The Return – Sunday 5 August

John O’Groats to Birmingham (by car)

After being x-rayed at Perth and then transferred to Bridge of Earn on Thursday afternoon a nurse surrounded us with a screen and proceeded to help me wash. When we got to the more private parts she said, "Here, you can do that bit yourself". Walking to the toilets at the end of the ward was painful. A night nurse watched as I pottered slowly down the ward, and said, "That looks as though it hurts". I spent Friday and Saturday being moved bed by bed from the “junior” end of the ward towards the “senior” end where the longer-stay patients were. One chap in particular explained carefully how painful arthritis in the shoulder would become over time. I listened attentively while trying to bury myself in a newspaper. The food was wholesome and all who could were encouraged to sit round a communal table in the centre of the ward for meals. The hospital itself appeared to be a left-over from the war, single story pre-fabricated huts with adjoining corridors.

Early in the afternoon on Sunday Liz, Mick and the boys arrived from John O'Groats. I said goodbye to the nurses and thanked them for looking after me, and we set off for Birmingham. Mick did most of the driving with me sitting in the middle seat at the front with a lap strap, and the boys cushioned in the back of the van amongst the camping kit and bicycles.

John O'Groats to Bridge of Earn is about 240 miles, or about five hours driving time. Bridge of Earn to Birmingham is about 330 miles, or about six hours driving time. It's a long way, and we arrived back home in the late evening. We dropped Mick at his house before going home ourselves. I was hurting!

My doctor gave me a medical certificate for six weeks, and although I offered to go into work my boss insisted that I spend the whole of the time at home. I busied myself in writing up the story on my BBC computer (one-handed) but over the years the printout has been lost. The file is probably on a seven inch floppy disc somewhere in the loft along with the BBC computer, but I'm not really champing at the bit to put it all together.