A poem

Flysch rock formation, Playa de Sakoneta, September 2018 (photo by Mr M)

While the writing of my epic three-part saga of the holiday progressed, life went on in the background with more mundane everyday activities - the usual work, badminton, meditation, films and trips to see people and places. I have travelled to Nottingham, Altrincham, Woodford and Lea (near Ross-on-Wye), played in a couple of matches, supervised another student for an afternoon, met the new Dietitian hired to replace the last one that left, and attended a meeting about a potential diabetes app.

One of my work colleagues (a Diabetes Nurse not a Dietitian) attended some sort of event where she was encouraged to submit an idea for a phone app. She chose to include a half-baked idea about weight management, and then when the company asked to meet up to discuss her idea she came to me. I have no interest in her idea, but this seems to cut no ice. As with everything else at work nowadays, I will try to just sit back and see what happens.

Usually the result is 'nothing happens', but in one department the Clinical Commissioning Group have succeeded in taking a positive step forward. The Structured Education for Type 2 Diabetes, DESMOND, had all but lapsed in our area, mostly due to staff changes. The CCG stepped in, and despite our scepticism they have set up a new procedure which looks like it may work. We have advance notice that they will soon turn their attention to Type 1 education, so we're on our toes now and paying attention.

Home news: the washing machine engineer arrived to diagnose the fault with the washing machine. Despite everything we tried it refused to perform, and consistently and reliably failed to demonstrate any water leak whatsoever. The engineer kindly noted that the reason for the callout was that the packaging had not been correctly removed, otherwise I would have had to pay for his visit. So the good news is that the washing machine is not leaking, and the bad news is that I wasn't hallucinating when I found water on the floor so I fear it will start leaking again at some future time. When it does, I will take pictures.

I went to visit Landrover Man and Bee Lady, and because they actually read this blog I have been instructed to report on the visit. There was cake, dinner, a film, breakfast, a walk, a Sunday roast, plenty of talk and all of it was wonderful. There, that's slightly more than the "I went to see them and it was nice" that I threatened to write. Bee Lady still has bees (it's winter so they don't go out much) but Landrover Man no longer has Landrovers.

BL and LRM in front of Big View West

On my visit to Altrincham, cousin H showed me two poems he has written and gave permission for me to share them. I know as much about Poetry as I do about Art, but here is my favourite of the two:

Alzheimer's

It works like this. Each time he sees a thing
That's just the start. He has to process it
Through several departments of the brain.
To recognise it. Work out what it is.
Give it a name, and know how it fits in.
Responding needs another set of functions -
Making a choice from several office menus,
While holding all the options in a list.
Then he can send a message in reply
Not yet though. First he has to formulate
The answer, and then put it into words
And (in a separate office) make the sounds.
I sometimes think he recognises me.