Steps from the edge

Swings & Rounabouts again !!

2010-11-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

I sit here having a few minutes 'down-time' in a typically mad day...'Thinks' .....I should probably update my blog....

I have had my usual mixed bag of stuff to deal with..

The 'blood taking' experiment didn't go quite to plan... my body flatly refuses to make up the lost red cells like any normal person..I remain hopeful that eventually it will comply....

My mother in laws dog is staying with us for a month whilst the old lady sits in Spain ......'it's 25 degrees C here Luv' [ I'm very pleased for you!!] However she [the dog, not her mother] has taken to barking at stupid o'clock making everyone very tired and cross. I am tempted to make a donation to all the bloody dog charities advertising on the telly...but it won't be money!!

The washing machine went tits up [literally as it happens, an underwire got caught in its workings = £45 !!!

I am two months behind with my Management qualification paperwork.....bugger, bugger.

The good bits??

Well, the International rugby season is upon us again... at least I have something to force me to stop being a boring git and go to the pub....

There is no major DIY project on the Horizon......

One of my credit cards have agreed that they screwed up and have written off my balance as a goodwill gesture....

So bugger the dark skies, setting back the clocks, the bloody Tories taking the country back 30 feckin years and barking canines.... I am looking at the silver lining!!!

Tempus Fugit

2010-09-20T06:25:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-10T04:46:00.000-07:00

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

Good Times

2010-08-25T03:50:00.000-07:00

North Wales Hospital Rugby Football Club

This Picture was taken sometime in the mid/late 1980's. I have lost touch with just about everybody on this photo since that time [due to all sorts of reasons]. This group of lads played the game in an era before professional rugby and paid themselves for the pleasure of playing. The idea was to have some fun, whilst pitting yourself against others in a competetive environment.... the after match socialising was often taken far more seriously !!

I am not overly romanticising these days, the times were difficult and people struggled [Thatcher years].... I found this photo and decided to share it, as the team [and hospital]no longer exists and the mere act of putting this on the internet will ensure that the picture and it's associated memories will not be lost forever.

Lovely things memories

It's been a while.....

2010-08-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

....To say the least, but I have decided to put fingers on the keyboard again.

Lot's of stuff has happened since last year, when I last put some thoughts into the ether...

I have moved house! It was a trauma which only now I'm beginning to see the end of. We moved in, put up a conservatory of immense proportions, changed virtually all our furniture, transformed the garage into a study and are remodelling the back garden into a space we can relax in......or that's what I am told :))

During this period my treatment for a life threatening condition, that itself was threatening my life [?!] actually worked and my condition has steadily improved to the extent that I am now back working full time. In a job that is much more demanding than I had before I retired... I cannot work out how I arrived at this, but for now I have agreed and will honour my commitment...

The upshot of all this is that I have sadly neglected some of the things that I swore I would be enjoying courtesy of my enforced premature retrirement.

...So I will now set about remedying that.... with regular blogs , guitar practice, getting re-involved in local rugby....and getting back out for a pint every now and again.....

The old adage is :

'Why do we fall down?...........So we can pick ourselves back up again..'

lets see if that works huh??

The Game

2009-06-03T01:27:00.000-07:00

So why have I not updated my blog for over a month?

Truth is I have been insanely busy, I don't even twitter anywhere near as much as I did previously. My life is usually one entire round of tasks, chores & 'Projects', but this last few weeks has been stoopid beyond belief.

Main cause of my increased workload has been the fact that we sold the house and OH finally decided on a place to move to. This is a modern 4 bedroomed house on a quiet established, but developing estate in a neighbouring village. Problem 1 is our furniture has been bought for a large Victorian Town House with high ceilings and big rooms [and I mean big] very little of our furniture will go into the new house..... problem 2 Accumulated objects, books, 'stuff' .....nowhere for them to go.

Then there are the organisational things like Solicitors, Mortgages, Removal companies, ...... and ESTATE AGENTS... Let 's just say that the amount of effort our estate agent has put into selling our house does not match the bloody outrageous fee they are charging. Grrrrr.

Amongst all this [and much more].....I went and bought my old caravan off my ex. It was a fair price, and although there was a bit of damage, she [ex] had left all appropriate gear with it. So the Bank holiday was spent with OH and her daughter having their first time in a tourer. Mad weekend as we had a wedding to go to on the Sat. The toilet facilities and making bed each night was a challenge for them I think. Time will tell whether this was a wise purchase?

So, there we have it, another daft chapter in my odd life.

'On with the Game then Holmes?

Yes, Watson, the game's afoot.......'

Stereotype reactions

2009-04-30T01:31:00.000-07:00

So, the world is on the brink of a Pandemic of a Influenza variant [H1N1] ??

I have been watching the news, surfing the net, monitoring the twitterings and generally observing people do exactly what they were forecast to do.

I was part of a NHS Pandemic planning group for the last big scare, which petered out thankfully. However part of our briefing was a prediction of how the population would respond and how that would affect the course of the disease process. Fair play to the Brits we are following the stereotype to the letter. A significant percentage of people will sit and say ' this is all blown up of proportion....' or 'Media induced hype...' or worse' I have the constitution of an ox, never get the Flu..'...They will do nothing and set their face about not changing their habits at all.

Another significant percentage will panic and flood the health services demanding treatment they don't need.

The losers will be the vulnerable whose immune system has been compromised by illness and /or medication. They will be put at risk by the pig headed spreading disease around unnecessarily and the attention seeking using up vital stocks of anti virals uselessly.

What will be interesting this time around is that Pandemics will hit healthy immune system adults because it is a new variant.... stiff upper lip will be useless, although it might help the undertaker to shave you prior to your internment.

The good news in all this is that the UK has probably the most advanced systems and preparations in place for combatting a Flu outbreak of this scale. Much more advanced than USA for example .....

All we have to do is follow some basic hygiene rules. Good hand washing, sneeze into the crook of your arm not your bare hands, Use disposable tissues when possible then flush away as soon as possible. Avoid attending GP surgery or A&E depts unless serious complications set in. Increase fluids, use Paracetamol and stay off work. Avoid crowds and public gatherings...

Just doing this will shorten the Virus's progress through the population.

Silver Lining?? This is not Bird Flu.... now that little bugger would have wreaked havoc had it become a Pandemic......

In the word's of Corporal Jones...Don't Panic........just be sensible.

Spring

2009-04-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

Spring, I like Spring... the vivid greens turning the landscape fresh and inviting....

I am fortunate that I live where I do...{North Wales Coast} It has loads going for it:

Scenery in spades, 2 mins from beach, 10 mins from rolling pastures, 35 mins from Snowdownia, 45 mins from Major Cities and shopping centres. A half decent trunk road goes right across the country. The weather is temperate, and generally tame [Although Towyn in the early 90's was the exception that proved the rule]..... and the countryside is spectacular right now, especially on a sunny day.

So with my love for my area rekindled, I am going to reignite an old pastime of mine .........Caravanning [Fuck you Clarkson, I pay as much road tax as you do...] I am genuinely looking forward to pleasant weekend on the Lleyn Peninsula or on Anglesey... maybe down to South Wales .... maybe !!

I love the peace and quiet of a caravan, the sense of freedom from mealtimes, and regulation associated with Hotels and the like. It is also going to be cheaper :))

Here's hoping for a long warm summer..........

Why do men die first???

2009-04-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

I was sent this by a female friend of mine.... apart from being funny, it is sort of sad...

Why do men die first?

This is a question that has gone unanswered for centuries...... but, now we know.

If you put a woman on a pedestal and try to protect her from the rat race...you're a male chauvinist.
If you stay home and do the housework...you're a pansy.

If you work too hard...there's never any time for her
If you don't work enough...you're a good-for-nothing bum.

If she has a boring repetitive job with low pay...this is exploitation.
If you have a boring repetitive job with low pay.....you should get off your lazy behind and find something better.

If you get a promotion ahead of her.....that is favoritism.
If she gets a job ahead of you......it's equal opportunity.

If you mention how nice she looks......it's sexual harassment.
If you keep quiet..........it's male indifference.

If you cry............you're a wimp.
If you don't........you're an insensitive bastard.
If you make a decision without consulting her......... you're a chauvinist.
If she makes a decision without consulting you...... she's a liberated woman.

If you ask her to do something she doesn't enjoy....... that's domination.
If SHE asks you.........it's a favor.

If you appreciate the female form and frilly underwear...... you're a pervert.
If you don't..............you're gay.

If you like a woman to shave her legs and keep in shape..............you're sexist.
If you don't.................you're unromantic.

If you try to keep yourself in shape................you're vain.
If you don't................you're a slob.

If you buy her flowers.............you're after something.
If you don't....................you're not thoughtful.

If you're proud of your achievements........ you're full of yourself.
If you don't....................you're not ambitious.

If she has a headache............she's tired.
If you have a headache.............you don't love her anymore.

If you want it too often.........you're oversexed.
If you don't..........there must be someone else.

Men die first because they want to.

Recollections Begin

2009-03-31T03:15:00.000-07:00

Part of my reasoning to start this blog was to share some memories, a feat I have spectacularly underachieved at so far.

So, where to begin? I would start at the beginning, but that would be too time consuming and frankly, boring. I would start my recollections from when I started work... but to honest a plastic factory is a plastic factory and bundling plastic pipes into long hessian sacks was as boring as it sounds.

Nope, I will transport you to a time in the summer of 1975 and my attempt to get a job at a Mental Hospital. After visiting a relative there, I had dated a girl who worked as a cadet nurse and she had inspired me to devote myself to the support and care of others worse off than me. Actually she told me it was a doddle and they would pay me to go to college.

So I ended up in front of a double door that was fully 20 feet high and 10 feet wide [What the fuck went through here ??? ] Inside the first sight was a clock that went backwards and a marble bust of someone who looked extremely constipated. That fact that the receptionist spoke from behind a screen gave the impression for a moment that the voice was coming from the constipated bust figure. I should have left then.......

In the following 32 years I have met, befriended, nursed, annoyed, argued with and enjoyed more characters than I would ever meet in an office ... Had some of the funniest moments of my life, and some of the worst it has to be said.....

An early recollection was the sports dept. Wards of patients would come to the main hall and participate in remedial exercises.... Swinging arms in time and shaking legs, sitting and standing, standing on one leg etc. all in time to the music, which was invariably 1st world war vintage. Surreal is the term that comes to mind now. Another task was to take the more able bodied on walks etc. with staff off the wards. On one occasion we attempted to play rounders on the cricket pitch... ignoring advice from older students not to be daft !! we lost 2 patients that morning, one running off in full pelt trying to shoot rabbits with his imaginary gun. We found him knee deep in the stream/river trying to tickle imaginary trout. The other hid in the inside of the cricket roller to sleep..... frightening the life out of the poor sods who went to move it an hour later to get at the boiler room door. At this time of my life I was 17, seriously stupid and gifted with a degree of optimism for life that would see me get into all manner of scrapes & near misses .... I wouldn't trade those memories in for a King's Ransom.

The hospital is long gone but memories linger [and I am sure, with time, distort] and I will attempt to recall some of the more memorable ones here [after verifying the accuracy with others] ..... Oh and checking the laws on slander and libel :o)))

Tell me that it's true.......

2009-03-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Today I had a request to retweet a post in support of a project by some mums, to help the NSPCC by downloading a copy of 'Tell me there's a Heaven', A request I passed on and duly downloaded the track. I asked myself '...why this one?? ' I have tons of this stuff via e mail, facebook, Twitter and acres of trees are pushed through my doorstep pushing some cause or other. I can't honour them all, I have neither the time, energy or resources. However I do choose a few to support, and that support is ongoing despite appeals or offers ..... I have seen all the Psychobabble about why we do this and been in a few discussions about which charities are more deserving than others etc. It's all Acaedemic.... we all know why WE do it and we keep it to ourselves and keep supporting the ones we choose.

This one, I love the track, didn't have it, wanted it and a charity benefitted. That sounds like a win to me.

On other topics, my son got burgled the other night, some toerag(s) got in and nicked some stuff. He is a recent student, he can't afford to replace all this stuff and insurance is an expensive commodity and difficult to get..... I just hope whatever piece of lowlife tries to plug the stuff in and gets electrocuted, then gets arrested and spends days in cold turkey, followed swiftly by some life altering accident. Benevolent ?? me? No. My bio says warm and generous.... but that only applies if you live within societies laws and conventions.

Finally, Congratulations to Oirland and their Grand Slam. I did think it was beyond them, but I was wrong.... The British & Irish Lions look to be a strong kit this year if the selectors look properly at what happened [and the European Cup]..... I'll be watching.

Apologetic post

2009-03-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

I really, really didn't want this blog to develop into a ranting place but several things have conspired to lead me here. Firstly, and a bit of a theme developing here

HBOS..... They are spectacularly useless.... They are still insisting that I cancelled my DD when every time I ring the operators can see that I have done no such thing. As I am a genuinely nice bloke I am giving them another chance to rectify this and just apologise...am I clutching at straws?? Probably.

M56 .... A bloody nightmare example of giving motorway planners a blank piece of paper and saying 'here draw me a road..... ' It is closely followed by the M62 for nightmare roundabouts... Traffic lights that let 2 cars through at a time... crap...

Judgemental People.... to Echo Gemmak500's post from this morning... what is up with these people? Dean Martin had a line which went '... It's your world Frank [Sinatra], we just live in it!! ...' Too many people believe that what they say is right and they say 'you are entitled to your say, then we will do it my way...' The only saving grace is that these people tend to have short brutish lives... Sadly they attempt [not always consciously, admittedly] to screw other lives up in the ensuing melee of their own self belief.

I promise [a note to myself as much as anything] that the next post will be upbeat and positive. If I can't do that just yet maybe a story or two from the past....

6 random things.......

2009-03-03T01:25:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by @Gemmak500 to do the 'six random things about me' meme, haven't done this sort of thing before so here goes nothing...

The rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up

1. Weight. I am overweight, to put it mildly. Truth is I'm fat. This is a situation that has haunted me all my life from a teenager, I have had periods where I was not fat, and periods when I was skinny [only to be told I looked ill !!] and periods when I was 'chubby' [WTF is that?]. I have reasons which other people call excuses, and I have recently shed 6 inches from my waist measurement. I will keep trying [more in a dedicated post]

2. Dark Eyes. from the age of 'very young' I had dark circles under my eyes, in fact 'around' my eyes would be far more accurate. This led to various nicknames 'Dai Panda', Dai Sunglasses', Dai goggles', Dai Cont [but only in Caernarfon... North Walian joke sorry folks]. In my late forties, divorced, ravaged by Chronic illness and on loads of medication, my dark circles have gone.... ? why? don't ask me I lost control of my body years ago.

3. Bodhran. I play the Irish drum. Not classicaly as in 'play a jig /reel' more as You play it and I'll back you once I've heard it. It's a surprisingly tiring and very cathartic instrument to play. As long as you remember a few basic etiquette rules it's fun at parties too.

4. Psychiatry. I have worked in Psychiatry for 33 years and can firmly say that people who make choices about their bad behaviour then blame it on their upbringing/parents/schooling/sibling/lack of favourite toy are not mentally ill. They have a disordered personality. It is not the same thing, despite what our nanny state government will have us believe.

5. Antique Maps I collect Antique Maps. I have about 35 in all at the moment, but I also love Globes as well, much more expensive though. I also have a world map I bought from IKEA. It is the size of a pub pool table [thankfully we have the wall space to hang it!]. I love all Antique stuff, but have to be choosy.

6. Useless Knowledge. I am a mine of useless facts and figures and retain stuff that will be completely redundant [unless I make a guest spot on QI ]. I don't why I do this but I do. I don't have to revise etc. usually one pass and it has been stored. Now I am not in work this stuff seems more redundant than it was before.... where is the logic in life??

As I am new to this blogging lark, I don't think I know 6 blogs to put this up to....

but http://alrighttit.blogspot.com/, http://ramblingsofblueeyes.blogspot.com/ http://girlwithaonetrackmind.blogspot.com/ are 3 that I have followed of late with some amusement and at times awe.

Tribulations.....

2009-03-01T15:38:00.000-08:00

And the painting continues.... Bathroom walls, toilet walls, Plate racks, Key cupboards, Shelving, Back door and so on to be followed in short order by acres of hallway walls. The worst bit is yet to come...... GLOSSING, I dislike gloss. No matter what I do I cannot gloss without getting it everywhere, and it is an arse to get off anything. Water based emulsion [easy to clean], don't get it anywhere except the walls. I am cursed by Gloss, Gloss haunts my dreams and leaves me pale and sweaty

Is there an upside to all this?....... No, not this week. Wales lost, I still drank too much and suffered all Saturday with a headache courtesy of Reverend James [See pic]...... HBOS sent me a letter saying they were altering the conditions of my credit card because of a missed payment when they had cancelled my DD at their end. Absolutely Fuckin' Amazing !!

So it is March 1st ....Gwyl Dewi Sant...... the weather is turning colder again, my car brakes are beginning to make strange noises and I have to have more 'tests' to check out strange joint pains.... but and here is the point.....If I can feel/endure/tolerate all this, I am still a functioning, conscious individual ......and I regularly thank whatever deity you may believe in for that.

The weather will become warmer [much warmer if you listen to some people, although if you want to scare yourself shitless google ''Thermo-haline sinks'' ] my car will be sorted by a man I know and if my joints will hurt well then so be it... I have a good GP!! Wales will win again and again... HBOS will not change but my emotional response will, and if they continue in the same vein, so will my pension fund, pension and accounts.....

Oh, as for the Gloss .....did I mention I don't like Gloss.......

Friday !!!!

2009-02-27T04:14:00.000-08:00

Gawd help me ....it's International day !!!

I normally have a simple rule on these days....sod the rules...

But, No, wait it's a Friday, there are things to do, places to go, bathrooms and kitchens to be finished. Bills to pay, banks to snarled at, housework & shopping to be done, tea to prepare for herself and daughter...... argghhh

For those who thought 8 O' [feckin']Clock on a Friday was a good time to play Rugby..... take a hint.....

IT'S FECKIN' ... ....FRIDAY !!!!!!!

Balances in life

2009-02-27T01:06:00.000-08:00

When I set out to do this blog I was uncertain what I was going to put in it. I was determined not to make it a 'ranting' piece or a platform to berate those who had no opportunity of comeback. However there are those in life who deserve to be ranted at.... Let's try .......HBOS..

This company must rank amongst the most inept I have ever dealt with. The Branch staff are brilliant and must be equally fed up of the system that they battle every day.

I have three accounts and a credit card, which I manage online, with no problems until some 'system proceedure' decides to stop the direct debit payment from one account another... result ?? Chaos, and charges. My access to my online account is denied leaving me unable to see what if anything has gone wrong and Worse, a phone call to imply that I may have 'debt collection proceedures' initiated. Now I don't know about other people but my laconic easy going nature deserts my somewhat when threatened and I become a very sarcastic hard arse!! The fact this is all administered by a bank who posted a multi billion loss and is asking for my taxes to prop it up... the suggestion that I may have 'missmanaged' my direct debit got the bloke on the other side of the phone a 30 second precise of my thoughts about bankers... So I did what I should have done in the first place...went to the branch who sighed, smiled and apologised [unlike the prat on the phone].... 20 minutes later '..it should be fine now Mr Roberts..' and fine it was... now to get the charges back from the credit card ....yeah right !!

On the other hand, proving that the chinese notion of 'Yin/Yang balance' is perfectly true. The Cental heating borked last week, and initial estimates was for lots of disruption and big bill. No my mate sent round his workers and the guy went 'Hmm I wonder if this will work??' and it did. No fuss, no bother, no threats and voila, downstairs bathroom is now warming nicely for herself to use again..

I think this microcosm of service life encapsulates the wider feeling around now that big is definately not better. The personal touch and local knowledge [allied with a modicum of pleasantness] will furnish firms with much more repeat service than the giant conglomerates impersonal approaches. This lesson will be learned I believe at great cost to our economy.

I may well move my accounts to another bank, but my mates plumbing firm remain on my speed dial list.

Muscles....

2009-02-19T15:14:00.000-08:00

As in aching and 'I had forgotten I had those...'

I have for the past 3 days been decanting 90% of the cupboard contents [and removing cupboard doors] in the kitchen to elsewhere in the house so the joiner could replace the units and put new doors/trim etc on. This naturally involved lots of step climbing, carrying/lifting and general moving things until our dining room table and bath [don't ask] were full. Of course what came out had to back in via dishwasher.... Ever tried to put something back in it's package once it's been opened? If so you will have some empathy with where my head is now.. and the Muscles? I have rediscovered that my anatomical knowledge was not lost, I had just forgotten where these muscle groups were. They are now leaving me in little doubt as to their location every time I move.

In my next move of self flagellation it will be bathroom painting....

NHS

2009-02-17T00:42:00.000-08:00

The NHS has been a significant part of my life for all of my 50 yrs. I was born, prematurely with a low birth weight [how the hell I ended up this size...well another post].

In my first few years I was identified to have deafness in my right ear. That started the fun [not] in the ensuing years I had my adenoids scraped, my tonsils removed, my eardrum pierced and my sinuses washed out [leaving me with a lifetime sinus problems which can't be cured]. After all that it was declared I had congenital deafness. These traumatic toddler/primary school years left me a scarred and neurotic child. my teens were filled with Psychological problems emanating from my brothers death, my mothers descent into depression and my fathers inability to cope with it all. My escape ?? The NHS, I became a nurse, a Psychiatric nurse to be precise and I found I had a natural proclivity to be a listener and a friend, a curious ability to retain copious amounts of unrelated facts & figures helped me Qualify. 30 years later and I was still there now working in commissioning care at a fairly senior level.

I met my ex through the NHS. My daughter is now looking to work in the NHS [My son thankfully escaped this madhouse and opted to do an Mchem]. My present partner works in the NHS.

AT the age of 42 and a bit I discovered that I had developed a fairly rare form of a life threatening disease, the NHS discovered it, diagnosed and have been treating me for it since [with varying degrees of success...another post].

So I have seen most of the NHS from whichever side you think there could be. Yes, it is flawed, what isn't. However the overwhelming majority of people who work in the NHS do so with poor pay, poor prospects, poor management systems and terrible political interference in what should be a non-politicised service. The level of service is as good as you can expect from a publicly funded body.

Rant if you must and be outraged about some media inspired shock headline, but if you want alternatives look abroad and see the other systems..... YOU WILL PAY MORE ....

My solution? Take the politics out of health care, ring fence the National Insurance so it actually goes to the Heath care system [and doesn't prop up a failing bank or 10] and let the people who are trained to do what they are good at, do it....

It won't happen of course, but let's leave them in peace anyway.......

And we were singing.....

2009-02-15T12:06:00.000-08:00

Wales 23 England 15 .....

And that is just about all I can remember about the match. I regressed several years and drank far too much. However the atmosphere in the pub was brilliant, people in fancy dress [see photo...way to go AJ],copious amounts of singing, light hearted banter between rival fans. Seven hours later [yes, seven hours]I was a shambling wreck, luckily I remained coherent long enough to organise taxi and burger before going home. Then amazingly I developed fluency in another language...gibberish..Much to the amusement of my other half who had gone home 2 hours earlier.

Today?? I have paid the penalty that is always due in theses circumstances....was it worth it ?? Absolutely. I am just grateful that we have a fortnight's break now and the game against France is an evening match which will limit my alcohol consumption naturally....

And just in case there is anybody wondering what we would sing? Here is an example:

HYMNS AND ARIAS
Max Boyce

We paid our weekly shilling for that January trip:
A long weekend in London, aye, without a bit of kip.
There's a seat reserved for beer by the boys from Abercarn:
There's beer, pontoon, crisps and fags and a croakin 'Calon Lan'.

And we were singing hymns and arias,
'Land of my Fathers', 'Ar hyd y nos'.

Into Paddington we did roll with an empty crate of ale.
Will had lost at cards and now his Western Mail's for sale.
But Will is very happy though his money all has gone:
He swapped five photos of his wife for one of Barry John.

And we were....................

We got to Twickers early and were jostled in the crowd;
Planted leeks and dragons, looked for toilets all around.
So many there we couldn't budge -twisted legs and pale:
I'm ashamed we used a bottle that once held bitter ale.

And we were singing hymns and arias,
'Land of my Fathers', 'Ar hyd y nos'.

Wales defeated England in a fast and open game.
We sang 'Cwm Rhondda' and 'Delilah',
damn, they sounded both the same.
We sympathised with an Englishman
whose team was doomed to fail
So we gave him that old bottle, that once held bitter ale!

He started singing hymns and arias,
'Land of my Fathers', 'Ar hyd y nos'.

So it's down to Soho for the night,
to the girls with the shiny beads;
To the funny men with lipstick on,
with evil minds and deeds.
One said to Will from a doorway dark,
damn, she didn't have much on.
But Will knew what she wanted,
aye...his photo of Barry John!

'Cos she was singing hymns and arias,
'Land of my Fathers', 'Ar hyd y nos'.

Oh and we sang 'Calon Lan ' .....a lot !!

on with the recovery.

International Day

2009-02-14T05:50:00.000-08:00

The BIG one.... whatever any rugby supporter, Welsh or otherwise, may say beating the English is what it is about. God only knows why, and the logical side of me says that it is only a step onto greater things [6 Nations, World cup... I can dream], but the passion that is the 'Hwyl' will not let me feel anything else.

In days of yore, this day would be
1, full breakfast in pub at bottom of town,
2, amble to clubhouse at top of town,
3, drink, debate selection,
4, watch match, shout at telly as if ref can hear you personally,
5, drink more
6, watch 2nd half having already forgotten most of first half
7. drink
8, celebrate great win or blame poor referreeing for loss.
9. did I mention drink??

Post match drinking then ensued around pubs in town until stomach thought it's throat had been cut...

I am glad to say I did this in a time of very little hooliganism and the main occupation after the match was to sing songs as recognisably as possible.

Nowadays it is much the same only the town location is changed and the drinking is much reduced... but the emotions are still there..

So replica playing shirt on my back and armed with statistics to annoy English pub Landlord I will once again tread a well worn traditional path....

CYMRU AM BYTH......

Newbie..

2009-02-13T15:24:00.000-08:00

So, here I am after many years of thinking about this, I am actually going to put something online.... and it is a little scary.

I haven't thought about what I am going to say. I have dumped loads of ideas and 'formats' in my virtual bin and decided to 'go with the flow'.

I suppose the first thing you should know is I am a man [well, most of me is anyway...] of many facets. I hold some strong views and generally are not afraid to voice them....if you don't agree with me then you have the right to say so but I am civil and would like to remain that way in my conversations, virtual or otherwise.

Mostly though, I love humour and would gladly share a joke or look at the zanier side of life with people than rant and rave. Some of my musings and ramblings may seem odd and disjointed but then at times life is odd and disjointed. you would not think a link existed between Central Heating, New Car, Roomba hoovers, DVLA, Halfords, Pizza Hut, Flower shops, iPhones, car stereos, baked apples and Twitter, but those things have all played a significant part in my day today....disjointed yet oddly linked. more in further posts on these and other things.

One thing you will see on here is opinions on Rugby Union, especially Rugby in Wales. I love it and all the surrounding stuff and nonsense that goes with it. I have been known to stop outside a school playing fields to watch a game in play [took me ages to convince the police I was genuine :-)))]. I watch local teams, games on Tv etc. My partner is very understanding and I do not abuse this and a balance is struck which keeps us both happy. Anyway she likes Gav Henson's thighs !!

Music is another passion and I play the guitar [badly] and the Bohdran [Irish Drum]. There will be more on this in forthcoming posts.

So Welcome, anyone who strays by, and go look in on GEMMAK500 at the link... Nice lady with a nifty line in design.... hey I could do ad copy...