Wow – just spent a Wednesday afternoon doing something new, as opposed to my regular stroke drop-in. I went into Salisbury, to the Playhouse, where I met up with a bunch of survivors over a nice cup of coffee. I was told about this ages ago, but as it clashed with my hospital visit, just let it slide. However I really wanted to get my arse into gear and get along.

In the event it was lovely. Most of the people there are survivors, most if not all more distant than me, so hopefully there are things I can learn from them. It is funny that you put all of us together, we all suffer from some stuff but not others, and you end up feeling lucky for yourself. It is perverse. I did say to them that I’d never be able to remember their names, as I had always been terrible at this, though at least I now had an excuse! In truth, that line is one of my stock attempts at a humourous ice-breaker.

But it is nice to meet people who’ve been through the experience, as one can leave so much unsaid. And especially with something medical such as a stroke – you inevitably meet a lot of people, and conversations tend to be quite narrow. In fact, I’d far sooner talk politics or current affairs, or road cycling even, a zillion things, than about my health, although I have a capacity for both. And when we do talk about the medical side of things, we start from a common hymn-sheet. It was interesting to see that other people had had similar quite poor experiences with the medical profession, although we didn’t really get too deep.

So they meet every fortnight, and I must attempt to go again. It sounds quite mercenary, but there are things I can learn from people there in order to improve myself. And hopefully, something I can contribute.