wunderbar

So we are here in Dresden or to be more accurate Coswig, a suburb. We are esconced in our room and I have wifi for .50 euros an hour. Wunderbar. The journey was uneventful apart from Stewart upending a glass of orange juice all over his crotch. I am sure it was a ruse to get the stewardess to mop him up. I also made a bit of a fool of myself at Zurich airport bemoaning loudly the cost of a glass of wine and a beer completely forgetting that they still use francs not Euros.

There was not a gnome in sight by the way; they must all be helping Santa out. Tomorrow we will walk to the hospital which is just round the corner and see Dr Rolle; he will scan me and I believe put me on a treadmill to see if I am fit enough for his team. Fat leg might be a disadvantage as might all those dinners I have been eating but I will do my best. I was once the Warwickshire (for American readers county in the middle of England famous for William Shakespeare)sprint champion and had awesome lungs. Trouble was if I ran more than 100 yards I used to throw up, once all over Stewart and that is how he fell in love with me- funny boy. Lets hope I don't repeat the performance tomorrow; I don't think Dr Rolle will be wooed by vomit, he sees to much of it I would think.

Right we are off to sample German food and to dispel the rumour that its all pig and potatoes. Quite keen on both actually. More news tomorrow

Tears and a trip

I didn't blub when they told me I had it in my lungs and it had it in for me big time; I didn't blub well hardly at all when I told my kids; I don't blub much in the night when I think about leaving everyone but last night over tandoori prawns and aubergine bhaji the floodgates opened. Next to the table where weirdly dressed young people cracked crackers and talked loudly about sex, dear friends Chris and Denise said they would pay for our ticket to Dresden and I just lost it. Why I don't know; why should that make me weep? It still does and not for the first time I wonder about myself and my reactions to this monster; all out of my control at times clearly.

Anyway you will gather from this and you will be right that we are off to Dresden. On Tuesday to be precise. Up till recently Dresden has meant delicate china and less than delicate firebombing by us in the war now it offers me the chance to get the blobs out of my lungs and to challenge their mates not to bother to move in to take their place. It's a bit tight for Christmas so I have bought the tree, wrapped the presents and written the cards. Tomorrow I will leave instructions for my sous chefs, namely the kids and their partners, about what to do for the Turkey (actually a turkey stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a pheasant) dinner.

They still may not do me; they may think the blobs are winning in which case Dresden will turn into one of our trips of a lifetime and we will begin our Weinachts with a bang and not a whimper in sight.