Hopes and expectation

The perfect week to talk about hopes and expectation.
We are just over a week from the start of the  Rugby 6 Nations Championship. For Scottish fans, at least this century, this has been the best of the tournament. We can look at players on form, developing coaching teams and opposition not quite as good as they used to be and we can really see our way to being really competitive in the tournament. Sadly since 1999 this success has proved elusive, one tournament collapsed as early as 20 minutes into the first match, against Wales as I recall.
This year of course will be different. Although Eddie Jones worries me. Failing to select several of his best players, even trying to instal Scotland as favourites in our match. I hope Scottish coaching staff are thumbing their way through Machiavelli and trying to figure out how to combat these unsporting tactics.

This of course is not the only area of my life where my mind is being exercised by hopes and expectations.

The NHS system, at least as far as I have experienced it is aimed to limit expectation while leaving room for hope.
They stress that even the wonderful Afatinib doesn't work on everybody and that even where it is effective the effect sometimes diminishes after a few months. Almost as an afterthought they mention that some patients are still alive after 3 years.
Tomorrow marks 5 weeks on the drug. As yet we have no way to gauge how well things are going so my hopes and fears are based on how I am feeling. How easily can I breathe? How big is the numb area on my bottom lip.
This is not really an effective system mostly because these looked for signs are very minimal and the variations I am looking for are so tiny as to be hardly detectable.

A large dose of reality will be thrust into this system over the next couple of weeks. 3rd February takes me back to Ninewells for a CT scan then a little under a week later we are back up in Dundee for the results show.
That is going to be a hard week with waves of hope and fear blowing over me like Atlantic weather systems.
A resounding Scottish victory at Murrayfield would really help to get me through that week, particularly as Ben is taking Clare and I to watch the game in person. (And if you are the person who made the tickets available to Ben, thank you very much)

All this hoping and expecting doesn't really take up much of my time (although the rugby is seldom out of my mind). Practical arrangements are much more time consuming.

After 42 years of leaping into cars or vans and going where I like I have been guided into the world of non-drivers, apparently even as few as 2 tumours in a brain makes the DVLA a bit apprehensive about how fit I am to drive (sneaky wee pun there).
My travel is now largely in the hands of Stagecoach buses. The 30 minute walk to and from the bus stop is a bit of a hurdle, although not as big a hurdle as the rain which regularly pisses down ( in fact I am looking nervously out the window to find that not only has this mornings rain stopped but the sun appears to have shown itself (12.43 on Wednesday 27th January 2016).
For the record today's outing will see my defunct laptop delivered for repair in Anstruther. The trip home will include a stop in Crail to buy ingredients for our tea.
There may be time for coffee or even a sneaky half pint while I wait for the next bus.

Weekends are pretty busy here but mid week things are pretty quiet. If you have been thinking of a visit you will be very welcome. Text or call first just in case I am out investigating the 95 bus.