York Again, three

Oct 11th

My back was improving all the time but was still very painful if I moved the wrong way and the main trouble was, I didn't know what was going to be the wrong way, until it hurt.

Again it was after lunch before we headed off into town, and with improvement in my back we had a longer walk. Dot looked in quite a few shops while I sat outside, this way I got to rest my back and we could go further. We walked right through the centre, out via Bootham Bar and along the outer walls of the old St Mary's Abbey site. We followed the walls round to the river, then through the Yorkshire Museum Gardens (the grounds of the old St Mary's Abbey), where we has a sit in the sun.

  

That didn't last long as it looked like it was going to rain, so we headed for cover in the pub, where we had a good drink with good company.

Next morning as were getting ready to leave and feeling better than I had for four days, I leaned forward and did whatever it was to my back again. The pain was incredible (I do not take pain well) and I only just managed to drive the van home. I have done next to nothing for the two weeks since then. Even typing has been hard, today though I am totally without pain in my back.

York Again, two

Oct 10th

My back was still hurting but not quite as bad, that is as long as I didn't try to move too fast or bend over and I was taking a lot of painkillers.

The weather was poor so we left it until well into the afternoon when the rain stopped, before we set off to walk into town. I managed about an hour walking but that was long enough for the day. I took some photos in the Shambles while Dot bought an ice cream, then it was back to the Kings for a sit down, I must have been feeling better, as we had more than one beer this time.

Every time we walk back to the van in the dark, I stand on Skeldergate bridge, look at the river and think, that looks like it would make a good photo. What a waste of time, I have never taken a good photo from there, I think it's a combination of a poor camera and drink, but I try.

I managed to get into the proper bed tonight and it was a lot better than the night before, although I still didn't get a good nights sleep.

York Again

Oct 9th

The afternoon before our trip to York, I did something painful to my back and could hardly move, On the day we were due to go, I phoned the site and said we might not be able to get there, the warden said if I was not going to come, that we should phone about 17:00, to let them now for sure.

Well I wanted to go, so with me full of pain killers we set off, the pain wasn't too bad on the drive down. As we arrived later than usual, all of the pitches on the main site had gone and we had to pitch in the overflow riverside section. We had never been in this section before and had never wanted to, it always looked so dark and dingy, anyway we thought we could always move in the morning.

I had always thought there was no satellite resection in the riverside but there was a guy setting one up as the parked, I asked if he had a signal and he did. I did have to move to another pitch as the one we chose originally, didn't have line of sight to the satellite. In the end it is quite nice and very quiet in there.

Dot did all of the work getting set up and I had to move very gingerly but managed to get the satellite and TV working. After a sandwich, we set off into town, it was very slow going and it tool quite a long time to get to the Kings Arms, that was as far as I was wiling to go. We got a beer in the Kings but I felt a bit sick and generally unwell (probably caused by the constant dull pain in my back), we left after just one to walk back to the van.

A note on the Kings Arms, it is probably one of the friendliest pubs in the world and even though we only visit York four or five time per year, as we entered the pub the landlord greeted us with "hello strangers long time no see". The Beer is also very good and very cheap.

On the walk back, I got my second wind and we popped into the Postern Gate, a Wetherspoons pub. I did know that a beer festival was on there and had been looking forward to a few new beers in there during our stay. Well I was very disappointed with the selection, during the festival you can get three 1/3 samples for the price of one pint but they didn't have three beers worth sampling. They had two stouts, two ciders, two Scottish beers and two beers they always have on. Anyway I got it wrong and ordered a cider (Dot drank most of it), then got a Belhaven, St Andrews Ale, before leaving unhappy and didn't return for the rest of the trip.
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Back at the van, even though we had the evening meal prepared, neither of us felt like eating a big meal, so we had cheese and biscuits instead and saved it for tomorrow.

There was no way I could get up into the over-cab bed, so I slept down on the single bed, I say slept but the pain kept me awake for most of the night.