Blinking into the sunlight.

[Roger Kettle]

I've had food poisoning, which is something I strongly recommend you avoid. It is extremely unpleasant. Today, I plan to venture briefly outside for the first time in 18 days. (Apart from two trips to the doctor). I'm still weak but delighted the problem has been diagnosed and that, at last, I'm starting to feel better.
I'll probably give the London marathon a miss this year.

[Mince]

Was it one of your soups?

[Diane CBPFC]

Shoulda stuck with the whisky. 

[Mince]

Maybe the Russians got to his whisky.

[Max]

Food poisoning, it's dire I hear. 

[Bilthehut]

Every sympathy Roger.  I had salmonella posioning once with subsequent high temp and deleriums.  Not a nice time.

[Roger Kettle]

Thanks, guys. Turns out I had something called campylobacter. I can't work out how I picked it up but I'm extremely glad to be on the mend. It was a very unpleasant two and a half weeks but things are definitely on the up. Not least because I had money on Patrick Reed to win The Masters at 50-1.....

[Mince]

... something called campylobacter

I'm sure there's an "Ooh, Matron!" joke in there.

[Roger Kettle]

Only if you haven't had the bloody thing!

[Diane CBPFC]

Poor you Roger - I hope you feel 100% soon.

In January 2013, the UK's Food Standards Agency warned that two-thirds of all raw chicken bought from UK shops was contaminated with Campylobacter, affecting an estimated half a million people annually and killing about 100.[31] In June 2014, the Food Standards Agency started a campaign against washing raw chicken, as washing can spread germs by splashing.[32] In May 2015, cumulative results for samples taken from fresh chickens between February 2014 and February 2015 were published by the FSA and showed 73% of chickens tested positive for the presence of Campylobacter.[33]

[Roger Kettle]

Yes, I'm pretty much back to normal, Diane, thanks. I was aware of those figures but, weirdly, I hadn't eaten any poultry in the days before the symptoms appeared. It all remains an unpleasant mystery.

[Mince]

In June 2014, the Food Standards Agency started a campaign against washing raw chicken, as washing can spread germs by splashing.[32]

If I remember rightly, they also concluded, after many attempts to formulate a safe way to bring chicken into the house and cook it, that the only way to prevent the spread of germs from chicken is simply not to bring the chicken into the house.

[Roger Kettle]

I completely accept what you're saying, Mince, but, of course, the need for diligent and hygienic preparation of food covers everything we eat. I know someone who became dangerously ill after eating undercooked kidney beans. On a slightly different tack, I know of people who suddenly develop violent allergies to things ranging from salmon and lamb to tomatoes and bananas. At some stage, our bodies seem to reject what isn't right for them. This could be anything and I wouldn't dream of advocating one diet over another because, to put it simply, everyone is different. In my, shall we say, longish life, this is the first time that I've ever been laid low by food poisoning so my gastric news has been, fundamentally, extremely good. I have no idea how the campylobacter bug entered my system---it may have arrived from a restaurant I had visited several days previously or from something in my own home. The abject misery that ensued means that I really don't care.
Anyway, I'm feeling great now and, next Thursday, my wife and I are off to Portugal for a week.
I will be drinking beer and eating anything that's put in front of me. **** it.

[Mince]

Portugal twice a year? Have you thought about somewhere else?

[Roger Kettle]

Well, we had a week in Portugal last October and the coming trip may well be our only holiday of 2018. My wife and I have been very fortunate to have travelled widely over the years, both individually and as a couple. In recent times, we've grown very fond of Portugal and it offers everything we enjoy---sunshine, relaxation and friendly people, all within a 3-hour flight.
That'll do for me!