Thread 12 - TalkLair: “I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.”

[Kucinghitam]

(Previous thread 11).

The days are gradually growing longer, but the worst of the winter weather is not yet behind us. In the TalkLair, we remain hunkered down keeping cosy and warm. 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…

Sounds like quite a challenging few days, Mouse! Pleased that Snoop had a fab time in India but also great that she is back and as supportive as ever.

It was all a bit surreal. I sometimes forget that I'm not well despite all the evidence that tells me "Hello Mouse, just to remind you, you're not well." It's a good thing most of the time though, so I'm not complaining. 🙂

Gosh Mouse that all sounds like a carry-on but I'm glad you got good treatment and were looked after in hospital, and hooray for good friends.

It's National Poetry Month and I spent this morning at an open mic reading on Zoom, which was fun. I am attempting to write a poem a day, but when inspiration fails I do have a stash of half-written or unrevised old ones I can draw on to revise and hopefully Improve on. I'm on a website where a bunch of us are trying to do the same, which is keeping me on the straight and narrow so far.

Goodness @MouseMinge! That sounds like an exciting few days, the sort of excitement that nobody wants! I am glad that you have such lovely friends IRL to take care of you

Gosh what a few days Mouse. Hope you are feeling OK now

I recall the 'forgetting you're not well' thing. I assume it's because the treatment affects all of you, ie all of your body is affected so you can't focus on for example, your hurt foot. And your mind is affected too, so can't as easily make connections like 'I'm not well'.

MouseMinge · Yesterday 20:48

It was all a bit surreal. I sometimes forget that I'm not well despite all the evidence that tells me "Hello Mouse, just to remind you, you're not well." It's a good thing most of the time though, so I'm not complaining.

Well, I'm glad that you are out and back home, with Snoop on hand. Out of interest, are you going to have immunotherapy? My BiL had a scan and was declared free of cancer yesterday and will start immunotherapy next week.

Afternoon tea with a neighbour - detail.

@SinnerBoy I don't know. It'll be about three months before I find out if the treatment has worked and I don't know where we go from there, whatever the news is. I'm very much hoping for no further treatment although my limited understanding is that immunotherapy has fewer side effects, so I guess I'll see what I see!

That sounds really lovely, @Britinme . I write poetry once in a blue moon. I'll go for years without writing anything and then the mood will take me. The last one was for Mr Snoop's memorial one-day "festival". It made Snoop cry so I think it was a "success". Left to my own devices I will occasionally have a short period of pretending to be Ogdan Nash which brings me little moments of joy.

When I first read your post I thought you were having a poetry open mic at the zoo which seemed like a lovely idea. 🙂Zoom, of course, makes much more sense although I'm sure some of the zoo animals would love to have poems read to them.

@MouseMinge - although I'm sure some of the zoo animals would love to have poems read to them

I'm sure the meerkats would stand in a line and listen most attentively.

@MouseMinge have you come across Paul Barton's YouTube feed? He's a very good pianist who plays the piano in the jungle in Thailand for rescued elephants. They seem to enjoy it. There's a very short one, only just over a minute, where he plays Greensleeves and they join in, but annoyingly I can't find it now.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL07228141C088A986

Here it is!

It's so sweet!

Oh, @Gonners that is adorable! They're "singing" along to the music and I know it's just their natural facial features but they all look like they're smiling and absolutely loving it. They might not be smiling but they are definitely absolutely loving it.

One of the comments says that they actually get some of the notes right, too!

There's also a very old elephant who's almost blind and he plays things like Clair de Lune to her. She flaps her ears in a very contented way.

My knowledge of Elephant is rather limited, but that's definitely happy-excited noises. I suspect you'd know quite unambiguously if an elephant weren't enjoying the performance.

Mouse, glad your electrolytes have been topped up. I hope.youre now all done apart from the surgical step, but if immunotherapy is on offer later, it's much more targeted, and therefore easier on the rest of the body, than chemo.

This has reminded me of the joy of Unexpected Elephants (though not "in the bagging area") because I have so rarely seen them outside a zoo. The first time was in Sri Lanka, where my ex- and I came across about half a dozen of them having a bath in a river in the middle of nowhere. They were just having such fun! As we had no buns, they paid us no attention.

The second time was in downtown Bangkok. I was having supper with friends at a small outdoor restaurant in a narrow suburban street when an elephant just strolled by. I found this quite exciting. My friends (one Thai, one Brit living in Bangkok, and two who had studied there) just shrugged and said yes, it's an elephant, so what?

I also came across an Unexpected Crocodile outside a restaurant in a sidestreet in Guangzhou. It was in a glass tank, and clearly awaiting consumption. There were quite a lot of people staring at it but when I turned up, they all stopped looking at the poor croc and turned to stare at me instead. I was obviously the more exotic creature.

@Gonners am I right in thinking you're an Arsenal fan or did I just make that up because your name is like gunners? Anyway, if I'm not just mental I wanted to give sympathy for your result yesterday. I'm a Liverpool supporter and we fucked up too. I'm just hoping that we both haven't handed Citeh the title. I've been desperate for it to be Liverpool this year mostly because it's Jurgen's last season but if anyone else is to win it it has to be the Arse because one of my best friends is a gunner. Obviously, if I'm wrong and you're not an Arsenal supporter I have just whittered on to someone who has no fs to give about any of this!

It was mad windy here today. I went to the pharmacy to pick up some of my prescription food - the lovely people are going to deliver the rest which is very good of them because there's a lot and it's heavy - and I was being blown all over the place. Luckily coming back was a bit easier because my granny trolley was full of Fortisip and prescription cuppa soups so I was held down by the weight. Even more luckily I got home about ten minutes before mad hail started crashing against my windows.

Feeling not too bad today although a bit short of breath due to a chesty cough which sounds awful but there is no hideous phlegm and no temperature so it's annoying rather than anything to be currently worried about. Obvs keeping my eye on it. I was violently sick last night too and then completely fine afterwards.

Oh and great news today after I got not one but two calls (different departments) letting me know that my consultant has definitely cancelled my last portable chemo pump treatment so I'm free of it all which feels absolutely bloody amazing. I was 99% sure it was done but the confirmation was a relief.

Oh hurrah Mouse! Well done on just getting through it, it really is an ordeal.

Nah, I'm only Gonners because the username Goneril was taken here. MrG is in theory an Arsenal supporter, though only because he lived within sound of the cheers when they scored. I don't give a flying whatnot about football but we both love Klopp (and as for Mo Salah ... be still, my beating heart!) and have a certain affection for Pep. It's hard to give a shit about Arteta.

I'd like to marry Klopp but alas for me - but huzzah for him - he is very happily married.

And Mo Salah ... his face, especially when smiling! The man is beautiful and a good person. I loves him but not in that way because he's about a hundred years too young for me. I'd love to meet him though just to tell him how admirable he is and have him smile at me.

So pleased you're pump-free, Mouse! I don't follow football so much these days, but Klopp comes across as a lovely guy.

Hurrah for waving goodbye to the chemo pump!

Oh that’s great news Mouse!