Explained absence

Sorry for not having updated in a while.  I'm okay - not in hospital.  I've been away in Edinburgh for a few days with Mum and J, and I've been busy writing stuff for my PGCert portfolio.  In theory I have until 30th August to finish the portfolio, but I actually have the final meeting with my supervisor tomorrow lunchtime so I've been busily trying to finish up.  My supervisor needed to receive my work by email today so that she has a chance to read it before we meet, so the pressure has been on.  Thankfully the hard work seems to have paid off and I think I've done it!  Of course I'll find out tomorrow if there's any major editing to do, but I don't think there'll be masses - there's only one piece I'm not terribly sure about.  So after tomorrow's meeting all I'll have to do is put everything in one document, print it off and submit it!  Mind you, whilst this is the end of the PGC portfolio, it's not the end of the project as I'm hoping to put what I've been writing into a book.  There are a lot of words that go into a book, though, so I still have a great deal of writing to do.  But I'm enjoying it, and I'm enjoying having the time to write without the pressures of other study now that I've finished my degree.

So yes, that's what I've been up to while I haven't been showing myself here - writing.

It was lovely to get away for a few days, and this time not end up in hospital!  While I was at Mum and J's, J's brother, N, and N's Wife, F (that looks terribly confusing.  I hope you're still with me) also came to stay for a couple of days.  I haven't seen them since Mum and J's wedding 18 years ago, so it was great to meet them again, and we've now exchanged email addresses so it should be a lot easier to keep in touch.

Last time I was in Edinburgh there was an article in one of the Scottish newspapers about a new place that was opening in Edinburgh called The Salt Cave.  It's one of a small, worldwide chain.  It's basically a room that's covered in salt - 2 tonnes of salt on the walls and the floor - and has purified, salty air pumped into it.  Up to 8 people can be in the one in Edinburgh at any one time, and a session lasts an hour, during which you sit in a comfy chair, breathe the salty air, relax in a half-light listening to new-agey music with waves in the background, and most likely fall asleep.  The Salt Cave people claim the experience is beneficial to those with asthma and other lung conditions, sinus problems, ear infections, and various other ailments.  I thought it was worth a go, especially as the first session is free :o)  Well I'm not cured, and didn't expect to be, but it doesn't really matter, because it was relaxing and I enjoyed it immensely.  I have to say though that my nose did feel a lot clearer, so maybe there's something in it.  They do say that you need more than one session for there to be significant improvement in breathing conditions, and recommend two to three sessions a week to start with.  I can't afford that at the moment, and with Edinburgh being the nearest Salt Cave to Newcastle it's not likely that I could get there three times a week either, but maybe I'll go when I'm up visiting Mum.  And as I say, it doesn't really matter if it doesn't help the breathing much/at all, because it's relaxing, and that has to be good for my mental health :o)

Okey dokey, I'm off for now to check through my writing in preparation for the meeting with my PGC portfolio supervisor tomorrow.  I promise I'll be a better blogger now :o)