Boarding the Gulfstream G1 for the final flight to Wick
Boarding the Gulfstream G1 for the final flight to Wick

Leaving Della to be looked after by Di as I set off for my Thormaid Estate in the Scottish Highlands after a foot appointment with Mr Sewell at The Cromwell Clinic. This consultant had also looked in on Della which was reassuring. The drive to Birmingham Airport, the plane to Wick, changing at Aberdeen on to the Gulfstream G1 and meeting Nigel for the drive to Thurso for the night.

I awoke a little early and spoke briefly to Diana who was agitated over firstly the setting of Della's leg and then the fact of my leaving for Scotland for a few days. After she left for the hospital, I had a frantic time packing my things for Scotland; Boots, jumpers, clothes etc and also my files and things that I would need for the discussions with Fountain Forestry. I got to the hospital for 9.45am and, moving Della down to the playroom, went down with Diana for a coffee and chat. She was more relaxed but still worried when she went home for the morning as I stayed on with Della. I was there the whole morning except the time I went along to see Mr Sewell, another orthopaedic consultant, for a private appointment in the Huntingdon Cromwell Clinic.

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He took a look at my foot and prescribed a trial of surgical insoles to try to relieve my sore left foot as an alternative to surgery. the problem is that the arch on my left foot had collapsed so that the weight is falling on the bottom of my central bones in the bottom of the foot rather than those on the outside. This problem leads to a hard pad of skin forming that is very painful until trimmed. Whilst I was with him, I thanked him for looking in on Della at the request of Mrs Reeves (a friend of his as Della is in her class at school) even though she was not his "pigeon". He talked of the problems with her traction and said that they discuss the cases at a weekly orthopaedic meeting but that children soon heal perfectly satisfactory with the minimum of intervention. He said that "children seem to be able to cope with half an inch of shortening and 20deg mal-alignment and to sort themselves out", which I thought was an exaggeration but re-assuring nevertheless.

Back at the hospital, it was apparent that Della's X-Ray had been done and, after Diana had arrived, we asked to see it and the houseman put up the latest one and the last one for us to see. The length seemed to be all right and the alignment was now less than 10% out rather than the 15% of a few days ago. The Houseman said it was only five degrees but I am as good a judge as he for such things and could not easily have the wood pulled over my eyes. They told us that he hoped to get Della into a full-leg plaster next Thursday depending upon her progress and I hoped that Mr Sewell would also be keeping an eye on her. Left Hinchingbrooke at 1.45pm and then drove on to Birmingham Airport after pondering on the route. The direction I took eventually was partly along the A604 and then to join the M1 and M6 until finding the airport short of Birmingham.

I had hopelessly overestimated the time that I would need and so I had the chance of dropping in on the National Motorcycle Museum. I hoped to see if there were any three-wheelers but there was only one or two prototypes. Then the airport where I parked in the long-term area and took the courtesy bus so as to collect my air tickets and check my luggage through to Wick. I had a meal before boarding the plane having been told that there were no catering facilities on board and then had another when I found that there actually were! I changed aeroplanes in Aberdeen and nearly lost my seat on the next plane through failing to check in again.

There had been only 20-odd passengers on the original 90-seat APT for the first leg but extra passengers were wanting to board the full 24-seat Gulfstream G1 to Wick. Fortunately, Nigel had called ahead after finding me missing from the passenger list and a public address announcement found me in the departure lounge not realising. They took my ticket voucher and let me through without a boarding pass in the end and this caused complete confusion with respect to the seating arrangements as I boarded first and occupied a seat at random and everybody had to change round! Nigel met me there and we drove on to Thurso and thence to a nearby fishing village where we had telephoned ahead to order a nice meal for dinner - the third for me that evening! After to the Pentland Hotel, Thurso, for a drink of whisky and a welcome night's sleep after all the activity of the day.