Tempus Fugit

My life apparently has a definite 'rhythmic' variation built into it. I seem to have periods of reasonable 'ordinariness', [busy periods characterised by routine work, housework and minor DIY].

Then a fan will go on and heaps of crap will be thrown into it's stream flowing in my direction! The last fortnight is an example of note:

• I overstretch my Achilles tendon by doing no more than walking in flip flops on holiday, leaving me with a painful limp.
• My car is apparently due a new timing belt costing £300 +
• The balance due on our midwinter holiday has been brought forward by 2 months!! £600
• Work, [normally an organised madhouse] goes bonkers with problems that I have to deal with.
• My Partners mother's health deteriorates and she has to be taken to hosp late at night and complicates an already complex situation.
• After years of being on transfusions, I am having to have some blood taken away [too complicated !!], which may leave me tired and listless for a few days!!
• In the midst of this my Father passes away in a care home and his arrangements have to be dealt with by me 'cos I'm the eldest....despite the fact I know nothing of his wishes or details....
• Then [as if that's not enough] an idiot woman driver forces a car to reverse into mine...and of course drove off!! I may still have to foot this bill yet!!

Throughout all this the routine stuff still needs to be done....Thank God all the major DIY has been done.

'Time Flies' they say..... let's bloody hope so for now !!!

Some things just don't change

North Wales Hospital Rugby Club informal reunion Sept 2010

The hair maybe thinner and certainly greyer... but we could still sing!!
[Most of these lads can be seen on the photograph from an earlier post]

Stress

One of the things about working in the Caring services in the UK at times like this is the stress levels ratchet up by several levels.

The people who control budgets seem to think that making numbers add up is the 'be all and end all'. Sadly as the people who grind away at the 'coal face' of care work know that delivering a quality service is not like that at all. We see the human face of care, and the damage that can be inflicted by random or global slashes to budgets.... no-one asks us what should be done , because they won't like the answer that is forthcoming.

By nature I am a laid back sort of guy, my recent brush with mortality has served to accentuate that feature of my personality...so it came as a shock to me that, when, on my recent short sun worshipping break, I found that I was feeling the physical symptoms of tension/stress for the 1st 24 hours....If this can happen to me with the years and years of experiences I have and the laid back attitude I have in general... God Help those who are stress aware and react in response to stressors...the next couple of years will be no fun for those folks I would guess....

For those who can... I can recomend a week in Benidorm with frequent visits to 'THE WESTERN SALOON' on the Calle Gerona.... Rock music for all tastes, brilliant atmosphere, nice folks reasonably priced beer!! However, even before the cuts this is not avaliable on the NHS !!

The Blues being played in the Western Saloon.... one of nature's destressors