Health update

After two good nights of sleep my cold is a lot better. I still have the cough to get rid of but as I have asthma it frequently takes me ages to shake off a cough.

My arm is still progressing as well. I've noticed recently that I've started to let it relax beside me when I'm walking instead of holding it across my body. For a while it was still quite painful to straighten to that extent but it has definitely improved in recent weeks.

Virtually no pain at all now whatever I do with it. I spoke to someone recently who had a similar injury and she said it took her quite a while to get rid of the odd twinge so perhaps 6 months is not too bad. I did go through a phase where I started to think I'd have to live with the pain when I made some movements but now that has nearly gone. I would not care to repeat the experience.

Off to the dentist tomorrow - well the hygienist anyway. It's a bit of a nuisance going every three months, in between the 6 months appointments for the dentist but worth it I think. In any case it's included in what I pay monthly. I have to go back to Norwich - 70 miles away - which is why it's a pain. I could try and find a dentist in Lincolnshire - not easy - but I prefer to stick with the one I've been going to for about 30 years now. I'm going by train which at least means I got two hours each way of uninterrupted reading time.

More time off and sequels

I have another two weeks off. After that I can either go back to work straightaway or ask for another week or two. I was offered 4 weeks straight off but felt that was too long. It has improved tremendously over the last 10 days. I can use the computer for longer without taking a break and some of the time doing day to day stuff I even forget I've had a problem with my arm. On the other hand I still cannot lift a kettle full of water and getting food out of a dish and onto a plate can be quite uncomfortable still. My doctor said I must not go back to work until it is all right as once I start using it more it won't heal properly. I have spoken to the boss who seems reasonably ok about it and also said he didn't want me to come back until it had healed properly. Things are still up in the air at work apparently and nothing much has happened.

I am still looking into commercially published sequels to classic novels and more appear out of the woodwork all the time. I have managed to find one for Charles Dickens - it's called John Jasper's Secret: a Sequel to the Mystery of Edwin Drood by Henry Morford. There are various ones for Henry James as well. Joan Aiken has several sequels to her name mainly Jane Austen. The Brontes also seem to be favourites for sequels. There is a sequel to E F Benson's Mapp and Lucia novels and even one to The Secret Garden. It's a fascinating subject even if most of them seem to have sunk without trace.

Doesn't time fly . . .

Now I'm not in pain all the time and have been able to stop taking pain killers I'm starting to enjoy my enforced leisure. My arm does still hurt if I put too much pressure on it which reassures me that I'm not malingering, but I can do a bit more everyday.

My bookchair arrived but actually it is not really needed now as I can hold a book for quite a while. But as it's a useful object - especially if you need to refer to a book whilst typing - or eating! It looks exactly like a miniature deckchair with the obligatory stripes, though you can get plain ones as well. The only difference is it has two little bits that stick up on the leading edge which hold the pages in place - see picture.

Books read recently - Peter Lovesey - 'The House Sitter' - I've read two other Peter Lovesey novels - The Circle' & 'The Headhunters', both of which featured DCI Hen Mallin - a cigar smoking female detective who's got where she is by sheer hard work. 'The House Sitter' is the first one I've read with Peter Diamond in. The bonus as far as I was concerned was that it also had Hen Mallin! 'The House Sitter' is excellent and not too violent and has two murders which may or may not be connected. Characters are well drawn and the plot is tight and convoluted with some brilliant twists and turns.

I've also just finished Kathy Lette's 'To Love Honour and Betray', and it's the first and last book of hers which I shall be reading I think. She is trying to be funny most of the time and after a few pages you can see the jokes coming a mile off and the language is cruder than strictly necessary - to me it detracted from the story. The plot is good with some sparky characters and some very unpleasant caricatures as well, but overall it left a bit of a nasty taste. I'm sure it will be popular with her many fans

I'm currently reading Phil Rickman's 'To Dream of the Dead' and it's spookily excellent as are all his Merrily Watkins novels.

Another 4 weeks off and a good book

I've been to see my GP today who asked me how long I think I need off. I suggested 4 weeks to which he seemed happy to agree. As he said, there's a huge difference between pottering around at home and stopping when it hurts and being at work where you can't just take breaks when you feel like it. He says he's going to put on the certificate when I go back that I am not to do repetitive work and not lift things which are too heavy etc. That's going to be fun as most of the files I work on are thick and heavy and I have to go through boxes of records - bank statements, receipts etc. Then there's spreadsheets and typing letters . . . . It will be interesting to see how they manage to sort it.

Meanwhile the manager we had back in May before she got temporary promotion sent me a get well card having just heard about my misfortunes - which was a nice thought.

I have just finished reading Ariana Franklin's 'The Death Maze' - historical crime with humour. Feisty women and larger than life men with warts and all. It's set in the reign of Henry II and centres on the murder of Rosamund Clifford - Rosa Mundi - Henry's mistress and involves Adelia who has trained as a doctor, trying to unmask the murderer and putting her own life in danger in the process. Her lover is a Bishop who she refuses to marry and who is involved in the investigation. Brilliant sparkling dialogue and excellent characters and plot. I loved it.

The wanderer returns

He actually returned yesterday after saying he was all right to come home first thing in the morning when I could tell from his voice he wasn't really well. Fortunately it was going to take me about 2 hours to get there and he for some reason didn't want to go in a taxi on his own. By the time I got there the hospital were saying well you'd better have lunch first and see if you're sick again. He'd been sick 3 or 4 times on Sunday. He is definitely a lot better than he was last week but he now has loads more medication he's got to take which he's not happy about and has been told he must eat more fruit and veg and eat regular meals. I've persuaded him to give it a go, though how long it will last is anyone's guess! Sugar levels are down to pretty well what they should be as they were making sure he ate the right things. So I think that's proved to him that it can be done.

My arm seems as though it's improving still, probably because I've had someone else to take my mind off it.

Perhaps more about books tomorrow.