Having asked to rearrange my chemo sessions from Fridays to Tuesdays so as to have the maximum chance to be ok for the weekends, I was in fact well enough after this Friday’s third session to go down to Ramsgate.
We did not have to rush out of bed and had a leisurely morning, but left home around midday in glorious sunshine and had an easy run down to the coast. We stopped off, as is our wont, at the Belle Vue in Pegwell, an excellent pub, particularly since its new landlords took over and added some great personal touches. The best thing about it is the wonderful garden overlooking Pegwell Bay. We were able to sit out, right by the water and enjoy a drink in the sunshine. What a bonus for mid January!
Then it was off to the boat to get our gear on board. We have had many kind offers of accommodation in Ramsgate from friends concerned about me staying on the boat in the cold. On New Year’s day we took Sue and Tommy up on their offer. But there’s nothing like being in your own space and for me, Magnum is my second home, so I persuaded Martin that there was no reason that we shouldn’t stay on board as we usually would. We have electricity on board and with an oil-filled radiator and a small fan heater the boat is probably warmer than most houses.
Having got the bags on board we headed up to the yacht club, where we were greeted warmly by the few locals already in there. Most people seem to know about my condition and are pleased to see me still in circulation. Our friend Stuart came to meet us and while Martin and Stu had a couple of beers I stuck to the soft stuff and spent most of the time writing my blog.
To prepare for the evening and the surprise 50th birthday party taking place at the club we went back for a rest at around 4.30, via the chip shop — well what’s a visit to the seaside without a portion of chips?
The boat was warm and cosy. I got into bed for a short rest, but not a sleep, to recharge my batteries, but this is something I occasionally do on a Saturday anyway and not really peculiar to me going through chemo at the moment. We then got ready to go out and arrived at the club around 7.30. It was already full of party guests, many of whom we did not know, but we found our group of friends and had a pleasant evening. We did not know the birthday girl well but are more familiar with her husband. I think I work out regularly and keep fit but this lady is scarily fit. It was therefore quite a surprise to learn that she’d had breast cancer 14 years ago. She looks fantastic now and that was very reassuring. Her mother has also had it and was also at the party.
We did not want to overdo it and left at the sensible hour of 10.45. Some of our friends made up for us though. Paul and Norma apparently left the party at 2am. Ouch! Much earlier than that, they had invited us round to their boat for coffee on Sunday morning. Well, we did ring at 11am but neither of their phones answered. I got a rather sheepish call back twenty minutes later. Unsurprisingly they’d been still in bed!
We took a walk around the marina and out along the harbour wall, again in brilliant sunshine. Naturally I had plenty of layers on and a scarf and hood to protect my now bald head. Among my cocktail of anti-sickness drugs to take in first few days after chemo, one is Dexamethasone, a steroid, which needs to be taken after food. So we headed for the Galley cafe, an excellent choice for breakfast and lunch. It’s a small place just under the yacht club. The lovely ladies that run it provide excellent, freshly cooked food and also do some catering for the yacht club. We sat outside in the sunshine, having persuaded Stuart, who we just happened to find huddled inside,to come out into the”cold” and join us.
Reinforced, it was time to head over to Palm Bay to see the children and grandchildren. But not before picking up the fresh fish we’d bought the day before from Cannon’s seafood stall. Brill this week. It’s a ritual when we’re down. See what fresh fish they have on Saturday, all out of the sea within the past day and caught by the Cannon family, buy it and leave it in their fridge to pick up before we leave on Sunday. It’s always delicious and it doesn’t get fresher than that.
First stop in Palm Bay was to see grandson Josh before he went off to football. Then it was round the corner to see his sisters, Eve and Fay, at their mum’s, my stepdaughter Liz. It was the first time the children had seen me without my hair. I had a scarf on, tied as a turban. Fay, the six year-old, seemed a little uncertain. But then she’s always been scared of anyone dressed up in any sort of costume. And she has known me for her six little years of life with my long, curly hair.
Eve, who will be 13 this week and has always been my style consultant, didn’t say much at first. But when we went up to her bedroom and I broached the subject by asking her how she liked my new look, she said it was good and that I could wear different colour scarves to match each outfit. That was one of Eve’s subtle style hints!
The strangest reaction came at our next stop, from three and a half year-old Olivia. She took one look at my turban and asked why I wasn’t taking my hat off. She has overheard lots of conversations about things happening to my hair and clearly wanted to know exactly what was going on. I’d already told her that I was taking some medicine that would make me better but make my hair fall out for a while. So I took the scarf off. She did not seem fazed at all by my bald head. But she absolutely did not want me to put the scarf back on. In the end I had to leave the house bare-headed and put the scarf back on, for warmth purposes, once we were in the car.
Martin told Olivia to feel my head. He said it was a bit prickly, like his beard. She did not want to. But later, while I was bending down putting her socks on after granddad had pulled them off in play, she tentatively touched my head and giggled.
We finally left at around 3pm, drove home and even popped into the Grapes for an hour before heading home. After a wonderful dinner of fresh brill, spinach, broccoli tops and tiny sautéed potatoes, we watched a little TV, I did a bit of admin, and then, having had a bit of a sleepless night on Saturday, it was time for an early night. A dose of Night Nurse, to try to clear up the remains of my cold and to help me sleep, did the trick. All in all, a lovely weekend and one that was barely affected by Friday’s chemo. Long may it continue!
