Actually it’s not a lot warmer, and it rains too, but hey, the weather has never been something I really think about – obviously I’m not that British ? – after all, you can’t do anything at all about the weather, so why talk about it at all? You just have to dress properly, which is the bit I invariably get wrong – always wearing too few clothes is my error. Pre injury it didn’t matter, but now that I get  far colder because I can’t move lots of me, I get colder much more easily, which actually does bother me psychologically as well as more physically – I just don’t like it that I cannot tolerate the cold anymore, even though it’s bloody obvious that I can’t possibly be expected to.

Anyway, I made it to the Algarve – the day of all my possessions being moved out coincided with me having to go and have lots of X-Rays in hospital ( as I’ve been convinced that my fixation in my spine is moving again ) As usual, my days are never easy – moving is supposed to be about the most stressful thing you do, but in my case I get a bit of extra pressure on top just for good measure, with a 4 hour chunk of the same day being dedicated to hospital stuff.

As I need so much stuff every day for my paralysis thing, I couldn’t possibly commit to everything being moved out on the same day, so the next day, as well as leaving the country to live elsewhere, there was lots of packing of my essential stuff to do, and then taking that with me to the airport, as well as taking stuff and putting it into storage, before midday. And oh, also that day I took delivery of a different car, as I found it ever so difficult to get in and out of the one I had, after all the titanium was added to my spine 18 months ago. We used the car, which is like a Mr Magoo car, to go to the airport, with 3 large bags packed in around me ( full of paralysis typa survival stuff ). It’s a car that I wheelchair into the back of, up a ramp, and then stay in the chair for the ride. I am in the back, so not driving it, so my Carer has to do that bit, as well as fixing all the clamps to my wheelchair before driving off, but overall it’s ‘ easier’ and will definitely mean I can go further than I currently do, with less complication than I currently have. Once I’ve pimped it up a bit, with a full body karma sutra images  car wrap, spot lights on the front, and a bangin sound system, it’ll be a real head turner, like a Gangsta PopeMobile… tho of course I’ll have to run those modifications by the Motability Scheme that provided it.

Now in Portugal, i have slept a fait bit more than I normally do, 2 days in,and tried to reduce my spasms by getting help to turn onto my front whilst in bed, so that my stiff legs get stretched in a different way, from their normal seized up position of bent in the chair all day, or semi bent in bed, as they just don’t straighten, and I can’t make them, obviously.

Tonight we’ve been out for a cycle ( me on the Triride ) in the dark, Ashley and hér Lovely son ( thank God they were with me too, to help massively on the last day, and to make the huge transition far more palatable ) down to the beach boardwalk, which was cut short by the cold, but was nonetheless pretty cool to be honest. Without the big city light pollution that im now used to, it is seriously dark when it’s dark, which is how it is supposed to be, after all. My bike lights     in real darkness assume a different use from their use in London, which is almost purely to prevent you being run over by a bus, or motorist in a hurry to get back 2 Minutes earlier than he/ she otherwise would.

My various legal ‘ battles ‘ continue no matter where I am in the world, though im conscious already how much less im inclined to use my phone, other than for essential admin that I can’t avoid or ignore.

Ive been drinking mint tea, using mint from outside the place hère, in a teapot, which did have an unusual flavour. Having just stirred the pot, it turned out there was ‘ something extra ‘ on those leaves- a large caterpillar  – maybe some more careful checking before we make the next pot….?