Wednesdays have become my favourite. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll probably know that already. This year I am endeavoring to make the most out of them.
They are the days I have completely to myself. I can do as I like, if and when my health allows.
Some Wednesdays I treat as a Day Off. I don’t put pressure on myself to stick to a real routine and I take any pressure off myself with regards to showering and getting dressed; things I always try to do if I am physically able.
Some Wednesdays I try to have a little adventure. I’ve driven myself the short distance to the Meadows, which you might remember as the setting for Operation Ice Cream, and enjoyed a portion of chips in the sunshine. (https://the-slow-lane.com/2013/07/17/the-adventure-of-anna-jones-operation-ice-cream/)
Some Wednesdays don’t end up going as I’d like when medical appointments happen to fall on that particular day.
My wildest Wednesday so far though was the day Mr Tree Surgeon happened to be off work a few weeks ago and we decided to have our first proper cinema experience together.
You may well be thinking “So what!” so let me explain that a cinema trip is absolutely huge for me, and many others with a similar chronic health condition. There’s the noise to contend with; you might notice that the volume can be so loud at the cinema that you can actually feel it! The size of the screen and the moving pictures being that size can make it incredibly overwhelming for my strange little brain to process. My vision is out of focus anyway (thank you M.E.) but it can be as if my brain cannot process the movement of such large images as it should. I get it at home infront of the TV too but obviously it’s on a much bigger scale in a cinema. There’s also the chance that you may well find yourself, halfway through the film, too unwell to carry on watching it. You’d then have to navigate your way out of the very dark theatre and not really get your money’s worth! Do you know how expensive the cinema is these days?! I hadn’t been since 2010 during the days where I was as free as a bird to do as I pleased with no period of rest, preparation or planning needed.
A few years ago we went to the Kinema in the Woods (https://the-slow-lane.com/2016/03/30/the-adventures-of-anna-jones-cinema-saturday/) while staying in Woodhall Spa. That theatre is very, very small and there’s an interval half way through the film for toilet breaks or refreshments. This though was ‘proper’.
We headed to the Showcase Cinema in Peterborough (the city now known for being the worst place to live in the country. Nice!) It would be a far less overwhelming and intense experience for me if we could try this when there were no crowds, so we were up and out ready for the 11:15am showing, while the majority of people were at work or at school.
When we arrived, parking as near to the entrance as possible thanks to my Blue Badge, there were only two other people in the foyer. I was VERY excited and, as with other things I never thought I’d be able to do again, there could well have been tears of disbelief/happiness. I had a permanent grin on my face through the whole ticket buying process and was on such a high I didn’t even mind spending an extortionate amount of money on popcorn and goodies.
Things got even better when we got into the theatre. They now have reclining chairs!!! This is game changer for someone like me, whose body doesn’t seem capable of maintaining blood flow properly.
I knew the film would be ridiculously loud for me. I really struggle with a sensitivity to noises that may be a certain tone or volume and so I had my now essential Bose noise-cancelling headphones that were a birthday present from Mr Tree Surgeon. They’re ridiculously expensive but they really do work. I simply couldn’t have made it to the end of the film without them. I had my ear defenders with me too incase I needed both but I managed okay with just the headphones.
There ended up being only two other people in the cinema and with the ‘new’ layout we weren’t really aware of them being there. It was amazing! I absolutely loved it all and was on Cloud 9 for being able to go to a proper cinema screening for the first time since being ill.
We can highly recommend How To Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World (yea we are big kids really!) I’m such a rubbish blogger – I probably should have mentioned the actual film at the beginning of this post! I am really hopeful that it’s something I might be able to manage every few months or so. I wasn’t ridiculously wiped out afterwards but I did feel the affects of the trip and the noise and the big moving pictures. I’m hopeful though that it might become a manageable hobby of mine. Better get svaing up for the next (very expensive) trip!
M.E. myself and I 