The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things: of walks and blogs and social services and other random stuff

First things first. The most important thing I need to say is this:

The Great London Trek

This is the blog for The Great London Trek for Fibromyalgia Awareness, aka The Girl's sponsored walk. Go see! Read the blog! Sponsor us in aid of the Fibromyalgia Assocation UK! And, perhaps most importantly, please publicise it among all your friends and relations. The more interest we can get going in this walk and in FMS awareness and all the other things we're aiming for, the more successful it will be. If anyone wants to contact The Girl direct, for example if you'd prefer to sponsor her per mile, she's at gavroche2000@hotmail.com . We can also send you a document with a printable sponsor form if you ask for one there. Thank you!

Yesterday's DLA medical examination went OK. The doctor was nice, and I think she got a decent report on my situation. The only trouble was that she *poked* me a lot at the end, to see where I hurt, and of course that has affected my hip and knee rather badly. Am struggling to walk at all at the mo. Fortunately, today was the beginning of my four-day 'emergency care package' from the Council - they won't admit that I need regular care yet, but they're happy to provide it while The Girl is away (for Passover), possibly in case I sue them or something... Two perfectly nice ladies have visited so far, with another on her way this evening. It's already a useful lesson in the fact that I have no idea how to use such support - at least, not in half-hour slots (I can use The Girl in slots of between two and ten minutes throughout the day much better - "Can you just get/do/carry/arrange this for me please? Thanks!") So if I do get approved for regular care, I shall have to think carefully about what I need and how best to go about arranging that. Interesting. Still, I already feel far less forlorn that I usually do when The Girl goes away. And having people to help me out has meant I can stay off my feet when necessary, which is nice for my poor hip and foot. Yay. The one irritating thing is that our entry phone is broken, which means that I have to go downstairs to let them in. Three times a day. This is not nice for my poor hip and knee. We're trying to get the entry phone fixed. This will depend on whether our letting agency is at all interested in fixing it. Hmm.

And finally: Greenbelt! This is the Christian Arts Festival that I go to every year, of one year I arrived 'straight' and in painful denial, and left very happy to be a bisexual/gay Christian fame. It's my yearly pilgrimage. I know it's months away, but I can't wait. They are being marvellously helpful, giving me a discount and letting me bring The Girl for free as my carer. Now we just need to sort out an accessible B&B in the area. It's going to be very exciting.