What is the point?

Societies, universally, have rules that have developed throughout history. We appoint lawmakers and law keepers and have systems in place that are supposed to punish or rehabilitate those that choose not to abide by those laws. Without some sort of legal system we would be living in an anarchy and is such a dog eat dog world only the strongest would survive and evolution would kick into reverse.

When a six year old refuses to do as he is told without making a lot of fuss, and then declares that he doesn't like being told what to do by adults there is some cause for concern.  This is a symptom of the way that society at large is changing.  Laws, or rules it would seem are for other people.  This week we have seen a number of tragic drownings around the coast, some due to people choosing to ignore instructions regarding safety in tidal waters.  Go to any beach where there are instructions about where not to swim and you can be sure that there will be plenty who ignore this instructions.

Using a mobile phone while driving is of course dangerous. I need all of my attention on my phone just to make it work and cannot imagine driving whilst using it, but there are plenty who do. It is of course illegal and yet so many flout this law, imagining that they are in some way above it or maybe they believe that they have superpowers and are able to give enough attention to what is going on around them.

The attitude of the six year old is worrying. If he thinks that he can go through life ignoring instructions from adults then he is in for some hard knocks, and maybe that is what is missing these days. There seem to be no real deterrents, no punishments that mean anything. I was taught a valuable lesson when I first went into teaching, and that was, never threaten a child with anything that you do not intend to carry out. It would seem that there are plenty of threats and dest no follow through, and maybe that is why he refuses to do as he is told.

Test results

This week saw the release of GCSE results along with the predictable press coverage. If the results are good then the tests are too easy and if they are not, then the schools are to blame. The press are a pretty loathsome bunch and should never be taken seriously.

I also had some results. For several weeks now I have been dreading the outcome of my scan. I even went away on holiday and thought of little else. On friday the day came to see my GP again; she has been on holiday too so that explained some of the wait.  The previous night we had a long chat about the possible outcome; we both hoped for the best but were prepared for the worst and so the twenty minute sit in the waiting rood seemed an awful lot longer.

We were ushered into her surgery and for a moment she was unsure of why I was there. then it dawned on her that I had not been informed, and she was quick to tell me that the shadows on my lungs were scars from previous infections and that there was no sign of lymph nodes or cancers. My relief was intense, tempered with the fact that I have to have another scan on my lower body. By the time that is done, I will have been very thoroughly examined. I have an appointment for an eeg in London but will have to wait until october for that one and then goodness knows how much longer for some sort of follow up.

So, well done to all those who got good news this week and commiserations to those who were disappointed.

Looking at life

I just got back from a week in Margate. We rented a lovely house in a quiet seafront area and enjoyed a week of wonderful weather with the extended family. Of course we ate too much and drank too much, but there were no arguments and no fights so everyone had a good time.

I have never been to Margate before, and only really knew of it by reputation from the 60s, when every bank holiday it seems there was an invasion by rival gangs of Mods and Rockers who would use the beach and  the town to brawl and terrorise the innocent.

Margate is a lovely place; it looks a little tired, but it has been a holiday Mecca for much of London for a long while, and they still arrive each day in their droves, bravely setting up camp on the sands and purchasing the cheap plastic rubbish that seaside towns seem to have in endless supply. Many will head for Dreamland - a traditional fairground, designed to take away as much tourist cash as possible in the least possible time. Sadly the place is in administration, though still attracting swarms of visitors despite the terrible inefficiencies involved in taking people's money. Queues are the norm and the staff don't seem to care one way or the other, hardly surprising really.

I like to watch people, and it seemed that the world and his wife visit Margate. Probably a good cross section of the outer London population. It was so nice to see huge Asian families in full traditional costumes, picnicking in the heat and surrounded by scantily clad others, slowly grilling in the sun. So many acres of flesh on display, much of it obese, covered in ghastly tattoos and handfuls of sunscreen. What is is about a beach that makes people want to expose their bodies, however unsightly they may be?

On a completely different note, I have had my chest scan and now have an appointment for a scan on my head. I am rather hoping that they find nothing in either; at least nothing that should not be there.

Update

I now know that I have shadows on my lungs.  I was never a fan - preferred Duane Eddy!

Health continued

I saw a neurologist yesterday and answered a lot of questions. He prodded and poked and hit me with his little hammer and made me touch my nose with my eyes shut and wrote down a lot of notes in indecipherable handwriting with an elegant fountain pen.  He talked about temporal lobe epilepsy and has put me down for a CT scan and a sleeping ECG at Kings in London.  After that I will be seeing him again for whatever conclusions he can come to.

Killing two birds with one stone, I also had my chest Xray. There are many advantages to being early in the system and everything yesterday was quick and efficient. We were out of the hospital before my appointment was due to begin.  The Xray technician gave me cause for concern though, she looked at the image and told me that I should see my GP as soon as possible. Now they usually tell you to wait for a few days before making an appointment so clearly there is something amiss.  I have an appointment in just over an hour and so I sit and wait and worry of course, like I have been since yesterday morning.

Ill health has a way of focussing your mind and can become all consuming. I think about mortality, I think about friends who have already gone and I think about the possibilities of pain and suffering. I know that I am naturally pessimistic, but lets face it, I am getting longer in the tooth and am pretty fortunate to have got this far. Anyway I will continue to record this story as long as I am able.

Interesting times

My health seems to be an issue these days and visits to NHS facilities are the norm. I seem to be a bit of a mystery in terms of the symptoms that I present and so I am subject to test after test, and this morning for the first time, the dreaded C word was mentioned.

My GP is a lovely woman and has started to smile every time that I walk into her surgery; maybe I am the equivalent of the Guardian crossword for her as I seem to present her with cryptic problems each time I go in.  This morning I was expecting a run down on the results of my blood tests, which did happen, but what I was not expecting was to have my abdomen manipulated and to have my prostate examined.  She is very thorough, and having a cold finger rammed into me just after breakfast was enough to make my eyes water.  I will say that she was very quick and assured me that all was well in that region. One part of me that seems to be ok comes as a sort of relief.

She went on to tell me that my blood pressure is marginally high and also that my cholesterol levels are marginally high too and that I should consider taking statins.  I have to have a chest X ray next and then there is the possibility of an abdominal scan should nothing show up there.  Life is certainly not boring at the moment, though I would prefer not to see quite so much of the NHS.