Home Thoughts Weekly

‘ Don’t pull,’ I tell the nurse who’s about to remove my stitches.  ‘I have to pull, or it’ll fester,’ says the nurse. ‘But, the consultant said – ’ Too late, because the nurse is now brandishing a pin-sized piece of purple, plastic thread and everything else feels, well, fine. It’s a little disconcerting to see the damage, but the wound itself has healed amazingly well in a week, and, as Tom reminds me later, what I’d forgotten was the consultant telling me to allow 8 -10 weeks for everything to settle. So, apart from waiting for the histology results, that should be the end of that little episode. What I won’t forget though, is how very kind everyone has been. Thank you all so much for thinking of me and for your messages here and elsewhere – it’s meant a lot to me. But most of all, do, please, look after yourselves.

Having devoted much of my recent worries to my sinuses, I wasn’t in the slightest bit concerned about yesterday’s appointment to see a consultant dermatologist about a tiny patch of red skin that’s been lurking on my upper arm… When my name is called , I breeze in and am greeted by two smiling faces; a consultant, about my age, and a trainee doctor. I present my arm fully expecting to be told off for wasting valuable NHS time and sent packing with a tube of cream.  ‘Ah,’ says the consultant to his trainee, ‘what do you notice about this lesion?’ Lesion, I think, is not a word I like, but hey-ho, this is doctor-to-doctor talk, so I listen to an explanation of stretching the skin and distinctive pearly edges, still waiting to be sent home in the next breath. ‘So,’ the consultant tells me, ‘what you have is a basal cell carcinoma, and I’d like to do something about it straight away.’ In that split-second a small part of brain screams ‘F*CK!’ and another prompts me to tell the...

On Friday morning I open the computer to see how Move Over Darling is doing after its stint of being available free for five days. To my surprise, it seems to be doing quite nicely. Goodness knows what hubris prompts me to take a quick look at Amazon Movers and Shakers, but, hey ho, I do … and see Move Over Darling at number one! Number one!! Of course, what goes up must come down, but it’s an amazing start to the day and as fellow author Valerie-Anne Baglietto jokes to me on Twitter, I’ll always have the screenshot. A little later Ma phones . She’s a passionate and clever gardener, as I’ve mentioned here before, and has finally decided to treat herself to a greenhouse. She’s had few sleepless nights worrying about all the practicalities of getting it fitted, but when the man turns up on Friday morning to lay the concrete base he has the same surname – quite a common name, it has to be said – as someone my dad once worked with and very much liked. ‘Are you related?’ asks Ma....

Did you know that by signing up for Choc Lit's free newsletter , Choc Lit Spread (come on, what else could it be called?) you can find out about all the latest Choc Lit news and offers? Well, in case you haven't let me tell you that Doris Day turned 91 this week - 91!! And to celebrate Move Over Darling is FREE on Kindle for five days ending on Wednesday 10 April, so download your copy now to take advantage of this offer. In other news we've had a busy time with visitors at Hotel H.  Last week we were out about under sunny skies (but in freezing cold temperatures) with Rose and Si... Walking at St David's And at the beach, ducking out the wind And this week we have Stepson One with my step daughter in law and their very bonny and very well-behaved new baby to keep us entertained. The only bum note in what's been a lovely time is that the wretched sinus lurgy rolls on. Time to take the investigations to the next level. Sigh.