Just when I thought it was safe to go back to the water.... and sit down and do a bit of fishing......

I'm ill AGAIN!

The whole house in which I reside is in a state of free-falling illness...... everyone's coughing and spluttering.......

Sleep patterns have gone to the dogs.... one person seems to have gotten a bit better and then someone else gets a bit worse.......

I thought I'd had the bronchial thing.... I'd had the flu..... the abscesses at both ends of the scale........

Now, after approximately two whole days of feeling almost well...... the chronic taste of death in my trachea accompanied with a bucking bronchi that feels like a tongue that's been burned by molten cheese straight from a toasted sandwich.

Hot... cold..... dry, non productive wheezy cough.  What joy.

Illness is strange..... eventually when you've been ill for a period of time, you begin to forget what it's like to feel normal.  What it's like to go through a day without even noticing how you feel...... the luxury of being able to take your health for granted.

I've not been this run down for bloody years, and if it were just me on my own then I'd be getting worried about it by now....  it's nice to have some sickly company on this particular ride!

The plus side of this is that I've taken to making myself a rather nice Hot Toddy.... and here's my recipe:

(I usually use a nice big tumbler that measures about half a pint - a nice thick walled glass tumbler keeps the heat in best)

Put enough runny honey into the glass to cover the base.... a good teaspoon works for me.

Add a good dash of lemon juice... I'm using bottled but I am sure fresh would be much better and I'd try for about a quarter of a lemon's worth.

Add whisky/rum/brandy in desired quantity..... I don't overdo it but I've been using a nice 12 year old Tobermory single malt.  Probably a decent single measure.

In a plastic jug I put a teabag and enough water for the drinks I am making..... 1 teabag is usually enough for two glasses if you put enough water in and brew it well.

Pour the steaming hot tea into the glasses to fill them to the top....

Give a gentle stir but not too much..... it's really nice to have a final syrupy mouthful at the end of the glass with the last bit of honey.

And, as Father Jack might say....... Drink!

Flu-nami!

Hurricane Mucus has reached land, somewhere around the Bay of Arctic Fox at 11:00hrs today.

Scientists predict high blood pressure, gusting sneezes in excess of 300 miles per hour with prolonged showers of snot.  Extreme periods of abject frustration and intense seismic activity are highly likely sometime around bedtime!

Local residents have been warned to stay out of the path of this flu-nami and to seek shelter at the earliest opportunity and start panic buying (amongst other things) petrol; Kleenex (mansize); beer; and Beecham's Powders.

The Met Office have issued a severe bad mood warning for the rest of the week.

Fiddlesticks!  Don't forget to see what films I am managing to stay awake to watch - and here's a picture of brighter, happier times!

Walking wounded.

Seems like the nearest and dearest are all falling foul of the dreaded winter lurgy. Strange flu like symptoms, coupled with bronchial madness, and phlegm, are flooring those around me with some ferocity.

I have picked up my stethoscope, and gladstone bag, and begun to administer all manner of treatments, ranging from champagne, right through to Nintendo. I think I was born to heal. Suffice to say, nobody is getting better, but they don't mind being ill so much when I have prescribed.

Frosty mornings and fog are the daily occurences now. I snapped this pretty sunrise during my inaugural cig break the other morning. Please enjoy this sunrise over Huddersfield.... Spice, don't get TOO homesick now, and don't be too mad that I only had my phone/camera to hand.



Christmas shopping is almost complete, and everything's neatly wrapped and under my lovely tree. I am almost set to enjoy christmas on my own (as everyone is going to be tucked up in bed drinking flu remedies). There is still the matter of a couple of birthdays inbetween now and the big day..... it never rains.... It damn well gets wet though!

I have even updated my seemingly unpopular "random shopping" blog, with a couple more choice items.... You REALLY should head on over and take a look.

I think I might go "all-out" and fully update my blog to a fancy blogger template, so you never know, I might lose everything.... if not, see you on the other side.... good luck!

On the other hand.... now that I've just snipped my finger with a pair of scissors, and I have an unhealthy addiction to Age of Empires III, perhaps I'll just sit here and cry for a while!!