Edward Allen

Dear All,

This past week I got the sad news from Laos that my cat, Simon, had died. It looks like he got some kind of infection or something, and even if I had been there it would have been hard to do much for him. I rescued him as a kitten, after he’d been mauled by a dog and very almost killed, and I nursed him back to health. His will to live was an inspiration to me, his determination incredible; I learnt a lot from him. Early on he realised that when he bit my big toe, I fed him, so my big toe took some serious punishment over the years. Even when I was walking towards him with a can of food about to feed him, he still couldn’t resist having a go at my toe.

These things happen, more than anything I am just so grateful to have looked after such an extraordinary animal and he gave me very much more than I ever gave him. I gave him about 500 cans of Whiskers cat food and much else beside, but in return he gave me a live snake, a mauled big toe, and the enormity of his personality. I’ll miss him, miss him very much indeed.

Meanwhile it is incredibly cold in the UK, with snow on the ground and the media here saying that this is the coldest winter for 35 years. I’ve been busy buying thermal underwear, drinking gallons of tea, hugging a heater; it works for me. We continue to get regular snow falls and the country is running out of salt and grit to put on the roads to stop them getting icy. The forecast is for this to last for at least another week.

I just went down to London for some medical tests at a incredibly posh hospital in Chelsea, took the train into London. Taking the train in the UK is a mesmerising experience for me after beeing in Laos, it is so smooth, quiet, on time, and efficient; everything Lao travel isn’t. I had a problem when I got on the train that I couldn’t open the door inside the train. I tapped on the door with my index finger a few times, whilst my fellow passengers gave me their finest “he must be an American” looks until I figured out there was a big button to press near the door labelled “open”; sadly my neither of my brain cells were working that day. I know it must sound strange, but the average modern British train carriage has more electric doors than the nation of Laos.

Walking around London in the freezing conditions was perplexing as there seemed to be a lot of women wearing very short skirts. I presume these women lacked the commonly appreciated quality of possesing blood, indeed they appeared to be freaks of nature. I didn’t say that to them, obviously, as they had the look of the dragon about them.

London is a majestic city, it has more people than Laos and frankly much worse weather, but is intrguing and interesting and just beautiful. The Thames river, Father Thames as it is traditionally known, gives the city a sense of space and a feeling of air to the city and with so many parks too it feels you are never far from a green field that is forever British. I’ve been going to London from when I was a small child, and every time I see something new and love how international it is, it is truly the place where the world comes together and wears a scarf.

Whilst there I had some more medical tests and spent some time with an experienced doctor reviewing my health problems, it looks like I’ll be on medication for some years to come but everything looks very manageable and my Thai doctors have done an impressive job. I’ve got more medical appointments to come, more tests too, but it has become part of my life so much that it no longer really stresses me out. I’m on the right drugs, have the finest possible medical care, and I can keep working in Laos. It is a sweet position to be in. I feel a bit down that all the doctors are talking about managing this disease rather than actually curing it, but I’ll just have to take each day at a time. There are no dreams I am giving up on, and no plans I am changing.

And I am grateful, grateful for my lovely family, for this break, and how be it medical care or chocolate, I’m blessed with the finest things possible. Most of all I’m blessed by the love, support, prayers and sheer niceness of all of you. Each of you are making the world a better place in your own significant and important ways, though most of you are much too humble to ever admit that.

lots of love, and with enormous respect,

Ned