Gym referral

As my physio sessions for my stroke draw to a close in Ely I have now been recommended "on referral" to the Newmarket Leisure Centre for further work on balance and stamina. Being referred, one gets discounted rates for the 12 weeks of group sessions twice a week for 30 minutes each. Hopefully this will help my recovery.

I  am not really a "gym" sort of person, but I am game for anything which will help me recover my "old" self.

Sepura

Can you believe it - it is over 6 years ago that I retired from Sepura.  For the first few years I still felt "connected" to the old place but these days it is just a distant memory. Most times were good ones, but towards the end things were getting silly and I was glad to get out and realise there was more to life. When fully fit I really enjoyed my retirement: time to do what I wanted, when I wanted, for a change. Our grandchildren came along when we had time to see and be there for them. At the moment, with my stroke, retirement is harder work and I cannot do as much as I'd want. Hopefully this will get better again soon.

Sepura shares are doing well, having risen from around 30p to 137.50p currently, although they were even higher earlier in the year.  Most of my Sepura shares have gone, but I do still hold some.

Of course, I wish all my old Sepura colleagues every success.  It must be even harder working there now I expect.  I have no idea about projects or people there these days. It is several years since I have been in.

Hedge trimmer

Our (quite old) hedge trimmer is lost: we have checked the garden shed and garage and cannot find it. The Qualcast 500W hedge trmmer is £39.99 in Homebase, less 10% OAP discount on Tuesdays, which seems a fair price. I bet it does NOT last as long as the old one though!

Sadly this stuff is made in China (I expect) and almost guaranteed to fail within a few years. My son had a so called " decent" fridge that failed after just 2 years. Although the parts were under warranty the labour was not and it was actually cheaper to buy a new fridge. What a crazy world we live in!

Flight MH370?

Notice how this is no longer news worthy?

It still strikes me as VERY odd that not a single piece of wreckage has been spotted by anyone anywhere. My guess it was secretly landed somewhere. The USA remains extremely quiet considering they must have the spy technology to have located it by now.  Is the USA in some shape or form complicit?  Who knows.

Day in Canterbury

For the first time since my stroke last September I ventured out of the county (Newmarket and Bury-St-Edmunds, Suffolk excepted), with my wife, to visit my son and family who live near Canterbury, Kent.

As I cannot drive (currently, as a result of the stroke) we did a day return by train. It was seamless and travel in both directions was fast. We had from 12-4pm with our son and family and about the same time in travel on fast trains, especially in Kent.

Now we have done it once we may well do it again. Being a Sunday, parking at Cambridge station was easy and cheap. Our son picked us up at Canterbury West station. There were no delays because of engineering works.

Booking in advance, via http://www.thetrainline.com/, and using our Seniour Railcards, the fares were reasonable too. 

All in all, a very good day.

What does my stroke feel like?

People who see me say, "you do look well" and similar.  I have then to explain how I feel on the inside.

Outwardly I do look pretty good: I have put back lost weight, got colour back in my cheeks and am looking more and more like my "old" self.  Inside it is (still) a very different story. The best way to describe how I feel is by saying I feel wobbly all the time when walking - like I have had 8 pints of beer -  always giddy and unsteady when on the move. Any physical exertion, like a tiny bit of gardening, leaves me shattered and in need of a sit-down and rest. I also feel near constant, low level nausea in my stomach and gut.

Overall, I AM making progress but this is too slow!  I desperately want to be "normal" again . At present, it seems 3 steps forwards and 2 backwards. I should be off  the stomach liquid feed by June/July and already the amount through the peg is vastly reduced compared with when I first came out of hospital. I think my giddiness and sickness/nausea are slowly improving.

So, I may look OK but inside I still feel rough at the moment. Normality is a way off yet still, sadly. Thankfully I sleep very deeply: when I drop off it is (usually) a long and good quality sleep. Sleep is the only time in the day I feel OK. The rest of the time is still a struggle.

Anonymity in sex cases?

With many people accused of sex charges recently being acquitted, is it not time to grant those accused of sex charges anonymity until proven guilty? In English law a person is innocent until tried and found guilty but the press coverage of many recent trials makes a nonsense of this. What is worst, mud sticks. Even if found not-guilty the harm to reputation as a result of the early sensationalist press and TV coverage is extreme.   This coverage is usually sensationalist in nature.  If found guilty the accused will usually have to serve time in prison i.e. they have to pay back to society.

As an example, Ralph Harris is already being judged guilty even though his trial has only just started. If he is acquitted, the bad press will still be there to haunt him.  This serves no good.  See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27340134 .

Personally, I think both sides in sex trials should be granted anonymity. To do otherwise is grossly unfair on those accused and then often found not guilty. A non-guilty verdict should leave the accused able to walk free with head held high, not to be forever in fear of the press baying for yet more blood.  When the accused is guilty the sentence is the punishment.

I am all for justice, but let us have justice for all. To judge a person guilty before a trial has ended and all the evidence has been heard is totally wrong.

Salcombe, Devon - how to destroy it

In the last few years, Salcombe is being taken over by rich bankers and the like with silly money and very small brains. Homes and flats are being sold for millions, hotels are being converted into penthouse suites, and now the Tides Reach Hotel at South Sands is being redeveloped at a cost of £12M as a boutique hotel for yet more of the stinking rich. It makes me sick.

Salcombe and harbour from Snapes Point

At one time, Salcombe was a pleasant seaside town enjoyed by many. Now it is becoming the holiday home from home (for a few weeks a year) of the rich and famous and a ghost town out of season. It cannot go on: the locals can no longer afford to live in the town. In 20 years tradespeople will ALL live out of Salcombe.

It really saddens me to see how my hometown is changing.

Wet (at home) day

This morning I had a 1 hour visit from the speech therapist because of my stroke. This was uneventful. This was followed by a visit from an old work colleague, Ted Williams. We talked radios most of the time.

After Ted went home we had lunch which was more important than usual: my dietician has advised me to reduce my liquid feed (via Peg into my stomach) down from 600ml a day to just 400ml, meaning I now need to eat more substantial meals by mouth. I had a pie. potatoes and spinach - it was a decent helping. I must also eat more soft snacks between meals.

As the weather is so wet, I doubt we will go far today.

Afternoon tea at Simpson's garden centre

Amandine "reading" Mr Men earlier

This afternoon our son Tim and daughter Amandine came up to see us. Tim cut the grass and afterwards we all went out to our local garden centre for afternoon tea.  My wife bought some plants afterwards.  Amandine loved her trifle and fruits. Here she is tucking into her fruit bowl.

Amandine and our son Tim

Branson's visit

Peter Branson

Today we had the pleasure of our old friends, Peter and Chris Branson who were in Burwell for the day. Chris went out with my wife Lis for lunch and Peter had lunch with me at home. A long time ago I worked with Peter and Lis has been friends with Chris since our boys were babies.

Chris Branson (nearest camera) with my wife Lis

Like all real friends, it is very easy to pick up where we last left off, almost like we'd seen them just yesterday, even though they now live 100 miles away in the Cotswolds and we've not seen them for many weeks.

Quiet again here

Grandchildren with their mum

Our "London" grandchildren,and their mum and dad have returned home, so we are quiet again here. We love having them come to stay.

Time to jam

Tomorrow we have some good old friends coming across from the Cotswolds for the day. It will be good to see them. They'd be welcome to stay the night but have to get back for a meeting Wednesday morning.

Cambridge United FC

Cambridge United ( the "U's") are off to Wembley for the Conference play-off finals. I sincerely hope they make it back into the Football League. They deserve it.

The play-off final kicks off at 4pm Sunday May 18th.

Vote Green?

See http://www.greenparty.org.uk/ .

Reading their values on their website (see below)  they are very close to my own. Maybe I should vote green in the EU elections in a few weeks' time?

"We live in unsettling times.
Many of the securities that our parents and grandparents fought for – a functioning National Health Service, free education, and an affordable home – now look out of reach for most of us.
Coupled with this, climate change is bringing unpredictable and threatening weather patterns.
People feel let down by politicians, and yet there has been an explosion in political activism. People want to do things differently and aren’t afraid to be bold and challenging.
We believe that public services should be for the benefit of the public, not sold off in bits; we believe that education is worth investing in and not something that should mean a lifetime of debt; we believe in leaving behind a better world for our children and grandchildren.
This is the only world we have and its welfare, above all things, should be the highest priority for us all.
Politics should work for the benefit of all, not just those who shout the loudest or have the deepest pockets.
We believe in “The Common Good”.
A vote for the Green Party is a vote for The Common Good."

Dead quiet!

My son is watching snooker on TV in the bedroom, grandchildren are both asleep in beds and in the lounge my wife and daughter-in-law are reading books.  The TV is off.

All is very quiet - lovely.

Family day

This afternoon our son Tim, his wife and their 2 delightful young children came to stay for the night. They go back to London after lunch tomorrow. We love their company and especially enjoy the little grandchildren. The youngest  of this pair is not quite 3 and her elder brother is 6.5 years old. They have cousins in Kent who are a little younger.

Gerry Adams released

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-27278039.

Gerry Adams has been released from custody following days of questioning over the 1972 murder of Jean McConville in Northern Ireland. A file is being prepared to decide whether charges will be brought later.  Mr Adams has always denied involvement in the murder.

One thing is certain: if Gerry Adams is summoned, justice may be served, but the Northern Ireland peace process will be irreparably damaged . In some ways,  a greater peace would be served if he was not prosecuted, even if the PPS believe he was involved. Sinn Féin are "engaged" in the peace process and alienating them would not be in the long-term interests of the province.  The next six months will be critical for the peace process. I am glad this decision is not mine to make.

In an ideal world the evil past would be history. One good thing would be for both side to say where "The Disappeared" are buried i.e. those killed by the IRA and protestants but whose place of burial has never been known. For the families this has been a nightmare. I am a believer in a amnesty for past political crimes and realise some who committed real atrocities would be free men.   Evil was done on both sides of the divide in the last 50 years.  Surely better to bury the hatchet of  history and to work constructively for a really long, peaceful future. One of the enduring images in recent years in Northern Ireland is of Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley - once sworn enemies - enjoying a laugh together (the so-called "chuckle brothers").  If they can make peace there is real hope.

Sadly, this is Northern Ireland and nothing follows sensible paths. We must now wait and hope.

Salcombe, Devon - where I came from years ago

Salcombe, S.Devon

These pictures came from Jacqueline Hanniford and show a couple of views of Salcombe, Devon, where I grew up as a child.  People ask why did I ever move away? The usual answer - work. Work brought me to Cambridge back in 1970 and I have lived and worked in this area ever since. Now retired here. My brother still lives near Salcombe and we visit most years for a couple of weeks or more. Homes are very expensive in Salcombe nowadays. It is a beautiful spot.

Looking out to sea  - Salcombe

Politics in Northern Ireland

Politics in Northern Ireland continues to puzzle me.

I am in no position to say whether or not Gerry Adams was in any way, shape or form involved in the murder in 1972 of Jean McConville.  In many ways I hope he was not.

There is a kind of uneasy peace in the province. In many ways, the sectarian violence of a few years ago has gone, yet the fundamental sectarian bad feelings are still there simmering just beneath the surface. A visit to Northern Ireland still has reminders of the past: the barriers between Catholic and Protestant areas are still there in Belfast, the police stations still have huge barrier fences etc. The politics is divided on sectarian lines even now, not politics in the sense we know it elsewhere in the UK.

It seems to me very little would be needed to change the current (uneasy) peace back to violence.

Why cannot the ordinary folk of this most beautiful province cast the past aside and really embrace peace? True peace can only come when forgiveness has a chance to flourish. We are still some way from this.

Max Clifford gets 8 years sentence

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-2725931 .

So PR guru Max Clifford gets a sentence of  8 years allegedly for sexual assaults on women. With good behaviour "inside" he will be out again in 4-5 years' time. What do I think? No real views, but he was tried on the evidence before a  judge and jury and found guilty, so he must serve his time according to English law.

This is one of the Operation Yewtree trials that has led to a conviction. I assume the evidence must have been convincing, whereas in many other trials it depended on very old, and somewhat hearsay, evidence that was never going to convince a jury, beyond reasonable doubt, of the defendant's guilt. In English law a man is innocent until proven guilty: the onus is on the prosecution to convince the jury of the evidence beyond reasonable doubt i.e. it has to be good and solid evidence.

My view is that a lot of people are getting on the compensation bandwagon now and many cases should not be brought to court.  If the evidence is strong and recent, then yes, but hearsay evidence that is 50+ years old, when our public morals were very different is not on.  In my place of work 50 years ago, the moral climate was quite different. Many a girl had her bottom pinched or was wolf whistled. I am not saying this was right, just that our standards today are different. What was acceptable then may not be by our standards today.

I also have a problem that it is only now these cases are coming into the open. Surely if a person was a monster 40 years ago he should have been brought to justice then and not in 2014? The argument that people would not have been believed then are not that convincing in really serious cases

 My views - you may well hold differing views.

Stroke progress

When I came out of hospital in January I was expecting to get better very quickly. That was early January and we are now early May, almost 4 months later.

Although walking is much better I still have major balance issues best described as feeling like I've just had 8 pints of beer. My eating and drinking by mouth are not that different, especially drinking which I still find hard.  However, I have much less liquid feed directly into my stomach and am eating a larger variety of foods by mouth though.  I must be making progress without realising.

The lesson seems to be to measure progress in many months and not weeks and to be very patient. Progress is slow and in fits and starts.  I have to "hang in there" and not expect to get instantly better. All in its own time. This is not as I expected. Some days I feel I'm actually sliding backwards and this can be disheartening. To be honest, I am very frustrated with the progress.
.

Peaches Geldof

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27242721

What a sad loss of a young life. Heroin was found in her body so she may have died, like her mother, from an overdose? Whatever, it is too young to die for any reason, especially with a child. Sir Bob Geldof lost a young wife and now has lost a daughter. My heart goes out to him in his pain. It must be dreadful for him, especially with a world watching, when all he wants is to be able to grieve in peace.

Carbon Capture

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-27063796 .

We seem to be sleep-walking into the future with no real attempts to move away from a carbon based energy economy. Oil and gas are very heavily subsidised I believe in many western nations, so there is no imperative to make a switch to more sustainable energy sources. This being so we need to either change (fast) or move to measures that will mitigate the effects of high carbon use.

The UK looks to have been granted EU money (300M euros) to support a pilot project (see BBC report linked). This takes CO2 from coal power station emissions and buries it under the North Sea. If successful, CCS could be a useful technique as we make the switch to a lower carbon energy economy.

 We tend to forget the positive side of EU membership.

Just chilling

Yesterday one of our sons and a granddaughter came and this morning neighbours came for coffee.

This afternoon we are expecting no-one so we are just relaxing - chilling - in our cosy lounge. I am getting blogs up to date and my wife is reading her book. Perfect on a rainy day.

Salt of the earth people

A couple of our neighbours, Margaret and Brian, came over for coffee today. When I was in hospital they were very kind indeed and supportive of my wife.

Strange how a serious illness brings out the worst, and very best, in people. A couple of our "Christian" neighbours  (regular churchgoers and the wife a Sunday school teacher) have hardly wanted to know me - they have called to see me once since leaving hospital (we invited them)  -  whereas others have been totally and genuinely concerned and kind.

Two such are Margaret and Brian - genuine "salt of the earth" people, kind to the very core. Thank you.

I am not seeking kindness, but I can easily tell genuine love and kindness from "sham" kindness (doing good because it is a duty).

Anglian Water - very impressed

Until we had a burst main yesterday and our water was off for several hours, I had no idea that if one needed water for a medical condition, as I do, that one can register to have bottled water delivered if the supply is off for a long period. Anglian Water was very good, ringing me several times during the day. As it happened, our water was back on after lunch at reduced pressure and the burst fully mended early evening. No bottled water was needed.

I have to say I was very impressed with the service and level of care that Anglian Water showed to its customers.

UKIP and European Elections

In a few weeks' time we in the UK vote in the European elections. UKIP is expected to do well, no doubt as an anti-European protest vote. As a voter,  I am still undecided who to vote for, but it will not be UKIP. In my personal view (others may well disagree) UKIP is a single issue party - Europe in or out - and they have failed to demonstrate - to me - any other policies. In my personal view (others may well disagree) UKIP is a bit like a British National Party (BNP) but with enough respectability that ordinary voters can vote for them with a clear conscience.

No, the decision on who to vote for is unclear as yet except it will not be UKIP or the BNP.

Palestine - Israel talks, where next?

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27210263 .

Peace talks seem to be deadlocked, yet again, begging the question of just how to get these 2 sides around a single table involved in meaningful discussions on a long term peace settlement.

The sad thing is both sides need this but seem unable to take the bold steps required, especially Israel. The Palestinians are not blame free either. Think how history will remember you if/when you succeed.

Please, cast the past aside and make real peace for once - you know it makes sense. Years of war and  uncertainty does no-one any good. Think about all the benefits a good peace treaty would bring.

More Ukraine

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27204009 .

Russia is getting upset by NATO "cold war" behaviour and sanctions - well tough!  Reduce your 40000 troops on Russia's border with Ukraine then. 

The small scale NATO moves are about re-assurance whereas Russian moves are pure threat to a free and independent nation.   Cool it or expect yet more sanctions.  You should have to pay for your intimidating behaviour.

Russian actions belong back in the Cold War days and have no place in a free and democratic world. Russia, act like a grown up and stop throwing your toys out of your pram. I know there are always at least 2 sides to any dispute but Russian actions are plain wrong. This is not the way to air you grievances.

Russia is a great nation that deserves to be treated respectfully, but only if it behaves like an adult nation. Russia is behaving like a spoiled child at present over eastern Ukraine.

I fear for the future of eastern Ukraine: The Russian "inner circle" is still living in the 1970s. The age of the USSR is long gone!

Without water

Isn't it amazing how we get to depend on our essential services? Just after breakfast our cold water went off. Others locally are cut off too. I need water for my syringe (4 loads, 4 times a day)  to keep my fluid intake up ( stroke). Our neighbour phoned the water company who seemed not to know of the issue quoting "4 hours" to fix which sounds like a standard answer and I guess it could be any time! Now told "6 hours" typical for a mains leak, but it could be longer. I have gone on the Anglia Water "Water Care Register" which promises to deliver bottled water if  the supply is disrupted for long periods. You have to be disabled and have a need for regular water as I do (stroke 2L a day).

It is only when water and electric or even the internet goes off you realise just how much we take these essential services for granted. When we first moved last year we had no phone or internet for weeks - what a pain that was!

We are now having to be very frugal with the little water we have - just what is left in the system.

People in rural 3rd world countries have had to be frugal with water and electricity for years and years.