Two weeks to go and I have two fascinating new illnesses to report. The first, fat fingers, is apparently normal for some hikers who go walking in the summer months. It's something to do with blood rushing to the extremities and your hands swaying beneath your heart. Or something. It's harmless, I think, if a little disconcerting.
My second illness was completely self-inflicted. Sunburn. Yes, on Sunday, like many others around the country I'd wager, I went a little bit crazy at the first sign of sunshine. I was only out for an hour and I ended up with third degree burns for my trouble. My right arm still glows in the dark, while my knees gave off so much heat you could have fried eggs on them.
Worse still is what happened to my face (see right). Not good. Not good at all. And I'm not just talking about the beard.
Thankfully, a crate of Aloe Vera gel has managed to reduce the excruciating agony into a mild irritation and I was even well enough to go for a 3 and a half hour hike today. On Saturday I managed six straight hours without even a twinge. No aches or pains the next morning either. Six months ago I would have been hospitalised.
In other news, we're almost £200 over our target now, and there's no sign of it stopping, which is fantastic. Sadly, my Doctor Who Charity Auction is going down like a lead balloon. Or perhaps people just don't understand the rules, in which case it's doing really well! Or maybe everyone is waiting for the last possible second to make a bid on a novel signed by Nicola Bryant. Go on, google her.
Or maybe I've simply exhausted the generous seam of Doctor Who fandom, which surprises me as I would have thought an extra fiver in exchange for Bernard Horsfall's signature and a small child's welfare would have been a shoo-in. Oh well, there's still time!
And finally, Palma and I are off to the Lakes this Saturday and my new HD palmcorder is currently in the postal system, so with any luck there might be a video blog available this Sunday.
Neil
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