A follow-on from ‘Family misfortunes encore’ and ‘My bug-out kit’ …

In the second week of March, my mother was transferred from the Alexandra hospital in Redditch to Worcester City Hospital on 13 March. This was apparently a ‘rehab’ hospital: her medical issues were under sufficient control for her to be moved on from a general medical ward. By this time I was back in Edinburgh, to keep my cold away from mum and to try to get back to normality, whatever that is.

On Monday 30 March, the hospital rang to tell me that mum will be moved on Thursday 2 April, because coronavirus now has that hospital at crisis-point so they need to clear as many beds as possible.

There has been much faffing since then: differing information over whether mum has to pay for nursing-home care; securing a place at a home I like (to avoid her being dumped just anywhere in Worcestershire), only to be told 2 days later that this place had stopped taking new patients due to its own coronavirus-worries; some of mum’s possessions going missing at the hospital; securing a place at a different nursing-home; keeping my bother and sister informed, and typing everything I’m told (even though some fo it turned out to be fake news) so subsequent conversations were properly informed. All this has kiboshed getting any work done this week. While I had snatches of time at my desk, I couldn’t concentrate on my major tasks: they need uninterrupted, undistracted concentration.

However, there are some good things. I have a roof, enough food, a wonderful wife and fab, patient and supportive colleagues. Also, Lifescycle is running online spin-classes every other day, and have loaned us spin-bikes. (I’ve named them ‘Bette’ and ‘Davis’.) This evening’s Boris-mandated daily outdoors exercise was cycling a tripod with phone-adaptor to the Lifescycle people, so they didn’t get arm-ache pointing a phone at the instructor for an hour each time. Gosh I’m slow. Here’s the journeys to and from LC.

Click the graphics to see the cyclemeter records
going there. Average speed 15mph	coming back. Average speed 9mph

So the headwind made ±3mph difference. But I’m not happy with less than 10mph when unladen ever. More training needed!