What are you all up to

Have just got in from taking our granddaughter to Tiverton station for her return to Plymouth. The station staff there are so very helpful and cheerful, getting and helping with the ramp for her to get onto the train. They sometimes put her in first class as it’s difficult to move everything, and everyone, to get her long wheelchair in the carriage, today was one of those days so she was pleased. They call ahead to Plymouth to have the ramp ready the other end. I have previously emailed HQ to thank them for their helpfulness. With all the roadworks around here we left an hour extra to make sure we got there on time, which we did easily. Not so coming home! Traffic lights and roadworks on the Devon Link Road. Then sadly we hit and killed a pheasant, tried very hard to miss it but no. Then we sat for 15 minutes at local roadworks traffic lights and realised they were broken (again) and stuck on red, they are controlled manually in the week due to huge delays and then they break every weekend. Too difficult to go against the red light so turn around and a big detour. As I put the key in the front door I got a text from Granddaughter - ‘home safe Nan’.So it took us the same amount of time. Nice cuppa now.

 Just checking in after a few days off. It teemed with rain here all Friday morning. I was on tour duty again and had 2 ladies from Florida in my group so I apologised profusely for our weather! It's been a bit of a mundane weekend just catching up on jobs. We did manage to get out in the garden today as we had a dry day at last. It looks a bit better after a good tidy.

Such good news that your MIL is now home WN. I expect it will mean more work for you and especially your OH  in the short term but hopefully things will improve. I expect it will do your MIL the world of good to be back home. As to inanimate objects by nemisis is door handles. I constantly have bruises on my arms from where they jump out and hit me! 

Good news that your operation was a success and you are already feeling the benefit KjellNN.

hadn't heard about the NHS routine lung XRay R&R. I gave up smoking some 20 years ago but would welcome a test as a dear friend of ours died of lung cancer just before Christmas. He had never been a smoker but had been a publican all his working life in the days when so many people smoked.

Glad you had such a nice relaxing weekend away Francis.

 Millie posted - "hadn't heard about the NHS routine lung XRay R&R. I gave up smoking some 20 years ago but would welcome a test as a dear friend of ours died of lung cancer just before Christmas. He had never been a smoker but had been a publican all his working life in the days when so many people smoked".

It's weird and very arbitrary in my view. I grew up in a household with a chain smoking father and an occasional smoking mother (5 a day) with a coal fire etc. My father died of lung cancer and I always thought that my childhood and brief(ish) affair with nicotine (10 years until I was 26) would consign me to the same fate but the x-rays I had when I punctured my lung 4 years ago showed no sign whatsoever. My elder brother was a smoker and then a pipe smoker until his 60s and worked in an environment with chemical extraction, an oil refinery, and when he last had his lungs checked over he was declared to have perfect lungs and respiratory system. Go figure. 

I didn't know about the lung x-rays either. Are they following a referral Richard?

Yes WN. Some people are 'lucky' and some not. It just seemed so unnfair to us that our friend got lung cancer because of his job and someone else we knew many years ago, who was also a non smoker, died from it because he was a trumpet player in a band. So pleased that your Xray was clear and also your brother's. Our GP surgery seems to be obsessed with BP readings at the moment as we are constantly being asked to send ours to them and also some friends of ours who are with the same surgery. Do they get paid everytime they record patients' blood pressur🤔😏

Yay!!.... Booked all the sites for our summer jaunts away in the caravan (a mixture of CAMC and 'commercial' sites... from Devon to Aberdeen/ East Scotland - including Northumberland, Durham, Bridlington, Norfolk, Wiltshire, South Devon - and also a trip to visit our daughter in the Outer Hebrides (without the caravan).   Just hope the car doesn't break down!!

David

Millie

On your point about surgeries getting extra money to monitor things like Blood Pressure. I have heard that the NHS does have certain campaigns where they make money available to GP Practices to monitor certain conditions more fully than they would by just seeing patients now and again. No bad thing I suppose. I used to have my BP checked twice a year prior to Covid but that doesn't happen now. However I do have an annual Doppler Test which involves BP being taken so I assume that goes on my records?

David

"I didn't know about the lung x-rays either. Are they following a referral Richard?"

WN - not exactly - it's an initiative by our Hospital Trust where they are inviting smokers and ex-smokers of a certain age to undergo a CT scan, having been identified by GP surgeries - if they wish. The mobile unit (two massive artic trailers) is travelling all over the Trust area.  It was in Withernsea until recently and has now moved here for a while.

I think there is some funding tied up with it because it is also part of a research project - and I am guessing Hull University - as part of their link with the Trust and Hull - York Medical School.  I was asked to agree to my anonymised medical data being made available to the researchers - to which I agreed, of course!

Good to catch up on news. Especially that of KjellNN, RichardandRos, Wherenext MIL and the inspirational offspring of DEBSC. Apologies if I've missed any.

I have had an ankle/leg issue since doing something to it over 18 months ago. Physio usually gets it back on track every 6 months. All I can say is it feels odd. This time my refresh clashed with starting atorvastin, not that I twigged. Usually one maybe 2 visits sorts things. Not this time, all leg felt odd right up to the hip. A check up phone call from chemist pharmacist, whilst i was in the supermarket (great idea but not always good timing or when you've had time to gather your thoughts!)..asking follow up questions about atorvastin, especially leg pain. As I had existing issue I said no. However when I had brain space I wondered.... Upshot, I've not taken pill for a week, leg almost normal. Now need chat with GP but it will have to await our return from county Durham.

A few days away, meeting friend from Scotland exactly halfway! Lots of catching up chatter and exploring walks - Dora loving it apart from crossing sheep fields, completely new experience. Friday we drove into Barnard Castle for supplies, knew forecast was cold possible snow and there is no shops in the village. Most disconcerting to meet the gritter with snow plough attached on a, to me very, steep hill! It was a filthy day so did little apart from supplies and home. Met cars with snow whilst driving back but just heavy rain and sleet for us. Hills behind the house had a dusting. Heavy frost today but we've not had the snow 🤞

Good job my leg semi recovered, somehow we got off piste yesterday 😱. Kept to footpaths, but touched on north pennines way and tees river walk accidently 🤣.. Terrain very different to the edge of the Fens....... Underfoot similar but more boggy in places. Styles, definitely not been tackled for years along with stream hopping!! Eventually arrived back, filthy - boy I miss the dog shower, so does Dora! We'd been out 2.5 hours according to the app, and we're surprised to find we'd only covered 7.5 miles. We miss her late hubby who was the best map reader, we got complacent! good job we never attempted to bring mine! No bath in the cottage, shower doesn't cut the aches..... I seem to find the stairs easier today.

In regard to Wherenext"s question about inanimate objects - welcome to my world. I'd like to say slightly better than Takethedogalong but that may come back to bite me!

Our surgery does annual 'MOT' blood pressure, and  bloods. I'm sure that's one of their incentives, these came in several years ago. A bit like the pre diabetes checks and courses. Our new surgery much more on tge ball than our last thankfully. Not sure how long it will last with all the new build going on nearby, which doesn't appear to getting schools, doctors etc among the thousands, yes thousands,of houses.

Time to resume our catch up nattering and decide on a shorter walk..... Best laid plans etc 

It’s a bit of a strange week, in a strange month here. Two birthdays, mine and Mum’s this week. It’s 40 years this month since we got the keys to our house, remember how exciting that was, and it’s (thankfully) very different nowadays, a forty year labour of love. The end of this month will be twenty years since I finished my first career, I decided to get out while the going was good and do something else, never regretted that decision. 

Weather was quite nice yesterday, so had a pleasant few hours in garden. This morning is looking frosty but sunny, so might have a day out somewhere today, Southall, or possibly Newark for a change. 

Go to Southall Minster tda. It is absolutely beautiful. Some friends of ours are lucky enough to live opposite. There is also Southall Workhouse. There was a big article about Wenworth Woodhouse in The Sunday Times 'Home' supplement yesterday that you might find interesting.