Well, this is just to day ‘’Hello.  I’m still around”, plus a small update.  It’s the evening of the 7th as I write, and all seems set for the day trip tomorrow, when some of you will be reading this.

The National Hospital has arranged transport to a ‘Covid-19 Drive Through’ testing centre somewhere near the British Library and the Crick Institute, probably 15 minutes’ drive from here.  The appointment is 3.45pm but I have to be ready by 1.15pm.  Why so early isn’t clear.  What will happen at the test centre if we turn up, say, two hours early?  Ushered to the front of the queue?  Sit in the car for a couple of hours?   Not worried though: they’ll have done it all before with other patients.

After the test they drive me back home and then it’s 100% self-isolation until some time on Monday when they pick me up again for admission to the National to prepare for the RIG operation the next day.

There are no qualms here about four days of solitude.  The flat is well stocked – boring but nutritious liquid meals, thanks to the NHS – and if anything else is needed it can be dropped outside the door. Solitude suits me, so four days will be a doddle.  And communication will continue as normal.  I might even have the time to write more blogs, and NOT about my health.

So there we are: the next step.  Over and out for now, but I’ll be back.