Home - London Heathrow at the start of our Balkan Adventure

Wednesday 23rd April 2025 – five days to go, and I have a niggly toothache, like something is stuck between my teeth. It appears better after flossing.

Thursday 24th April – four days to go and the toothache is back, followed by more flossing.

Friday 25th April – three days to go. The tooth is still bothering me, and by the afternoon it has become extremely painful. Why, oh why would this happen late in the day before a weekend when we leave for the Balkans on Monday. Not expecting much help, I ring the dentist and explain, and to my surprise and delight, they can fit me in at 12:00 on Monday which is just in time as we are planning to leave some time between 14:00 and 15:00 for the journey up to Heathrow for overnight (we have an early morning flight on Tuesday). By the evening the pain is so great that it stops me sleeping (which takes a lot!).

Saturday 26th April, and David hurts his back somehow, to the point where the struggles to walk. Thankfully, he manages to make an appointment with the chiropractor for 10:30 Monday morning. It will be a busy morning for sure!

Monday 28th April
John at Acorn Chiropractic manages to realign David’s back and we drive straight to my dental appointment.

Barry, my lovely dentist, informs me that my tooth is so badly cracked that it needs to come out. He doesn't want to do that the day we leave for a 3½ week trip abroad, however, so he will just remove the filling at this point. He insists on numbing me up (I usually try my best to have all my dental work done without anaesthetic, but this time I am grateful for it as the pain is already a seven on the Grete Scale, which is saying something as I have a high pain threshold). The injection hits a nerve and sends electric shocks through my face and neck, a rather weird – and a little scary – feeling. After removing the affected filling and as many of the nerves as he can, Barry finds evidence of inflammation below the old filling, so he slips some medicine in the gap to stop the pain and any further infection before giving me a temporary filling. He can give me no promises that it will not bother me while we are away. He also makes an appointment to extract the tooth when I get back as it is deemed unsalvageable.

Premier Inn, Heathrow

We arrive at the hotel at 16:30, and after checking in and freshening up, we wander down to the restaurant at 17:45. To ensure the temporary filling settles in OK, I have not been allowed any food or hot drinks all day, and even this evening I am only allowed to eat soft food.

Choosing something soft proves difficult, but eventually I settle on a Chicken Makhani. Cutting up the chicken in as small pieces as I can, and mixing in with the rice and sauce, means I can swallow it without the need for chewing.

David eats my popadom

David enjoys his chicken and ham pie

For dessert I choose a soft Chocolate Torte with raspberry sauce, which is delicious – rich, but not overly sweet.

David has a magnificent-looking sundae.

And with that we go to bed, at the start of our Balkan Adventure.