Tuesday 7 February 2012

Mid Winter Update

Well a couple of months have elapsed since the pre Christmas cardiac and relationship dramas so I figure an update is overdue.

Whilst Sarah seems determined that we should remain apart my recovery from the skilled intervention of the Morriston cardiac team has been steady and sustained. I have lost 10 kg and reduced my serum cholesterol from 7.5 to 2.5 largely through a healthy but varied diet that whilst it lacks the goodies I used to enjoy has been surprisingly acceptable. Whilst both my GP and Cardiac Rehab nurse advised me to ease off on the exercise a little the surgical follow up was reassuring although there remains a strong indication of coronary artery disease in two other pipes so future issues and interventions cannot be ruled out. However I am giving myself the best chances and am inspired to make the most of the new and unexpected opportunities offered so am filling up the 2012 diary steadily.

A week in Sheffield with a long standing friend combined stout walks on the Derbyshire tops with the cultural delights of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Hepworth Wakefield. This was followed by a memorable weekend in Shropshire to celebrate my brother's 50th birthday - bopping till 4 am and more laughter than I can remember in ages.

A memorable winter's day climbing Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons was followed by a 3am drive to Bristol for a flight to Salobrena in southern Spain where 3 of us were royally hosted by a mutual friend in his comfy villa. The sights and sounds of an admittedly familiar foreign country combined with warm sunny days whilst Britain shivered convinced me that the sooner I am back on the road in Europe and beyond the better. We picked several carrier bags of fresh oranges and returned all too soon to a frozen Bristol airport.
Over the next couple of weeks I will be back to Pembrokeshire for meds, completing a multi-day walk in the Lake District and heading to Bristol for a long weekend before some bothy training days in mid Wales in early March.
A few weeks in Devon may precede a couple of months in Scotland as I have the annual walking week around Easter - this year we stay on Skye - followed by work parties south of Ullapool and near Cape Wrath.
Beyond that I am leaving things flexible for the summer but will post regularly.

Having replaced the mislaid camera a new set of pics appear here and the slide show looks at our location a year ago - Tasmania.

3 comments:

  1. Skye - I'm jealous!!! Have a look at the rocks (and the scenery) for me, too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Let me know when you do the Cape Wrath work party. You may be able to remind the MO and members of the strange bloke, bike and trailer that turned up at Kervaig last years work party.

    ReplyDelete

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