Early Risers.

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A dull but dry start to the day here in England’s northwest. I’m up a little earlier than usual, but as I mentioned last night, I’m having my Covid injection this morning. The medical centre doing them is just over a mile and a half away, so will entail a brisk walk, there and back. The rest of the day is going to be spent relaxing, possibly redrawing accurately, the rough sketches I made the other day of a small engineering company for the corner of the layout, so see if they are actually workable. 

 

I can only say good things about the NHS, never having had a bad experience or delayed treatment. I have been in the back of an ambulance once, when I had an industrial injury which resulted in the lose of part of a finger. In all other treatment the doctors have been informative and helpful. I’ve also been lucky too, as my cancer was only diagnosed when I was sent for a blood test, just to rule it out, as treatment for a back problem mimicked some of the signs of prostate cancer! That was 9 years and I’m still being monitored and treated for it. 

 

Stay safe, stay sane, enjoy whatever you have planned for the day, back later. 

 

Brian

[Tony_S]

Morning all.

Heading east soon this morning, for the clinic appointment I mentioned yesterday. Google maps suggests “traffic is lighter than usual”. 
It isn’t cold and I can see blue sky. When we went out yesterday I noticed my car was covered in fine sandy dust.  I don’t think that had blown in on the same storm affecting the IoM and North Wales. 
After today I don’t think I have any medical appointments for some time. I have had quite a few during the last year and have always felt as if I am being looked after. It can’t be easy for all the staff to carry on doing “normal” procedures during a pandemic but they have in my case. A few delays during the first lockdown but not since. Seeing all those people working does make me a bit disappointed to see some other members of the public being “difficult” about complying with rules/guidelines/common sense. 
Tony

[jonny777]

Hello from a dry, bright and breezy North Somerset. Very mild - 13C already. 

 

My efforts to move seedlings around the garden seem to be doing well, as nothing has shrivelled yet and this weather ought to spur them on. I might try some more transplanting later today and hope for a colourful May/June as a result. 

[New Haven Neil]

Morning, wet 'n' windy still but nothing like it was yesterday - which got a bit scary at one point.

 

As an ex-NHS manager I may have bias - but taken as a whole, it is quite remarkable.  The US system scares the hell out of me, less well off people must just suffer or die.  Over here we have a sort of mini NHS much the same as the UK, and prescription charges are £3.85 per item, eye tests are free every other year unless you have issues (such as my diabetes) when it is every year.  As I am on more pills than I can count to for various issues, I get an annual charge card, it's about £80 IIRC.  Yes we have to wait sometimes (am currently for hip issues!) but if you're really ill, in you go.

 

Talking of the wind, leads me on to....flatulence.   You guessed......lowering the tone as usual, but this is a serious comment!  I am taking a 'proton pump inhibitor' which is to protect my stomach from the nastier side of NSAID anti-inflammatories, and one side effect is, er yes.  I wondered what was going on at first, I mean this is a REAL issue later in the day, quite obnoxious in fact, we're not talking a love puffle (copyright a nurse friend!), more a fog horn, but a chat with the pharmacist did reveal it can be a side effect.  Better than an ulcer I suppose, but...phew....I have my own trombone it would appear.

[monkeysarefun]

2 hours ago, chrisf said:

As it happens, I was going to say something else about Royal Mail today so here goes.  How does stuff get lost in the post? 

The Royal Mail hasn't been the same since Tom Kruse dropped off his perch.

(Not that Tom Cruise)

 

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by monkeysarefun

[BlackRat]

Morning all from a grey and overcast Kernow.

 

Generic birthday bet wishes etc and sorry for not responding but its been a hectic few days.

 

MiL's funeral yesterday which went as well as these things can, particularly under the (ridiculous) covid regulations for such things. Still someone thought they were a good idea to keep us safe so these things we must endure, for now.

 

Just the lightest hint of drizzle as the 16 of us awaited her arrival, all dressed in masks etc and a simple but lovely ceremony.

 

A defibrillator on the wall raised a giggle.....as I pointed out it was too late for some of the visitors and a belly laugh in our car on the way home.....as a large owl was spotted beside the A38 in the Glyn Valley near Trago (her favourite bird).

 

As in the Peter Kay funeral sketch son said.....Its a sign, thats her that is......and we roared, as indeed MiL would have.

 

Personally I think it was a large plastic bird scarer, but who cares, it lightened an unpleasant moment.

 

Today sees a garage clear out, as apparently I DONT need all that clutter do I......? And I need room for that second bike.....you can NEVER have enough motorcycles.

 

Stay safe one and all.

[Mike Bellamy]

On 22/02/2021 at 09:15, Erichill16 said:

. . . . . trying to decide what to do with ‘stuff’. It was a real eye opener yesterday  seeing what mums still got hanging around. In particular theres my Dads snooker cue propped  up by the back door and he passed away in 2004!

 

 

Father-in-law has just moved to a care home in Grantham after 6 weeks in Lincoln Hospital after a fall and fractured shoulder blade - lost his balance getting off the loo and fell backwards cracking his shoulder on the WC. That's one of many falls and as he couldn't bear any weight on his arm, he couldn't use his walking frame - end result is that he's been discharged as 'medically fit' but now stays in bed all day. As a result we have made a start on sorting out the house as we very much doubt he will ever be fit enough to go home. Like you, it was surprising how much 'stuff' he had collected - aged 88 and lived on his own for 40 years since being divorced. There were drawers full of scraps of paper with phone numbers written on but without a name so why keep them. There was however one lucky find - a Grantham Directory from 1963 which listed every street in town and who was the home owner - I found my dad's name and also a half page advert he had taken in the directory as he had just started his plumbing business.

 

On 22/02/2021 at 22:23, Erichill16 said:

Enough of that for now, bit of good news, niece has been accepted on a course at Derby University.

 

 

Pleased to hear that - I worked there for 20 years until retirement a couple of years ago - Quality Office dealing with approval of new programmes and monitoring and review of existing programmes - taking notes and writing lots of reports - may I ask what she will be studying?

.

 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Arthur Itis and the sore foot were going hammer and tongs this morning but the seaweed wranglers say there won't be much in the way of rain. I've taken a couple of Nurofen and the result is as mentioned by Neil, helped (or not as the case may be) by the pair of boiled eggs that was breakfast. Not down to Royal Mail but the item I purchased from Hong Kong at the beginning of December is still stuck in Abu Dhabi. I have asked for a refund and that will be forthcoming at the end of the week if the goods don't show up. Muggatee # 2 awaits my attention so its be back later.

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

I am taking a 'proton pump inhibitor' which is to protect my stomach from the nastier side of NSAID anti-inflammatories,

I was prescribed a proton pump inhibitor after my second stent procedure. I noticed a similar side effect. It could have been worse though, at least it isn’t colic or “trapped wind” which sounds unpleasant and makes babies cry. 

[southern42]

8 hours ago, 5 C said:

Evening/morning awl, 

 

Catching up on RMWeb during a nocturnal awakening. I posted this over on the old cars thread but I thought it might be of interest to any ex-Job ER's or anyone who fancies a trip back to a less 'elf & safety conscious age.

 

 

 

Elf n safety?  Late 1950s in a four seater Morris Minor 1000 2-door saloon, Grandad and Gran in front, Mum and Dad in the back, me in-between, sis on my lap all coming back from a 70 mile trip to the seaside and no seatbelts!  I remember we ended up in a hot summer's day traffic jam. 

 

I do miss DD's presence on here!

Polly

[The Stationmaster]

Morning all,

 

The lad has been duly jabbed with Pfizer's abti-Covid juice and his arm is a bit sore - hopefully the side effects will be no worse than that.   Being an OF I don't pay prescription charges and in fact avoided them pre OFness because having used the prepayment system for some time when i was visiting the (previous) GP one day something came up about prescriptions and she said they should be free for you.  So the necessary was done by her and I duly ceased to pay for them.   Overall i've got very few complaints about the NHS although after years involved with such things my opinion of the rostering non-system inflicted on the GD is very low and lacks much in the way of either order or understanding of the effect of shift work on circadian rhythm.  And when I was in the RBH in Reading 20 years ago I was even impressed by the quality of the food although cleaning standards there had declined over the years and were less rigorous on wards that the standards I'd worked to on railway carriage cleaning in past years.

 

Now to the good news - service and MoT amounted to 'only' £250 - somewhat less than I'd expected.  But this morning Hazel in the office rang to say that I'd been undercharged for the oil so an extra £40 was duly added; but still a bit less than my original expectations.  And having taken the car on a battery boosting trip the day before yesterday we made an essential shopping trip to a baker who makes excellent lardy cake as well as accessing nearby  the cheapest diresel for miles around saving me 6.2p/litre compared with Eurogarage's rip-off prices here (which oddly aren't as bad as a BP petrol station on the A4.

 

R talking of A4's. I came across a nice little online jigsaw of one at the weekend - the initial views are pretty small but there was something about it.  As I put it together it became simpler as I knew exactly where the original picture had been taken - our local branch junction.  Here it is.  

Have a good day everybody and stay safe.

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by The Stationmaster

[Barry O]

House is now and span.

 

Still a bit grey here but the house is being given a proper airing with various windows wide open...

 

Baz

Edited February 24, 2021 by Barry O

[tigerburnie]

Morning, dry here, but sky looks ominous. I had a couple of company private health schemes, used 1 in the Nuffield in Derby when a kidney stone went walk about and then a "procedure to remove it" when it got stuck( no incision was made and I walked around like a cowboy minus his hoss for a week after!!) Second one was when up here, not me this time but SWMBO had her hip replaced, surgeon was spot on the but place in Dundee(now since closed) was a dump, I had a suspicion I had more medical qualifications than the "DR" from somewhere in Eastern Europe had(and that was one of the nurses opinions as well).

[Tony_S]

The results from the recent echocardiogram were good enough to get me discharged from the heart failure clinic. So now returned to GP for heart monitoring. The GP wanted me to join their chronic heart condition programme last month but agreed to wait until the hospital had discharged me. As I will now need diabetic monitoring I think the practice nurse who does hearts does diabetes as well so perhaps an all in one visit will be arranged. 
Tony

[BSW01]

I'm back home now having been jabbed with the Pfizer vaccine. So far no ill effects, but it's only just over an hour since I was jabbed, so time will tell. 

[New Haven Neil]

That's great news about the heart Tony - hopefully your diabetes nurse is a little more on the ball than mine - I've given up on them and just speak to the GP when needed as he is up to date on low carbing etc.  Most diabetics die of cardiac issues so there is a strong link between the two, you're ahead of the game now, well done.

 

It is still windy (outside....inside will be later!) but has dried off so time for a walk and then a spot of lunch.  It's all go around here.

[BoD]

3 hours ago, TheQ said:

I did wonder at her having visited A&E many times, in the last 63 years of my life I've visited twice in the back of an ambulance.

I refuse to mention the fact that I have never had need for A&E because if I do I know exactly what will happen...

[iL Dottore]

Good morning/afternoon everybody.

 

An early start this morning and a short walk with the Wolfpack as I was off to the vet for a minor procedure and a top up of my medications (the vet, in this particular instance, being my GP). I turn up with five minutes to spare, no faffing around having to wait outside (or other nonsense as reported by ERs regarding their trips to their GPs), I washed my hands with an alcohol-based disinfectant, I made sure my mask was on correctly and proceed to sit comfortably in an appropriately socially distance waiting room.

 

In to see vet, minor procedure performed, some minor but annoying symptomatology reviewed, evaluated and discussed, a quick blood test to confirm everything that should be working properly was indeed working properly. And then off home. In reviewing my case with the vet, we concluded that a combination of insomnia, too much coffee and being glued to the computer screen working for 5 to 6 hours at a stretch were the likely causes of the annoying symptomatology.  Still, it was good to know that everything is pretty much ticketyboo (the curse of my life: brain by Rolls-Royce, body by Trabant). As I mentioned in passing to my GP I put the “psycho” into “psychosomatic”.

 

Whilst on matters medical, I noted in a number of newspaper reports today that the usual subjects are already lining up to challenge the concept of “no jab, no job“ or “no vaccine, no vacation”. And, surprise surprise, the usual suspects claim it’s because these approaches “discriminate“ against people who make the choice not to be vaccinated because of a non-medical reason. Call me cynical, but if I listen carefully I can hear the sound of countless “no win, no fee“ claims lawyers placing orders for their new BMW’s and Mercedes.

 

Quite frankly, this is taking the concept of discrimination a little bit too far. Whilst it is more than appropriate and entirely fair that people should not be discriminated against on the basis of things over which they have no control (age, ethnicity, sex), being discriminated against because of your personal choice may not necessarily be nice, but it’s hardly unfair given that the supposed “discrimination“ is based entirely on the decision that you make as an individual. And if individuals are not going to suffer (or benefit) from the consequences of their decisions and actions, well we might as well  give up completely and let anarchy erupt.

 

Sadly, and I am being quite pessimistic here, I think that it is highly likely that those people claiming “discrimination“ will win – simply because Britain (along with the USA) has allowed the concept of “individual freedom“ to dominate all other considerations. It is no accident, I think, that those countries with the highest death toll per capita from CoVID-19 are those countries where a selfish individualism is tolerated if not encouraged.

[45156]

Morning All

 

Sorry, but several pages skipped, and as a result, all I can offer is the usual generic greetings, and hope that all are well.

 

30747 got an armful of the Oxford/Atra Zeneca yesterday, but was initially going to be turned away, as it now transpires that there is NO special case for nursery workers, albeit that her employer thinks that there is.  However, she has also had three TIAs over the last two years, and when she mentioned this to the person vetting the patients, she said "We'll put you through on that basis then" - so she was done, and today has a very sore arm, and said that she feels a bit off colour. 

 

And for me - believe it or not, I have an appointment for tomorrow morning for my much delayed dental inspection, so after my fodder run, I'll be "opening wide" and hoping that nothing needs to be done - 30747 actually managed to have a crown replaced (cost a fortune) and mentioned to the dentist that I hadn't been examined for over a year, and he said that as I'm diabetic, he'd arrange something, and he did.

 

Regards to All

Stewart

 

 

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

- hopefully your diabetes nurse is a little more on the ball than mine - I've given up on them and just speak to the GP when needed as he is up to date on low carbing etc.

Aditi seems happy with the diabetic nurse. I saw her once a few years ago as my blood glucose was a little high but not for long, so have just had regular blood checks. The last lot of results triggered a response. The practice nurses and GPs work as a team so they don’t contradict each other. My nephew’s fiancée is just starting a Masters degree in chronic condition care and will also get a diabetic nurse qualification too. Though I am quite happy with my GP practice and don’t need to check up on them. Aditi’s brother has asked about my cardiac stuff as it is something he has to deal with a lot , as what has happened at the heart failure clinic is a GP service where he lives and works. 
Tony

[New Haven Neil]

Reading the diabetic forums (I mostly go on diabetes.co.uk) it is very disheartening to read how many people have real issues with practices not being up to date with diabetic care - ours is somewhere in the middle with the younger doctors being much more with it, as you would imagine. 

 

My last GP was 'older' and TBH gave the impression of not being that interested in diabetes at all although was helpful in other issues - the nurse I have mentioned as not being up to date, my new GP is pretty good although initially  was a little sceptical I could control my HbA1c without drugs, but is pleased I have proved him wrong, and is taking it on board to try with others.

 

 It sounds like your care has been excellent Tony, thankfully.  You also have great family backup!

[TheQ]

Just been reading up on the vaccines and diabetes..  The vaccines stuff your sugar levels for a couple of days because :

A, your body is fighting a "pretend" virus

B, there is a small amount of sucrose in the vaccines..

 

Meanwhile my levels have stopped falling since I gave up bread, just bouncing around a bit.. But still a bit to high.. I think the porridge for breakfast is going to have to go .. But what to have?

 

PS an odd thought, I wonder if those who react to the vaccine badly, are the same ones that would end up on a ward intubated with a bad case of the real virus?

Edited February 24, 2021 by TheQ

[Tony_S]

1 hour ago, New Haven Neil said:

You also have great family backup!

I certainly know which ones to ask! Though they usually say they would have done what my GP did. 

Edited February 24, 2021 by Tony_S

[Gwiwer]

The 

                                       internet

                                                                                                     is

 

 

very

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                                                                                                                                                   today.

 

 

[TheQ]

nothereitisn't