THE MOUNTAINEERING SHELF

When in doubt, blip a bookshelf. Well, I know I love craning my neck to read what everyone else has in their collection. This seems to have become the Scottish/mountaineering/wildlife section, at the bottom of the stairs to save any undue exertion when fetching a book.

Exertion is not exactly a watch-word for me at the moment. Having coughed my way through the last couple of weeks it seems I may have coughed once too often or once too hard. I have now pulled a muscle and trapped a nerve in my shoulder and it is agony. The most painless position is to have my right arm raised high as though asking to be excused in class, which is the opposite direction for keyboard or mouse usage.

I have been prescribed some mega-painkillers which have yet to prove themselves, though their side effects may mean that I sleep my way through the next few days. That might be a good solution, unless the weird dreams I had last night were another side effect, in which case I may sit up wide awake with the light on!