Ireland day 1082. Saturday 14 September 2024- Sleepless in Malahide

Today’s summary	Had a rather poor night’s sleep because of shingles pain, but a good day thereafter. Had an early lunch and then walked over to Newbridge and Donabate via the lagoon (the tide was out) and caught a timely train back to Malahide. A low-key evening watching TV. Val still away in UK.
Today’s weather	Overcast and mostly dry, though with a light shower early evening. Moderate south westerly wind. Appx 18c

Today’s overview location (The green mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Round the Lagoon to Newbridge and Donabate

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

Well that was curious. I felt reasonably tired when I went to bed last night, so I was looking forward to a good night’s sleep. But I was awoken at about 2am by the pain in my left side, and couldn’t drop off again. Eventually I gave in to the inevitable and put the light on and read my book till 7. I made myself a cup of (decaff) coffee at that point and managed to get back to sleep after that for a couple of hours. I was eternally grateful that Val is away at the moment, so my nocturnal wanderings didn’t wake her up.

But I think I have to stop kidding myself that the shingles pain is getting any better – in fact I think it’s getting worse and from what I’ve read it could continue to do so for a very long time. Also the rash has stopped fading now and remains stubbornly more or less exactly as it was a week ago. So I need a different pain management technique. Tonight I’ll try taking painkillers before bed – they don’t reduce the pain itself, I find, but they do make me tired so I might sleep through it. Failing that, my “Plan B” is to use my extended wakefulness to read – I have a pile of books that I need to finish so this could be a good opportunity to catch up. Every cloud has a silver lining!

So – for anyone reading this who is dithering about getting a shingles vaccine – stop mucking about and get it, even if you have to pay. You don’t want to get what I have, under any circumstances.

But I need to keep reminding myself that there are plenty of people with much worse things to live with than just my painful back and arm. So lets stop being maudlin and move on to more positive subjects.

Once I did finally surface, I had a leisurely shower, tended to the surgical wound on my face (which does actually seem to be healing quite well) and decided to skip breakfast in favour on an early lunch. I made a rather nice salmon sandwich from some wild Atlantic salmon that Val had bought at Dunnes last week, and it was delicious as well as being nutritious and healthy (well at least I think it is!). I put a couple of loads of washing on to trundle through their cycle as I was eating.

Once the dishwasher was loaded and the washing machine unloaded, I decided to embark on one of my favourite walks – round the lagoon and over to Newbridge. After all, activity and interest seems to be the best way, for me at any rate, of distracting myself from discomfort.

It was a good choice, because the weather was fair and the tide was out. Meaning that I could get round to Newbridge without getting wet either via feet in the sea or from the sky above. Once I got round to Newbridge, I felt in need of a treat so bought myself a coffee and a biscuit in the café and I have to say I enjoyed my refreshments very much.

I short walk round the perimeter of the demesne after my break saw me at Donabate railway station only a few minutes later, and I had only a few more minutes to wait before a diesel conveniently rolled into the platform and sped me back to Malahide. I timed my arrival well not just because of its proximity to the train’s arrival, but also because at the moment I arrived it started raining – so I completely avoided getting wet, once again.

Once back in the flat, I had a quick video call with Val – all going well for her – then did some more washing and made my dinner. It’s reheated chili con carne again and I’m really enjoying it because it’s quick, tasty and nutritious.

I’m going to round off the evening now with a YouTube video on Iceland that I have my eye on, then I’m going to look out a couple of books to have to hand in case my “Plan A” sleep management programme doesn’t work. Wish me luck! I’ll report back tomorrow.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


An elegant egret took flight as I approached. Like a miniature all-white heron	Yachting lesson in progress, offshore from the Gaybrook Stream outlet into the lagoon

These swans were unfazed by my presence. They have take up residence here, on the north shore of the lagoon by the motorway bridge, because they know people come along regularly and feed them.	Tide out in the lagoon – so I could pass more or less unimpeded and retain dry feet too.

Newbridge House looking splendid since its recent makeover	Café! What a magical word!

I know this undoes all the good of the healthy stuff that I try and eat, but I felt like I deserved it today, and I certainly enjoyed it!