Phil March

Another caravan year looms large.  We have to get out by 15th January and are not allowed back in until 15th March, even if you forgot your passport.  Which we didn’t, and we don’t want to stay there while the weather id like this either.  When you heat a caravan and there is a big temperature difference between the inside and outside, the heat just escapes so quickly.  Anyway, we need new photo’s for passes to get in for this year again, so while Billy and Harriet came for one of my famous Chicken tikka Masala’s we took the opportunity to take mug shots.

Well Billie’s came out more like a mug shot, but luckily Harriets was ok.  Not quite sure when we will be able to stay there again with the snow still lingering around.  I went over the other day but they haven't salted the small roads so there are piles of ice in the road.  Also, I had taken the wrong keys and so couldn’t get in anyway.

 

Of course, we had our wonderful mini cruise this month also.  £199 for 5 nights with all your food, accommodation and transport.  Andy and Jemma (you remember, the software engineer) also couldn’t resist this deal but they also got upgraded to a suite.  What a bargain, £199 for a suite with a butler.

 

They also had a balcony about 3 times larger than ours which was 3 times larger than a normal one as we were at the back.  They still managed to moan about their holiday though with petty things like not liking their butler.  Crazy and their deal even included room service.

 

Andy and Jemma also took the all inclusive drinks offer, as we did for €97.50 each.  A real bargain for us as they were expensive and we had our money’s worth the first day.  It was a real bargain as it included coffee. cocktails and even tips.  And get this;  there was no crap wine.

 

We were lucky enough to get the table we asked for; a table for two.  I know it sounds anti-social, but Claire and I enjoy our own company when we eat.  As you all know we love company and socializing with a drink.  We had a perfect seat in a corner, but close to an old foursome.  They were from Belgium but only the chap on my right could speak English and we spoke no Flemish.  They were a lovely bunch that had met because one couples son had married the others daughter.  Even though they were all great grandparents they had stayed good friends.

 

This is one of me that Claire took sitting in our little corner.

I don’t tend to put many pictures of me on my blogs, mainly because I’m not quick enough to take it and run around in time.  Also, I am always a little surprised to see how fat I am; I still think of myself as thin inside.  Cheers everyone!

Our cruise was divided into two, the first half where the weather was lovely and we could go for long walks.  This was Barcelona. 

Trouble is, if you don’t take the transport, you have to walk for hours just to get there and back.  It didn’t help that the first day I wore new shoes.

They had entertainment in most bars but the main event started after 9pm.  Claire and I never made it one for this, preferring to get stuck in early and finish early.

 

It was still nice weather when we went around Palma.  Although we have been to Majorca loads of times we had never been to Palma before.  I had been keeping my eyes open for a long weekend deal to Palma but this cropped up first.  I guess I couldn’t have got a weekend break there for £199 including transport.  Certainly not all our food as well.  I particularly enjoyed the modern art museum but not so much the art.

 

The ship was large and equipped with lots of facilities.  None of which we used.  There either was not time because the weather was good, or it was too miserable. 

The second half of the cruise the weather turned and got worse and worse so we didn’t get off the ship.  No point walking around in the rain. 

No point in putting any more miserable rainy photos on either. 

This little fountain, I found once our ship had docked for the final time just before we disembarked.  I got lost and stumbled across the healthy restaurant that you had to pay extra in.  Who want to pay extra to eat healthy food on holiday?

It felt like an entire weekend, but we had to wait the whole day in Rome airport.  Time passed so slowly, even though we did escape to the coast for lunch.

Another thing that spoiled our cruise a little, was that my Dad was admitted to hospital when we had only been away for two days and Mum had terrible trouble visiting him in Leicester.

The day we got back we drove to Melton to pick my mum up and take her to visit Dad.  He was suffering.  The ward seemed like a loony ward to me; we had one chap shouting, “Help Me” all the time.  Everyone ignored him, so I guess he had been doing it for some time.  He had been admitted because he had become confessed and weak.  Mum was a little worried about him being admitted because he kept taking his clothes off everywhere he went.

They stopped all his medication and gave him two new drugs.  One as his blood potassium level was so high and the other something to do with helping the blood flow to his brain.  They found a 3 inch diameter growth on his kidney but as he had previously suffered from strokes and has a heart condition, they decided that even if this was malignant they would operate so there was no point giving him the trauma of a biopsy.  He has been sent home but my mum is really struggling to look after him.  We arranged for some home help for her which should start soon.

The other change this month is that we on the Wednesday night group got fed up with the Ship and have agreed a change at the Nags Head in Linford Wood.  Its a nice 15th century stone and thatch but a little small inside.  No sooner have we started going there than George has gone to Majorca for a few weeks so we are now taking it in turns to drive to Stony Stratford where Alfi lives.  As soon as its Chris’s turn to drive he has gone on holiday to Turkey so I have to drive next time.  Have a good one Chris and Vanessa!

The other unexpected change was the weather this month.  We have been hit by climate change.  Alfi hates it being called climate change but thats what it is.  You certainly wouldn’t call it global warming, would you.

We have been hit pretty bad by snow.  I had a look back at last years blog because Claire has had it bound into a book again.  It was glorious sunshine last year and we were in the caravan.  Harriet and her friend came over to sunbathe and visit the swimming pool.  What an incredible change.  Come on global warming, catch up.  Next month, I visit the Barrister that we have chosen to take Daphne’s IFA to court, Mum’s home help starts and we have another cheap holiday in Corfu.  I also might be starting back to work.

Mum & Dad

It was a bit of a week all in all and I don’t feel that we’ve had time to touch the sides since getting back from holiday.  I had every intention of getting to the gym when Phil went to Melton on Tuesday but it didn’t happen.  By the time I’d done some food shopping, cooked a curry, did some washing and domestics & caught up with paperwork it was nearly tea time.  I’d just sat down to watch the telly when Phil walked through the door so that was good timing.

Phil had a successful visit to the hospital, not too sure if ‘successful’ is the right word but I will go with it for now.  Phil said he’d managed to get parked in the disabled car-park and he found a wheelchair almost straight away.  The bonus was that the lifts were back in action so Phil’s mum didn’t have to walk.  Very different to our last visits.  George was sat in his chair, he managed to eat the treats that mum had taken and better still, he stayed awake for the whole visit.

Phil asked to speak to 2 doctors treating his dad and I’m afraid it wasn’t good news.  The mass on dad’s kidney is certainly to be kidney cancer and it’s quite likely that this has metastasised.  A  Cat scan and a biopsy would confirm this but the doctor explained that they have decided not to do any further tests.  The reason being that George, because of his angina and a stroke a couple of years ago, wouldn’t survive surgery and chemotherapy and radiotherapy wouldn’t make much any difference. It was decided that the plan of action would be to sort out correct medications, stabilise and send him home.

And yes it is sad but we have to remember that dad will be 88 this year.  All we can do is make sure that he doesn’t suffer with pain and give him the best possible care.  As it is a 5 hour round trip, leaving from MK and picking up mum and getting her back home before driving back to the flat, we decided to have a day off from visiting on Wednesday.  I went to the gym in the morning, did a bit of shopping at the city centre and made a shepherd’s pie in the afternoon.  Sue came round for sticky ribs and curry in the evening and Phil went out with the Wednesday night boys.  It felt good to be doing something normal.

On Thursday morning Phil went to Melton as mum had phoned to say that George was being discharged and would be coming home in an ambulance.  Phil needed to get his dad’s car back to Melton, also he wanted to give her some support for when dad got back home.  I went to the gym and then picked up Harriet from home and we went to The Old Swan for lunch. We were one of the first diners and managed to get a nice table for 2 by the fire.   After lunch I drove to Melton.

I guess it was half two by the time I arrived and I was surprised to find dad’s chair empty.  I immediately phoned the ward only to be told, that there had been a change of plan.  Apparently the doctor wasn’t happy with the swelling in George’s ankles and had put him back on Furosemide.  Mum was really upset because it was too late to visit the hospital which meant it was 2 days without a visit.  I knew mum wanted us to stay the night but we decided to go home, promising to return the following day.

We left just after nine am on Friday and landed at Melton just before half ten.  We had a very early lunch of left over shepherd’s pie and were en route to Leicester Infirmary at quarter past eleven.  It was a nightmare finding a wheelchair and we eventually reached the ward at half past twelve.  Dad was pleased to see us; he gulped his shandy and ate all of the tinned peaches which mum had to feed him.  I looked at George’s notes and was upset to see that he was wearing a pad.   The pad didn’t seem to work so Bet had to help him to the toilet.  I flagged a nurse to get a clean pad and she went in the toilet to help them. It is so sad to see someone lose their dignity but I guess it’s going to happen to us all at some point.

We managed to speak to a senior nurse and were told that dad would either be discharged that evening or early on Saturday morning.  I could see that Phil’s mum was upset and I know that she was worrying how she manages to cope on her own with an incontinent George.  Unfortunately she had told one of the nurses that she could manage but that was before the incontinence.  I have already got the number for Melton Social Services so that will be my first call on Monday morning.

It was a horrible drive back on Friday evening but we just about managed to avoid the rush hour traffic.  On Saturday we decided to just chill out.   I went into Newport to get Phil’s prescription and then popped in for a cup of coffee with Sue.  We still haven’t really caught up from before our holiday.  Whilst we were on the cruise Sue went to Portugal for an all-in week with Brian.

We decided to walk to the Nags Head for lunch. It was only snowing lightly but it was bitterly cold. I was disappointed that the wood burner wasn’t lit in the pub, but no matter, we had a pleasant lunch.  It was a very brisk walk back to the flat; Phil watched the qualifying and then we chilled vegged out watching movies.  We’d made and received several telephone calls from mum in Melton during the day but she finally called at 8.13 to let us know that George was home. 

Phil has gone to Melton today; Georgina is driving to Whitby but will stop off to see her grandparents.  I decided not to stay home alone. Not only does this give me a change to wash the towels and change the bed, but also I’d like to go to the gym. I do feel guilty about this but I think me and Phil are frequently going to be to and fro to Melton over the new few months, so it might be an idea to spread the load and take it in turns.

Claire Update

Apologies to everyone for my blog neglect.  I have my reasons but I will explain them a bit later.  First this morning, I want to say thanks to Phil for writing and posting a blog for every day whilst we were on the cruise.  It wasn’t easy; he had to re-size every single photograph and the very expensive Wi-Fi connection on The Atlantica was pants.  I didn’t check my emails even once on the boat or whilst in port which is very unusual for me.  Well, you got Phil’s views on our Costa-not-a-lotto experience so now I’m home; in the comfort of the flat I thought I’d give you mine.

As I said on previous blog postings, I didn’t have a high expectation of Costa Atlantica given the very bad internet reviews but I have to confess when I stepped onto the boat I was very pleasantly surprised.  Our dealings with customer service when trying to get our all-inclusive sorted wasn’t very professional but this was soon forgotten when we got to our cabin. 

We had a queen sized bed with my very favourite linen and a large balcony right at the back of the boat.  We had some lovely meals, not of the Queen Mary quality nor 5 star but still nice nosh nonetheless.  I think on our trip there were more Brits sailing than usual bit I for one liked the European mix of different nationalities. I had taken my gym kit but didn’t even make it once for a workout neither did I try the Jacuzzi or the pool which was probably down to the weather.  I would have liked to try the Spa but this was really expensive.   It’s difficult to say much about the entertainment because we didn’t really try it.  The programme looked interesting but obviously not interesting enough to make me want to see it.  Would I go on a Costa Cruise again?  Yes definitely, I wouldn’t pay mega bucks for the experience but at £199 a head, Phil got us a brilliant deal.

The journey home was a bit of a nightmare.  Because of sea-sickness (Phil not me) had a very disturbed night so we decided against going into Rome. Been there, done that and got the t-shirt.  Instead we got the bus into a town near to the airport.  We had a nice lunch but it wasn’t very warm and there wasn't much to do in town so we got a taxi back to the airport.  There wasn’t much either to do in Terminal 2 but somehow we whiled away 7 hours before getting on the plane at 9pm.  Customs at Gatwick was a nightmare and it was half two’ish by the time we climbed into bed.

We were up at 7.30am and on the road to Melton Mowbray to pick up mum and take her to Leicester Infirmary to see dad.  Poor mum was in bits when we got to the bungalow.  Phil was asking questions and she was so upset she could barely answer.   We had a cup of tea and Phil drove us to the hospital. Leicester Infirmary is a nightmare.  Parking is a real problem; Phil dropped me and mum off and went to the park the car.  The ward that dad was on was miles away, we asked 2 ambulance man and they very kindly found us a wheelchair and took us all the way to the ward.

George was sat in his chair with a tray of uneaten lunch in front of him.  He wasn’t very happy because the nurse that had been looking after him all week was off duty and on Saturday he hadn’t had his usual shower or shave.  He was confused and he didn’t know who I was when I first went in but he realised once Phil found his way to the ward.  The nursing staff couldn’t tell us anything and there were no doctors to ask.  We were told that we couldn’t see a doctor until Monday.  I wasn’t very impressed, I think MK hospital is awful but you should see Leicester Infirmary.   We got back to the bungalow around 5’ish and ate the lasagne that Phil’s mum had cooked.  We were all knackered and it was lights out for everyone by 10pm.

It was agreed that I would stay with mum and Phil would go back to Milton Keynes.  We’d literally dumped our cases so there was stuff to do like post and shopping etc., etc.  Me and mum got some supplies at Tesco’s; we reheated the leftover lasagne for lunch and then set off for the hospital.  I dropped mum off at the A&E entrance and parked the car.  It took 20 minutes to find her again in A&E but luckily she had nabbed herself a wheel chair.  It took almost an hour to get to the Odemes ward in the Victoria building.  It was probably the furthest building away from A&E.  We asked several people and when we got to the V building the main lift was out of order.  In the end I had to abandon the chair and poor Bet had to climb 2 staircases and walk the length of a long corridor to get to the ward.

We got there eventually only to find a not very happy George slumped in his chair.  I have to say he didn’t look very well.  They’d hooked him up to a saline drip because he wasn’t drinking enough and once again his lunch was totally untouched.  Bet tried to coax him into eating but this made him mad and the situation even worse.  Once again, he’d had no shave or shower which I found appalling.  George didn’t want to talk and I think he was quite glad when we finally left a couple of hours later.  I asked the Ward Sister to arrange a wheelchair and a porter and poor mum was sobbing silently as she was wheeled out of the ward.  Luckily the lift by the chapel was working so we got to our car parking entrance without mum having to walk too far.

I knew Bet was upset; she was very quiet on the way home.  Even though I had a tonne of stuff to sort at home I was glad I was staying the night.  We had a pot of tea and a sandwich for tea and a quiet night watching crap TV.  It was just unfortunate that the hospital phoned just before 9pm to say that George wasn’t producing any urine so they were moving him to a high dependency ward and would probably insert a catheter.  I knew Bet wouldn’t sleep for worry and I was right.  She was in a real dither on Sunday morning after a night of tossing and turning.

I am a morning person but only after a cup of tea.  I struggled to cope with mum asking me what I wanted for breakfast at quarter to six so I took my mug of tea back to bed so I could wake up properly.  We busied ourselves during the morning; Bet cooked homemade chicken noodle soup to take in a flask for George and I did the housework.  I was glad of something to do.  We had a ready meal for lunch and were en route to the hospital by midday.

Once again parking, finding a wheel chair and making to the Kingston ward was a complete NIGHTMARE.  It took ages to locate mum and get a wheelchair.  The main lift was out of order and so was the chapel lift so once again we had ditch the chair and take the stairs.  It was not surprising that Bet was knackered and stressed by the time we entered the new ward.  I asked a nurse if she could page a doctor before we made our way to George.  If I thought the Odemes ward was depressing, you should have seen the Kingston ward.  30 beds full of grey haired men all of whom looked well past their prime.  Think of ‘One Flew of the Cuckoo’s Nest’ and you will get the picture.  I know this sounds mean and I jest, perhaps because it was so upsetting to see.

Thankfully George looked much better than the day before.  He had been given a shave and a bed bath and was sat up looking quite perky in his day chair.  I saw from his charts that he’d eaten all of his breakfast, he hadn’t been sick and had managed 2 puddings for lunch.  He even managed a cup of the chicken noodle soup.  Phil’s mum was looking much happier and things were looking up until the junior doctor introduced himself and pulled the curtain around the bed.

I had really wanted to speak to the doctor by myself but it wasn’t to be.  George had been admitted because of confusion but also blood tests done by his GP showed that his liver and kidneys were not functioning properly.  The doctor said that the ultrasound that they’d done last Friday showed that George’s prostate was enlarged and bloods revealed a raised PSA level.  This didn’t worry me because I know this is common in older men but I was very concerned when I was told that the ultrasound revealed a mass on the left kidney.  He went on to explain that a full cat scan would be done (probably today) and only then would they know what they were treating.  Fortunately George didn’t really understand what the doctor was saying and neither did Bet.

Getting back to the car was another nightmare but I won’t bore you with the details.  Bet did ask me on the way home what a mass was but I was deliberately vague.  She was just happy that George was eating and drinking and I didn’t want to worry her, especially as I was leaving her home alone and driving home last night.  I got to the bungalow at 4 and left at 4.15pm.  Melton town was busy as was the M1 but I got home for quarter to 6 which was good.

I was knackered but so glad to be back home.   When I sent Phil home on Saturday I gave him a list of things to do.  He’d done everything including all of his ironing (his not mine) which surprised me.  I have so many things to do today but first I wanted to write my blog.  We were awake before 6am this morning and Phil set off for Melton an hour later.  He is having lunch with mum and then visiting his dad in hospital but is driving back later this afternoon.  Bless her; I phoned Phil’s mum just after Phil left to let her know what time Phil would be in Melton.  She wanted to know so she could get the dinner ready so they could get to the hospital by 12 pm.  

I told Bet, when she asked me, whether she should have the lunch ready for 9am and I said no, that she should not do anything with lunch until Phil arrived!  I think we are facing a journey in 2013 with the old folks and it’s not really one that I want to be on.  But such is life and you just have to get on with it.

Civitavecchia, Rome Day 6

Civitavecchia is a sea port in the province of Rome in the region of Lazio in Italy.  The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater on which is a lighthouse.  Situated north west of Rome, the name means “ancient town”.  The city was built over the pre-existing Etruscan settlement around AD 107.  Today, Civitavecchia is a major cruise and ferry port; in fact where our mini cruise terminates.

The massive Forte Michelangelo was commissioned to defend the port of Rome.  Michelangelo, did in fact, design the upper part of the “maschio” tower.  In December 2012, the network, “Civitavecchia WiFi” was opened to allow its citizens free internet access.

What a night!  I have never known such a rough sea before, and we have had some bad ones.  It started when we left port at lunchtime and didn't stop until around 8am the following day.  I managed to have lunch with Claire, Andy and Jeanette and it was quite nice.  We had a drink after dinner and a cup of coffee at the chocolate bar and then went to bed.  As our bed is at the back corner it was unbelievable.  I could hardly read I felt so bad.  We had our leaving talk at 4.30pm so we went down to meet the others for that and I felt so bad I came straight back to bed and didn't get up until 6am the following morning.  Even then I didn't get up.

Claire went down to dinner on her own and was supposed to bring me something to eat back with her.  When she came back, not only had she forgot to get me anything but had lost her Costa card again.  I had to finish packing the bags and put them outside in my state.  They had to be out by 1am to take down to the disembark storage station.  I tried to get some sleep but it was like trying to sleep on a roller coaster.  The draws and cupboard doors have poppers so they don’t keep opening and closing but it was so bad they did anyway.  The tv bracket was quite stiff but it swung freely all night; I was sure that something would break.  A couple of times I feared for our lives; well mine anyway.  It was almost as if we hit something several times, incredible power.  Just think how big and heavy these cruise liners are and the waves thrash us around like a rag doll.  I can’t imagine the amount of power needed to do that.  Just think what machine you would need to even lift one.

Morning eventually came and it got quieter the closer we got to port.  I noticed a little tug pushing us sideways just below us.  I was starving so I went to breakfast while Claire had a shower.  Best breakfast since we got here, I found someone frying eggs to order so I had a couple with some crispy bacon and had one of their nice rolls with it.  I took a plateful of fruit and yoghurt back for Claire.  We had t0 be out of our room by 8am and we still hadn't docked by then but I took my back and things and we sat up on the pool deck and read until our shuttle bus was ready at 10.30am.

The shuttle took about an hour to get us to the airport but our flight didn’t leave until 9pm.  We found the left luggage place and got shut of that then found a free bus to the coast at a little one horse town called ?.  We walked around wondering which way it was to the coast; there were no clues from the signs or what the roads looked like.  I decided that sea level was always lower than the land and that in the day the breeze came from the sea, so we walked downhill into the wind.  The tactic worked but it was quite a walk and when we got there there was nothing to see but a big pile of boulders anyway.  We walked back to a reasonable restaurant we had spotted for lunch and settled for a pizza.  Not one of my favorites but my stomach was still a little dodgy and I didn't fancy the fish that our chosen place specialized in.  We should have had one between us as they were gianourmous.  We did share a starter which was lovely;  sliced tomato, mozzarella and basil leaves with wonderful crusty bread, oil and balsamic.  Proper Italian food.

 

 We walked back to where the bus stop was but it didnt mention the airport so I flagged a taxi down back to the airport where I am writing this waiting for another 7 hours for our flight.  Who organized this trip?

 No more news about my dad as mum couldn’t get to see him until today.  Last news was that he was in the middle of test but they still hadn’t diagnosed anything.  Only that the areas of concentration were his kidney and liver still.  They are hoping that once they know what is wrong that they can treat him at Melton hospital so that mum can get there.  Claire and I will probably drive to Melton on Saturday (when this blog is posted) and stay the night so we can take mum to visit him.  I had an answer phone message from Rexam today (Friday) so it looks like they are ready for me.  Still I cant phone back until Monday now anyway.  I had better start work there soon other wise we will be on holiday in Corfu again in about a month.  Great value for money cruise, we wouldn’t be frightened of going with Costa again.

Just a quick catchup as its now Saturday morning.  The drama continued, our flight was delayed and Claire got stopped getting on the plane and told that her luggage had to go in the hold but I’m sure she will tell you more about that.  When we got back to London Gatwick there was a horrendous queue. for immigration which must have taken us a couple of hours.  Anyway, we finally got to bed around 2.30am this morning and I still feel like I am on a boat today.  I had a phone message from Rexam so it looks like I will be starting back to work soon.  Just about to phone my mum and we are going there for the weekend.  See you next month.

Palermo Sicily Day 5

Palermo, the capital of Sicily, has a similar history to Cagliari and was founded by the Phoenicians in 734 BC as “Ziz”.  It became part of the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire and eventually part of the Byzantine Empire for over 1000 years.  It has become the fifth most populated city in Italy containing over 1.2 million people.  As the Roman Empire was falling apart, Palermo fell under the control of several Germanic tribes.  The first were the Vandals in AD 440 under the rule of King Krause.

Today, Palermo is a city still struggling to recover from the devastation of uncontrolled growth.  The historic city is still in partial ruins, the traffic is horrific and poverty widespread.  Being the city in which the Italian Mafia historically had its main interests, it has also been a place of well publicized murders.  Palermo has got at least two circuits of city walls; many pieces of which still survive.  Palermo is twinned with Gdansk in Poland and Miami in the USA amongst others.

Last night was Italian night for dinner.  I tried the cuttlefish starter which was dreadful.  It was really tough, a bit like eating thick snot with the nostrils thrown in.  Claire wisely chose a pasta starter.  I had chosen the veal for my main because we never get chance to eat it often in England.  Not sure what meat or cut I was given but it wasn’t like any veal I had ever had before.  Usually its a light almost white meat but this was dark brown with a large bone running through the middle.  It was so tough I couldn’t eat it.  The waiter took it away and then brought me another one.  Not sure if he thought I had a bad one or if he thought I was hungry but this was just as tough as the first.

I was never very impressed by Italian food anyway but you thought that being an Italian ship they would know whet they were doing.  Instead we had the worst meal by far so far.  Although the food was crap, the night was great; they started some music which stopped people eating and they started to dance.  I think they were glad to get away from their food or  maybe it was a distraction to take our  minds of it.  Either way, it worked.

Claire had a dance with our waiter and it wasn’t long before a conga line started which we all joined.  When we got into the main room, we could see that it spread around the entire place.

 

It seemed to turn a bad into a memorable occasion for slightly better reasons than we would have otherwise had.

As we stayed in yesterday, it gave me a chance to catch up on some domestics.  I uploaded Claire’s photo’s from her camera and recharged her battery.  This gives you all chance to see a couple of me.

Claire must have asked someone to take one of the pair of us on the Gala night.  Thats good as we have so few of the pair of us.  I guess that all our friends have more than we do.  This one might even do for the front cover of Claire’s next year blog book.

Cheers everyone.  As we left port before my mum got home from hospital yesterday, I had no mobile connection to be able to talk to her so I emailed Harriet to ask her to ring her when she got home from work explaining our situation again and to email me back with what she found out about my dad.  Harriet must have misunderstood and texted me back so I still had no idea his diagnosis.  This internet is so slow, it takes ages to even upload your email so I was online for longer than it took me to post a blog before my emails came in.  Thats when I realized that Harriet must have texted so I emailed her back again.  I tried  a couple of times but didn’t manage to upload any more emails until this morning when we were pulling into port anyway.

This picture is when we were leaving port yesterday and the clouds looked as if they were beginning to clear so we hoped that we might have more luck with the weather in Palermo.

No such luck; when we arrived this morning at about 5.30am it was still chucking it down.  The clouds must have been clearing somewhere as we had a rainbow.  We decided to go to the buffet bunfight for breakfast as breakfast in our restaurant is the weak link and we thought it was bound to have bacon, beans and tomatoes.  We were so disappointed but the self service was even worse than the other one.  They did have bacon but it tasted of frankfurters.  On the continent they criticize British sausages saying that they are made of crap with hardly any meat content.  These are the same people that offer us fried frankfurters for breakfast.  I rest my case.

As the morning has progressed, the weather has got worse rather than better so we will stay put unless it changes for the better.  There is absolutely no point in walking around in the rain; we wouldn’t enjoy it anyway.  Sorry to moan about the food because yesterday’s lunch was probably the best so far; so its not all bad.  We just happened to get two bad ones on the trot.  At least we know now to stay away from the self service permanently.  Tonight is Gala night; whatever that means?