To key or not to key: that is the question:

This week started out quite well. On Monday Trevor and I facilitated a "Trust Me I'm A Patient" workshop for 30 NHS managers in Southampton. Despite the wet and windy weather and warnings that we were possibly in the worst part of the UK, we didn't experience anything adverse.

Tuesday was spent delivering a similar workshop in Milton Keynes for 7 frontline staff, including 2 occupational therapists, 2 nurses, a mental health worker, a sexual health worker and a lady who provides an an 'End of Life' service. The latter provides Gold Standard assistance to people who are approaching the end of their lives, due to terminal illness. If the 7 ladies learned anything from us, we learned a dozen times more from them and found them all inspirational. I did my usual riveting performances of various NHS staff and patients during a drama sketch. So far so good; even Shakespeare would have been proud of me! We arrived home to 2 puppies who had not had any 'accidents' or caused any damage, other than a chewed cable, which fortunately was not plugged in. Otherwise, all was going well.

We were due to attend an (Actors) Equity meeting at 8.00 in Coventry but we collected my daughter from college at about 7.20pm and dropped her home first.

I then did something really stupid.

We drive a Renault Megane and the engine is started using a Renault key card. It is also used for locking/unlocking the doors/boot and setting the alarm.

Once the engine is running the key can be removed from the ignition.





Arriving at the house, with the engine still running, I removed the key card, as the house keys were on the same key ring, dashed out and unlocked the front door to let my daughter into the house. At this point Trevor was on the front lawn trying to get dog muck off his shoes. A few minutes later we were back in the car and we journeyed to our meeting arriving just before 8.00pm and Trevor turned off the engine.

No key card in the ignition! I'd only gone and left the keys in the front door of the house. Here we were at the meeting, we couldn't lock the car or start it!

I went in to the meeting while Trevor spent £20 on a taxi to take him home to pick up the keys and attend the meeting. By the time he returned the meeting was over but he bought some raffle tickets. Oh what wondrous joy, we won.... a video (yes VHS video) of a selection of 'Great Performances' from the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Ah well...

"To be, or not to be: that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end

The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks......"

(HAMLET)