The rain in Aldershot falls mainly on.....me

Well....today was good....if very wet....and knackering....and frustrating at times...but overall - good 

First of all *drumroll* A went to school without any fuss.....phew...we'd had a little, um, chat last night and I'm hoping that what I said to him has sunk in sufficiently...we'll see. So, he went in ok and I still nearly missed my train, proving my mother's adage of 'more haste, less speed' to be accurate. Rushing around ensured that I nearly forgot my bike lock and my phone.... However, even though the wind tried (and almost succeeded) to blow me to a standstill I still managed to catch the train...yay for me. Taking the bike on the train was interesting. People seemed to think that I was doing something hugely unreasonable, despite the fact that the bike was in a designated area on a train which was nowhere near full. On arriving at Guildford I was amused (bemused?) to see hordes of hooray Henry's and their posh totty crowding onto the platform....of course, it's Ascot this week.... They weren't terribly impressed with my bike, I think they thought that I was going to ram them with it. I wasn't, being more interested in figuring out why they were drinking champagne - at Guildford Station of all places?? Needless to say the journey was punctuated by lots of braying laughter and posh voices discussing how they were going to spend all their lovely money on the horses.....me, jealous? ummmmmmmmm

So, anyway - eventually I arrived at the museum (Army Medical) at Keogh Barracks in Ash Vale. The people there were lovely, so helpful and friendly. I will be going back again and I'm looking forward to it. I'd like to take A to the museum, there were lots of lovely gruesome exhibits which I know he'll love...lol.... I spent a lovely couple of hours taking notes about incidences of VD in the Army and Navy during the 19th Century...all good stuff ;-)

Then things got interesting. I'm so skint that I decided to be a good girl, and not waste money on the £2.50 train fair from Ash Vale to Aldershot, I looked at the map and the directions and thought - I can cycle that...ha - famous last words.... Next time I'll sell something and raise the train fare because I'm NEVER doing that bike ride again..... It started off ok, nice roads, easy riding..then the hills began to show their ugly faces...and it started to rain....deep joy....then it became clear that Google maps doesn't know its left from its right nor, in fact, the difference between first and second, or even third... and did I mention that it was raining...oh and that the hills were getting steeper... I found myself riding on a private road, well I say road but 'rutted track' would be more accurate - and (I think I may have mentioned this) it was raining - so there were HUGE puddles and I was being bounced up and down as though I was on a bouncy castle.... Big thanks must go to the lorry drivers who sped past me (did they think it was a motorway), splattering me in mud.... Eventually I made my way onto a proper road, narrowly missing being squished by another speeding lorry.....when google maps struck again, sending me the wrong way - I was nearly in Farnborough before I figured it out.... Oh, and the hills - getting steeper and less fun all the time - even going downhill wasn't great - it just meant I'd have to go back up another one at some point.... The sun had come out at this point - so I was gently steaming as I rode along, much to the amusement of car drivers and pedestrians... Eventually I made it to the library where I was meeting a friend, A, for the first time..hmmm...interesting first impression I must have made - red in the face, perspiring and soaking wet/covered in mud...luckily she didn't run screaming and we had a lovely couple of hours chatting... I may have indulged in a bacon roll and a bit of tiffin and a cuppa, but after the ride from hell I figured I deserved it...  She'd also bought me a lovely pressie... (note the ladybird which is really special to Jack's Army members)

After saying goodbye to my friend I went back to the library where a quick visit was enough to tell me that I'd need at least one full day there in order to search their archives....so I decided to get to the station so that I could get home...at which point I looked outside and saw this......

Yes, that's my bike there - getting soaked (the seat still wasn't dry two hours later)... Fortunately the heavy rain didn't last long and I was able to get to the station without too much more hassle... A couple of hours later I was home, showered, in pj's and chilling on the sofa.... 

Yes I got soaked, yes I nearly cried on that horrible bike ride, and yes I got lost but I did it....and although I'll ache tomorrow it's another step on the road to getting fit and losing weight. So I'm smiling..

One thing which was tricky was that coming into Aldershot triggered an anxiety attack. Some of you will know that I used to live there, it's where I met A's dad and where we lived when A was born. That's not why I was anxious....before I met A's dad I was in a very destructive 'relationship' (I don't know what else to call it), the effects of which linger to this day. I've not been back to Aldershot since we left and I wasn't expecting the reaction I got. For a number of reasons the station seems to be a trigger - maybe because I did a lot of arriving/departing from there during the worst of times. However, I managed the attack. I did calm down, and the one when I arrived back at the station later wasn't as bad. it was just a reminder that no matter how strong we thing we are, sometimes unexpected things can trigger reactions. I'm prepared for the fact that I may have some disturbing dreams tonight, but I hope that I won't. The fact is that I'm a stronger person than I was, and that no matter what I don't have to be scared. I have amazing family and friends, and I won't let the past hurt me. It's difficult sometimes, but I'm getting there.

Right, enough from me.... I'm off to read and fuss the cats.....

ps - I wanted to get this ginger kitten (one of them anyway), ok let's face it I still want to get it but I won't.....sooo cute tho