And the snow kept on falling…..

After all I said about amounts of snow yesterday !- still no match for Canada but a fair deposit for us here – and it was still snowing….

Millie is a reasonable sized golden retriever so you can see how deep the snow is . She was actually at this point spending a penny ( or pound now as it appears to be with inflation – just doesn’t have the same ring to it) Anyway poor dog had to squat to squat so to speak – it reminded me of going to the public conveniences as a child and being told by my mother not to sit on the seat, squat above it, because you didn’t know what you might catch…You were then in fear of your life in case you did accidentally sit down and caught some mysterious thing …. and the whole process was extremely stress inducing. I appreciate this will only apply to women of a certain age ( ie my age or older ) Public toilets on the whole have improved their image ( and their fee…) although I still avoid to this day if at all possible!

Well there’s an interesting start to today’s blog…..and I haven’t even ventured outside yet! Some people wondered if I’d be walking today on account of the snow and as I have completed more than 70 km of my 100 km. Of course I’m walking today Dear Reader – remember my addition to the challenge , to walk at least 5 km every day for the 28 days I’m doing it ….no slacking here!

Besides I have to go out …so will kill the proverbial birds with a stone and incorporate at least 5 km into my travels – despite being faced with this….

So off I set ….I wonder if you can guess where to? I’ll give you a clue . When I get there I will remove my clothes , I will be contorted into some bizarre positions, then endure 30 minutes of pain, before getting dressed , paying for the service and leaving. I do hope you all got it right …of course, I went to see my physiotherapist! It was exactly as I imagined and as I was enduring the pain inflicted I did tell her she would feature in my blog later ! She is a brilliant physio ,I don’t know what I’d do without her – and what’s that saying “ No pain, no gain!” – you’d think I was a fool if I’d paid money for nothing now wouldn’t you ?

Her clinic is 1.5 miles away and I had decided to walk. The most direct route is via the now famous Trans Penine Trail or TPT for short . However these photos appeared on Facebook this morning so I decided against it !

So I chose the main road to walk along , to reach my torture session ( sorry , my physio!) Despite it being the main road , there is still plenty of beauty to see

I should perhaps explain why I am visiting a physio anyway – since I have been doing the regular walks, I have noticed some discomfort in my right hip ( I would previously have described it as pain , but then Mel got her fingers working and I felt real pain🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴) Now this could be described as Karma because in my time as a physio I too have inflicted pain ( for the patient’s gain you understand…) However as she was treating my hip area I started chuckling at a memory of my physio training. I remember as a student in the out patient department treating patients ( typically men ) with groin strain. Without going into too much anatomical detail , treatment for said strain involved deep friction of the main tendon that attaches to the pubic bone and friction is applied with the physiotherapist’s index and third fingers. However the blot on the landscape was the garment ( if you can call it that…) given to the men to wear during treatment – they were known as Jesus pants . I wish I could find a photo to show you but they are clearly so antiquated there is no evidence now . Basically imagine a tea towel folded in half lengthwise with long tabs at each corner …..and there you have it! We used to do whatever we could to avoid “ the groin strain” as you might imagine.

It’s funny what you remember from times long gone. The majority of patients are incredibly grateful for what you do for them as a health professional and put you on a pedestal – the ball has been on the other foot for me on several occasions . Despite the tragic outcome of my Caesarian section with Emma – the consultant Willy Porter and Anaesthetist Alan Caunt , who were suddenly called upon to operate will forever be angels to me ,and even now ( and they too may now have departed this mortal world) I hold each in the highest esteem. The same goes for the health professionals involved in my breast cancer care …..people are very quick to complain , less so to give praise .

It is funny what you do remember. I clearly remember an elderly couple (can picture them now) – he had a chronic chest condition for which he was receiving treatment ( I should at this point explain that the wards at St Bartholomew’s Hospital were Florence Nightingale wards ie rows of beds down either side of one large space. They were a delightful couple , she came in every day for visiting – then one day as I was administering his physio , he had a cardiac arrest and therefore died. Buttons were pressed , teams were summoned, chest compressions were administered along with a whole load of other medication …. and we were successful , he pulled through. I remember to this day his description to me of what he had seen – he clearly described looking down on us from above as we worked on him, giving details that only someone who was present could give . Amazing ….needless to say he recovered and left hospital and not long after I received a lovely letter from them both 😘

Enough of the old times – if I keep on in this vein we’ll never get to the pub tonight !!! Surprisingly ( or not) I was able to skip away from the physio on my way home …The sun is out and the snow starting to melt as I enter our village …

I arrived home safe and sound to be met by a snowman built by the girls next door and guarding their garden ….

Fortunately he didn’t have a carrot for a nose this year. Last time they built a snowmen with a carrot nose was most embarrassing- Millie went to sniff said Snowman and promptly stole and ate his nose! All in full view of their video doorbell 🙄🙄🙄 Thank goodness we’re friends 🥰🥰

We should count our blessings here with only one foot of snow. Apparently in Pontefract they’ve got two feet of snow ….

Until tomorrow Dear Reader …….