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Sorry, not popped in for a while, very busy! I have 10 visits a day over this weekend and of course one of my neighbours is having a party tonight... Gawd I hate thumping bass. The music is actually on quite quietly, so all I can hear is what sounds like a bad headache.
Gentle Chugger: about kidney pills: the usual one, fortekor, is actually palatable and most cats will take it as a treat. Lizzie has it after her other pills as a 'reward'. Sometimes she doesn't want it straight away, in which case I just save it and offer it later. She's never refused twice.
Tootie: I thought Lizzie was a heavy sleeper! She's scared me a few times... doesn't help that she sometimes sleeps with her eyes open!
Hehehh ... I never used to have any 'worries' with my lovely old Peanut when he was asleep .. because he could snore for England .. I have had independent witnesses who have variously heard him snoring in the bedroom when we were sat in the lounge watching a rip roaring action movie .. heard him snoring in the lounge when we were outside eating alfresco .. even the vet shook her head once after he'd had to stay in overnight .. she said she thought her dad snored badly .. but my old Peanut was much louder
As he got older I used to almost dread him coming to bed with me .. many times I'd had to dig my man in the ribs to shut him up snoring ... but when you have to start elbowing the cat you know you've got a problem on your hands hahahahah .. but I guess that's just one of the things that made him special and unique .. a massive, tall and long cat weighing in at some 20lbs in winter during his prime, all muscle too, gave me several black eyes when 'running and catch' games got rough and he barged into me instead of dodging round me ... snored like a trooper, loved playing in water, eating raw garlic & curry, scared of heights, HUGE feet, clumsy and never fell on his feet like most cats but would wallop down in a jumble of legs, tail and bodily parts .. knocked himself out twice (that I know of) falling off things .. he was the most 'dog like' cat I have ever known ..
His twin sister Smudge (just two in the litter and they definitely had a very strong telepathic bond of some kind) .. was completely different .. very dainty, tiny little feet, a mere 8lbs or so .. and the best ever mouser ... she brought me soooooo many mice 'gifts' that I started naming them alphabetically (like they do tropical storms and hurricanes) .. most summers I'd have to go round the alphabet twice .. the mice she brought me were always alive .. and she had a very special 'deep throat meow' to let me know she had a 'gift' .. if I could jump up quick enough to meet her at the door she would put her 'gift' in my hands .. then we would all troop outside again where I could set the poor little mite free .. strangely she wouldn't chase after it again just watch it run off .. and she expect a heap of praise for her latest gift .. and I always had to have at least three humane mouse traps set (a smear of peanut butter and a thimble or water always ready for the latest occupant) .. for the mice I wasn't quick enough to grab ..
Sigh .. I do miss them terribly .. they were far more than mere pets .. best friends, confidantes, companions and they both loved watching cartoons, snooker and wild life programmes ..
Oh Patootie, I do love your descriptions of your beasties! You really bring them to life---and obviously they must have been very, very happy moggies living with you! No wonder you still miss them. But it's good to think that you gave two fellow-creatures so many years of comfort and happiness.
Knowing you, your next step will be to start getting to know the squirrels and birds out your windows! I imagine you will string up peanuts and things for them in the winter? My uncle, who was bed-bound for many years, became a keen ornithologist, with a bird-table that he maintained with great enthusiasm. I think if you have a love for animals, it always finds a way to bring you pleasure.
Rowan, I don't know if English liver pills are tastier than Dutch ones, but Truffles sussed out what we were doing after a couple of days and resolutely refused to have any more pate! I did manage to trick one or two more pills into her with other varied treats, but by the time we had finished the course she looked at me with great suspicion whenever I gave her anything to eat. I'm just glad we don't have to do it on a daily basis.
Mind you, this is the cat who went awol. After 4 days we were frantic, and put up posters all over the place, even half a mile away on the other side of the big road. And one day a lady rang to tell us she had heard a cat mewing in a tree in a deserted garden, way on the other side of the big road....we shot over there, and finally found the place. And sure enough, WAY WAY WAY UP, was Truffles. She was about 75 feet up, and while she had pulled herself up with her claws, there were no branches so she couldn't get down. We don't know how she got across the road etc, but we think she panicked in a thunderstorm and ran up the tree for safety. Anyway, as soon as she heard the voice of Chuglet 3 (who was about 10 at the time, and is HER boy) she began howling 'Get me down! I'm scared to death up here, I'm hungry, I'm tired, I'm thirsty, GET ME DOWN!' We called the fire department in the end, but it had rained so much the ground was to boggy for them to get to her, so we had to leave her one more night til they could bring the other fire engine. That was pretty awful to have to do, but they assured us that she would be fine, and the next morning, before we could even go over there, they showed up at the door with Truffie in their arms. Well, she was very tired, very thirsty, very hungry, and VERY glad to be home---but fine. She absolutely refused to be parted from C3 at all for about 3 days: she insisted on sitting in his lap, following him around (preferably being CARRIED around by him), sleeping with him.....But she recovered within just a few days, and is now our queen cat who definitely rules the roost around here!
Isn't it wonderful that we have other animals in the world?
Fortekor as a treat - ROFL at the battle I used to have with my Mick who didn't consider them a treat at all.
Meanwhile Boris has been to the vet with an ingrown claw, which hs managed to break a while back, and is on a course of Synulox. He is happily wolfing them down hidden in a Trojan Prawn.
Honestly the time we've spent at the vets this month
Cats are just the best though. My Maggie snores like an old man, its hilarious.
Thanks, Screamy, it's a relief to know Truffie isn't the only cat who dislikes pills! Hope all of your moggies are really getting better now, though.
Patootie, how are you doing? Hope the silence doesn't mean it's a 'bad fibro week'---or if that's what it was, I hope next week will be a lot better!
Hey Patootie, are you still there? I do hope you are just very busy and having too much fun to post, rather than being under the weather...
Anyway, we're thinking of you! xx
Cats are all fine at the moment GC, Boris is much happier without his big red bandage.
Hope you are well Toots, I don't suppose this damp weather helps your fibro much does it? As GC says, we're thinking of you.
I'm off to sunnier climes on holiday next Monday - wey hey
Can't wait!
Woohoo, Screamy, where're you going? If you can even IMAGINE the sun, it must be a nice place!!
I'm in the Netherlands, and I cycled home from work today in sheets of rain! I carry Gore-Tex rainwear all the time, so it didn't really matter, but it isn't exactly spirit-raising right at the start of September!!
Are you doing any more cat-sitting at the moment?
And Toots, really, really hope that this long silence doesn't mean you're having a rotten time. As Screamy says, the damp weather might make the fibro worse? Anyway, we're sending you great waves of support!!!
((((((((((((((((((((((((PATOOTIE)))))))))))))))))))))))
(those are big hugs)
(((BIG HUGS))) from me too
I'm off to Washington DC, GC - where the average daytime temperature for September is 80 degrees (phew!)
We will be going to the National Zoo to see the giant pandas and to the battlefield of Gettysburg - something I have always wanted to do - as well as visiting lots of museums and the National Archve. We were there briefly in 2001 and didn't get a chance to explore properly which is why we're going back.
We're hoping there might be a bit of pre-election buzz about the place too. Would be great to see one of the candidates, although I expect they're more likely to be off campaigning
Hope the weather has cleared up GC. It is dry in London today but pretty chilly - autumn has definitely arrived. Not that I mind autumn, in fact it is my favourite season, but I'm not too fnd of winter.
Woohoo, a trip to Washington! You should have a super time, Screamy, though you can have the 80 degrees and high humidity. I remember Washington as an imperial city, with imposing monuments and a sense of power. As you say, there's sure to be a lot of election buzz around even if the candidates are all elsewhere.
It's dry here, and still quite mild though a bit cooler than it has been. I'll be happy when it goes down another couple of degrees, though. Like you, I love the autumn
)))
Hope Toots is OK, she's been silent for quite a long time. But she did have SO much to do earlier this year, she may just be tired and having a good rest. So here are some more hugs, Patootie, we will be happy to have you back whenever!
((((((((((((((((((((((PATOOTIE))))))))))))))))))))
Have a lovely trip, Screamy, when exactly are you off?
Monday morning GC, although I finish work tomorrow.
I have taken Friday off to hand in my OU coursework, get my yankee dollars and finish tidying up before the outlaws come down to cat-sit at the weekend.
Of course Toots may well be having PC problems again and waiting for a nice man to come and sort them out
That's a good thought, Screamy. She was having trouble with the pooter, wasn't she?
Anyway, you'll be off without a care in the world---and if you're doing an OU degree on top of everything else, you'll deserve every minute of that holiday! Hope you have a truly wonderful time. Be sure to bring back some photos to show us!!
Aw thanks GC,
Although the photo thing rather depends on whether my OH decides to finally get a digital camera or not, wouldn't surprise me if he gets one at the airport
Looking forward to some sunshine I can tell you
I bet you are, Screamy---I would be too! It was just raining in sheets, but the sun has now come out for a few minutes. A brief guest appearance, as it were.
You can get some really good camera deals in duty free, so if your OH knows what he's looking for you may well come home with some great photos!!
Really hope Patootie is all right, this is a long time for her to be completely quiet. Hope the bliddy fibro isn't making her feep carp.
(((((((((((((((Patootie)))))))))))
Ohh my ... it's all MY fault .. well at least I assume it is .. been waiting and waiting for someone to post for days and days .. then bless her I got a 'heads up' from Gentle Chugger asking where I was .. hmmm .. I thought .. that's odd I have been wondering where everyone else was .. assumed you'd all gone off on holidays ..
Sorry for being out of touch .. can't think how I got logged out .. must have been one of my various bits of 'security' software auto logging me out ..
Right .. let me go and check out all the posts you've done .. back in a short while ...
Goodness me .. what a lot I have missed .. holidays, fun, laughter, cats and lots of love coming my way ... awww sorry everyone I got 'lost' somehow
Right .. now let me see .. the very hot week with the high humidity was quite simply awful (end Aug beginning Sept), nighttime was the worst .. had to sleep with a fan on .. but didn't get too much sleep .. (but did anyone?) .. and I had some kind of weird skin reaction to being 'damp' all the time .. some kind of weird 'mould' or 'fungus' came up on my arms ..
.. one application of a topical steroid sorted that out though .. but it was quite bizarre .,. and rather embarrassing too .. although it just looked like any 'normal' excema reaction .. I'd half expected to wake up and find a tree sprouting from my arm 
Then last week it rained and rained and rained .. so from high humidty .. to well .. high dampness .. good old Blighty ..
.. nice dry English summers with sun everyday .. just a dream these days isn't it ... 
One very positive thing happened last week .. I checked my Premium Bond numbers and found dear old ERNIE hadn't forgotten me .. bless him we are quite good friends .. and I have enough money coming my way to finally sort out my bedroom ..
Going from left to right I will have .. (on order as I wanted a wood that wasn't in stock!) .. a small one door wardrobe which butts up to a nice corner 'robe .. then going along the other wall will be a decent sized 2 door 'robe .. followed by a decent sized three drawer chest of drawers ..
So round the whole corner it will be a sweep of just over 3' on one side and just over 6' along the other .. all in a nice light alder wood grain .. the chest of drawers will 'soften' the side of the 'robe and lessen the starkness of such a big plank of wood .. lots of hanging space with rails in all three 'robes ... top boxes in them all and also loads of space in the bottom of the 'robes for shoes etc ..
Can't wait to get it all here .. and BEST thing is it's already assembled
.. no D.I.Y. flat pack this time thanks to ERNIE .. and you know me .. I searched for discounts and got .. 15% off .. free delivery (set up in bedroom, with all packing materials taken away and pay in March 2009 if I choose .. 
Ooooh, Patootie, it's GREAT to see your voice! Don't know how the logging on and off works, but I never understand anything on computers really. As far as I'm concerned, the only lesson is: if Patootie's quiet for a long time, send her an email in case her pooter has been attacked by evil software!!
How absolutely wonderful of Ernie to have arranged the bonds for you! It must have made him feel great, though, to be able to do something in return for all your kindness to him. Having that ssociation with your beautiful new bedroom stuff will make it always feel like a sort of hug from him. And it does sound really wonderful...NINE FEET of hanging space all for YOU!!! Now, THAT is bonzer!
And I must say you are very very very wise to have it come assembled. Over the years we've indulged in Ikea (who hasn't?) but every time we get something Mr C tries to put it together, gets annoyed after 15 minutes, and bangs the whole thing together with nails. At the end he looks at the handful of leftover screws, washers and other bits, shrugs and throws them away! So having some nice people bring it , put it where you want it, and leave you with just the fun of filling it---perfect!
Time for me to go to bed so I can be up bright and early, but it's VERY good to have you back, Toots!!! Sleep tight! xxxx
Ever since I left home at 16 years old I have been putting together flat pack furniture .. the old MFI stores used to sell some right old tat back in the 70's & 80's .. cheap and cheerful certainly .. but you just knew you'd need extra screws .. rawlplugs and those funny 'fixer together block' things .. the hours and hours I have spent bent over various bits of chipboard and MDF ..
But I actually enjoy making up flat pack furniture believe it or not .. and just about everything in my last home and here is flat pack .. so much more for your money .. and you can make it slightly different to make it more as you want too .. I've often 'adapted' the thing, moved the shelves around or added bits etc ..
But the thought of building up a large corner wardrobe weighing in at some 170lbs (had I bought the flat pack corner unit I first found) .. is a bit beyond me now .. I know I'd get it built ok .. but I had visions of trying to raise it off the floor and struggle with it into a corner .. it would probably have got half way up and then fallen on me ..
.. and there'd be a little voice shouting out .. "hello, hello .. can you help me .. I'm shut in the wardrobe" ... folks coming in and not seeing me .. just a large wardrobe lying on the floor .. door side down .. and a disembodied voice saying "I'm shut in the wardrobe .. flippin' lemme out" .. 
hahahahah
And errm .. it was a nice little win on the Premium Bonds .. if I didn't make that clear lol ...
Sigh ... it's a flippin' epic saga .. just over 3 years ago I closed a credit card account with Halifax .. they'd made several mistakes and were not very quick to put them right .. so I closed it .. had a letter from them to say the account was closed ...
... them about 18 months ago Halifax sent me a statement .. showing no activity over the last 18 months .. hmmm .. but the account was CLOSED .. so how come I received a statement ..
... after several 'wrong' departments and 'uninformed' customer help people .. I finally got the account closed AGAIN .. had a letter showing the account was closed AND a cheque for £5 for my inconvenience ..
.... then just before I moved .. sigh .. yes you've guessed it .. I had a letter from Halifax to say my new credit card would arrive shortly .. .. so yet again I had to ring them up and flippin' try and close the account .. "I'm sorry madam, I cannot deal with your query until you give me your security details' ... flippin' norah I can't remember what I had for breakfast never mind security codes from 2 years ago ..
... well, we finally got it sorted out when I remember I'd copied some personal details bits and pieces from my old computer onto this one .. once again Halifax were 'very sorry' for all the inconvenience .. but I could of course keep the account open if I chose to ...
.. just flamin' close it I spluttered ...
... so at the start of August my letter showing the account was at long last CLOSED (for the third time) arrived ...
... sigh ... but guess what .. in the post this morning was a letter from Halifax .. obviously some well meaning 'jobsworth' had picked up my acount .. seen all the problems .. and I'm sure with the very best intentions ...
... credited my account with £5 .. as a goodwill gesture ...
.. which of course means that ... the account is STILL flamin' not closed ... DOH!!
Oh Patootie, that's the kind of saga that starts out annoying, reaches hilarious, and then becomes rather deadly. I think you ought now to write something formal to the head office, telling them the whole story and telling them that you expect them to stop harrassing you. I could check and see who regulates banks, you could send them a copy as well. Thing is, they're lucky you are so honest: in this economic climate, the LAST thing they should be doing is pushing unwanted credit on people!!
And somehow I'm not surprised that you're a whizz at flatpack furniture! But I agree, the picture of you trapped helplessly in an overturned cupboard does sound positively heart-rending, so you are very wise to let someone else do the heavy work this time
)))
Have you been affected at all by the terrible floods that I'm seeing on the BBC? My heart goes out to those people who were only just recovering from last year's floods, and now find themselves back in it. I'm afraid that some of this at least is our fault: we've built on flood plains, we've asphalted over so much land that the water can't drain naturally, but that's no consolation to the people caught in it.
Here in the Netherlands local flooding is pretty common because the water table is so high (and most people actually live under sea level!) but there are massive national flood control systems in place all along the west coast so serious and widespread flooding is extremely rare now . Although they are looking at raising those, with global warming on the way.
But NOTHING compares to what those poor souls in the Caribbean are facing! This is the third major hurricant to hit them in a month or something. That surely makes you count your blessings, doesn't it?
Patooooootie, where aaaare you??? I think Screamy must still be in Washington, but where are you??
Very busy weekend here, Chuglet 1 is home for a visit as this is the last weekend before Chuglet 2 goes off to university. So naturally we wind up on bar duty at the football club as from 8.3o tomorrow morning...! Will be fun to have the afternoon and evening with all the kids, though.
Hope you haven't lost contact with the outside world again!
Well I addressed the absurdity of building on the flood plains .. of course the places will flippin' well flood .. that's why they are flood plains .. they FLOOD !!!
And no .. no problems with flooding here .. thankfully I have never lived anywhere that's in danger of flooding .. it must be an awful, really scary thing to live through .. the helplessness, fear for your life .. and in the Caribbean the relentlessness of knowing it's all going to happen again and again .. sheesh what a way to live ..
Sounds like you are going to have a very busy weekend .. be nice to have the 'boys' at home .. growm men now of course .. making their way in the world .. bet you are proud of them .. in many ways I wish I'd had the chance to go to uni .. but then again with the benefit of hindsight I know I wouldn't have liked it .. I love learning .. try to learn something new everyday .. but I am a poor academic .. I simply cannot sit and learn all there is to know about one subject .. I 'flit' from topic to topic .. a bit here and a bit there .. butterfly brain syndrome .. flit and sip at just the juiciest bits of info then move swiftly on
Now .... click on SUBMIT !!
PS Fibro's in one of it's more distasteful modes at present .. nightmares .. hate this symptom .. the weirdest, panic filling, almost evil frightmares .. hence the reason I am posting at this early hour .. happens 2-3 times a year .. 4-5 nights in a row of dark, limb freezing dreams .. wake up with a start .. dry mouth .. eyes wide and a stifled scream at the back of your throat .. but thankfully I rarely can remember more than a brief snippet of the dream .. just the feeling that if I try and go straight back to sleep I will 'carry on' with the dream ...
... so a good time to catch up on some emails and postings 
It's good to hear from you, Patootie, and don't worry---the whole RW website has been weird over the last few days. I've lost several long posts, and so have other people, so it's not you: it's something in the computer or the server or whatever. One of my pals said that in future he's going to write his messages in WordPad and hang onto them until he's sure they've posted, which is not a bad idea.
You're right about the flood plains. We think we're clever, but we make elementary mistakes that people of the past would never have made. The siting of the M25 is a perfect example. The old road, the A 25, sits up on top of the North Downs; and when they planned the new motorway the local people warned the roadbuilders to put the new road up there too. But no: we knew better than folklore. So they put it down in the low ground, and guess what? The M25 south of London has fog traps in the autumn, floods that totally close the motorway whenever it rains hard, etc etc....And I'm rather afraid that a good deal of our housebuilding has been similarly thoughtless. Usually at the expense of the people who trust the builders and the government, alas.
Yes, it's lovely to have everyone home. At the moment our daughter is working in London, our older boy is about to go to Chester to start uni, and our younger son has one more year at home. So the times when we're all together are getting fewer; but it's lovely that all the kids so much like getting together. We were on duty in the canteen in the football club for most of the day, so we're going to wander into the village for an early dinner at a local restaurant, I think.
I have to say, Patootie, that those dreams sound perfectly awful. One is vulnerable in sleep: you don't have your normal common sense to hand to remind you that this is just a silly fantasty, so dreams can seem very real. I'm glad that you wake up, at least, and break the evil spell. It's much better to get up and do something to re-establish contact with the real world, than to lurk in an evil dream. I hope that will be behind you now and tonight you will be able to sleep deeply, with only good dreams. I will send you special vibes for sweet slumbers and happy dreams!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~PATOOTIE~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~````
Oh Patootie, I'm getting worried again! I hope you aren't having an extended run of nightmares or anything.
We've been having some lovely and very welcome autumn sunshine over the last few days, and I was hoping you would too, and that it would chase the fibro demons away! Or maybe you're just having such a nice time at the moment thatyou don't have time to post? Anyway, we're thinknig of you!! xxxx
(((((((((((((((Patootie)))))))))))))))))
Sorry ..
.. but thank you for caring .. 
.. this weekend was a whirl of Formula 1 Grand Prix racing on TV .. a lovely long 2 hour phone call from my sister in Australia .. and I came to the end of a 'devilishly' difficult but thoroughly enjoyable jigsaw of a tall mast fully rigged wooden sailing ship (you know the old ones like Cutty Sark etc) .. which was being dashed to pieces on rocks in a tempest .. and had caught fire .. so lots of brooding dark white capped seas with swirling spume .. angry dark skies .. burning sails .. broken masts with a tangle of rigging .. brilliant .. really hard .. but fantastic .. I do love a good jigsaw . 
Doctors yesterday .. more routine tests .. it's amazing the difference it makes having a large central city doctors practice .. compared with a very rural and small doctors practice .. I didn't expect there would be much difference .. however in this city practice it seems like they have money to burn .. in the 3 months I've been here I've had 4 lots of extensive blood tests done .. most of which cost hundreds of pounds for each test .. and yesterday the doc even suggested I had a 5th lot done ..
I thanked him .. and then made him laugh out loud by querying whether it was really necessary as all the repeated tests showed pretty much the same thing .. yes they were rather haywire and readings had 'crept over' the suggested limits for cholestorol (too many cheese sandwiches during the move) .. blood pressure slightly elevated (yet much lower than expected for a person of my age and size having had the upset of moving) when I first arrived .. but I'd had a HUGE upset .. and everything had now slid back down the scales .. and just about everything was now MUCH LOWER than a person of my age should present with ..
Anyway he laughed and asked how I knew everything was below the levels they should be .. so I explained my old docs had always shared and explained what levels I needed to be at .. and that I was of course extremely interested in my health .. it's my body and I have a weird illness and I need to be able to understand it all to live life as best as possible .. he laughed again and wished all his patients were so knowledgeable about their health ..
.. then agreed with me that taking more blood tests could wait for 3 months .. ohh .. and just as I was going out the door .. he said to me .. actually you have a better blood sugar level than a person half my age and weight .. and my cholesterol levels were lower than he would have expected them to be .. that showed that when I say I don't eat sweets, chox, cakes .. biscuits etc .. it was absolutely true .. 
Oh, excellent, Patootie! Sounds like yet another benefit of the move is some better medical care. And how good that this doctor too encourages you to be intelligent and informed about your health. (I always used to wonder about those prescriptions that were just called 'The Powders'--take one at bedtime with water. How did people swallow those things without the slightest idea of what they were or what they might do???)
Any road, you are clearly back well within 'safe' values, which is good. But was the 'HUGE upset' this last blast of fibro? I remember when you were moving house you were afraid that you would get overtired and pay for it---was this that bill coming due?
I admire your patience with jigsaw puzzles. One of my kids loves them. I like them if they're not too hard, but I'm easily frustrated and when I can't figure out how ANYTHING fits or what it's supposed to look like, I tend to go off in a huff.
We are gearing up to have older son off to uni this weekend. Mixed feelings: I'm going to miss him awfully, he's one of those people with a wonderfully positive temperament, always cheerful, always enjoying things. But he's very ready for this step, and I'm really proud of him. And he's coming for a long weekend during his brother's half-term in October, so it won't be very long til we see him again. And our daughter (the oldest, working in London now) came home last weekend and we had a great time all together. We've been really lucky that way.
I hope the worst of the fibro this time has passed, and that you're able to enjoy a bit of the autumn, Patootie. Don't stay away too long or we'll get worried again!!! xxx
Robin Hood Full Marathon - our 30 th FM together - clocking 5.17
I feel most sad to hear of the death of the young man - I only hope, he was involved in a sport that he truly loved and worshipped - my thoughts are with his family
As for us - ( OR me ) - bloody hell, what a day it gradually turned into -
- started off really well superb in actual fact, got going not to fast , kept myself well hydrated & nibbled on our delicious stuff we carry on board-
Plenty of support, spectators and runners alike seemed to be never endingly chanting Mick n Phil - Mick n Phil - Mick n Phil , it made me feel very proud , also somewhat tearful - so my thanks to all who supported us
Onwards we went through the miles, never becoming complacent at all -
Phillip constantly wanted attention and feeding , I’ve no idea why - he felt heavier and heavier as time went on - never once did I really feel that I got chance to settle
At about 11 miles I noticed I was just starting to feeling rather sick, but I thought, oh well, perhaps it a bit of excitement - so to be sure I just eased the pace, knowing we had plenty of time, and turned it into a jog then walk - Then we came to the split , cruised off down it got just passed in line with the start area, and I sunk to my knees , just vomiting, couldn’t stop - I had NO idea why - I still don’t
The finish line was just yards away , did I call it a day - I thought no, giving in is to easy, 3 hours and we’ll be back
On we went, jogging, then walking, as time went on , I had 3 more stops which I sunk to my knees and was just so sick, my stomach pulled, but luckily not my head - though I was noticing each time I ran I felt ill - so kept it to walk FAST, jog- people were passing us, supporting us -
As the miles went on , I thought, ahh, were closing in now, just an hour away. And so on -
I could so easily have given in yesterday, I totally lost it, I have NO idea at all , with all my experience what went wrong - I just knew this was all instinct, physiological and mental strength
I staggered towards the finish line, just before it trying to joke with the commentators . Just after the line, I simply lost my legs and hit the floor, I had first aid, 30 minutes or so later I went on - I met highly experienced runners who were waiting for us, who said at 13 miles they called it a day - why , they didn’t know either
All in all, a super day, no complaints at all - but it just shows, NO matter how experienced one is, no matter how physically or mentally fit one is, - never be complacent over 26 miles
I won’t say - never again, cos that’s not our style, and I know we will - it was just one of those days
Good grief .. what an experience ..
Makes me wonder if there was any 'foul' air in the locality .. especially as it affected you worse when you were running .. and so would be pulling more air in .. and in the same way it wouldn't affect spectators or indeed Phil as their aerobic effort (is that what breathing hard is?) wouldn't be so much ..
.. and that could be why Phil was hungrier than usual too .. his body may have wanted to eat more so it could use the digestion system to help clear any 'nasty' stuff out of his system .. be interesting to know what caused it wouldn't it 
The wind here has been very light over the past week so maybe some of the 'nastier' things in the air had built up ?? Or maybe a foul wind from the continent .. seems a bit odd that other runners were affected too ..
Well done for finishing ..
I second what Patootie said, Mick----what an accomplishment for you both!
But it does sound as if there was something in the air since it was affecting so many people so mysteriously. Do you feel OK now? Did Phil have any after-effects? If you both felt OK once you got home, that really would raise a question about the locality, and I can't think of anything except air. Hope you're both back in good form now! xx
What a fabulous couple of days we've had .. beautiful weather .. sunny blue skies .. been out and about both days .. done all my Christmas shopping today .. just got the cards to make now .. bought a 5ft tall spiral fully decorated Christmas tree yesterday for £7.99 .. all you do is just lift it up out it's box .. lock it into position and hey presto .. an instant Christmas tree .. complete with all the pre fitted lights, baubles, bows etc .. today I got all the presents .. so that's me sorted ..
And yesterday I got around £80 of things from Argos (Eco kettle that uses 33% less electricity, laptop wifi thingy, some nice seagrass storage boxes for the wooden kitchen trolley I bought a while back, a Filofax so I can get to grips with my social life next year hahahaha and some other kitchen things I can't remember) but only spent £7.62 .. the rest of the money came from doing all the online surveys .. and today I spent aropund £80 in the shop, but it only cost me about £23 .. the rest came from yet more surveys ..
And for all the little gifts I may need to buy for folk here .. (seems they all give little gifts to each other) .. I have around £90 on my Boots Loyalty card ...
Lovely to be out and about .. really enjoyed myself .. and with it all being less than 10 minutes away by car I didn't get totally fatigued either ..
.. looking forward to a good nights sleep now .. 