Golden games and other outings

It's been an amazing few weeks of Olympic spectaculars...and I managed to miss some of the highlight TV moments that "everyone will remember for the rest of their lives".

The "golden hour" when GB won 3 Gold medals on a Saturday night was heard on a crackly wind up AM radio while sat round a campfire just outside Stratford-upon-Avon, and Mo Farah winning his second Gold took place while we out for dinner for Mum's birthday. This is not the first time I've missed a major TV event because I've out for a family meal - I missed the SAS storming the Iranian Embassy in 1980 as it took place while I was having my 18th birthday dinner and first legal pint.

I did see the opening ceremony, staying up until the end. Really enjoyed the history lesson and the underlying sense of dislocation - the Queen jumping out of a helicopter with 007 - Mr Bean - giant chimneys - the steelworks forging the final ring to link the chain of the olympic symbol - Shakespeare - the NHS - having young athletes light the beautiful cauldron made up of many parts - team GB coming in to the arena to David Bowie's "heroes"...

The next morning we opened our Wedding Anniversary cards and then headed off to Chester Zoo. I had promised Sonia that she would see live elephants as my present to her. And she did. We had decided to treat ourselves to a break and dinner on the way home and stopped off for a meal and a night in the Stanley Arms, a remote pub in Macclesfield Forest on the edge of the Peak District. We had the Clough Room (nothing to do with Brian) which was across the yard from the pub/restaurant that served Marston's Pedigree.

The following weekend saw us camping with the "library lot" at Dodwell campsite, just outside Stratford. Recipe for a great weekend:

• Take 10 adults, 5 kids and a labrador.
• Place in 5 tents and a gazebo.
• Combine with decent facilities, a lot of wine and access to a charcoal burner for warmth in the evenings.
• Add in very occasional rain, a few claps of thunder and a brief hailstone shower to build a common sense of adversity.
• Top off with an afternoon expedition to Stratford along the banks of the Avon with the dog spotting buzzards and a heron on the way to a pub lunch

The tent was packed away wet but was eventually dried on the washing line at home.

Hanging out the tent was difficult due to my tearing my calf muscle on the Tuesday - a very painful but odd experience...after a weekend of walking the dog and entertaining the kids it was the simple act of walking in the office that saw me taken by ambulance to the QMC ED. I was heading out at lunchtime as I was going to walk into West Bridgford and had made it as far as the landing outside my office when I felt an odd sensation in my right calf - imagine an elastic band twanging inside your leg - and had trouble walking. I hobbled back into the office and a first aider was called. She said she had nothing in her big green box for me and called for an ambulance in case it was a ruptured achilles tendon (plus I was looking a bit pale). The First Responder quickly diagnosed torn calf muscle, gave me "gas and air" for the pain, and called for an ambulance to transport me to the QMC. A shot of tramadol helped get me down from the 3rd floor and into the ambulance. As I wasn't a "blue light" job I was transported by a St John's Ambulance crew from Grantham who needed their sat-nav to find the QMC and then weren't quite sure where to take me once we got there - but I didn't mind because I still had my "gas and air" cylinder. It didn't seem long for me to be seen and assessed by a physio who confirmed a torn muscle rather than the dreaded achilles. I was given an explanation of what was wrong and what I needed to do and luckily they had a leaflet as the "gas and air" and tramadol were making concentration difficult. A nurse helped me fit for crutches and even tied my shoe lace for me before I was given a packet of dihydrocodiene pain killers and discharged with an open appointment for physiotherapy at the City hospital clinic. Sonia had made it down from her job at Kings Mill hospital and picked me up in her Smart car. I spent the next couple of days with my leg up, applying ice packs, taking pain killers and watching the Olympics, and thanking the guys from work who drove my car home.

The drive over to Norfolk for Mum's birthday meal on Saturday was in the Smart car as Sonia had to drive, which meant I could enjoy the view as we crossed the fens. The leg is getting better and I was able to drive to work on Monday and Tuesday but have spent the last 2 days working from home on reports etc as it's less hassle and I can sit around in my shorts, but I'll probably be have to go in tomorrow to do some printing...