The 1st & 2nd; Where to start?
The 1st of June. Where to start? I suppose the beginning would be the logical place. I arrived at New Street shortly after eight, so I had time to pick up my tickets and get coffee and a paper before the assistance chap took me to my train.
The journey to Euston was uneventful, except upon arrival, once again, no one was there to meet me so the train manager had to get the ramp. More ramp fun when it came to my first taxi of the day - when driving up into the cab, I went over backwards, I think because I was going too fast. I ended up flat on my back, thankfully with the driver behind me, so he helped me sort of roll sideways out of the chair. We lifted it in and I climbed in after it, promptly taking some co-codamol for the pain I knew was only going to get worse.
I asked him to take me to Konditor and Cook, where I bought a slice of Curly Wurly cake and two brownies (chocolate chip and fudgepacker) for me, and a box of mini treats for the people at Anthony Nolan. I knew there was a coffee/barbershop nearby that I wanted to try, Sharps, so I went there for just under an hour and went through my talk in my head.
Another taxi to take me to Anthony Nolan (who drove past me and I had to chase him down the road at top speed), which I entered slowly, and I arrived in time to watch a video about a chap who ran the marathon with his donor, which was very heartwarming. Then I talked for about twenty minutes, trying to make sure I was talking to them all (there were maybe seven students there, so actually a much smaller audience than I expected, between 18-20 years old? I am terrible at ages). They seemed to take it in, didn't really have many questions, but I think they will have more when we come to do the on-camera interview on Monday.
And that was it for me! I Hailo'd a taxi, who arrived and immediately had to cancel because he was meant to be back at the garage, so I called another and he came very quickly. He was a lovely chap, chatty in a good way, and he took me to Timberyard in Soho. I was hoping for a crodough, but there were none left, so I had a flat white and went in search of lunch. That took me all the way across the road, to Melt Room, land of the gourmet toastie.
I went for a simple three cheese, but next time I think I'll go for a slightly more indulgent option. I ate two thirds of it while watching passers-by and texting Christine. It was huge, and I knew finishing it would make me feel ghastly, so I put the rest in its bag and went out on my final trip, to Crosstown Doughnuts. For so long, I have wanted to try their cinnamon scroll, so I chose one of those, and an orange blossom with date jam for Mommy. I also wore out a member of staff, getting them to help me to lift the chair inside. Everyone today was very helpful.
Then it was time to go back to Euston! Time seemed to be passing ever so quickly, my heavy lunch was kicking in, and I was starting to worry that I would be late for my train. Not helped by a text from Virgin at five to three saying my train was nearly ready and to go to the platform, so internally I was screaming I'M NOT EVEN AT THE STATION YET! Never mind the fact that the train wasn't due to leave until 15:23. But again, I needn't have worried, I was settled with plenty of time.
The caffeine hit from my four coffees was wearing off by this point, and I was feeling the urge to lie down, which one can't really do on a train. I was about to slump, when who should walk by but Jay Rayner? He was there because The Kitchen Cabinet was recording in Birmingham tonight, which Mommy and I were going to. He was on his way to the bar, so I just said hello and that I was going to the recording, and asked who was on the panel. He could remember three of the four, and asked me if I wanted anything from the aforementioned bar before going to get his water. What a decent chap!
I had phoned the Birmingham assistance team so they knew I'd be there, and sure enough a lady met me with the ramp. I went to meet Mommy, and was in desperate need of some sort of healthy beverage. Some Green Goddess from Pret did the trick, then we drove over to the NIA car park where we could leave the car while at the recording in Austin Court.
We arrived about 5.40, because the doors were to open at 6, and people were already waiting. We got given forms for us to submit questions on, and I asked about using coffee in savoury recipes, as coffee was a suggested topic (along with limes and chocolate).
They started letting us in, and the producer had reserved two places at the back so we could have the wheelchair nearby, which meant we weren't fighting for seats. Some people rocked up at quarter to seven expecting to easily sit down and were surprised when told the venue was at capacity and they were too late. They tried arguing but health and safety! Novices.
The panel was Tim Anderson, Rachel McCormack, Zoe Laughlin and another lady whose name I cannot remember. It was a good line up though, and I am pleased to say my question was chosen, so hopefully I make the edit! We learned a lot and have quite a few new ideas too, so listen out for the final episode of the series.
When it finished, we didn't hang about, just drove home. I finally got to eat my cinnabon, and I am knackered.
The 2nd of June.
A much less eventful day. Despite taking a Zopiclone last night, it took me ages to fall asleep. This meant I was less than delighted when my alarm went off at nine. Had to get up because I had a chiro appointment at 11.15 and my fall yesterday has resulted in some serious pain today. There's the obvious ache in my lower back (where some rather spectacular bruising is blooming), but my left shoulder also hurts a surprising amount. Trine suspects that I actually have given myself whiplash. Again. At least there's a good reason this time, instead of "I just coughed too much".
She did some massage and a little crunching, but there's not much she could do for the rest. I shall just have to wait for that to resolve itself. Lots of painkillers. Rescheduling with Vlad might have to wait I think. No squats in my current condition.
Home for lunch, and I had my Curly Wurly cake (which had thankfully suffered no ill effects from being a day old). It is still as delicious as I recall. I don't think our home-made version is quite as good.
This afternoon I have been sitting with the kittens, writing about yesterday and watching Fringe and iZombie. Now the kitties are all a bit pooped, and we're waiting for Eliott, the guy who will hopefully want Gracie, to arrive. Fingers crossed.
