Back from Cuba

No, not me - I didn't go. Did you miss that?
But Vicky, Debby and all the others came back safely just after my last post. Vicky came to visit with 1700 photos and this:

personalised certificate!

So, its official - I WAS there. Well, I did raise the money for the school (thanks to all you good people out there, no-one has yet demanded their money back) so I guess that's what I got the certificate for. 

Vicky brought lots of other goodies back, apparently having left any surplus cycle stuff,  pump etc, she had plenty of room in her bag, so there was a wonderful basket (yes, I DO need another basket), a shirt for John, coffee from the mountains, a plastic bottle of honey, cinnamon, and a bottle of cuban rum. So we have moved into the cocktail crowd, having rum and coke every evening. Is that a cocktail? I think John adds other things to his, lime etc, but I'm a simpler soul.

The photos were great, gave me a real feel for the trip, and Vicky says someone is putting a video together so eventually I shall feel as if I really did go.

The saga of my broken leg drags on and on. I went to the fracture clinic on the 15th, had the plaster off and found out that I will need another operation to take out some of the screws again. Apparently those that are holding the tibia together will stay there unless excess sport (cycling???) causes them to work their way out - ouch- but they also put other screws in to hold the fibula in place and those need to come out now. Pity no-one thought to tell me that at the time. So, I'm still on crutches and not to put weight on my right leg. After waiting a week I heard from the hospital yesterday that they would operate on June 19th. WHAT? That's another month away. Really, my life has been on hold for long enough. I think the woman on the phone understood that I wasn't happy and thankfully phoned back  today with a revised date of May 30th. Big sigh, that's next Friday. Fingers crossed that's the end of the road.

So, what can you do on one leg? Last Friday, I ventured to London by train for a hertfordshire basketry committee meeting, forcing John to come too to carry my stuff. Luckily Angie was free so she could entertain him (I think they went to the pub) while I 'committee-d' and then we took 2 buses to Clerkenwell as a friend was exhibiting in 'Made in Clerkenwell' When we got there we found she was on the third floor, and there was no lift. Stairs are nightmare, on crutches but eventually I got up there, and it was well worth it. Maggie makes the most amazing items entirely from willow using every part of the plant, which she deconstructs, stripping off the bark, hammering out the fibres, shaving down the wood and then builds back up by every process imaginable, including knitting! The other exhibitors seemed mostly to be jewellers, along with some amazing pop-up cards, illustration, printing, and an installation consisting of a bit of turf erupting through the floor. Hmmm. Thankfully getting down the stairs was much easier than I'd feared, leaning on John and the bannister rather than trusting my crutches.

Sorry there aren't any photos this time. My camera has gone off to be mended, the camera on my phone doesn't seem to be working properly either, and anyway the cable to download the photos has also gone walkabout. will try harder next time.  

Report from Cuba

"One final demanding climb takes us up to Lake Hanabanilla with breathtaking views." 

This is from the itinerary, and was one of the bits that Vicky was NOT looking forward to. While she was training she had a problem with the uphillness of the ride, but practised by taking her bike by train into the peak district, cycling to another station and getting the train back to Manchester which she complained was too flat to prepare her for the Cuban mountains. I thought  it was real dedication, I was just tackling the little ups and downs of south Warwickshire and feeling I was doing plenty. (turned out I was right about that!)

So, on Friday evening I had a call from her- she had got to Lake Hanabanilla OK, well, she had walked the last bit which she said was rather boring, but she wasn't the only walker and I gather there were some who had to take the support vehicle. She was proud of Debby who was one of those who managed to cycle the whole way.

picture of Lake Hanabanilla taken from the internet - best I can do under the circumstances.

It appears this lake is manmade, with a dam across one end - rather like Lake Vyrnwy. Hope Vicky avoided the temptation to nip across any stepping stones.

She also told me a bit about the May Day parade in Cienfuegos. The cyclists started near the head of the parade (walking I think, not cycling) and then found themselves on the podium, being walked past. There were lots of groups parading, schools, clinics, different types of workers, mostly with rather homemade banners which she thought I'd have appreciated. I gather it went on quite a long time, during which her camera's auto setting changed from 1/250 to over 1/1000 indicating how much brighter the sun had become. Apparently she has taken a LARGE number of photos, so I had to ask her not to delete any until I'd seen them. Living vicariously.

The salsa dancing isn't going quite as well as the cycling, Vicky has decided its more to do with how you move your body than the actual steps and she doesn't think her body moves as it should. However her Spanish has enabled her to have rudimentary conversations. I have no Spanish at all, except for a tape course I borrowed from the library where I learnt that (with only about 4 exceptions) several thousand Spanish words ending in "-ion" have the same meaning as in English, you just have to pronounce them differently. Bit limiting conversations I'd be having if I was there. Should I start to learn now in preparation for next year? My problem is that I've been learning French on and off most of my life and I still don't reckon I'm fluent. How could I expect to get up to speed in Spanish in a year?

It may not have been as hot here as in Cuba but we have had unseasonably nice weather for a Bank Holiday weekend. I've done a tiny bit of gardening from my wheelchair, and spent most of the rest of the time dozing in the sun. We have my mother and our 22-month old grand daughter staying so John has been kept busy looking after 2 not very mobile adults and a very active toddler. Today he decided the ducklings needed a chance to swim so he filled up an old paddling pool and we took them out into the sunshine. They were NOT impressed and quickly had to be rescued and brought back in under the lamp to dry out and warm up. Is it because they are Indian Runner Ducks? The tiny ducklings on the canal don't make such a fuss about going in the water. 

Looking for the exit

Cold and wet - what's that about water off a duck's back?

Ah, that's better!

May Day

This is what it says for today in the itinerary for the bike ride:
Cienfuegos. May Day Rally. The group has a special invitation to join thousands of Cubans taking part in May Day celebrations, one of the most important events in the Cuban political calendar. A truly inspiring event. 
So now they are more than half way through their cycling, having completed 3 days. Vicky phoned me after the first, and longest, day on Sunday. "I made it! and Debby and I were in the vanguard!" The vanguard? In my ignorance I'd always thought that was at the back, something like the guard's van on a train. Obviously not, by the exultant sound of Vicky down the (not very clear) phone line. She'd been so sure she'd be bringing up the rear. 

Anyway, today is a day out of the saddle celebrating in Cuban style. Hope she has some pictures. My camera has taken umbrage at not going to Cuba and stopped working. Vicky recommended this camera repair place but all I've done so far is get a quote. So, I'm reduced to taking pictures on my phone, like most of the population these days.

I've had a busy week, considering I wasn't expecting to be here. Offchurch Garden Club on Monday, interesting evening with Brian Ellis from Avondale Nursery, near Coventry. He always has good growing tips sprinkled among whatever he's talking about.We succumbed to 3 plants, a geranium, a bizarre persicaria with arrowhead shaped leaves (normally I would just pop downstairs from the office and check its name, but not 'popping' anywhere at the moment, especially anywhere involving stairs) and a japanese anemone that I think was best in show at Chelsea a year or 2 back. I had hoped to take root cuttings from it but doesn't appear to have enough roots yet. But the main result of the evening was that John and I started to mull over ideas of completely redesigning our 'front garden' It's only been there 5 years but we designed it originally as a backdrop to Roz and Jamie's wedding, at which it was lovely, but its not turned out to be what we'd originally intended, and now we think we'll start all overt again. If I'm still blogging when we get around to it, I'll let you know! 

On Tuesday I had (almost) all my hair off. I had planned to do that before going to Cuba, it was one of the things I hadn't got around to. I asked John to take some 'before' pictures:  

contemplating the 'out-of-control' garden

my selfie!

but took my own 'after' ones 

not the easiest thing, taking a picture of yourself without looking at the camera.

I took a photo to the hairdresser that I found on the internet when I googled 'short hairstyles for over 50's' It was of Jamie Lee Curtis and I said that's how I want my hair. He covered the face on the photo and asked if I still liked the hairstyle. What did he think I wanted - a total revamp?? Ah well, its quite literally a weight off my mind.

Tuesday evening was one book group, having read 'Dominium' by C J Sansom. Not the right book to read in my slightly depressed state of mind, but it sparked a lively debate about pacifism and whether war is ever the best way to proceed. I even brought the peace scarf and opposition to Trident into it.

And Wednesday evening was another book group (yes, I know, thats really too many but... its just a pity they meet on consecutive evenings) at which we discussed 'A redundancy of courage' by Timothy Mo. I'm afraid I hadn't read much of it myself as I couldn't face another book about man's inhumanity to man, war and barbarity. This one is a fictionalised account of what happened in East Timor (or Timor Leste, as I understand its now called) and was chosen by Sylvia, who's son lives there with his Timorese family. That she could tell us that so much of the book was an accurate account of the last 40 or so years makes it almost more difficult to read. So much brutality, murder, warfare, torture, starvation.