02/09/2024 - 'A new addition to the Baker family' by David

After last week's exertions on our island sojourn, I had the opportunity of resting my legs at home, doing some serious sunbathing and watching the Paralympics, and that's exactly what I did. 

The first human other than Alice and Fin that I had seen for 3 days was Dani, a speech and language therapist who came out to see me to assess my swallow as dysphagia can be one of the symptoms of motor neurone disease. I have noted already that my voice has become weaker in recent weeks and I feel as though I'm swallowing saliva more between meals and at night. She got me to perform various movements with my mouth, tongue and throat, and watched and felt my throat as I swallowed a biscuit and drunk water, and we were both pleasantly surprised that after her evaluation, my swallow was normal. She did detect a slight weakness on the left side of my mouth, but was happy enough to leave me with factsheets on dysphagia and vocal care, and we will talk again in four months. 

Alice and I popped over to the island for a nice set with my friend and fellow DJ Michelle at Sounds And Grounds in Cowes.

They very kindly made it another MND fundraiser, and we decked out the venue in orange and blue posters and balloons and had collection tins, badges and wristbands available for donations.

It was well attended and lots of money was raised. In return, DJ Miss Chelle entertained with 50's and 60's rock and roll, and northern soul, while DJ Tintin played 70’s and 80's soul, funk, electro and new wave. Lots of family and friends came to support me and hopefully I can do a few more gigs before my hands let me down. 

We were all set to tackle Salisbury parkrun on Saturday but unfortunately we picked up our first puncture on the buggy, so while Alice ran her fastest time this year, I marshalled out on the course, sat on my seat.

A trip to Halfords and a bit of forward planning required me thinks.

Thanks to kind donations from Jason, Steve, Jamie and Guy, I have now sold my Subbuteo, Scalextric, football stickers and albums, and my unicycle. Just my annuals to go now. The majority are Roy Of The Rovers, but I have other classics including Knockout, Beezer, Hotspur, Top Of The Pops, Muppets, Tiger, Whizzer & Chips, Blue Peter, Pink Panther and the Magic Roundabout. We all loved an annual at Christmas didn't we? 

The week finished with a lovely Sunday. We have been looking to get a rescue cat for a few months now as I'm at home all day and would love a little friend to talk to, and our search finished as we welcomed Teddy into the family. 

He's a tabby and he's nearly three years old. Unfortunately he has been living in a flat, without the opportunity of going outside. He's also been antagonised by a 10 month old baby, and the poor thing was no longer wanted. We have been advised to restrict him to one room for a while before opening up the rest of the house then letting him outside after four weeks. He seems to be a friendly cat so far, and Teddy Baker will certainly be loved.

In the evening, I went to a pizza party to say goodbye to an ex colleague.

Edisa, who is only moving to the office below, has Italian blood and as such has pizza skills that she deems as unrivalled. Matt however, is desperate to be the culinary king of the office, and has bought the exact same pizza oven Edisa uses. He's been using the same flour, recipe and proving policy, practicing weekly since we had tasted Edisa's. He stood at his station, determination written all over his sweating brow, and produced 20 absolutely perfect pizzas, as we devoured them with gusto.

We all agreed that Matt had excelled himself, but that we really needed another party at Edisa's soon to continue the pizza taste test!

While on the island recently, Alice and I visited a woodland burial ground in Cowes, the town I grew up in. I have to think about, and organise how and where I would like to die and be buried, and this serene location overlooking the river Medina seems like the perfect place for me. It's a quiet field, surrounded by an existing woodland, and would be ideal for my island family and friends to visit. It's also within walking distance from the ferry for those visiting from the mainland, and we both came away feeling that it was where I would want to be laid to rest.

I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to plan and organise the last phase of my life, and part of that plan is to continue having fun and enjoying this beautiful life of my mine with Alice, with my family, with my friends, and with Teddy!