When Fiona phoned my Mum to see whether she was up for a visit or not today the Warden of the residential home my Mum is in said she had had a dizzy spell accompanied by headaches, had fallen over and needed checking at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton. So it was off to the Friarage we went, Fiona and I, to visit my Mum in casualty where thankfully she had nothing broken or any bruises but was just suffering from constant dizziness which was of concern enough to the Doctors to keep her in for this evening.

I really hate it when old people fall over because they seem to hurt themselves so much just doing this in a house for goodness sake. Fiona falls over in the hills but even when it is on rocky scree it is always where it is very steep so she falls into it often a fall of only about half a metre whereas if she fell on horizontal ground onto rock from one and a half metres up say, she would really hurt herself. Old folk do that all the time God bless them.

I asked my Mum if she wanted me to sing to cheer up which got a big laugh, broke the rather dire mood and then we had a lot of other laughs but always snapped back to the reality of their might be something serious going on with my Mum's health. Family is a worry sometimes but I am sure she will be all right she has had odd things before and is a natural survivor with a very rude health and only stopped walking in the Howgills and the Lake District a few years ago just past the age of 70 and only because her feet packed up. The rest of her is doing pretty well. Except for the dizziness and headaches. She will be fine!

Family always successfully punctures the bubble of my overexcited feelings and elation that I quite often get and I like that. Besides there is no getting away from duty and dire things so you may as well try to make the best of them!