Category Archives: Eric Hall

Tuesday 26th July 2016 – “OHHH MR HALL!”

“It’s so difficult to treat you. First it’s one thing, and then it’s something else!”.

Inspiring words from Hermione the Doctor this morning when she came to see me. And it’s no surprise because after being in here something like half a day, my feet and legs have swollen up again. We had a very lengthy chat about how I was feeling and I told her everything that I thought she might like to know. The result of this is that I’m going to be in here for a bit, I reckon, while they try to work out what to do next.

“Next” is definitely a CAT scan. That’s organised for tomorrow apparently, and they are going to give my chest and lungs a right going-over. But as I have said before, this kind of thing is just a peripheral issue. Mind you, with my blood count having stabilised over the last 5 or 6 weeks, I suppose that there are grounds for cautious optimism.

I eventually drifted off to a real sleep at about 02:00 this morning. There were no church bells, no alarms, no nothing at all and so consequently I awoke at 07:00 precisely. Dunno if I went anywhere but if I did I certainly remember nothing about it.

I managed some breakfast too. I didn’t enjoy it all that much but I do have to eat whenever I can. This intravenous drip stuff is not the answer to everything. And later on, after Hermione had been and gone, the dietician put in an appearance and we had a good chat again about my diet.

Lunch was disgusting. Well, I suppose that it wasn’t but I was in no mood for it. The vegetable soup tasted of nothing but salt and I couldn’t even stomach the thought of the mashed potatoes and chili beans. That was a washout.

After lunch, I crashed out a couple of times – once while I was riding the porcelain horse and the second time lying on the bed, when I promptly fell off.

There was a nice surprise this afternoon. Alison was here in the hospital, and she came for a chat when she had finished whatever she was doing. And here we conjured up a cunning plan. Alison volunteered to go down into town and my little room to bring me a pile of stuff that I might need if I’m staying for a while.

Alison didn’t just bring me my stuff, she also came with a packet of soya dessert and a supply of fruit. Consequently, as you might expect, for my tea tonight the hospital supplied me with soya dessert and fruit salad.

The nurse took my temperature on several occasions during the day and that slowly went down with the passage of time. We started off with 37.7°C and by evening it was 36.9°C.

I’m now going to have an early night if I can. My room-mate likes his television (so Alison fetched the headphones for my laptop) and while he’s not the worst room-mate that I’ve had from a snoring point of view, he’s not the best either. But then I can’t expect too much.

But it was really nice of Alison to fetch my stuff for me. I appreciated that very much.

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Monday 25th July 2016 – IT REALLY COMES TO SOMETHING …

… when you arrive at the hospital day centre and the nurse takes one look at you and says, in a horrified tone, “But Mr Hall – you look dreadful”. But that really is an understatement of just how I’m feeling at the moment.

I didn’t sleep too badly last night, I have to admit, and round about midnight I was feeling reasonably lucid which makes a change from how I was feeling when I went to bed after my pizza. I was soon back asleep again though, with one or two of the usual interruptions. I’d been on quite a few vivid voyages too, but the only one that I can remember concerns two extended-cab pickups. One was red, rather like a Ford Cortina estate but a pick-up, and the other one was a real pickup coloured a sort-of light lime green and with a black interior. Although I had arrived at this spot in the red one, I found myself spread out on the rear seats of the yellow one, half-asleep, with someone whom I didn’t recognise at all in the front.

The alarm went off at 07:15 but there was no way that I was going to leave my bed at that time of morning. In fact I went back to sleep again and awoke at 07:30 when the second one went off. I crawled upstairs to the kitchen and made myself a small breakfast as I’m still not all that hungry, and then off for a shower. If I’m going to have nurses poking and probing me, they would expect me to be clean and tidy.

For the next half hour we played “hunt the keys” for Caliburn. I didn’t find them but by this time it was far too late to do anything about it. I staggered off for the bus (remembering on the way to the bus stop that my keys are in my sac banane) and off to the hospital.

While the nurse took my blood sample I poured out my woes to her and repeated the story to the doctor. Not Hermione though – the one who replaces her when she’s not there. The Social Services girl came to see me and I told her everything too.

The doctor came back to see me a little later. The good news is that my blood count is still 10.0. It’s not gone up any for the last four weeks, but it’s also not gone down any and considering how ill I’m feeling, that’s really quite remarkable. It’s also quite remarkable that I haven’t had a blood transfusion for … ohhhh … weeks and weeks.

The bad news is that I have a raging chest infection. They packed me off for an x-ray (I’ve not had the results back yet) and then they reached a decision – that they are going to keep me in hospital for “a few days” so that they can give me some liquid food, some steroids and some medication for the infection.

So here I am, up on a ward,with a raging temperature of 39.5°C, sweating everywhere, and hopefully going to be cured – at least of this infection. But as it has been said so often, I’m at risk from all kinds of illnesses now that my my spleen has been removed, and while the lymphoma probably won’t kill me, I could be wiped out by something that I catch and won’t be able to fight off.

I hope that my room-mate here doesn’t snore. But he has enough to put up with with me coughing.

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Sunday 24th July 2016 – BLASTED CHURCH BELLS!

Yes, there I was, or rather, there I wasn’t. I was miles away, deep in the arms of Morpheus, when we had the 07:00 cacophony. On a flaming Sunday too, in a church that hasn’t been used for worship since 1968.

I was absolutely drenched in sweat too, rather like the Bohemian monk of the old story, and I’d been so far away on my travels that maybe it was a good idea that the church bells had rung because I couldn’t see how I would have been able to come back. I’d started off with the famous victory of Morton yesterday over Kilmarnock. Having released over half a team and signed no-one to replace them, they were playing away, with a team packed full of youth players, against a team from the Scottish Premier League and to everyone’s surprise, won 2-0 and at something of a canter too apparently. Of course, the after-match celebrations played a big part in whatever was going on through the night, and from there I went for a walk up the hill near to wherever I was living to look at the old fortifications and industrial buildings that were there.My route then took me into the village at the top of the hill where they were advertising the village fête. I had a wander around the village, looking for a couple of girls whom I knew because I was hoping to organise some kind of vehicle rally. However I couldn’t find these girls – it looked as if they were otherwise engaged and I was going to end up doing all of the work myself.

But despite the early start, I was in no hurry to leave my stinking pit. Breakfast these days isn’t until 10:00 and so I just lay vegetating in bed for quite a while, relaxing. So much so in fact that I ended up being … errr … rather later than 10:00 when I went for breakfast and so in order to avoid any complication, I fetched my breakfast down here and ate it in my room.

But I’ve had another miserable day. Coughing and spluttering all day, with a streaming head cold that just won’t subside and I’m feeling like death. So much so that by 17:00 I was back in bed crashing out. I just didn’t know what else to do.

Later on, I managed to stagger out for a pizza. Not that I was particularly hungry and I didn’t enjoy it either but I had a feeling that if I didn’t make it out tonight and eat something, I wouldn’t make it out of the door tomorrow and of course it’s hospital day tomorrow.

So now, even though it’s early, I’m going back to bed where I intend to sleep for ever and I don’t care at all even if I do.

I am just thoroughly fed up, thoroughly washed out, and thoroughly depressed. Apart from recovering from my operation at the end of January I don’t think that I’ve ever felt so bad as this.

I just want to die.

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Saturday 23rd July 2016 – IT WAS AFTER …

… well after 02:00 in fact before I finally went to bed. And I don’t recall having left my stinking pit for a ride on the porcelain horse at any point during the night either – sleeping right through until about 07:40.

I had even managed to fit a little nocturnal ramble into the night’s agenda. I was driving a coach somewhere but that really is all that I can remember about it.

But in my new “weak and feeble” mode, I was in no rush to leave my stinking pit once I was awake and so I stayed here relaxing and chatting to Liz on the internet until about 10:00. Then it was breakfast time, and I took it easy (in fact it took me an hour to eat it) so as a result I didn’t feel too bad.

All of the foregoing might make you think that I’m feeling a little better and that is indeed the truth. Not very much, I must admit, but better all the same, and I could concentrate on doing some more updating on the blog. That’s been in abeyance for a week or so while I’ve been trying to get my head together.

In fact I was feeling so much better that later in the afternoon I went out to the supermarket on the corner and bought a baguette. Not only that, I managed to eat most of a vegan cheese and tomato butty for tea, and that’s certainly progress.

So now it’s 22:45 and I’m not really tired. Sitting on the edge of the bed ready to sleep I might be, but I can’t see me dropping off any time soon. I still have the runny nose and the heavy cough and the stomach upset and I would be extremely delighted if all of that were to go away, but I suppose that it’s just the start of the long road back, with a few other setbacks to come along the way.

I suppose that I can’t expect too much.

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Friday 22nd July 2016 – HAVING HAD THAT GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP …

… the other night, I paid for it last night, that’s for sure.

I was lying there all through the night and I remember every minute of it. It was the most uncomfortable night that I’ve had for quite a while. And when I finally stepped out of bed and had a good look in the mirror, I looked about 90 (instead of my usual 85). What a horrible sight.

Mind you, I must have dropped off at some point during the night because I was up on the Arctic Highway along the Mackenzie River in northern Canada, driving a top-of-the-range 4×4 vehicle heading north, with the odd car or two coming back the other way. But I wasn’t alone for there was a woman and her young daughter aged about 8 or 9 with me. The daughter was wearing a black shell suit with twin white stripes and a petrol blue tee-shirt. She had to change her tee shirt to a pink one and couldn’t manage to do it and so I had to help her, even though I was driving this expensive vehicle along some of these dreadful mud-and-gravel roads.

I had a late breakfast, and that was really the highlight of my day. I didn’t set foot for a minute outside the door of the building. In fact, as the afternoon wore on I started to feel worse and worse and this wasn’t helped by learning that someone whom I vaguely know and who is suffering from lymphoma died yesterday, quite suddenly, of unforeseen complications and another friend of mine lost his wife quite suddenly and unexpectedly. It’s as if the Hand of Death is slowly enveloping me and it’s a very uncomfortable feeling.

I was in bed by 17:00 and although I couldn’t really sleep it’s still the best way to deal with my issues right now and I’m glad that I’m in my own room where I can stay like this in a semi-vegetative state.

At midnight exactly we had the most astonishing thunderstorm followed by a torrential downpour. That woke me up and I couldn’t go back to sleep afterwards. For a good couple of hours I was wide awake and feeling a little better – to such an extent that I went into the bathroom at one point and washed some of my undies. Can’t have me going about all smelly now, can we … "well, it’s never bothered you before" – ed.

Yes, I am feeling a little better now so I hope that I can have a really good night’s sleep for what is left of the night. I deserve it.

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Thursday 21st July 2016 – SO HAVING CRASHED OUT …

… in mid-afternoon yesterday, the next thing that I remember was it being 08:00 the following morning. That’s a night’s sleep of … errr … 16 hours and it definitely goes to show you that things aren’t right at all around here at the moment.

I managed to have breakfast – with the heaving throngs in the dining room. It looks as if we are quite full again at the moment. But all the noise was doing my head in, that’s for sure.

For the rest of the morning I didn’t do very much – just sat around here and vegetated. I missed out on lunch too, but I wasn’t too bothered about that. I’m definitely not in the mood for eating right now.

It’s a Bank Holiday in Belgium today and so Alison and I had agreed to go for a little walk. We met up in the Botanical Gardens just down the road from here and had a good chat.

But I couldn’t even do that either. Half a lap around the garden and I was whacked. I had to sit down for 10 minutes to catch my breath and even that didn’t seem to help matters very much. So less than one hour after leaving my little room to go out, I was back and on the bed again.

And there I stayed, yet again.

I didn’t crash out, but I was certainly in no fit condition to move. So there I lay for the rest of the day and that was that.

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Monday 18th July 2016 – I WENT TO THE HOSPITAL …

… this morning, and just for a change, seeing as how I’m not too well, I went up on the bus. I definitely can’t be feeling up to it if I’m having to travel by bus and spend €1:40.

Just for a change I’d had the best night’s sleep that I’d had for ages. Apart from one trip down the corridor, I was out like a light until the alarm went off at 07:00, and then promptly went back to sleep until the alarm went off again at 07:15.

I’d been on my travels too. Back driving a coach tour along the North Cornwall coast. The holiday had come to an end and we were ready to go home. The advertised way was down across the county to Exeter and then up the M5, but the prettier way, even if it was a longer way, was along the coast and so I asked the passengers if they would like to go that way. Many of the passengers had been with me last year when we had gone along the coast too. They were having a discussion about that and so I decided to move the coach off to a safer spot. However I had a hell of a time getting the coach to start and when it finally did start there were clouds of white smoke everywhere and the coach wouldn’t accelerate. This was a bad start to the final day’s holiday and I was hoping that the passengers hadn’t noticed.

I had another go at having a decent breakfast ready for my long day, but I ended up leaving half of it. I’m still not up to it, I reckon. And it was scorching outside, even at 08:00. I’m glad that I had decided to take the bus.

At the check-in at the day care centre I was taken by surprise. I was sent straight to a little room instead of having to go through all of the preliminaries downstairs. That didn’t sound too good. And I had a nurse who had exactly the same accent as Goldmember. That was worrying too. She fitted me with a drain and took a blood sample. And I have to give a urine sample too and that’s taking the p155.

My weight has gone down by 3kgs, which is probably normal seeing as how little I’ve been eating just recently.

The Doctor came to see me – not Hermione unfortunately – but the other one and we had a good time discussing everything that has been going on with me just recently. She’ll know more when she has the results of the blood test later today but to her it sounds as if I have caught an infection and it will soon pass through. I hope that she’s right.

She did however send me to have my chest x-rayed. Done on the spot!

Strangely enough, in between the blood test and the visit of the doctor, I’d suddenly started to feel so much better. How is that for an irony? I managed the soup and bread for lunch, as well as a large packet of crisps that Alison had bought me and which I’d taken along for emergencies.

The perfusion was ready quite quickly and didn’t take long. By about 14:45 it was all finished. The doctor came back with a prescription for the medication that I had finished off, and told me some good news. My blood count is 10.0 – exactly the same as it was 2 weeks ago. And given all that I’ve done and all that I’ve been through this last 2 weeks, that’s quite impressive. I’m very pleased with that.

And when was the last time that I have had a blood transfusion?

She told me that I do have an infection too. She’s not too worried about it and it’s one of the things to which I’ll have to become accustomed giving the loss of my spleen, but she wants me back next week (instead of in two weeks time) to see what is happening.

She did offer me the chance to stay at the hospital. Had I been living anywhere else that I had during the last three months, I might well have taken her up on it. But I’m comparatively comfortable here so I decided to come back home. I must be feeling better.

Having paid the odd account or two, I set off home – on foot too – and ended up in town at the supermarket buying a few bits and pieces. I’ve even eaten tonight – nothing special or exotic but proper food. And three good meals too.

And not only that – it’s now 23:45 and I’m still awake and not in the least but tired despite my full, exhausting day.

Things are looking up.

Ans we’ve had more excitement in Parliament today. During the debate on the new Trident replacement, the new Prime Minister, Theresa May, attacked Green MP Caroline Lucas for speaking against the proposals, saying that Lucas was “defending the UK’s enemies”.

Now have a close look at this speech – “Naturally the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.”

Did you notice the bit about “denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger” which has clearly influenced Theresa May’s speech? The speech that I quoted just now was one given by none other than Hermann Goering.

Having had the B Liar paraphrasing the Nazi speeches during his period in office, it looks now as if we’ve got yet more Nazi clones in charge in Drowning Street.

That’s a frightening thought now, isn’t it? Or were we all expecting it?

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Sunday 17th July 2016 – I HAD A GOOD …

… night’s sleep for a change. I didn’t wake up too often, which is always a good thing, and slept right through until … errr … the alarm went off at 07:15. Yes, it’s Sunday and Brain of Britain forgot to switch the alarm off, didn’t he?

I’d been on my travels too. There was some kind of town meeting where young girls were paraded in wedding costumes that they would wear when they would married. any girl who did not have a wedding costume could still parade and it was up to the audience to buy her a costume from sets that were available at the parade. Just one girl didn’t have a costume – she was in an orange and white-striped summer frock – and I felt as a new arrival, that I ought to buy her the costume in order to integrate myself into the town but I couldn’t really afford it. And so I developed a cumming plan. I waited until someone else offered, and then I interjected that I was just about to offer too, so why didn’t we pay halves for the costume. This of course had an unexpected result – “was I inferring that the other person was a cheapskate and didn’t have all of the cash to buy the costume?” and so on like that? It seemed that I couldn’t do right for doing wrong, which seems to be the story of my life.

A little after awakening I went and, for once, had a full breakfast. There was another couple there at the breakfast table, and they seemed to have gathered all of the breakfast food around them for a mega-blow-out. I must admit that I haven’t seen anything like this for a long time.

Back here, still coughing and sneezing, I idled around on the laptop for most of the day. No lunch yet again as I’m still not up to it, and I also had a good shower and change of clothes seeing as how I’m off to the hospital tomorrow and I need to look (and smell) my best.

Just for a change, I managed some tea tonight. I went out (for the first time today) round the corner to the takeaway pizza place for the Sunday pizza. Really hot, which didn’t do my runny-nose situation very much good, and even though it was the first one that I’ve had for weeks that has been properly cooked, I didn’t enjoy it very much (but that’s more down to me, not the pizza).

An early night again, and a much quieter one too, saw me drifting in and out of sleep but eventually I was gone for good.

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Saturday 16th July 2016 – WELL THAT WAS A WASTE …

… of effort. OH Leuven had a match advertised tonight, playing at home against St Truiden. And even though I wasn’t feeling up to it, I decided to go anyway because it would do me good to get out and about for a while.

And so I set off and had a pleasant walk through the warm early evening down to the ground, only to find it locked up. The people in the fritkot on the car park knew absolutely nothing about it, which surprised me.

I had a walk around the stadium to see if I could see anything, or anyone who could tell me anything else but there seemed to be nothing happening. but at least I had an opportunity to look at some ruins that I had noticed last time that I was here.

The ring road around the city, in common with many ring roads around European cities, seems to be sited upon the line of the ancient fortifications of the city and I’m sure that I had noticed something that might have once been part of a water gate or even a mill over the river Dilje at one time.

The walk down to the football stadium wasn’t too bad but I struggled on the way back. I ended up having to sit for 20 minutes by the side of the river and relax, trying to recover some force but it didn’t really work.

In the end, I staggered back here and went off for an early night, totally played out.

And yes, the match had taken place, and OH Leuven had won 4-1. Kick-off was indeed at 19:30 and OH Leuven were definitely listed as the home team. So what happened there, I really do not know.

That wasn’t the only time that I had been out either. Round about lunchtime I’d gone into the town centre to buy some stuff for lunch. Not that I was feeling hungry right then, but there was always a possibility that I might do later in the day.

As it happens, I didn’t, but it wasn’t a wasted trip as I bumped into Melanie, one of my co-cottiers from the last place. We had quite a chat, which was very nice, and exchanged e-mail addresses.

Apart from that, I’d had a better sleep somewhat, and was awake reasonably early. At abut 10:00 I went to make some dry toast and orange juice because even when I’m being ill, I have to try my best to keep up some kind of calorie intake. Yes, you can tell when I’m ill when I’m off my food, and I’ve not had a coffee for a few days either.

One thing that has got on my wick, and quite seriously too, is that I’ve had not one person but two people come bursting into my room. I rather lost my temper with the second person who came in but it didn’t half annoy me. Good job I wasn’t dressing and adjusting my undercarriage like the time that I was burst in upon a day or two after I arrived here.

Liz was on the internet so we had a good chat too. She feels guilty about making me go running off to the Auvergne earlier in the week, but while it’s true that the trip down there didn’t help matters, it was something that had to be done and anyway I’m not going to abandon all of my life just because of this illness thing. I have to keep on going.

So having crashed out earlier, I drifted back awake a couple of times, the last time being someone who is intent upon entertaining his lady friend. As soon as they finish, we can all go back to sleep.

I mean – I did try to give them a round of applause, but you can’t clap with just one hand, can you?

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Friday 15th July 2016 – I WOKE UP THIS MORNING …

… feeling a little more like it. For a change, I’d managed to have something of a reasonable sleep too, although I put that down to the nice comfortable bed.

I wasn’t up to much, though, and I spent most of the morning loitering around doing not very much at all. I should have gone for a coffee with Hans Field who was on his way through the area, but I was obliged to decline. I’m not up to that kind of thing quite yet.

At about 10:00 I went up to the kitchen and made myself some dry toast and had some orange juice. That’s the kind of thing that will help settle my stomach, and it does need some settling after yesterday.

Round about lunchtime I went out – yes, actually set foot out of the building. I wasn’t feeling particularly hungry but I was sure that sooner or later during the course of the day I would be, and so I picked up a baguette and a tomato from the little supermarket on the corner.

A little later on, I made myself a cheese butty with some of the vegan cheese that I had around here. And to give you an idea of just how I’m feeling right now, I couldn’t eat all of it. Even going back for a nibble here and there later on, there was still quite a bit that I didn’t eat. yes, you can tell that I’m ill when I’m off my food.

I gave out round about 16:00 and went to bed. I tried to watch a couple of films on the laptop and although I only missed a little of the first, I had long gone before the second one finished.

Waking up at odd times during the evening didn’t help matters much but I’ll be trying to have another decent sleep tonight if I can. It’s a shame to have this nice comfortable bed and then miss out on it.

And so I wonder how I will be feeling tomorrow then?

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Thursday 15th July 2016 – WHO WAS IT …

… who was crowing yesterday about how well he was feeling and how the crisis might be behind him?

Yes, we’ve had a relapse today, haven’t we?

After lunch I was sitting down here in my room doing nothing very much by the way of anything, and suddenly I came over all tired. And not a simple “tired” where you yawn and go to sleep, but a huge physical “tired” that totally wiped me out. It was as if the batteries had gone completely flat.

It wasn’t just a simple case of lying down on the bed either – I was under the covers totally flat-out and I didn’t have the strength to move even a finger. And that was that.

First thing that happened when I awoke at about 17:00 was that I was violently sick. Having anticipated this (because I’ve been here before and more than once too) I’d brought the waste bin (which was lined with a bin liner) to the side of the bed. Thus we were able to avoid a catastrophe.

I also had to struggle (and it was a struggle too) to the bathroom a couple of times during the evening.

All in all, not a very successful second half of the day at all. I’m feeling quite miserable and depressed about this, just when I thought that I was doing so well.

I had a reasonable (well, for these days) sleep last night but not the mega-sleep that I was expecting after my exertions of the last couple of days. An early breakfast, followed by a shower, and then to tidy up downstairs because it’s moving day.

My new room, the one where I’ll be staying for the rest of my time here, is small and tired. But the bed is extremely comfortable, for which I am very grateful and there’s a sink. It looks out over the rear of the premises, which might be good in some respects but it’s also the point nearest the church and the flaming bells.

Still, you can’t have everything, I suppose.

Dodging the impressive rainstorms, I nipped into town for my baguette for lunch – and then it all started to go wrong for me.

Well, I suppose that I should have expected something like this. It’s a long, hard road that will take me to the end of my treatment and it isn’t going to be easy.

Well, never mind.

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Wednesday 13th July 2016 – I’M BACK …

… in Leuven. My stay back in France didn’t last too long, did it?

I had another good sleep, only having to leave the bed once. Well, twice actually, but seeing that the second time was 05:50, just 10 minutes before the alarm was due to go off, I didn’t bother going back downstairs. Instead, I dressed and went down to make breakfast.

By the time that I had done that, made my butties for lunch and had a shower and change of clothes, it was 07:10 and Terry was ready so we hit the road.

It was a beautiful drive right across France to the Rhône valley and Lyon, and we were there on the outskirts of the city by 09:20. The next 6 kilometres was a different proposition. With the traffic queue that we encountered and then the changes to Lyon’s road network that weren’t shown on Terry’s Satnav, it was 10:10 when we arrived at the station. It’s a good job that we had allowed plenty of time for the journey.

There was however plenty of time for a coffee as the TGV was late arriving. 11:00 was the time of departure, but we finally set off at 11:25. We stopped at Marne la Vallée, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Lille as I expected, but also at Haute-Picardie and Arras which I hadn’t realised. Consequently it was 15:30 when we pulled into Bruxelles-Midi.

The journey wasn’t boring though. I did a pile of work on my website, though and I was sitting next to a woman whose father was born in Les Ancizes. We had a lengthy chat about the Auvergne, and she and I set the world to right about the Brexit. It’s not very often that I meet someone who thinks along my lines.

A brief amount of excitement at Bruxelles-Midi was when I bought my ticket for my onward trip to Leuven. I used one of the automatic machines and I received my ticket, plus one from the previous passenger who had clearly forgotten to pick it up. I had to find an information booth to leave it there.

15:56 was my train to Leuven, and by 16:30 I was there on the station. And it was pouring down too. It started almost as soon as we arrived at Charles de Gaulle and had continued for almost all the way. Typical Northern French and Belgian weather.

It soon brightened up though and so I set off for my place of residence. Half an hour’s brisk walk it took me to arrive here and that was carrying a large bag too. That made me think how much my health must have improved. I would never have done this two or three months ago, and round about now i ought to be experiencing a collapsed blood count and expecting a blood transfusion instead.

It’s nice to be back in my little room again, even if I am moving on to another room tomorrow. I grabbed a coffee and sat down for a relax. Tea was rice with lentils peas and carrots and it was delicious too. I must remember to buy some more boulghour tomorrow.

Now, I’m going to have an early night. After my marathon voyage today, I reckon that I’ve earned it.

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Tuesday 12th July 2016 – I NEEDN’T HAVE BOTHERED …

… to go to all of this effort and worry about this morning.

I breezed into the bank, checked my accounts, and then gave the bank cashier the kind of instructions that would normally have caused a considerable amount of upset and confusion, and probably have led to the involvement of the bank’s Head Office. And I was prepared for quite an argument too.

But to my total surprise, and in an attitude that is going to change the way that I think about banking in the depths of darkest rural France, the bank clerk carried out my instructions to the letter without even batting an eyelid and, even more astonishingly given everything that was involved, without even asking to see any identification.

We were in there, out and gone in less than two minutes and that must be something of a record.

I had a reasonable night’s sleep in the nice comfy bed at Liz and Terry’s. So reasonable in fact that I only left it twice, and when the alarm went off at 07:00, I promptly turned over and went straight back to sleep. It’s been a good while since I’ve done that, hasn’t it?

Off to Pionsat and the bank, and then round to my house to sort out my mail and pick up a few things that I might need. And what a mess my place is in. Brambles, weeds and long grass everywhere. It’s just so depressing. I’ve asked Terry if he’ll attack it with a strimmer if he has five minutes, then I’ll be able to find the front door.

We went shopping for food, and I bought a baguette to make some butties for tomorrow seeing as I’m back on my travels to Leuven after all of this. I didn’t get to stay for very long, did I?

Nothing happened in the afternoon – I stayed in and did some work on the blog to bring it up-to-date – and then tonight after tea we had the laugh of our lives.

Celtic, Scottish football champions, were playing Lincoln Red Imps, Champions of that major and important footballing nation … errr … Gibraltar, in a Champions League match which could not unreasonably have ended up with a cricket score. And the final result? Lincoln Red Imps 1, those giants of Scottish football … errr … 0. I’ve never laughed so much in all my life.

So another early night, because it’s a 06:00 start. I need to be on the road by 07:00 as it’s a long way to Lyon and the Part-Dieu station for my train. But at least once I’m on it, it’s direct to Brussels with just three stops and no messing about in Paris.

Over 800kms in well under four hours. That’s the beauty of the TGV

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