Monday 31st May

It was another early start so at five I was playing games, at six I was playing more games and at seven I was thinking about food but knowing that I was heading off for a visit to my doctor I had to stave off the hunger pains and settle for hot water.  It was pouring down with rain so I anticipated that there wouldn't be many people at the polyclinic but I didn't take into account that it was Monday and should have done.  I made it to the Nipper by nine and picked up a container of sunflowers plants for my student's mum at the shop and delivered.  I had a few minutes with her but carried on to Kardjali, my private carpark near the hospital wasn't open for business and I had a five minute walk to the clinic.

There were three people in front of me but the doctor wasn't in the surgery but the receptionist was.  Apparently the doctor had gone off to pick up some results for the patient which seemed to take longer than expected.  The receptionist noticed me and without any conversation called me to go with her to another room and she wired me up for an ECG just to check that my heart was beating.  I laughed with her and said that if it wasn't she was wasting her time, I dressed and went back to waiting for the doctor.  I told her what I wanted, a blood test for thyroid and instead she stripped me off again and gave me a thorough check over front and back and took a blood pressure reading.  I got dressed again and left the surgery with paperwork for a blood test that was carried out across the road in another offshoot of the polyclinic and a document to take to the main hospital to make appointment to see the eye specialist.  That's what I like in Bulgaria, everything is instant and once you've parked up, it's in walking distance.  The first appointment is tomorrow at ten o'clock, it cost me one leva for the administration because I'm a pensioner and two if you're not.  The results for the blood test will be sent to my doctor, the other results I will pick up from the specialist and go back to the surgery for a consultation....so simple.

I walked back to the Nipper, drove to Lidl and bought a few items, stopped off at the car shop in Djebel for a catch-up and finished off buying a few more items from the Djebel supermarket.  I drove down to my post office and got there for ten after two and despite a sign on the door that it was open from one to four, she wasn't there so my post will have to wait for another day.  I put the shopping away, felt extremely tired so ran a bath and had my usual nap in there emerging from the depths at five thirty,  It's turned into a pleasant evening, a couple of bee-eaters are swooping over the garden, a woodpecker has just found his night-time snack on the lawn and a pied fly catcher has set up its viewing point in the mulberry but every time I pick up the camera it disappears...sod's law.

So tomorrow I'm seeing a different eye specialist from the normal one....I just need to find out what the problem with this eye is.  Kitchen calls, I've got a couple of hamburgers to process for supper and I'm hungry.  LN.....A successful day.....LN