Sunday 20 April 2008

Mr G goes for a walk




Today I went for a walk with Mr Grumpy for the first time since he had his two strokes at the end of July last year. We walked just over a mile round Ruislip Lido in Middlesex and I was overjoyed that he could do it. I'd been shopping with him and it had literally been a shuffle around Tesco, but today he was one step beyond a shuffle: an amble. I don't know if he will ever be able to stride out again, but it was so lovely to be out with him. In fact, I think it's our first proper trip out in nine months.
In the past, he used to work in the woods, felling and coppicing and giving demonstrations in woodcrafts, such as making a chair. He made all the bird boxes there, and many of the signs, which he cut from logs and carved. He has done many things for his local area, even setting up a scented garden for the blind and carving all the name tags of the plants in braille. He did the Iron Man triathlon in Hawaii. In fact, he has achieved so much, including two degrees and a PhD (quite an achievement considering he left school at 15 and joined a circus) that he should really write his autobiography but is far too modest. He won't let his face be shown here, but I've sneaked in pic of him hiding in his fleece.

1 comment:

Jackie Sayle said...

No wonder he's become Mr. Grumpy if he can no longer do all of that!