And Breathe!

Hello, dear reader!

It’s fair to say it’s been an interesting time of late.

Those who are regular readers of these poor offerings will remember that last week’s post was a short and somewhat cryptic one and, as intimated, this was from necessity.

But, time has passed and, with the full permission of Tina, my ever-exemplary wife, the time has come to lift the curtain on the reasons for that. Something I’ll do right now.

Home To Home
We’ll begin a couple of Fridays ago.

This was the day that my sainted sister-in-law, Jen rang Tina from the care home my mother-in-law, Gwen, was in to inform her that Gwen was unwell and it would be advisable to get there as soon as possible.

So off we went.

The home in question is in central Bradford and the time was approaching rush hour meaning a bit of a drive for yours truly. When we got there we were told Gwen, who suffers from advanced Dementia, had seemingly picked up a chest infection and to prepare ourselves for the worst.

Thus proceeded an awkward and emotionally charged few hours of where we sat by her bedside feeling varying degrees of powerlessness. A few phone calls were made and, a few messages sent and two of Gwen’s grandchildren James and my own step-daughter, Sarah made the journey to, ostensibly say goodbye to their gran.

Rest Defence
I’m not entirely sure what time it was when Tina and I returned home, to allow a ‘split shift’ approach to the night, but I know it was just this side of me feeling comfortable driving and I know that by the time we’d eaten, (Sarah had brought a dazzlingly wide selection of snacks with her, but a meal felt sensible) and taken to our bed for a disturbed night’s sleep, it was fully dark.

And then, a few hours later, the phone rang.

We of course feared the worst, but the call was to say the exact opposite. Gwen was awake, asking for food and drink and even making a form of conversation. In short, she was out of super-immediate trouble, certainly enough for Jen and Sarah to head back to their respective homes and the responsibilities that awaited them.

The Fight Stuff 
Since then regular contact with the home has furnished similar reports. Gwen seems to have settled back into her familiar, semi-nocturnal patterns and her chest infection seemed to have cleared up for the most part, too.

Now this is not to say that the worry and the stress is over. Gwen is still frail and still somewhat vulnerable, but, although I’ve only known the lady for some 16 years, I know she is stubborn and one hell of a fighter, a trait she has certainly passed on to her children, something that makes this scare just a little easier to bear.

Welcome Break
You see, all of this happened just 18 days before myself and Tina are due to go on holiday to Turkey, something that was, for a short while, in the balance and something which the amazing recovery has put firmly back in place.

Because, I can almost hear Gwen telling us not to be so daft and to get ourselves off. It is entirely in the character of the lady, so that’s what we’re going to do. 

Plans are in place, of course, and the lines of communication, which essentially comes down to me acting as a buffer, are in place. All of which is good.

Because, my word, do we both need a holiday!

(P.S. No blog now for two weeks. Sorry not sorry.)

Until next time!




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Hey, there! If you enjoyed reading any of the above, why not take a look at some of my published work? Below you’ll find links to a number of short stories I’m lucky enough to have included in anthologies. I’d love to know what you think. My debut novel, The Heart That Died, is available now as both paperback, E-book, and on Kindle Unlimited, so I’m adding the link to that, too.

Oh, and if you like what you look-see, a nice, positive review would also be most welcome.

The Heart That Died


New Tales Of Old



Death Ship



Pestilence: Drabbles 1



Reaperman: Drabbles 3



The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu


Eldritch Investigations