Early Risers.

[pH]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

Breakfast calls, porridge today for the simple reason we've run out of bacon..

 Cockup on the catering front!

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Today would have been my mums 103rd birthday. Hardly a day goes by without thinking about her although she died 35 years ago.

22 minutes ago, PeterBB said:

The fact that pnly 64% have taken the offer of vaccination just shows pure apathy and is/has no doubt been one of the reasons why Covid again  is still on the increase.

I haven't had my jabs yet. Its not apathy but the venue (the local Boots) is inaccessible to me and when I mentioned it all they sent me was a list of alternatives, those I tried were fully booked and many were to far away. The previous two jabs I received a notification and were held in places that were easily accessible. This year  all that I got was an e-mail reminder to get jabbed with a link to book the jab and the times and places which as I said above were not suitable.

[Erichill16]

Better get a move on, I think we need some groceries for the weekend. Going to be tricky.

Had Sydney for a sleepover and he’s staying again tonight. 
At least it’s stopped raining.

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A very dull and grey start to the day here in England’s northwest corner. The temperature is currently 9C and the overnight rain has now stopped, but more rain is forecast throughout the day. Like yesterday, I’ll shortly be heading off to collect Ava, who once again will be spending the day with us. I don’t think there’s much planned for the day, so it’ll probably be more reading this morning and a film after dinner. Yesterday’s film WAS ‘ Young Sherlock Holmes’ but I’ve no idea what today’s will be. 

 

Back later. 

 

Brian

Edited December 31, 2022 by BSW01

[DaveF]

This morning it is very dull, damp and only 4C.

 

Yesterday was much the same except that there was a brisk wind.  After doing a few house jobs I went to the beach in the car and had a quick walk along the promenade.  The waves were not very big  as the wind was off the land.  There were no surfers, very few people walking and not many dogs so it was very peaceful.  

 

After coffee and a pear schnapps I sorted out - I think - the final gas and electrcity bill for Mum's flat.  The company dealing with it on behalf of SSE have decided that according to the latest bill the estate owes about £90 for gas but is in credit by over £120 for electricity, so I need to be given a cheque for about £35, which is very satisfactory.  I just have to wait now for it to be processed and posted to me.  I have given them details of exactly how my name needs to appear on the cheque (I have more than one initial) so I will be able to pay it in using my phone.  The figures are exactly what I had worked out by looking at the bill online.

 

After lunch I went out for a ride in the car stopping briefly to buy a couple of things en route.  I didn't want to go anywhere in particular, just a half hour ride to look at the winter countryside.  It was very pleasant even though it rained on and off.  I am at last beginning to realise that all my time is my own now and I can do things whenever I like, I don't have to stick to a fixed routine.  It has taken me a lot longer than I expected to realise that, I suspect that it is not just because of looking after Mum but also because I was once a teacher and everything has to be done at the correct time when bells ring.

 

I rang the Radio Times subscription people to let them know that my Christmas copy came very late, they have extended the subscription by two issues in compensation.  The Royal Mail strikes must be costing some companies a lot of money.

 

Most of the evening was spent watching "Stars in der Manege" - where German stars of TV etc take part in circus acts.  Some were very good indeed, it was hard to tell the real circus people from the "star".

 

David

[grandadbob]

Garden waste bin lorry has now collected which just leaves the food waste and glass/bottle/plastic/cans recycling to do.  This latter bin is by far the heaviest....can't think why! 😂

We've been for a short one mile walk via Asda so now have some bread and a couple of other items that Management deemed necessary for our survival.  It has been decided that we will now try for daily walks again and gradually increase the distance......Knee and Hip permitting.  Hip is protesting at the moment but has been very inactive over the past few days.

 

As far as jabs go I've had  everything offered over the past few years...Flu, Pneumonia, Shingles and all Covid ones.  AFAICR  I haven't even had a cold for over 4 years and think anyone who doesn't have the jabs (unless there is a valid reason) is completely bonkers and irresponsible.

 

I don't make New Year resolutions apart from resolving NOT to make them but this has been suggested for next year:

 

 

 

The Keep Calm part is the bit that has been especially recommended!  😂

Edited December 31, 2022 by grandadbob

[monkeysarefun]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Ready for a bit of walkingabout..

 

Bas

I'll get my umbrella out.

[BoD]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Ready for a bit of walkingabout..

 

Bas

Enjoy

[grandadbob]

I had an email from the Director of Customer Complaints at my energy supplier yesterday asking for feedback on my recent complaint.  I really enjoyed replying to that!  It will be interesting to see if I get a reply....I won't hold my breath. 

[The White Rabbit]

14 hours ago, Gwiwer said:

Cyffordd Dyfi please 🤣

 

As I have been reminded by an old school friend now retired to Llwyngwril just a bit farther along the line.

 

Indeed. Mid Wales is not the most nationalistic part of the country but the station signs and announcements are bilingual. Given the number of stops on the line, that does mean announcements go on quite a bit. Over the years some announcements have clearly been recorded by non-Welsh speakers and have raised eyebrows a bit, even with my limited knowledge of Welsh. Llwyngwril has been one of the more problematic names - on one memorable occasion, "Lin-squirrel" was heard! 

 

A little trivia for readers: 'gwr' is welsh for husband (as well as being the company initials from 1923) and this has attracted comment and at least one cartoon. 

[Erichill16]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

Ready for a bit of walkingabout..

 

Bas

Im going for a walkabout with Sydney and Hovis but not as far as you. Enjoy. 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Erichill16
Add a bit

[Gwiwer]

54 minutes ago, grandadbob said:

the Director of Customer Complaints

So that’s what DCC stands for 🤣

[polybear]

8 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

Now as I say extrapolating personal experience is fraught with issues, but it hasn't left me with the best impression of UK healthcare. Oddly enough given my own experience a senior USCG officer attending an IMO meeting went to St. Thomas' hospital with severe abdominal pains (IMO is almost but not quite next door to the hospital) and was told he had indigestion, his appendix burst on the flight home to Washington DC.

 

Whilst on Holiday, Momma Bear announced that she was considering seeing a local Doc because she'd had a sore throat that was now making it difficult and painful for her to swallow; when Bear quizzed her further she revealed that the local Doc kept saying it was due to "indigestion" and treating it accordingly - how long that had been going on for I don't know, but I suspect "quite a while".  Now bearing in mind that M.B had been diagnosed with a Hiatus Hernia many years earlier and used to sleep slightly propped up then the alarm bells should've been ringing.....

In the end Momma Bear waited until we got home; she went and banged on his desk, telling him she wanted an x-ray done.  Only at this point did he consider getting his ar5e in gear and decided a Gastroscopy would be more appropriate, which was done pretty quick at a private hospital doing NHS work as well.

 

I had a feeling the answers weren't going to be good as we were left until the very end before the Doc who'd carried out the procedure waited until the very end before calling us back in to discuss the findings, whilst others had been and gone.  I wasn't wrong - it was Esophogeal C. and was such that the Doc couldn't even get the endoscope down, so had been on the go for some time.

Momma Bear saw the same GP just once more (Bear was in attendance) - he didn't didn't say a lot.  One of my great regrets** is not asking him the date when M.B. first reported the issue

 

Fast-forward nine months and the Docs. Surgery tells Bear that the same GP was the on-call Doc for Death Certs. - when I said no way they said there wasn't a choice; only after I told them I'd wait until after hours and call the On-Call Doc did they relent and send another.

 

Would an earlier Gastroscopy have changed the outcome?  It's possible - Bear will never know; it sure as hell would've opened up the options for treatment - though I'm realistic enough to know it's a b'sterd one to treat.

 

**I regret not asking that "afterwards" too - though I already knew the answer.  Complaints Procedure?  Waste of f. time, if the stories on the BBC News are anything to go by.  I did (and can easily still do) harbour thoughts of "discussing it further" with a certain individual for a loooooooooooooong time afterwards, however.   😡😡             

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by polybear

[Coombe Barton]

... Today, domestics, tomorrow, domestics, both moving round the ever-decreasing available space. Need a Tardis. ...

https://johncolby.wordpress.com/2022/12/31/sounds-of-the-season-2022-23-35-pattern-different-this-year/

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, The White Rabbit said:

Mid Wales is not the most nationalistic part of the country but the station signs and announcements are bilingual

Many signs in Cornwall have been bilingual for some time now.  Replacements, when they are required, are usually bilingual even when the old one was not.  Exceptions are for the road network managed directly from Westminster and for those few places whose name does not readily translate into nor was derived from Cornish.  Falmouth being a prime example.  It is not "Aberfal" as some would insist; no Cornish river-mouth is "aber" anything.  It is purely an English name.  Mousehole is also not translated into Cornish; there is no authenticated Cornish name but "Porth Ennis" (harbour around the rock) is suggested. 

 

Public announcements on trains and buses are however only in English since Cornish is less widely spoken in the Duchy than are other languages in their own nations such as Welsh and Scots Gaelic.  Ask local people however and they often do understand at least a little of it. Place names are often, but not always, fairly similar as is also the case in Welsh.  

 

Pensans - Lanuthnoe* - Heyl - Kambronn - Resruyth* - Truro
change at Lanuthnoe for Lannanta - Porthreptor - Porthia
* not known to have Cornish on local signs. 

Truro is Cornish in its own right but can arguably be traced back to C13th "Triueru"

[jjb1970]

On China and the lurgy, I don't think China can complain given the controls they imposed on travel. Being asked to provide a negative PCR test result is almost an open door compared to the restrictions China (and to be fair, much of Asia) enforced. We came out to Singapore during the restrictions and the document package was 70 pages with authorisations and permits from the Singapore ICA (immigration and checkpoints authority), ministry of manpower and ministry of health etc, negative PCR test certificates, vaccine certificates, letter of authorisation to enter the country etc. It was painful. And from the airport we were taken straight to a two week quarantine. And quarantine was quarantine, the doors were being monitored and were only allowed to be opened to collect meals and deposit the used containers, utensils and trash for collection. And every day each of us was called at least once by the ministry of health to ask some banal questions to verify we were still there. And we had to do 4 self test rapid tests followed by a PCR test done by a contractor for the ministry of health during quarantine. Another hurdle was that our UK vaccine certificates were recognized for 30 days, to have our vaccine status recognized in Singapore we had to give blood samples for a serology test. That was all pretty normal in Asia, they took controls very seriously out here. The track and trace app was mandatory to go outside, and it was taken seriously. So, asking for a negative PCR result is nothing to people here.

That said, based on my recent trips to Washington DC and London, where from what I could see there are no precautions, virtually nobody is masked and at no point was I asked to produce a vaccine certificate except to transfer in Tokyo Haneda (where Japan requires certification that you have received three vaccine doses even as a transfer passenger) I also think it's a bit rich to ask Chinese people to produce a negative PCR test.

[PupCam]

Last Morning of 2022 (Pre-Munch) All!

 

8 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

 

I know it's very easy to arrive at very questionable conclusions based on personal experience, but I'd offer the following:

 

• My father was told he had an ear infection and pretty much told to stop wasting his GPs time when he started suffering severe dizziness/vertigo. After a while a family friend who was a theatre nurse said it wasn't an ear infection and got a doctor from the hospital to look at him who immediately had him admitted to hospital. He had a brain tumour, a terminal one. Now I don't think earlier diagnosis would have affected the outcome, but the way he was fobbed off doesn't speak well, especially when the doctors who looked after him after diagnosis said the symptoms were classic signs of a brain tumour and should have been followed up much earlier;
• My brother was told he had gout and put on gout medication for years. It was only because he was getting treatment for something else a doctor in hospital suggested it wasn't gout and had him checked by a specialist who diagnosed a joint issue. By that time the damage was too severe to treat. What really upset my brother was being told that if diagnosed earlier the condition would have been very treatable; and
• A couple of years ago I had a ruptured appendix, after which there were a couple of pieces of faeces left behind which caused a roaring infection and emergency readmission for a second much more stressful operation and a week on multiple IV feeds to control it all. It was only after being discharged that the doctors who looked after me in the second part (who were excellent) told me if the infection hadn't responded to the drugs they were pumping into me they'd have been out of options as they were the most powerful drugs available to them. Even the discharge letter after the first operation was wrong, it explicitly stated the appendix had not ruptured, I'm guessing it was a copy and paste. And the wards were very quiet and unstressed as all non-essential surgery had been deferred. 

 

Now as I say extrapolating personal experience is fraught with issues, but it hasn't left me with the best impression of UK healthcare. Oddly enough given my own experience a senior USCG officer attending an IMO meeting went to St. Thomas' hospital with severe abdominal pains (IMO is almost but not quite next door to the hospital) and was told he had indigestion, his appendix burst on the flight home to Washington DC.

 

8 hours ago, AndyID said:

On the NHS, my best pal and best man died of heart failure in Edinburgh 17 years ago. He had not been feeling too well for about six months and the NHS definitely failed him. The diagnostics they used were useless. Had he been in the US I'm confident they would have detected the actual problem. Whether or not they could have saved his life is another matter of course but at least he might have had a fighting chance.

 

A situation similar to my own although thankfully so far without the same outcome.   ERs may recall my attempts to get GP appointments ~ 2 years ago .....     

Thankfully when I did finally collapse in a big heap I happened to be standing just outside the resus bay of the local hospital.   Well, if you are going to do it, that's probably the best place!

 

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

GP = Hausarzt. i.e.  Ein Hausarzt ist ein niedergelassener (freiberuflicher) Arzt oder in einer ärztlichen Kooperationsgemeinschaft wie z. B. einem medizinischen Versorgungszentrum oder einer Berufsausübungsgemeinschaft angestellt. Für den Patienten ist er meist die erste Anlaufstelle bei medizinischen Problemen, im Rahmen des deutschen Hausarztmodells muss er das sogar sein. Damit dient er als Lotse in einem unübersichtlichen Gesundheitssystem.
Wie jeder niedergelassene Arzt ist auch der Hausarzt berufsrechtlich verpflichtet, gegebenenfalls, z. B. bei schwereren Krankheiten, notwendige Hausbesuche durchzuführen. Um die ärztliche Versorgung auch außerhalb der Sprechstunden sicherzustellen, organisieren niedergelassene Ärzte in der Regel einen ärztlichen Notdienst. (from Wiki DE)

In other words: “A general practitioner is an established (freelance) doctor or employed in a medical cooperative such as a medical care centre or a professional practice association. For the patient, he is usually the first point of contact for medical problems, and under the German GP model he even has to be. He thus serves as a pilot in a confusing health care system.
Like every established doctor, the family doctor is also obliged by professional law to make any necessary house calls, e.g. in the case of more serious illnesses. In order to ensure medical care outside of office hours, general practitioners usually organise a medical emergency service”

 

It appears that my attempts at satire failed 🤣

 

3 hours ago, polybear said:

I know of at least one Bear that will be MOST sorry, make that MOST p1ssed off if the Bearyvision ever becomes unusable all because of a distinct lack of a software update - I'll immediately cross that brand off the acceptable suppliers list for evermore.

 

Be prepared to not being able to buy a  "television" very soon then.   Unfortunately, it's the way the world is going.    Our Samsung SMART TV became distinctly unsmart after a couple of years which was remedied by the acquisition of an Amazon Firestick to convert it into a bog standard TV & monitor.    And no, the Firestick's Alexa is never enabled 🤣       Phones, Tablets, Laptops, TVs, Washing Machines, Microwaves, Smart light sockets 😉, cars are all on the very slippery slope .....

 

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Today would have been my mums 103rd birthday. Hardly a day goes by without thinking about her although she died 35 years ago.

 

Such anniversaries are a focus for such thoughts but like you, key MIA relatives are always in my thoughts.

 

2 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

I haven't had my jabs yet. Its not apathy but the venue (the local Boots) is inaccessible to me and when I mentioned it all they sent me was a list of alternatives, those I tried were fully booked and many were to far away. The previous two jabs I received a notification and were held in places that were easily accessible. This year  all that I got was an e-mail reminder to get jabbed with a link to book the jab and the times and places which as I said above were not suitable.

 

Unfortunately this is yet another example (as if one were needed) of how modern society just ignores a significant chunk of the population because they "can't fit in with" the method of delivery that some (not so) bright Herbert has asserted to be the cheapest  and only solution.    We've lost count of the number of times people have said to my very elderly but still living independently mother to "Just pop-in and have X, Y or Z done".   At well over 90 she's in no position to pop anywhere - Muppets!      Oh no, you've started me off again Phil.   I'll have to go and read another chapter of the Grumpy Gxts Guide to Life 🤣

 

TTFNQ

 

Alan

[iL Dottore]

6 minutes ago, PupCam said:

It appears that my attempts at satire failed 🤣

 

Alan

No, no. Satire (or was it sarcasm?) duly noted.

But I thought you’d like to become reacquainted with the concept😁😮🤣

[jjb1970]

6 hours ago, iL Dottore said:

I think that one of the big problems with the NHS is that it is funded from general taxation - which means that the cost of healthcare is hidden from the population (and because the money comes out of general taxation, will always be at the mercy, and largesse, of the government).

 

A further problem which arises from the current model is it promotes a culture of 'you're getting if for free, be grateful for what you're getting and put up with it'. In other countries there is a different relationship between healthcare providers and patients, and I think a better one.

[polybear]

3 hours ago, PeterBB said:

The fact that pnly 64% have taken the offer of vaccination just shows pure apathy and is/has no doubt been one of the reasons why Covid again  is still on the increase.

 

A Doc on the BBC Radio News this morning was saying that he's far more concerned with the number (or rather, lack of) rugrats and Pregnant Women not taking up Flu vaccinations.

 

2 hours ago, grandadbob said:

As far as jabs go I've had  everything offered over the past few years...Flu, Pneumonia, Shingles and all Covid ones.  AFAICR  I haven't even had a cold for over 4 years and think anyone who doesn't have the jabs (unless there is a valid reason) is completely bonkers and irresponsible.

 

 

If such people need medical/hospital care as a result of not being vaccinated then I'd Bill them for it.

 

35 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I also think it's a bit rich to ask Chinese people to produce a negative PCR test.

 

It appears that Italy have done a couple of spot checks on people arriving on  flights from China - over 50% tested positive for the WooFlu.

(Now then, and bearing in mind they've all flown together in a Cigar Tube for many hours, do you still let those in that have tested negative?)

[monkeysarefun]

 

 

Well the calender just clicked over and now comes several days of having to remember what year it is.

 

Happy New Year when it gets there...

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by monkeysarefun

[iL Dottore]

1 minute ago, jjb1970 said:

 

A further problem which arises from the current model is it promotes a culture of 'you're getting if for free, be grateful for what you're getting and put up with it'. In other countries there is a different relationship between healthcare providers and patients, and I think a better one.

A very important point (highlighted). It may be free at the point of delivery, but it certainly isn’t “free”. And why should I be “grateful” for a service that I, as a taxpayer, am paying for? Appreciative of skill, knowledge, experience, expertise and ability? Yes, of course. But grateful?

 

Another important point is the patient-doctor relationship. Some time ago (before my GP friend retired) I rolled up to his practice for an evening of video gaming, only to find my friend being incredibly patient with a complete kn0b of a patient (apparently, the pillock was upset cos my friend had informed the pillock that the homeopathic remedy the pillock found on the internet was total b0ll0cks and NO, he wasn’t going to write a prescription for it….)

Later I asked him why he was so patient and he simply replied “my reputation” With a reputation for being a thorough, conscientious and caring doctor with a smooth running practice, my friend had built up a successful GP surgery through word of mouth. Any shortcomings on his part would have resulted in patients voting with their feet. Like all reputations, a good doctor’s reputation is incredibly hard to build up and oh so easy to destroy.

 

But if the patient is bereft of any alternative or choice, then the not-so-good-doctors and practices have no incentive to “up their game”.

[The White Rabbit]

2 hours ago, polybear said:

.... Complaints Procedure?  Waste of f. time, if the stories on the BBC News are anything to go by.  I did (and can easily still do) harbour thoughts of "discussing it further" with a certain individual for a loooooooooooooong time afterwards, however.   😡😡       

 

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

A further problem which arises from the current model is it promotes a culture of 'you're getting if for free, be grateful for what you're getting and put up with it'. In other countries there is a different relationship between healthcare providers and patients, and I think a better one.

 

35 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

A very important point (highlighted). It may be free at the point of delivery, but it certainly isn’t “free”. And why should I be “grateful” for a service that I, as a taxpayer, am paying for? Appreciative of skill, knowledge, experience, expertise and ability? Yes, of course. But grateful?  ....

 

Maybe I'm oversimplifying things but to my way of looking at things, if we pay £ out in taxes to fund healthcare (or social security or any other sort of state 'safety net') then we have [indirectly] paid for it. In which case, the usual rules of contract law and equity should apply. In my experience, the NHS has failed four of my close family (three fatally) as well as screwing things up big-time for myself. All from things which are normally treatable/survivable. If it happens once, well, (say) 1 in 10 odds mean unfortunately these things happen. Twice, (1 in 100 - see maths laws of probability) well, some poor *** has to make up the stats. But when it gets to (say) 10 5 then it feels like there is something very rotten in [that organisation] and if they don't take complaints seriously - which my experience has also shown - then that is a very ugly picture. And anyone who imagines there will be no political or social consequences is living in cloud cuckoo land. That consistent and sustained incompetence and abuse is not the sort of thing you can forgive or forget.  

[jjb1970]

What annoys me isn't so much that mistakes are made, I am an engineer and acutely aware that in making decisions based on available evidence sometimes a wrong decision will be made. Similarly, when performing any task, nobody is infallible. As the saying goes, let mr (or ms) perfect throw the first stone. What annoys me is the attitude when it happens. An explanation and a little contrition go a long way. I am not a fan of demanding apologies as I think the concept of apology has almost become weaponized in some quarters, but a sincere apology freely offered is a wonderful thing. In none of the three cases I mentioned in my family was any explanation offered, nor any apology from those who messed up. To be fair, the people who cleaned up the mess of my appendix were very apologetic but nobody from the first operation and post-op treatment and nobody from the hospital management. The attitude really does seem to be 'it's free, take what you get and be happy ', despite the fact that I was paying a rather substantial sum in tax and NI. One of my roles was global technical authority for engines for a large classification society. That might sound vaguely impressive but in reality it was part making decisions passed upward in difficult cases, part being an e-mail answerer and part dealing with clients when we let them down. Which meant some robust and difficult conversations and taking it on the chin, but at least I made the effort to meet with the client, give a full explanation, explain what we could do to recover their trust and apologize on behalf of the society. If I could do it I see no reason other organizations can't. I guess a difference is that the shipyards and shipowners had plenty of alternatives and so there was a big incentive to look after them if something went wrong.

[Gwiwer]

1 hour ago, monkeysarefun said:

Well the calender just clicked over and now comes several days of having to remember what year it is.

 

Happy New Year when it gets there...

Never have a problem remembering the date.  Most years I end up chasing colleagues who have signed on for duty at the House of Fun "last year" with the words "If you want paying this year ....... " 

 

Sydney, as usual, put on a decent show.  They have the geography and they have the coat-hanger across the river to do just that.  AND you can cross that bridge by car, bus, train or on foot should you so wish although not for the duration of the fireworks nor for a few minutes afterwards while a safety check is carried out.  

 

London awaits its turn.  Anyone who has put displays together in the backyard may find they are washed out after a day of heavy rain here.  The professional displays are always protected from the weather although even they can suffer diminution of the aerial shows if thick drizzle or heavy rain extinguishes part of the display.  

 

Dr. SWMBO is watching Something Really Boring on TV; I have retired to the Sanctuary where I can play with the computer, the little wheeled objects of desire and can even, should I feel so motivated, get on with the book which won't write itself.  

 

In two hours we're off out to wine and dine.  I'm allowed one small glass of wine with the meal as I'm driving.  That saves us struggling to find an Uber on New Year's Eve and paying what will surely be an "enhanced" rate for the privilege.