Thread 10 - TalkLair: “The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles.”

[Kucinghitam]

Continuation of previous threads (thread 9).

Although the nights are gradually drawing in, the new lair of JTT escapees is all cosy and homey inside. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

In an update on the thing in the oesophagus, I got two calls from my hospital today one for an ultrasound and one for a CT scan, both on Friday so stuff is happening. I'm pretty sure I won't get any diagnostic news this week because of the overlapping doctor's strikes.

Good that stuff is happening @MouseMinge - fingers crossed for the best of all possible outcomes.

Despite the strikes, it's good that you'll be getting probed this week @MouseMinge. It's still progress!

Fingers crossed and good vibes to you @MouseMinge

Thanks both and yes it is, Kuc. I'm normally very good about this sort of thing but it's definitely starting to impact me. Last night I had an appalling sleep/lack thereof because my heart rate kept going all over the place. I did the sensible thing and sat up with a book because that would at least take my mind of the impossibility of sleep at that point. Hello anxiety, my old friend. Physically the whole swallowing malarky is getting worse and it's probably at least a little bit psychosomatic that I am now in more pain throughout the day in my chest area. It's as though now that I know there's something there I'm allowing myself to fully take on the fact that it's painful. Or something.

I also have an appointment with the asthma nurse because my asthma has been "playing up". I'll now be able to tell her that one of the reasons I'm a lot more breathless is because "hello, thing in my oesophagus!"

ANYWAY! I've been told if I've heard nothing I can call the specialist nurse on the 26th so not much longer to wait.

Thank you too, Brit. Sorry, your post wasn't there before I started posting my long rival to War and Peace post!

Mouse - so sorry to hear of your sleeping prob. Sadly familiar. Have you tried listening to an audiobook when you're feeling like that? We've found that if you select a good book with a really good narrator (and that might be 70% of getting it right) it can be helpful. Not necessarily soporific, but soothing the hours for sure.

As to books, we've just had fairly light stuff. We like USA detective novels - Bosch, for example. You can't really take them seriously, they're just quite interesting yarns and characters. And Just William read by Martin Jarvis is lovely listening, though perhaps too many lols. The audiobooks of His Dark Materials and the surrounding books are first rate. This week we've been enjoying Indira Varma reading The Wee Free Men and just sinking into the fantastic but ultimately benign stories and characters. I know Pratchett is very marmite. The (sort of) YA novels of Tiffany Aching are our favourites, though, and Bill Nighy does the footnotes, and whoever voices the Nac Mac Feegle is hilarious.

But whatever. Can't do non-fiction at bedtime or in the night in case I miss something important; always have to go back.

Does anyone have recommendations for midnight and earlt hours listening?

I love Jodi Taylor's books and Zara Ramm is a great narrator for the audiobooks.

I love the Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronavich. The narrator for them has a lovely voice. If I really want to be knocked out by an audio book though, I need it to be a story I kno, so I always reach for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or Dune.

Does anyone have recommendations for midnight and earlt hours listening?

This sounds terrible, but (bear with me) you can't beat a Jane Austen audiobook for its soporific qualities. There's something so soothing about her beautiful language, and it's always read in a lovely gentle voice. I always ensure I have a couple of Austen audiobooks in my BorrowBox app when I travel long-haul, fantastic for those jet-lagged sleepless nights. Having read them all numerous times, I know her novels so well that I have no worries about missing any important plot developments if I fall asleep.

Great recommendations! I've read the RoL stories but not listened to them, and really good call for JA, Kuc.

I'm so sorry you're going through all this health stress @MouseMinge. It must be exhausting, especially if you're not sleeping well. I'm crossing my fingers it can all be resolved quickly for you.

Thank you @CyanCrystalViolet

Today has been much better despite another bad night's sleep because I saw my GP who gave me more painkillers for my teeth and the gift of diazepam which has worked wonders on my anxiety. The rest of the appointment was odd. I was seeing her - I'd forgotten why - to have an internal to go along with an ultrasound to check my womb area. I had the ultrasound last week but there is absolutely no evidence of it on my records so now I feel as though I had some backstreet ultrasound. I now have to have another, which is the one tomorrow, I thought that was to do with my upper regions but no. Next week I have a smear test so it's going to be four times having people investigating inside my "area". Joy!

oh please can you post a picture? My brain won't stop clamouring and needs, yes needs, to see a mouse with a mohican 😬

Your wish is my command!

Fuck the Tories mouse

Oh my, it's better than I imagined 😂

For some reason I also thought it would be a brown mouse.

Poor dead mice, despite their message In Death.

My going-to-sleep listening is No Such Thing As A Fish. I rarely get all the way through the first fact. One episode can last me weeks if I want to hear the whole thing. (My sleep triggers may not be entirely transferrable - I grew up with the 1812 overture and Bolero as my bedtime records.)

Glad you're getting all the scans, Mouse.

I inherited a stuffed mouse (well, a mouse made of fur, I'm not certain it was mouse fur). I think it was rapidly disposed of, but if I do find it lurking somewhere you'd be very welcome to it. You'd have to add your own mohican and sign.

Preferred pencil shape - triangular.

I love NSTAAF. They're all elves on QI so it's the same kind of humour.

Scan done, got the ultrasound on the outside so that made me happy. Thanks to diazepam I can now just relax and wait until Tuesday when I should get some news on the original biopsies.

Sounds good, @MouseMinge !

Oh great, Mouse, glad it all went well. x

I’m re-reading Mr Mercedes and loving it. Also getting to the really hard killer sudokus and kakuros in my assorted books, and nothing makes me happier than staring at a grid for hours until the numbers become apparent. Like magic eye pictures, I always get there in the end.

Glad for your progress @MouseMinge .

I like killer sudokus on my iPad, but have never managed with fewer than three or four hints, often five. I don't know how I would do it in a book!

Pencil and rubber, Brit! I don’t think I could do one on a screen.

@MavisMcMinty - it's a lot easier on a screen! I don't think you get hints in a book.