Song of the day (LH): Me and my broken heart - Rixton
Song of the day (VW): Strong - London Grammar
Dubious song choice by Mr Homer today!!! ; )
So it was a fond farewell and hej då to The Pig today. Bar a few niggles, with the perfectionist in me there are always going to be, we had had a fabulous couple of days and will definitely look to come back! Next destination Lyme Regis!
We drove through some stunning countryside, to arrive at the ferry to take us across to Poole. A grand sum of £3.50 was paid to get us to the other side. While waiting for our crossing we could see Brownsea castle. This is owned by John Lewis and I keep meaning to go. My UK geography, well let's be honest world geography, isn't great so I hadn't appreciated how close we were to this. We tried a last minute trip there once we had crossed but we unable to find parking near the ferry terminal. Photo no.416 - the 'posh' side of the sea!
Instead we took a long leisurely stroll along the beach at Sandbanks.
Photo no.417 - beach #3: Sandbanks
Of course there was time included to relax on the beach and listen to the sea....bliss.
Photo no.418 - beach side relaxing...
The next stop on our way to Lyme Regis was Weymouth. DW had read that it is the yachting capital of the UK endorsed by the fact that it had hosting events for the 2012 Games. Having spent a few childhood holidays on the beach there, I had an inkling there were some better places to stop off for a seafood lunch but someone was insistent!!!
So here are some Weymouth shots for your amusement....
Photo no.419 - not quite the New Bond Street DW normally goes to! ; )
The thing with Weymouth beach is that the outlook into the bay is absolutely stunning, it's just filled with a few too many people and kiss me quick antics!
DW spent his summer's on beaches in Sweden, where apart from one famous beach, they are fairly sparsely populated and generally food and drink is self brought. Weymouth in contrast was brimming with people, being the first week of the school holidays, and there was even a Punch and Judy show....DW's first experience! To be honest I should have filmed his tour of Weymouth as this would provide more amusement than these pics!!!
Photo no.420 - oh I do like to be beside the seaside....& beach #4!
Weymouth did come up trumps though with a great crab sandwich, which actually would be lovely to have right now as I'm writing this! I don't think we'll be heading back here anytime soon but another English town for DW to tick off the list!.
So fairly short stay here but as time was pressing on we drove onto Lyme Regis, though absolutely stunning countryside. Our B&B was just outside Lyme Regis, so we decided to head into the town to pick up some essentials...water and wine! I love Lyme Regis. It's got a great mix of everything and certainly keeps you fit going up and down the steep high street. The Cobb is absolutely beautiful anytime of the year.
After a short walk around town, we drove onto our B&B...or rather we would have done if either of us had had 3G available! The B&B was in a small village, rather hamlet called Rousdon. So without an electronic map it was going to be tricky. Thankfully we managed to find Rousdon by hook and crook and then I saw a sign for Charton Farm. Our B&B was called The Charton so this was probably a good sign. We drove down the winding lane and miraculously gained some 3G which confirmed we were on the right track! Awesome!
Michelle, the owner was there to give us a warm welcome and recommend places to eat. Here's where we stayed: http://thechartonlymeregis.co.uk
It was a perfect room, lovely and cool and with such beautiful surroundings. We lost phone reception completely, which initially freaked me out in terms of emergency scenarios...but then we could always go into the main house and use an old fashioned landline! There was definitely a calming sense around the B&B and it was much quieter than the hotel. So we were off to a good start!
Tonight we craved a simple dinner and had planned for a picnic supper but in the end we decided to head to a pub. So we went off to find The Harbour at Axmouth.
Photo no.421 - some of the locals welcoming us!
It was a fairly unspectacular dinner and so I wouldn't recommend going here if you're in the area. We headed back to the B&B and enjoyed a glass of the good Malbec we had picked up in a wine shop in Lyme Regis.
Despite no air con, our room was blissfully cool and coughing aside, hopefully to be suppressed by some codeine, a great night's sleep was on the agenda!
Tuesday 22nd July
Song of the day (LH): It's my birthday - Will.I.Am feat Cody Wise
Song of the day (VW): The way it is - Bruce Hornsby
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G sleep until 11.30!!! Oh yeah! Now there's a school of thought about wasting the day but when you need to sleep you need to sleep! By the time we had got ready all of the recommended brunch places had gone into lunch mode, so we decided to go to River Cottage Canteen in Axminster for a form of brunch, which turned into lunch! We went to River Cottage HQ the previous year and it was a lovely experience but probably not worth the price paid. However, I would thoroughly recommend the Canteen. We had 2 sharer boards, one veggie and one fish, plus the SW coast's obligatory side of chips (I abstained!). A great lunch with friendly service and relaxed atmosphere, definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.
I have become a bit of a cola addict during my cough recovery...which has been finally broken thankfully! I love the bottles with the names on them, sad but true! Today was exciting as I found one for one of my fave people!
Photo no.422 - this is for you Kim! Bottle saved...contents drunk!
After drinking the contents, I realised I should have bought another bottle! Sorry!!!
The plan for the afternoon was to explore local beaches, which had been recommended to us by Michelle, known for their beauty and food opportunities! First stop, West Bay!
Photo no.423 - beach #5: yep this is England!
We took a stroll along the beach, which was absolutely stunning. Though pebbles and flip flops are not the best of friends so it felt like having a blimin good pedicure as we walked!
Photo no.424 - relaxing with the waves...
Photo no.425 - spectacular cliffs...
Photo no.426 - happy campers!
We sat and relaxed for quite a while, before DW got bored and declared we needed to go because he was too hot, a common summer complaint from him!!! It was beautiful listening to the waves and therapeutic playing with the small pebbles in my hands. The only downside was knowing that we had to have another intense pedicure to get back to the car! Trainers definitely required!!!
Next stop was Hive Beach. On the way we went through some beautiful villages, brimming with thatched cottages and picturesque country pubs. As Amy Macdonald would say, this is the life!
A pit stop was required at Hive beach. DW had a local beer and I succumbed to the eccles cake, a rare but excellent find! We hadn't planned to stay that long here but found out that this cafe served dinner, so we got a glimpse of the menus and decided it was worthwhile staying here for a beachside dinner! I had overheard a local lady mention walking along the cliffs here was great as there was a gentle descent onto the next beach. Sounds good! So we walked up onto the cliffs and along a pretty spectacular path and then arrived onto Cogden beach, part of the larger Chesil beach. There were a few people flying kites but aside from this and a couple of ramblers we were the only ones there...amazing. It was absolutely stunning.
Photo no.427 - beach #6 complete with sea kelp!
Photo no.428 - the beach walker
My rule was that I had to dip my toes in the sea on every beach so this one was no exception...the picture misses out the steep drop to the sea, which provided more pedicure time! As with the water of the area it was freezing!!!
Photo no.429 - toe dipping time!
DW had got his heart set on lobster for dinner, so we had to take a speedier walk back as he was worried that they would all be sold!!! Thankfully they hadn't by the time we got there, so he was handed his bucket!
Photo no.430 - crabbing bucket and a happy DW!
Photo no.431 - 'he's my lobster!'
Photo no.432 - VW's less spectacular turbot choice with a crab hollandaise.
The lobster and prawns were pretty darn good, and would have got top marked if the lobster had been hot but hey you can't have it all! DW was defeated, so I got to take the prawns as my dinner was a starter portion in comparison and pretty dull for the price! What did help the dinner was the stunning white wine we had. I was the driver, so limited in my sampling but it was a perfect wine for eating dinner as the sunset over the beach.
Photo no.433 - a nice bottle of white...
After dinner we were both in need of a walk so took a walk along Hive beach to this captivating sunset with an incredible backdrop.
Photo no.434 - beach #7: sunset strolling.
Next time we'll be packing our smokey joe with us and do our own BBQ on the beach as that would have been magical....
A good day!
Wednesday 23rd July
Song of the day (LH): The day we caught the train - Ocean Colour Scene
Song of the day (VW): Suicide blonde - INXS
After the great sleep of the previous, this one seemed tame at the standard 8 hours but nonetheless good! For today's breakfast we headed to the Town Mill Bakery in Lyme Regis. A definite place to visit if you're in the area. The old water mill has been fairly recently restored and along with it is a bakery, pottery, cheesemonger, gallery, micro brewery and a few other things I'm sure I've forgotten. It was still a fairly late breakfast, so I was thankful that they had some scones left, the best I've ever tasted. They were light and airy, accompanied by some great raspberry jam. Yum! It has to be noted, that I've yet to try Debbie's scones so these have to be recorded as the best to date, as I've been assured that hers will be the best! As it was breakfast I had a cream coffee! In fact I substituted the cream for butter, as I'm not a cream fan.
Photo no.435 - scrumptious scones...a great start to the day!
Photo no.436 - a cookery book selection to die for!
After breakfast we took a stroll around Lyme Regis and found this gem...
Photo no.437 - picture perfect house!
Today's beach first beach location was Branscombe. We had visited here last year but loved it so much we decided a repeat visit was needed! Despite the sea breeze, it was hot today, so I had a grumpy DW on my hands. To be fair, even I was hot.
Photo no.438 - for the Swedes...DW finds a real life Ferdinand!
Back story for non-Swede readers! Every Christmas eve, most Swedes nestle down to watch Kalle Anke (Donald Duck) and this is the kick off to the festivities. As part of this show, there's always a cartoon shown with Ferdinand 'the world's strongest bull'. DW felt the calf in the photo above looked like his favourite cartoon bull.
Here it is...enjoy (DW available for translation!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koQFJ_YqvsA
By the time we had walked through the village and got to the beach, there was definitely one grumpy walker and one starting to feel the heat. So a short stroll by the beach huts was agreed as a compromise....
Photo no.439 - beach #8: beautiful Branscombe!
Incidentally the beach huts in the background are available to rent and I can imagine would be rejuvenating to stay in anytime of the year, as they have verandas directly onto the beach.
Photo no.440 - Branscombe cliffs
Photo no.441 - a shady spot found
Photo no.442 - entry to Wonderland?
Back in the village we retreated to the village pub. I had been craving a shandy all week so this tasted like pure nectar and was probably one of the best drinks I had all week! Much underrated!!!
After our refreshing pit stop, we drove onto Beer. This is potentially my favourite place along this coast as you'll see from the pics below!
Photo no.443 - wheelbarrow flowers
Photo no.444 - beach #9: beautiful Beer complete with fishing boats and seagulls.
Beer beach is fairly small but it provides a spot to watch the fishing boats come in and out, which is so relaxing. They also put matting down so walking along to find a quieter spot is easy work compared to the other pebble beaches.
Photo no.445 - content in the shade!
Photo no.446 - Ducky's deck chairs
An amazing couple of days by the sea. It's true there's something about being by the sea, hearing the waves and breathing in the salty air. I was definitely coughing less, much to DW's relief.
Our last dinner of the holiday was at Hix Oyster & Fish House in Lyme Regis.
Photo no.447 - not a bad view for dinner!
Photo no.448 - a happy diner!
Photo no.449 - we all need some tonnix...
You all know what a fan of Portuguese wine I am, red or white. It was interesting that Mark Hix is as well and this is wine (to quote the website) is a joint venture between Mark Hix and Mitch Tonks with a label designed by Tracey Emin. If you're in a Hix establishment, there are a few in London, then go for this if you're in the market for white as it was a fantastic wine and great value. Sales pitch over!
Photo no.450 - whelks, chanterelles and runner beans.
I decided to order the whelks...you have to try new things and if you're a fan of snails then you'd love them. Personally, I'm not but I could appreciate the dish nonetheless.
Photo no.451 - the star starter....crab soup
This is the starter to go for, crab soup. It was incredible!
Photo no.452 - scallops, chorizo and sea kelp
Yep, you've guessed it, I was sold on trying sea kelp but in fact the overall dish was great. Scallops and chorizo with a squeeze of lemon juice, is a classic and unbeatable combination.
Photo no.453 - heritage tomato and basil salad
A mouth watering tomato and basil salad, which we both loved! After we finished eating we headed out onto the balcony for truffles (yay!) and coffee and looked out over the Cobb. A fabulous evening and a great way to end our gastronomique tour of the south coast. DW in particular had really appreciated the time away and seemed really relaxed. We took a walk down to the Cobb and along the beach in Lyme Regis to say goodbye. A perfect end to our seaside break.
Thursday 24th July
Song of the day (VW): Million dollar bill - Whitney Houston
Song of the day (LH): Sir Duke - Stevie Wonder
It was a shock when the alarm clock went off just after 7 the next morning! We needed to hit the road (jack) at 8 to ensure we got to my appointment in London by midday. It wasn't the most relaxing end to what had been a fantastic break, but still DW was happy about heading back to London. We had a picnic breakfast of some scones that I had picked up in Beer and a swig of some coffee, having packed up the wealth of stuff I had brought with me! The drive to the M3 was absolutely beautiful and a nice start to the day though it did at times feel like the never ending road when we got stuck behind slower vehicles. DW did an absolutely sterling job and we arrived 10 minutes before the appointment, which of course was then 25 minutes late. Still it didn't matter we were there and ready.
It was a conclusive meeting. We had pretty much come to the conclusion that an implant was the right call at this moment in time. Fiona seemed to endorse this view by reinforcing her message of what a lovely abdomen I had (slightly podgier post holiday!). So that was settled. The official term, a skin sparring mastectomy with an implant reconstruction to the left breast. Simple hey! The only thing that was slightly disappointing was that she didn't have my final MRI results, despite us having called the admin team to request them. However, Fiona felt this wouldn't change anything apart from the potential decision about whether to try and save my nipple or not. So the date was set, Monday 11th August in the afternoon at The Royal Marsden. This is starting to get very real and very scary.....
Just as we were about to leave the building I heard my name being called out. It was Fiona, they had found the MRI result. It showed that the tumour was now 10mm, a pretty good response to the chemo! Excellent. It has been good having this barometer check to keep me going on difficult weeks of chemo. Even typing this today, 4 weeks after my last session, it's tricky as the tip of my right index finger is pretty numb. Annoying when trying to type but hopefully the sensation will come back. If it doesn't then this is a small price to pay.
We walked out and took a deep breath. A decision had been made. Ultimately I don't want any of this done but that's not a choice I have, so this seems the best call given the circumstances.
Marylebone High Street was a short distance away so we ambled slowly to The Natural Kitchen for some lunch. If you're in close proximity to Marylebone then The Natural Kitchen is a great place for lunch. They make amazing fresh juices and a pretty darn good pastel de nata! It was so hot in the sunshine and was a contrast to the cooler weather we had been enjoying by the Dorset coast. So hot that I thought my feet were going to explode!!! We decided to head home rather than walk around London, as even though DW wanted to stay the heat was a deciding factor!
I took the opportunity in the car to have a snooze. DW was amazing driving everywhere today, partly because he enjoys driving but partly as I was too tired to drive back from London. We arrived back to a hot house but it felt good to be home.
I was feeling numb (literally in places) about the surgery situation. In some ways it's best to stay detached from it. I know there will be some outbursts to come but for now, keep calm and carry on. But heck what was this....my hair falling out again....really! Give me a break! It seems that the delay to my last chemo had lured my hair growth into a false sense of security and that final chemo blast had shocked the system and my hair. Bugg@r! Well, I guess at least we know it will grow back again...I blimin well hope so!!!
Friday 25th July
Song of the day (LH): It's a man's, man's, man's world - James Brown
Song of the day (VW): Sitting on the dock of the day - Otis Redding
Despite my sleepy start to the day, I really enjoyed my yoga session with Davinder. It was lovely to see her as it had been ages since my last class. For whatever reason, I couldn't fully get into the zone but it was still refreshing. After yoga, I went to the post office to pick up the wedding anniversary gift for DW. It was coming from America and I was super excited about it. This year's gift has to be associated with wood, so I've achieved this. I was so, so, pleased with it. Our anniversary isn't until 12th September but the person I was ordering from was going away for August so it was a case of now or never! Enough on this for now!
I arrived home thinking I was going to have to do a swift turnaround for us to head into London. We had talked about going to the Matisse exhibition and have a bimble day in London but when I got back DW decided that he'd prefer a relaxing day at home. Perfect! I had a late breakfast and literally fell asleep for a couple of hour on the lounger. Excellent listening to your body VW! The only activity on the cards for the afternoon was a trip to the butcher to fetch the steak for dinner that evening. At Moss End we discovered there's also a fantastic cheese counter, so our dinner guest that evening was in for a treat!
I had a few phone calls to make, which were still challenging and tiring. Still at least I could make them, progress on the previous weeks!
After an eventful journey for our dinner guest, the one and only Eoin Harty, involving DW going to Heathrow, we had an absolutely brilliant evening. Laughter is definitely the best tonic and there was lots of it. Love you big guy! xxx
Saturday 26th July
Song of the day (LH): Summer - Calvin Harris
Song of the day (VW): Fairground - Simply Red
There are few days where I seem to not be complaining of tiredness. Guess what today was a tired.com day as well! Davinder is currently running meditation sessions on Saturdays at the moment. I thought I would give it a go. It was a lovely way to begin my Saturday (at midday!) and then come home for a relaxing brunch (breakfast).
I had to pluck up some energy as that evening it was the official end of chemo celebration! To look tip top I had booked myself in for a wig wash. I took the train to Putney and was grateful for the air con and can of coke...I will go cold turkey next week! It was a relaxing hour at Stephan's. Champagne and wine were offered but I settled on a coffee as I wanted to be alert for party time. A train ride to Clapham and a taxi to Battersea and I had arrived at the party venue! BungaBunga! I strolled in to find an empty restaurant and was told they didn't open for another 15 minutes. Thankfully I was allowed to use the bathroom and then I made my exit to find DW and the Hamiltons waiting outside in their italian chic outfits! To kill time we strolled down to the river, which challenging at times with my skirt and the wind!
Walking back into BungaBunga I was greeted by many smiling faces! It was absolutely incredible to have so many loved ones there. Everyone had made such an effort to be there and I was really humbled by this and excited to see people that I had been unable to during the chemo chronicles. A few cocktails and a lot of antipasti and pizza later, the dancing kicked off! It really was a case of letting our hair down, mine courtesy of someone else! ; ))
Photo no.454 - that's the M being demonstrated by Ally (of Tina Turner dancing tuition fame) of the Y-M-C-A!
Photo no.455 - 3 little maids from school are we!
Photo no.456 - meine wonderschöne Wonechen!
Photo no.457 - the lovely Laura...appreciating our men dancing the night away...shame there was no Tina for the full show!
Photo no.458 - shiny happy people!
Photo no.459 - apparently the blue shirt was worn for DW on a non blue shirt day! Honoured!
Photo no.460 - Hello Sig.Ballotelli with your delicious rhubarb content!
Photo no.461 - party people!
A massive thank you to everyone who came to make it such a memorable night! We had an absolute blast. Huge thanks to Rob 'italian riviera chic' Hamilton for being our chauffeur, especially with the Howgarth roundabout being shut! Also a thank you to Celia, as we hadn't planned to be back so late.
A truly wonderful evening full of love, laughter, dancing and no karaoke, as you'd have to be a pro to make an appearance there!xxx
Sunday 27th July
Song of the day (LH): Wiggle - Jason Derulo feat Snoop Dogg
Song of the day (VW): Sunday morning - Hayley Tuck
Ouch! More water should have be drunk the previous night, rookie error....paracetamol at the ready! And back to sleep....At midday, yep that's right, am I proud? No. Was it needed? Clearly! So at midday I made my way downstairs for breakfast and some much needed ibuprofen as the paracetamol hadn't cleared everything! I can imagine there were a few more sore heads as well this morning, though DW seemed to be doing amazingly well. After a while, it was no use I had to reach for a coke. Cold turkey monday was approaching!
A relaxing day at home was on the cards. Sunday papers check. By late afternoon we decided some exercise was required so had a walk along the towpath towards Cookham. It was so pretty and much cooler than it had been earlier that day. Both feeling rejuvenated we headed home.
Of course, I still had the #1 pressure of the week to deliver....the Sunday night dinner. Needing to cleanse the body from the previous night, I decided to make my first foray into Dhruv Baker's book, Spice. Neither supermarket in Maidenhead could offer me veal, so I settled on pork fillet, it was still pretty darn good if I do say so myself, accompanied by a non-alcoholic beer! Something to cleanse the palate!
Photo no.462 - Thai 'veal' salad
Today officially marked the last day of my final chemo cycle. Tomorrow I would 'normally' be heading into hospital. Normal for the last 20 weeks that is. So it feels slightly strange not be getting my stuff ready for a trip to PMH! But very good at the same time to pull closure to the chemo chronicles. The focus for the next two weeks has got to be getting my strength back for surgery. So that word rest is going to be creeping right back into my life! The chemo after effects are being felt the strongest in the sense of numbness in fingers and toes, hair falling out (time to stop that!) and still being bogged down with a tight chest and a voice that only Marge Simpson would be proud of. But you know what. We blimin well did it DW! Thank you for always being there during the highs and lows that the chemo chronicles have presented. You're the only one who sees it all. It seems like we had a good run up until round 6 and we've been in limbo land a bit for the past month. Time to move onto the next stage of us getting our life back! Onwards and upwards. In the words of a wise man...Mr Buzz Lightyear. To infinity and beyond! xxx
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