8.10 a.m. It’s raining and there is a thunder storm passing over head. The forecast is for thick fog as well. None-the-less, we shall an attempt to go to sea at about 2 p.m today. We have no wind whatsoever at present and this is the first day this week with no wind. We have GPS onboard and good local knowledge so we should be fine dossing about in Castletown bay. I have just remembered I am not supposed to be blogging at weekends anymore. Well, now that I have started, I shall finish.
I ha
1.30 p.m.Today was and still is I guess, another milestone in my battle against cancer. I had my CT scan this morning and now I must wait until Thursday to find out the results. I find these CT Scans just a bit daunting. Lying on a funny bed that moves along with this big camera thing coming down on top of you, not to mention the damn noise of the thing, is not my idea of fun. I had a wonderful nurse though in Kathleen who is from Stranraer. I feel now that I have more or less come to the end of
8.30 a.m. Another fantastic day begins. I have already walked Skipper, had breakfast, and now after a bit of blogging we shall see what the rest of the day has lined up for me. I have Fred working away in the front garden at present. He is painting the boat and lighthouse, and tidying up the wall. He is on holiday from Liverpool for a few weeks, and was at a bit of a loose end, so I have set him to work. Say hello to him should you pass by. Thank you to all who emailed me the meaning of the word
8.30 a.m. Well yesterday was a bit of a land mark for the blog. We reached 7000 hits since we started back in February, and yesterday we had 150 readers which I think is the highest amount of readers in a day since we began. With the amount of blogs that are printed off for people who don’t have access to computers and the blogs that are printed in Manx Tails, we are now reaching thousands of people each month, a very big thank you to you all.
I am just back from walking Skipper. It is anot
8.15 a.m. Well good morning folks. It is great to be back again. I decided over the weekend that it would be probably for the best to cut the blog down to a five day a week, as it might prove to be difficult to keep it up over 7 days. I would probably just dry up eventually. Whereas, if I make it a five day week project instead of drying up, I will probably just become a little damp. Then of course nature stepped in and decided four days of blogging will be quite enough for you this week Glassey
This is Toms wife Barbara, filling in for Tom at the moment.
At he moment Tom is fighting a stomach bug which has him laid low. Due to his immune system being non existent after chemo, I have had to contact the emergency doctor who is faxing through antibiotics and rehydration sachets to the chemist.
This weekend Tom didn't blog as he has decided to do a 5 day week.
Tom was hoping to go boating today with young Chris, but the fog came in thick and so he now won't feel to bad having t
9.15am. I woke at around 3.30 this morning, and I note that the dawn chorus is now beginning led by Angus the song thrush at 4.21. Well at least it is a nice sunny day here and we have the whole summer ahead of us to look forward to. I have just read an email from South Australia where they are now approaching winter and have had to turn on their heating. Mind you, in South Australia, their idea of a cold snap is bazaar to say the least. Today is going to be an exciting day as I am expecting a v
7.30 a.m. Good morning people. Just back from my morning walk, I shall probably take another after writing the blog and breakfast which will be beans and cheese on toast. Talking of food, I read that someone was asking about food in Castletown on the forum the other day. I can’t talk for the commercial places, however, if you’re passing our house you are more than welcome to drop in for a bacon butty.
I have woken up feeling good again today. I am now in to my second week of my last chemo s
It is 7.30am. I woke this morning at 4.30. I feel much better today. As I write is pouring with rain but who cares. I have woken up feeling more like my old self once again. Yesterday was my worst day so far since I began the chemotherapy treatment. Throughout the course of the treatment I have tried to reflect the effects of chemo. On the down days, the object has been to reflect what it does, and how I have felt rather than attract sympathy. During my treatment I have been incredibly lucky, I
6.30 a.m. I have had a very broken night’s sleep. I have woken this morning not exactly feeling on top of the world. The aches and pains are still with me and I feel very tired and weak. Today is the first day since I began Chemotherapy 10 weeks ago, that I have woken up and not felt strong enough to get out and walk Skipper. Never mind, I am now one week in to the last session. It will be homeward sailing from here on I’m sure.
On the positive side, young Chris Callow my boatman has got the
8.45 a.m. I am just back from our morning walk; I have two dogs to walk today as my brother has gone to Amsterdam for 4 days. Mother flies out to Liverpool this morning for a check-up after having laser treatment on her eye 2 weeks ago. So that leaves JD, a black Lab and of course Skipper in my care for the next few days.
The blog also is now moving in to new areas. From now on, the blog will be raising a few quid for Manx Cancer Support, and the Macmillan Nurses. This is because the magazi
It is 6.50 a.m. myself and Skipper have just returned from our morning walk. Skipper really enjoyed himself this morning because we set off at 6am and had the whole park to ourselves. This meant he could run freely for 45 minutes or so, and how he enjoyed it. We have now returned to the house and enjoyed steak and eggs for breakfast. What better way for man and dog to begin a Sunday morning.
Yesterday I was telling you about the Saturday’s I spent in Liverpool as a school kid. Still in keep
7.45 a.m. I am now back from first morning walk. I say first because I have just nipped once round the park and will be setting off on a longer journey in about an hour or so. It is Saturday morning. As a kid at school in Liverpool, I loved Saturdays. Saturday’s meant a possible trip to Anfield to watch Liverpool play providing; I had the four shillings entry fee. If not, I could always head down to the Pier Head and spend the afternoon crossing backwards and forwards on the Mersey ferry. There
5 a.m. I have been awake now since 3.30. Well at least I got one hour more sleep than I did yesterday. It's not such a bad morning and the dawn chorus began at 4.20. I am now two days in to my period of uncertainty. I am finding it just a little more difficult than I thought it might turn out. In less than two weeks I will go to Nobles for my scan which will decide if my chemotherapy has been a success. It's a bit like having being tried and now the jury has gone out, and won't return for two we
It is actually Wednesday evening at the time of writing. It is a beautiful sunny still evening. I am just back from a wander along the Silverburn. The cows were all having a bit of a chinwag on the bridge that crosses in to the field that eventually takes you to the Old Mill, this meant, in the interests of health and safety, with Skipper in a particular lively and bouncy mood, we remained on the park side of the river. I love the walk through to the Old Mill. Last year Barbara did an oil paint
It is 8.10a.m., and I have walked Skipper and had breakfast. Shortly I will head to Nobles for my last chemotherapy session. It has been raining heavily during the night. I heard it bouncing off the conservatory roof at 3 a.m. Thankfully it had stopped by 7.30 when I wandered along the Silverburn with Skipper. I met no-one today, so no-one got chased, although he did give the 7.40 a.m. plane to Liverpool a good run for its money. Yes he still chases aircraft with a passion.
Now let me say h
It is 9.20a.m., and I am back from this mornings walk. We have an easterly blow at about force 4. The sun is shining though. Last night I took a bit of a wander at 10 o’clock around Poulson Park. I like to go in the dark as it means I can usually let Skipper fun loose, as the darkness usually means no one else will be in the park. It was a beautiful night. The grass had been mowed earlier in the day and the smell of the freshly mowed grass in the damp evening air made it a really pleasurable exp
It is 8.30 a.m. I took Skipper out at 7.30 this morning. It is a fine morning and it has a spring smell about it. There are a lot of pheasants about this year along the Silverburn. The ducks also appear to have moved further up river than normal. I also note that the starlings are up to their old tricks again. Well, either that, or they have started running the steam trains at 7a.m., and late in to the night. Starlings often imitate the daily sounds that go on around them. A starling from the ol
It is 10 a.m. on Sunday morning and so far I haven’t been outside the door. I didn’t sleep much last night, so I’m feeling a bit on the tired side. I shall walk Skipper shortly and then probably fall asleep for an hour or so. In the small hours of the morning, I heard on the radio that the city of Liverpool is twinned with Barcelona. I wonder just what the point of this twinning caper is all about. Does anyone make any money out of it? Maybe we could twin strategic places around the Island with
It is 10.30 a.m. I have just had a sausage breakfast. The chemotherapy has ganged up and joined forces with the dieticians. Yesterday, mouth ulcers made eating difficult; however, they don’t seem to be too bad today. I have had a sore throat though since my last chemo session, but I have woken up today more or less free of ulcers and the sore throat. It seems all the predicted side effects of chemo have saved themselves for the last couple of sessions. Well, just one more to go now.
My emai
It is 8.55a.m. I am just back from my morning walk. I didn’t meet anyone and there is a stiff Easterly wind, probably blowing at around 5, touching 6. Yesterday I had an appointment with cancer consultant. He seemed pleased with my progress, but not surprised. I see him again in four weeks time, after the CT scan. He is talking of the possibility of me having to attend Clatterbridge for around 3 weeks for radio therapy as an out patient. We now have to think about where we might stay on the Wirr
It‘s 8.20am and I’m just back from my morning walk. It’s blowing a stiff south-easterly out there at about 5 or 6 now and probably going to freshen later. I have a busy day today. I have got to be at the hospital for 2.45 p.m. as consultant flies in from Liverpool for the day. He is going to tell me how well or not so well I am doing regarding my cancer or possibly and more likely, I will tell him.
My Mother also has to fly out to Liverpool for the day to have laser treatment on her eyes and
Its 10.55 a.m. I woke up to the sound of the dawn chorus at 4.30 this morning. The birds were at it in full swing. The sweet morning air perfumed by the meadow and seasoned by the salt from Castletown bay, wafted in through my bedroom window. For about 30 seconds I felt on top of the World. Then thoughts of my father came flooding in to my mind and the smell of the chemotherapy filled my nose. For a brief period I had forgotten all about Father's recent death and of course the cancer. I tried to
It is 8.35 a.m. and I am just back from my morning wanderings along the banks of the Silverburn. I didn’t meet a soul this morning. The sun is shining and there is a gentle breeze from the southwest. Tonight I am hoping to take my boat Silverburn out to sea, to test out our seemingly dodgy engine. I have young Chris on standby and we shall sail at about 6.30 and if you hear my name and lifeboats read out in the same sentence, on Manx radio’s morning News tomorrow, there will be no blog.
I h
It is 9.30 a.m. and I only managed a quick walk with Skipper today so far. I have got to head for Peel this morning to buy fish for wild birds and then onto the hospital for an appointment for Barbara. We didn't manage to get to Port St. Mary in the boat yesterday as we broke down twice in Castletown Bay. The first time, she broke down just outside the harbour. The engine just slowly died away and then cut out. We got outboard going and headed back into harbour. The main engine restarted and aft
