Weekend Manchester

Friday morning we took a plane to Manchester (yes, flying is cheaper than going by train!). We arrived there around 10.15 local time and so we still had a great part of the day left to enjoy our stay. The hotel we booked is quite near the center. This town center in Manchester is not too big to walk around. There are enough restaurants, café's, theatre, clubs and shops to thoroughly enjoy oneself. 

Our main goal for this visit was to see the musical My Fair Lady. When it was running in London, years ago, my sister wasn't interested but now she made no objections (mainly because an actor/singer she's following on Instagram took the main role, that of professor Higgins). And the show was super! Michael Xavier was great, as was the actress who played Eliza Doolittle. Even famous opera singer Lesley Garrett was in the show.

And for the rest we did some walking, having great lunches (and I could fully appreciate them, since I'm on a pauze with my pills - prescribed after my course of radiation) and do some good shopping. I don't know what it is, but whenever I'm in the UK I come home with some new items for my wardrobe!

Making an old friend happy

Since I was 16 (which is already 50 years ago!) I've been in contact with Rajeev. At school, during our English lessons, we were given list of addresses of people who wanted to correspond (in English, of course) with youngsters from Belgium. I wrote to several people on that list. Some responded, among which Rajeev from India. He had the same age as I did, and ever since that time we shared news of what we were doing and were feeling. A beautiful friendship that goes on and on.

Together we finished school and started university. I became a high school teacher, he a judge. He married and had two daughters. When the eldest of them was to marry, we were invited to the wedding. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of a school period and both I and Chris couldn't take leave from our job. Another time, years later, Rajeev and his wife wanted to visit Europe, but there was a problem with their visa and they had to say in India.

Right now we are planning a trip to India for early next year. So there'll be finally a chance to meet in person! We are going to visit Delhi, which will be the starting point for our trip. I've send in a contact booking form for a rail journey in a luxury train, but have to wait for confirmation. When we get our tickets, we'll do an 8 day journey throught parts of India, visiting different places like the Taj Mahal in Agra and the place where you can view tigers in the wild. Will be certainly an experience!

Course of radio therapy

 During the past days, I've been getting a course of radio therapy. This took place in the hospital in Aalst. In Belgium, not every hospital offers all the existing therapies. Our hospital got the newest type of ct-scanner, while in Aalst (13 km from Dendermonde) they have the equipment for radiation.   

I didn't have to worry about transport. The hospital arranged it. Each morning, I was picked up by a volunteer driver, and of course brought back home.

To my good fortune, I didn't feel any negative effects from the radiation. I wasn't tired, not nauseous, not having to sprint to the bathroom. In fact, I feel great. Now we have to hope that this therapy has the desired effect. We'll only know this in several weeks, even months. 

As of the end of this month, I'll resume my normal course of taking my daily pills, which are a kind of chemical chemo.