Had the slice taken out of my neck, bandages all off now and it looks fabulous, you would hardly know, whereas with the bandages on I looked like I had a last minute reprieve from the gilotine ( I know you don't spell it like that, sorry all you French speakers out there).

Managed to wangle a night in hospital by going on the stepper just before they took my pulse, it was obviously so high they wanted to keep me in and check I was ok. I had a couple of cups of tea with added sugar, such a hospital treat! And lime jelly, apricot yogurt, mashed swede, and 2 types of soup. All very satisfactory. Not all in the same bowl, btw. Having not been to Bitterne for nearly a fortnight, the gods looked kindly on me and sent one of the lifeguards from the pool to be in the bed next door, so I immediately felt at home, and safe if there were a sudden flood. Although as she had just had an op herself, maybe I shouldn't have been relying on her to rescue me.

General anaesthetic lived up to expectations, lovely anaesthetist, who said: 'See you at 11.30' like we were going out for coffee. I dressed up for the date, with a rather fetching gown with 'property of Southampton NHS Trust' in a detailed motif all over it.

I came home on Saturday tea time, and spent Sunday and Monday being very tired and pathetic and weak, and then since then have been increasingly a. mobile b. bored. Read Hello magazine from cover to cover, so am now totally up to date with all the celebs. None of them wearing the 'Southampton NHS Trust gown though. Can't really do a great deal of anything exciting but am not really rough, just getting tired easily, and trying to take things slow. Watched Countdown yesterday, and Bargain Hunt the day before. But they have changed the presenters and its not the same without Richard and David. Weird, the timing of this op and enforced slowness in my life, as of Sunday we will not have any church meetings or kids work to run on Sunday mornings, my kids work leading job is finishing, and I don't have any teaching booked in for this term. I guess I am as unemployed as I have ever been. Should I claim job seekers allowance? Maybe? The last time I was properly unemployed was in Sheffield in 1995, and I went to a job club 4 mornings a week and got paid a bike allowance for cycling there. I got income support of 8p a week awarded, but never received a penny of it. I applied for some ridiculous jobs, and then got a ridiculous job working in Worksop. I am seeking a job, so I am a job seeker, but not that worried if I don't find one, as I think God has a plan and this slowness in my life is for learning some important things about myself and about God and about the world. And I have plans to redecorate the hall, stairs and landing and am desperate to get my veggies going in the garden.

And clearly Bitterne needs me in this time of change. A went yesteday with AJ, and I am relieved to hear that the Bakers Oven is still going strong. R took the girls to their swimming lessons, BOTH AT 5 PM!!!! and was impressed particularly with H swimming lengths of front crawl. I can't do that! R and H had their first sail last Friday, it was really windy, and two seasoned sailors sucked their lips in when they saw them going out. They only went out about 20 m from the shore, and were checking for leaks - of which there were some. H was fearless, and I was able to watch after a bit! Really proud of her, but had that 'its my baby out there in a titchy boat' moment, but glad I trust R's sailing ability.

Did I tell you about our ghastly Furzey Gardens experience? We went in the holidays, and it was packed with children hunting for the little fairy houses that have been popping up in the gardens. Its lovely, and the girls love it, but it was noisy, with people shouting across the pond, which is just not in the spirit of the place. And, to top it all, a dad playing baseball with his girl up on the main lawn, hitting the ball towards the terrace. Surely he could have taken her to the park to do that? I was feeling very intolerant of these people encroaching on my special sacred retreat place. Still my own bloody fault for telling too many people about it. Probably all read it on my blog and bounded off down there. Next time I find a nice secret place I will keep it a secret and not even tell my closest friends. Yeah right. I just can't help sharing good news with you all! Maybe I will do some false leads in here and get everyone somewhere else, that's horrid, and I never go to. Ha! That's the trick!