A pain in the head

We are back to fairly normal routine now, after the holiday long weekend and unfortunately part of that routine recently has been a recurrence of migraine headaches.  These had eased off for me over the last few years, but recently they have increased in number and strength.  

Yesterday afternoon was a classic demonstration of how a migraine can take over your day.  I'm lucky in the respect that the migraines I experience don't have any visual disturbances attached.  The throbbing pain behind the left eye and the nausea that accompanies it are very unpleasant and there is no other option for me but to lie down and try to sleep.  Over the years (these began when I was about 9 years old) I've realised that there is no way of diverting a migraine once it has a hold.  Lying down in the dark is the only course and IF I'm lucky I won't get sick.  

Yesterday I just about made it home from work at 3.30 pm and lay down.  I finally surfaced at 8.45 pm feeling a bit woozy but ready for a cup of tea.  So much for all the plans I had for yesterday afternoon!  

I think that the reason I've written about this at length is that there is often confusion between a bad headache, which is very unpleasant and a migraine, which is often completely debilitating and in some cases can need hospital treatment.  Generally with a migraine it's impossible to do anything while you're suffering from it - light hurts your eyes and movement makes you sick.   I find it difficult to hold my head upright when in the grip of a migraine, because it hurts too much and makes me feel, and often be, sick  So, that was my Thursday afternoon!!  

There may be an upside to migraine for some sufferers, however, as this treatment has just been approved.  

Anyway, on to more pleasant things and while we were away at the weekend, we visited various places around the Antrim Coast, including the Walled Garden at Glenarm Castle.  It's a very peaceful, tranquil place to spend an afternoon - there's something about a walled garden that really takes you back in time and creates a sense of the rightful order of things.  The photograph at the top of the post shows one of the displays - I haven't identified all the plants yet from my trusty RHS Encyclopedia, but I thought the colour contrast in this part of the garden was beautiful.

There are wonderful borders of mint, which is quite rampant and attracting butterflies.  

The mint is also trying to invade the old greenhouses that run the length of the front wall.

The layout incorporates variations of themes that probably would have been seen in 18th or 19th Century gardens, including hedged walkways, water features, a herb garden and a sundial.

There's also this statue, which I loved.  I haven't been able to find out who the artist is or when it was made, but I'm still looking.

There are plenty of flowers, with many varieties of rose 

 and fruit trees which were producing fruits very enthusiastically.

We also came to the conclusion during that afternoon that slowly but surely we were turning into our respective parents!  How do you get from rolling your eyes at the thought of going out for a run in the car to look at a garden, to actively enjoying it?  We've become the people we never believed that we would be!  Thank goodness we're enjoying it.