I'm largely going to let the photographs tell the story here, Moscow is a spectacular city. Yes, it's full of tourists and escaping the selfie sticks is nearly impossible. However there's a reason for that popularity and the sheer density of amazing buildings, sharp contrasts, parks, cafes and depth of history makes the popularity self-explanatory. … Continue reading First days in Moscow →

Well, the travelling part of the journey starts now. The preparation and emotional journey started months ago, and I am now ready to really get started. Well, I am not sure if I am ready, but I am prepared as possible and now need to get started on the difficult parts of this journey. Until … Continue reading And the journey starts →

Yesterday was the final preparation in terms of purchasing, with getting a pile of chemo head scarves and being shown how to wear them. Strange how it helps to see the scarves, try them on and realise they're pretty cool and I look ok in them. So I bought a variety, also there's a beanie … Continue reading Preparation →

I can't really put any relevant photographs in this post, so I thought I'd show what I just had for lunch ... Jalapeño hummus on toast, tomatoes, olives, salt & vinegar crisps and an apple ... soon to be followed by a black coffee. I am not looking forward to the rather bland hospital food … Continue reading The stages of treatment →

Am I scared, and apprehensive, of what's coming ! Hell yes. I'm functioning reasonably well, walking and driving and working, yet I'm going to have so many needles stuck into me it's just not true, and having chemo that's normally for cancer patients. Is this a risk that is worth taking ? I'm only a … Continue reading Prayer & fear →

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;   Then took the other, as just as fair, And having … Continue reading The Road Less Travelled →

There's a symmetry to the timing that I'm going to Russia exactly four years after doing my Camino. I'll be there approximately 3 weeks after I started walking, and get him just before I finished walking. One of the main reasons I'm undertaking this treatment is to get my walking back, to whatever level is … Continue reading Symmetry →

The money has been paid, and received by the hospital ! Thanks to the international banking system, it took 2 days with a rather nasty exchange rate but very secure. This all seems rather more real now.

I have a love and hate relationship with social media. I hate the intrusion into everyday life, and as anyone who has had dinner here knows, looking at mobile phones while at the dinner table I find incredibly rude. Basically it's saying to me that Facebook, or your texts, or Twitter, is more important to … Continue reading Social media →

Four years ago, I walked the Camino, 1000 km approximate from the French-Spanish border to the western most point of Spain. This was one of the most amazing experiences and journeys for me, challenging and exciting, peaceful and companionable, through Spanish villages, rolling countryside and along medieval paths trodden for centuries. For vastly more detail, … Continue reading Camino de Santiago 2014 →