I had a back operation in 1986 to correct a pair of slipped discs. Some forty years earlier my father had had the same operation which left him with a foot long scar and post-operatively, he was made to lie on his chest for a very long time while everything healed.  THAT WHICH GOES WRONG Now in the 'eighties, with the progress made in surgery, I had a mere "keyhole" scar at the base of my back, and I was up and about on both feet after only ten days. It was agony walking but I was able to walk again, after months and months of dreadful pain. Unlike my poor old Dad in the 'forties, I was given the chance to go on "recuperation" and take a holiday but to avoid flying to the destination.....So we consulted and explored a number of possibilities. We decided to go on a coach to Sorrento !!! Still in pain, I boarded the coach in Reading Bus Station early one morning with my family, and found a comfortable seat at the back so I could stretch my legs. By Dover I was locked up and could not move ! After a few pain-killers I tottered off the bus onto the ship and into the bar.........Our first session on a continental coach was to Brussells which was a LONG run on our first day. We arrived at our first hotel and somehow made it to a small room where I collapsed on the bed with an ice pack on my lower spine..That was a bad night and I almost decided to go back home there and then..However when the dawn arrived I was feeling much more human and had a huge breakfast. More pain-killers later and we were on our way again..................... We stopped in Germany, Austria and then headed out to Italy, taking in Florence and Rome. Still a bit unsteady on the old pins, I still tried to do everything everybody else was doing, but had to miss out St. Peters and The Vatican. It took a few days to do the full journey, but we arrived in Sorrento and were delivered to the hotel. The hotel itself was fine but the food was not the best we have ever had on holiday. In fact some members of our party were vehement in their assessment of the victuals and protested. It was eatable but only just.....Now a man just recovering from a serious op. sometimes has to have a lie down to take the pressure off his spine. This I did and the driver and guide on the bus who were at the same hotel were concerned that I was "ill". Next minute I gets delivered to the room, a huge Veal Steak, all the trimmings and a classy LITRE bottle of white wine..The rest of the party who were down in the dining room had Hungarian (?) Goulash that evening !! Had I "landed on my feet" or not !!! My family were green with envy.. I had the sympathy vote from then on and I was "slipped" the fourstar meals while the party got the twostars.... A number of excursions were booked but I just wanted to lie poolside and frankly that's what I did while my wife and son saw the sights and relayed what they have seen when they returned. Many of the party thought I had taken ill on the coach but after they saw my healing scar which was just above my trunks they were quite sympathetic and brought me all sorts of souvenirs.. TOUR SORRENTO  |
