Unexpected Piano

Today marked another turning point in life. I went into work to collect my various bits and pieces from my desk - mugs, teabags, odd snacks, bits of personal paperwork from the drawers, etc etc etc.

After the Wonderspouse and I had loaded the boxes of stuff into the car, my boss took us for coffee in the cancer centre coffee shop. Rather unexpectedly, there was a splendid Bluthner grand piano in there! The notice placed on top of it reads:

This piano has been installed through the kind generosity of an anonymous donor and Roberts Pianos of Oxford.

We are very grateful for their support and hope patients, visitors and staff will enjoy the piano for many years to come.

If you are a musician please feel free to play! As noise in general can disturb patients please supervise children.

Please do not place anything on top of the piano.

I find the last instruction quite amusing, given that the notice itself is on top of the piano!!!

I was tempted to have a go, but there were too many people about and I'm not confident enough to be listened to on the piano. However, in the car on the way back to the Wonderspouse's office I speculated that I might, after a bit of practice, go back and play it a little - sort of gentle introduction to performing again. Maybe even let my old colleagues know that I'm there! Who knows!

It was surreal going into work. As befits a diabetes unit in a hospital, the foyer was full of patients waiting for appointments, many bariatric, many missing lower limbs. It struck me how familiar the scene was to me, even after 6 months away. The office had its usual goings on, and I finally revealed to my colleagues what was in the locked blue box that they'd been rattling for months and wondering about (spare locker keys).

While we sat having coffee, the Wonderspouse interrogated my boss about muscle biopsies in order to research a potential plot for one of his future books. All very surreal!

Then I went to town, browsed a hardware store that is closing down, and bought various items to go in my toolbox at knocked-down prices, before heading to do some grocery shopping.

Turned into rather a busy day really. But I feel that I really am moving on now. Several things that have dominated my life in the past have recently gone, and I'm beginning to look towards the future. This year certainly hasn't turned out the way I expected back in January when I started this journal. Quite a lot has happened in the last 200 days - goodness knows what'll happen in the next 200!

I don't think I'll try to predict - I'll only be wrong if the last 200 are anything to go by!!!