Round and round we go...

[Foggy Morning on the Black Isle]

Apologies once again for my prolonged absence from the blogosphere.
This was partly due to my being away at a "Church Without Walls" conference in Aviemore, where I did not have internet access (or, to be more precise, where I grudged paying for it!) the real reason, however, is that while I was at the conference I took ill and have been off work since.
Turns out to be acute labyrinthitis. More frustrating than serious. (Frustrating even for my GP who wasn't sure how to spell it!)
It all began on a Friday morning when I became totally deaf in my right ear; a bizarre experience, since I am used to being partially deaf in my left ear. Now I had to rely entirely on my "bad" ear. A recipe for confusion! Whatever sounds I did manage to hear were impossible to locate. A good lesson all the same in the old truth that "you don't know what you've got till it's gone!"
I was just getting used to the idea of being responsible for all the music at the conference while being virtually deaf (ironic really) when on the Sunday evening I had my first (and pretty scary) attack of labyrinthitis- in front of 300+ people, of course!
It was a bewildering experience all round... come to think of it "all round" is not too bad a description. Everything seemed to start spinning uncontrollably in all directions. I couldn't stand up any more. I broke into a cold sweat and apparently turned the colour of semi-skimmed milk (i.e. only a hint of cream...)
I spent the next hour and a half, lying shivering on the floor, wrapped up in a foil blanket like a Christmas turkey waiting to be popped into the oven. Thankfully I was also being attended to by a very helpful and friendly "NHS 24" Doctor, called in by the hotel, as well as a very kind nurse and another doctor I already knew, both of whom were attending the conference.
At the time the symptoms were so severe that the doctor didn't want to confirm a diagnosis. But - hey - I'm still here! and for that I am glad.
I've since had one other bad attack but otherwise everything is just a little bit wobbly and foggy from time to time... and some of the hearing has returned to my right ear.
I got a nice long explanation from my own doctor about what was going on inside my inner ear; something to do with debris in the semi-circular canals. Personally, when an acute attack comes on, it feels to me like someone has dumped a couple of supermarket trolleys in my canals!