I know I haven't written for a while

 It's been slightly over a month since Geoff had his last operation. This time the main plastic surgeon was Dr Ottie van Zyl from Groote Schuur (a government hospital) with Doc Landau attending. He took veins from Geoff's calf, slapped them onto the side of his head, took the flap from his thigh and used skin from that same thigh as well. And what do you know, it seems to have been a success at last (fourth time lucky!) My son says it's because he operates in a government hospital, Geoff says it's because he's an Afrikaans guy! Whatever, Geoff is now off his crutches, he didn't need the wheelchair and is hobbling about. He is slowly recovering, and is his normal jokey self, just very very passive. Kate did a splendid job of looking after him from the Thursday (he was released from hospital on 30th September - niece Rachel fetched him - and I got home on the afternoon of 5th October) to the Tuesday while I was still away in Zanzibar.