Table provided ( and delivered ) by Mark P – a cross between an office desk and a table, I suppose, but it’ll suffice, for now, for sure. Two ‘ festival ‘ chairs complete the student look.

Couple of loaned pots from Francesca’s mum.

Cooking was a challenge for the first couple of days ( for Francesca )  Blimey, she’s obviously used to having kitchen utensils… outrageously spoilt, obviously…

When I lived alone post university, i did have a go at cooking, but it was never my forte, let’s say. Night after night I had the same thing – baked beans, sausages, toast, fried eggs and bacon.  I’d leave one of the 5 things out every night, for variety – well you can’t eat the same every day, can you ?

Can opener, sieve, knives, cheese grater, chopping board, kitchen utensils, more pots etc etc – ordered online, for imminent delivery.

Thanks to the numerous offers of help that we had – all very much appreciated !

Moving a few pictures on the walls to different places,  once in a while,  always makes a place look different. I used to do that in the last house we had, probably every 6 months or so ( when it occurred to me ) I’m not sure that even the people that live in the house really notice that much, but they would sense some difference, I’m sure.  I’ve done it here, yesterday, with help, and found some funny stuff that used to be on the walls of our old house too… but apparently didn’t fit the style of this abode?  Anyway, now resurrected..

We went to another physics lecture tonight. Gluttony for punishment ? But actually it was far better, and lots of pretty pictures helped me and Mark..

Plus the first speaker was as fit as a butcher’s dog ( unexpected bonus ).

Thinking Man’s Totty …. etc.

Tomorrow I go to see Adam Ant ….  he’s not dead, and he’s sold out The Albert Hall ( ffs ).  Pia and i have bought AA costumes… we may get arrested on the bus, on the way?

He’s bipolar, is Adam… so I hope he’s on the ‘ right axis ‘ tomorrow ? And he’s a self confessed attention seeking addict – it’s a thing, officially.  I hope he likes us dressing up as him… imitation is, after all, the best form of flattery.

I wonder when someone might turn up to see me, in a wheelchair, purely as a sign of devotion ?

Message from my carer, just now, as I’ve resumed going to the gym ( for my limited routine )

‘Hey Russ I’m just here in the kitchen and I’ve just realised we have no pots or pans’

Youda thought one pan wouldn’t have been too much…

Back in the flat today at about 3. Very strange to be here at first tbh. It does look quite different without the stuff that’s gone, and felt different without my daughters here.

Francesca, my looker afterer, arrived at 9pm, by which time I’d gone out with Marky P to a science lecture. F*** me, neither of us are non scientific, but there’s a bloody limit to how advanced a Quantum Physics talk in a pub should be. I did try to keep my mind open, but the layman’s explanation never arrived, after an hour. I don’t know how much everyone else understood, but it was seriously Lost On Me.

We had the opportunity to ask questions, but I didn’t. Had I done, it would have been along the lines of ‘ have you had difficulty finding a girlfriend?’

Sour ( quantum ) grapes, yes?

Today my stomach has bloated up to an unacceptable amount, and I don’t know why. I thought the stoma might stop all that.. but perhaps not?

I leave hospital tomorrow, having secured a carer.

I’ll obviously need full time support, as frankly I’m a danger to myself, and can’t do so many things.

It’ll be an interesting time, this next phase of my topsy turvy life. What I will have is WILLING  assistance, rather than so often begrudging assistance. Help with a smile is so much more appealing than help without one, as anyone reading this will know, disabled or not.

I return to a flat stripped of furniture that I need ( usual disregard for the law of splitting of assets in a divorce, there  – but why am I surprised? )

When you are in a wheelchair, and paralysed, then eating requires a table that you can wheel under… and in my case rest one hand on to support myself from toppling over. Having a plate  in your lap ( that you can’t feel on your lap, or feel if the plate begins to slide off  ) is a one way ticket to the plate ending up on the floor, or hot food/ drinks falling onto my sensation free legs, burning me.  Things like that matter not to my departed X… nor the blindingly obvious logic of NOT having a very heavy table carried down 5 flights of stairs ( too big to go into the building lift  ), put in a removal van and transported elsewhere…. requiring me to  source another table ( how do I go round the furniture shops ?) then having that one carried UP the 5 flights into the flat where I remain.  Perhaps it would have been easier for her, with a nod to my situation too,  to order a table for herself and have that delivered to her new abode, at street level?

There’s nothing like pointing out the obvious, to prove the ‘rights and wrongs’ of a situation …. rather than calling someone a f***wit.

On the upside, I shall of course be having a Moving Back In party ( or 3 ), in true Dawkins Resilience stylee.

Thanks to the lots of people that have offered to help me in the coming transition period. I seem to know far more than my fair share of the Good People out there.

As I’m lying here on my last night in hospital, I’ve started to shiver and feel unwell – I hope a sleep resolves that. I’ve rung the nurse bell, but no response ( 10 minutes so far ) as yet. It might just be that the temperature is set too low, but I don’t have the luxury of jumping out of bed to check the reading on the thermostat, do I ?

Hope you ve had a good day Russ is the plumbing working ok?.My friend had one 15 years ago all fine with her she says sweet corn is a no no blows her bag up like a balloon .thought that bit of info might be handy,Don t want you taking off into space.love you .

Aunty Gill and Mike. Xxx

Since the hospital is very close to The Shard, it doesn’t make sense not to go up there, even though I’ve been a few times.

I went 2 days ago, in the daytime, and having been only at night before, it does all look different. It does help to ‘ orientate’ your mind map of London ( or mine, anyway ).

Whilst at the top, I saw two very ‘ dressed up ‘ ladies. Upon asking them  why, and to which Ball they were about to go , it all became very clear when they said they’d just come up from Port Talbot on the bus, and thought they’d dress appropriately for a night out in London…. nobody is naturally funnier than a Welsh girl, older than 40, who’s worked all her life and isn’t shy about giving her honest perspective on a situation – take my Aunties as 2 examples…

They said they were doing the MoonWalk a couple of days later, and I said I’d sponsor them ( obviously ).  Having done countless things for charity in my past, I know that the hardest thing isn’t doing the Marathon/ walk/ cycle / whatever challenge, it’s the raising the money…

Despite both having very smart iphone 7’s, neither had a clue as to how I’d be able to actually access their Justgiving sites…. so it did take me about 20 Minutes to find them myself, online.  The 20 Minutes laughing, whilst searching, was time that I’ll remember.

Talking about laughing, Pia has invented a game for her and I, when we’re out. She tells waitresses/ shop assistants/ anybody interested that she is looking after me after my accident, and that due to my bang on the head, I have Tourette’s Syndrome. As this is actually pretty accurate, I then find myself saying inappropriate things out loud, much to the amusement of said waitress/ shop assistant ( and most of all, Pia who belly laughs to encourage me ).  The reaction of waitress/ shop assistant has every time ( so far ) been to laugh hysterically and say something like ‘ awwww, bless him, can’t he help it?’

I know it’s wrong, but since I have Tourette’s, I’m powerless to actually stop it….

Today is the day that my daughters move out.

That’s not a good thing to think about. I hope I’ll see them fairly often… I’ve not seen them for the 8 days that I’ve been in hospital, but I have had lots of other very nice visitors to partially compensate.

So once I’m out of hospital, another phase of my topsy turvy life begins..

Its going to be strange, but so have lots of the other phases!

Not being in pain any more, I’m getting out of the hospital as much as I can. I have to turn up for medication and food, and washing etc, and to sleep, but otherwise I’m reasonably free’ ish.

Thanks to my  Aunty Mary, and to Toby for the laughs today, and for the help from my nurses, particularly Kira ( nice for a Yank )

Thanks for the advice from someone ref some legal stuff and care matters, too.