Today, I bought a wig!

You will have seen from yesterday's post that my hair has started falling out. This was as predicted, but still distressing. However, at the beginning of all this I was given a voucher to put towards a wig, and a list of suppliers. On Tuesday, I rang and made an appointment for today. I considered that, since it was the day of my chemo, I was likely to be most resistant to infection.

It turned out to be a somewhat surreal experience. As I approached the door, there was a man lounging in the doorway rolling a cigarette, and a small white puff-ball that announced itself as a dog. The man was tattooed (not extensively) and I have to admit I thought he had just stopped to roll his cigarette. As I approached, I said 'Excuse me' politely, and reached for the relevant bell. 'Oh', he said, 'that's me. We just popped down for a breather.' Well, obviously I told him to carry on and waited till he had lit up and had a few drags.

Michael is A QUEEN.  This was, it must be said, immediately obvious. He introduced Mimi, who took no notice, and told me her breed, which I'm afraid I can't remember. He chatted easily for a couple of minutes, then stubbed out the remnants and led me in to the house. 'Darling, I'm afraid it's two floors up. Will you be OK? Just take your time' and he and Mimi headed for the stairs.

I looked up, and up, and up. These are old houses with very high ceilings. The stairs are narrow, very steep, and have sharp turns. There were 21 steps to the first floor: I counted them. The second floor was harder.

The wig fitting turned out to be remarkably simple. 'Darling, do you want the same, or a completely new look?' I gaped. 'My advice is always to stay the same for the first wig. We can experiment with the second.' I agreed. 'So, are we including the grey?' I choked and laughed. I hadn't thought of that. We agreed on the grey. Hey presto, a wig was presented. It was perfect. He put it on for me, showed me how to place it ("Darling, you are not a Werewolf. You need it just above your hair line"), then sold me all the rest of the paraphernalia. I came home in a taxi with two bags of stuff, and collapsed into bed for an hour.

I like Michael. He was perfect for today. But if I need to see him again, he is coming to me - there is no way I am climbing those stairs again or, even worse, coming down them!!