Back From London And...

Those of you who also read Alianore's Edward II blog will know that we have just been to London to do some research on 14th Century documents, as well as to visit the Tower (for a bit of a break). As Alianore has described everything about the trip beautifully, I won't duplicate it here but instead recommend that you read her latest post.

And if you're wondering why it's taken me so long to get back to the blog it's because I picked up a little souvenir while I was in London. It started with a sore throat, then a cough, then chronic aching and shooting pains in muscles and joints, chronic fatigue (I have been sleeping most hours of the day as well as night), fever, chills, sickness, headache. You name it - I suffered it! And, on checking the symptoms it turned out they were exactly the same as for Swine Flu so, like a good citizen, I called my doctor to come and visit me. Which he duly did and in his great wisdom declared that it was indeed 'a flu-like illness'. Well, I could have told him that. Was he going to test me for Swine Flu? No. Why? Because I had not been to Mexico or in contact with anyone who had. What utter b*****ks! The virus has now way passed that stage of initial contacts and has gone 'hot' into the community as the increasing number of cases each day shows. I would have thought that being in a large multi-cultural city like London, and travelling in crowded, contained spaces like tube trains would also have posed a high risk of infection.

Then he said that even if it was Swine Flu, it was such a mild illness that it wasn't a problem. OK, so why get people to call the NHS/their doctors in the first place then? I do agree that Swine Flu is mild compared with other flus (despite how I've been feeling), and I certainly don't want Tamiflu or anything like that. I just don't want to be treated like an idiot - being told to do one thing by the Government then made to feel like a hypochondriac by the doctor. Still, at least he admitted that it was 'flu-like'! My poor mum has also now come down with it and also phoned the NHS Direct (mainly to see if she got a better reaction than me). Oh no, the doctor on the end of the phone told her (even after she'd explained all the same symptoms as I had), that it was just a bad cold. How the hell he could diagnose that without even seeing her is beyond me. And considering she is in her sixties and asthmatic, I think it is also bad medical practice. It certainly makes you wonder what the hell is going on with the powers that be.

Anyway, rant over - thanks for letting me get that off my cough-raddled chest. I am slowly getting back to health now - each day I can do a little bit more before having to go and lie down - and my brain is starting to be able to think again too. Even so, I would still go back and do London all over again - it was a fantastic, fun and totally enriching time and just to prove it here are a few of my pics from the Tower and the Embankment walk we went on afterwards.

The White Tower

The Water Gate under St Thomas's Tower - now known as Traitor's Gate

Tower Green

Reconstruction of Edward I's chamber (and rather comfy looking bed)

The magnificent London Eye

The Palace of Westminster (not the original unfortunately) from Westminster Bridge