It's been a bit of an eye-opener to see that at least some friends and family genuinely believed my post on Facebook declaring that I had completed my first triathlon. I chose a snappy, attention-grabbing description in the expectation that nobody would actually believe it, but instead would be intrigued as to what I was … Continue reading Days +69 to +72: The invisible illness
Days +60 to +63: The benefits of remembering the tougher times
According to the Department of Work and Pensions' preliminary estimates for 2013/14 (bear with me here), around £1.1bn was paid out to fraudulent benefits claims, representing around 0.7% of the total benefits bill. Clearly there are a lot of people persuaded towards dishonesty by the promise of 'free money' in return for false claims that might never be found … Continue reading Days +60 to +63: The benefits of remembering the tougher times
Days +56 to +59: Feel free to graffiti our house
I'm pretty certain that before my leukaemia relapse, if Mariacristina had used a paint sampler – intended to check colour suitability – to vandalise the walls of our downstairs loo, albeit with friendly graffiti, I'd have shaken my head, sighed and looked reprovingly at her while saying 'Cuoooore...". After all, the chances were that the graffiti would be … Continue reading Days +56 to +59: Feel free to graffiti our house
Day +12: Charity case
I reluctantly decided not to go ahead with launching a #selfiewithmyplatelets campaign, partly because I'm not sure anyone in the country has any money left after donating generously to various cancer charities as a result of the #nomakeupselfie campaign on Facebook. I expect you'll have heard of it even if you've avoided the social network, … Continue reading Day +12: Charity case