KEEPING busy is probably the most important part of my SmokeStop routine.
It’s getting easier. In the beginning, it was a struggle to find ways of keeping myself occupied outside of work. Previously, the highlight of my day was boiling a kettle and going to the corner shop. Now, I’m spreading my wings.
Keeping active is starting to come naturally. I’m not forcing myself to do things; I actually WANT to do them.
Glorious, glorious sunshine – and a wardrobe full of new summer clothes that I want to show off – got me out and about yesterday. After a good day at the office, I arrived home and told my daughter: “Get ready! We’re going to West Bay.”
With the landslip at Lyme Regis, apparently the largest recorded in 100 years, attracting the national press and hoards of sightseers, I decided to steer clear and go somewhere a bit quieter.
Quiet it certainly was in West Bay. I found a seafront parking space easily. In fact, the harbourside was quite deserted.
When I bought my daughter an ice cream, I asked the lady in the kiosk: “Have you been busy?”
“No,” she replied in a disappointed tone. “The sun came out when all the holoidaymakers had gone home.” She was hopeful she’d see more people like me – local people who’d decided to make the most of the sunshine, before it disappeared. She said she would be staying open late to catch people returning from work.
The time now is 9am on Thursday, May 8, and the sun is still shining in Honiton, although there’s a keen breeze. The weather forecast is for rain later today. Luckily, one of my two trips out of the office today is in about 10 minutes’ time – so I’ll be motoring into the countryside, to a village, while the weather is still great.
I haven’t used the inhalator for two days. I might have to later on. I’ve just realised, I forgot to put a fresh patch on before I left home. It’s not bothering me at the moment, though.
I feel fine. Not craving a cigarette. And my breathing is improving, once again.
Almost forgot! When I told my cousin that I'm wearing my patch as a badge of honour, he came up with a brilliant idea. In fact, it's so brilliant I don't know why nobody has done it. He said it's a shame patch manufacturers couldn't make them more like badges - so people would want to wear them. How about ones with the England flag for football fans and patriots? What about Page 3-style ones for men? And ones that are coloured to co-ordinate with ladies' outfits?