Gull on heid

This sculpture stands in the bay at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. We have only been here once before but as it was just down the road from the hospital where Mr C had to go for his heart scan, we thought we’d go.

The bay is huge with houses right down to the sea front. However the centre looks poor - plenty fast food takeaways, betting shops and nail bars. The beach was surprisingly quiet considering it is North Tyneside and Northumberland school holidays. True, the wind was cold but it was sunny. Maybe the fact that a lot of the sand was black with seacoal dross puts people off.

Anyway we had a stroll while Mr C told me what information he had gleaned from the scan technician. This person will measure and assess the heart and stuff around it, and send the info to the woman who first identified the issue. She will assess whether it needs to go to a consultant who will decide what, if anything, should be done. Then s/he will write to the GP who will explain to Mr C. The technician thinks there may be vascular arrhythmia at the bottom of the heart. (Last time is was an issue with the top of the heart and he got blood thinners.). This may require beta blockers which aren’t conducive to steep hill-walking - as I found 25 years ago when training to do the K2 base camp trek. We’ll just have to deal with it when/if necessary.

But we are reconciled to no more remote adventure travel. It was a mission getting back from Kashmir with a mere broken ankle so we don’t fancy our chances in the Turkmenistan desert with heart issues. We’ve had a lot of amazing travels and there’s a lot to see in UK not to mention Europe.