Exactly one week ago, I lost Three-and-a-half hours of my life. On Thursday night, at around eight pm, I put my best friend Chrissy on the bus home, and set off for my temporary abode, the Premier Inn, Spanish City.

We had spent the usual pleasant day in Newcastle, followed by book club in the Dog and Rabbit. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it to my destination and was found, lying on the ground, some three hours plus later, by several lovely, kind women. One covered me in a blanket and another called an ambulance, so I am informed.

Myself, I came to, around eleven forty-five, in Cramlington Hospital A&E Department. I was being ferried to and from the X-Ray Department, for the former, and CT scans. A week later, those hours are still a mystery to me.

i have been informed that I was not attacked, but collapsed. The three brain bleeds I have suffered are, I am also informed, as a result of the impact my head made with the pavement, and not the reverse.

As a result, following three days in hospital and a further four convalescing at Chrissy’s house, I have realised that my life has changed; at least in the medium term.

I can no longer drive my beautiful car and am unable to return to my beloved Brittany. Instead, I have to spend the next six months trying to return to the state I was in at 7.55 on Thursday evening last.

Nevertheless, things go deeper than that. Everything that was piled on my desk of a life, over the last two years, has been brushed aside. It is now an empty space to build upon.

What has struck me more than anything, returning to Book Club this evening, is the kindness, support, and generosity of the many people around me.

i consider myself a very lucky person to have genuine friends and family in my life. Those from whom I was running, for no reason of theirs. The past is the past now and the future is uncertain. What I have though, is what we all have, and what we should be grateful for. The present. Enjoy it and say hello if you see me around. I will definitely respond.

Thank you one and all ❤️