No Sleep 'Til Kettering ...

Strands of sunshine eventually force their way through the gap between the curtains of my room. Morning. London is quiet, too quiet. It must be early. I get up and look out the window, pleased to see the sun softening the patchwork of tiled Victorian roofs. In the kitchen, teabags are being dropped into cups as a kettle reaches boiling point. I head down the stairs and take my place at the table. Soon Cole appears, clearly having wakened only seconds before. He has never looked less like his promotional photo on the flier. We exchange a glance as we both reach for the Frosties. We know it's the last day of the tour ... Kettering awaits us. Soon we would be driving away from The Smoke, turning our backs on our opening night (twelve hours before, but it felt more like fifteen.) The M1 ... diet Coke ... Ginster's Buffet Bars ... queing for fuel.
For those about to rhyme ... we salute you!
The shortest tours are often the best, in my experience.

This is a quick post just to say a big thank you to my very good friends in Kettering for turning out in droves and supporting us last Saturday at the poetry reading. It was a great experience for Cole, Martin and myself, but perhaps especially for me as it reminded Mary and I of your loyalty and support. Invaluable! Thank you! It will be one of those memories that I look back on for a very long time.

Thanks also to St. Luke's, Holloway for a great evening on the Friday night. Again, kind people with encouraging words. Let's hope we can do it again sometime.

I think I might accidentally have just written a poem that isn't about illness. I am a bit taken aback myself. When I get it right, I'll post it on the blog, just to give us all a break ...

44 and not counting ...

Birthday Celebrations


I am just about to finish the third chemo cycle out of four. (The routine is for me to have chemo for two weeks and then to have a week’s break so that my body can recover; this happens four times.) My visits to the hospital have been quite encouraging and blood tests suggest that my kidney and liver function is normal and also that my white blood cell count is high enough for me to fight off infection. I have to say that to the surprise of many (including myself) I am feeling really well. The skin on my hands and feet has started to peel a bit (lovely image, I know) but other than that … fine! What is even more encouraging is that I have now been completely off pain-killers for over a week. Until I started chemo I was absolutely dependant on them, so it is a good result indeed. So what is the reward for my stamina and resilience? Well, the doctors have decided to increase my period of chemo from three months to six if I remain well until mid-march, which is when the fourth cycle ends. We still face the harsh reality of the disease being in my pelvis, lungs and bones and I guess that has prompted the decision. Anyway, if this very tolerable chemo regime slows the cancer’s progress, then we are happy and very grateful. A scan in March will confirm the effect of the treatment

And so to family news. I’m sure it will surprise none of you that Mary is in the village panto. She is playing the part of a degenerate buffoon … something she has been able to observe at close quarters for almost twenty years. Naomi and Martha are also in it which leaves Joel and I free for a quick visit to Scotland this weekend. On the national theme, Scottish poet Ronnie Kerr and I enjoyed two readings in and around York last weekend. They were well supported by kind people who had nice things to say. A big ‘thank you’ to them. The tour continues with Cole Moreton and Martin Wroe, and we are visiting St. Luke’s Church, Holloway, London on 15th February and Christ The King Church, Kettering on 16th February. I have a reading in Paris later on in March (he dropped casually … you see I really will go anywhere, even after the weekend’s rugby) and two booked for April ...Bristol and Northwood, London.

Well I will bid you farewell on this first day of Lent. Have you given anything up? On the radio this morning a bishop was suggesting that rather than giving something up (negative overtones and all that) we should consider taking something up instead. Good advice, and so I have started shoplifting.

Thanks as always for visiting the blog and for your support.