Sunday, October 23, 2005

Chipolata ordeal

This is tilly and her son, solo, now almost 6 weeks of age and very cute. Not a very good pic but the digicam ran out of juice so I'll have to wait to try for a better one.

We just got back from our trip to Germany. We had a 4 hour delay at the Chunnel and got into France at 5.30pm . We then drove to Namur in Belgium where we stayed the night. The following day we drove to Lake Konstanz, on the German, Swiss, Austrian border. We drove thru Luxembourg and France to get there. Our hotel was very nice and we had a suite, bang in the middle of Konstanz opposite the railway station.
Spent the Monday walking around Konstanz, with me using the w/chair too. It was cold and I had to buy some thermal long john's! Very thin tho and comfy to wear. I only found one yarn shop and it wasn't very interesting.
The following day we drove to Lindau which is a beuatiful island town on the lake. Couldn't use the chair there at all cos the streets were cobbled and that made it hard forJohn to push and was too painful anyway for me as it juddered all the time. John has the patience of a siant. I walk really slowly with my sticks and so he does too and he is 6ft 1" so that makes it harder. After Lindau we drove to Oberstaufen. This involved driving up high thru the mountins along winding rounds with local people right behind me driving fast! Yet the roads were narrow and there was no barrier between my car and falling off the edge! I drove very slowly around blind bends etc much to the annoyance of these pratts who still wanted to drive at 60mph!
However, the scenery was beautful. I really adore German architecture(and Austrian), the houses are wonderful. The valleys and mountians make your jaw drop. I bought a jacket and 2 waistcoats and 2 shirts, all Austrian/German Landhaus style(traditional).
Although we had intended to stay until Thursday, i decided we should leave Wednesday and head for Heidelberg. I did the right thing. The weather turned nasty. We stopped off at Rottweil(where the Rottweiler dog hails from). There is where the rain started. We got to Heidelberg at 7pm and it was still wet and I had been driving all day.The report said the rain was staying till the weekend. We were lucky, the next day the sun shone all day and we spent it walking around Heidelberg-a beautiful city. Cobbled steets again so no chair.
I went from Friday to Wednesday without having a poo and I tell you, I was fit to burst. I felt so bloated and horrid. Of course the pain killers, codeine, bung you up. So i stopped taking them after Monday and trebled my does of laxitives. Still no joy. Finally, I decided I would eat foods I am allergic to-namely wheat. So Tuesday, i did precisely that. I was expecting pain and to feel sick. No. I did get a cramp and then finally
I managed a movement but it was a rather pathetic attempt at evacuation. All that effort for a hard chipolata. So I took more laxative and the next day ate more wheat. So Thursday in Heidelberg after much panting and pushing, I managed another hard chipolata. I was not feeling good. I was bloated, hungover from the wheat and now getting very uncomfortable.
Friday we drove home, or rather to Calais. 500miles thru heavy rain and wind. Hotel was again very nice and we even went and visted Cite Europe which was just another mall really. I threw all sense and caution to the wind and we bought food to eat in our hotel room-I bought bread rolls, wholewheat! I felt stuffed afterwards and was really looking forward to having the runs I always get if I eat wheat. Did it work? Of course bloody not! By the time we got on the Chunnel the following morning, I felt pregnant and really wanted to off load. Driving up the M20, not more than 20 mins into Engalnd, I could feel the earth begin to move and I had to stop rather qucikly at the Maidstone service. Aaaahhh-reflief at last. Still no runs but at least I dumped a good load this time and did so several more times that day.
Today of course I feel like shit, hung over, weak and tired and knowing the next few days will be tough as I detox.
Did I buy some yarn? Of course I did. I bought some oild wool for making myself a Landhasu style jacket, cardi. These are made in garter stitch.
It is always a let down to come back home after a drive around mainland europe. Back to crap food, crap service, being ripped off. Our supermarkets are appalling compared to the mainland, expecially France and their Carrefore. Our m'way service staions are a total rip off, appalling food at very expensive prices served by usually miserable gits who don't know what they are doing. The m'way services on the mainland are sooo different. good service, good prices and very good food. I don't know why in the UK we put with such crap and bad service. I think it is because we don't like to 'make a fuss' and so we allow ourselves to get trodden on. I really can't believe how bad our supermarkets are and that we put up with it. Bad service, very limited choice and high prices to boot.
If I were rich, I'd go and do my weekly shop in France!

3 comments:

Mary-Lou said...

Hi Colin! Apologies in advance, you've been tagged! - see my blog for details, and of course if you'd prefer not to do it, or you've already been tagged, and I've not noticed, then that's fine too

Mary-Lou said...

Colin

The idea is that you cut/paste a copy of the questionnaire on my blog into your blog, remove my answers and fill in your own ones, and publish the result on your blog, picking 5 other bloggers to pass it on to, who will do the same in turn (hopefully!) - hth

By the way, I fully endorse your comments about french supermarkets, they are fantastic places!

NikolaAnne said...

Poor you. Spinach is the Great Unblocker. :-)

Next time, you might also try taking 600mg of Magnesium Citrate before bed (If you have no preexisiting heart conditions) for a few days, this is pretty much guarenttied to get you moving... You might also try MASSIVE doses of VitC (ie over 5g!). As the Body rejects any overdose in short order, unbunging you in the process, that is a good, non-toxic and wonderful thing.

Much better than wheat!

Oh, and to prevent, make sure you eat at least one uncooked leafy Salad everyday (we use lettuce the same way cats use grass!), and keep drinking that water!

Long term use of Laxatives makes the gut wall weaker, discoraging perystalis, as I'm sure you know! Always better prevention that cure eh?

Wouldn't be able to say about the French Supermarkets, never been to one, but yes, we do put up with a lot of things we should never have to put up with on this Island!