Sometimes, I Want to Scream and Throw Things

We are home from Paris, more to come on that later.

So, a new fitness gym is opening up near us and has a great, cheap, fixed price until 2010, so we are joining. Marc could easily sign up, but mine was a bit more complicated since I'm pregnant. I had to have a doctor's note. Last week before we left for Paris, I walked up to our surgery and told them what I needed. They said no problem, all I had to do was write my name and date of birth and what exactly I needed to have written and a doctor would get it for me by today (Friday) to pick up. Easy.

I walk up there today after lunch to retrieve my letter.

"That will be £10 please" the receptionist said.

I said "pardon me" several times and basically it all boils down to an "admin fee."

So, basically they are telling me that I can come to see a doctor for free when I'm sick, get free prescriptions, but I have to pay the man £10 ($20) to write a one line letter saying it's okay for me to work out?

I teared up, because that seems to be what I do this pregnancy, and walked home fuming! Marc got on the ball, wrote a letter to the head of the practice, who also happens to be the doctor who wrote the letter. He went back to the surgery for me and asked more questions. Apparently, "we should be happy it wasn't £15" Nice huh? We did explain to her that it would have been nice to have been informed last week that there MIGHT be an admin fee. Apparently, it's at the doctor's discretion whether or not to charge a fee.

Sometimes, I want to scream and throw things. And today was one of those days.