Erratum

1. Erratum: I will be undergoing radiotherapy until they tell me that the treatment's over, it will be 10 weeks after that that they will begin operating.

Que Sera Sera

Now we come to the serious stuff; the results of the MRI scanner came through. This morning I saw the surgeon in charge, he told me that he's going to meet his colleagues this evening to discuss my case, he explained that I have a malignant tumour in the rectum therefore I will have to undergo radiotherapy in Brest for about 10 weeks hopefully to diminish its size in order to make his job easier, in the meantime back to Carhaix and nearer to my daughter who works in the same building and who is managing my affairs whilst I'm a bit tied up. As for the pub, who knows? I'm a strong believer in destiny, or, as Doris Day once sang 'Que Sera Sera.'

Recap

    To recap I woke up in intensive care in Carhaix, moved to the medical department, from there on to the surgical department. Tablets and injections all of the day and all of the night (anti-coagulant, blood sugar level, delayed and regular insulin with each meal accompanied by pills). I had so many tests including a camera up my bottom enabling the specialist to cut off a piece of a tumour they found in my colon for a biopsy to be sent to Brest where they have more advanced facilities, also a brain scan, a stomach scan, an artery scan. A taxi was hired to take me on an hour's journey to Brest where I underwent a major body scanner similar to that of an 'MRI' but it wasn't. Back to Carhaix until they hired a taxi to bring me to Morlaix, only half an hour's drive, this time it was for an MRI, very noisy and very long. I've been here 4 or 5 days mainly hanging about doing nothing, but plenty routinely being done to me, injections etc. I should be on the road back to Carhaix tomorrow, whilst there the surgeons will be meeting to discuss my case then probably I will be back here for surgery sometime in the week to come.

Temporary Absence

1. For those of you intending to visit me in hospital tomorrow (Wednesday), I am being temporarily transferred to the hospital in Morlaix at 2.30pm for more tests beginning Thursday. I should be there for a few days.

Ongoing Tests

I was taken to Brest this morning for more tests, about an hour's drive from here; to begin with I had to lay on my back for two perfusions, one inserting a radio-active product to prepare me for another scanner, I had to keep my arms stretched behind my head while I passed through a tunnel, my left shoulder's ligament was caught so it wasn't comfortable. Now it's over I'm back to my room in Carhaix, but I'm radio-active, I have to drink as much as possible in 24 hours (water that is) in order to eliminate the radio-activity in my body, so I'm not allowed children or pregnant woman visitors. It was a beautiful morning for a drive out in the country and along the seaside, plus, the driver had been to the Breton school 'Diwan' at Le Relecq Kerhuon; we passed the time by comparing Breton/Welsh vocabulary, some of it identical, some not quite so and some different. avel/awel - wind/breeze: heol/haul: douar/daear: den/dyn: Menez/mynydd: merc'h/merch: kemper/cymer: here/hydref: yaouank/ieuanc: skouarnec/clust: ruz/rhudd - red/red/crimson. Uhelgoad/Uchelgoed: Kembre/Cymru; Something to always remember are the transpositions e.g. a th/dd are always z(h); aw is always eu; y = e; mawrth = meurzh, the day as in the week. Sul, Lun, Meurzh, Merc'her, Iaou, Gwener, et Sadorn etc. etc. 

Operation/s

This morning the digestive surgeon came to see me after his having had talks with yesterday's specialist on the scanner; I will have to be operated upon in order to unblock my intestines before it gets too serious no matter what the result of the biopsy, in the mean time I will probably temporarily have to wear a sack allowing my urine & faeces to pass-by unhindered. I have changed rooms again, when I got here I asked a nurse which department I am in, she replied "Finistere 29,"  a Breton equivalent of Glamorgan, not what I meant, however should the result be negative they will insert a little box near the shoulder that will emit both chemotheraphy & radiotherapy rays.

'COAL'

'Coal' All in one book: Wilfred Owen; Richard Llewellyn; Idris Davies; D.H. Lawrence; Lewis Jones; Alun Lewis; Duncan Bush; Harold Massingham; George Owen of Henllys; John Ormond; Dennis Potter; Barry Hines; Norman Nicholson; Joe Corrie; John L. Hughes; Dannie Abse; Joseph Skipsey; Harold Heslop; Bob Smith; B.L. Coombes; Vernon Watkins; George Orwell; Sid Chaplin; Jack Jones; H.V. Morton; D.J. Williams; Robert Morgan; Tony Curtis; Gwyn Thomas; W.W. Gibson; William Hornsby; Glyn Jones; W.H. Davies; Harri Webb; Meic Stephens; Tommy Armstrong; Ronald Ferguson; Len Doherty; Tom Earley; Mike Jenkins; George Barker; John L. Hughes; Robert Morgan; Myfyr Wyn; Leslie Norris; Philip Larkin - 253 p.p., poetry & prose of the  coal miners, their industry, personalities & lifestyle. Just finished.

Intensive

I woke up from a coma on a bed in intensive care, when I tried to begin a conversation my words came out twice at a time, although I'm alright now today a neurological specialist came to see me mainly testing my balance and my reflexes. A doctor came to see me a little earlier and just before that I was taken off to see a vein & artery specialist. They are nothing if not thorough and the nurses are perfect, up until 2 days ago a different nurse stripped and washed me every day. I share a room and telly with one other patient and I eat well, 3 times a day for the first time in more than 30 years. Once they find out exactly what's wrong I should be leaving next Wednesday or Thursday. P.S. I have oedemas in my calves & feet.

Best Wishes

Joyeux Noel et Bonne Année/Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda/Nedelig Laouen ha Bloavezh Mad/Merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I apologise for being13 & 7 days late respectively.

Visitors

7pm and I've just got my computer working for the first time since last night! Plenty of tests again today, particularly of the heart, 9 different injections; glycemia, anti-cloagulent/philibitis & insulin. Two visits from Morwen today, one with the local daily newspaper, one visit from Helen, she brought me a sack of clementines but was told to leave them in the car, she brought me some the other day and I ate them; one phone call from Elise, one from Liliane. Yesterday Yvon a regular customer & friend for 36 years turned up, so did Lleuwen with 3 books so I'm not lost for a read: 'Coal an anthology of mining', not a book on geology but poetry & prose from the mining areas; 'Richard G. Jenkin a great son of Cornwall' Morwenna's father, and 'To Dream of Freedom' a story of M.A.C. & the F.W.A. based upon the deeds of Julian Cayo Evans, Denis Coslett & John Barnard Jenkins, the day previous she brought me a writing book with a suggestion to write my autobiography. Liliane & Gareth Westacott came to see me last sunday before he caught the ferry back to Plymouth last Monday morning, Ivor's nephew Barrie and his wife were here a week ago and Liliane's brother Francis was here a couple of days ago.

No market for me, no ribbon either. 28/02/2011

Update on the Breton buried at Whitchurch, Caerdydd/Cardiff; the name on the gravestone is Francois Pierre Goarin 1924 - 1990, from Gouesnach.
  Back to my book and a certain affinity: "As I went to sleep, the earth under me was pulsing with a little more life and mystery; divinity seemed to be coming back to where it belonged, away from the temples and the heavens of the future, back to earth, to the inside of man, while, like a more pungent, a more live and lovely incense, the scent of the crushed thyme round the tent filled the night air as with a presence" and "It is almost as you might say a spiritual experience that is very mysterious and impressive, the feeling that it is not right to get too far away from nature" and "one of the singing rivers of Wales" and "but I had been sleeping by the River Usk.... , whose music still has a lesson or two for the compositions of city concert halls".
   Yesterday I got up very early, ate my breakfast cereal and waited for the time to leave for Brest and the market at Saint Louis, I have an instinct that tells me when I forget something, so ten minutes into my journey I turned back to pick up my mobile phone, I can't use it at the moment until my payment catches up with the phone company, but it's handy for my daughter to find me, I drove off and left the bread I needed to go with the butter I took with me just in case, although fresh bread is to be found everywhere in Brest. Unfortunately, huge as the market turned out to be they couldn't find a space of 1m 20cms x 60cms for my little table so I went on a walk about, my camera leaving my pocket every few moments to capture pieces of the town. After 1h30 pm I went to the theatre for the pipe & drum band competition, actually, as I was corrected in the theatre when I mentioned my friends from the Bagad of New York, there are pipe & drum bands and there are bagadou, the difference being that a bagad has bombardes, which are Breton shrill flutes. On my arrival I asked for my solidarity ribbon but they'd all been given out to the musicians whether asked for or not, bit of a let down as it was one of my three main reasons for going. I met a few friends (and family), made new ones, took photos, couldn't get into the auditorium so I borrowed the cameraman's work from the television. Because it finished earlier than I'd anticipated leaving me a few extra hours before driving home I went to say hello to Chris, an Irishman running the Tara Inn at the port.

Magic 2011

I woke up from a dream of closing the pub bringing a concert to an end, picked up 'Excalibur', the last in the 'Warlord Chronicles' trilogy by Bernard Cornwell, to read about Derfel losing a hand in Morgan's magic to serve to save the life of his wife Ceinwyn, put down the book, switched on the television, lighting up the screen were the words "you are still young at 59," says Minister', so I am, but what magic was that; and what a game last night with Swansea City going through to Wembley magically beating Nottingham Forest. Now Cardiff City must win tonight to guarantee Cymru/Wales a promoted team; magic!

Today's diary 2011

I wish someone would explain this poking business to me. Elise and the family cleaned out the pub today so that the builders can get straight at it as soon as we have the permit. I had my spot at the market in Montroulez/Morlaix where last week I was commissioned to take photos of a church & neighbouring house by a lady who's house it is that never appears on the post-cards, so it was my job to include it with the church for the photos to be sent to her family in the States. This evening was a new experience for me, I passed a pleasant hour or two amongst friends at an 'aperitif-concert à domicile' in the lounge of the home of the poet Christian Carpentier and his girlfriend/partner Veronique Paugam where we were invited to listen to Christian LeMaitre & Erwan Moal playing Breton & Irish airs together on fiddle/violin & guitar respectively; on my leaving the host gave me a book of poetry he'd written with one of his oeuvres entitled 'Ty Elise'.

Malaise/Hospitilisation

I'm allowed to sit up, but then I have to get back into bed after my evening meal. Every couple of hours I have blood tests, urine tests and glycemie tests as well as injections. Today I'm having heart tests. I don't know what happened, I woke up in intensive care, a result of becoming unconcience in my house with diabetes 2. I have had a scanner, an E.C.G. and an ecography, I have no idea when I will be leaving!