Monthly Update From Garry McGivern
My latest monthly update for April 2026. Getting away, the dawn chorus, garden camping and hip news, all in my April 2026 update. You may remember that I mentioned in last month’s update that I was going to go away the following day. Well, as you may have guessed after not hearing from me, I didn’t. I never even made it out of the gate.
I was all loaded and ready to go. I’d emptied the fridge and had locked the house up. But after reaching my gate, which is all of 4 or 5 metres, I’d had enough. I think loading the bike and sorting things out in the house was enough for me. And I thought, if I’m not feeling that great now, what would I be like at the end of the day? Or even tomorrow morning when I get up. If I can’t cope when I’m at home, or rather just about cope. I don’t think I’d be able to cope with camping. But that isn’t to say I’ve given up entirely, I’ll probably still try. After all, if you don’t try, you don’t know.
Mr Memory
I could always try camping in the garden first and just use the house as the toilet block, like on a campsite. I keep catching the dawn chorus when I get up, which is always something I enjoy when I’m camping, especially in the New Forest. And if I was camping in the garden, I’d hear it even better. After all, once the tent door is closed, I could be anywhere!
I’ve already had the tent up in the garden this month after my last attempt at getting away. I suddenly remembered I needed to check out my Hilleberg tent. After my last camping trip on the Isle of Wight, when it was blowing a gale, I’d left the tarp up. I remembered that the vent cover on the tent was looking a little worn, where the tarp had been rubbing against it. And had meant to look at it when I arrived home, but having the memory retention of a gnat, I’d forgotten.
I was right, the vent cover on my tent was looking a little worn, although it was still water-tight. But rather than wait for it to fail, I decided to order a new one. And what a delight Hilleberg was to deal with. Contacting them was easy, unlike some companies where you have to spend a day looking through their website to find an email address. Or you have to go through some Bot first. Hilleberg’s information was all in clear sight on their website. And after a couple of emails, a new vent cover was on its way to me.
In Hospital Again
Updating some old posts from March 2016, when I was in hospital with cellulitis, I’d written about a man with a bad knee. He’d had a knee replacement operation eight years before. But it hadn’t worked out, and had got infected. And he’d spent the last eight years in and out of hospital. Every time they cleared it up, it would last a while, then return. I heard him say that he just wanted to have his leg amputated. Haha, it sounded like a familiar story to me now. My hip issues have been ongoing for eight years now, although I certainly don’t want to have my leg amputated.
After reading that old post from 2016, which was at the beginning of the month, I decided to chase the hospital up about my hip. Well, I wish I didn’t. They said May or June. But never said what year, but seeing as it’s May now, or rather tomorrow, maybe not too much longer. Although I’ve been waiting so long now, I’ve got to go for another pre-op in a couple of weeks. So I’ll be surprised if I have my operation by the end of May. But you never know.
Read my previous update from March
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If you want to find out if I’m away touring at the moment and check my location, visit the Where’s Garry page. And for an insight into the gear and logistics that keep me on the road, see my Life at 10mph Guide.
