Well i seem to have weathered another storm and am more or less back to normal. It seems a long time since i wrote anything at all, and now I am able again, I wonder what i can write about?
The first signs of spring are here. I have just returned from a hospital appointment and the council are digging up the roads. This means huge tailbacks of traffic on a more or less daily basis and no doubt this will continue through until next winter now. I know that there are sound technological reasons for doing road work in the spring and summer, but it does seem stupid to make sure that a road repair causes the maximum amount of inconvenience. I imagine bored clerks in the planning offices, playing games and scoring points for the length of traffic queues that they can generate. I believe that this has the makings of a board game.
Wednesday 25 February 2009
Wednesday 11 February 2009
Itchy and Scratchy
I haven't been well for some time now. My normal strategy is to ignore things and hope that they go away, and by and large this works. On this occasion the symptoms have remained and I suppose i should be getting concerned. I have indeed booked an appointment to see a doctor, not my own GP who is always missing when I need to see her, but another who I happen to know and trust anyway. People keep telling me that the symptoms may be a sign of some other asymptomatic condition, and I suppose that is my biggest concern. The thought of yet another spell in hospital does not appeal at all, and frankly I'd rather not entertain the prospect. The first step has been taken however and tomorrow i will attend surgery and pour out the hisitory of my complaint. My guess is that he will listen and be as perplexed as was the last expert that I saw.
The problem is these hives, that keep appearing for no obvious reason. Please excuse me if i write down the symptoms, it helps me to clarify things and makes sure that I don't miss the important. It starts with an itch on my left palm. Always the left and never the right. Close inspection shows a tiny red subcutaneous spot that grows like a fungal ring leaving a raised white welt in the centre. Once established, others appear, moving to my right hand, the back of my head and so on. There is a symmetry to it, and each welt is matched approximately with one on the other side. This week it has gone from my hands and moved to my feet, which is far far worse. The welts itch so much that I cannot sleep and so I have spent the last week lying awake scratching myself raw and to no avail. Last night i took a large dose of sleeping pills- normal doses don't work on me, and I slept soundly without moving until light. The itch remains and tonight I will dope myself up again and hope for some sort of oblivion. It would be so nice to feel good for a while.
The problem is these hives, that keep appearing for no obvious reason. Please excuse me if i write down the symptoms, it helps me to clarify things and makes sure that I don't miss the important. It starts with an itch on my left palm. Always the left and never the right. Close inspection shows a tiny red subcutaneous spot that grows like a fungal ring leaving a raised white welt in the centre. Once established, others appear, moving to my right hand, the back of my head and so on. There is a symmetry to it, and each welt is matched approximately with one on the other side. This week it has gone from my hands and moved to my feet, which is far far worse. The welts itch so much that I cannot sleep and so I have spent the last week lying awake scratching myself raw and to no avail. Last night i took a large dose of sleeping pills- normal doses don't work on me, and I slept soundly without moving until light. The itch remains and tonight I will dope myself up again and hope for some sort of oblivion. It would be so nice to feel good for a while.
Tuesday 3 February 2009
When icicles hang by the wall
The birds in the garden have been confused over the last couple of days. Snow and hail have been the norm, and these phenomena must be outside of the experience and/or memory of most wild life. So one moment the food containers are visible and the next , buried beneath a soft cold wet carpet. The grass vanishes and then reappears, and everything is so cold. However they seem to get by and adapt very quickly, thy learn to dig into the snow and find the food they need and even use the snow as a welcome supply of water.
We on the other hand, don't seem to cope well at all. The trains don't seem to run and neither do the buses. Even the ferries seem to have had issues, and I'd love to know way an inch or so of snow can bring them to a halt. Many people cannot get to work and as a result the economy takes yet another kick while it is down. Schools and colleges have closed for various reasons and of course that has brought the usual volley of complaints.
Schools do not close for no reason at all, and the final decision is taken by the head teacher, who, if he/she thinks that it is not in the interest of safety to keep the place open, must decide to close. Quite often the schools remain open to staff who are expected to get there somehow. I understand that some parents will be stuck for childcare if the schools are not open for trade, but can we please remember that schools are not childminding services, even if many parents do see them that way.
I would imagine that those who are moaning loudest would be the same people to criticise and condemn the schools if their precious little sprogs were to get hurt or worse as a result of the schools staying open. We have become a blame culture and there are some who will moan and complain about anything.
As I write this, the snow is melting and it is likely that come tomorrow the last bits will have gone and the birds will have forgotten what happened today. Their lives will go on, and so will ours.
We on the other hand, don't seem to cope well at all. The trains don't seem to run and neither do the buses. Even the ferries seem to have had issues, and I'd love to know way an inch or so of snow can bring them to a halt. Many people cannot get to work and as a result the economy takes yet another kick while it is down. Schools and colleges have closed for various reasons and of course that has brought the usual volley of complaints.
Schools do not close for no reason at all, and the final decision is taken by the head teacher, who, if he/she thinks that it is not in the interest of safety to keep the place open, must decide to close. Quite often the schools remain open to staff who are expected to get there somehow. I understand that some parents will be stuck for childcare if the schools are not open for trade, but can we please remember that schools are not childminding services, even if many parents do see them that way.
I would imagine that those who are moaning loudest would be the same people to criticise and condemn the schools if their precious little sprogs were to get hurt or worse as a result of the schools staying open. We have become a blame culture and there are some who will moan and complain about anything.
As I write this, the snow is melting and it is likely that come tomorrow the last bits will have gone and the birds will have forgotten what happened today. Their lives will go on, and so will ours.
Monday 2 February 2009
High maintenance
The bank of England is in trouble today. Not because of the terrible mess that the bankers have made of the world economy, but because they dared to offer a seminar in which they gave women advice on what to wear for work. This is of course demeaning to women and the equivalent of telling a Jehova's Witness that they might just be wrong.
Women's groups are up in arms of course, why would they not be? After all no such advice is offered to men. It would seem that women are being judged on their appearance rather than their performance.
And yet, most women, at least the ones that I know, are obsessed about their appearance, and have wardrobes and underwear drawers bursting at the seams with expensive collections of nicely shaped bits of cloth. How often do we hear "I don't know what to wear" or "I haven't a thing to wear" or similar pleas for advice? Do men ask - does my bum look big in this? or even How do I look?
A man might take ten minutes to get ready to go out, and in that time can shower, shave, brush teeth and be ready to go. A woman on the other hand can take hours, and even then may not be happy with how she looks, making adjustments right up to the last minute and then considering going back and starting again.
I have no idea how the seminar ran or if they had any takers, but anything that could get a woman ready to go from scratch in ten minutes would be a very marketable product.
Women's groups are up in arms of course, why would they not be? After all no such advice is offered to men. It would seem that women are being judged on their appearance rather than their performance.
And yet, most women, at least the ones that I know, are obsessed about their appearance, and have wardrobes and underwear drawers bursting at the seams with expensive collections of nicely shaped bits of cloth. How often do we hear "I don't know what to wear" or "I haven't a thing to wear" or similar pleas for advice? Do men ask - does my bum look big in this? or even How do I look?
A man might take ten minutes to get ready to go out, and in that time can shower, shave, brush teeth and be ready to go. A woman on the other hand can take hours, and even then may not be happy with how she looks, making adjustments right up to the last minute and then considering going back and starting again.
I have no idea how the seminar ran or if they had any takers, but anything that could get a woman ready to go from scratch in ten minutes would be a very marketable product.
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