Cheltenham General

...was built in the days when hospitals required Palladian columns. These have been retained to prop up the NHS.

On arrival (by bus, through snow-filled woods and on foot) I was pleased to find volunteer ladies in red t-shirts standing in the entrance hall giving directions to all comers. My destination was cardiology. I found the department, and settled down to wait in a corridor with blue plastic flip-out seats. I had an ECG, then a series of questions and more stripping and having my heart listened to.

After all of this, I was told that I could put on my clothes and leave, and that I don't have angina. Woohoo! The reason for my recent episodes of severe pain on the left side of my chest/ribs is apparently intercostal muscle pain.
Naturally I am relieved, but also reminding myself that the first episode occurred after eating a buttery sauce; the second after eating coconut butter; the third flicker after eating prawn mayo. I am going to watch my saturated fat intake.

After I'd put my five layers back on, I went round to D's flat, as it's handily located next door to the hospital. He suggested that we have lunch in the hospital canteen. I reminded him that I eat lunch on NHS property on four days of each week...

I helped him complete his online passport application form. This was something we attempted to do on paper last year; a problem that has never gone away. The process was surprisingly uncomplicated, and we even got his witness/referee onboard. We pressed the Send button and went out to lunch.

D lives near a road with shops and restaurants, but my! He walks so slowly now. It was difficult to slow down. In the shopping area, he started panicking that all the restaurants would be full because it's ore-race week. Some of them were full, right enough, but I steered D clear of Burger Star and into a delightful cafe, Lucy's, where we had some delectable brunch.

Sadly I missed my poetry Zoom course, because the whole going-out business had taken Soooo long, and I'd forgotten to bring my poetry notes, anyway, what with looking for my hospital appointment letter and packing my bag with Selkirk bannocks from Scotland for D. That is the second session I've missed. Highly annoying.

After that, D and I went to play in a hardware store and I turned into a 1970s housewife and bought all sorts of exciting cleaning products for the home. D bought an egg slicer. Then he wanted to take a cab home. That was fine by me: I had time to go round a few charity shops, because that road has about five or six. I couldn't get the Anthony Powell books that my friend's husband wanted, but I did find More than a Woman by Caitlin Moran. Then I took the bus back to Stroud.

The afternoon had turned into Spring, in contrast with the Wintry morning. In Stroud I had things to do, and ended up by missing the bus home by minutes. Walked home, uphill all the way. Got into bed to watch a quiz show, and haven't really got up since. Thank Godness it's Friday!