Today I did another couple of hours of “work”, joining the morning stand-up and looking at our code base for possible improvements. I finished at 11:30 this morning – I am slowly extending my day and incorporating more meetings. Although this almost certainly against the surgeon’s advice.

Whilst I am signed off with full pay for four weeks, if I do need surgery, then the company might not be quite so generous – and I must pay the mortgage! So I’ll need to watch the pennies and try and break my Temu shopping addiction!

My local Dom, Patricius offered to take me for a drive in the New Forest today, which I gladly jumped at! This will be the first time that I have been more than seven minutes from the house since getting back from hospital.

I was sat outside waiting for him when he arrived in a newer model of my mum’s car. I jumped straight in and he headed towards the Forest – specifically a garden centre in Beaulieu, which I didn’t know was there, despite passing through Beaulieu frequently on my cycles through the Forest.

We chattered a lot in the car and at the garden centre itself – he tells wonderful stories and can make me laugh. His mum sounded like such a fabulous character – not the typical Irish woman at all. She was funny, unfiltered, open minded, and loved all her children – three and a half of whom turned out gay!

Patricius told me of her last months and the illness that took her: dementia – a brutal illness. Even then they shared some laughs. I told him about my nan and her dementia and how she was both funny and sad.

For lunch we both had the spiced parsnip soup, which really was delicious! Then a cake each with or oat decaffe lattes. I finished all mine before him because he’s such a fluid talker. It felt wonderful to be outside and amongst people again.

When we’d finished lunch, we wandered around the plants. I love to touch and smell plants – the tiny world of the house can be a sensory desert after a while.

I asked him in for coffee when he dropped me at the house – no, not that kind of coffee: get your minds out of the gutter! The kind in a mug! The dog was extremely pleased to see somebody new to fuss her and bounced tirelessly, which led us to share our various doggy histories.

His wonderful story-telling ability came through as he told me about an Italian greyhound that he and his partner of the time sought to adopt, and how one of the cats had so terrorised the poor animal that it had to be returned. The next dog didn’t take any shit from the cat and established its primacy early on.

He is good company and its nice not feeling stressed.

I am now quite tired, but I am not going for an afternoon nap – just a lie down on the sofa.

Everyday I get a little better: tonight the dog gets an eight minute walk! Woohoo!