One if John’s ‘wounds’ is not doing well, and his consultant, who has been on holiday, said bed rest for three weeks. He also said, ‘We were very lucky!’ Everyone seems to be saying that if the abscesses had been left any later he’d have been brown bread. (In fact, one of the nurses used that expression.) So we need to stay positive and hope the three weeks pass quickly. Then there’ll be the gradual sitting up for longer each day, but hopefully that won’t take more than a week.

M and F are so kind. I’m staying there. Ali is flying down from Scotland tonight and I’m picking her up from Luton airport. Martin is cycling over to Aylesbury from Oxford today (19 miles I think) and Fiona has just left by car. They will see John this afternoon and Fiona will drive him home with his bike in the back of the car.

Tomorrow is our annual Family Reunion. It was really meant to be at our place in Yorkshire this year, but M and F are hosting it instead. We were hoping John could come over for an hour or two, but that’s out of the question now. We will probably see him in relays. Kevin is coming from Epsom and Don from Bristol. Rachel (Niall’s daughter) can’t make it.

I need to think about my ‘life’ for the next few weeks. Birding and Creative Writing are starting up again, and I don’t think the Scripture group closed for the summer, but I’m not too sure. I’ve missed quite a few photography sessions as that kept going through the summer.

Think I will enrol for everything and just do what I can, as I do need to go home once a week to touch base. There’s mail to sort out and grass to cut, and I hate leaving the cats for too long. Also, I really need time on my own.

I have two assignments to do for Redemptorist Publications, which I am very pleased about. Also, the OU Creative Writing course starts in September. I’m looking forward to that.

John has lots of reading in hospital, but maybe he could do an online course to stop getting too bored. He is doing a counselling course at the moment, but I don’t think it’s online. Need to sort out what to bring in for him.

Oh well, I’d better send some emails to people to let them know what’s happening. Thank God for my faith. (Oxymoron?) John is starting to think seriously about ‘faith’. I thought he was before all this happened. He definitely is now.