What, no medical stuff (well, not much)?

There’s only one place to start this week’s blog. By way of a change, that’s not some mundane Leeds hospital – it’s Adelaide.

I should point out early on that this is not just gloating to rub in England’s victory in the Second test early this morning at the expense of the Aussies – both resident and exiled – that I know follow this blog. No, there’s a number of ways in which Adelaide and the storming performance from Andrew Strauss’s side offer links to various memories.

5 and a half years ago, Adelaide was the last stop on my big Australian trip. Memories of happily sinking bottle after bottle of the locally brewed Coopers Pale Ale – undoubtedly Australia’s best beer, and no doubt sunk in quantity by the Barmy Army over the last 24 hours - in a backpackers bar seem two minutes ago at times, yet a lifetime away at others. I’m sure it’s going to be a bit of a challenge to visit similar places and do similar things again – maybe with a beer or two less this time – but it’s something to aim for…

It’s not long since such a performance on such a stage must have seemed a world away for Graeme Swann. A revelation in the England side, Swann has now given me a Sports Personality of the Year voting dilemma – there’s somebody other than Mark Cavendish worth voting for! The Adelaide test must make the spin bowler overall favourite now though.

Over the last week then, thankfully the focus for a change has been on enjoying myself rather than medical developments. For the first time in ages I’ve been able to catch up with mates somewhere other than in my mum & dad’s front room. That even included a Friday night – gasp – with my mates in a pub! OK, so it was only Beck’s and not Cooper’s I was drinking – this was Armley not Adelaide – and it may have been the same bottle that I was cuddling all night, but a start’s a start!

Later on this week, it will be back to reality as I expect to find out in more detail what form my chemo will take, when it will start, and how long this next course will last. Reading through some of the background information, it’s quite sobering to realise that one of the forms of treatment I may be offered is one which some people have to fight to get. I guess that’s just the harsh reality of the developments that are being made in these areas all the time, and at some point in the future I might be having a sail on the same boat.

Still, while I can I’m going to continue to make the most of being able to do things that were beyond me a few weeks ago – stopping up to watch the cricket til the early hours out of choice rather than an inability to sleep, going out for a full English and then admiring the views in the snow around Leeds.