Wow ! I am feeling like a different person today. A good nights sleep, no temperature, and a brain that feels calm again. Something is working it’s magic on me at last. I had a delicious cafe latte at the ‘friends’ without waiting for the doctors rounds which was a smart move because it is now way past midday and they still have not been round.

I spent last night in a completely different double bedroom. The room I have been in all the rest of the week has been cooking me with a defective thermostat that could not be turned down (not helpful if you happen to be running a fever). Do not know which room I will be in tonight, depends whether the electricians turn up to fix it I guess ? I’ve got clothes scattered in both.

Anyway, good news is that Doctors have now been round and seem pleased with the state of things, to such an extent that the possibility of getting home again in a couple of days has been mentioned. Yippee!!

Christine’s weekend visit was one with a mission: to buy a mini fridge like the one I’d had in my room in B8. It had been so handy to be able to save a yoghurt to have just when needed. I thought it unlikely she would succeed but I was proved wrong! So before she left for home she was able to stock me up with some PetitsFilous and other little goodies. Well done Christine, Argos on-line and google; a formidable combination.

Last night I managed to get through without any temperature spikes for the first time. Today’s latest development is the introduction of 30 mg of steroids to try settling the GvHD. So it will be interesting to see what the next 24 hours bring.

Saturday

Rodger says - Another day and nothing much seemed to happen.

But Christine says:

Rodger is still having spikes of temperature at night and during the day sleeps a lot, but we took a before supper shuffle down the corridor and found out that there is a mysterious 5th floor to the Beatson. Pauline says that she has never dared go up to find out. I shall have to find out if there is a Beast of the Beatson.....

On our return an ominous plate of supper was waiting - Scotch Pie, chips and beans. An unwise attempt at a mouthful was aborted in haste. A bit of Sainsbury’s fruit cocktail was a better option, soft and juicy seems to work better.




The growth factor injection of last night has boosted the unhappy neutrofils which had fallen to a sorry 0.7 and midday’s count was way up at around 4.25. So what with more red blood and a kick up the pants for theneutrofils he should be bouncing off the walls. Hmm, we will both have to learn exceeding patience I'm afraid.

Somehow I have managed to get through another day. Bit of exercise, coffee at the friends; despite fever again mid afternoon.

Two separate doctor’s visits today. The usual mid morning one, and a 1 pm visit from Dr. Andy Clerk, which was most enlightening. Yesterday’s CT. Scan gave no indications of underlying infection. There is only one last thing to rule out and that involves changing the anti-fungial over the weekend. More than likely it will make no difference to the temperature, and so on Monday they will start to treat this as Graft vs Host Disease and begin a course of steroids. The result of the skin biopsy may come back next week too but it may be inconclusive. It will not necessarily prove GvHD is present, on the other hand, it just might.

Temperature was still up in the middle of the night, despite change of antibiotic. I think the doctors are beginning to think more of GvHD as the likely cause, and may switch to use of steroids to combat it. However today’s wee adventure is to go for a CT. Scan yet again. So I have not been allowed any breakfast and have had to drink a foul tasting liquid trace at 6 am and again at 9 am. Now it’s a matter of waiting to see whether the porter is a friendly one or not.

Now it’s midday and I have just heard that the scan is to take place between 1 - 2 pm, which means no lunch as well as no breakfast. Not even allowed a glass of water, which seems ridiculous when I am fevered.

Well the scan eventually took place at 2.40 pm (friendly porter by the way); the ‘wee adventure’ has ended up dominating the day. When I got back an hour later I was offered soup and a sandwich; which I promptly vomited back up, so I am still running on empty. I am not having a good day. The view out of the window has been the best thing about today and that’s not saying a great deal.

Today I had a visitor. Grandfather travelled all the way up from Kelso in the wind and the rain to see me. He is so very good at having a chat and came with an M & S raspberry jelly in time for lunch.

After my usual afternoon snooze, Dr. Travers came in to take a skin biopsy. This consisted of cutting away a small piece from my stomach area followed by one stitch. The idea is to check for any signs of Graft vs Host Disease, which apparently can cause temperature spikes amongst other things. I was also switched to a different antibiotic at lunch time so I am hopeful that at last we may see my temperature coming down and I might regain a bit of brain power and a bit more ‘get-up-and -go’ physical strength. I really am struggling at the moment.

ps. yet another blood transfusion this evening, so that should be giving things a lift by tomorrow.

Well, here we go all over again.... back at the Beatson Glasgow and very glad to be here after a very shaky few days of uncertainty and feeling ill from a high temperature. I feel confidant things will get sorted out here, although it may take a day or two before they come up with the right combination of antibiotics.

It’s wonderful just to be free and no longer tethered to my blue robot. Free to swing both arms and stroll up and down the corridor; free to visit the ‘Friends’ for a morning coffee; and free to do some Tai Chi exercises for the first time in nearly 5 days. It’s amazing how weak I have become over that period. I had to take rests 3 times while trying to complete the tai Chi form (which normally takes 15 minutes). But I suppose that is also an indicator as to me being not completely well just now. Just because I have been given paracetamol to bring the temperature down.

Meanwhile outside the rain just keeps on falling.

The Beatson Shuffle

Perhaps the weekends low ebb spirit wise was not just the let down of finding himself back in hospital after such a fleeting glimpse of home, as by Monday morning Rodger still had a temperature which if anything was slightly higher. It was an early start, battling through Dumfries traffic, still chaos on the bridge after the floods, to drive him up to Glasgow for the first post-transplant outpatients appointment.

No car parking space as usual and as Rodger was clearly pretty shaky I dropped him off at the door and did a little admittedly creative parking at the back - in no ones way, off the pavement and no visible no parking signs, (more of this later), and ran back to ‘see’ him round to the outpatients.

It was actually a relief to both of us to be told that he should stay. It feels really safe here with its double air locked doors and specialist doctors and nurses. Ward 9, another identical room but this time with a car park view. Yes, getting back to car parks...... after the inevitable longer-than-hoped length of time it took to get thorough clinic waiting rooms, and re admission procedures, I had to run back down to the car to fetch the list of medications to show to the ward doctor. It felt like a real kick in the teeth kick to find a car parking ticket! Expletive, Expletive, how do they expect one to get a sick man to hospital, etc. etc. However a lovely medical looking woman I met in the lift saw both my ticket and my expression, and told me not to worry and led me round to the desk in the ward saying that THEY would sort it out for me. So from heartless to hearts of gold!

One of the discomforts for Rodger, probably from being hunched over with a sore stomach for so long followed by little exercise save the 'Beatson Shuffle' *, has been a grumbling sore back. Over the weekend it was clearly causing him some distress. So a big thanks to Samba Sister Anne who so kindly came over last night and gave Rodger a massage.

While I was out at the car making a phone call Rodger had a chest x-ray, this time with a high tech mobile x-ray unit which came to him. It sounded amazing, I was sorry to have missed it. After a sleep and some paracetemol he's feeling a little brighter and we await results and decisions.

*So named last week as we were leaving, spirits high, and we noticed a Rodger look-alike shuffling through the door of the 'Friends' last week. 'Look, he's doing the Beatson Shuffle', we joked!


Posted by the Secretary

Stop Press

Stop Press:

The latest news is that we have no certainty what so ever as to where I will be by tomorrow afternoon. CRP levels are staying above normal, temperature still proving erratic. The Beatson, Glasgow, may decide to readmit me when we get up there. So we are having to go prepared for any eventuality.

This is a photo of my little blue robot to which I have been permanently tethered for the past few days. Everywhere I go, it comes too; even in the shower (well almost). If I need to take a walk to stretch my legs I have to push the blue robot along beside me. It does feel like a bit of a restriction, but the nurses have given me no choice in the matter. Besides it is only for another 24 hours and then I will be discharged from the Infirmary and be driven up to Glasgow for the first of my regular Monday morning clincs. Hopefully after that I will be returning home once more; but for how long, this next time, is anybody’s guess.

Yesterday was a hard day to get through. The ‘carrot’ of being home, snatched away after less than 30 hours, psychologically destroyed me. And I was so tired from all the ‘middle of the night’ hospital induction processing.

I did not feel I could really set my mind to anything. There was a new novel to read but I could not get into it; and my eye lids kept clanging shut because I could not concentrate. I was a wreck. Let’s hope today proves to be better. The only good thing about yesterday was that I got to see both my boys, and Christine, all on separate visits. Oskar called in on on the way past, on one of his rare visits home from Sheffield.

I headed off to bed quite early last night but never got to sleep in it ! It is now 8.50 am in the morning and I am writing this from ward 7 of Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary !

My strict instructions from Glasgow on discharge were to take my temperature at least twice a day and phone them if it went above 37.5 oC. Unfortunately last night it went up, and then carried on going up, so the emergency plan had to be rolled out. Christine drove me in through lashing rain, wind and floods at midnight. It was 3 am before the antibiotics were eventually given to me; and a second batch has just gone in to my arm. What a lark ! The joys of being in such a delicate state of health. Perhaps Glasgow discharged me a little prematurely but at least this is a change of scene.

I reckon I will be transferred to ward 10, haematology, later today. Not sure how long I’ll be here yet - could be 5 or 6 days at a guess.

What a sweet sight to come down to, after my afternoon snooze; Christine and Inigo side by side on the sofa, looking at web design sites on her new lap top, wirelessly connected to the internet. Thanks to Elizabeth and Philip - she loves it with a passion.

The first full day at home has been most relaxing, free from the constant monitoring of blood pressure, temperature, yet more tablets etc.; wonderful to be free of that hospital routine. Wonderful to be presented with some tempting, appetising home cooking.

Home!

This morning’s visit to the ‘Friends’ for morning coffee saw me making a new friend - Gobi. We have been saying ‘Hi’ to each other for several days and were already on first name terms but today he decided to come and chat and really get to know me. He’s a workaholic with ‘iPhone’ and 10” inch mini computer and is treating his stay at the Beatson for Chemo like an extension to his office. He is a Sri Lankan bio chemist working for the NHS and has attended lectures given by my brother-in-law in his roll as professor of psychiatry. Small world ! His field of study is the long term effects of binge drinking and its connection with dementia and the time bomb that is ticking for the NHS. Scary stuff.

This afternoon saw more signs of preparation to leave tomorrow. I had to breath in Pentamidine through a nebulizer for about 20 minutes. It’s to protect my lungs for the next month while I’m breathing ‘normal’ air; and then in a months time it will be repeated. This evening I am due the first of two bags of red blood cells to give my haemoglobin levels a wee boost prior to leaving. This could be my last night in here; how exciting after 5 solid weeks !

I am beginning to get excited at the thought of leaving Ward B8 and heading for home. I know that there will still be a long road to recovery when I get home. Everyone keeps saying try not to run before you can walk, but really I just need to get out of shuffle mode and into walk mode and I’ll be happy. Developing a rash yesterday afternoon was a bit dismaying; please do not let it cause delays to my discharge I willed the doctors on their rounds this morning. It could be the first sign of a little Graft vs Host disease (GvHD) or it could be a reaction to all the various drugs I’m on. The antibiotics finish today and then there will be 24 hours of monitoring to make sure the temperature does not go above 37oC. All being well, Wednesday could be release day.... yippee !

Well, Christine and I never smelt it, but one of the nurses decided she could smell electrical burning in my room, and she fetched another and another and suddenly it was time for fire alarms and the pair of us had to abandon my room.... permanently. We spent the next hour, when I usually have an afternoon nap, just moving every scrap of clothing, toiletries, CDs, books, posters and get-well cards from room 6 on one side of the corridor to room 9; it’s mirror image on the other side. Internally the room is identical in layout but when I leave it I have to remember to turn right instead of left; and the window faces South which means there is no reflected light from the building opposite. The best thing about the new room is that the air conditioning fan is quieter through working less hard because the door pressure seals are much better.
So eventually I got a late afternoon snooze and Christine went off for some fresh air and exercise down the road. Earlier the morning had been taken up by Christine and I having an extended coffee break c/o ‘the Friends’ and discussing all the previous day’s events down in Yorkshire, where the time had come for the clearing of my mother’s house, bless her. The family have all rallied round and managed to get the bulk of the sorting done, but there’s more going on today and tomorrow; while I am stuck here like a beached whale counting Neutrophils (which, incidentally, are back to a more expected 1.57)

Today's counts have just arrived. Hb - 91/ Wcc - 2.28/ Neut. - 2.04/ Plts - 20. Exciting to see neutrophils suddenly break through to 2+. Platelets still bumping along at a rather low 20, may mean help required unless they pick up by themselves over the next 3 -4 days.
At long last planet Rodg is beginning to recover from the effects of ‘the Melphalan Bomb’ all those weeks ago. The volcano has just about ceased it’s rumblings and the tension it was causing on the stomach muscles has begun to ease, and with it the quivering feeling of nausea. So all in all a good day. A simple and uneventful typical Saturday in ward B8.
There has been some curiosity as to the state of my hair loss. What seems to have happened is that the areas of most rapid growth in the past have been the ones most effected, while other areas still appear to be unaffected. So I have a rather moth-eaten stubble on my chin and a smooth back of the head, while still having a hairy chest, arms and legs. Whether that hair will go with time or remain is anyone’s guess.

Expedition number three to the ‘Friends’ proved interesting yet again. The coffee was equally good (tea still isn’t hitting the mark). This time I took a novel over with me and sat in the sun until I cooked and had to move to the shade. Not an option back in my own room.
When ‘Sue’(I think that was her name) came to take away my empty cup and half nibbled Kit-kat she struck up conversation. How far away I lived, occupation etc. ? Soon I discovered that Sue was a Royal Academy of Music violin graduate from here in Glasgow and had been taught by Hester Dixon, Christine’s Aunt on her father’s side.
Sue was now heavily involved in running the ‘Friends’ and with hypnotherapy for musicians as well as cancer patients. Hypnotherapy is not something I have ever experienced first hand and was keen to learn more. She was dismissive of the Derren Brown TV, ‘snap-of-the-fingers-and-gone’ type nonsense. But I may get to learn a little more depending on just how long I remain here next week. My Goodness it could get so interesting I might look forward to staying an extra day or so ! There’s positive reverse thinking for you ! The latest ‘maybe home’ date from a different, more senior doctor is next Wednesday; so still the illusive 5 day gap remains.

Today a possible return home date was mentioned for the first time -next Tuesday ! (if all remains well). Five days from now, maybe; if we can keep the temperature low and stable over that period. Fingers crossed for that one.

The rest of the day has felt like steady progress; I think Christine managed to inject a bit more of a spring in my step on her visit yesterday. And the blood counts have continued to make steady progress over the last three days. The haemoglobin holding steady at about 94 while the white count has shown small but steady progress moving from 1.63 to 1.70 of which the neutrophils moved from 1.47 to 1.52. Finally platelets have held steady at about 25 which has not been much of a fall away since the last transfusion, when they were 30. But still well short of a nice safe 80.

My adventure for the day consisted of an expedition to the ‘Friends of the Beatson’ for a repeat of yesterday’s delicious cup of Coffee Latte. I also went with my Mac iBook under my arm hoping to do a USB connection to a printer. However the place is run by a bunch of non tech women who have to call engineers out for all their PC machines. They were too nervy to let me start touching any wires what so ever, so I had to beat a hasty retreat; defeated I’m afraid. Pity they don’t just have a spare printer. I have so many fragments and ideas written out on the lap top it would have been nice to have them out in the real world to peruse at leisure.

Christine made the 2 1/2 hour trek up from Galloway this morning and arrived mid morning, she insisted that we should take a walk and see some new horizons. The sensation of walking, taking myself from A to B via C, felt like a new experience although perhaps more of a shuffle than a walk. The Friends of the Beatson brought us two delicious coffees on a tray, frothy with chocolate on top, which I tentatively tried along with half a kit-kat. It is first time I’ve had either for over a month. They went down surprisingly well. We sat by a window overlooking some gardens and views of snow on the distant Ochil Hills. It made for a very pleasant change from the claustrophobia of my room back away down the corridor. It also meant I did not need a sleep until 3 pm.!
The night before had been uneventful, as was early this morning, thankfully no nausea and no temperature. We just need a couple more days without spikes of temp. and they might start to reconsider a discharge date for me. I feel ready for a change. The place is beginning to weigh heavily on me. Three weeks now since Transplant and oh boy are the days beginning to tick by slowly.

And I just want to say a big thanks to all for the lovely get-well cards.

For those of you requiring continuity of plot line (and there’s more than one would imagine) here are the facts and figures that help outline just where we have got to in the space of a week. On the 2nd Nov, Haemoglobin was 94 it has held fairly steady throughout and on the 9th Nov. was 95. The white count was 0.11, of which neurophils made up 0.03, has now risen to 1.34, of which neutrophils now make up 1.18, so steady progress on that front. Finally platelets, were 15 then struggled to get to 19 then fell back to 13 followed by a platelet transfusion which has boosted them to 30 by the 9th Nov. So steady progress all round. Well short of normal counts but enough that by the end of another week they may well allow me out of here. If only we can clear up this grumbling infection.

Well here I am in the CT- scan holding area; computers screens arrayed in long lines through a door to the left. A recorded american man’s voice booms through leaded doors behind me: ‘Breath in, hold your breath - breath out’. Fragments of conversation escape from other doors as I sip water and wait.
Then it’s my turn to go through the doughnut. I get a different one with a friendly male North of England accent. I never knew they came in such varieties. I wonder if they have names ? The Dumfries one sounds like the queen.
Finally comes the wait for the illusive porter - precious as gold dust. Twenty five minutes this time. It is the same one that brought me. I give him a friendly greeting and decide to break the ice and discover that Bert likes a nice bit of a joke on patients relatives and the maze of subterranean corridors which are his home.
The lead up to all this had not been so good. More sickness last night and again this morning trying to drink the trace liquid they need for a good scan. Plus another 38 O C temperature spike. Later today they swapped to a second alternative pair of antibiotics to see if they could nobble the little blighters causing the problem.
And so the day ticked by, one of gradual improvement from a very shaky start. Now it is dusk once more. Blog time.

Today started at 5 am. with a pounding headache. It seemed to be making sleep impossible so I decided to press for nurse. Francis came and took my temperature... it was 38.2 hence the headache. Some soluable paracetemol was gratefully recieved. When I woke again just before breakfast I was soaked in a feverish damp and had to change my top. But the rest of the morning progressed well and I felt bright enough to carry on with some more research and writing. And managed Tai Chi exercises after my shower. By late lunch I was whacked and so put on Jan Gabarek’s Rites and floated off into dreamland. Now I am staring at this screen and writing, one eye on the clock which tells me supper is barely 45mins away, and thinking I do not want to eat. While this other little voice in my head keeps urging me to have a go, knowing what the weight loss and muscle degeneration can be after something as major as this. Maybe I will just settle for a CalShake (fortified milk shake) this evening, they go down so easily compared with all the stinky savoury mush on offer here.

Did I really say: ‘and nothing happened’ yesterday ? I had barely published the blog when my temperature crossed the 38 centigrade ‘thin red line’ on two consecutive tests. That meant mobilising the emergency rescue plan. Another platelet transfusion plus two broad spectrum antibiotics to be administered every 6 hours; Piperacillin - Tazobactam and Gentamycin. They will continue for the next 4-5 days to see if they can head off what ever the problem is. Oh goodie ! Watch this space for more crazy antics in the life of Rodg. It is very humbling to consider how many people are devoting bits of their life to keeping me alive just now. I feel a great weight of responsibility to lead a life that reflects this when I eventually emerge on the other side.

And Nothing Happened

I really think we’ve got to the boring bit of this story. Our youngest son, Inigo, whilst at primary school, used to write a strip cartoon called ‘the adventures of Dilly Dan Doo. There was often a little blank white square interspersed amongst all these amazing shaded drawings that simply had the caption: ‘And nothing happened’

Yesterday I was sick, today I wasn’t. Yesterday I was wheeled across to the Gartnavel Hospital X-ray unit armed with nothing but a face mask. The whole grim grey building looks like the Maryhill slums: a massive slab of a tower block. I did not have long to wait before I was wheeled in and stood with my chin above the screen. They needed to check-out my lungs because of odd spikes of temp over the last 3-4 days. Then came the wait to get a porter to take me back - they are elusive as gold dust and grumpy to a man. After a half hour or so of listening to harsh coughs and wet sneezes emanating from every room and corridor in the vicinity I decided it might make a lot more sense to get back under my own steam. Alas I only made it as far as the end of the corridor before an “excuse me” hauled me back to my place damn it. Should just have dashed out the front door instead of trying to retrace my steps down to the tunnel. Well another 15 mins went by and at last a porter arrived wheeling in a grey-haired old lady. I gave him a friendly hail only to be met by a look from him that you reserve for what you normally cough into a handkerchief during a heavy cold. ‘And a merry christmas to you mate ! ‘ I muttered under my breath, as he stomped off without a word. Eventually the nice young irish lass that had actually done the X-ray took the initiative and wheeled me back, avoiding any crowded lifts. The whole adventure took well over an hour.

Today's results were inconclusive so they’ll just continue to be vigilant until Mondays X-ray meeting. What it has done , though, is to slow down their plans to throw me out of here at the minimum one month period. Things may be delayed by another week or so. ‘Thank God’ shouts Christine, who was getting in a total panic at their mutterings of discharge. She’s planning to be up again on Sunday having sort of caught up on the ‘mail mountain’, the laundry mountain, and the fluffy ‘can-I-have-a-cuddle?’ puss mountain.

Todays breakfast was quite bland compared with yesterday’s. The coloured stuff arrived much later....




....I stared at them and wondered if they were trying to tell me something

Another two bags of blood, late yesterday evening, has put a spring in my step today, lets hope it contunues. It was interesting to learn that from now on all blood that I recieve will be O+ve; All my life up to now I have been B+ve. So for quite a while to come I am going to have these two types swirling around together until the O+ve becomes the dominant at some unknown point in the future. Vive La France !

Christine has been very impatient regarding the falling out of all my hair. Today I was able to text her and say my beard is coming out in tuffts this morning. At last she’ll get to see this strange, other person she unknowingly married. I think you may have to wait a few days yet before you get to see a photo.

ps. Never heard a bang or saw a flash last night; only the faint hint of wood smoke coming in the air system. A strange bonfire night.

Day T.+14

Well wasn’t breakfast colourful this morning ?
I managed it though... but only just. Still feeling very washed-out and nausea not far off.
When the anti-sickness pills, arrived half an hour before lunch, I dutifully attempted the first wee white pill. In less than a minute it was back up again, drat it! So that was lunch a non-starter.

Christine came back in just after that minor setback: she had been vacating her room for the next poor sole’s stint of vigilance. She has been camping out in it for the past two weeks and fitting in visits to the laundrette and the local supermarket. She will be home for a couple of days and be back on Sunday. It’s bonfire night tonight... I wonder whether the odd rocket will stray into my little corner of sky?

And then a foot massagist just appeared in my room from the ‘Friends of the Beatson’. Totally magic treat for ma’feet. I can add that to my Indian head massage experience of a few days back. My toes are tingling.

Day 12

Maybe burning the midnight oil last night wasn’t such a good idea. I’ve been playing catch up all day. But it was great to have a brain for a couple of hours yesterday evening. I’m carrying a lot of onboard fluid at the moment - my legs look like tree trunks, with podgy toes sticking out the bottom. A good excuse to sit with my feet up and snooze.

The Neutrofil count was up again to 0.90, and platelets continue to go up. Definitely the first green shoots of recovery. I was allowed ‘out’ and took a brief trip through the airlock across the corridor to have a peep at the room where Christine has been staying for the past two weeks. She has a fantastic roofscape view. The trees are nearly bare, three weeks of leaf fall since I last saw them.

Day 11

Somewhere under the rainbow, things are on the move. The neutrofils have jumped from 0.03 to 0.53. It's been a good day, free from nausea and for most of the day unhooked from a machine. I even managed to have a shot at my Tai Chi form in two separate sessions with a rest in between. Need a snooze now, that was a busy day!


....and thank you Ronald, for sending this very helpful suggestion for a more becoming line in hospital night attire.

Well... all this waiting is beginning to get a bit of a bore. But I am reliably informed that the ‘counts’ are on the move. Yesterday the White Count was 0.04 and today was 0.11 (normal for me is about 7.5). Small beginnings I know, but something to build upon. Platelets were 15 today; ideally they should be over 100, so bumps and knocks are to be avoided.

They are trying to ween me off this psycho-tropic drug that has been given to me through a tube to the stomach muscles. Swapping to a slow release tablet. However, 30 minutes before the other anti-sickness tablets arrived, the inevitable happened... Have you ever been half way through a pee and suddenly had an urge to retch ? Interesting experience.
Didn’t know what to hold where.

But I think maybe the water is beginning to taste better.

Day 9

When I come out of my visitor's room I am greeted by three impressive lino prints, wonderfully familiar in their style and execution. But of course they are, they are Clare Melinsky's, our friend from Galloway.




Thank you Clare not only for such a cheering visual delight.....

......but also for sending this scanned leaf. Rodger was just saying how he missed seeing a single plant or tree. (Flowers are not allowed here).

I thought that these images would make a welcome change from tubes and buckets.

It was quite a good day today, the new blood added a bit of colour and wellbeing, just a pity the attempt at a Calshake and supper was an abortive failure.

(Posted by the secretary)