Pain!

I've experienced two distinct types of pain during the last couple of weeks. The first is the pain from the abscess, which resulted in a trip back to the dentist before my original appointment, including more antibiotics in addition to the ones I was taking, and the second was the cost of having the treatment done. And it’s still not completed. I have to go back at the end of this month to finish the treatment!

The advantage of all of this is that, due to having a temporary filling and then just cotton wool in the hole, eating was difficult and I have lost weight. I am now in the situation where the service dress jacket that I will be wearing at the garden party next week can now been done up, which, just three weeks ago was an impossibility.

However, whilst I was able to do up all of the buttons the last time that I tried it on, there was a distinct possibility that if I had coughed, sneezed or even taken a deep breath, then the buttons would have flown across the room. This also meant that when I did the OC bit of going and seeing one of the soldiers from the Squadron pass out at Pirbright, I had to go in a suit, rather than uniform.

At least I can still fit in my 'Combat 95' uniform, which is just as well really, as the second of the primary health care weekends has now taken place. The guys that attended seemed to enjoy it and I hope that they got something out of it. The remainder of these exercises will be run by someone else because of my promotion to 2ic, and, possibly, by the time that they're taking place I may be in the post of OC, which I have applied for this month.

The day that I was in Pirbright was also the day that No.1 son returned from travels of his own. As I have previously mentioned, he is off to Guyana to teach with a group called Project Trust. It did, for a while, look as if he wouldn't be going, as he had not raised as much in sponsorship as he needed. Consequently, he hadn't gone to Scotland for the meeting.

The day after he was due to go, not only did I receive a telephone call from his mother, but she actually spoke to me, demanding to know why he wasn't in Scotland as Project Trust had called her. It appeared that they hadn't received Alec's email. What was more surprising was the fact that she actually met up with Alec, put her hand in her pocket and paid for his journey to the Isle of Coll! No doubt he will end up paying for that in the future!

As a result of this, he is now definitely going to Guyana and leaves at the end of August. It works out quite nicely, as his brother and sister are with me for the summer holidays when he goes, so will be able to come to the airport to see him off.

Other changes are that Maggie, my youngest, leaves her primary school tomorrow and heads off to secondary school in September. When m'Julie, Hannah and I went to the school last evening to see Maggie playing the part of the adult Nala in the school's version of the Lion King, it was strange to think that that would be the last time that I visited that school.

The play was very good and Maggie seemed to thoroughly enjoy herself. She is also looking forward to the challenges that await her in 'big school', though I am sure that some of these will be eased by the fact that her older brother is already there.

Whilst the kids are with me and prior to Alec's departure, we are being visited by Caroline, mother of my friend Norman who was killed in January. Bizarrely, I was watching an episode of The First 48 when Caroline phoned, which must have been recorded last year, as when I hung up and went back to watching, there was Norman at a crime scene.

So it will be a busy couple of weeks with kids staying, when Drew gets back from Amsterdam, Alec working as much as possible to raise funds for Guyana, Caroline visiting and the garden party, which I've just realised will cost me for m'Julie's dress. I wonder if I can get some overtime.