..are now over. Well, they were over at about 11am on Wednesday, but it has taken me this long to get round to saying thankyou for all the kind wishes from my friends. Thank ye muchly, you lot, it cheered me up no end.

I’ve spent the last couple of days whining and complaining about discomfort and being full of Carbon Dioxide (you get inflated so the surgeon can have a really good look). It is not an experience I wish to repeat.

I’m thoroughly disgusted with myself for being such a wuss - it wasn’t nearly as bad as my imagination had assured me it would be. When I came round I was severely dizzy - worse than my vertigo episode of a few months back - and thrashed around insensibly for a while. Most embarrassing. Once I’d thrown up, I was fine.

Result of the operation was cheering though: all is well in the internet department (my series of tubes is fine).

Had a slight panic today when I realised that I had a temperature, and according to my leaflet from the hospital, this is a Bad Sign. I trundled (very very slowly) to the doctor, who gave me a script for some antibiotics, as an infection would be a Bad Thing.

I’m hot and dizzy now, and have thrown up what I ate for dinner. It’s unclear whether this was the antibiotics disagreeing with me (it wouldn’t surprise me), or just a temperature artifact.

Hopefully all systems will be fully operational shortly, and I can stop feeling sorry for myself

Yet again I’m stealing wi-fi in order to foist my opinions upon the world. I’m perched upon the sofa of my mother-in-law, fretting and eeking about the fact that I have a very minor operation scheduled for 07.45 tomorrow. Not that I want it to be a major op. I’ve just never been operated on before, and to be perfectly frank, I don’t really want to start.
I’m due to have a laparoscopy to attempt to understand why the manufacture of later versions of philb is failing. And I’m scared stupid.
On the plus side, I’ve just read ‘Some Lovely Islands’ by Leslie Thomas, and the urge to traverse the Wild Places has returned with a vengeance. I miss the loneliness of Mull and the friendliness of Mull, all at the same time. Coming back to Holyport felt like leaving home. But it was good to see the Mogret again.