Blogs from Cheshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Did Covid change the world ? Yes I think it did . Volunteers have dropped off volunteering since the pandemic. Many historical properties can no longer open their doors each and every week through the season. Some have closed for good as visitors stopped calling. Numbers have not returned to pre-pandemic levels . Perhaps we never should have shut down and just carried on. Things might have been very different . Today was one of those examples of places that were thriving pre- Covid but now is a pale shadow of its former self. We left Port Sunlight village after looking quickly at the museum . £16 entrance fee for both of us seemed a touch steep. We got into the car with no name and headed further up the Wirral. To our left the hills ... read more

Headspace. Body space. Dialogued decision making. Do we cancel the remainder of the planned holiday and go home or see if there is improvement and continue on? The above dominated our days. Assessment and Treatment by a leading BPPV physio. Carrying out of advice/treatment. Plenty of rest. Patience. BPPV (Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo) is definitely an illness you do not want to experience. We have been told that it is caused by the movement of minute calcium carbonate crystals into the semi-circular canals which disrupts normal eye movements causing repetitive jerky eye movements called nystagmus in certain head positions (such as turning over in bed). Sensations of room spinning, vertigo and nausea accompany this. For Jane, being able to stand or walk without support has been impossible due to the spinning, vertigo sensations. Vomiting accompanies each ... read more

Day 37 began well but quickly turned. On the motorway about 20 kms out of Wilmslow, heading to Caldy, Jane suffered an immediate illness. Her world began spinning, profuse sweating was immediate, severe tingling in both arms, hands and legs and nausea. Stopped on the side of the motorway with vehicles whizzing past at speed is scary in itself without worrying about a sick person. It was a matter of not panicking. Could it have been a ‘minor’ heart attack? Many thoughts rush through one’s mind. Merged onto motorway to find an exit and head back to Wilmslow, phoning Hilary to tell her the situation. Hilary phoned the ambulance to be at her place. We arrived about 5-10 minutes before the ambulance. By this stage Jane could not move her head as vomiting would occur. My ... read more

After the long walk back from the Museum it was time to have a well-deserved coffee. We arrived at the Cathedral. A low squat building surrounded in parts with scaffolding. It was so cold and there was so little to see we did not bother to take photographs . Perhaps next time. The cathedral began its life as a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint Werburgh. The is the name I know it by rather than the mouthful of Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Mind you perhaps St Werburgh is a mouthful too. That Mercian saint with a massive name . We struggled to find the entrance which was tucked in at the front of the building. Normally we would stand outside and admire the doorway into the cathedral in the same way as we have done ... read more

We had a plan to day but it was thwarted by the weather . For July it is dreadful . It threatens rain every day . The skies are overcast . That complete covering of grey with little to relieve it . The plan had been to do something most days . Hodnet Hall - only opens in the summer months on a Wednesday . Each week something else got in the way . Looked it the same would happen today . Cholmondeley Castle Gardens - again summer opening only . This time Thursdays only. By the time mid morning had come around we just had to go out somewhere . In the end we got in the car and just drove . Across the border into England . To a small hamlet called Bruera . ... read more