How do you feel today?

As it happens I feel almost human today. Yesterday was a bit of a struggle.

There are so many things that go into answering that question. What level of pain do I have, because the reality is over the last few weeks, there hasn't really been a day where I haven't been experiencing some degree of pain. From discomfort, up to bloody horrible. I wont use the the word unbearable because I'm pretty sure there is some sort of pain which is quite a way higher that what I've had. I suppose in some ways I'm grateful for that.

Did I sleep well, or am I, at the start of the day already tired.

Am I constipated because to get some decent sleep I popped a couple of Cocodamol, and one of the side effects is.....bunging you up. Have I got a swirly head (also a side effect of the Cocodamol)?

Do you feel hungry? Well, yes but I don't really want to eat. There is some combination of the drugs I'm using that makes me have this swirly tummy thing which on the one hand tells me I should eat, but on the other makes me feel I don't really want to.

I recent nights I do feel I've made some progress in reducing the hot flushes at night by sleeping under an empty duvet cover instead of a duvet (too hot) or under nothing (too cold), so that's good.

I seem to have come up with a strategy around pain control using paracetamol where possible, but taking them all day. Pre-empting the pain rather than waiting until it is upon me.

Bugger

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Yesterday Gel and I went to Macc to the opening day of the Barnaby Festival, which I have to admit I'd never heard of before. There was bunting, there were shop window displays, there was street art. We also went to see "Owen Jones in conversation with Nick Robinson". Nick Robinson is a Macc lad, and Owen spent much of his formative years in Stockport. It was a really interesting 90 minutes. Robinson talked about being chairman of Macc Young Conservatives, Jones talked about being a socialist activist still meant to he was to the political right of his parents.

It was fun and engaging. It was also a little frightening.

The campaigning around the EU referendum has been vicious, it has use scare tactics - particularly about immigrants - and and twisted and abused the facts. The atmosphere seems to have inspired the terrible killing of MP Jo Cox, and isn't simply going to disappear once the polls close on Thursday.

Luckily we have tickets to an all together less sobering event on Thursday to see the Barnsley Bard, Ian McMillan who seems to have an all round good rep.