Lyn's Log, 29th March 2008
England, Christmas 2007
Sidney, BC.
N48º39', W123º24'
16,718 miles.
We had a great Christmas and New Year back in England, meeting up with all the family on both sides, and visiting friends as well. We bought an old banger just before Christmas and drove it 5,000 miles without mishap, but isn’t the cost of petrol high! It went up by ten percent in the three months we were there.
After Christmas, Ruth, our tenant in our Dover apartment, let us stay in our flat while she house-sat for another couple who were on their yacht in Spain. To keep ourselves occupied during the last month of our stay, we helped Ruth completely redecorate her mother’s former flat and move her in. Left without her furniture we were back to living with a bed and the plastic garden table and chairs. It was just like when we first moved in, before we had bought any furniture. So now the flat is empty and we are waiting for the agency to find us new tenants. It had been very good for us having Ruth rent our flat, but wonderful to see her so excited about moving into what would become her own home.
We were very grateful for the help given by Ruth and Barry, and for their company and that of other members of White Cliffs Motorboat and Yacht Club. They are a great group and gave us a lovely send off when we left.
Most of our energies during our time in England were spent sorting out Andrew’s health. He had been feeling unwell during the last month or so in Canada, and had lost a good deal of weight, but had put off seeing a doctor until we returned in December. It turned out to be Graves Disease, an overactive thyroid gland with eye complications, at a very acute state by the time we got back. Then in January he started to lose his sight. The NHS rushed into overdrive. There was a constant round of appointments with various specialists and endless blood tests.
By the time we were booked to fly back in mid February the thyroid was pretty much under control and treatment would not need to be reviewed for a year; but the problem with the eyes, although relieved by steroids, was not stabilised. The doctors recommended that he should stay at least another month in England. Changing our return flight tickets proved very stressful, requiring several long phone calls to the USA before we eventually managed to secure new tickets at a reasonable additional cost. How we wished we'd taken out travel insurance - we've never needed it before. Having bought rather than rented a car proved a blessing though.
Things then calmed down and we both managed to get our blood pressures back to normal. Andrew put on much of the weight he had lost, while I managed to lose some and toned up in the nearby gym. Our new departure date was 27th March. It was the day the new terminal 5 opened for business but fortunately our flight had not yet been transferred there as the new terminal was in chaos. Our travel went very smoothly, though the journey of 23 hours stopping in Toronto was wearying.
We arrived back in Port Sidney Marina in the middle of the night wondering what we would find after neglecting poor Sentinel for three months. To our relief we found her dry and warm apart from one small patch under a window which had not been closed properly. Luckily a sweater had absorbed most of the damp. Our next pleasant surprise was the engine starting first turn and all the electrics were working. Tony and Nancy, who live on Moondancer just up the dock, had been very good friends in keeping an eye on Sentinel and emailing us. They plan to sail south towards Mexico later this year, around the same time we plan to go.
But it's still icy. You may be wondering why there is a picture of a fishing-boat figurehead at the top. Andrew says the figurehead, which we spotted in the Chicago Institute of Art, has exactly my expression on peering out from Sentinel first thing of a cold morning here. Try clicking on the button beneath, and the truth will be revealed!