Silver lining

We were out of the house be eight fifteen this morning to drive to Llandough Hospital, where Clare had an appointment with an orthopaedic specialist about her shoulder injury at nine, After an initial x-ray had been taken, we were ushered into a consulting room where Clare was given a scrupulous examination by a physiotherapist skilled in diagnosis, to confirm what the x-ray and previous scans of the injury had revealed. Then the surgeon appeared and very quickly pronounced his willingness to perform keyhole surgery to fix a ripped tendon. 

This came as a complete surprise, as others involved had suggested the injury might not be treatable due to her age and she might have to live with some painful limitations for the rest of her life.. The physiotherapist, however, observed how fit Clare is and unusually mobile and flexible because she's a eurythmist, dedicated to the art of movement, and thus more likely to respond well to treatment, as well as needing it to continue her vocation. With a wait time of two to three months, this could be an unexpected Christmas gift. The treatment will leave her arm immobile for a month, so she'll need a lot of looking after. It'll be a while before we have a date, and hopefully it'll be around the time I return from Costa Azahar. Just in case there's an overlap, Rachel has expressed her keenness to arrive early from Arizona for Christmas to be number one nurse. Every cloud has a silver lining.

At half past ten we were on our way to Dyffryn House and gardens for a walk around, to inspect their historic dahlia collection, 35 varieties, 6000 in various flower beds, now somewhat past their glorious best, yet still a riot of colour against the trees tinged with autumnal gold. Several new rooms, partly renovated, have now been opened to visitors -one has been made into a library, another furnished with a history on the Cory family who owned and developed Dyffryn House as the family residence. They were very rich, both from ownership of coal mines, but also from shipping coal to ports up and down both sides of the Atlantic seaboard. They were also philanthropically minded, and as a result house and grounds were much used and enjoyed. Indeed, they were eventually given to Glamorgan County Council and used as an education centre, before finally being taken on three years ago by the National Trust for a major restoration project, with lots of volunteer engaged in looking after house and gardens. A visit is a must-do thing for us now, all the year round.

We had a pleasant lunch there, and then I went into town to do some more money moving, and spent an hour in the office, to fit in a couple of urgent tasks while I could. Things aren't easy just now, as Julie our administrator is off sick, but we muddle through. Afterwards, Clare joined me and we spent an hour at John Lewis' having tea and indifferent chocolate cake and then looking at their selection of curtains for our front room makeover. News came through today of the delivery of our new sofas,  next week, ordered back in August on our way home from East Anglia. I'll have to content myself with viewing them on Skype.

All too soon, it seems, I was hunting down all my bits and pieces, spread around the house, packing the rucksack ready to travel, and off to bed early, for an eight o'clock airport bus trip, wondering how soon it'll be before Clare hears about her surgical appointment.