Afflicted...

A big day today as I venture out on my own for the first time in almost nine weeks. I have an appointment at 8:50 for physio on the ankle...

So Anne drives me to the bus stop and I get a day ticket and the No 1 bus takes me to within 50 yards of the clinic and I arrive right on time...

This is the buzz...

My feet are different colours from each other. This is because the circulation in my left foot is not working properly. This is why my ankle is still so swollen...

As a result of this failure in circulation, the fluids which normally go into the ankle and foot and come back out again are going in and staying there. They then become scar tissue on the muscles inside the foot and ankle and cause them to seize up. And that's the current situation...

So I need to really exercise the ankle and foot as much as possible to try and get rid of the scar tissue on the muscles and free my leg up again otherwise I will be sort of disabled...

Youch

So I have another appointment for tomorrow...

I take another bus down to Princes St and hobble to Fopp. I didn't realise what a struggle it would be to try and walk any appreciable distance but a struggle it certainly is - but it's good to be outside...

And so my first time in Fopp for nine weeks. So what did I buy? Nothing...

Leaving Fopp, I buy a sandwich for lunch and go to Princes St Gardens for a seat. I take a couple of snaps. Here are the Castle and the Walter Scott monument (aka Thunderbird 3)...

And a lovely sky...





I get another bus along to the West End of Princes St and HMV - I have a £10 token and am itching to spend it...

I buy a 7CD Box Set of Vivaldi played by Neville Marriner and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. I am wary of this but upon getting home I checked all my previous Vivaldi purchases and find that of the 48 Pieces included, there are 31 which I don't already have - and can you have too many versions of "The Four Seasons" (I think this is my fifth) or "L'estro Armonico"?

For just a further £3 on top of my token, I obtain a 3CD set of French Chamber music along with the Vivaldi set. This includes nine works by Faure, Franck, Debussy and Ravel, none of which I have already - and very fine music it is too. Favourite so far is Franck's "Violin Sonata in A"...

And then I get sucked in and spend a bit more on three more CDs - Suzanne Vega's "Retrospective" a 2CD set with the second disc being live performances and a new demo (well new in 2003 anyway). I have all Ms Vega's albums already but these tracks are remastered and sound crystal clear....

Second is "The Best of Jeff Beck" - of course it's the best from 1967-1969 mostly featuring Rod Stewart on vocals. I bought this for the three tracks which were on one of my first ever singles back at the end of 1972 - "Hi Ho Silver Lining" backed with "Beck's Bolero" (actually written by Jimmy Page and featuring Keith Moon on drums) and "I've Been Drinking"....

"Beck's Bolero" was one of my favourite tracks back in 1973 when I first started making up my own charts - don't tell me you never made up your own charts when you were young??

And last CD of the day is the 1st volume of Saint-Georges' Violin Concertos on Naxos. A great disc - I bought Vol 2 back in June and of course we heard one of his symphonies last Thursday at the SCO concert...

Before coming home I buy a present for Anne's birthday on Sunday...

Back home, I exercise the ankle as best I can...

In the evening, Anne makes a spectacular Spaghetti Bolognese and I write up the diary whilst listening to Faure, Franck and Vega and then get some more exercise in on the leg...

Highlight of the Day : Walking (after a fashion) in Edinburgh Again