_beeps

Hello - I’m really sorry about your diagnosis. It sounds like you’re grabbing it by the horns though - hats off to you! Earlier year I cycled to Paris via the Avenue Verte which is a signposted and mostly car free route between London and Paris. Got the train with my bike to Newhaven, and from there took the ferry to Dieppe and began the cycle there, with overnight stops along the way in various towns! Also did a slight detour via Versailles and spent the day walking around the palace gardens. Was a brilliant (very tiring!) way to see rural France, eat good food and be outdoors. I hope you manage to have some fabulous adventures x

And even now they sound as good, if not better than the records live. His voice just gets better with the years!

Yep - throat like razorblades, congested, coughing. Mingin

Oh yes, both of those are great shouts!

Nice.. well travelled sausage rolls makes them taste better I’ve heard!

Super, thanks so much!

But super wasteful :(

Yeah. Rank! Kinda miss the days of not caring about it though cos it’s really bloody boring to do

Every night. Never used to but once I started I realised how totally grim it is not to.

You’ve obviously never experienced health anxiety, hope you don’t!

Laminated menus and / or pictures of the food

Floor dinner

Flying too, except my fear is that there’s a terrorist on board and I can’t get off or do anything about it. I was once 100% convinced the guy next to me was a terrorist simply because he was a bit of a geezer and was offering an older lady help with her case - which I decided was some kind of extensive cover up for the fact he was going to kill us all! I have full blown panic attacks, tears, the full lot. I still fly because I want to go away, but it’s pretty horrendous when that’s in full force.

A man on the bus at about midnight in south west London. Eating what looked like homemade curry from an empty butter pot with his hands, and then projectile spitting the (many) unwanted bits of whatever meat bits and bones were in his mouth all over the bus.

Even if OP means pyjamas it’s a perfectly normal thing for adults to wear! Signed, an adult in pyjamas.

Most people understand that a drastic career change will initially mean a pay cut, managerial experience isn’t necessarily relevant - it’s about gaining the knowledge of a new industry / skill / craft and working your way up. Either way.. OP - it’s never too late to change! My mum retrained as a paramedic in her 50s and never looked back.

I don’t think you need to have managerial experience to change careers

I think he’ll gain so much more than he could possibly lose. What an opportunity! No doubt you’ll have the most wonderful time - good luck!

What do you both do out of interest, if you don’t mind sharing?

You are fabulous :)

Ah, thank you so so much for taking the time to write this out. I’ve sent it all over to her. I think the under desk pedaller is a fantastic idea so that she can get some movement whilst sitting down. She’s not under the care of a specialist at the moment - I paid for her to have an appointment with a private specialist as I was at a loss of what to do, he suggested gentle movement and some different medications than what she’s currently on. I think one of the hardest things she’s going to find is breaking the cycle of being static. She says lying down is the only thing that seems to get her heart rate down and helps the anxiety but the consultant actually said the less time spent lying down / in bed the better. I think all the mental health implications of such a physically debilitating condition are what’s really holding her back from putting small lifestyle changes into play.. I can just keep encouraging and passing on helpful information that I come across and hope she can find some strength to try things out. It sounds like you’ve really made a conscious effort to do everything you can to get through this - extremely commendable because I’m seeing first hand how difficult that is. Keep at it and I really hope you continue to make improvement!!

My mum is experiencing almost exactly this, it’s awful. Really sorry you’re going through it. The POTS seems to be the worst of all. She’s gone from working full time in the ambulance service to basically being bed-bound, in an out of hospital weekly and extremely depressed and anxious. Very debilitating. Can I ask what you’ve done that you think may have improved your symptoms? Hope you continue to improve and can get back to a good quality of life as soon as possible!!

Salt and vinegar Pop Chips with little chunks of comté cheese

It’s better to abide by the lawn.