Job Done

Up and out of bed by eight this morning, giving me plenty of time to get ready to walk over to St Luke's to preach at the the Parish Eucharist in support of Mthr Emma presiding, in recovery with laryngitis. There were twenty of us present including an organist and choir of four.

We had lunch at Stefano's at twelve thirty - our first restaurant treat of the year, then returned home and had an hour's siesta, vital, as I had to drive over to Bristol to visit Owain at home, and obtain his signature on a banking mandate to transfer signatures from him and me to James, Amanda's son, who is going to be looking after her trust fund hereafter.

Owain took me to Trooper's Hill, one of his regular therapeutic walks, to enjoy the view. It's a celebrated conservation area, once a 18th century copper smelting industrial site, with an original furnace chimney. left to mark the spot. On the way there we walked along Strawberry Lane through a verdant valley where waste land has been transformed into allotments in recent years, a wonderful witness to what can be done with spare unused plots of land. 

I drove from Owain's place in Redfield to Amanda's place in Southmead to deliver the bank documents in twenty minutes, as the roads were quiet. Normally it would take double the time. It was satisfying to hand over the historic trust fund dossier and signatory document. They'll be in good hands in future. One thing less for me to worry about.

Amanda's in good form. She now has an electric wheelchair and is able to get out of the house on her own without needing carers with her. The next step is an electric bed, which enables her to get in and out without needing assistance. It will free her even more from depending on carers, and put her more in control of her life. I'm thrilled that technologies are now available to people via the NHS, enabling them to live more fulfilling lives. We're all better off as a result, I'm sure.

It was gone eight by the time I got back home, tired and hungry. That's the most I've done in a day for a long while - driving nearly a hundred miles, and walking a total of eight miles. So grateful to have the health and strength to be this active, after a difficult year.