smokingboot

The doctor threw the book at me. Smear test, blood test, urine sample... he's nothing if not keen. My menopause is a bit of a controversy; years ago I had every symptom unfailingly and rather unpleasantly. Blood test results seemed to show that I was in fact not menopausal but have polycystic ovaries. I recall Mum having something like that,and an operation to scrape her womb or something, but the truth is,I dismissed the findings on my own account; it seemed silly. I was having menopausal symptoms at the right time and in the right way to strongly indicate menopause.Even if I had polycystic ovaries, I was probably menopausal as well. What did polycystic ovaries mean to my quality of life exactly?

Well, I learned last night, down Camden Town way with

larians and

november_girl, over some excellent beers and sushi.Apparently it makes you fat and hairy. Though I could stand to lose a few pounds,I seem to have escaped the worst of it. As to hair,well,I am of Latin descent on one side and Scottish on the other. It's a marvel I'm not a brunette version of Cousin It.

The nurse could not have been kinder or better, but my needle issues meant that when I left the hospital I just wandered around in a daze for a while, then took a tube into town, ambling through Regents Park to find myself outside the Camden Eye just as people were getting their RocknRolla on. Even on a schoolnight the place was buzzing. The vibe,with added brilliant company,made for an excellent evening. I should do this every time I get through some visit to the doctor; it would make me a much better patient.

This may well be the first time anyone has ever claimed that Camden is good for their health.