Early Risers.

[Hroth]

Having surfaced, its surprisingly sunny out, though cool with a bit of a breeze.

 

But I've a cough, a runny nose and a soreish throat so I'm a bit under the weather.

Never mind, musn't grumble!

 

[jjb1970]

Apparently I missed a bit of scandal while I was away, the pity of it. They just had the airshow (of all the weeks I had to be away) and it seems Airbus and the German Air Force have made a PR disaster for themselves by banning Chinese people from the A400M which was on display and checking nationality. I get the security concerns (though if there's a real security issue why open it to the public in the first place) but I'd really hope Airbus would have the brains to do something which didn't look overtly anti-Chinese in a country where the dominant ethnic group is Chinese. As my boss put it today (still a reserve officer in the army) why does he have to prove he's not 'Chinese' in a country where the majority identiy as Chinese Singaporean? Huge own goal.

[Winslow Boy]

2 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

But there is!  https://shedswigan.co.uk/

 

🤪🤪🤪🤪

 

Being Wigan, perhaps they offer as much free tripe as you can consume?

(With the infamous Orwell black thumbprint in the corner of each piece...)

 

 

 

I just knew when I typed this response that one of you lot would go and find somewhere selling sheds in Wigan. You know I don't obsess about not having a shed all the time. 

[grandadbob]

Good morning all,

Dull and windy here, clouds may break up in the afternoon giving some late sunshine.  5°C rising to 9°C.

We spent an enjoyable afternoon and evening celebrating Abbie's birthday.  I was absolutely kernackered when I got home so unusually for me I went to bed quite early at 10.30 and didn't wake until The Boss brought me up a muggatea at 07.30.

Nottalot planned today apart from a visit to Sainsbury's to get a few things that "we" prefer from there.; Great!

Have a good one,

Bob. 

Edited February 26 by grandadbob

[iL Dottore]

10 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I am sorry to be bossy here but really you need to make an appointment with a gp to discuss your arthritis problems, it is affecting your mobility, the  amount of paracetamol you are taking would be cause for liver function blood tests. Even if you have to start with a telephone appointment, it is a start. Covid did delay routine hip replacements but if you don’t start the process off you won’t get anything done. 

I totally agree with Tony. You need proper medical management PDQ. And with the amount of paracetamol you’re taking, I’d be concerned not only about liver function but also about kidney function and long-term GI problems. Furthermore, paracetamol is not that good an analgesic - ibuprofen and diclofenac are superior to paracetamol in a number of indications.

 

As Tony points out, get yourself back into the system and see where that takes you. And (as much as this will upset the die-hard NHS partisans) look into going “private”. There’s no sense in being in constant pain and a prothesis will radically improve your quality of life (I can speak from experience - I have two knee protheses which radically and totally improved my quality of life and mobility). It will be money well spent.

 

Furthermore, by going private* you won’t be taking a consultant surgeon’s time away from the NHS; quite a few of my senior NHS surgeon acquaintances say that they are only allowed to do so many operations of a given type per week. In other words the number of hip operations (or whatever) are capped. In one recent ombudsman report, it was stated that some NHS trusts were directing resources to meet centrally set targets as opposed to meeting local medical need.

As to why private healthcare can do the ops and the NHS can’t, it’s complicated and multifactorial involving a lot more than just money and staffing. There’s also a fundamental difference in philosophy between a European insurance based system and the NHS: for a hospital in the Swiss insurance based system a hip protheses is viewed as a source of income, whereas for a hospital in the NHS a hip operation is viewed as an expenditure.

 

* there’s quite a bit of health tourism going on and people are going to places like Germany, Switzerland and Singapore to get their hip and knee replacements done. In most cases, the total cost is around that of a new mid size car and having the operation done in Germany, Switzerland or Singapore  you will be getting top-notch care. And by having your operation abroad, you will not be putting any burden on the NHS, directly or indirectly.

 

Edited February 26 by iL Dottore
Formatting

[polybear]

Bear here.....

 

35 lengths pupperz paddled this morning (0.71 miles, according to Alexa) - that's the record so far, and results in a very tired Teddy.

I did feel guilty (and somewhat selfish) that @PupCam puppers missed out yet again though - perhaps his alarm clock isn't reliable?

So......

Does the combined wisdom of fellow ER'ers feel that the right and proper thing to do in future would be for Bear to phone Puppers at 0400 on paddlin' days (landline and mobile) to make sure he doesn't miss out?

 

As for today, well the swim stuff is currently on a quick wash; I've also got to make the Beary Pit as well.  Later on it'll be yet another wander down the Big Hill to get fleeced by the Solicitor (hopefully for the last time) followed by minor raid on T & Co, or maybe the Co-op.

 

Incidentally, I heard from a neighbour yesterday that the scrotes continue to rob the Co-op left, right and centre - they're even nickin' the shopping baskets when they shoplift now (to the point where they didn't have one single basket left).  B'sterds.

Police?  Totally NFI.

 

Worse than that is some thievin' B'sterd nicked the......wait for it......DEFIBRILATOR from the nearby railway station a couple of weeks back 🤬🤬  FFS.

It's been replaced now - but is now in a cabinet with a combination lock; you have to call 999 to get the code, meaning a delay in giving treatment.

I've heard of a case where someone thought it'd be funny to superglue a door shut on one cabinet.....

Answer?  Chop their nutz off.

 

BG

[Coombe Barton]

I Googled 'What is Wigan famous for"?" and got, among others, this

https://www.wiganworld.co.uk/stuff/facts.php?opt=facts

[Hroth]

3 minutes ago, polybear said:

Back again.....

 

I see that a certain scrote in charge of Ryanair is using the fact that they'll be short of planes this summer (thanks to Boeing late deliveries - meaning the rest of 'em will be full up) as an excuse to whack the prices up by 5 - 10%.  Git**

 

**other words are available (and far more suitable too....).

 

Should have gone to Airbus...

 

[BSW01]

Good morning everyone 

 

A bit late on parade, due to staying in bed a bit longer than planned. Anyway, I’m ready now, just waiting for the boss Sheila to get ready then we’re off to RHS Bridgewater. This is a I can recommend, we especially like the woodland walk, which we’ll be doing again today, I think the walk across the meadow is out today, as I fear it’ll be too damp. Then we’ll call for a drink and a slice, before we take a look in the garden centre to see what they have to tempt us with. 
 

After dinner the plan is to complete the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix in time for our mid afternoon drink. 
 

Back later. 
 

Brian

[Mike Bellamy]

36 minutes ago, Coombe Barton said:

I Googled 'What is Wigan famous for"?" and got, among others, this

https://www.wiganworld.co.uk/stuff/facts.php?opt=facts

 

Thanks John - interesting as, like Tony, it's part of the country I know nothing about and have never visited apart from one day at their exhibition many years ago when I was helping a friend with a layout - I can't remember anything about that visit except for seeing tourist information signs to Wigan Pier.

 

The website linked to is, however, a bit out of date as I saw the quote below . . . . . . !!

 

Quote

Local MP Ian McCartney is currently a high flier in Tony Blair's New Labour government as Trade Minister.

 

.

[DaveF]

The rain has stopped and the sun might appear soon, it is quite fresh outside.  I've done my share of the housework so things have been dusted, Joanne should arrive soon to do the vacuuming. sweeping and change my bed.  I couldn't do those things yet.

 

I had quite a good night's sleep, only waking once but still feel tired.  

 

I must edit the grocery order for tomorrow but that's about the only vital job for today.  Later on if it stays fine as forecast I will have a walk.  The wind is from the north east so I will have to think of a sheltered route!

 

David

[Winslow Boy]

32 minutes ago, polybear said:

Back again.....

 

I see that a certain scrote in charge of Ryanair is using the fact that they'll be short of planes this summer (thanks to Boeing late deliveries - meaning the rest of 'em will be full up) as an excuse to whack the prices up by 5 - 10%.  Git**

 

**other words are available (and far more suitable too....).

Probably because bits keep falling of them.

[Winslow Boy]

29 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

Should have gone to Airbus...

 

As our Singaporean correspondent has already commented they may have been barred.

[TheQ]

Landrover started 3 times in a row, left to warm thoroughly through.

Started two more times in succession..

Now left on charge with the fancy charger again.

 

Did some filling in of driveway trenches caused by landrover and soggyness.. too darn cold.. off to work on something unmentionable upstairs in the warm.

 

 

[PhilJ W]

10 hours ago, Tony_S said:

I am sorry to be bossy here but really you need to make an appointment with a gp to discuss your arthritis problems, it is affecting your mobility, the  amount of paracetamol you are taking would be cause for liver function blood tests. Even if you have to start with a telephone appointment, it is a start. Covid did delay routine hip replacements but if you don’t start the process off you won’t get anything done. 

I don't take paracetamol on a regular basis, the painkiller of choice is Nurofen and even then not every day it just depends upon the circumstances. I can go for up to a week without needing painkillers, it's just that my current illness coincided with a bad spell of arthritis. Compounded by the fact that I had misunderstood the instruction not to take anti-inflammatories to mean all painkillers. 

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

@PhilJ W if you go to your GP you may be surprised. A few NHS Trusts have farmed out hip and knee replacements to private health care providers (same doctors.. just cost NHS more to get the job done.. hard life for these consultants!)

Must admit the one I saw was surly, full of cold and had a " can't be ars£d with this but £195 for 10 minutes is fine" attitude. The GP who saw his letter was appalled...so was I as his advice is.. "just live with the pain"..

I will look into that only I didn't see my GP but a locum (Friday afternoon). I might add that there is no 'Checkpoint Charlene' and I was dealt with promptly and efficiently.

[BachelorBoy]

2 minutes ago, Winslow Boy said:

As our Singaporean correspondent has already commented they may have been barred.

 

I think he's actually British, and not Singaporean. He just lives in Singapore, so therefore is our Singapore correspondent. 

 

[PhilJ W]

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Not a bad night last night except having to pee several times, that being due to the antibiotics I am taking. They seem to be working however as the swelling is reduced. Not having ventured out for a few days supplies are running low so I need to shop sometime today.

[iL Dottore]

1 hour ago, polybear said:

…Does the combined wisdom of fellow ER'ers feel that the right and proper thing to do in future would be for Bear to phone Puppers at 0400 on paddlin' days (landline and mobile) to make sure he doesn't miss out?…

I would definitely advise against doing so as A) Puppers needs his beauty sleep, and B) due to recent events, Puppers now has Captain Cynical’s personal cellphone number.

 

Push your luck too far Bear and an early morning phone call from Puppershire could well result in you becoming subject to CC’s “special personalised attention”.

 

It won’t be pleasant and will involve very LARGE spiders….

[monkeysarefun]

22 hours ago, Grizz said:

Babs didn’t make it.
 

I was checking her every 20 minutes or so and as far as I can tell she wasn’t suffering. 
 

She was sitting quietly in our large quarantine box, nestled down in amongst the new straw and she appeared to be resting comfortably. Then suddenly she died. 
 

Gutted. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thats sad news.

 

Birds tend to hide any illnesses for fear that they'll be picked off by predators so often by the time you realise something is wrong its too late. And even then the chance of decent treatment is very low, avian  vets are few and far between and bird physiology is far removed from mammals so your average vet is pretty much useless treating anything other than the basics like  moult or lice infestation

 

There are 3 avian vets in the entire  Sydney/Newcastle/Wollongong  region  that I'd trust and they charge accordingly, despite having a healthy clientele list, given the amount of parrots etc that are kept as pets here, and injured wild ones that need treatment.

 

 All you can really do for home treatment  is use a heat lamp to keep them warm and hope for the best.

 

You couldn't have done any more than you did and she was unstressed and comfortable right to the end.

Edited February 26 by monkeysarefun

[polybear]

Sitting in the Solicitors

I can feel the meter running already….

[monkeysarefun]

10 minutes ago, polybear said:

Sitting in the Solicitors

I can feel the meter running already….

 

 

 

Go to the front desk and yell "Hurry up!  I charge by the quarter hour -  this is costing you!!" 

Edited February 26 by monkeysarefun

[Tony_S]

10 minutes ago, polybear said:

Sitting in the Solicitors

I can feel the meter running already….

I am sure our wills and LPAs were from a fixed price menu, but I know exactly what you mean.

[tigerburnie]

2 hours ago, Winslow Boy said:

I just knew when I typed this response that one of you lot would go and find somewhere selling sheds in Wigan. You know I don't obsess about not having a shed all the time. 

Is this the right time to point out I have two sheds..............................................................................?

[Tony_S]

35 minutes ago, monkeysarefun said:

You couldn't have done any more than you did

Years ago our hamster Zippy wasn’t eating and the vet said she needed some dental work as her incisors had curled and were growing into the roof of her mouth. So many people told us they wouldn’t have paid for dental treatment for a hamster, they would have just got a new one. What we did discover was that the tooth fairy doesn’t visit for rodent teeth. 

[Tony_S]

Just had an email from one of our banks asking us if we need help with dementia friendly banking? I wonder if this is just a coincidence or related to us removing all our investment accounts from them last week. 
Tony