Adventurous weekend - oop North

Our weekend away was booked months ago.

Each year, I try to visit my old mate Sue, who I first met at Bretton Hall College in 1974 - a pretty long friendship. Sue lives in Malton, North Yorkshire, which is designated the "Food Capital of Yorkshire". We try to coincide our visit with the Christmas Food Festival, when the town is taken over by stallholders selling foodstuffs and crafts (and quite a bit of tat too). Always a lovely atmosphere: brass bands, choirs, children, funfairs, alcohol, gifts, food, food and more food. In the past, we've been rained on and snowed on...you never quite know what to expect.

I wasn't sure we were going to make it this year - only 10 days post hysterectomy - I had no idea if I'd feel up to the journey.  

Last week, I felt pretty good - managed to get to the London Fire Brigade Carol Concert on Thursday, and felt ok - so we decided we'd give it a go - I didn't want to miss out on seeing Sue either - plus the fact that I love a visit to Yorkshire - keeps me grounded! (keeps my southern posh feet flat on the ground....) I'd been managing for a few days with no analgesia, so I figured, that If I took some meds with me, I could use them if I needed. 

Journey up was looooooooooong - (borrowed this description from my children) but we arrived and all was good - Sue had made us a gorgeous meal, and somehow we also managed to polish off some lovely wine and port too............ (might need that analgesia after all??)

On Saturday, we had a lovely few hours in Malton town - firstly visiting the store Yates, which is an experience in itself - everything you could possibly need to be a first class psychopath, or a beautifully togged out dressage contestant - seriously - night vision goggles, chains, steel toecap boots, barbour body warmers, £200 wellies, kilner jars, guns, knives, cookers, tractors, bikes......and a hairdresser.......... (only in Yorkshire)

Food fair was great - but we didn't push it - we had a lovely mulled wine in the Vin de Maison, which also sold incredible gin (including Unicorn Breath - beautiful - you have to swirl it to get the full effect - but I wasn't quite enchanted enough to spend £45), bought a great selection of cheese (including locally produced Halloumi) and then we toddled back to Sue's to relax a bit (and drink a wee bit more, and eat rather more than we needed as well....in fact...the term Prader-Willi syndrome was banded about a bit more than it should have been, I fear.)

The following morning, Sue 'knocked us up' a mahoosive brunch, to set us up for the journey home. I was determined that we would stop in Lincoln on the way, but Peter wasn't quite so keen. The weather was glorious, so I managed to persuade him that a drive across the Yorkshire Wolds and the Humber Bridge was just what the doctor ordered!  We made it to Lincoln, and joined the crowds traipsing up the aptly named Steep Hill to the Market. 

Lovely....... a few items purchased, including a beautiful star-shaped wreath for my front door (purely because I haven't been able to make my own this year - first time in decades)....

We managed to make it back to Croydon without incident - but I was feeling pretty pooped. I've been glad of the busy weekend, because a couple of big appointments are looming on the horizon. 

Today - I was due to meet the geneticist at the Sutton Marsden. The suggestion that was initially made when I first learned that I had cancer, was that I might have a condition known as Lynch Syndrome, which meant that I was predisposed to endometrial cancer, as well as to colorectal cancer. This hasn't as yet been confirmed - and it will have a knock on effect for my boys, because If this is the case - they could very likely have inherited this syndrome too. If they have, they'll be put on a screening programme to watch out for this cancer developing - apparently the screening begins at age 25 - so they're all past that now. Ned was unimpressed this morning, when I was explaining the implications to him - thrilling - colonoscopies every 18 months!

This conversation happened after we'd had breakfast together. And also after I had been Second in Command in the food photography session we had in our kitchen :- in explanation...... Ned has produced some rather lovely trivets made from veneered plywood, which he has been selling at the RCA Christmas Fair over the weekend - and he has to do a presentation tomorrow, for which he needed some photographic footage of his trivets in action....somehow this involved a very expensive camera being balanced on top of the dresser in order to get an aerial view of our breakfast table, complete with freshly cooked food (authenticity being the key factor)...........

Never a dull moment in our house - and another title I can add to my CV! Assistant food and trivet photographer.......

So - after the trivet photography - I managed to change the bedlinen - (no mean feat 2 weeks post op) - and then I set off to get to my appointment with the geneticist at the Marsden. (Thank you Susan for taking me today...... )

The lovely doctor explained to me that I was a very special case, because my results weren't quite 'normal' - great - getting used to this now - and we needed a blood test, which had to go to labs in the West Midlands for analysis - the path request said "mismatch repair deficient cancer at 62" and I really did try to understand what she was explaining to me!! The phlebotomists also didn't know what to do with her request - we were all confused - but I did manage to get bled, so we'll wait and see. 

Results won't come back for at least 8 weeks, so I shall forget all about it now - and prepare myself for my follow-up tomorrow at the Chelsea Marsden. I'm expecting (and hoping) that tomorrow they will be able to tell me whether I'll need any adjuvant therapy - so watch this space! I have told Susan today, that I'm not going to the hairdresser until they tell me what's what - I am mercenary enough to not waste money on my barnet if I need to have chemo!

Updates later......... thanks to everyone again for messages, chocolates, and general kindnesses......