A few weeks ago, I went with Hels to our local private hospital so that she could have a brain scan. She had been referred for the scan as she has a hearing problem, and the doctor wanted to check that there was nothing untoward going on inside her skull. Yesterday, we went back to get the results.
The interesting part is that you get to look at a big sheet of acetate showing about three dozen "slices" through the head, a bit like looking at slices through an enormous ham. Each slice is a fraction of a millimetre thick, and each sheet of acetate shows the ham being sliced at a different angle. It provides a unique opportunity to look at something you would never otherwise see – the inside of your own head (or, for me, the inside of my fiancée’s head). It is something that you can not reach with any of your senses, yet it is there and has been carried around by Hels for all her life.
The most shocking thing to discover, though, was that in spite of Hels agreeing to marry me, her brain is "normal".
Higher prices?
So, P&O are closing most of their ferry routes out of Portsmouth. It’s happened before – I remember news coverage in years gone by predicting doom and gloom for Portsmouth ferry terminal, but at least some of these routes will pass to Brittany Ferries, who will now become almost the monopoly service provider, which can only mean fare increases for those of us that use Portsmouth routes. I’m not surprised by today’s announcement though – the last few times that I’ve been on the ferry from Portsmouth, it has been nothing like full.
Sport and politics
If you can get to this, then please go.
From the Seen-It-All-Before Dept….
Carter fears Florida vote trouble. Even given Jimmy Carter’s Democrat roots, it can be in nobody’s interest to have anything other than an equal, open and fair ballot in the Sunshine State.
First Pendolino train service cancelled due to technical faults. Remember the ATP? (Actually, I’ll admit that to draw a parallel is to exaggerate.)
To have and to hold
On Saturday, H and I went to the wedding of Sarah and Paul, an event in which I got to play at least a small part in the rôle of usher – something that was a great honour.
Sarah has been one of my closest friends for very many years indeed (we try not to remember how many). She and Paul make one of the happiest couples that you could imagine. I *know* that they are going to have a great marriage.
Gah
So much for getting answers by the end of the day – the guy who can give us the answers that we seek is on holiday, and won’t be back before Wednesday. We were trying to get things tied up this week, but currently feel utterly powerless. Our solicitor is tearing her hair out over this.
Moving
For those awaiting news on the house sales and purchase, there were no significant developments on Friday, so we’ve spent all weekend holding our breath. Hopefully, we should find out more by the end of the day.
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Conspiracy?
Crisis
We’re having something of a major crisis in the home sale department today. We’re both working on it, as is our excellent solicitor. If it goes wrong, then we will be in a pretty grim situation indeed. If it goes right, then we should be home and dry. When I first heard about it from Hels, I was pretty pessimistic, but having discussed it with my father, who has some experience of these things, I can see that there is a possible solution. Whether it will work depends on a lot of people and will likely cost us money, but it may just save the day.
Stress levels are off the scale.