The week that Adam and I both booked as annual leave has gone very fast, we’ve done quite a bit together which has been nice, but I wish it was just that little bit longer. Monday through till Thursday we took books to the charity shop each morning, we had planned to clear the front room that was covered wall-to-wall in books. Most of them we had read, some of them we had not. We had whole collections by authors that we just weren’t going to get around to reading as we are so engrossed in certain series’ already, so we decided to take 500+ to the local branch of Bernardo’s.
Each morning we filled bags, trollies and suitcases full to the brim with books then hauled them up to town to hand them over to Bernardo’s. By day two, we were known to all the staff, they referred to us as ‘the book boys’, asking if we owned a library! Our response was that we had a huge collection that needed trimming down as we were running out of space in the flat. It was a huge challenge for me as my muscles are quite wasted so carrying bags of books was an effort. I took to pulling the trollies/suitcase instead as this was easier for me. It’s been a good stretching exercise if nothing else.
On the Tuesday we had an incident with a thief, which was quite funny. We were en-route to Bernardo’s, Adam carrying 4 bags of books, I was pulling the suitcase, and just as we were coming up the path that leads to the main road (disused road which is overgrown on both sides with greenery) I saw a young lad of around early 20’s running into the bushes with what looked like a big black box. Strange. As we got to the top of the hill I was looking into the bushes to see where he went but could not see him. He was in red, I thought he would be easy to spot, but he wasn’t. The next thing I know, two ladies dressed in Morrison’s uniforms came running round the corner looking exasperated. I knew straight away what had happened, the lad must have walked into Morrison’s, picked up an electrical item, and ran out.
I used to work at Asda when I was 16-19 years old and worked on the ‘Home and Leisure department’, basically, everything non-edible. I was charged with looking after the electrical department so had experienced theft quite regularly, some people are very blatant about stealing from supermarkets, lifting up items and just walking out! Anyway, like I said, I knew straight away what had happened. I said to the ladies “he’s hiding in the bushes, that lad you’re after”, a smile spread across both staff members faces and they moved in for the kill. They spotted him straight away in the bushes (must need my eyes tested) and shouted at him to give up the goods or they would call the police. He gingerly held out the box from the bushes, keeping himself in there, and passed it to the closest lady. Turns out it was a Microwave, top end one too! The ladies warned him not to come in to the shop again, then turned to thank us. At this point, the young lad darted out of the bushes and ran off down the road shouting abuse at the four of us.
After a word of thanks from the staff members we continued onto the charity shop, feeling like we had done a good dead. It made me think though, as every time Adam and I go shopping in Morrison’s, we get followed by the security staff. I don’t know why that is, but it always seems to happen. The next time I see that security guard I’m going to give him a piece of my mind, where was he that day? Why was he not running after the thief? Was he too busy following law-abiding citizens around the store instead? Makes you think doesn’t it?
In the evenings through the week we watched TV, chatted loads about what we’d done and what else we planned to do, and geared ourselves up for Saturday at Glastonbury. All through the week I’d suffered with a bad stomach and sore muscles, alongside my insomnia and night sweats, which have been bringing my mood down still. All this had worried both of us, would I be well enough travel to Glastonbury on Saturday? Friday was by far the worst day health wise for me, I was in constant pain all day, in and out of the loo like a bee whizzing back and forth, and a bad migraine that I could not shake. Friday night I took an extra 10mg Tamazipam, I needed a decent night’s sleep, even if it was just for one night, to rest up before possible travel the next morning.
Saturday morning came round very quickly. I was up from 6 AM and had my painkillers, anti-depressants and antibiotics (chest infection) then we both took the dog for a walk. I’d had a pretty good sleep and my muscles were not too sore, BONUS! We decided it was okay for me to travel so we got back from walking the dog, showered, dressed and packed a bag for the day. We met the group of people we were traveling with at 8.20 AM outside the Pagan shop in Bilston (roughly 20 of us all together) and packed ourselves onto the coach. There were some right characters in our group, some shy ones and some very loud ones, all lovely though really. The only down point at that moment was the constant downpour of rain.
We set off at 8.30 AM from Bilston and got straight on the motorway, the traffic was pretty heavy as it was the weekend that all the schools broke up for holidays, so the motorway was pretty packed, add that to torrential rain and the average speed was around 30 mph. It took us 4 hours to reach our destination, we stopped once at a service station on the way for 30 minutes, but the rest of the time was spent on that supposedly comfy seat (yeah right) reading my book, with a numb backside and legs!
Finally at 12.32 PM we had reached our destination, Glastonbury. The rain was much lighter here, and by 2 PM it was clear skies for the rest of the day. We split from the group on arrival, planning to meet up at 4 PM to explore ‘The Chalice Well’s Gardens’ with the group, and then finally being back at the coach for 6.30 PM for the journey home.
What a fantastically amazing day we had. We started off with the Tor, something I’ve been gearing up for since I found out we were going about 3 weeks ago. We ended up going the long way round, following the tourist signs (woops, it’s not like we haven’t been here before) that ended in an extra 30 minute walk before we actually got to the start of the Tor trail. Luck had brought us to the steeper side…GREAT! It was a right game getting up the Tor, Adam was giving me verbal support all the way though, bless him. There were times when my acrophobia kicked in, I think it’s the not having support rails around me when hiking up the Tor that turned my stomach, but I kept focused, did not look down and before I knew it, we had reached the top.
It was amazing being up there, looking off into the distance, taking in the air, and finally sitting down! Adam took some great panoramic pictures of the surrounding countryside that are beautiful, also some of the stone structure at the top of the Tor too. We spent around 15 minutes recharging our batteries and taking in the scenery before we heard the distant thunder…I was carrying an umbrella, at the highest point of land in the area…time to make a quick exit! Needless to say that the decent went a lot smoother than the assent, even though I had ‘jelly legs’. The steps are really hard to get down when you are in a rush and panicking about getting struck by lightning, but we managed it all the same.
We then went Glastonbury and did some shopping. I could have spent a small fortune if I had had it with me. We had a budget which amazingly we stuck too, and managed to treat ourselves, get lunch and even have a few drinks at one of the pubs, sat outside, watching the world go by right in the town centre. It was lovely, seeing everyone milling around in the sun, enjoying themselves in this magical place. It really charged me just by being there, let alone the feelings I had at achieving my goal of conquering the Tor. We shopped for hours for crystals, books and a present for the dog. We got him a fox puppet which he loves, we names him Basil, Baz for short. Adam came away with a lovely Sapphire ring for his little finger and I had a bag full of crystals to take home too.
At 4 PM we met the group in the centre of town and headed up to Chalice Wells a 4 acre space filled with the most amazing gardens, and of course, the legendary well. It was so peaceful in there and lovely just to sit there and take in the silence. We lit candles at the Well for Adam’s Mother, Nan and Labrador as remembrance, we scattered Adam’s mother and Kyle, Adam’s Labradors’ ashes last year up the Tor, so it was nice to mark the occasion this year with candles and incense, something we plan to do yearly. After the serenity of the gardens we headed back into town for one last drink before getting on the coach.
By 6.30 we were all packed up on the coach again. I felt so drained physically from all the walking and traveling, but so mentally charged from the experiences of the day. We had an amazing time in a place we have both grown to love, and even mentioned plans of moving down there at some point in the future, something we both would like to do. Unfortunately the journey home was very uncomfortable, just like the journey there, but I held out. Had to have my tablets at 9 PM so was glad of the chance to grab a ‘Bacon Double Cheeseburger‘, at the service station stop. This one was only 20 minutes long which was okay, just a quick toilet stop and a chance to have a cigarette.
By 10.30 PM we were alighting the coach back in Bilston. As soon as we got off the coach the rain started again – typical. We said our goodbyes and headed on home to see our pup. He’d been with one of our neighbours most of the day, she offered to walk him and suggested she may take him round hers for an hour or so. Turns out that when we got back at 10.40 PM, she was just coming out of our flat, Sammy had only just got home! He’d had a right day of adventure with his doggy friend Alfie from 2 doors up, playing with his toys, digging up his buried treats, even going with Julie (the lady looking after him) to see her mother so he had an extra walk and extra fuss! Looks like he had just as good of a day as we did. He adores his new fox puppet and has taken to shaking him about lots and barking at him. It’s quite funny as they are nearly the same colour as each other, and look very similar in facial features.
After unpacking the bags, fussing and playing with Sammy and talking about our day to Julie, we cuddled up on the sofa to catch up with Big Brother. It was nice to unwind for an hour after having such a busy day, but I was more than happy when bedtime came around. I was out like a log apparently, even before the sleeping tablets kicked in! Woke up very refreshed this morning and still charged from Glastonbury. Must be something in the air down there, or the water, as I feel pretty damned good about everything. My muscles ache, but that’s okay. It’s an effort to walk today, but that’s okay too.
Spending today recharging and chilling with Adam and the pets before Adam goes back to work tomorrow. It’s been so nice having this time with him, doing things together, and having actual belly-laughs, something I really miss. Wish the week did not have to end, but like all good things, it must. Looking forward to our next journey to Glastonbury, and a trip to Stonehenge with the same group that will be amazing, hopefully it will be on one of the equinoxes or solstice’s which would be epic.
What a fantastic week with my future husband, our pets, and friends old and new.
Here’s to the future,
DathomirDan
Thanks for reading.
Diagnosis Blues 