Crash - J G Ballard

 Settled for the evening, reading J G Ballard's Crash.

Recouperating Day 3

Recouperating - Day 2

 The bruising is now starting to show:

The Dead of Summer

The above arrived at my home this morning, a very well packed treasure of a book, signed and sent my way the the editor himself - Mr Johnny Mains.

Surgery Day (Part Two)

Well, my poor old eyelid has finally been sorted - courtesy of a 45-minute x2 surgeon operation, plus a supporting cast of brilliant medical folk. 

It turned out to be a longer, trickier procedure than either I or my consultant had expected. And honestly, I really wish they’d knocked me out entirely instead of giving me six of the most excruciating injections I’ve ever had the displeasure of experiencing. 

I arrived at the ophthalmic surgery at 12:30 and was quickly moved from the general waiting area to a larger room that eventually filled with 8 patients. As we settled in, we began swapping stories. It turned out we were all there for either cataracts or, like me, eyelid-related issues. Thanks to the room’s open-plan design, we had the pleasure of hearing every detail of each other's conditions. I won’t go into specifics here, but let’s just say I winced more than once at how personal some of those consultant-patient chats got. One story in particular stayed with me and still tugs at me days later. 

I was the last of us to face the surgeon’s knife and, lucky me, got to hear the post-op groans of those who came back before me. Plenty of grimaces, muttered “never again”s, and the sort of haunted looks that don't exactly calm the nerves. At around 4:30 p.m., when our merry group had dwindled to just yours truly, it was finally my turn. 

Oddly enough, the scalpel, cauterising, and stitching didn’t hurt at all. But the six local anaesthetic injections straight into my eye? The most definitely did. That was, hands down, the most painful experience of my nearly 59 years of life. Because I couldn't afford private treatment, the wait for NHS treatment meant the tissues below my eye had toughened up and blocked my tear duct. This was briskly resolved with a saline syringe flushed through until it reached my nasal passage - at which point I got a delightful cocktail of salty tears and slightly sweet blood trickling into my mouth. That, too, hurt. Not quite injection-level pain, but still grimly memorable. At one point, the surgeon's asked if I could cope with the pain. Desperate to avoid more needles, I just grunted “Yes” and lay as still as possible, trying to ignore the glimpses of scalpels and ominous-looking tools being aimed under my poor old eyeball. 

To add to the drama, it became apparent one surgeon was training the other. So, naturally, I had the privilege of hearing a play-by-play commentary of everything about to happen to my face. “Snip there. Lateral slice there. Diamond-cut this. Cauterise here. Thread the suture through the tendon - no, firmer than that, jiggle the needle - it’s tough tissue... no, that’s too superficial... here, let me show you...”

Honestly, it was like being trapped in an on-the-surgeon's-operating-table nightmare. Eventually, it was all over. Everyone seemed very pleased with how everything had gone. Grateful, I thanked every single person in the theatre at least a dozen times as they wheeled me back to the now-empty waiting room. I sat alone, clutching a black coffee (no vegan milk options, of course), texting my wonderful partner to come pick me up, conscious that Day-Surgery was about to close for the day. 

Back home at last, I sank onto the sofa, dosed myself up on co-codamol, and waited for the swelling to kick in...

Surgery Day

 After what seems like forever, the day of my eyelid surgery has arrived. My excitement to have the procedure performed has rapidly turned to anxiety. But It has to be done. Time to put my big boy trousers on.

Crabs's Moon by Guy N Smith

 Found this stuffed in my letter box when I got home tonight:

Robin Ince

Beautiful evening spent listening to the lovely Robin Ince @robinince.bluesky.social. He was kind enough to sign a Guy N Smith book he recently wrote an introduction for 🙂

Happy World Dracula Day

My favorite Dracula book covers #WorldDraculaDay :

 

Growing Spikes

 This year's pup on my monstrose T. Bridgesii is growing new thorns:

Avalon 2 | 3/100

The butterfly is opening its wings. That is the say, Avalon 2 is starting to look good...

Avalon 2 | 2/100

My 100 Day Project to produce a second issue of my Glastonbury zine began last night. At the moment, I quite like the joy of the May Day festivities expressed in my cover...

I have also now confirmed the contents of the zine:

Hospital

 Another visit to the hospital this morning. Came away with a plan of actionin the form of a prescription.

Eye Surgery

 Looks like I am finally getting my eye sorted 😎

I finally completed the ms for the 2nd Guy N Smith zine. Just 5 weeks left before you can purchase a copy.

A Cheeky Gin and Fire

 Enjoying a cheeky gin around a garden fire after work.

My Big Bois Cacti

 

The Bumper Book of Ghost Stories

 Whilst I was collecting Armada Ghost Books, I also acquired this gem of an Armada book. As you can see, it is also signed by Mary Danby!

Aquilegia

 

Forget-me-nots

 The last of our 2025 forget-me-nots: 

Saturday fades

Look what caught my eye whilst baking a potato this evening -  the last rays of today soaking through the leaves of my purple oxaris:

Just thought I'd share.

Garden Reading

I have been wanting to read the short story  WHO's A PRETTY BOY, THEN by Jan Mark ever since I saw it collected in the 15th Armada Ghost Book. And wow, am I glad I took a few minutes of my time this afternoon to read it. Written from the point of a view of a child, the story is crafted perfectly and is rather a dark beast of a tale. The more thought given to it, the darker the simple tale becomes. Highly recommended reading.

Garden Plant of the Moment...

 ...are these glorious red poppies, which have sprung up outside our front door:

Morning Glory

 The first thing that greets me when I leave the bedroom each morning is this sight:

A Lark Too Far

Putting some flesh on the bones of a short story... 

Some of my Lophophora williamsii Bois

Happy Dreams, Mandrake

 My Mandrake has retired for the Summer. See you in the Winter again fella:

I have never seen these plants...

...looking so healthy 🌱

I made this...

...whilst away last weekend:

I brought the stones home with me. I wonder where they will end up. Watch this space...

Malvern Three Counties RHS Show

I am posting this as we head home from the Malvern RHS Show. It has been a very-much-needed mega-chilled weekend and I am going home with a new plants and interesting yard art.

I loved this scene from a Japanese garden design featured in the show:

And whilst I didn't buy any from the show, I will be disappointment of this tulip variety is not growing the garden.

We found good Old Rosie in her usual spot in the show and after we both savoured her delights we continued our persulal of the gardening trade stands:

I have been wanting a set of these for years, and finally the price was right - x3 for £22.50;

And, finally, my garden buddha has been over grown by ivy, so it is time to give him a new spot in the garden. Just after telling Mrs. Pixie-Led that I was looking for a new plant to frame the Buddha statue, we turned a corner and, hey presto, not one but two Buddha display's presented themselves with the same plant:

The coincidencw sealed the deal and our Buddha will soon have a beautiful new place to spread his peaceful vibes and a lovely colourful plant as a backdrop 😎

It was a long, hot, but happy day, but, soon enough, it was time to head home.