My toast and little fishes ... I have just got through the worst week I have had for a long time!

Started last Saturday (28th April).  The wife and I went for a 10 mile walk along the river bank stopping at the odd watering hole on the way.  A lovely day and a very pleasant walk meeting and talking to very nice people we met.

Got home feeling a little tired but fine.  Sunday morning I awoke with a slight sore throat which I didnt take much notice of.  However as the day wore on it got worse and my chesty got quite "tight".  Yep - I had got a chest infection .   Only emergency doctors are available on a Sunday and it wasnt an emergency so I had to grin and bear it.  Sunday night saw me trying to sleep sitting up.  I couldnt lay down as my wheezing would just got worse.

Monday - I tried to get to see a doctor as I thought a dose of penicillin was needed.  I couldnt get an appointment until the following Monday!  See the British Health Service isnt all its cracked up to be ....

So I struggled on all week with no more than an hour or twos' sleep per day.  Got more and more weary, lethergic and noticed a distinct lack of concentration as the week wore on.  Cough medicine etc is OK but it doesnt cure the problem - it only masks the symptoms and helps get rid of the residual fluid on the chest.

Yesterday (Saturday)  My daughters Boyfriend turned up with a few penicillin tablets from his Pharmacist father!  Not legal but he had been convinced I didnt have reactions to the penicillin.  I took half a tablet in the morning.

It is now just after Midnight Sunday and my chest is clear!! - blessed relief! - apart from still being a little tired I now feel as though I might live......

Wish that is all that happened that week though ......

A dog (Tylo) we have had for 7 years passed away Monday (30th April) morning.  We bought it for my youngest daughter from an "Animal Rescue" centre.  However he soon established a rappor with my wife and they became inseperable.  When my daughter bought her own house and move out the dog stayed with us.

He wasnt too keen on males but he would have killed to protect my wife.  My daughter was still attached to him and often rang or texted to ask after him.

He was about 14 years old and had got rather slow and sleepy.  Sunday (29th) he was more morose than normal and I feared the worst.

Monday (30th) at 5.15am (we arise early here) he was in his usual proud position curled up at the foot of my wifes' chair.  Then he just stood up, bowed his head for my wife to pet him and then just calmly lay down and expired ....

As you can imagine my wife was distraught and needed a lot of consoling.  We have a very dry and hard strip of land in the back garden where nothing will grow but she went out there and, refusing all help, spent hours digging a large grave for him.  She is a strong women but she did something I would not even have contemplated!  and they say the female is the weaker sex!

The hardest thing I had to do was to ring My daughter and give her the news ...... please, whoever is up there, let me go before my wife .... I dont want to go through anything like that again...