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Days Out, Holidaying, Restaurants, Reviews

A short break in Cornwall

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I am off work at the moment as I am recovering from bowel cancer and my husband booked two weeks off as our son was getting married and he wanted some time off around that. I received an email from Parkdean Resorts saying we could book a four day holiday for £89. I was a bit sceptical but it was true, so we booked to go from Monday to Thursday at St. Minver Holiday Park, Wadebridge, Cornwall, PL27 6RR.

Day One

The journey from Southampton to Wadebridge is roughly four hours, so we booked to stop off at The Jamaica Inn for lunch. This was a bit of a bucket list item for both of us, as every time we drove to Cornwall we threatened to go there, but never actually got there, but because it was my birthday, we decided to go for it.

Picture from Jamaica Inn website

We stopped off at The Jamaican Inn, luckily we had booked as it was very busy.

Please click on this link to read about our visit and what we did there.

Our onward journey took us another 45 minutes where we found St. Minver Holiday Park quite easily and after booking in at Reception we found our caravan.

We booked a four berth caravan and when we entered we were pleasantly surprised by it. Sure, it wasn’t the biggest caravan we’d stayed in but it was only for the two of us and we wouldn’t be spending that much time in there, we were more concerned with the facilities the park had to offer and the location of it.

Living room
Kitchen area

On looking at the map of the site and the entertainment programme it looked like there was a lot going on. We saw that there was an entertainment hub which housed the pub, showbar, restaurant, arcade and soft play area and the list of activities for the children was quite extensive, including an indoor heated swimming pool, plus bingo, karaoke and even a tribute band for the adults. I was quite impressed that you could order food from your table via their App and even have food delivered to your accommodation.

After unpacking, we decided to visit a beach called Polzeath Beach which is popular with surfers and we could see why when we arrived, the waves were awesome! We took a walk around the town centre, purchased an ice cream and took a wander down on the beach. There were lots of surfing classes and we spent a while watching the surfers ride the waves and some quite spectacular wipe-outs.

As it had been a long day, we drove back to the caravan and as we were both still full from the lunch at Jamaica Inn, we had a cup of tea and went to sleep….

Day Two

Today we had decided to go and visit Padstow which is one of my favourite places in Cornwall, my very favourite being St. Ives. But, instead of driving to Padstow we were going to park at Rock, which was only a couple of miles away and then catch the ferry across the bay to Padstow. This was a good decision as the car park in Padstow is way up on a hill and whilst this is fine in the morning walking down, it’s very tiring after a long day and having to walk up this steep hill, plus after chemotherapy and bowel surgery, I’m still not up to full strength so I’m not sure I would have even made it!

We arrived and parked up and went for a walk along the sea front to take a little look at the place where the celebrities live, people like Gordon Ramsay and Dawn French. We spotted Paul Ainsworth’s restaurant, The Mariners on the sea front and it did look fabulous, somewhere we’d love to go for a special occasion.

We walked back as we could see the ferry was approaching Rock Beach. The ferry only took card payments and it cost £3.00 – Adult Single, £1.50 – Child Single and £3.00 – Bike.

The ferry dropped us off at the harbour and after checking what time the last ferry back to Rock was, we went off to explore.

Padstow is a fishing port and is situated on the west bank of the River Camel. There is a lot of shops to visit, we particularly like the glass art that you can get from Cornwall, plenty of tea rooms, restaurants and of course, pasties. After a cup of coffee and a piece of cake, we took a stroll round and sat on a bench on the harbour just people watching and enjoying the view.

Padstow Harbour

Then it was time for my birthday treat – lunch at Rick Stein’s St Petrocs Bistro. To read about the full experience please click here.

After a delicious meal at Rick Stein’s, we had another wander and stumbled across a craft fayre and never one to walk past one of this, we went in. There were lots of stalls to have a look around and I bought a ceramic heart necklace which was very pretty.

We then caught the ferry back to Rock, thankful that we didn’t have to go up that steep hill back to the carpark and drove back to the caravan site.

We were going to go to the Entertainment Hub but we were very tired and so we just chilled in front of the television watching The Great British Bake Off, munched on a few pork pies that we had brought with us and then departed to the bedroom and I haven’t slept that well for a very long time…

Day Three

On our journey down to St. Minver Caravan Park, we saw a sign for Pencarrow House, it wasn’t a National Trust house but privately owned, so we made a mental note to visit it if we had time over the next couple of days. Well, day three afforded us this chance and so we headed over to it early morning to book a house tour.

Pencarrow House
Lanhydrock House

It’s a standing joke between us that wherever we go somebody always knows hubby and today was no exception. As we walked into the shop a voice said, “Hello Phil, what are you doing here?” The lady who worked behind the counter used to work in one of the buildings he runs as the Catering Manager!

A walk around the gardens and a guided tour of the house and we were on our way to Lanhydrock house, but not before have a bite to eat at a pub we passed along the way.

We had downloaded a free National Trust pass so we used this to gain entry to Lanhydrock House, which was just as well as it was quite expensive at £20 each.

After a look around the House, we would have loved to had spent more time there but we had a meal booked at Bodmin Jail before we went on our ghost walk, we had to move on.

The rain was coming down which added to the eerie feeling about the jail. We arrived fully expecting a meal but was told that even though we booked it online for a time of 16:45, they weren’t open at that time for meals but did open at 17:00 for a set menu. On looking at this menu it was £50 per head, so we decided against it and found a lovely little pub down the road and had a bowl of tomato soup each!

Back to the jail for 18:30 and we booked in for our ghost walk.

The walk around the jail was very interesting, we were told about the different ghosts that haunted the jail, facts about some of the inmates and we got to look inside the jails, which was a bit creepy.

The person who led the tour was very knowledgeable and we were surprised to find out it was his first tour he had ever done, so well done to that man!

It was at Bodmin Jail where the episode of Most Haunted was filmed and Derek Ocorah (a medium) was set up by Ciaran O’Keefe (sceptic) to expose him as a fraud….

After the tour we headed back to the caravan site where we went to the entertainment centre and feasted on a £12.49 pizza and a couple of drinks.

We took a picture of the different menus:

After feeling full after eating the pizza we did a quick tour of the amusement arcade where we won a couple of small teddies and then we headed back to the caravan for our final night before we packed to go home.

Amusement Arcade

Day Four

Phil got up early to go to a bakery we had seen at Rock the day before to buy some pasties and scones for when we got home. Phil is very partial to a cream tea and we hadn’t had time to fit one in this trip, so we bought one to take home with us.

We didn’t stop on the journey home, mainly because we sailed past the services we were going to stop at, so it was nice to have a ready-made tea when we did get back.

My view

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at St. Minver Holiday Park, so much so that we’ve booked five days next year this time staying in a lodge so that our families can come and stay if they want to.

Our lodge for next year

We found the park to be central for where we wanted to visit and there was plenty to do, from playing bingo, karaoke, swimming to walking through the woods.

All-in-all very good value for money!

Days Out, Holidaying, Restaurants, Reviews

The Jamaican Inn

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The first thing we noticed was that it was decorated with Halloween decorations, they had a backdrop of a haunted house where you could have a picture taken.

We sat down at our reserved table (I would recommend booking ahead as it was very busy) and I ordered the Chef’s Steak & Jamaica Inn Pie which was served with creamy mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and gravy: Price £16.95

Hubby ordered the Jamaican Inn Burger with 6oz beef burger topped with Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, tomato, gherkin and salad in a toasted brioche bun served with skin-on fries: Price £15.95

Both meals tasted delicious, just what we needed, a hearty meal after three hours of sitting in a car in traffic! As I said before, it was busy, but the meals didn’t take very long to reach our table and we were far too full to order dessert.

We then headed towards the museum which focused on the author, Daphne Du Maurier and of course, pirates, smuggling and ghosts.

The cost to enter the museum was £3.95 for adults and £2.95 for children and OAPs.

Daphne Du Maurier

Well known for her novel, The Jamaica Inn which was a tale about Mary, an orphan, who lives with her Aunt Patience and Uncle Joss Merlyn, who was the Landlord of the Jamaica Inn and her uncle’s involvement in smuggling along the Cornish coast. One of her other well known novels is Rebecca which was a very successful film. There is a room created at Jamaica Inn which is full of memorabilia including her writing desk on top of which is a packed of the Du Maurier cigarettes named after her father.

Smuggling Museum

The Museum purports to house one of the finest collections of smuggling artefacts in the country. Custom taxes were first introduced in the 13th century but there was little enforcement of this until the 18th century when taxes were raised to fund foreign wars. Goods could be purchased much cheaper abroad and so smuggling became rife. Tea was six times more expensive in England than Europe. Other goods such as silks, tobacco and branding were also smuggled into Cornwall.

Paranormal Activity

The presence of paranormal activity here is one of the reasons we wanted to visit, we do like a good ghost story and if there’s any chance of an investigation we’re there. But unfortunately we didn’t have time to attend an investigation this trip, but it’s something we would like to do in the future! You can book a stay in one of their haunted rooms which includes a two course dinner and is £85 per person.

Most Haunted did an investigation here and said it was one of the spookiest they have ever recorded. Below is the programme they recorded….

After a look around the gift shop, I wanted to buy a Jamaican Inn t-shirt but unfortunately they had run out of stock, we then went to the farm shop and then we left the Jamaica Inn.

halloween, Reviews

Haunted Stage Show Review

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Venue: Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Date: Thursday, 12th October, 2023

My husband and I arrived at The Mayflower Theatre with different expectations: I was looking forward to seeing the presenters of Most Haunted in person after many years of watching them on the TV – my husband, who is something of a sceptic was interested to see if they could change his mind.

Most Haunted Stage Show

Never to miss an opportunity, Yvette Fielding’s books were on sale in the foyer, a great marketing strategy, but I resisted the temptation to buy. We found our seats and wondered at the array of people who came to watch, a very mixed bag.

The show opened with Yvette coming on stage, she laid out the format the show was going to follow and then introduced Karl, Stuart and Glen to the audience.

Stuart Torevell and Karl Beattie
Glen Hunt

Now, I’ve never been a huge fan of Karl, the rumours of him throwing stones and coins and claiming it’s spirits and the famous ‘rope-gate’ at 30 East Drive haven’t done much to endear him to me, but I was willing to give him a chance tonight.

But when he started swearing as soon as he opened his mouth I didn’t think I would be changing my mind about him anytime soon.

Stuart and Glen didn’t really have much to say, only speaking when Yvette asked them a direct question. Stuart looked especially uncomfortable with being on the stage.

The show mainly centred around them showing their favourite clips and then talking about them. They showed the infamous Stuart ‘ghost’ and explained it was Stone Tape theory and they also showed the doll catching fire which they strenuously denied any misdoings.

In the second half there was audience participation: a séance and a mini investigation backstage of the theatre.

The theatre opened on 22 December, 1928 originally called The Empire Theatre. It’s the largest theatre in the South of England. It has held concerts by famous artists such as Bill Hayley & His Comets, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Queen.

Yvette said that an old man has been spotted sitting in a chair backstage and tapping has been heard and so they picked four people out of the audience to go backstage with Karl and Stuart with a night vision camera. They also picked out four people to participate in a Ouija board session.

The people who went backstage heard lots of knocking and a lady said that when she went into the toilets she felt the presence of a little child who tried to hold her hand. The remaining three concentrated on knocking and asking for it to be repeated. When they came back they recounted their experience when one of the men revealed he was a sceptic and he wondered if the tapping was because they were directly under the stage.

The séance started off quite calmly, but they received a spirit who spelled out C3 and Glen suggested that could be a seat number. The lady who was sat there got up on stage and it was revealed the spirit was called Peter and was her deceased husband. She told him she was “doing fine,” without him, that touched the heartstrings of the audience.

They then had a question and answer session with the audience, where Karl for no reason that I’m aware off, decided to speak in an extremely effeminate way, which again didn’t endear him to me at all. His swearing was even worse than in the first half, to the point where Yvette told him to stop.

The show then came to an end, after plugging their Most Haunted Experiences in different locations and I left feeling a bit dissatisfied with what I had seen and it had done nothing to persuade my husband that ghosts do exist!

I found reviews online and most seemed to agree with me regarding Karl’s behaviour, here’s just a few, there are a lot more, I can assure you!

Great British Bake Off, Reviews

The Great British Bake Off – Week One: Cake Week

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This blog contains spoilers, ie., who went out and who won Star Baker, so if you don’t want to know this, please stop reading now!

So now begins a brand new series of GBBO, where things have changed a little since the last season ending with the departure of Matt Lucas and Alison Hammond taking up the reins. This provoked a mixed reaction from the public to the news, but let’s not judge her until we’ve seen her in action!

The new line-up

Meanwhile let’s take a look at when she was a contestant and couldn’t find the oven door!

I did laugh at this photo posted on Twitter (X) by @alexr_241 which showed Noel and Alison as depicted by houses:

There was also another addition to the tent, Daryl, a BSL interpreter for one of the contestants. Refreshing to see him front and centre and not out of sight.

There are 12 contestants this series:

Tasha
Saku
Rowan
Nicky
Matty
Keith
Josh
Dana
Dan
Cristy
Amos
Abbi

Signature Challenge

The bakers were asked to make a vertical layer cake with a perfectly baked sponge rolled with a filling so when sliced it will reveal neat vertical layers.

Rowan

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “Perfect example of a vertical cake. The buttercream is terrific. Well done Rowan.”
Paul: “I like it. It’s delicate, but the flavours are there. Just be aware of the strength of flavours that you’re putting in.”

Josh

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “The flavour is sensational.”
Paul: “The colours work, I think the cake looks amazing but I actually think you’ve over-baked your sponges.”

Amos

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “The chocolate dominates and not a lot of orange.”
Paul: “Obviously there’s been some issues with the drip effect. The layers just aren’t even enough.”

Cristy

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “I think it looks lovely. Beautiful lines. I mean, it’s delicious.”
Paul: “Good height to it, wow. I think the flavour, you are 60% there, don’t be afraid to punch us in the teeth with citrus flavours.”

Nicky

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “Yes, the layers are good. The flavour is very subtle and it is delicious.”
Paul: “It looks like a barrel, a bit like me actually, but I don’t think it’s terrible. I quite like the layers, they’re pretty even. It’s just not punchy enough.”
Nicky: “Perhaps the flavours will grow on you?”
Paul: “Yes, like a fungus!”

Abbi

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “I like that informal cornucopia look. Very nice vertical stripes. It’s delicious. The balance of the texture of the cake and the buttercream is beautiful.”
Paul: “This is the wild poppy, isn’t it? (Yeah) I think the flavours come through, they’re nice and punchy.”

Dana

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “Well those are pretty good stripes. I must say, the flavour is lovely, not too salty.”
Paul: “It’s a bit messy, the piping is not particularly good.”

Saku

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “Don’t make a face like that. It is a bit wobbly. The stripes are there. What I think the real achievement is to get the flavour out of the blueberries which they are not the easiest fruit to make taste great.”
Paul: “I like the colours, let’s have a look at this wobbly tower. Oh, I got the sharpness from the outside which brings that sour and the sweet together. I love the flavours.”

Matty

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “It certainly is strong. That’s a muscular cake. It’s very nice.”
Paul: “That would wake you up in the morning. That coffee level is perfect.“

Dan

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “That is the cutest little cake. Beautiful stripes Dan, well done. That is rhubarb and custard. It’s a beautiful cake, it’s very light.”
Paul: “It looks like a circus tent. With the crème pat and the rhubarb, it’s quite moreish, good job.”

Keith

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “It looks so dramatic and the colours are so strong contrast and it looks so wonderful. It’s delicious, absolutely delicious. I could happily eat all of that.”
Paul: “Oh my god. The cream is so light against the density of the chocolate and then that orange liqueur, it is absolutely delicious.”

Tasha

Judge’s Remarks:

Prue: “But you know what, its flavour might save it. Well, you’ve certainly got the stripes. I think you’ve got too much filling to cake though. That is very unusual and rather delicious.”
Paul: “Did you sit on it? If you had used less of the filling and more of the sponge, that would have been absolutely brilliant. I think it looks terrible, but I love the flavours and the texture of it.”

There were ups and downs in the tent – I think Saku’s ‘up’ was definitely the hug she received from Paul and Matty’s ‘down’ was not getting his buttercream to behave!

Technical Challenge

To make the Great British Bake Off chocolate cake, the one with the missing raspberry which appears in the opening titles with two layers of moist chocolate sponge covered and filled with a silky smooth chocolate ganache topped with fresh raspberries. Time: 2 hours.

The mystery of the raspberry was solved: Noel has it in a box, ready to sell on eBay when he reitres!

This challenge should be bread and butter to the bakers, but there is pressure to get it perfect as it will be tasted by Paul and Prue.

The big debate in the tent was raspberry on or off the cake?

The ganache seemed to be the main focus of attention, whether it had a shiny or matt finish.

The bakers were ranked from 12th to first position:

12th – Dana
11th – Tasha
10th – Nicky
9th – Rowan
8th – Josh
7th – Matty
6th – Cristy
5th – Saku
4th – Keith
3rd – Abbi
2nd – Amos
1st – Dan

Showstopper Challenge

Make a cake shaped and decorated in the form of an animal of your choosing. Time: 4 hours.

Cristy

The judges loved the colours, loved the isomalt lake. Gorgeous and raspberries taste tart which cut through the flavour of it.

Keith

Judges commented there was the right amount of flavour running through the layers – not oversweet, full of flavour.

Matty

Paul said it looked like it had been run over. Nice flavour. Never seen a spaniel that colour.

Rowan

Very impressive. Delicious flavours.

Saku

Astonishing to look at. Beautiful. Tasted quite stodgy, overbaked, style over substance.

Dan

Adorable. Very moreish. Done Bruno proud.

Josh

Charming. A lot of buttercream.

Dana

A bit flat on the back. Strong peanut flavour.

Abbi

Look great. Great character to his face. Rhubarb jam excellent. Really good job.

Amos

Everything slipped slightly. Cake a bit doughy, tough as old boots. Bone dry. Stodgy and oversweet.

Nicky

Sorry – couldn’t resist – Bake Off innuendo at its best.

Beautiful. Heavy on the fondant. Overbaked sponge.

Tasha

Incredible, sensational. Robin with personality. Delicious. Paul didn’t like it …. he loved it.

Star Baker

Going home …

It’s always sad to see someone go home, but especially on the first week – perhaps the powers that be should take a leaf out of Strictly’s book and everyone stays the first week and the competition begins for real on the second week!

Next week is Biscuit Week!

My Battle with Bowel Cancer

Life Changing Surgery – Part Two (Phil’s story)

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I was in Intensive Care for three days, but I can’t remember much about it as I kept drifting in and out of consciousness, but here is Phil’s story…

“The day of Karen’s operation was the longest day of my life. We were told that the operation was to take about 12 hours, but if there was nothing that could be done then we would hear from the surgeon a lot sooner than that. So when the time edged past 11.00 AM, I knew that the operation was going ahead. I had told friends and family that I would contact them as soon as I heard any news, but some couldn’t wait and messaged me wanting to know if I had heard anything, I couldn’t really blame them.

I went to work as I couldn’t face sitting at home all day and needed something to take my mind of it. The day went past very slowly and at last at about 10:30 PM I received a phone call from Dr. West, the surgeon, to say that the operation went well and Karen was in recovery. The relief was immense and I telephoned the family to let them know. The next morning I passed on the good news to our friends.

We didn’t know if I could visit Karen in Intensive Care so we didn’t really make any arrangements, but I was told when I phoned up to see how she was doing that I could visit, so I went there that afternoon. Before I saw her, I was warned by the nurses that there would be a lot of machines and drips and tubes so I was to be prepared to be shocked. They were right, there were about seven drips, five machines and tubes from anywhere there could be a tube and in the middle of all this was Karen.

I didn’t recognise her at first, she had ballooned and her skin was really tight, we were both emotional when we saw each other. I would be talking to her and she would drift off to sleep, so I would watch all the machines and take note of the numbers that were being shown.

The nurses in Intensive Care were fantastic – Karen had two nurses looking after her at a time, they were washing her, taking her blood pressure, doing blood tests, cleaning her teeth, moving her into a different position every two hours so she wouldn’t get bed sores, just chatting to her when she was conscious, nothing was too much trouble for them.

The part of the Intensive Care Unit that Karen was in, there were no windows so she didn’t really know what time of day it was, her bed was right next to the Nurse’s Station and I noticed that they were always keeping an eye on her. I noticed as well that Intensive Care was very much no thrills, there were no comforts, no bedside table, no cupboard or drawers to put things in, but I suppose people aren’t supposed to spend a long time in these wards.

Each time I visited Karen she had less tubes and drips which I assumed was a good sign. She was still sleepy, but we could have a conversation now.

One morning I received a message from Karen to say that she had been moved to the High Dependency Ward which was a relief as that meant she was getting better and when I went to visit her that day, she was actually sat up in a chair next to her bed and that was only four days after her operation!“

My Battle with Bowel Cancer

Life-Changing Surgery – Part One

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I was admitted the day before my operation, Monday 10th July, 2023, at 9:00 AM in the morning. After completing my admission form I was left mainly to my own devices until people started turning up at my bedside: McMillan nurse, doctors, the anaesthetist followed by the surgeon.

The talk with the anaesthetist went well until he informed me I’d be having an epidural whilst awake before the operation. That I wasn’t expecting. But by far the worst talk was with the surgeon who gave me a long list of things they will be doing during the operation: removing both my ovaries, my uterus and my rectum! Plus taking out the infected bowel and re-connecting it. He said that they were going to do the HIPEC surgery, filling my bowel up with chemotherapy, leaving for 90 minutes and then flushing out. The hardest thing to hear was when he told me that if the cancer has spread to my stomach lining then he would simply stitch me back up again and that would be that.

Phil came to visit me and we went down to Costa for a coffee where we discussed what was said, we both were very upset about the possibility if nothing could be done. I think the hardest thing was saying goodbye to him, not knowing for sure if I would ever see him again.

I was nil by mouth, only being allowed to sip water and some Fortisip, then the nurse came and informed me I need to have an enema. I thought that was just going to be a torpedo-shaped tablet put up my bottom, but boy was I wrong. It was a tube of lubricant or something, I’m not sure what it was, but I know it hurt like hell and as soon as she finished, I made a dash for the toilet and stayed there for a good 20 minutes. “At least that’s over,” I said to myself but unfortunately it happened twice again, each time hurt as bad as the last!

Time to try and get some sleep, which you can imagine was very difficult, not just because of the operation but also because of the noisy ward. I woke up at about four o’clock in the morning and had a bad case of cold feet, not wanting to have the surgery at all, perhaps persuade them to postpone it but then I thought about the enemas and I certainly didn’t want to go through that again.

I woke up again at seven o’clock and was given some cream to have a wash in to sterilise myself and then I was visited by the two surgeons who were performing the operation. They just wanted to say hello and make sure I was feeling okay.

I walked to the operating theatre with a theatre assistant who warned me not to get overwhelmed by the amount of people in there and when I entered the operating theatre she wasn’t kidding, there was loads of people. I sat on the bed and waited for my epidural and was asked the question by one of the theatre staff, “What would you normally be doing on a Tuesday morning?” “Watching Homes Under the Hammer,” was my reply and we had a conversation about buying and selling houses!! Meanwhile they were fiddling with my lower back preparing me for the epidural, which I have to say, didn’t hurt at all.

I noticed there was a huge blue screen down one end of the room and when I asked what that was for I was told. “All the machines we will be using are there, we don’t want you to see how many there are.”

I laid on my back and was told that I would soon be drifting off to sleep and seconds later I was asleep.

My Battle with Bowel Cancer

PICC LINE INSERTION AND CHEMOTHERAPY SIDE AFFECTS

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I’m sorry that I haven’t updated my blog for SUCH a long time – but the truth of the matter is I simply haven’t felt up to it. Since my fifth chemo session, I have been in hospital five times, spending at least three days each time. Mainly to do with chemo side affects, but also dehydration. Anyway, I will come to that later on, first of all was the PICC insertion which I was really dreading, I mean, how can they get a line to go up a vein on my arm, round the bend towards my heart? I know they’ve done it maybe a 1000 times before, but that didn’t reassure me. I read on one Bowel Cancer page that it didn’t hurt just a bit of pressure whilst they try to do it, so that put me in a better place.

The day arrived and to say I was a big of a mess is an understatement – I put on a brave face for the sake of Phil and we made our way to Hamwic House.

Once there I went into a small office where I was told about the things that could go wrong and there were a lot but I was also told that the procedure was routine. I signed my life away and went into the room where the procedure would take place. The nurse who was going to do it was very nice and she put me at my ease. The comments on Facebook were right, it didn’t hurt at all, I didn’t feel a thing and after about 20 minutes I was able to go home.

I never realised how much this PICC line would help me, it is used for the chemotherapy, the same way in which a cannula is used and it can also be used for blood tests which is a godsend for me as getting blood out of me is a little tricky.

The next day I was to have my first chemotherapy session. Again, I was nervous not knowing what to expect but I found the atmosphere relaxing and even was served coffee, sandwiches and crisps at lunchtime! Due to Covid no-one was allowed to sit with me during this time, but my treatment only lasted about three hours and with the constant visitors of nurses and the Macmillan nurse, the time really did go fast.

The first three chemo sessions seemed to go according to plan. Yes, I had side affects: tingling in my fingers and hand when I touched something cold, tingling of the face when it was cold outside, what is known as first-bite syndrome, when you take a bite of something it is quite painful, food was tasteless and a general feeling of nausea.

I had to have a pump attached to me for 48 hours after the chemo session, which continued pumping in the chemo and then after that time a district nurse would come and disconnect me from it. It was a feeling of freedom when that was detached.

Session four took a bit more of a toll on me, I ended up in hospital as I was quite breathless and after they took an X-ray discovered I had a blood clot on my lung, so I had to inject myself every night and morning with a blood thinner.

After session five I felt like I had been hit with a hammer, I was in hospital for a further four times, suffering with acute kidney injury as I was constantly dehydrated. I think that this was because of the stoma bag because it would fill up quite quickly after eating and so the food and water was passing through me too fast for me to gain any benefit from it.

I have to say that I saw some very colourful characters in hospital (that’s a whole another blog!) and I admire the nurse’s patience in dealing with them, I’m not so sure I would be so patient.

The last time I was in hospital they gave me an iron infusion which certainly made me feel a whole lot better. I was discharged and I then seemed to turn a corner, I’ve been drinking lots and have been leading quite a normal life, even going to Swanage for a few days in a caravan.

The only thing now is that my hair is falling out quite a bit, it’s really very thin now so I’ve taken to wearing a baseball cap, really trying to put off having to either have my hair cut short or even shaved off.

My body rejected the PICC line and it started to come out, so it was removed, which means that when I have a blood test it’s a bit of a nightmare – one time in hospital it took six different people to get the blood, you can imagine how bruised my arms were!

At the moment I am trying to get fit for the operation to remove the tumour which will probably be in the next eight weeks. I have an MRI and CT scan at the end of this month and a fitness test.

My tally of scans etc., is:

MRI scans3
CT scans4
X-Rays3
PET scan1
Ultrasound scans2

So there you have it, that’s my journey up until now. It’s amazing to think this all started back in November, it really has gone so fast. Once again, thank you to everyone for their kind messages and care packages and flowers, they are all so appreciated.

My Battle with Bowel Cancer

Support: Emotional, Financial and Mental

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I wanted to start this blog with a shout out to the person who has been with me through this whole journey, accompanying me on every appointment, taking on the household chores without complaining, cooking meals, giving me a hug and words of encouragement when I’m feeling down and that’s Phil, my husband. I know when we exchanged wedding vows we said, “In sickness and in health,” but when you’re young, you don’t think that will apply until much later in your married life. I know it’s hard for him to take in what’s going on but he’s dealt with it so wonderfully and I don’t think I could ever repay him.

My best friend

Support comes in many different ways, emotional, physical, mental and financial and I have been overwhelmed by the level of support I have received from family, friends, healthcare professionals, neighbours and work colleagues.

Family is an important support system and my family haven’t failed in this respect with lots of messages of support, flower deliveries, visits and even a handwritten letter through the post! It’s lovely to know that they are all thinking of me and sending me get well vibes.

Friends are another important part of this journey, whether it’s having a cup of coffee in their house, going out for a drink, going for a walk with them or just messaging words of support and checking in to make sure that I’m okay. I have one particular friend who battled breast cancer and won, she is an inspiration to me and she kept a blog about her journey…

Click picture for link to Me, You, Us and Breast Cancer blog

Apart from friends and family, there’s also the professional support from the Macmillan nurses, district nurses, consultants and organisations.

At each consultancy appointment there has been a Macmillan nurse in attendance, always there to provide information when we’re not too sure what is being said, nothing is too much trouble for them. When I was in hospital Phil went down to the shops and Hannah, a Macmillan nurse saw that he was looking distressed and immediately went over to him and had a chat with him, even though it was her lunch break.

Phil is a keen runner and has ran numerous 10K races, so he has entered himself for the Bristol 10K on 14th May, 2023 and is running to raise money for Macmillan.

Click to donate to Phil’s 10K run

There is a place called Maggie’s at Southampton General Hospital which provides free cancer support and provides all sorts of information, workshops, therapy and even financial information. We visited there before a consultant appointment and were very impressed by the work they do there. We sat down and had a chat with one of the staff, it was a very relaxed atmosphere and you could have a free cup of tea or coffee.

Whilst at Maggie’s we wanted to speak with the financial person. I am self employed and so as such am not receiving any money whilst I am having treatment, so we wanted to know what we could apply for and how we go about doing it. Unfortunately she was busy with another couple so we left our contact details being assured that she would contact us in a couple of days.

Meanwhile I set about seeing what I could claim myself and after perusing the Bowel Cancer Support Group UK, which is a great group to find help and advice, I discovered I could apply for ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) and PIP (Personal Independence Payment). I am now receiving the ESA payment, but am waiting on the decision regarding the PIP payment.

True to their word, the financial lady from Maggie’s phoned me and she asked what I had applied for, when I told her I had done the ESA and PIP she said that that was the main ones, but had I applied for the Macmillan grant? I replied that I hadn’t known about that and after asking me for my bank details she then informed me that £350 would be in my account next week! She also said that if I get refused the PIP payment then make an appointment to see her and she’ll fill out the appeal form. So I would definitely recommend a visit to Maggie’s.

Mental wellbeing is a tough one. I know that positive thinking goes a long way to help with the process, but sometimes I’m not in that headspace and the slightest thing can turn me into a blubbering wreck. But I have learned that on the good days, you need to take advantage and as I love all things creative I try to do a bit of art work, whether it’s with polymer clay, watercolour paints or just drawing. I watch YouTube videos of people creating art work and that inspires me to try myself, so the other day I made some polymer flowers, which I was quite pleased with. It made me forget about the word, Cancer, and get lost in an artistic bubble.

Polymer flowers

Of course, writing these blog posts does a lot of good for my mental health as it is quite cathartic and it reminds me that I have a lot of love and support and that I’m not alone in this battle with bowel cancer!

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Coming Home for Christmas

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My bed in hospital was next to the nurse’s station and one morning I heard those magical words… 

"Bed Grey 6, Karen Williams, she is due for discharge today."

Of course I was excited and when the doctor’s did their rounds they confirmed the news, on the proviso that I have a CT scan and that my blood markers came back today all okay.

My porter arrived with the wheelchair to take me to the CT scan, she was a very slight woman but I think she must have been in a rush because we zoomed down the corridors, leaving doctors, nurses and patients in our wake. I clung hold of the arm rests of the wheelchair fearing for my safety and was very relieved when we made it to the scanning room intact. “Some one else will pick you up afterwards,” she informed which, which I was very relieved to hear!

I returned to my ward much more sedately and even had time to talk about the weather to my new porter.

I had my bloods done, after a lot of sighing and tapping of my arm to find a vein by the phlebotomist and the waiting game began and eventually in the afternoon they came back as fine. The nurse on the ward came with my prescriptions from the pharmacy, antibiotics in tablet form, steroids and an injection to thin my blood.

Wait, what? I was going to have to inject myself every night? I had the injection on the ward but the nurse did it for me. She showed me how to do it on a tester pad and I was okay at it, but that wasn’t going in my stomach, I was feeling very panicked about doing that every night for another two weeks.

The discharge procedure was fairly quick and soon Phil was driving me home the Thursday before Christmas. I rested when I got home, warily watching the clock as it speeded towards 8 o’clock, the time of the first injection. I disappeared in the bathroom and got the injection out, the needle wasn’t very long, so I pinched my stomach as I had been shown and injected into it, pushed the liquid inside and held it there for four seconds. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be and soon got into a routine of going upstairs and doing it.

MRI Scanner

Two days after being discharged I had to go for a MRI scan. As I was prepped to go into the tunnel, they asked if I wanted to listen to music as the machine was very loud, I chose what they were already listening to which was 70s soul. It seemed to take forever and it felt like being inside a washing machine. The last rumblings sounded like the final spin on a washing machine and I hoped it was the last round of x-rays, which thank goodness it was. It wasn’t until I got out of the scanner that I thought to myself, “Why didn’t I ask to listen to Abba? My favourite group of all time?” Note to self: next scan ask for Abba!

Christmas was a lovely family affair, we had two Christmases, one with Phil’s parents, our daughter, Amy and son-in-law Dave and the two grandchildren, Olivia and Harry and then another one on the 27th December with my son, Jack and his fiancée, Zoe, together with Amy and Dave and the grandchildren.

Our Two Christmases

After Christmas and New Year it was a bump back to reality with two meetings with the oncologist consultant, Professor Iveson and the surgeon, Dr. West.

Professor Iveson explained the chemotherapy treatment to me which was six treatments every two weeks, which would take three months. The chemotherapy used is called FOLOX and he told me the side affects which to expect to experience: throat spasms if I drank anything too cold, neurology affecting my fingers and feet if they got too cold, feeling hot or flushed, feeling dizzy. Luckily with this treatment I wouldn’t be losing my hair, just a general thinning of it. I would need to have a PICC line inserted which is a long thing tube which is inserted into a vein in your arm and passed through to the larger veins near your heart. I didn’t really like the sound of that, but it will negate my having to have cannulas all the time, so that was a big plus for me.

The meeting with Dr. West, the surgeon, was a bit of a shocker if I’m honest. He was very forthright and informed us that according to the CT scan it looked like the cancer had attached itself to my bladder, but on the MRI scan it showed that it might just be pushed up against it, but he wouldn’t find out until he operated what was actually going on. He told us that I would be having a new treatment called HIPEC (Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy). From what we understood, it is a procedure that floods the area of the tumour with a chemotherapy solution over a 90 minute period. I have linked a video which explains it a lot better than I can!

Dr. West did tell us that we had a choice of whether to go ahead with the treatment or not, but warned us that if I opted for no chemotherapy or the operation then I would have about a year to live. So of course, we opted to have all the treatment! He did say that if the bladder was infected I may lose it and end up with two bags, one for poo and one for wee, but that’s just something I would have to live with, it’s better than the other alternative!

Both consultants stressed the need for exercise for both the chemotherapy and the operation, so I have been going out for walks with a friend, Lisa, about 3.5k twice a week and I walked the local Park Run, 5K, with another friend called Lisa and in between days I have been going out for walks by myself around our village.

As we were leaving the Dr. West appointment, he said to us, “Don’t forget you’re not alone, you’ve got a big team supporting you.” I knew what he meant, at every consultancy meeting there has been a Macmillan nurse there, in the background, but giving reassuring words when needed. Whilst in hospital I was visited by the stoma nurse, a physiotherapist, Macmillan nurses, doctors and nurses, all of which were so understanding and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. As well as the professional teams, I have had wonderful support from family, friends, Facebook groups and work colleagues, old and new. I will do a separate blog about support, as it is such an important part of this journey.

I have to admit that after the meeting with Dr. West, Phil and I went to the M&S cafe in the Southampton General Hospital and I was fighting to hold back the tears and Phil was visibly upset, it felt like we had just been told that I had cancer again. But at least now we are more readily prepared for what is going to happen in the future.

We spent the next couple of weeks visiting family: Amy and Dave and the grandkids, my brother, Frank and sister-in-law, Krys in Buckingham, visiting friends and having friends round, we even hosted a Burn’s Night, just to keep our minds off what was looming in the future.

So the next challenge was having the PICC line inserted and then the day after starting chemotherapy…. wish me luck!

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Two Weeks and One Day in Hospital

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(Not that I was counting!)

Waking up the next morning after my eventful night with the leaking stoma bag, I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I wasn’t keen on looking at my stomach and so kept the blanket firmly over my tummy.

A visit from Dr West, the surgeon, during the morning rounds confirmed that the operation had gone well was welcome news and I laid back in bed contemplating what had happened in the last 24 hours.

It was a female ward and the lady opposite quickly made herself known to me and introduced herself as Christine and I thanked her for her help during the night in getting the nurse’s attention.

My course of treatment was basically antibiotics to heal the tumour which were administered through a cannula. Well, so began my love/hate relationship with cannulas, so much so that I ended up with bruises all over my hands and arms in the many attempts to get a needle in.

I was allowed a beef broth and ice cream for lunch and tea, which the beef froth I became a little addicted to, which was just as well as that was all I was allowed to drink for another few days.

There were still Covid regulations being followed so I was only allowed one visitor for an hour a day, which was obviously Phil on most days, but during my stay I did have a couple of visits from my daughter, Amy, and two friends came for a visit which definitely broke up the monotony.

A stay in hospital if you’re not in particular pain can be very boring, but you do get used to the routine of hospital life. You learn what time they wake you up to take your blood pressure: 6:00 AM, breakfast is served at 7:00 AM and the doctors do their rounds at 8:00 AM. Drug run is after that and then not too much goes on unless you have a particular professional coming to speak to you. Lunch is at 12:00 AM and then visitors can come after 2:00 PM. Dinner at 5:00 PM and then the night drug run starts at around 8:00 PM.

I had to have antibiotics three times a day and it was a time I became to dread because it wasn’t given by a drip but by a pump and because the cannula I had used a small valve it blew it out and I would then be in unbelievable pain. I must have had a new cannula every day with the same result until I begged that they give me the antibiotics orally, which I was told was not feasible.

I got myself into a state, crying and saying that I couldn’t do it any longer, when the matron turned up. She gave me a hug and asked if she could try, I shrugged and said, “You can have a go if you want to.” Well, she found a vein straight away and this cannula stayed in until I left hospital, I was a very happy patient!

Halfway through my hospital stay I moved to a lower dependency ward, although at first I wasn’t happy as I liked where I was, it ended up being much nicer.

There is a standing joke between our friends that Phil knows somebody wherever we are. It even happened a year ago, we were walking along a dock in Barbados to board a cruise ship when we hear someone call out his name – it was an ex-police officer who was now working on security on board!

Well, you can guess where this is going – there was a new lady who joined our ward and as soon as Phil walked into the ward, he said hello to her. She works in one of the units which Phil is in charge of! It was nice to have somebody to talk to, we shared our stories and gave words of encouragement when feeling a bit down. It was quite sad for me when she was discharged, but I was very pleased for her!

There were also some characters on the ward, one who decided to discharge herself the day after she had had her operation, got dressed and simply left the ward. Another one who had nightmares and hallucinations during the night and every morning asked me if I had heard the ghosts in the corridor… I didn’t.

Ghostly picture…

All the time I was painfully aware that Christmas was approaching and I definitely didn’t want to be in hospital during that time. So it was a huge relief when I was eventually discharged on 22nd December, 2022, I was going to see my family at Christmas!!