Survival

Having lost 8kg, and the pallor of chemo at last, I am able to recognise myself in the mirror for the first time in almost 2 years. It has been a slow dawning of the fact that I'm a cancer survivor. This realisation is causing me much delight. There are documented phases for dealing with death and I've been through them, but there seems no obvious route to survival, except the sheer delight of continually seeing and doing things that I thought were not to be available to me. Of course, much of the delight in life and the ability to seize it with such vigour is because I'm so astoundingly supported and indulged by Tim, in every way. On Tuesday, Tim bought me a ticket to join him on a business trip to London! It was Anna Bashall's 21st on Saturday and Nicola was running the London Marathon on Sunday. Two very good reasons to get to London. We flew out on Wednesday night. On Thursday, I had breakfast with my dear cousin, Alice Bennett at Covent Garden and then saw Billy Elliot with her in the afternoon. We had a lovely reunion supper with Nic at Blackfriars. Friday brought the opportunity to see Fional LeRoy and Sandy Bernstein and we saw the ballet La Fille Mal Guardee. It was a visual sensation and the term 'world class' fully defined. Lunch was a treat in the staff canteen at the Royal Ballet, where you are surrounded by artists. Sandy and I shopped happily along Oxford Street in the afternoon. Tim and I were delighted to meet Nic's new house mates at her digs in Battersea. It was important to have a context in which to visualise her and also to know that she lives with warm, lovely people, who make her London life wonderful. We had a lovely supper, just the three of us with months of catching up to do. Saturday saw us heading off to the London Marathon expo to register Nic and get her SA vest printed with her name. What huge hype and a massive event, which was organised to perfection. We then caught the train to Colchester, where we suprised the Martin Bashalls and confounded their seating arrangements for the 21st dinner. It was a very special family occasion and we were delighted to be there among Mackies, Bremners,Frankie, Greens and Bashalls. Hugo had put together an excellent presentation, which displayed, so competently and humourously, Anna's great sense of humour, her strength, beauty and brilliance. Sunday was consumed by the London Marathon. Nic did 5h 14m and we chased all around London, with the help and company of Alice and William Bennett. We managed to see her 3 times and were astounded each time to see her full of energy and absolutely bouyed along by the overwhelming support. There were 35 000 runners and a million supporters. It was London at its best; a beautiful sunny day, incredible logistics and great humour abounding. Most runners had their names on their vest, so were supported in a personal manner. What a spectacle! I have to confess to being in a high state of emotion, with tears streaming a lot of the time. Rousing stuff. If this is survival, I'm all for it

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