I used to have those horrible muscle spasms in my back whenever I undertook huge cleaning jobs at my daughter's house, but they always subsided after a day, so here's hoping!
Good luck to all of you who have health problems yourself, or are worrying about your relatives. My sister has just spent nine days with me in France, and she seemed much better than I had expected, although she takes a huge number of pills each day. The wheelchair assistance at both airports worked quite well. She managed the shallow steps up to my second-floor flat once a day, just using her walking stick.
Regarding change of real name, not forum name - after my divorce I didn't want to use either my ex's name or my father's, so my daughters and I chose a name we all liked and I changed it by deed poll for a small fee. You can, of course, just choose to be known by another name and as long as you are not doing it for fraudulent reasons it is quite legal in England. You just tell your bank, doctor, tax office, DWP, DVLA, etc. that in future you wish to be known by your new name.
It has caused me some problems in France, as they don't have that facility and all the forms just give room for 'Nom de jeune fille' and 'Nom de marriage' - I have just taken to leaving out my married name completely - after all, I have been known by my new name for many years longer than either my birth or married names.
One of my nieces refused to take her husband's name, on principle, and I always felt a bit awkward when addressing a card to them - has anyone else come across this problem? I will start a thread about it
