The temptation to complete chapter 10, a quarter-ish of my story, is niggling me and I may otherwise not be able to steno another chapter until Tuesday.
This morning, I did as I said I would, I wrote the blog, went for coffee and to buy bread, then made half a picnic, drove out to the beautiful Kent lavender fields at Shoreham and had a walk and picnic with a friend I’ve known for virtually all of my life.
The final chapter of my zeroes is about a furry grey seal I was given by a family friend, Mary, who was a midwife. I may not have been particularly close to her or her husband, John, but when I was ten and in hospital and then a wheelchair and crutches for months, she gave me the seal and bandaged it up, just like me. The seal was never a favourite toy but at that time in my life it touched me and has always stayed with me. So this chapter is kind of reflecting on the unexpected kindness of people I encountered in my early life and how utterly horrid it was to be in hospital as a child.