Thursday, 18 October 2007

The pathology reports indicated that the nodes were clear of cancer and today I began the radiation therapy. I will have treatments twice per day for 5 days and then a 2-3 week recovery period before clearance. Things have been moving so quickly this last month and it’s all starting to sink in now.

Thanks again for all of your good thoughts and prayers – I can certainly feel them working.

Saturday 13 October 2007

It seems that our October/November adventures will be Stateside.

Several weeks ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was detected during my routine mammogram while I was in Houston on business in late September. I received the call from my doctor once I was back in London. After a week of agonizing uncertainty, I flew home to Houston for follow up. Ray followed a few days later and we are both here now with family. Both of our employers were extremely supportive in my seeking treatment in Houston and have been following our progress.

I spent several days in Houston meeting with a very impressive team of specialists who will be coordinating my medical care. I was armed with research and questions (thanks to my good friends back home) and was as prepared as I could be. My cancer is invasive lobular disease and is aggressive. The good news is that it was detected on the mammogram. There was, of course, a certain sense of urgency in getting this taken care of and given our international circumstances; the physicians have been great in expediting the process.

I had surgery on Tuesday, October 9 here in Houston. After removing the sentinel lymph node, I underwent a partial mastectomy. The initial pathology reports on the lymph node were clear, indicating that the cancer has likely not spread beyond the breast. Of course, the nodes are now sent to pathology lab for more intensive review and confirmation and we are awaiting the results. It also appears that I am a good candidate for a new kind of radiation therapy. This therapy is localized and is much more intensive than typical radiation therapy. It involves therapy twice per day for five days (rather than the standard 6 weeks). Of course, I will be observed quite closely during this timeframe and will have a fairly limited range of activity during the treatment phase. We are quite optimistic about this therapy and are hoping that it can be used. I meet with my specialist team again next week and should have all test results as well as a game plan by then. Once I have a plan, I can execute. It’s the uncertainty that is the most frustrating right now.

We have been overwhelmed by the support that we have received from around the world. The beautiful flowers, cards, emails and text messages are so very much appreciated. Good wishes, thoughts and prayers from our friends, family and colleagues are certainly helping us through this difficult time. I know that we are where we need to be. Ray plans to be here with me through the treatment and I am blessed with wonderful family and friends to complete my support network.

I’ll post again when we have received final pathology reports and we have a treatment plan. In the meantime, enjoy reading our European adventures for the last 16 months. We plan many more after this is over and look forward to picking up where we left off. I’m sure Ray will find a few odd photo opportunities and park benches while we are here in Houston to add along the way.

Sunday 30 September 2007

Feeling that we needed some "light-hearted" entertainment last night, we visited the half-price ticket booth and got tickets to see the comedic musical, Avenue Q. The show was ok... not nearly as funny as I thought it would be, because after all, an adult themed muppet musical does have incredible potential. All in all, it was a fun way to spend a Saturday night.

Today was a completely different sort of entertainment as we hopped on a train and made our way out to see the White Cliffs of Dover.

We didn't get the large panoramic views of the cliffs, because we took a five mile hike to St. Margaret's Bay and walked on top of them. Those that know her, know just how much Amy enjoyed the uphill part of the trails, but she was a real trooper and didn't complain...

much.

We enjoyed a nice pub lunch at the beachside pub, The Coastguard, and also viewed the Dover Castle and South Foreland Lighthouse.

For the record, I think that at least half of that 5 miles was straight up - and most of my complaining was about Ray being FAR too close to the cliff's edge. The angle of at least one photo above justifies my concern. OK - I'm not a hiker and I'm afraid of heights (I admit it). But, the White Cliffs of Dover is another one of the wonders to see in UK...

Friday 28 September 2007

Hello... My name is Ray and I am officially addicted to...

to...

The Rugby. There... I've said it.

You might have recalled me mentioning the Six Nations competition earlier this year.

Now it's serious. Rugby World Cup 2007 has been going on for a couple weeks in France and pool play is winding down with the quarterfinals of the knockout round soon to follow. England, the reigning world champs, plays Tonga tonight for the right to continue in this once every four year competition. Amy will join me (without coercion, I might add) at the pub to watch the action.

So what if I don't know ALL the rules.

Like the saying goes: I don't know much about art, but I know what I like.

Well... I likes the rugby. Scrum on!!

Thursday 27 September 2007

“It has arrived,” says William, Amy’s favourite doorman.

“Sorry?” I reply thinking to myself… How does he know the end to the Astros’ dismal season is upon us?

“Winter… it’s here.”

…and it would seem so as the last few days have seen low temperatures in the single digits Centigrade (mid to high 40° Fahrenheit for youse back home) with some grey skies and fairly brisk winds. (Can a wind be brisk, or is that for just for breezes? I digress)

Other than the weather there hasn’t been much “adventuring” going on with us so perhaps now is a good time to reference my work submitted to The Way We See It photo group. I've mentioned it before, and after a brief reprise, I'm back walking the side streets of London armed with my early Christmas gift of a new Canon EOS 400D camera.

Click here to see my submissions

What good are photos if you don't share?

Wednesday 19 September 2007

Arrrgh… swabbies

How many knew today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day?

Here'st a keg a rum in everyone's galley and maybe thar be trip to the pub fer a wee bit o’ grog later tonight to make me Roger jolly.


And how can I not update my pub list after that display. For the complete list see the link (just above the Bench Link) on the right side of the blog.

78. Nell Gwynne Tavern:An excellent tiny pub located in an alleyway just off The Strand. Very small and quite crowded as most people spill into the alley most likely to catch a smoke which was great for us as we had a nice seat inside. Great atmosphere.
79. Coal Hole:Large art deco interior in the Savoy building. Outside doesn’t do its interior justice. Not really Victorian, but still an early 1900’s pub. Well worth a visit to see something a bit different.
80. Coach & Horses:(Mayfair-Bruton St.) Very interesting Tudor exterior on this corner pub that is somewhat small once you make it inside. Was pleasantly surprised with the visit.
81. Cask & Glass:Corner pub off of Victoria St.. Small and cozy and worth a stop if you’re near, but not enough to make a special visit.
82. The Ship:Bright red exterior and built into an inside curve of an isolated alleyway in the City of London make this traditional worth another visit if I’m around during the week. Shame most City of London pubs close on the weekends.
83. The Old Doctor Butler’s Head:Ok… I’ll admit it. I got sucked into this one strictly on the name alone, but it did have a nice dark wood interior with a traditional Victorian front, but something about it just didn’t seem traditional. Still… great name.
84. Olde Cock Tavern:Another of the City of London pubs I’ve had on my list to visit if I could make it there during the week, but honestly I was disappointed. Another old place with great stories that gets lost in its refurbishments. Sad.
85. The Counting House:A Fuller’s rebuilt bank building, but all I can say is WOW! Large island bar, columns and an interior glass dome make this a very impressive place to enjoy an ESB ale even if it isn’t a “traditional” pub.
86. Old Bank of England:Yet another Fuller’s bank building “redo” and actually more impressive than the previous pub. It was almost like drinking in a museum. While not a true traditional the building itself dates back to 1888, with large columns that reach to an ornate plaster ceiling.
87. Prince of Wales:Near Earl’s Court and not very good. Gastro-style place that managed to serve an almost hot pint of London Pride. –blech-
88. White Swan:Another gastro-pub mistake. Stopped in for lunch near the Tate Britain and it will be the last. No ales at all. The only character was the clientele which gave us some minor entertainment.

Saturday 15 September 2007

Another weekend...

another cemetery... This week one more of the Magnificient Seven Victorian Garden Cemeteries, Abney Park.

Opened in 1840 strictly for those that were considered dissenters, or rather those that didn't attend the Church of England it was an interesting collection of high Celtic crosses

Traditional Victorian angel monuments...

Maybe it was because of its dissenters "status", but this visit paled in comparison to the others. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing… grandeur in honouring one’s self after the fact. I still hold true that it our memories of those that have past that help keep their spirit alive.

Did I just get philosophical? -Ack back to the photos.

Among the other monuments is the final resting place of William and Catherine Booth, founders of The Salvation Army, as well as, a special white marble marker recognizing a fallen police officer.

Friday 14 September 2007

It’s was a marvellous night for a moondance…

Tonight was a special treat being able to experience the Celtic Soul of Van Morrison performing in the Royal Albert Hall. I’m not quite sure who was the star, the artist or the venue. Since I only had to purchase a single ticket (thanks for the heads up Elizabeth), my seat basically was awful.

I had to sit twelve rows from the stage.

Imagine that.

It was a very… “different” show. Van was his typical “growly” self, and he had a very eclectic, yet tight ten piece band backing him up which made for a trip through all sorts of musical styles.
Plus… I was in the freakin’ Royal Albert Hall. Can’t get much better than that.

On a side note… I entered the lottery for tickets to the Led Zeppelin reunion concert in November. Keep your fingers crossed.

Monday through Friday 3-7 September 2007

Seldom does an outcome meet one’s expectation let alone exceed it, but I am here to tell you that it does occur. With Amy in Houston for the next three weeks I chose to tour Northern Ireland with simply the best tour group and guide I’ve used since we’ve been here in London. Not even the dodgy weather or British Airways’ four hour delay on my incoming flight or my camera losing its zoom function half way through the trip could dampen the experience I had the last five days. Seriously… I’m not joking. When do I joke?

The trip was a testament to Vagabond – Ireland and our tour guide for the week, Dave. Shameless plug: Click HERE.

Dave displayed an incredible knowledge of the island and had his own special spin on the local legends, as well as, a very… shall we say… diverse musical selection that kept our small group informed and most of all entertained. Our journey started in Dublin headed north into Belfast, followed by a drive through what is considered the most scenic coastal drive in Europe, The Glens of Antrim. We visited the Giant’s Causeway (the main reason I did this tour), continued down the coast into Derry, drove through county Donegal and Sligo and eventually back into Dublin. We covered politics, hiked mountains and coastal paths, had a pint or ten in local pubs, stayed in a haunted bed and breakfast (which we aren’t supposed to mention), crawled into 5000 year old tombs, got wet from the rain, saw some of the most amazing scenery and so much more.

Did I mention this was the best tour ever? Truthfully… it was more of an adventure than a tour.

Our chariot for the week was the “Vagatron”, a custom converted 4x4 Land Rover that afforded us the opportunity to go where no coach dared travel, and it did.

Needless to say, we caught quite a few stares as we drove the Irish roadways, well… when we were actually ON a roadway.

Enough blathering… On to the sites where I’ll try and let the images do the talking.

The Giant's Causeway

The reason I chose to tour Northern Ireland and wasn’t disappointed. If it looks familiar it might because it was used as the background for the album art on Led Zeppelin’s House of the Holy. Not to bore anyone, but it is a natural formation of thousands of interlocking geometrically shaped basalt columns formed during the cooling of volcanic activity a few years back.

In true spirit of the week, we didn’t just drive up to the site’s carpark we took a 7 km coastal hike over the cliffs leading to the Causeway which gives you a certain respect of the area.

Monasterboice

With my affinity towards visiting cemeteries it was fitting that one of our first stops was at monastic remains that included a 10th century round tower and the Muiredach High Celtic cross.

Passage Tombs of Carrowkeel

We hiked up a bit in the Bricklieve Mountains to visit some accessible passage tombs. These tombs pre-date the Giza pyramids and are over 5000 years old. Like Stonehenge, the ones that have entrances are astronomically aligned and either face east or west to accept the sun at the solstices. They are located atop the mountain summits and in this area (once you get to the top) you can see one on almost ever hilltop (see the arrow).

They are thought to have been constructed to house the cremated remains of the local population, and as you can see… you can crawl on your hands and knees to gain access to some of them.

Dolmen Tomb

Can you detect as certain necro-fanatical (yes… I made up that word, sue me) theme. I told you… it was the best trip ever. A dolmen is a megalithic tomb marker that again dates back over 5000 years. Hundreds of these exist all over Ireland. The cap stone on this one is estimated to weigh over 5 tons, but some can weigh well over 100 tons.

Famine Cottages

As we exited the Glenveigh National Park (where we encountered a washed out road that caused a slight detour) there were the remains of several homes that were the result from the Potato Famine in the mid 19th century.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

To get to the island of Carrick one must use a rope bridge. It’s actually much sturdier than it looks, BUT… one fellow crossing in front of me did slip off of the wood plank. The views from the island were amazing.

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland and hosts some pretty cool buildings/sites, as well as, a couple neat pubs. I had a pint at the very ornate interior of The Crown Bar which was a treat. The highlights were the City Hall with the Titanic Memorial and the Albert Clock which is an odd combination of Big Ben and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The Troubles

It wasn’t all hikes, scenery and thrills. I’ll spare the politics of the Protestant/Catholic unrest that violently lasted over 30 years, but we did visit several places that reminded us that while the peace process is in affect the segregation still exists. THAT… I did not know.

In Belfast we took a Black Taxi tour through some of the segregated outlying neighbourhoods. In the predominately Protestant neighbourhoods there are murals on residential buildings honouring those that died. Barbed wire walls with gates divide the two factions. Note the wall behind the picture of the Catholic Memorial.

In Derry (or Londonderry) which was devastated by the conflict we took a guided walking tour across the city’s medieval walls, past more signs of segregation and ended in the Bogside area that was the site of the infamous Bloody Sunday massacre.


In Bogside there is a memorial to the Bloody Sunday victims, and some commissioned murals that again depict victims, past events, and also the peace agreement.

Needless to say this was a very sobering experience.

The Rest of the Story

Did I mention there was scenery?

Whether it was quaint harbour villages or sunsets over Donegal Bay...

Or the occasional waterfall...

Or rocky beaches...

Or mountain views...

Or sheer cliffs...

Or castles and mist covered mountains...

Or seaside overlooks...

Everyday was a reminder just how beautiful this country is.

Saturday through Monday 25-27 August 2007

Waffles and Chocolate and Beer, Oh My!!

Apologies to Dorothy and the rest of the Wizard of Oz clan, but with the Summer Bank Holiday upon us we decided to lose our Eurostar virginity and took a long weekend holiday to Bruges , “The Venice of the North”.

Bruges is a somewhat magical medieval city filled with intertwining, cobblestone streets complete with narrow alleyways leading in all directions.

Like in Venice you could wander all day without a map and never really get lost. Scenery was in abundance, especially when you combine the canals with all the 300+ year old structures.

Our hotel was located near the center of the old town and was originally the 17th century residence of the Bishop of Bruges. Very interesting indeed except he must have had little tiny feet as I always had issues walking up the stairs to our room. We also received a friendly night time reminder of home... mosquitos.

You know… they say opposites attract, and it couldn’t have been more evident than this weekend. See if you agree.

Seems Amy prefers her chocolate dark, while I tend to prefer the milk and white varieties. Beer? I chose the darker Belgian beers, while Amy stuck to the blondes. Amy enjoyed the Gran Marnier truffles while I horded the Amaretto ones. I ate my frites in the traditional way with mayo, while Amy had hers plain. However, we both had our waffles the same way… with strawberries AND ice cream AND chocolate sauce AND whipped cream. Plus we were also in agreement when it came to the Belgian delicacy of steamed mussels. NO thank you.

I don’t want to make it sound as if all we did was drink beer and eat. We toured De Halve Maan Brewery and yes… we sampled their wares, but “When in Rome... ”, right? We also entered several churches including the small Basilica of the Holy Blood, located in the corner of the ornate Burg Square and the Church of our Lady which houses the only sculpture of Michelangelo ever to leave Italy during his lifetime, The Madonna and Child.

The centerpiece of the town’s landscape is the 13th century Belfry which dominates the Market Square and was our compass point from getting lost. I also added it to my “Thing That I’ve Climbed” list as I walked up the entire 366 steps or 83 metres (that’s 272 ft. in case you were wondering). I’m not sure what impressed me more: The panoramic views of the city from atop the Belfry or the elderly woman I passed as I descended, climbing the steps one at a time with her cane.

We were also afforded a bonus of sorts as we were visiting Bruges during The Pageant of the Golden Tree. Seems this parade style re-enactment of Belgian history only occurs every five years and we can say we were there. Amy and I both commented how it wasn’t a very “happy” parade with a very somber tone to the whole event. The participants/actors dressed in various Norse/Medieval style costumes did their best not smile.

It’s a shame I didn’t brush up on my Flemish as I’m sure my auditory observation of “Bring out your dead!” as these fellows walked by no doubt would have gotten a laugh from the crowd.

Wednesday 22 August 2007

No rest for the weary as so far this week we've taken the kids on a Jack the Ripper Walk on Monday, went to see the West End production of Grease on Tuesday, and ventured into Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square and Chinatown this evening.

...and that was just in the evenings as Steph and Jonathan, during the day, have visited Madam Tussaud's Wax museum, toured Westminster Abbey, saw the Sherlock Holmes museum, and shopped at Harrod's with plans to see the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the almost mandatory Changing of the Guard.

Steph also became the victim of what is now officially the price of having me as a tour guide through Trafalgar Square.

Sunday 19 August 2007

Reminiscent of our football match last week, the weather chose not to cooperate, but that didn’t stop us from traveling out to view the Château de Versailles, King Louis XIV grand palace. I had decided long ago that if we ever made it back to Versailles that I would spend more time in the formal gardens, and since the palace on this day was so obscenely crowded it made for the popular choice.

Possibly the largest formal gardens ever created, The Gardens of Versailles itself could be an all day adventure. My main interest was the fountains, and they are only turned on for an hour twice a day. Fortunately, we were there for the first showing.

For whatever reasons I have always been fascinated by The Fountain of Enceladus, and it was on my list to see. Sadly it was not in operation. Regardless… this visit was far too short and while Amy and Steph might beg to differ, we just scratched the surface of what the Gardens have to offer.

It’s sad to think that as much as we tried to squeeze in, there is so much more to see and do in this brilliant city which is fast becoming my favourite place to visit. I think Steph and Jonathan liked it too.

You tell me.