This last week I have been bunged up with a type of flu which has been doing the rounds – a dry cough, sore throat, difficulty in speaking and, worse of all, just feeling run down and under the weather.

The whole thing started in the middle of last week and the natural thing to do seemed to stay home and stay warm but voices ran through my aching head – voices from positive thinking people I have known over the years who would have advised me not to give in to it and carry on as normal. I remembered particularly something I heard recently on the radio: “men get flu, children get colds and women get on with it” Always believing the fsir sex to be right on most tings, I decided they were not going to be correct about me. I decided to head down to the studio of Brighton and Hove Community Radio and do my Thursday programme of Folk and Country Music – I don’t sing you’ll be relieved to know and I just play music by those who do, along with some great instrumentalists.

The following day I also did my programme for the disabled but by the Saturday morning I was too ill to get out of bed let alone go out. I managed to produce enough voice to call a friend and ask her to get some shopping for me and she was good enough to oblige – you know who your friends are at a time like this.

By Monday I felt well enough to pick up my normal life again although far from well.I wondered should I have stayed in as soon as the trouble started maybe it wouldn’t have got so bad and had I by going out given the cough to somebody else? In fact whilst out I made sure I didn’t get too close to anybody and others, hearing my voice, made sure they didn’t come too close to me either.

Eight days after the thing started, I am still coughing I bit and still have abit of a croaky voice but am almost recovered. I think now I have been wise to carry on as normal because had I stayed in I would have become extremely depressed and would have been just breathing in my own germs neither of which could have helped the healing process.

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