The long and winding road: The ongoing story of my stroke and cancer

It’s the last Sunday I’m going to spend in Bristol. Well, the last full Sunday, as next week the plan is I’ll be in a transit van somewhere on the UK’s motorways pumped full of drugs. I had planned to move back in the late winter/early spring of this year, but a stroke, then cancer ensured that here I am nine months later finally going back to a city I’ve visited, but not lived in for 28 years.

I’m not looking forward to the actual act of moving. I despise moving, I’ve moved cities before obviously. Glasgow to Leicester, then to London, back to Leicester, then Nottingham, then Bristol, back to Leicester for a bit and in 2000 back to Bristol where I thought I’d be until I was on the verge of retiring. Everything has changed over the last nine months especially and I leave Bristol not for good; I will return for visits but I think this is it next week in terms of moving in my life. When I move to Glasgow next week, that’s it.

The intention is to spend some time recuperating as throughout all the last nine months I’ve also been working (barring a week here or there to recover from surgery, etc) and I’m frankly worn out. Even my GP and oncologist endorse this plan as neither were aware I hadn’t taken time to recuperate properly and in fact, the strain of having to juggle everything contributed to the slipped disc I also have. So, the plan is rest then see what happens but as my boredom threshold is minimal I will be looking for work probably sooner than later. Though I’d like to do something different but that’s not a thought for this side of 2017.

Also with Brexit, I think Scotland offers a refuge of relative sanity to what’s happening in England. I don’t think people in Scotland quite grasp what’s going on down here, and also, if there is a second independence referendum someone like myself is going to provide the sort of voice that wasn’t there for the first one. That again, is a thought for the future.

This week then is finishing work, packing saying a few farewells and for this blog, publishing a few blogs which have been sitting around for nearly a year but remained unfinished, and not relevant thanks to my ill health since February. They’ll be along this week so be prepared. Anyhow, this time next week I’ll be nearly home to rest and then I’ll take it from there..