Hi everyone!

I have just snatched a couple of 'illegal' moments to explain my recent absence from "X Marks....." and to apologise if anyone has written to me and not yet received a reply.

The point is that I have been told by my Doctor not to sit at my computer, not to sit in an easy (ie comfortable) chair, not to drive my car, not to lift anything and not to bend to pick anything up from the floor! Why? Because last Thursday I overdid the leaf blowing/vacuuming in my garden and have possibly slipped a disc or two in my lower back. It's that or I have acute sciatica (the effects are very similar), resulting in intense pain in my right leg which I am barely able to put to the ground and an inability to sit, lie or stand with any degree of comfort.

I have been prescribed anti-inflammatory medication and pain-killers (which do not appear to be working) but I am only two days into what could be four weeks of enforced rest - nature's own cure apparently!

Living on my own, this is the last thing I needed at the Christmas/New Year season, but fortunately I have a good neighbour who is food-shopping for me. So, it looks like a pretty dull, uninteresting and quiet time lies ahead for a few weeks. I will try to log-on occasionally but I may not be able to become involved with any of the topics here. Sorry, my friends.

Keep up the good work, and I send every one of you my Very Best Wishes for the Happiest of Christmases and the Healthiest of New Years.

(Missing you already!!!)