It’s Sunday evening, 15th March. It’s been an eventful, busy weekend. On Saturday my great friend from the Balmoral Beach Club, Jon Attwater came over in the morning and took me for a walk in the wheelchair down to Manly. I rolled and he talked. He gave me the occasional push when I got into trouble on the cambered footpath. It was a sparkling day and the beach volleyball was in full cry. We stopped for awhile to watch. Amelia, my eldest daughter and Bergen her husband came over with youngest daughter Catherine to spend some time. Denise Elder from the BBC also called by to check on me. I’d had a bad night’s sleep so put my head down and didn’t wake up until late in the afternoon. I decided I set off on the crutches for some exercises. My foot was very swollen. I’m getting increasingly concerned. I’m sure I’ve got a DVT. I made it more than halfway down to Manly, got too tired and had to turn back. Resting on the seat opposite my apartment watching the world go by and noticed Bergen and Amelia sitting on the beach having a glass of wine and , like me, watching the surf. They came back to the apartment and I made them a cup of tea.

I’m getting very close to making a complete trip down to Manly Surf club and back on the crutches. Not quite there yet. On Sunday, Rob Boylan picked me up at 6.45am in his new Mercedes smart car. I’ve never been in one before. It’s not much bigger then a motrobike and sounds like a sewing machine. He loves it and it must be dead easy to park. We drove down to the Balmoral Beach Club. He is such a generous human being. I watched the race from the verandah. First Sunday I have been down there in over two months. I would have given anything to have gone for a swim but it was nice to see it all unfolding nevertheless.

It’s now only a bit over a week until I go back to see the doctor to see if I can start walking again. The waiting part of rehab is a very tedious process…. boring. I try and make a dose of and very very lonely times very depressing at times leavened only by the visits and the friendly faces and the sound of the human voice switched it has been enlightening. Several people I thought were good friends haven’t darkened my door once in all the time I’ve been here on my own. I’ve come to the conclusion that I made few friends during my professional, working life. All my recent freinds have come through swimming or the social experiences of the Balmoral Beach Club. Funny thing is I don’t know why.  I was going to go for a journey on the crutches this evening, but it’s been raining so I stayed inside and watched The Bridge, a Norwegian TV cop series. It’s OK, but they are all trying to recreate The Wire and none of them come close, including this one. Jimmy McNulty please come home, all is forgiven!