trunk, so they had to work around that ?

Anyway the lyrics/ script were all written by Stormzy or something, so if you are a Grime ( that’s a ‘ music ‘ genre ) then you would have liked it a lot. If not, then, well, you know…

Cyrano was the poet of his day ( In the story ) and likewise old Shaky Speare too, and ( for some ) Grime is the modern equivalent.

Not for me tho. I thought it was a bit crap
🤷🙄

And a VERY VERY ..

Happy Birthday to my Dad, who’s now the oldest man in Wales I think.
🐑🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Yet he definitely doesn’t look his age, and he sure doesn’t act it!

Big ❤️ then to Bad Bob!

x

I took my Refugee buddy to Kew Gardens yesterday. It’s good doing stuff you’ve done before but with someone who hasn’t.
It’s a cool place really, with a bit of random’ness – like the bloody great Chinese Pagoda in there, put there over 200 years ago.

And nice to see my ex mother in law perched on the roof.

I went to see a play with Sarah last night – The Ocean at the end of the Lane is very good! It’s a bit too fantasy for me, very much Lion Witch Wardrobe etc but amazingly well acted and propped.. so if you like that kinda thing then go. It’s off putting that it’s in The Duke of York… but hey.
Thanks to Jo for a lovely day out too, and to Kerry for her ongoing text conversation… ( admittedly consisting of me taking the p out of her continually… but she seems to like it ? ) And thanks to Lizzy for lots of things.
I can see that my life sounds like The Hugh Hefner Diaries sometimes… but it’s not.

Ok it is sometimes.

Today I took my refugee fella to see Brentford lose to Wolves. Now that’s something that is happening a lot! Leigh came with me to watch us play Man Utd the other day, and we lost to them too.. I mean it’s not really that surprising is it when you think about it. Brentford always threaten a win, but recently that’s not happening much.
Today the game was stopped for 15 minutes because someone was flying a drone overhead… Brentford need some of those surface to air missiles I think, for this kind of thing.

I had an interview this week with Scope about being one of their peeps that goes out and talks to companies about Accessibilty…. and I think that will be something that’ll happen..

Thanks to Blind Paul for his hospitality at his on Thursday – good fun!

Cold though, innit.

I evidently don’t find burlesque prancing around ‘ amazing’. That’s my bad obviously.

If you have too much money and you want to be more pretentious then do go to see Cabaret, before it closes.

Also I think someone may have spiked my drink, because I was honestly really really pissed, despite not drinking much at all.

Very strange!!!

Tonight I go with my buddy Kerry to see Cabaret…

Well they are the hottest tickets in town by a mile, so Go Us.
Thanks to Kerry for the ticket ( even though of course she goes free with me as a consequence .. and I think she’s probably ok with that. Doh, I’ve just realised that maybe she wanted to go all along, and this was the most cost effective way?! 🤦‍♂️ )

The whole room is the stage, so they wander about amongst us and do their acty stuff. As I can’t turn my torso more than about 2 degrees, I hope there isn’t much action behind me. Ooh missus..

Anyway, it’s old Eddie Redmondo in it.. and I’m hoping that since he also played ( and I think got an Oscar for ) Stephen Hawking, that he will be chumming up to me later on, playing the Inclusive Card. Who knows.

Bit parky tho tonight, as we say in Wales.

Having got myself to Hammersmith hospital…

For a skin cancer check up… they said they wanted to see my legs ( as I’d shown them a photo G had taken of a mole’y thing on the back of my left thigh.
Well obviously that’s just about the most impossible place to check then… when I’m sat in a wheelchair.
So to my surprise they summon a few nurses and a hoist… and eventually get me onto an examination couch.
Well I always have trousers on with thermal long johns underneath… and that’s it.
So the examination of the back of my leg means I’m completely bollock naked on a couch, with a roomful of mostly female onlookers..
Note to self then… ermmm think about the inherent risks of not wearing underpants.
You just never know when it might be appropriate.

🤦‍♂️😳

Two nights of little sleep and spasms… which is all bladder/ catheter related.. and I feel a bit done in. It’s easy at this point for my ‘ mood ‘ to plummet.. but it hasn’t. I am now far far ‘ happier’ in my own company than I was for the first 7 years, when I just couldn’t bear to be alone with my ( despairing ) thoughts.
I mean thank God for smart phones ( which for the likes of me do provide a lifeline to be honest ) Yes, I’d far rather be out canoeing and cycling and going to work etc than playing online scrabble on my phone.. but hey it could be worse. And if you think you can beat me regularly at Scrabble Go then you’re very welcome to try !

Thanks to G for her help this morning particularly. Long term supra public catheter use isn’t without its complications sadly, those being UTI’s/ spasms and leaks.
Leeks would be ok, but leaks I can do without.

Helped into bed for an early night carries with it the eventuality of a sleep that ends at 3 am and then hours of awakeness.. and it’s not like I can get up and do something… productive. Again it’s phone or the TV. Audiobooks via my phone are a godsend, I have to say, easily being the best way to lull me to sleep.
Stephen Fry’s and Michael Caine’s voices ( they narrate ) seem to work best – no idea why.

Fry’s ‘Victorian Secrets’ and Caine’s ‘ Heroes ‘ I can definitely recommend!

God I am SO glad that Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty.
I’ve been a bit obsessed by the Epstein/ Maxwell abuse saga, if I’m honest.

Let’s hope Prince Andrew is next to be in court, with the right verdict arrived at.