I had a fantastic time over in Bedford seeing Scouting at its best in PHXG Scouts and at Bedfordshire Scouts Indaba as well. After a late night scramble from London back to Bedford Station and back to where I was staying and back to the station and onwards to Luton Airport I made it back to Gibraltar. It was great to be able to step back on to the Rock and not need to have a hoodie and a scarf on like I had needed when back in the UK.

On the flight I had found it difficult to get comfortable. I could not work out why. That was Wednesday last week, the following morning I was not well at all, so Andrew arranged for me to go to see the emergency GP at the Primary Care Centre. After a brief consultation, I was whisked off to St Bernard’s Hospital to the Accident & Emergency Department by ambulance.

The diagnosis was shingles. The adult version of chicken pox. So after being given a load of painkillers I was packed off home. This time, I walked home albeit very slowly.

Last Friday morning, I woke up and was hardly able to breathe, so Andrew checked by phone with A&E and they said to come in, and if I couldn’t make it there under my own steam to call an ambulance. So we did. In A&E I was given a shot of Tramadol, and put on a nebuliser to help me breathe. After that, I had a chest X-ray just to check and then sent home with Co-codamol to take as a real painkiller.

So far so good. The rash of the shingles is ever increasing and sooner or later it will start to blister and pop, and then heal. But until it does, I am stuck in the house, practically under quarantine, and slowly going mad.

The only things that seem to help are the few wheat bags that we have being heated up in the microwave (Andrew went and bought one when we knew that hot wheat bags could help) and also the various painkillers.

Looking forward to being able to go out and about again. But until then, I am stuck. Anyone who has had chicken pox, and is not pregnant, and is not undergoing chemotherapy and is close by, is welcome to call in. Just message me to let me know.