Well that's one way to start the day. I ate two of my wonderful neighbour's hens' eggs. By which I mean my wonderful neighbour. I have no idea whether her hens are wonderful. Firstly I have never seen them because they live on her croft up the road behind loads of trees. Secondly I couldn't tell a wonderful hen from any other sort. I'm rather glad she doesn't have room for them in the garden next door. If she did have room and they did live there, they would come foraging into my garden and do even more damage to my plants than the dreadful cold winds over the last few days have done.
I was down for my final drugs trial review. The trial is now over. It's been a great success and I'm still on the drug but the NHS is now paying. The best news for me, though, is that I shall remain under the care of the Oncology Prof who looked after me during the Trial. My visits to The Beatson will be fewer for reviews and scans but the intermediate interviews will continue but by phone or video. My August appointment is already in the diary.
My relatively short time in Glasgow was partly because I wasn't having scans and partly because Anna went to the opera in Glyndebourne and partly because I was very anxious not to leave my garden for too long despite neighbourly help watering etc.
I left Lewis after the best day of the year so far on Lewis and arrived home to wind and rain. The photo is me getting ready to feed the birds this morning
Free eggs are always wonderful. I have been living on free goose eggs but they have stopped laying now. I no longer know anyone with hens as the last lot were killed by a fox. I dread to think what the price of a hens egg is. I see butter has gone up to £2.00p/250g in the Co-Op. That's a 33.33% increase in a week. Robbing bastards.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you back safe and sound.
Adrian, thanks for your kind words. Fortunately we have no foxes in the Outer Hebrides. However I'll soon be doing a post on the imbalance of nature here. As for the price of butter I'm not sure who is robbing whom. The Coop is expensive in many things but, I believe, tends to pay farmers more than, eg, Tesco (whose price varies depending on whom they are 'following' that day - and another potential post).
DeleteThe fox is beautiful to look at. How many would you like? I'll see if we have a spare rifle to send as well they have to be managed otherwise their destructive bent soon outweighs their visual appeal. Noisy bastards they are but you soon get used to the racket.
DeleteI cannot adequately express how very good it is to see your face again. And I think any hens that furnish eggs for your breakfast are wonderful, indeed.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Marcheline.
DeleteI am so glad your drug trial was a great success! Those are words that a patient is happy to hear! Hope your weather improves and your garden flourishes!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ellen. Living in the Hebrides one lives in hope more than expectation in respect of both weather and gardens.
DeleteYes, glad drug trials went well.
ReplyDeleteWind and rain in the garden at home is home.
Thank you, Maywyn. And home is good so I accept it for what it is.
DeleteGlad you are staying with the same oncology team. May you stay in good health and may your garden always bloom.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Fran. I have Anonymous problems with Wordpress.
DeleteOh. Last comment was from me, Fran from Hove. How odd to be anonymous.
ReplyDeleteGood to know the drug trial was a success, and you will stay with the oncology team that has been looking after you so well.
ReplyDeleteLike you, I would not be able to tell a wonderful hen from her less wonderful sisters, but I am sure they have differences in character like all animals.
Thank you, Meike. When I used to keep hens I could certainly tell their different personalities.
DeleteI am pleased to see you back here and to hear that your medical treatment has been a success.
ReplyDeleteWe have also had incessantly windy weather here, wreaking havoc with our garden plants. I am becoming very tired of this now and just long for some calm, summer days.
That is a lovely photo of you, by the way.
JayCee, as I woke this morning (Tuesday) to yet another cold, wet and windy almost Midsummer morning and tried to play the Glad Game but, for once, I found it a bit difficult. But then again the land is not scorched and dry with drought adding to the potential woes.
DeleteIt's great to hear that all is well on the medical front, Graham. I can see that filling the birder feeders is an event on Lewis, for which one has to dress for the elements and brave the icy blasts! I have no doubt that the birds appreciate it and if a dram of single malt is your reward it is richly deserved.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I haven't got around to a wee dram at 0800 yet! I have a lot of birds nesting around my garden and, given the reducing numbers, I feel a huge obligation to try and help them have as many young each year as possible.
DeleteGraham, what good news! So delighted to hear that the trial was successful and that you'll be continuing w/ your oncologist. Have been missing your blog garden updates this season. From the base of the mini-mountain in Maine where my roses are finally blooming and the hummingbirds are happily nipping at the feeders.
ReplyDeleteRegina, the idea of having warmth sufficient for hummingbirds occasionally would fill me with joy. In reality I'd be overjoyed if it would simply stop pretending to be January!
DeleteI always fancied the idea of keeping hens but, like you, would prefer to have a garden. Keep well, Graham.
ReplyDeleteTasker, hens and gardens are just not compatible. I used to keep them on the Island in my previous house but they were masters at escaping and scratching up the flowerbeds.
DeleteFresh eggs! They don't come any better.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Red, they do not.
DeleteGlad to hear the trial has been successful and even better that you can continue with the treatment. It sounds like summer is dragging its feet, so hope you have some nicer weather soon. Take care, Mxx
ReplyDeleteThank you, Margaret. Some good weather would be so enjoyable. My New Zealand Family will be over later in the summer too and some sun would be so good.
DeleteHere we're complaining of the heat, which will become more intense this week. It's such a relief to know that our medical help is working. Long may it last.
ReplyDeleteCro, I'm glad we don't have your sort of heat. I like everything in moderation. Well, almost everything.
DeleteGood news about the treatment and the wonderful neighbour's hen's eggs. You look mighty cold for nearly summertime. We have colder than normal weather at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Diane. The temperature was only just reaching double figures and if felt like a lot less in the bitter wind.
DeleteI'm glad your drugs trial was successful. That's great news. X
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jules.
DeleteThose first few sentences would be a nightmare for a translator to make sense of in Swedish (as our grammar would not allow the same confusion) :-) I'm happy for you that the drug trial is over and proved successful for you, and that you also get to 'keep' both the drug and the doctor!!
ReplyDeleteYes, Monica, my medical circumstances has definitely been 'win/win'. English can be a quite absurd language at times.
DeleteThanks so much for clearing up that it's the neighbour who is wonderful, not her hens! We were all wondering which you meant (NOT). I'm glad you are back on your beloved Lewis and glad for the great success with the drug and glad the NHS is continuing to pay for it (by which you mean, of course, everyone is paying for it). We are in the midst of midterm election season over here, Donald Trump and Sarah Palin are in the news almost daily. Seems like old times (NOT). I am in somewhat of a funk this morning, but then I haven't had my morning coffee yet, but thanks for the uplifting post. It helps immeasurably except for the part about the wind and the rain.
ReplyDeleteBob, to be fair to my neighbour's hens, I didn't say that they weren't wonderful. I simply said that I didn't know whether they were or not. The NHS can be the subject of a separate blog post or we'll get sidetracked. You always seem to be in a midterm election season of one sort or another. Where are the great leaders that our once great countries had. Perhaps it's true that we get the leaders we deserve. As for being in a funk I admit that it's a long time since I've heard that word and I hope that the coffee got you out of it.
DeleteP.S. - I just remembred that my current post ends with this: Words are important. Use them wisely.
ReplyDeleteYou used them perfectly and said exactly what you meant. Word order is important in English:
My wonderful neighbour's hens' eggs
My neighbour's wonderful hens' eggs
My neighbour's hens' wonderful eggs
Love live Dawn Treader's wonderful Swedish grammar, where such care is apparently not necessary.
PS Bob, I look forward to reading your current post later today.
DeleteI might have reworded it to read .. hens eggs from my wonderful neighbour. But that would not have elicited the conversation you had with yourself and your readers 😃
DeleteWonderful outcome for both you and the medical trial Graham. Take care.
A selfie!! Hope you appreciate how much that has made my day as much for the pleasure of seeing you looking so well as the very thought of you taking one. Wonderful news after your trial (and trials). Even more wonderful than your neighbour with the hens. I'm feeling slightly lightheaded today, blame the sunshine after the storm (last night). Stay well.
ReplyDeletePauline, as always you made me smile. From the Welcome Swallows in the nests behind the bungalow to the very name of the Uppity Downities I have smily memories associated with you. I'm feeling slightly light-headed too this morning but the reality of life will shortly bring me back down to earth. Or perhaps I've just had too many coffee too quickly.
DeleteMy goodness! Your weather sounds very similar to what we've been experiencing here, Graham. We've had far more than our share of rain over the past months. Many areas were flooded three times over. Then the strong winds arrived. Following all of that, the past week or so has been freezing! I'm awaiting the arrival of a new doona I purchased online. My two furry best mates and I will snuggle up even more when it joins us and the other bed coverings! :)
ReplyDeleteTake good care. :)
Lee, the one thing with which I cannot cope is the cold so I have been wrapped up warm. I would look silly as it comes up to midsummer but for the fact that everyone else here is the same.
DeleteI notice I've gone anonymous again. Pauline
ReplyDeleteAh, Pauline, but I could tell that it was you!
DeleteThat's very helpful your medication was subsidised, that doesn't always happen with what we need the most. And it was nice of your neighbour to share her eggs, you can't beat fresh free range.
ReplyDeleteAmy, I'm very fortunate in both counts. I don't think my medication falls into the super-expensive range fortunately.
DeleteAside from that ferry crossing, you had some good news, Graham, and also good to read that the NHS will cover the medication cost. And, yes your neighbor was wonderful to share the eggs.
ReplyDelete