The six-weekly coffee morning at the King's Plant Barn cafe in Orakei is always good. First of all it is a welcome opportunity to meet up with the other positive women and be inspired and encouraged by what they are achieving and how they are coping. It is all about being informed, sharing information and experience and enjoying the gathering with our field officer, Kay, in such a beautiful setting. Yesterday there were pots of brilliantly coloured hyacinths , redolent with their heady perfume, especially welcome as people with Parkinson's often lose their sense of smell.
Getting from Ponsonby involves a brisk walk up the road to the busstop (makes up for not going to the gym that morning), a bus ride into town and an enjoyable train trip to Orakei, past the Parnell Baths, now closed for the winter, but bringing back teenage memories of many visits there, and to neighbouring Judges Bay for swims.
There are about 8 to 12 of us at the meetings which bring us up to date with what is going on in Auckland - or elsewhere. Heard about the Parkinson's Australia National Conference being held in Brisbane on the 12-14 July this year, ie in a couple of weeks time and decided to go over for it, one day of it it turns out.
Booked flights on points which is a saving and found a reasonable priced hotel for the three nights we will be in Brisbane before we go up to the Sunshine Coast to visit good friend Pat, and stay a couple of nights there before flying back home. Will have time in these places to do pleasurable things and have a bit of a holiday.
I went to Brisbane three years ago when I had just been diagnosed and starfted the rest of my life living with an illness and enjoyably, in spite of it. So far so good.
