The Day went well.

I could have been nervous at meeting an Emeritus Professor but a bit of googling told me that in addition to the medical publications she has written she has also penned two books about her recalcitrant Golden Retriever puppy – ‘Barking Mad in Barnstaple’ and ‘Still Barking’.


She greeted me with a smile, a warm handshake and asked me if that was really my age – which brightened my day somewhat. After lots of questions and a thorough going over it seems there is a good chance I won’t need an operation but heavy lifting is a no no. I now realise that over the last year when MTL has been less mobile, rather than wait patiently for him to lift something I have done it myself. Only yesterday I struggled to lift a large pile of blankets up a ladder and into a high cupboard but in the end had to call for help.


The good news is that I got five out of five for my pelvic floor strength – all that tightening up whilst standing at the kitchen sink – and if I do the exercises and follow instructions all should be well when I see her in two months time. I’m always game for a new experience but maybe an abdominal operation is a step too far.


On the way home we were overtaken by a police car with sirens blaring which often means the A39 will be paralysed for hours so we took the pretty twisty way through Monksilver. The Notley Arms looked inviting so we dropped in for lunch and had bobotie pronounced ba-boor-tea, the national dish of South Africa; a delicious mixture of curried meat and fruit topped with an egg custard. The blurb said it was a traditional South African/Cape Malay dish. Every housewife’s dish varies and this was Jane’s recipe from Zimbabwe. It was delicious and then he had bread and butter pudding with custard and I had Somerset apple and almond cake with ice cream.

Good job done.