Lathany

I've just returned from my third stabbing. Tomorrow I'll find out whether there will be side effects and what flavour.

I collected Bea on Friday. The drive to and from Nottingham included two accidents and various tailbacks. I was shattered by the end, but pleased to have her home. It then took me the weekend to recover, not helped by a bout of insomnia.

Today, the ducks were back.

Today, rather later than usual, I put up the tree. The last few years I've added a new decoration or two each time. However, my favourites are still the polar bears.

We didn't have a free day at the weekend, so we're later with the tree this year than usual. It'll probably be Saturday now. I think the majority of other houses have theirs up based on the lights, although I've yet to have an evening walk this week.

Today was Knights Errant (season 2, session 3). We've found what we hoped was ground zero of the demon infestation and, sadly, it seems it probably wasn't. Although it was at least interesting (a little copse of demons sleeping around a black skull). And now I have a tactic named after my character - standing well back when someone is about to do something risky is called doing a Viktoria.

I'll write about my team Xmas do tomorrow. Probably. But I can confirm that the recommended book did go down very well in Secret Santa (Go The F**k To Sleep).

I travelled up to Nottingham on Friday in order to spend Saturday afternoon with Bea. (She was otherwise working.)



It was a good visit - cold but lovely. We spent Saturday at the Justice Museum and the City Caves. It meant I was there this morning to wish her a Happy Birthday before returning home.

Yesterday morning I woke up in a lot of pain. My waist hurt, my bottom hurt and all the way down my right leg hurt. Moving hurt. Not moving was sort of OK (although coughing wasn't) until I moved and then it *really* hurt. At first I thought it was something to do with the flu jab. Instead, the symptoms are a direct match for sciatica.

This turns out to be the only illness I've come across where the way to deal with the symptoms is to move around constantly. I was on my feet for much of the day. My usual past time of gaming wasn't really an option. And I did a lot of stand-up reading.

I was dreading sleeping, but the advice about propping myself with a cushion helped. And today it's all easier. I'm not sure about work next week, but I'll take that a day at a time.

I went to the Final Fantasy concert in the Royal Albert Hall last night with the usual suspects (Chris V, Krys, Martin, Chris F). Sunday night is where it landed after rescheduling. One surprising thing - it's the first time I've seen a longer queue for the men's toilets than the women's (they've restructured).



The concert itself was excellent. It was the FFVII relaunch event and, much to my surprise, was actually entirely FFVII music (in the past, even when a concert has been marked as an anniversary of a specific game, the second half has generally been a mixture across the series). I loved this as it's my favourite game and my favourite music. One small disappointment - the screen was partially blocked by what I assume is covid-related air circulators above the orchestra (you can see them in the photo).

I can't remember everything that they played but it was almost all from the first Midgar section as that's where the relaunch game is set. I particularly liked the fight music, the main theme and the trains graveyard. I was disappointed with the remake of the Turks theme though - it was nothing like the original and I'm fond of the original. And, of course, they finished on One Winged Angel, after trolling the audience with Aerith's/Aeris' theme (well, for delighted versions of trolling).

I left promptly for my train and it was still horrific. I eventually got home at a quarter to midnight.