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Denmark! April and May 2026

  We made it to Denmark! I finished last time by saying that the Danish language looked challenging – in the end EVERYONE spoke fluent English and we had no need to try much Danish though I did develop a penchant for A   Stjerneskud (Shooting Star) which was a bit of a mouthful in more ways than one – this is a classic Danish luxury smørrebrød (open-faced sandwich) served on buttered bread, topped with fried and steamed whitefish (usually plaice), shrimp, asparagus, and roe. It is often garnished with lemon, dill, and a creamy dressing, making it a staple lunch dish in Denmark.   It was invented in honour of Yuri Gagarin when he visited Denmark – when I told one young waiter this he looked blank – not because he didn’t understand my English but because he’d never hear of Gagarin, the first man in Space!!   I had this dish four times in 11 days and it was so good. We ate tons of salmon and other fish too, though I had to go easy on the bread (delicious looking...
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Persistent Atrial flutter; a gynae procedure and my 14th cardioversion

Time for an update of the misery memoir!   Actually, happier this time!   I managed to get away for a few days to the seaside in Norfolk and also Suffolk, so that was exciting though it played havoc with my IBS (if indeed it is IBS). I’ve been having bloating for years but it has got much worse – particularly after the SCAD and then even more so after the Minimaze.   I wonder if my gut biome has been affected by the cocktails of drugs I took after each of these events.   I got bloated before but never to this extent and this much pain and discomfort.   I did five weeks of the low-FODMAPS elimination diet which helped a little though a diet of French pastries in Paris reversed that.   I then followed a strict Fodmaps diet for another few weeks which made no difference.   Now I have decided to try and improve my gut biome and have reintroduced fermented foods like yogurt, kefir plus some dairy milk in my tea (because its vile with any other ‘mi...
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Living with Persistent Atrial Flutter - March 2026

  March 2026 – an update I was very tired and a bit subdued after all that sightseeing and walking an average of nine miles per day in Paris and so determined to take it easy the following week.   However, I ‘m not good at taking it easy!   I started the following week with an easy two-mile walk, but then on the Monday I forgoed (forwent?) my electric bike and decided to see what would happen if I rode my road bike.   I kept to a flat route and it was fine – Starting HR of 110, but only going to 120-130 at exertion.   It’s all rather odd. The next day was my birthday and I went Nordic Walking.    Since my SCAD last May I had only run twice – the first a few jogging steps in October, the second a set of 7 x (1 min run, 2 min walk) and I did not want the no-running period to get any longer.   So, I ran 30 secs after each four-minute fast Nordic Walk period, followed by one-minute slow Nordic.   It felt pretty awful, but then it would if I...
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