The bus stops are now in range – they’re each between twelve and fifteen minutes from the house, which I need to walk in order to catch the bus. I don’t live in the countryside, this is city dwelling, so you probably wouldn’t expect the bus to be so far away from the house.

My world has, at least for the moment, shrunk dramatically: it makes me think very differently about disabled and elderly people and how remote the city centre must feel to them.

I’ve been feeling better and really wanted to get out, so I walked to the bus – in itself this is quite a thing because I rarely take buses into town, I’ll usually walk the whole distance, which takes about forty or fifty minutes.

I figured the bus ride would count as a rest.

In town, I walked for a little and got myself some reading glasses. I wear varifocal contact lenses –  because I’m vain! Mine favour long distance vision, which can make reading more difficult. Then I did a couple of charity shops before grabbing my first decaffe coffee and rest.

After my coffee, I wandered over to Waterstones (the book shop), but didn’t buy anything. I have enough books on my “to read” pile, but I also tend to buy from smaller shops anyway.

I wandered gently through town to my next coffee shop rest. I didn’t rush anywhere.

After that next coffee, I walked to the bus, and from the bus I walked home – I resisted the urge to power-walk through the rain, thinking that getting a little damp in early-autumn rain was safer than getting my heart racing by rushing home.

I felt fine after that little trip out, I even had a “system test” later on! (Fully functional)

This morning I really struggled to get out of bed. I felt unwell – flu-like. My body – my heart – was protesting that I had demanded too much of it yesterday.

Today I am going to have to rest a lot: there’s more to pay than just the fair when catching the bus.