Another week - another adventure.
This one was a double/triple adventure, which in all honesty are the best kind.
On the Friday morning I woke up at 2am to get ready to leave at 2.45am for Gatwick airport.
(*Reader, I have decided that I’m too old for this kind of experience, so in future I will be booking an extra night in a hotel in Athens for my meeting there. I’ll leave at a very reasonable time the day before, and just relax or explore the city until the meeting time.
I have booked an early flight for the EAES conference in Serbia next month, but that’s my last early start. I feel I visibly aged after that 2am-er 😂).
This adventure starts in Athens, where I attended a meeting with EAES, as a member of the Guideline Committee.
My role is a Patient Partner of many and various projects, but also part of my role is to find and bring on board other Patient Partners with the relevant experience of the chosen project.
I can’t recommend getting involved with patient involvement/partnering or advocacy enough.
It has been a great source of comfort and pride to use a bad experience for the greater good of future patients. It’s incredibly important and more than anything it’s incredibly rewarding.
I always say, I had cancer, it didn’t have me. I refuse to be held back because of it.
Who knows what my life would be like now if it had never happened. But what I do know is I have felt empowered and emboldened by using such a traumatic experience to help others.
We had a triple whammy of cancer diagnosis’s in our family.
My son, Sam was diagnosed with stage 3 Nasopharyngeal cancer when he was 13, in 2009.
I was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer six months after he was diagnosed, in 2010.
And my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years after that.
It was all awful, traumatic and devastating. There is no getting away from that, but being able to use the patient perspective to aid and shape future decisions of guidelines for other people is very helpful for me to recover and regain my control.
We can’t control what happens to us necessarily, but we can control how we choose to let it affect us. And I refuse to be beaten down by our experience, or feel like my life now is ruined, because, as you can see it’s most definitely not.
I love life and I live it very well. I live it boldly and brightly in Technicolor!
I assumed that after my stoma surgery I would fade away, living a life in the shade, hiding away from the world. I actually really thought that, which is such a wild thing to think now.
Who the fuck did I think I was going to become? The beast from Beauty and the Beast or something? Door locked, curtains closed? Hiding away from life itself?
Hand on heart that is what I expected. But life has a funny way of surprising you. I live a bolder life now than I did during the misdiagnosed years.
I hadn’t noticed how small my world had become, I hadn’t noticed the days out I’d missed with my children because I was too fearful to be too far away from a toilet.
That sort of shrinking world creeps up on you. You don’t notice the changes you make to cope with the socially unacceptable bodily changes of bowel function issues.
For years I couldn’t go far because I was incredibly symptomatic of cancer, but had no idea that it was actually cancer, because I’d been misinformed that I had IBS and piles. I didn’t and I don’t.
So now I can leave the house - I do!
As I was wheeled down to my AP resection and oophrectomy surgery I was crying my eyes out, mourning the loss of the good life I thought I had been living.
I came round from surgery, looked down at my newly formed stoma and thought “Oh! Is that it! Oh no problem!! I can do this!”
And that’s how I continued to this day.
Six months after I came out of hospital I was laying on a beach in Cuba sipping mojitos!
Adapt and overcome. 🥰
And part of that has been getting involved with many different aspects of Patient Involvement.
Just over 3 years ago I was contacted by a man on twitter, who invited me to an online meeting for a guideline group.
I had no idea who he was or what it was, and I said “yes! I’d love to!”.
(One of these days I will get kidnapped, because I didn’t think to check out any of the chap’s credentials. Thankfully for me though he is a very legit and prestigious surgeon in Greece).
I attended a zoom meeting, and at the end of it the doctor hosting it asked everyone to book their flights for the in-person meeting in Athens. I assumed this wasn’t aimed at me, but I asked if it was. And he said yes of course you too, you’re part of this project…
So I did, and I attended my first Guideline meeting in Athens in —— and since then I’ve attended quite a few more, and to my great delight and honour last year I was invited to apply for a position to become a permanent member of the committee as the Patient Representative ~ and Recruiter.
I will be working on two new projects next year so please keep an eye out for information about them. We want Patient Representation from people all across Europe, who have had experience of the subject matter.
This project was about management of gall bladder issues. Not a subject I have experienced, but I put a call out on my social media and a lady I didn’t know at all contacted me about coming along.
A friend had told her about my post.
I appreciate it’s such a daunting task to come and sit in a room of titans of surgery and research. It could feel overwhelming and intimidating.
But actually, everyone I’ve ever met at the meetings are the most welcoming, humble and respectful people.
Often surgeons on tv and film are portrayed as arrogant, god complex types, yet nothing could be further from my experience.
They are incredibly passionate about giving their patients the best treatment possible. And they are open to listening to former patients and their perspectives.
It’s been so special for me to be a part of such important conversations.
When life gives you lemons…make lemonade. 🥰
These people are incredible and for me it’s an absolute honour to be a small part of this community.
I met Karolina at the airport, we made our introductions and got chatting, so much so I actually forget to check the board for our flight, so that was a great start. 😂
Top from Ralph Lauren, Trousers from M&S, Shoes and Belt from Hermes, Hat from Lock & Co
We made it to the plane, and to Athens.
We had plenty of time before the planned evening event, so I was able to show Karolina around the city. I feel very comfortable here as I have been so many times. Plus I’m learning Greek, so I feel far more at home and confident walking around.
I took Karolina to my favourite place in Plaka and we enjoyed the glorious sunshine.
For the flight I dressed in comfy clothes.
For the evenings out I took some dressier clothing. There’s no need to get very dolled up, but for me I’m far more confident to go out for meals in dresses.
If I’m eating, then my bag is filling. So I need room to allow that to flow freely.
Dress from Jigsaw, Shoes from Hermes
We have a pre meeting meal and get together on the Friday night, so all the panel members can get to know each other. The meeting takes place on the Saturday morning - until Saturday evening.
With a break for the cultural sightseeing trip and lunch.
It’s an incredibly taxing day, I’m not terribly naturally bright, so it takes a whole lot of brain power for me to keep up.
But this meeting was made so much more interesting and easier, as Professor Guyatt showed everyone his workings out on a white board.
Both Karolina and I were talking about it later, about how beneficial seeing it written down was for us, the layperson.
Dress from M&S, Shoes from Hermes
After an extensive and exhausting day it’s time for the post meeting meal and our goodbyes.
It was such an interesting project, I find it endlessly fascinating and enjoyable. I’m so glad Karolina was on hand to give her feedback. It’s an intense experience but one I hope she enjoyed as much as I do.
Dress from Ralph Lauren, Shoes from Gucci, Bag from Jimmy Choo.
After breakfast on the Sunday it was time for me to head to the airport and fly to Corfu, to meet up with Chris who was flying in from London.
An adventure within an adventure.
A testimonial from Karolina, I am so pleased she enjoyed her time with us and more importantly felt proud to have contributed.
Top from Zara, Trousers from M&S, Shoes from Hermes.
Back where I belong, with him. 💙🤍…in Greece. 🇬🇷
Chris and I are huge fans of The Durrells, the TV series with Keeley Hawes, plus we have read Gerald Durrells books as well.
Which bring to life the beauty, wonder and magic of Corfu and the Greek people.
(It’s our go to on a rainy day, it’s a comfort blanket and a hug.
We’ll either put The Durrells on or the The best exotic Marigold Hotel movies to anchor us back to our favourite places in the world).
Chris and I kept talking about the Durrell’s, in fact so much so that most things and places in Corfu are now described as Thoroughly Durrelly. :)
We had a week booked at a villa in Kerasia, but we booked ourselves into a b&b for a few nights up the coast in the village of Kalami, which is where Lawrence Durrell and his wife moved to, before sending word to his family to come over too. (The TV series played their artistic license card to the max on this series as it’s not very accurate to the books).
Anyway, the house Larry lived in in real life is now a restaurant called The White House.
Chris surprised me with two bookings there. It was absolute heaven.
The food was amazing! I’d definitely recommend.
And the b&b rental in Kalami was so beautiful, in the most perfect location, beautifully decorated, it felt like they valued their guests and wanted them to have an aesthetically pleasing environment, it was wonderful.
They were fabulous hosts too and couldn’t do enough for us. I would recommend the Nena Suites in Kalami for a short break.
Our little hide away perched on the hill overlooking the bay.
And The White House restaurant.
We did have some incredible hummus in the White House, and Taverna Galini, but struggled to find it in many other restaurants.
It was on the menu a few times but the waiter said they didn’t have any because “it wasn’t ready yet”. And I still don’t quite understand what that means.
I was convinced hummus was a Greek invention, I tend to think most things are. But Michael pointed out that it’s Middle Eastern, which I wasn’t aware of, but it definitely is.
I stand corrected, but it still doesn’t explain why it was on the menu but not available all week.
I made up for it by eating my body weight in tzatziki and pitta instead.
This was a mini holiday within part 2 of my adventures in Greece.
Flying into Corfu from Athens couldn’t be easier. It was a fabulous flight, it’s only an hour.
I got chatting to some really lovely interesting people at the airport, we added each other on instagram to keep in touch too. 🥰
And then it was on to the second part of our Corfu adventure, where we headed to the bay of Kerasia, to meet up with our friends for a week of Corfu curry club on tour fun.
The villa looked utterly sensational from the outside! Honestly, we really landed on our feet with the location and outside space.
(…the inside however was horrible. I was brought up that if I had nothing nice to say then don’t say anything at all. So I won’t slag it off as much as I’d like to. But if you’ve read my blogs you’ll know I am very visually stimulated, and my own house is beautifully decorated and curated. I very much enjoy that in places I stay too.
This was not that.
The owners are trading off their location and exterior, and have spent nothing in the last 40 years upgrading the inside, it hurt my eyes).
Slightly annoyingly the WiFi was down for the first 3 days, so we had to pop over to the taverna to do any communications with the outside world, not the worst problem to have but galling on top of everything else, there was absolutely no heating at all, and it was pretty chilly inside, the hot water was only hot if it was sunny previously and the shower head was angled towards the wall, so it didn’t get you wet unless you hand held it, and there weren’t enough coat hangers, but other than that - super! Hahaha
*The plus side; the outside is beautiful, and the location is incredible. But I think we’ll go back to the Ikos hotel chain that we know we very much enjoy, inside and out.
The villa had its own pool, beautiful garden and was 10 steps from the beach, and the one cafe and one tavern on the bay. It had its plus points.
People often ask me if swimming and water pursuits are possible with a stoma bag. The answer is very simple, yes! Absolutely if you want to.
There is nothing I can’t do because of it, and interestingly there are actually things I can do because of it though!
The reason I can travel around the world so freely and merrily is because my stoma bag has given me the confidence to do so.
Those pesky, travelling, upset tummies aren’t terribly troublesome for me as I’m bagged and good to go.
Bikini from Tesco
I collect bikinis, I feel very comfortable wearing them, even though I wear factor 50 and factor 30 sun protection all day every day, I still like the all over-ness that bikini tanning allows.
Bikini from Rigby and Peller.
Bikini from Sainsbury’s
Bikini from Hunza G
Bikini from Hunza G
The Taverna at Kerasia is fabulous! So so good, very simple, very reasonably priced.
The grilled prawns are out of this world. I double portioned them most days.
And their portokalopita is the best I’ve ever had, believe me, I have done extensive research. 😋
We love being on the island, it’s incredibly beautiful. It has a lot of similarities to England’s flora and fauna, it’s almost familiar although different.
There are so many beautiful costal paths to explore. It’s utterly delightful. I absolutely love it.
I had considered buying a property here at some stage, but having spoken to a few people locally it would appear to be a summer destination, with a lot of people heading elsewhere for winter.
Dress from Monsoon, Shoes from Hermes
Bikini from Tesco, beach cover up from Vilebrequin. Chris’s swim shorts also from Vilebrequin.
We’re just too cute with our matching beach wear. 🥰
I generally buy my beach clothes from supermarkets, they cater more for the naturally curvier gal, than the high end brands do.
High end brands only seem to cater for the ‘willowy no boob posh girl’ aesthetic, and that couldn’t be further from my body shape if I tried.
The only bikinis I find really comfy for my shape, other than supermarket ones, are the Hunza G bikinis, and only then from the Coverage range, designed to give a little bit more…well, coverage for the larger lady. It’s not just a clever name. 😂
*I was like an ironing board at school, then about 2 weeks after I left, at 16, I went through puberty (a very late bloomer) and my curves pretty much appeared overnight, it was a very confusing and disorienting time, and I’ve been trying to find clothes that compliment my fuller figure ever since.
Anywhere with him is home, and Corfu feels so homely. The food is delicious, Greek people are always so hospitable and have been helping me with my Greek language skills, and the scenery is incredible.
One of the waiters we got chatting to said he thought I was from Athens my Greek is so good…so as you can tell, they are super friendly, and super cheeky. My Greek is terrible, but as I only started learning 305 days ago I’m doing okay.
We flew here to celebrate our friend James’s birthday, and then the next day, my birthday.
I can’t think of many better places to celebrate a birthday. It’s glorious.
Same place - 3 years ago ⬆️
And this year ⬇️
Kerasia Tavern is a very good spot for a birthday. I have dreamt about coming back to this restaurant for 3 years. And it was definitely worth the wait.
Would definitely recommend a birthdays holiday, even if the sun failed to shine for a lot of it.
All dolled up for JB’s birthday night out in San Stefanos.
Top from Mango, Trousers from M&S, Shoes and Belt from Hermes.
We had a fab night out celebrating James’s birthday. (We went to Eucalyptus in San Stefanos, I would definitely recommend).
…And woke up the next day to mine…
The view was 10 out of 10!
Linen shirt and beach trousers from M&S Outlet, Bikini from Hunza G, Shoes from Hermes
The weather clouded over a bit so we decided to use the day to explore Old Corfu town, which is very quaint and beautiful.
It felt weird to be in real clothes again.
T shirt and Bag from Ralph Lauren, Jumper from Reiss, Jeans and Shoes from M&S
Food for thought 💭
I bought this dress years ago in Macy’s, in NYC. It wasn’t expensive, but I feel fabulous in it. I’ve worn it on my birthday holiday for the last 3 years, so I thought I’d wear it even though the weather wasn’t particularly warm that day.
Dress from Macy’s New York.
We had a fabulous meal in Eucalyptus again, and Catie and Michael bought me a birthday cake as a surprise, which was fabulous. I felt very spoilt and lucky. 😊
The next day cloud cover came and a raging storm moved in…
Top from M&S, Shorts from Ralph Lauren.
Thankfully I had thought to check the weather forecast before we came out. I was in Athens when I checked for the final time,I saw this blip coming so I got Chris to add rain coats to the suitcase.
Thank god! 😂
It was a bit of a challenge weather wise.
I dressed in shorts because it was raining so hard that clothes would be soaked instantly, and I can’t bear that feeling.
Leg skin dries quicker that trousers.
We headed to the cafe/bar at the beach outside our gate only to find they were closed due to a power cut.
We walked straight back in our villa to find that we also had a power cut but hadn’t noticed.
The power came back on a little while later so we retried the bar, and all met up for hot chocolates.
Then we all ran home and tried to warm up until it was time for lunch at the restaurant outside of our gate.
*Try being the operative word.
Surprisingly we had the beach to ourselves. 😂
…all back to the Taverna for lunch too.
In every life a little rain will fall. 😬😂
We came back to the villa after breakfast to warm up, only to realise there was nothing there to warm us, as we discovered there is absolutely no heating in the villa at all.
(In our house in Spain the air conditioning unit has a heating capacity, plus, we have heating in all the rooms, even though it’s in Spain and it’s usually hot, sometimes it isn’t and heat is required).
I rang the rep of the villa hire company to ask about how we can keep warm, and she said “well, no, there is no heating, that’s why we don’t rent it out in the winter”
“Errrrrr, lady, you have rented it out, it isn’t winter, and we are cold and wet!”
There was nothing that could be done.
Plus the living room ceiling sprang a leak so we had to find a bucket to catch the drips.
It felt like we were having the full on Durrells experience, we just needed our very own Spiro to help us!
…and no, we didn’t pay €5 to hire this particular place if you were wondering. 🫣😬😂
…Ikos hotel Odesia here we come!! 😂
We sat in our bed under blankets to warm up (there were no duvets).
I like an adventure sometimes, but I prefer to be warm having them. ;)
Chris put the oven on in an attempt to take the chill off. Hahaha. I thought I’d given up camping, but the dampness and cold had real camping qualities to it.
In keeping with that theme I dressed in some weird Cub Scout looking outfit.
I needed the warmth on my top half, but couldn’t face my trousers getting wet and sticking to me.
Top from Intimissimi, Shorts from Ralph Lauren, Shoes from M&S.
As with everything in life, I’ve very much learned how to adapt and overcome.
The storm raged on for the entire day and night, but the follow day was bright and beautiful so we decided to go for a walk on the coastal path.
We found ourselves in a stunning little bay, with the most delightful restaurant.
…behind the scenes…
The man, the myth, the legend and my personal photographer…I have a feeling he sometimes regrets offering to take my blog photos back when I started this. 😂
Beach cover up from Vilbrequin, Bikini from Hunza G
Sadly, the weather just wasn’t up to much, and I think Chris and I have come to the conclusion that May isn’t the best time to visit Corfu, if you are sun hunting.
It’s great for if you want a quiet break away, but the weather can be challenging.
Thankfully before he left the UK to fly to Corfu to meet me I got Chris to round up a few of my Intimissimi tops, so at least I could stay warm.
I slept in them too, as night time was very chilly.
Top from Intimissimi, Jeans from M&S
We had a fabulous meal in Kassiopi, a very quaint but lively place just up the coast to Kerasia.
The meal was huge, and delicious - a deadly combination for me as I have no off switch…Which does explain the 8lb weight gain 😬😂
Bikini from Tesco
Our last few days in the resort were a hurried mix of sunbathing when possible, and eating as many grilled prawns, and as much Portokalopita as possible.
I am a creature of habit.
We had our final night of the holiday meal in San Stefano, this time trying a different restaurant, Taverna Galini, and as it turns out, my favourite evening meal of the holiday!
It’s a gorgeous restaurant, fabulous atmosphere and great staff. We will be coming back here again in October.
Although we are booked into an all inclusive hotel for then, we’ll definitely be exploring the island and heading to some of our favourite spots too.
Top and Trousers from M&S, Vest top from Intimissimi, Shoes from Hermes, Bag from Jimmy Choo
Things I have learnt in the last 18 months of healthy eating;
Food is to be enjoyed ~ life is to be enjoyed, weight can be gained and lost. Don’t sweat the calories of a fabulous holiday, don’t miss out on delicious meals and fun.
Just enjoy yourself and then once you go home go back to the plan.
Chris and I are in such a great routine of non processed foods and good wholesome whole food it doesn’t feel like a chore.
Whatever plan you decide on for weight loss is what you will have to do forever.
It took me years to work that out. I used to think you go on a diet to lose weight and then go back to normal (eating rubbish) after.
That’s not how it works. I didn’t want a restrictive lifestyle so I didn’t want to go down the route of weight loss plans, I can’t bear the thought of nausea or sickness so I wouldn’t touch GLP1s (you have my admiration if you do them), and I most definitely don’t want to starve myself.
So we eat whole foods, made from scratch, lots of vegetables and fruits, and protein for muscle growth, but my main focus is fibre, and cancer prevention as much as possible.
We arrived back in the UK on Monday evening, we popped to the shops on the way home. Stocked up, and then headed home to collapse on the sofa.
Then Monday I took my new bike out for her maiden voyage. She arrived the night before I headed to Athens so I hadn’t had a chance to take her out.
She’s absolutely gorgeous and has a battery/motor, so I can feel confident I will make it home.
Sadly and tragically I am so feeble that the last time I went out on my old bike I fainted half way home and Chris had to come and get me (yes, I am aware at how utterly pathetic that is!).
Anyway, it gave me the ick about going out cycling. So I asked Chris for an electric bike for Christmas. We ordered this one in October last year and it finally arrive the week before last.
I’m so very happy with it. I rode the route I previously fainted on, just to prove that I can do it.
For the most part I don’t use the motor, I just save it for hills, which is what tired me out last time. It worked a treat.
I don’t really like aimless cycling, I really want a destination to aim for, so I decided to ride to my food bank shift.
It took me 26 minutes and was incredibly pleasant. I was a bit tired at my shift, but in a good way.
Then I cycled home in an even quicker time. It’s going to be a lot of fun knowing I can get about and about on her, and know I can get back home again too!
Top from Mango, Jeans from Tesco, Shoes from Dior
All finished off with my new basket for her. I’m going to get some paneers for shopping and I am good to go.
I’m going to buy some baguettes and veg so I look all French and chic…while I sweat profusely ~ scarlet faced 😂
Have a great rest of the week and a very happy long weekend. Xx