DOC WHO PUTS

ALL HIS BASQUE

INTO ONE X HIT...

LIKE most expats, I came  to Spain to enjoy the sun, the sea and a peaceful retirement.

And in the main I have achieved my every desire.

Occasionally, however, my  Mediterranean voyage has hit a stretch of choppy water.

It’s like air turbulence on a plane - you just wish it hadn’t started and pray it will go away.

This week’s shenanigans involved an email exchange with a stranger who had made an instant judgement of my character - and got it all wrong. Either that or I'm not as nice an old Grumpy as I thought I was.

Anyway,  fur and feathers flew through the ether and the ensuing email war got so out of control that I was ready to commit a Midzimmer Murder.

Then, suddenly, we both realised how stupid it all was - and the tidal wave of turbulence vanished in an instant.

The bitter foes are now the best of enemies with an upcoming coffee date on the agenda.

Oops, better not say coffee - it's been banned from my diet. On doctor’s orders.

Dr X wants me to sup green tea instead - and who am I to argue with a man whose past patients include Royalty and Hollywood superstars?

While chiropractic is not everyone’s cup of tea, the influence of Dr Xavier Dutey-Harispe seems to be having a positive effect on my Parkinson’s. So much so that I was positively bouncing when I left his Algorfa clinic on Tuesday. I felt 10 years younger than when I went in - and ready for a real knees up rather than pretending to play knee-ball as part of my exercise therapy.

I believe the combination of chiropractic, acupuncture and a caring practitioner is definitely working. And Dr X, a Basque from Biarritz who counts Royalty and Hollywood stars among his past patients, has convinced me that with his facilitation, my body’s own healing powers can reverse the increasing weakness in my  (left) writing hand.

I know this all sounds like a plug for Dr X - but, those who practice the skill insist that chiropractic does not CURE anything - it just clears the way for the body to complete its natural restoration process.

Meanwhile, the doctor and his assistant Catherine Estall believe there is a lack of knowledge in the general community of what chiropractic actually is.

Dr X also emphasises the caring side of the relationship between practitioner and patient. Unlike the cold, formal relationship between most GPs and their patients, he is a great advocate of hugs and kisses.

I don’t want other victims of Parkinson’s to think chiropractic or acupuncture will necessarily help them.

No two people have the same symptoms and we all have our own preferred treatment and medication regimes. But I personally have a  great belief in positivity and good humour as a therapy for ill health.

Now I also have physical evidence that the X Factor is actually triggering my creaking body to revive itself.

Carry on at this rate and I’ll soon be joining my good friend Marjory at her line-dancing classes.

Problem is, I'd fall off.the line.