New Haven Neil

Yes and no, Mark! HbA1c is basically an average, usually done over a 6 month period at first, but it doesn't show you the peaks and troughs of BG - and it is exactly those, especially peaks, that cause the devastating damage that diabetes can bring. The only way to find out if the diet you are following is working, is to measure BG 2 hours after meals. We're all different, and what affect one person mightn't be what affects me. Once we have learned our particular things to avoid then I agree, it isn't really necessary, now I only test occasionally or after eating something new. I have the additional issue of Reactive Hypoglycaemia, which causes no end of trouble until you work it out. If I get a high BG, my body over-reacts, and the next thing is I'm hypo, then the liver does a glucose dump and I'm high again, up and down like, er, a lift until it stabilised. HbA1c does not detect this, and it was damaging my health until diagnosed. My HbA1c hasn't changed since I learned about this condition, (36/37 over 2 years) but the damages that were beginning to be caused have halted. Without a BG meter this might never have been discovered until too late for my circulation and nervous system. We should never underestimate what a horrid condition this is if not controlled. You can also hasten the decrease in BG when high by exercise, a brisk walk does wonders for me on the occasions things go awry. Not often now, thankfully. 'And Finally' - when I was an NHS manager back in the UK, I was the administration service manager for a large podiatry department, doing 49,000 appointments a year, including podiatric surgery. That was often when diabetic patients were losing toes and feet....you don't want to be there, its not nice.

Morning, and the fact I'm awake means it is a good one The alternative is....terminal. 15 and heavy overcast, twirled to get sunny later once more. Mis-heard lyrics, well Madonna, 'Chop the goolie' is one that makes me laugh, I can't remember the song's title but its something about a tropical island? I loved Weird Al Yankocich's 'Beat it/Eat it' too. As for the Barron Knights....'Long ago, outside a chip shop in Walthamstow....' will forever crack me up. In other 'news' - the mystery of the misbehaving bike has finally been solved, the new aftermarket piston rings turned out to be not only made of 'Chineseium', but incorrectly marked too. As in, marked upside down, so they were pushing oil up into the cylinder, not scraping it back down. Replacement genuine rings (obtained at great expense from lands far away - it's a rare bike) have solved the issue. Just looked at the tax disc - it's been 2 years! All started because of an oil leak, but to change a 40p oil seal involved a complete engine strip down. The decision to 'refresh' it whilst apart turned out to be a bad one!

Baamouth?

Havensheep

The laser unit of course has been adapted to shoot down marauding flying machines of the Red Baron....or maybe Puppers?

Great news from iD, but was it he, or Captain Cynical that undertook the tests? I have an image of Captain C thundering away on the treadmill, cape streaming out behind.... Interesting about the specs, Tony. I was caught out in Captain Cynical-land a few years ago when when my specs did not react on the train to the bright white new snowfall on a sunny day, riding the Glacier Express. I hadn't thought to take additional sunglasses of any kind, having become blase in the use of reactive lenses.

Morning, from a 17c warm but slightly overcast rock. Congrats to Jamie and Beth, on their welding anniversary, as Ian would say. I recall having black hair too, but it was a long while ago. The day will be occupied by going to see a machinist about bike parts, trips to the tip with grass cuttings and......some lounging about, hopefully!

They got a little larger, to 105cm bore, but that was a step too far, and they were troublesome. Actually the 98's were far from perfect..... to coin a phrase. Crepe was another word for them. That language you refer to was common around them! Sulzer/Wartsila have now settled on 96cm bore for the current generation, they make a lot more power pr cylinder than those engines I sailed with. We used engines of similar power to a class 37 for generators.....babies!

I think the one on the right is closer to the camera.

When I talk about my past working on BIG engines, its often hard for people to grasp how big ship diesels can be. I came across these today.... That's a piston he's sitting on (not me)....98cm bore. And yes, two exhaust valve rockers, that's an 8 cylinder engine, 30,000 hp. Burmeister & Wain 8K98FF engine. And this is the fan it drove.

Yes I agree for a healthy person, but not if you're T2 diabetic.

That is the corporate NHS line, to save money. I know, I was an NHS manager. It is complete ballcocks, you need to know your BG to know you're eating right. 'Eat to your meter' is the mantra. Go to diabetes.co.uk and read up, it's eye opening.

Editor full of old post again - from yesterday! 26c in the garden now, I'm looking at the grass that really is too long, but the hay fever it will cause is just too much to contemplate today. I had a brief walk to the shop, and really need to go further to get things moving, but I may drive into the bright lights of Ramsey for a change of scenery - there are only a few walking routes in the village, the next 'stage' of loops so to speak is too far for me. 2 miles I can do, 4 not.

This! I'm so pleased you referred to it, iD. One of the greatest issues hidden in so-called 'healthy eating', I have seen this 'fat is bad' tale having being totally disproven repeated in several books, referenced to good research, and demonic fat simply is a lie we have been brought up (in my generation) to accept. Its wrong.... the best research was IIRC a large cohort of Australian nurses monitored for cardiac health over many years, half on a low fat diet and half on eating fats, and there was no difference whatsoever in their cardiac health. Nothing. Fat being bad is Pseudo science.

Good morning. Once again toastie outside, with a breeze keeping it pleasant. 19c currently heading upwards. I'm a bit broken after yesterday's 75 miles on the bike, mostly down small bumpy lanes. I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to ride, so make the most of any good weather. Riding in the cold and damp is no longer an option, Mr A Ritis says so. It was a struggle to arise this morning! Baz is one of those good guys that keeps an eye on anyone missing. He kicks my electronic backside when I need a nudge too! I'm always a little reticent to PM people I don't really 'know', but do so on occasion where it looks like a little support would be appreciated. I don't like to push my way in to people's lives, I feel a bit guilty doing so sometimes. I do worry about those of our friends on here who are on their own though, and will always respond and have a chat on PM or e mail should anyone feel the need.

Just the straw bit. Mrs NHN is eternally grateful, as out of the box she came fitted with an enormous double barrelled surname which meant it took ten minutes to sign something. Changing it 37 years ago to one with three letters was a good thing, apparently.

I use an Accu Chek Mobile - it links with my computer and downloads pretty graphs and things - dunno what it would do with a phone, I'm not electro-techy. Hate the bl**dy things! It is an expensive meter but easy to use, although i use a different pricker from an older one. I don;t like farting about with strips, this one uses a cassette so lees junk to carry around. https://www.accu-chek.co.uk/meters/mobile No connection, just satisfied user.

That was some of our thinking when we moved here getting on for 20 years ago - it is our retirement home and was bought as such, but we moved long before we retired - last year in my case. So we have built up friendships here (we did know quite a few folk here already though) well in advance of decreptitude. The buses are OK from here still, and the village shop has everything needed to survive without visiting the supermarkets in the bright lights of Ramsey - at a price.

I forgot to mention the most important thing - get a blood glucose meter! The tracking of what foods affect your BG is revealing, test before and two hours after each meal, having noted what you ate - soon identifies the culprits, rice and pasta in my case are the worst. So soya or red lentil pasta, cauliflower rice (ugh but OK with curry) or chick pea rice, and so on, there are alternatives to most things. Oh, and one other point - a lot of people aren't diabetic because they are fat, but fat because they are (T2) diabetic.....don't feel guilty.

Hi Douglas - no, the Isle of Man 2-4-0T is a UK Accucraft model. One of several versions, I forget how many over the years. The little tank is a Lady Anne yes, Harry's new loco having only its third run. Ran like Swiss clockwork, it's a Roundhouse. I have steam locos by Beck, Roundhouse, Accucraft and Regner, these are all in a different league to an old BL Mogul, very easy to run, will pull forever, never run out of steam. The RH locos can run for up to 40 minutes once you get the gas firing right, and they're well run in. All radio controlled, a manual loco wouldn't work on my line with steep gradients. Some have tried.....need to be younger and fitter than most of my mates to catch them!

Another late call - I have a note. Scorchio once again on Fraggle Rock, there will be human thermidor on the menu again. 22c in the garden currently, hay fever off the clock, which is ironic being as its my surname. I can;t take anti-histamines with one of the other neds either, so Kleenex sales are high. Going out on the bikes this afternoon with our Belgian friend, who unfortunately has a Harley. No-one's perfect. we take our little bikes out when we ride with him and embarrass him on twisty roads. Horse for courses, his course is California....

Morning, and well done Jim! I'm also Type 2, and have reduced my HbA1c from low 50's to a constant 37 over 18 months. Purely on diet - get rid of the carbs! I have lost 3 stone (15 down to 12) and do feel so much better for it too. It is our over production of insulin as a result of carb overload that causes our issues, the body then becomes insulin resistant. I strongly recommend reading 'The Diabetes Code' by Dr Jason Fung, a Canadian - debunks a lot of the crepe talked about T2, and the 70's hangover of all fats being bad for you - they're not. But the real way to putting T2 diabetes into remission (you can't cure it) is reduction of carb intake. Takes a while, you do get carb craving, but you don;t have to go daft with it - full keto isn't too good for you long term I don;t think, but get to reading carb content on [packets, you may be amazed. I do about 100 - 150g a day of carbs, and have settled nicely over the last 18 months. the NHS 'heathy plate' diet did nothing for me - it has carbs and fruit in it, fructose is worse than sucrose.....keep fruit & fruit juices in strict moderation, berries are OK though. I thought the 'Desmond' course was incredibly out of date. Well, rubbish actually. Also look on diabetes.co.uk, great stuff on the forum there. And me. ;-) I'm less great. There's another book I found useful but I can't recall the title, I'll look for it this evening. Keep up with the exercise, I can do about 8k paces a day but have limits due to my wrecked foot and hip arthritis, I won;t be walking up Snowdon any time soon - maybe Snaefell though!

A railway needs a waiting room....

'Some time ago' #cough# our club tried to standardise on an improved tension lock type coupling. It worked a treat but events conspired to work against it - it was the now long-forgotten TT version of the Triang coupling. Similar in size to the later Mainline type, but metal, and worked much better. A shame it wasn't available more widely.

Well, ours is...BR (S)