Cracking week for both kp and I.

I left on the Saturday afternoon to go down to mum and dad’s (Lancashire) to be ready for the early flight to Larnaka (Cyprus). Karen was going to be “on her own” the whole week. When I say “on her own”, I think there was only 1 night she was “on her own” as she was inundated with friends and family coming over to look after her and stay the night.

II’ll do this blog in 2 halves. My half and the kp half.

kp (the important bit)
Well, she couldn’t go on the holiday because of the risk of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT), so close after her op and all that. We had seen the doctor’s the previous week and he had prescribed some new patches with a different release mechanism. I was sceptical, kp was hopeful. But by golly (can’t say that, racist), by Jove (can’t say that, religious). Start again. Would you believe it ? The pain (and I don’t want to tempt fate) is “under control”, for the first time I can recall. No more ups and downs, she has had a brilliant week with the pain under control. Now, that could be partly due to the weather (which apparently has been gorgeous in the England), but my gut is telling me the patches are working better. The old Fentanyl patches (Durogesic (brandname)) have been replaced with a different brandname (Matrifen). They are thicker with a smaller surface area (by half) which could explain the slower but more constant release.

So, good patches, good weather, lots of visits from family and friends (Marie, Adele, Abbie, Louisa, Jane, Michelle and Freddy) made for a great week for kp. I was on the phone AT LEAST twice daily. Predictably compos mentis during the day, and a little worse for wear on the last phone call of the day after some double brandies, but I don’t think kp could tell (much). Whilst I was away, Marie undertook a huge job, that of reading the whole blog from start to finish. We needed someone to do this, to work out what we can claim back from the insurance. The blog has also served as a record of the trips Karen went on (Physio, hospital visits, etc…) and Marie went through the whole thing, itemising what costs we have incurred each day, from taxis to telephone costs (in the hospital), from food (in the hospital) to dog walkers (at home). It all needs to be claimed back. Thank you SOOOO much Marie – I was absolutely dreading that job.

So, cracking week for Karen, she has really enjoyed it. Thanks for everyone’s support !!

dp
My holiday was awesome. The only downside was kp not being there, but that didn’t deter me from having the best of holidays. The weather was glorious, the company excellent, the fun abundant, it was just brilliant. The kids were great pretty much the whole holiday – lots of fun. The Pollard Clan can be quite competitive (ahem), and in true Pollard fashion, the holiday pretty much turned into a mini-olympics. We played Tennis, Table-Tennis, Beach Volleyball and Cards (based on points for the whole week). Dad and I won the Tennis. The table tennis was won by Guy (well done Guy, bastard). Mum won the cards. Jane won bugger all. Actually, that’s not fair. Jane won “biggest inflicted bruise” in the table tennis. Her slams don’t score too heavily in the accuracy field, but what they lack in accuracy, they make up for in power. Guy lost an eye, I have a third nipple, and Dad won’t be giving Jane or I any new brothers/sisters.

The table tennis proved to be the most competitive of competitions. Guy started poorly, Dad was the strongest candidate for the championship title. But, then Guy started romping up the pressure. He has an annoying habit of returning the ball consistently EVERY time. That’s fine for most players, for the impatient Pollards, we get bored in long rallies, and by about the 20th ball, we are longing to end it, and the resultant slams either miss (or Guy bloody returns them).

So, for the record. Guy (top), dp (second), Dad (third), Jane (fourth).

Tennis was just as competitive but Dad and I stormed it. Jane and Guy had youth on their side, but even with Dad’s bad back and my bad hip, they still couldn’t break us. Formidable says it all.

So, for the record. Dad and dp (winners), Jane and Guy (loooooooooooooooooooosers).

Cards was great fun. Mum and Dad, the card counters, did brilliantly, Mum winning the week’s play overall. Just when you thought you had a good hand, Mum would trounce it, winning the round and then saying “Sorry, love.” We got so annoyed, not by her winning, but by the “Sorry, love”, that we had it written in the rules that if she said “Sorry, love” when she won a round, the round was void. In fact, I asked for that to be amended to include “any form of apology, written or spoken, implicit or explicit” just to be sure. She only forgot once, very impressive. We let her off (inebriation makes one very forgiving).

The volleyball, to be fair, wasn’t a family affair. It was arranged by the hotel, and Guy and I got roped in, but we enjoyed it. So, it’s probably not fair to mention which team won, but because it was mine, I don’t mind telling you “WE DID !!!!” Had Guy’s team won, I would. of course, have just mentioned that we played Beach Volleyball (who won would have been irrelevant)

The swimming pools were freezing (apart from the inside one). But, the kids didn’t mind. As the Uncle (on the trip), I have that joyous right to DECIDE when I get involved with the kids, and surprise surprise when it came to “Uncle David, come and play with us in the pool”, I had other things on the go (normally a devilish Sudoku puzzle). Mummy and Daddy (and Grandma and Grandpa) didn’t have that luxury. Oh, my bleeding heart.

The sea was a bit warmer (strangely), and I did go in there (upto my knees), but only to board a catamaran for 30 minutes sailing. It would have been an hour if the wind was a bit stronger, but it wasn’t quite enough to do the leaning out thing, so I got bored, tacking to and fro all the time.

I could go on about the holiday for ages, it really was absolutely brilliant. Dad picked up the whole tab and normally I would say “that was the best bit of the holiday”, but it didn’t matter. I would have enjoyed it even if I had to open my wallet. Although that statement is null and void for future holidays, if you fancy treating us again !!

Thanks Mum and Dad for treating us, thanks Mum, Dad, Jane, Guy, Sophie and Jemms (my new name for Jamie) for making it so much fun.

Here are some photos….

View from the bedroom….

Sophie (with my specs on)…

Kids Teas….

Not sure what this is about……

Breakfast with Sophie….

Kids could be drowning, but we have time to smile for the camera…..

Face Painting…..James is a tiger, Sophie is a washed out ladybird…..