Ticking away ... Day 996 ~ Lust for Life ...

Here I am, three fifths of the way through my course of radiotherapy. 

They said I would probably feel tired and possibly slightly nauseous. They also said that the pain might get worse before it got better.

They were right. 

Hey, at least I'm not hobbling around quite as much. The limp and/or the lump seem to be less of a problem.

I ... just ... feel ... a ... bit ... rough ...

The actual radiotherapy lasts just five or six minutes ... and part of that time is me hoisting myself on to the couch and adjusting my clothing so that the radiographers can line up on the little marks on my skin around the left side of my groin. The treatment is nothing unpleasant ~ it's just like a long x-ray.

The radiographers have been brilliant. They've been friendly and understanding. When I left on Friday afternoon they all wished me a 'good weekend' ... and not just me but all the other patients too.

For that five or six minutes of treatment there's two hours travelling and a short wait.

Why Lust for Life ?

Well as I lay there for my first treatment on Wednesday, and after the radiographers had left the room, I could hear some background music coming from somewhere in the room.

It was Iggy Pop's Lust for Life. I smiled ... perhaps there's someone with a sense of humour looking after me.

There's a link here if you want to listen to the song. Only listen if you like rock music and can stomach a few scenes from Transpotting.

If you don't want to listen to Iggy Pop [or even if you do] then you can have a look at me [with my fat right leg] sitting in the Peak District Countryside after a bacon and sausage [!] bap on my way home after the first treatment ... 

 

Ticking away ... Day 991 ~ Irradiate ! Irradiate ! Irradiate ! ...

I have something to confess. I talk to myself at times. Well, that's not strictly true, a little voice in my head talks to me telling 'Charlie Boy' to do this ... and to do that ... most often it's saying 'come on, Charlie Boy, you can cope ... don't lose your grip ...'

The thing is no one really prepares you for slowly falling off the Edge of the World. 

You can't jump off the x-ray couch and form a 'T' with both hands and ask for some 'time out'. 

Today though the little voice inside my head [which, it has to be said, makes me smile quite a lot] said wouldn't it be funny when you start your radiotherapy if a Dalek-like voice calls out from behind the screen "Irradiate ! Irradiate !  Irradiate !"

In the event I didn't get the chance to see if this was actually going to happen because although I was x-rayed and marked up ready to be irradiated I was told half an hour later that, in fact, my actual treatment wouldn't be starting until Wednesday with further 'doses' on Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday ... then that would be it.

 The doctor this morning mentioned in passing that the radiotherapy wasn't a cure ... it was just to help ease the pain ... and it has to be said pain has surfaced and made itself known ... rather like an uninvited shark at a swimming gala.

At present I'm hobbling around a bit. I walk upstairs labouriously putting my right foot on a step and then bringing my uncomfortable [ok, painful] left leg up to the same step. [I now avoid walking up steps if there's a crowd behind me.]

 

"Come on Charlie Boy. Stop whinging ... go and make yourself a coffee ..."

A Farm Journal ~ from the 1st to the 15th June 1869 ...

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby. 

The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had three farms, One Ash Grange [which John Bayliff Bowman often referred to as O.A.], Cales and Summer Hill [which he usually referred to as S.Hill or S.H.]

John Bayliff Bowman is fourth from the left in the photo below ...

 

 A Farm Journal continues :~

 

3 - 1st 6 Mo[nth] Fine day wash[e]d all sheep

 

4 - 2 Fine morn[in]g showery even[in]g to Chest[er]f[iel]d M[onthly] M[eeting] self too pony & basket

 

5 - 3rd Fine fin[ished] sow[in]g turnips in Ridge piece

 

6 - 4th Ditto S.A. Baby & I to Ashford aft[ernoon]

 

7 - 5 Dull but warmer fin[ishe]d sow[in]g corn turnips & put things away corn late only just about 3 in[ches] high or 4"

 

1st - 6 Fine & warm W.S.W. & warm

 

2 - 7 Ditto very close B[akewe]ll Market Eliza Shaw came

 

3 day - 8 Ditto

 

4 - 9 Fine day F&M up to Meeting

 

5 - 10 Fine day cheese cratch fell & crushed a lot of cheese - we crimmed [sic] it over again being new

 

6 - 11 Walling etc - ditto

 

7 - 12 D[itt]o

 

1 - 13 Ditto Jos[eph] & Mary Burtt at Meet[in]g & here to dine - of the visiting committee - to O.A. to tea - Mother with them

 

2 - 14 Showery began to shear the hogs in aft[ernoo]n

 

3 - 15 Very showery day 

In the valley of the Manifold ...

We parked at Hulme End about 15 miles from home and walked along the Manifold Way. We were intrigued by the Staffordshire RIGS Group waymark ...

The Manifold Way is another of the now defunct railways that used to run in the Peak District. This one follows what used to be the Leek and Manifold Light Railway ...



  Pock-marked Ecton Hill loomed into view ...



  

There was evidence how popular this area was and still is ...

 

Beside the Manifold Way we could see why a Geotrail had been created here ...

 



To see the Geotrail leaflet [and download it if you're interested] go to the GeoConservation Staffordshire website here and click on Geotrails and then HampsManifold.

Like many trails that were once railway lines you have to get used to walking in a straight line for a hundred yards [or more] from time to time ...

 

Part of the Manifold Way is still used by traffic ... which makes walking through Swainsley Tunnel good fun ...



 As you can see there's not much room. We made it to the other end though ...



 We reached Wetton Mill where there's a nice tearoom and toilets ... as well as two National Trust Holiday Cottages. 

 

We were now on the eastern side of the River Manifold and as we walked back up the valley we got a good view of Ossoms Hill dotted with hawthorn trees ...

 

We were following an old road now which got quite steep in places ...

 

There was more evidence of the interesting geology hereabouts ...



 

We reached Swainsley again but this time we were across the river and above ground ... and there was a dovecote in view too ...

 

We were back at Ecton Hill and we read through the warning sign carefully ...

 

We then did something I wouldn't be able to do now ... we walked directly uphill ...

 

As we were going directly up, some other walkers were on their way down ...

 

We got a bird's eye view of Swainsley [and its dovecote] now ...

 

... and the slopes of Ecton Hill to our left ...

 

A 20 second video [with wind] gives you a good idea of the scenery in these parts ...

 

From a walking point of view a leader is told he should never walk straight up a hill to walk back down again. Guess what I did ...

Back at ground level some of the local livestock were foraging ...



 There is evidence that copper was mined beneath Ecton Hill as far back as the Bronze Age. It was the 4th Duke of Devonshire who made his fortune from it though, according to the information panel ...



 You can see 'you are here' on the panel above and you can see where we were in the photograph below ...



  I wonder what it's like 200 feet below ground now.

We made it safely back to the car park and had lunch at the Tea Junction ...



 Very nice it was too.

This walk was followed on the 1st May 2011
 
Length of walk ~ 6.23 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 160.49 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 1st May 2011 ~ 688.54 miles

  37 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging approximately 4.33 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap

This summary includes a walk of 2.26 miles on the 30th April 2011 around the villages of Carsington and Hopton for which there are no photographs.

A Farm Journal ~ from the 17th to the 31st May 1869 ...

My great great great uncle John Bayliff Bowman lived at Summer Hill, near Monyash in the County of Derby. 

The Bowman family, who were Quakers, had three farms, One Ash Grange [which John Bayliff Bowman often referred to as O.A.], Cales and Summer Hill [which he usually referred to as S.Hill or S.H.]

John Bayliff Bowman is fourth from the left in the photo below ...

 

 A Farm Journal continues :~

 

No entry for the 16th May 1869.

 

2 - 17 cold E Wind morn[in]g but turned South in even[in]g & showery - B[akewe]ll Fair - many cattle in but slow sale sow[e]d grass seeds in Pewet Knobs

 

3 - 18 showery Ditto

 

4 - 19 Ditto bo[ugh]t Pony of Sept[imus] Press

 

5 - 20 Fine but cold

 

6 - 21 Showery

 

7 - 22 Ditto aft[ernoo]n pick[e]d stone etc - growing day but cold N wind things doing pretty well F&M here from Ashford aft[ernoo]n oats looking well - some sown with Will[ia]m Drill too deep seem to take a long time to come out

 

1 - 23 Fine

 

2 - 24 Fine dayself to B[akewe]ll Market & then on to Calton arr[ived] 6.20pm lodged at Holly Bush - very cold E. wind looked round & agreed to build a new barn & cowhouses under

 

4 - 26 to Newcastle called at Uncle Bradys only Aunt & Hannah & Alfr[e]d at home - H&I to Jarrow in aft[ernoo]n to see Tom & Jenny - self on to Sunderland to call of George & back to Gateshead - left next Morn[in]g 8.30am very cold arr[ived] B[akewe]ll 4.30pm - found all well

 

6 - 28 Fine day but cold E wind yet plenty of grass & cows milk well

 

7 - 29 Fine day sow[e]d some corn turnips in Ridge piece - & seeds in Watricle with corn

 

1 - 30 Fine

 

2 - 31 Ditto W.E. yet - sow[e]d more turnips

 

 

* I assume this is the Septimus Press who in 1861 was the landlord at the Horse & Jockey in Tideswell. 

 

Ticking away ... Day 979 ~ me and my three legged dog ...

Since I came out of hospital four weeks ago I haven't really made up lost ground ~ over the past four weeks my 'groin strain' has become more and more uncomfortable. It got to the stage where, even with two walking poles, I was only able to walk a couple of miles on a flat trail on Monday evening and it took me two hours. We were taking photos as we went but even so ...

So, after my CT scan a week ago today I was prepared for nearly anything when I went for my four weekly follow-up appointment with my oncologist.

We got there for the 9.30 appointment and after the usual weigh-in and blood pressure check Jamie and I were talking to the doctor who seemed very relaxed ... and then she said "when is your CT scan ? " ... that's right, the results hadn't filtered through to her yet.

The doctor felt that, in view of the discomfort I was experiencing in my groin, it might be worth me having an x-ray. This obviously wasn’t going to be one of those hospital visits where we were sitting down to a bacon bap within an hour of my appointment.

[I will now try and edit out some of the details you don’t need to know … I'm trying to save you time ...].

We walked through the hospital to the x-ray department. Who should walk in whilst we were sitting there but one of my former work colleagues … “What are you doing here” ... 
 

My name was called and I went into the x-ray room after putting on one of those gowns. I lay there while six or seven x-rays were taken of my pelvis and left hip. This involved some discomfort on my part as the radiologist had to x-ray my left hip by lining up the machine whilst my right leg was supported on a metal frame. She was shooting under my right leg.

 I was given a pink slip of paper with a bar code to walk back to my doctor so that she could see the x-rays immediately.

Initially though we saw the pharmacist to talk about my medication. After she’d gone we [Jamie and I] realised that we were sitting in a side room with comfortable chairs. You know what that can mean. As I sat there, across the corridor, I caught a glimpse of a couple of friends I knew from my days with the ramblers …

After twenty five minutes the doctor came in and she was able to say that whilst they were looking at the x-rays they were also able to see the results of the CT scan. This showed up that in addition to a swollen lymph gland on the left side of my groin [that’s a lump I have there at present] I also have a ‘met’ in my left hip socket and a smaller one in my right hip.

By ‘met’ I assumed she meant metastasis and she did indeed confirm that that is what she meant. 'Met' sounds much less threatening though doesn't it.

The good news [yes, there is some good news] is that radiotherapy should soon knock the swollen lymph gland and both metastases into touch ! Hurrah ! I just need one session and they would tell me within the next 7 to 10 days when that will be.

On that note Jamie and I headed off for our bacon bap. We were now attending to the serious business ~ the bap !

However, who should we bump into in the Café@theRoyal but those two walkers … one of them having the same complaint as me. I said hello … they didn’t recognise me [it happens a lot] ... but once I’d introduced myself we sat and had a chat and he picked my brain as he has only recently been diagnosed. I think he took comfort from the fact that I am still  around nearly three years after being diagnosed, particularly as I have Stage 4 prostate cancer and he has Stage 2 …

Jamie’s telephone rang. It was my doctor wanting to have a further word.

We headed back to her department. She was apologetic. I will need five ‘doses’ of radiotherapy not one … I wasn't angry. I wasn't upset. These things happen. Mistakes are made. Life is too short ...

Eventually we got away after all the toing and froing and I spent the afternoon feeling tired [mentally as much as physically I think].

Yesterday my enthusiasm seemed to evaporate fairly early in the day too.

Today though I feel enthused enough to post this even though my groin is feeling decidedly uncomfortable. I might even resort to some painkillers … at some stage.

So, I’ve had a setback but I expected it … possibly worse … now I aim to get the radiotherapy behind me and hopefully get out for some walks …

In the meantime here’s a photograph taken once we’d got back to the car park …

I don't shave as often as I used to do.

Reservoir blog ...

I like reservoirs though I do wonder when the idea of creating three reservoirs to the west of Chesterfield was first proposed if there was any opposition. I suspect that the fact that Chesterfield's drinking water was going to be improved was always going to be the prime consideration in the late 19th century. Back then good drinking water wasn't something that was taken for granted.

The three reservoirs at Linacre are worth walking around and you can create a longer walk by taking in the village of Old Brampton to the south or Barlow and Millthorpe to the north.

You know me though. This is a stroll [or rather a short walk around the top two reservoirs].

From the car park on the northern side of the man-made ponds we walked down the steps into the woodland ...

 The bluebells were starting to come out ...



 ... and so were these rather lovely white flowers ...



 They were quite small as you can tell from the odd bluebell in amongst them.

One of the features about Linacre is the lack of undergrowth in some areas due to the beech trees stretching their trunks high above the ground, hogging the sunlight for themselves ...



  Linacre has some great information panels !  Not for Linacre the usual photograph or colourful piece of artwork [which are fine] but more of a piece of craftsmanship. This one tells a little about Q holes and Linacre's industrial past ...



  I had never heard of Q holes either.

We walked up to the top reservoir ... known as Upper Reservoir ... and crossed the bridge over Birley Brook which feeds into the reservoir ...



 Upper Reservoir needed topping up ...



 A wooden walkway or duck boarding as I prefer to call it, runs along the southern side of Upper Reservoir ...





 The late afternoon sun made an appearance ...



 A last photograph across the reservoir makes it quite clear about the low level of water ...



 Between Upper Reservoir and Middle Reservoir the path on the southern side moves away from water and into a plantation of trees ...



 ... before entering another woodland full of tall, thin beech trees ...



 A second information panel explained what bodging was all about ...



  I'm a fan of quirky little buildings so couldn't help but include this photograph which I assume is of an inspection chamber ...



 We got back to the car just as a couple of mountain bikers rode across the middle of a field on a public footpath. Good job the farmer wasn't around ...



According to a current Severn-Trent Water website the reservoirs "became non operational in 1995 and today they’re managed for visitors and wildlife and provide a popular local amenity".

This walk was followed on the 29th April 2011
 
Length of stroll ~ 2.07 miles *
 
Total mileage walked so far in 2011 ~ 152 miles
 
Total mileage between the 1st September 2009 and the 29th April 2011 ~ 680.05 miles

  35 of 2011 [which means in 2011 I was averaging approximately 4.30 miles a walk.]
 
* distance calculated on Ordnance Survey's Getamap