Wheels old and new

I spent some time with The Yoga mama before she went off to synagogue today. Sitting drinking tea at the dining room table with the sun on the garden and someone to talk with is one of my favourite pastimes.

I then went for a bike ride along the canal; it was perfect weather, and the houseboats looked lovely. This is a bit of machinery left over from days gone by; not sure what it did, maybe the controls of a swing bridge that no longer exists or a small crane for unloading the canal boats.

I treated myself to bruschetta and mushrooms with spinach in Carluccios. I think I have worked out what their secret is; they make them beautifully. TSM came very close yesterday but it's a hard act to follow. A good spot for people watching Carluccios, particularly on a weekday lunchtime.

On the personal front, having had an interesting twelve hours with Percy I was “persuaded” by TSM to ring the consultant this morning for a discussion of my symptoms. The result of this conversation was steroids, self-testing kits, appointments for blood tests and the dark hint of a hospital admission for intravenous drugs if the oral treatments failed. None of this is as bad as it sounds but does constitute modern medicine. I’m lucky because everyone involved is very good and thorough. Also it was all done over the ‘phone which I think is an excellent way to go. A physical appointment would have done nothing except waste people's’ time. So speaks the NHS manager ...