IN BRIEF

Monday 24th September

Very hectic time at Jewellery Class, everybody seems to need extra help and there's only one of me!
Rang NHS Direct to enquire what the waiting times are for a recurrent hernia. I'm writing this a week later and still no one has rung back.

Tuesday 25th September

Two types of water leaks to fix today. One was in the water tank in the roof and the other in a little room at De Montfort University. (see above)

Wednesday 26th September

Went to see consultant to discuss what to do now my recurrent hernia has been confirmed. (see above)

Thursday 27th September

This was a near normal day as possible. Jewellery Class on a Thursday is quite a relaxed affair with no Line Manager breathing down my neck. We didn't seem to get that much done, but had lively discussions about many related topics which somehow managed to include news of my impending operation.

Friday 28th September

My Craft Class seems doomed this term with some of the Learning Partners dropping out for various reasons.
Came home to a cooked dinner a la Robert which was very sweet of him, especially as we'd had a bit of a falling out yesterday. Robert needs to get back to university to regain his independence away from me. We seem to have become very close over the last few weeks and are in danger of acting like an old married couple. It's been fun though - we've found lots of thing to laugh about...

Saturday 29th

It somehow took Robert all day to get his things packed and we didn't leave for Loughborough until 5.00pm. By the time everything was in the house and we'd shopped in Tescos, it was dark. I drove back feeling very lonely and hoping that Hermione would allow me the luxury of this extra journey without too much complaining. Lucy was deposited from Ben's by 9.30pm and brought with her the company I was craving.

Sunday 30th

No lie-in today, Graham was back by 8.30am, bright and breezy from America having hardly slept on the 8 hour flight home. After the statutory read through the Sunday Telegraph magazines, Lucy and I got Sunday dinner, while Graham had a nap. By 3.00pm we were at Dunelm pummelling pillows and choosing bed sheets (Robert had forgotten that his 'new' bed was a double). By 4.00pm we were at Leicester and at 5.30pm, after yet another tearful 'good bye' we were exchanging sheets on Robert's bed. This new up and down the M1 routine is going to take some getting used to.