Iona went in to see Isobel this afternoon and reported her as being well.

I did not go in until much later than usual as I was having some breathing difficulties as a result of the dust during work in the living room. I found Isobel already prepared for bed and almost ready to have her last tablets at a quarter to nine. As I came into the building one of the staff mentioned that she had been with Isobel a couple of minutes earlier and that she was half asleep. She was on her side as if sleeping but was at once fully awake and cheerful. Her speech was as good as it has been for months and we had a good chat with very few of the usual misunderstandings. I had spoken to Jane on the 'phone earlier. Jane is planning a visit for Tuesday morning and mentioned how fluent Isobel's conversation had been at the time of her previous visit, I said that I was somewhat concerned over the difficulty in conversation in the past few days, it cheered me up a lot to find her so much better tonight. Despite the lateness of the hour there was no trace of tiredness. I was able to show Isobel a picture of the state of chaos to which I have reduced the living room, she seemed unconcerned - if she had been in the house it would I am sure have been a source of worry to her.

It is Isobel's birthday on Wednesday. I must admit that last year we never expected her to be alive for her fifty seventh birthday. We have abandoned ideas for taking her out of the centre as it seems certain that the disturbance would outweigh any pleasure Isobel would get. I discussed this with her this evening and she confirmed she did not want anything done that involved moving her. I think the children will organise a low intensity pizza party in the room. It is really difficult to arrange anything for Isobel that will add to her quality of life. I went home at a quarter past nine.

I went in to see Isobel just after 5pm. I found Isobel had eaten her way through the box of chocolates Dallas and Mike had brought yesterday. Isobel had chicken and vegetables for lunch; but although she said she had just had her tea she could not remember what it had been. I thought I had arrived so late that I had missed Isobel's tea - although some patients eat in one of the communal rooms, because of the need to feed some patients in their rooms mealtimes tend to be long drawn out affairs but Isobel's weekday tea is usually at 5pm. The mystery was solved when tea arrived at ten to six! Isobel had cheese omelette followed by trifle. I looked at Isobels food intake record and she is still eating everything placed in front of her.

Isobel was relaxed and cheerful. Her speech was however again very difficult to follow, this has happened several days this week, although it does vary from day to day and within the same day. What has been unusual this week is that difficult to follow speech has not been associated with tiredness. While we chatted we finished off another box of chocolates that had just a few sweets left in it. Isobel seemed to have a little more difficulty than usual handling the sweets. Unwrapping them was sometimes too difficult for her and placing them into her mouth required concentration and effort. I stayed until a quarter past seven. It has rained on and off all weekend, although nothing like as heavily as last week. The land is saturated however and the flooding on the road home was worse than last week.

A very brief report today, as it is the early hours of the morning and I have just finished wrestling with glued together ceiling paper and wallpaper in the living room.

Iona and Jon called round early in the morning, Jon had left his car here last night when he went out drinking in Bexleyheath and Iona had brought him over to collect it before he went to footnall and she went in to the nursery for their open day.

I went in to see Isobel at mid-day today and found her in an odd mood. She had just finished dinner. She seemed worried about something but could not explain what. Her speech was much more difficult to interpret than usual. After a while she seemed content just to sit up silently in bed, very unusual. She cheered up a bit when I got out Zoe's box and she ate some almond biscuits. I left just after 2pm, she had a few chocolates before I left and seemed more relaxed but we never got to the bottom of what had disturbed her in the first place.

Dallas and Mike went in to see Isobel in the early evening. They briefly dropped in here on the way home and reported her as happier. Iona had said she was going to see her mother after the open day, but I have not heard from her yet.

Held up by rush hour traffic I did not arrive until after 5pm and Isobel had just begun to be fed her tea. I took over and she ate mushroom omelette (ugh!) followed by arctic roll. When she had finished this (in other words, about two minutes later) she had tomato soup which had been too hot to start with. As usual, tea was accompanied by a mug of tea, today Isobel had half a mug of Ribena straight after.

Isobel was again relaxed and cheerful. Her speech was however very muddled and almost every conversation needed a lot of discussion to tease out the meaning. The zygocactus still looks splendid and attracts admiring comments, but the first few flowers are starting to fade and if it behaves the way it did last year it will have finished sometime in the middle of next week. At the moment it is repaying the care lavished on it during the past year.

Isobel tried the Breton biscuits in Zoë's box and enjoyed them. She also had a few chocolates. Despite the difficulty with speech she was very chatty. As I was preparing to leave, Louisa, Teri and Sue (? or was it Toni?) arrived. Louisa was able to clear up the mystery of yesterday's visitor, it had been Chris Richmond, her old head teacher from Hook Lane School. It is a little worrying that Isobel had not been able to describe her more accurately. I left Isobel with the three girls just after seven o'clock.

Isobel had an unidentified visitor in the middle of the day. They did not sign in or out but left a box of Roses chocolates. Isobel could not remember the name but they were female and may, or may not, have been a teacher. I did not check the wallpaper for comments as we had the main room light off most of the time.

I arrived to see Isobel at 5pm. I fed her tea consisting of tomato soup, corned beef salad and ice cream with pears, with as usual a mug of tea. I gave Isobel an update on her old school friend Gaynor's illness. Isobel was again cheerful and relaxed but not quite so good as yesterday. Her speech in particular was worse. She had not been out of bed all day, although when I arrived she was lying on the bed fully dressed. Between us we ate a considerable number of the Roses chocolates, as I realised I had skipped lunch. I stayed until twenty to seven and left Isobel watching television.

Rosemary went in to see Isobel for an hour in the middle of the day. She reported that she thought Isobel was better than at the time of her last visit a couple of weeks ago. In particular it was easier to carry on a conversation, although there were still a few difficulties. Rosemary left a banana as Isobel said she fancied it but not at that time.

I went in at a quarter to five and was very pleased to find Isobel relaxed and cheerful, a great contrast to the previous day. I fed Isobel her tea. This consisted of vegetable soup, beans on toast and raspberry mousse, washed down by a mug of tea. We chatted for a while, Isobel's conversation was pretty good and she understood most of what was said to her and constructed sensible replies. She had some of the chocolates Zoë had sent - she gave me one to try, it was unbelievably sweet but that is what Isobel likes now. While Isobel was being changed I noticed an out of date fire extinguisher and will check the rest if I have time on my next visit. I went home just after seven, Isobel was still relaxed and cheerful when I left and her speech did not show any deterioration from tiredness. This visit cheered me up a great deal.

Keith and Liz went in to see Isobel at twenty to five. She was not her usual placid self as she was rather put out by the staff using a different kind of incontinence pad, instead of pants. Keith and Liz agree with the majority view on the wallpapers. I arrived just after five and they left at about a quarter past when Isobel's tea arrived.

I fed Isobel her tea of egg and chips, followed by peach flan, washed down with a mug of tea. She became disgruntled again soon after, and there was a fair bit of shouting and swearing. Since she started using risperidone there has been very little shouting and virtually no swearing. She calmed down again when finishing a packet of shortbread biscuits. About half an hour afterwards she became distraught again and there was another couple of minutes shouting and swearing, she was deflected from this by finishing off a couple of bakewell slices. After she was settled I confirmed with the staff that the pad/pants would be back to the previous ones at the next change. I went home just after seven, this is the unhappiest I have seen Isobel in the centre, hopefully normal service will be resumed tomorrow.

I went in to see Isobel at 5pm. Tea arrived soon afterwards - ham and tomato sandwiches followed by a very large helping of jelly and cream. As usual this was eaten rapidly, washed down by a mug of fruit juice. Isobel also had some shortbread biscuits shortly after.

We spent an hour or so tidying up various bits of paperwork, Isobel signed her admission form with her best signature for months but then struggled to sign another item. She has to put in such an effort to concentrate on one signature, so in future I won't ask her to do two at a time. I had remembered to bring in a bottle of Ribena, also a bottle of orange squash. I gave the nurse Isobel's NHS exemption number - it had only just occurred to me that they might need it, while they had forgotten for several days to ask me for it.

Isobel then finished off a half eaten box of chocolate truffles amazingly fast. Although she often has a box of biscuits or sweets on the table by her bed, as far as I can tell she hardly touches them unless she has visitors. We sat and chatted for twenty minutes before I went home at a quarter past seven. Isobel was fairly good during this visit; although her speech became a little worse towards the end of the visit, her general demeanor was cheerful.

Helena, who had met Isobel when they shared a room in Kings College Hospital at the time that Isobel had her operation in January 2008, went in at lunchtime with her mother to see Isobel. When they met in Kings College Hospital we found out that in an odd double co-incidence, I had taught Helena's sister at Dartford Tech and also both Isobel and I had both worked with Mark Armstrong who collaborates with Helena's father on astronomical research. Helena thought that Isobel's symptoms had not changed a lot since she last saw her. I am not sure when this was, maybe six to eight weeks ago. She did of course have some difficulty understanding what Isobel was talking about for some of the time. Helena brought some profiteroles, no doubt remembering the "cream bun diet" we used to joke that Isobel was on in 2008 when she had lost so much weight.

Helena and her mother joined the overwhelming majority in the vote for the new living room wallpaper - either it is a more obvious choice than I had thought or everyone will love it when the renovations are complete. This weekend the living room has stood empty, all twenty seven and a half feet of it, apart from a filing cabinet and the piano. Paper stripping should start on Tuesday morning.

I went in to visit Isobel in the afternoon. At first she was rather irritable, and we had a conversation at cross purposes about why I had not found out what was in Nigel's shop. Obviously Isobel was not talking about Nigel (who does not have a shop) but I could not make out what she was trying to discuss, which just annoyed her more. It is often impossible to resolve these misunderstandings; Isobel knows what she wants to say but different words come out of her mouth. Eventually we just settled for eating the profiteroles, which was much more fun. I was keen to see these consumed before I left as they were very generously covered in chocolate and would have been impossible for Isobel to eat herself without making a huge mess. I watered the various plants, but had forgotten to bring in another bottle of squash, Isobel has enough for about three drinks left. Tea was rather later than usual but I stayed to help Isobel eat it even though I had arranged for Iona and Jon to come round for a curry. For tea Isobel had tuna, lettuce, coleslaw, tomato, beetroot and cucumber; the last time I fed her this I made a mess over her clothes and on the bed, but this time passed off smoothly. For desert she had pear flan with cream and ice cream. After giving Isobel a mug of tea I went home at twenty past five.

I went in to see Isobel at 1pm. She was relaxed and alert. I brought in the zygocactus her mother had given her last year which after a summer spent hanging up in our hornbeam tree and an autumn spent dry in the greenhouse, had come back into flower. Last year it looked magnificent but the flowers did not last, it looks even better this year. A few minutes later Iona arrived.

Isobel had already had her lunch so we sat around talking. Isobel was much calmer than yesterday. I left just before 2pm in order to watch the rugby internationals. Iona stayed until after 3pm. Iona said that later on Isobel's speech became more confused. At one time she fell asleep for short time holding Iona's hand. I had been slightly worried about Isobel yesterday, it was a relief to see her so much better today.

During the early afternoon Isobel was visited by Pat Ball (Chris's mum) and Ursula who stayed for almost two hours. Isobel said she had enjoyed their visit but could not give more details and I have not spoken to Pat or Ursula yet.

I arrived at just before five, bringing Isobels new shower gels. I found her room filled by Louisa, Teri, Toni, Pam and Sue; they had arrived a few minutes earlier. I gave Louisa a bag of Hook Lane books I had found to take back to school. They left after half an hours lively chat.

Isobel was already tired by the time the girls left. Soon afterwards Isobel's tea of two rounds of cheese and ham sandwiches followed by arctic roll arrived. Isobel likes to sometimes have sandwiches or pizza as she can feed herself these. On this occasion it did not work like this as in the couple of seconds it took me to put away some boxes of chocolates I had taken off the table in order to make room for her meal, she had picked up the arctic roll in her fingers and dropped some of it on her clothes. Once she was cleaned up she dispatched the meal in two or three minutes as usual, washed down with a mug of tea. Meals never take very long. We watched a couple of quiz programmes on television. After these Isobel did not feel like talking and seemed to find it difficult to get herself comfortable. I left soon after 7pm when I think she was settling down to sleep. Perhaps it was because of the multitude of visitors today, but she certainly seemed less relaxed than other days this week.

I was up bright and early this morning preparing for the collection of nursing aids by the council. When they had removed the hospital bed, shower stool, perching stool, commode, differential friction sheet, two raised toilet seats, toilet surround frame and a large thick rubber cushion the living room was almost empty. It is disappointing that several of these items were hardly used (or in the case of the shower stool never used) by Isobel, but others had proved invaluable. Removing the wall unit near the living room door has revealed a pattern of small tears in the wallpaper that suggests the horrible possibility that instead of removing the door from the door opening when the second door to the living room was closed off sometime in the 1950s or 1960s it was left with just a thin skim of plaster over it on the inside, with wall paper on top. It always has made a distinctly hollow sound when tapped: oh well, all will be revealed when the wall paper is removed.

I went in to see Isobel at a quarter past four. She has been in the bed all day and had resisted efforts to encourage her to use Doug's old chair. Isobel's mother said later tonight that the chair had belonged originally to Doug's grandmother and was at least a hundred years old. For tea Isobel had a very large omelette that looked and smelled delicious; followed by fruit salad and ice cream. Isobel was alert and able to join in sensible discussions about a couple of quiz programmes on television, although she cannot really answer any of the questions since even if she knows the answer it is very difficult for her to find the right words to say before the answer is given on the programme. This does not stop her enjoying them!

I cleared away the flowers that Isobel's mother and Jess had sent, bearing in mind the warmth in the room they had lasted well. I reorganised the chocolates so that they took up less space, there is now room to bring in the zygocactus tomorrow if I can find a suitable dish.

We had a long and detailed discussion about redecoration of the living room. Isobel was able to contribute usefully to this. On the whole I thought Isobel was better today than for some time. I went home at a quarter to seven.

I did not get in to see Isobel until 7pm today, as I waited for a delivery from Zoë, and then Iona came round to cut my hair (it is her only finish before 6.30 this week so she is not seeing much of her mother).

Isobel was awake and alert when I arrived, but longer conversations were difficult to follow. A few minutes after I had arrived, Louisa and Teri arrived. They stayed and chatted with Isobel for about half an hour, she is always pleased to hear about the school even though she can't think in too much depth about it. They will come in again on Friday.

After Louisa and Teri had gone, Isobel opened the box that Zoë had sent. Amid much packing was another box. When this was opened it contained an interesting selection of chocolates and biscuits. Isobel ate just a couple of chocolates and I tucked the box in the bottom of the wardrobe as every flat surface seemed to be covered with either chocolates or plants. The flowers from Isobel's mother and Jess are hanging on, they have lasted well despite the heat in the Centre but will be finished tomorrow I think. I brought home the miniature roses as they are suffering from the heat and lack of light as there is not room for them on the widow sill; after a week or so of recovery they can go back in. We chatted for a long time. Isobel drank a mug of tea, a mug of water and half a mug of Ribena. By the time I left it was half past nine.

I had intended to go in to see Isobel at 2pm, but as a result of knocking over a lot of stuff in the kitchen and having to clear it up, it was almost 3pm by the time I arrived. A glance at the wall paper samples confirmed that Rosemary had visited today and voted for the same pattern wallpaper as almost everybody else. Isobel was alert and her speech was easily comprehended.

A nurse appeared and solemnly advised me that Isobel had earlier had "a lady visitor who fed her lunch", this of course was Rosemary.

I had brought with me Doug's old chair, which I now re-assembled. It may have been the oldest chair in our house but it was certainly the most comfortable. It is hoped that it will encourage Isobel to get out of bed and sit up for part of the day.

A tentative suggestion was made by a nurse that Isobel could move to a room further down the corridor, in order to make her room available for a patient who might be using oxygen and benefit from being nearer the nurses station. The alternative room was narrower and not as nice. I pointed out that we had been very lucky with Isobel settling in so well. I had not expected that the transfer to residential accommodation would go so smoothly. Isobel clearly liked her room and to try and move her now risked destabilising her behaviour. It was agreed to leave her in her present room.

I could not stay long as I had to get to Iona's bank before it closed, before going out to teach this evening. I left at ten to four after feeding Isobel a mug of tea and a few chocolates.

Isobel slept for much of the day. She was asleep when Dallas and I arrived at a quarter to five. Dallas had been at a conference in Central London and had parked her car just of Oxford Street so she could drive out to see Isobel afterwards. Once Isobel had woken up properly she was bright and alert. Her speech was much better than yesterday although it was still difficult to establish the subject of a few conversations.

I fed Isobel oxtail soup, sausage and chips and pear flan for tea. Afterwards Dallas and Isobel chatted. Dallas showed Isobel a few 'photos of the state of chaos I had reduced the house to, in order to amuse her. After sharing a few chocolates with Isobel, we left her watching television for the first time in the day at 7pm. Dallas came back to our house for a quick meal before driving back into London in order to pick up her son Robert who was working late and take him home to Milton Keynes.

Iona and Jon went in to see Isobel this morning and were surprised to bump into Keith and Liz in the car park, just leaving after a visit. I went round to Keith and Liz's house in the evening, they confirmed that they were very favourably impressed with the Centre. The had noticed just how many staff were present, almost as many as the twenty one residents (I think this may be a slight exaggeration but it is certainly well staffed). Keith and Liz had been keen to take Isobel around the grounds in her wheelchair, but she was determined not to do this. This is bit of a problem, attempts by visitors to get her out of bed invariably fail. The staff have occasionally managed to get her into the communal lounge, but she is never happy to stay out of her room for very long. She does not seem to get bored in her room.

Ten minutes after Keith and Liz left I arrived and was surprised to find Iona and Jon sitting with Isobel. Jon's football match had been cancelled today as the pitch was waterlogged. Rain has fallen for most of the past forty hours, with just two significant intervals. There are localised patches of flooding on the road down the Darenth Valley, no more than eight inches deep but still very unusual. We sat around chatting and eating chocolates until just after 2pm. I had brought in a bag of toiletries for Isobel, but Iona was scathing about my male choice - eventually she selected some suitable items from those I had brought.

I came back to see Isobel again in the evening at a quarter to seven. I measured up the space beside the bed to see if Isobel's chair from home would fit - it will, although it sticks out a long way. I may bring it in Monday or Tuesday and see how it looks. Isobel says that there is nothing else she wants brought in but although Iona did a good, quick, job of personalising the room I would like to take ths further now that we know Isobel will be staying here longer. For the past two days Isobel has had a special air mattress on the bed that automatically inflates and deflates sections according to a timer so that the pressure points are changed. This is needed because of the length of time she is spending in the bed, I know that the staff are very keen for her to get out of bed and join in some of the activities. I stayed until just after eight o'clock. Isobel's speech was very difficult to understand this evening, but she was in a cheerful mood.

I picked Iona up at twenty five past twelve and we drove to the Centre. I took in two more nightdresses for Isobel.She had already had her lunch. Isobel was not downhearted by yesterdays information. We sat and chatted for almost an hour until I drove Iona home. She and Jon are going up to central London for the Mayor's fireworks tonight.

I went back in to see Isobel after 5pm. When she spoke in short sentences she made sense, but several longer conversations were difficult to understand. She needs some more toiletries which I will take in tomorrow. We talked a lot about the weekends rugby, as well of course as eating chocolates. Her mother's flowers are on their last legs but the plants from Louisa, Teri and Pat & Den Ball are doing well. Isobel was wide awake, alert and not at all tired when I left at 6.20pm.

After being caught in horrendous traffic on the way it was 8.25am before I arrived at Iona's house to pick her up and 8.45 before we arrived at the Centre. The ambulance arrived soon after 9am and we traveled to Maidstone through torrential rain and wind. Isobel was in her wheelchair, Iona and I were also in the ambulance. Having arrived almost an hour before the appointment time, we had a long wait as Dr Sadler fell more than forty minutes behind with her appointments.

Dr Sadler explained that it was not good news. The tumour had grown significantly. There was no further treatment. I examined the scans and saw that there was considerable enhancement indicating active tumour growth at the rear of the area originally occupied by the tumour before the debulking. This area is deeper within the brain. At the moment the tumour is restricted to the left hand hemisphere. It was clear from the scan that further surgery was not practicable as the most active part of the tumour was surrounded by normal brain tissue on three sides. We measured the tumour at its widest point, it was 2.5cm by 3.9cm - this is much more than the maximum size I had thought likely. We discussed the evidence for tumour growth, it seems very probable that the two earlier scans had not picked up areas where the cancer cells were infiltrating - this is a known problem with Glioblastoma and MRI scans. During the preceding months when symptoms were deteriorating, cancer cells were infiltrating healthy tissue and as they continued dividing and multiplying there was at first no sign of this on the scans until the cancer cells had displaced the bulk of the healthy tissue, We discussed Isobel's future care. Dr Sadler was not previously aware of the Peter Gidney centre but said that it sounded exactly the sort of place that Isobel should be, she did not believe that it would be possible to look sfter Isobel at home. There is no point in Dr Sadler seeing Isobel again as she can offer no further treatment.

Isobel took the bad news well. She was a little upset in the ambulance on the way back to the centre, but this was understandable. We got back to the centre and they very rapidely produced lunch, Isobel had ham, chips and mushy peas. For afters she had rice pudding. I gave the nursing staff details of what had transpired. I saw Margaret Nicholas, the head of the centre, and agreed to convert Isobel's respite break into a permanent placement. Iona and I left at after 2pm and travelled home via Louisa's house.

I 'phoned Maggie Williams at Bexley Care Trust. She was on leave but i spoke to her deputy. I advised what had transpired at the consultants, she will convert Isobel's stay to a permanent one. She will speak to the district nurses regarding recovery of the home nursing equipment.

Everything is arranged for tomorrow. The ambulance will arrive at the Peter Gidney Neurodisability Centre at about 9am for the 11.05am appointment with Dr Sadler. Isobel will have an early breakfast. I will pick up Iona at about 8.15am and be in the Centre by half eight. I am anticipating we will return no earlier than 2pm; it may be rather later.

I went in to see Isobel at about 1pm. She had already eaten dinner. We went through the arrangements for tomorrow, Isobel understands what will happen although her grasp of timings is rather vague. I explained that Euan would not be able to come with us a he has an appointment at 9am. There was also some doubt over Iona as she was ill today, vomiting through the night. Isobel was in a good relaxed mood. I left just before 2pm. On the way home I called in at Iona's workplace to confirm what was going on.

I went back to see Isobel at half seven. She ate chocolates, drank tea and squash and chatted. Her language was more rambling than earlier in the day. I said I thought Iona would be fit enough to come to Maidstone tomorrow although she did not confirm this until some time after I returned home. I confirmed with the night staff the arrangements for tomorrow. Isobel was not showing any signs of tiredness when I left her at a quarter to nine.

Jane and Derek went in to see Isobel for an hour this morning but I forget to talk to them before their early bedtime. All I know is that they expressed their preference for the same one of the wallpaper samples that everyone else has chosen.

I went in earlier than usual to see Isobel this afternoon as I was tutoring in Petts Wood tonight. She was happy but did not have much to say about Jane and Derek's visit today, or about Jacquie's visit yesterday. She had a slice of cake with a mug of tea. I left before her evening meal arrived, at about a quarter to five.

It is just a matter of waiting for Frisday now.

I had a chat by telephone this morning with Sarah Parker from the Ellenor Trust. She confirmed her view that Isobel's condition has deteriorated to such an extent that she will never be able to be cared for at home again.

I went in to visit Isobel at 5pm. She had just started tea and was feeding herself bacon sandwiches very effectively. For afters there was jelly and cream, she was not able to feed herself this so I helped her. Isobel drank a mug of tea by herself, using a feeding mug. I had brought in a box of blackberries, Isobel demolished these very quickly.

I noticed that Isobel had chocolate on her clothes and bedclothes. What Isobel did not tell me, and had presumably forgotten completely was that this had occurred when Jacquie visited earlier in the afternoon. I did not find out that Jacquie had visited until she e-mailed me later. Jacquie did not find Isobel's condition encouraging, this was not encouraging as she had seen Isobel in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital less than two weeks ago and was well placed to judge changes.

Isobel's language became more vague before I left. I left early at 6.30 as Iona was coming over for dinner with Euan and I.

After our meal Jess phoned to say that Isobel's mother had been advised by her doctor not to undertake at present the journey to see Isobel.

Another short blog as I am shattered and still have a bad headache.

After a desperate wrestle with the dining room table in the early hours of the morning, victory was achieved this morning after removing the dining room door in order to get a critical three quarters of an inch of room. A slightly less difficult manoeuvre got the table into the study (the table is considerably wider than the doors). All the books and some of the furniture and boxes are now out of the living room, but most of the tedious packing of glassware and ornaments remains to be done. The re-arranging of the study has also been time consuming but will allow much more to be stored in it while work is done in the living room. At several times over the past few days it has seemed as if I should have followed my original plan of hiring some storage space, but this rearrangement will work, albeit at the cost of a lot of time and effort.

Maidstone Hospital confirmed the rearrangement of the ambulance trip for Friday. I went in to see Isobel in the late afternoon. She was in good humour, sitting up on the bed fully dressed. We had a discussion with the nurse regarding the benefits of getting out of bed for part of each day. There have been no problems with bed sores etc but this has only been due to luck. The nurse confirmed that Isobel usually seemed to be cheerful. She has the television on most of the day, although the amount of attention she gives it varies.

Isobel had corned beef and chips for tea, followed by yogurt. While I was with her she drank two mugs of tea and three mugs of squash, so there is no problem with her fluid intake. She understands that she may not see much of Iona this week as she starts her new job. By six o'clock Isobel's speech had become difficult to interpret although otherwise she did not seem tired. We ate some chocolates and I left her watching television at a quarter past seven.

I spent the morning shifting hundreds of books around the house, working solidly from 9am to 1pm. They are all very neatly packed in the study, mainly underneath my mothers dining room table. I moved various items of furniture around but it is depressing to see how much more needs to be done and how slow progress is. Getting the new dining room table out of the living room is proving a problem, I can't recall how I got it in there thirty six years ago. By 1pm when Iona called I was tired and had a blinding headache. Iona stayed for the best part of an hour before going off to collect Jon, who was exhausted after football, and going on to visit her mother.

After doing the shopping I had another go at moving the dining room table and failed again, I did not get to the Centre until after 5pm. Isobel had already eaten her tea and was just finishing a mug of tea. She was alert and did not seem at all tired. I had a long chat with the nurse, they are satisfied she has settled in well but would like to get her out of bed more. I will bring some trousers in for her. The recording for the incontinence assessment has been completed, they are just waiting for the formal agreement. I dropped off the last of Isobel's pants we had. I explained that I had advised Maidstone Hospital of the revised residential address for this Fridays ambulance but was awaiting confirmation from Dr Sadler's secretary. The nurse said that Maidstone Hospital usually operated a two hour lead time on ambulance transport, so it would probably arrive at about 9am; I will travel with Isobel. It was no surprise to be told Isobel was eating and drinking very well.

I again forgot to bring in the tray for the kalanchoe. Isobel had seen Jon and Iona earlier. There had also been another visitor who we eventually established had been Donna.

We discussed the problems with re-organising furniture in the house. I will 'photograph the chaos so that Isobel can have a good laugh at it. We ate a few chocolates. I left at about a quarter past seven, Isobel was watching "Time Team" on television.

Another short blog, as a result of myself and Iona getting our lines crossed today, Isobel only had one visit.

I went in at lunch time, but Isobel had already eaten. She confirmed Iona had not visited in the morning, Isobel was sitting up in bed very alert. I asked her what she had eaten for lunch, but as I suspected she could not remember even though she was finishing her lunch time tea when I arrived. This poor short term memory is almost normal now but does not seem to affect Isobel's day to day life very much. We sat and chatted for a while. I must remember to take in a saucer for the Kalanchoe blossfeldiana tomorrow. We ate a few chocolates and I put Isobel's bed to a flatter position. I explained how I had been moving books around the house all day and how I had reduced the house to an even worse state of chaos then normal - Isobel laughed, but I suspect I would have got a stronger reaction if she could have seen the result.

I left Isobel at half one, explaining how I would ne watching rugby this afternoon with my brother. She does not want a very early visit tomorrow.

A short blog today.

Iona went in to see Isobel in the morning but she was still sleeping soundly, an after effect from yesterday no doubt. Iona left new slippers and slipper socks for Isobel.

I visited in the late afternoon and found Isobel awake. It appears that she had slept on and off for much of the day, but she was alert and speaking clearly. She had omelette and arctic roll for supper, washed down by a couple of mugs of tea. Afterwards Isobel ate a lot of chocolates. I stayed until half seven and left her watching television with no sign of tiredness.

Isobel was deluged by visitors today. I went in briefly at 1pm as I had to get back to Bexleyheath for a 2pm appointment. Isobel was alert, speaking clearly and had already had lunch. I left before the next visitor, June, arrived. Then Iona arrived, bringing Euan to see his mother for the first time since she was rushed into Queen Elizabeth Hospital last week - he has been laid low by a succession of illnesses. June had brought another installment of bakestones (Welshcakes), Isobel enjoyed some and passed the remainder on to me (yum!).

Iona brought Euan home, leaving June with Isobel. Iona then led Louisa and Teri to the Centre. By the time they got there June had left. I went in again at a quarter past six to see if Isobel wanted to view the firework display; not surprisingly she said she was too tired. She had already had ham salad for tea and did not want any biscuits or chocolates. She had a mug of tea at half seven. She went to sleep several times but woke after a few minutes and was generally restless. Her speech was much more confused than it had been earlier in the day. She finally settled down to watch football on television (her new found interest in sport continues) and was still awake when I left at half eight.

While I attempted to empty the contents of the study into every other room of the house, in order to convert it into a more efficient store-room for its original contents and the contents of the living room, Iona sat with her mother. They discussed the choice of wallpaper for one wall of the living room and stuck examples up on the wall of Isobel's room! Iona stayed until about 3pm, then went home before I had arrived.

I arrived at 3.45pm having been delayed trying to sort out various bank accounts. Isobel was alert and her speech was easily understood at first. For dinner Isobel had vegetable soup, spagetti rings on toast and jelly with cream; all washed down by a mug of tea. My metal belt buckle suddenly broke into three pieces and I spent the rest of the day holding my jeans up with one hand.

Some beautiful flowers had arrived from Isobel's mother and Jess. As they were in a cellophane reservoir and the only vase was short and wide I considered leaving them until the next morning when they could be put in a taller vase, but when I checked them I found the cellophane reservoir had already leaked most of the water out. I made a big mess in the bathroom trimming the stems but the wide vase allowed them to be seen at their best.

Isobel finished her tray of chocolates then had a couple of biscuits and a mug of tea for supper, she will nor starve in here. I left at ten to eight, she was still awake but her speech had become poorer and it seemed likely she would soon be asleep. On the way home I went to Sainsbury's in Crayford. When I got home I found I did not have my door keys. Euan had fallen asleep and did not answer the door. Fearing that I had dropped them as a result of efforts to hold my jeans up, I retraced my steps to Sainsbury's and the Centre. Arriving at the Centre at a quarter past nine, I was surprised to find Isobel still awake and watching television. I did not find the keys and after chatting for a few minutes I went home via Iona's house, borrowing her keys. I found I had left my keys in the house. If I had not accidentally returned to the Centre I would have assumed Isobel was asleep long before 9.15pm.

Iona arrived at the Centre at noon, having overslept by hours. Perhaps we are still recovering, because I slept from midnight to after 9am. isobel was sitting up in her wheelchair. At the Centre Iona met the Ellenor nurse who is taking over responsibility for Isobel from Sarah Parker now that Isobel is outside the Bexley boundary.

Iona fed Isobel her dinner of Shepherds Pie with cabbage and carrots, followed by an excellent piece of Bakewell Tart. I arrived at a quarter to four and Iona left at about half four. The staff put Isobel back to bed, she is getting used to the hoist. I thought Isobel looked very tired compared to yesterday. Isobel had baked potato and beans for tea followed by chocolate mousse. She was not as chatty as usual but ate a lot of chocolates. There is no doubt that her speech was more confused in the late afternoon and early evening, possibly as a result of her tiredness. Isobel got a little upset after 7pm, I think this was because she did not like the TV programmes available but it was difficult to make out what she intended to say. She dozed off within a couple of minutes but woke again just before half seven and was relaxed as normal. After a bit of talk she fell asleep again and I came home.

On Monday morning Iona went into see Isobel at 11am. They watched a film together and ate chocolates. Isobel had fish, boiled potatoes and mushrooms for dinner, followed by rice pudding. Isobel was very relaxed today and spoke about how much she liked being in the centre. In the afternoon Isobel had a slice of marble cake with her mug of tea.

I arrived at 3pm and instead of leaving as planned, Iona stayed on for the best part of an hour. Margaret Nicholas, the head of the centre dropped in for a chat. In the first instance Isobel's stay is treated as a two week respite break but this will be reviewed next week and Margaret is confident of a smooth extension if that is medically justified. The centre are aware that Isobel is seeing Dr Sadler at Maidstone Hospital on the 13th and that transport previously arranged will be reorganised to pick her up from the centre.

I fed Isobel her tea of sausages and chips followed by pear and cream flan. The staff commented on her healthy appetite! An incontinence assessment is underway, the staff could not understand how this had been in progress with the District Nurse at home since August without being completed. They are also keeping an eye on her blood sugar levels as one reading had been high in the normal range - it would be rather worrying if blood sugar levels rose as it might indicate increased tumour activity. Isobel was not as tired as on previous days. I went home just before 7pm.

In the morning I had a long telephone conversation with Sarah Parker from the Ellenor Trust who said that the Peter Gidney Centre was the best place for Isobel in her view. She did not think Isobel could be looked after at home any more.

A very late blog for Sunday, as I simply forgot to write it. We are now coming to terms with not having Isobel at home and are catching up on other tasks that have been left undone for months.

Iona and Jon went in to see Isobel equipped with a large box of clothes, ornaments and pictures. Iona spent hours sorting and fixing the photos and the room now looks as if Isobel lives there. They were still there when I arrived at half four; and left at about six. Isobel was bright and alert, later on she watched a James Bond film. I fed Isobel her tea; tuna salad with coleslaw. Isobel is eating and drinking well according to the staff, she drank two beakers of squash and two beakers of tea while I was there. I don't have any concerns about how she is being looked after. Her speech remains about the same - short sentences usually make sense but any attempt at a long conversation soon gets bogged down in confusion.

We are now beginning to plan for other visitors, although Isobel's mother has an infection and will not be able to visit until next week (Jess will drive her down). I stayed with Isobel until about a quarter past seven, she began to get tired and I left her with the room lights off but the television on, I expect she fell asleep soon after. Since she moved to the Peter Gidney Centre Isobel has ended every visit by dismissing the visitors when she became tired!