Wow, it seems ages since I sat down to blog about our goings on!
Lets recap a bit… Wayne had his scan results which were positive on the whole. There were no abnormalities to report other than some swelling of the sinuses, which he has always had. So he went to see a lovely ENT specialist in Leiria and she performed a few tests to ascertain what was causing the vertigo. Wayne was accompanied by the lovely Sandy once again, but luckily the specialist spoke very good english.
One of the tests; a vestibular exam; was performed wearing goggles similar to ones worn by VR gamers, but with screens on the outside looking at each eye. Sniggering could be heard in the background by Sandy trying not to laugh at the hilarious spectacle! You can get an idea from the picture below.
The outcome from the test was that there is an issue with the nerves from Wayne’s left inner ear to the eyes, and more tests are required to what degree of rehabilitation is required. That meant returning early November, so Annette got straight to work organising all the flights, trains and visits etc so we could do as much as possible while there. She also booked all the covid tests needed, even though we paid and had our lateral flow tests we found out the next day they were no longer required!
We also sent Waynes drone off to get some repairs done, but it seems to have gone missing! Can feel a blog coming on entitled ’Search for the missing parcel!’
We eventually flew in to Edinburgh to be met by No. 1 son. It was grey dull and raining cats and dogs as soon as we arrived. The weather never really picked up for what seemed like a couple of weeks. Although it did’t rain the whole time it was generally grey with only fleeting glimpses of blue sky!
It was great to see the kids and our lovely grandson though. He was ‘golden’ so well behaved and getting bigger each time we see him. We took him swimming again. He was much keener and happier to get into the pool this time. Wayne thought he wouldn’t need the push chair as he is growing so quick and is capable of walking. Well, after his swim and a lot walking through the town he fell asleep in M&S and had to be carried, an almost impossible task as he now weighs a ton! Lesson learnt!
There were some days where the weather allowed us to get some fresh air however. One such day was a trip to Dumfries House which was lovely. The scenery is beautiful and the trees were so tall, amazing. Scotland is certainly pretty when the sun makes an appearance.
It was also good to get out and meet some friends of our son. It has been a while since we had been into Glasgow, and the choice of restaurants is staggering. We agreed to meet at Viva Brazil, but to be honest, it wasn’t anything to write home about. Or is that me getting used to Portuguese food? It was a pleasant evening regardless, and our grandson was the centre attraction!
After a fortnight in Scotland it was time to head down into England. Not a great start as there was an incident on the line which meant we had to catch a bus for the initial part of the journey, which was a pain as we had a large suitcase to lug around! The rest of the trip consisted of a train that stopped at EVERY station to Edinburgh, then a dash to catch the London train to Grantham. All our seats were booked, but the computer and the booking system was ’tits up’. We managed to find our seats ok and were looking forward to some food on the train, only to find out there was no catering until we were past Newcastle half way to our destination and we were STARVING! It was hilarious listening to all the automated announcements as they were all out of synch, announcing we were approaching all the wrong stations at the wrong stops. The poor guard had his hands full!
We also had a bit of a wait when we reached our destination as our No. 3 son had overslept! you just can’t get the staff nowadays!
Since we have been here, there have been some cracking lightning storms, and more rain, but also mixed with some nice but cold blue skies! We got out to explore Spalding and discovered that the the UKs first ever rock festival was held there in ’67 and it only cost £1 entry including accommodation! What was amazing was that the line up included Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Cream, the Move and to attract more people a local band were advertised! (apparently Clapton out played Hendrix on that occasion). Who would have thought this sleepy little town was host to these artists?
And thats where we are now, just working out what we are going to do for the next few days until we head for Portsmouth and another family reunion, and then head back to Portugal. Sadly because Wayne has to get more tests, we don’t get to see No. 2 son and wife, but we hope to be back to see them at some point.
Some good news is that Wayne’s older sister has booked her flights for a visit in February, her first holiday since all this pandemic kicked off. It will be lovely to show her around, and hopefully show her how the house build is going by then.
Here is hoping that our governments can get there fingers out and get this pandemic under control, and there are no travel restrictions again to throw a spanner in the works.
Thanks for stopping by, and we will see you in the next one.
Our Portuguese Life 