Five nur-o-fen!

I didn't feel fab during my last shift on christmas night. I knew it was lurking.
I was off Boxing Day and determined to have some form of christmas cheer despite feeling knackered and knowing ... it was there!

I landed on one of me pals just down the road. She was full of it too so i didn't feel quite so bad. And another mate arrived who was on day 13. Day 13? yup! Now the good company, the nibbles and the red wine didn't do me any harm. The freezing cold walk back up the hill to my abode - now that was a whole other thing altogether. It absolutely screwed my chest and the cold got in to my bones. It was so deeply set that two hot water bottles failed to warm me and i barely slept before the alarm woke me in the form of radio2 announcing the six o'clock news. Ye gods but did i ache! and i could barely talk. Hmm! well i got myself together. Threw some lunch in my bag and gathered a few articles together for my pal who would be at work before i got there. Presents had to be exchanged regardless of my fitness for duty.

Gee up! it was bloody freezing out there which made it hard to breath.
I made it in but staying was out of the question. I managed a natter but there was no force behind my vocal cords. Thank goodness for the ribena we have at work.

Four calling friends....
Three more nurofens...

Ugh! hot water bottle, blanket and warm top and trews. Television which i watched between dozes and tried to sweat out as much of the ychafy's as possible. I will say i felt crap! It's been a while since i've felt that bleargh!!

Two lemsip sachets and
an aspirin crunched with equal verve

Yesterday was an ongoing battle to fight this horrible yukitude
Today i feel significantly better but there are steps to be made before i am geuninely well.

I should be back at work on wednesday morning but i make no predictions until i see how i have progressed tomorrow. If needs be then it will be friday.

Thanks to Santa for his generosity.

A Very Hairy Homage

After sounding off about the world, her husband and any other beggar in the firing line it gives me great pleasure to talk about a wonderous thing. Well, two wonderous things. Well, not so much things as great human beings who bring alot of joy to alot of people.
The adorable, the glorious, the talented and the wicked HAIRY BIKERS!
That's Dave Myers and Si King (not to be mixed up with the equally wonderful Simon King from the world of nature).
For a few years the lads have brought us the wonders of cooking from around the globe and different ways of cooking.I've not had the honour to meet this passionate pair but I know people who have, if only briefly. People have nothing but good to say about these guys.
They have a great banter between one another and it's obvious that it is not rehearsed. It all comes from the heart and as does a deep love for the art of cookery. It possibly even overrides their massive passion for motorbiking.

From my wee blog i wish the Hairy Bakers (& their families) a truly wonderful christmas and here's hoping you will be bringing us more news and views of the world's food in 2009.

http://www.hairybikers.com/
in case you wanna check out further details on the hairy duo

It's mad and bad and manic

But what is it?
The traditional friday piss up for office staff on the friday before christmas.
Hmm! very christmassy!
People getting drunk for the heel of it; cos they want to; cos it;s fun.
Is it? is it really?
Get outta here. What half-brained neanderthal truly believes that?
If you recorded peoples antics whilst drunk i bet there'd be a few embarrassed hangovered
sober considerations.
I have a right to enjoy myself
Now let me see if i can get my head around such a statement. For sure this statement has been made.
You have the right to
Get pissed, become incontinent (in all ways), puke on someone else, start arguments with complete strangers, fight with friends and complete strangers, fight the police, fall over and break a part of your anatomy, maybe get toxic poisoning from the alcohol, become unable to be responsible for your own well-being, demand that an ambulance take you to hospital (it's your right after all).... i'm sure i've left out a few things but that'll do for now.
So whilst you're exercising your so-called rights where does this put granny who's broken her hip? or uncle bert who've having a myocardial infarction (heart attack)? or young wee Jimmy who's fallen from his bunk bed after a nightmare?
these people obviously don't have rights.
Screw 'em eh? As long as you are having a good time well that's ok then isn't it. You've got your rights. Why should anyone else's get in the way? Yeah. Why not. Fuck 'em all... right? yeah? right?
WRONG! very very very very wrong. Instead let's say FUCK YOU!
You don't get an ambulance. You get a criminal record for wasting police and ambulance and A&E time and you get a hefty bill in the shape of a fine. If you can afford to get rat-arsed you can afford to pay for your miscreant antics.
There are people out there who genuinly need help and they have not brought on their need temselves. It's just life taking it's toll.
Be responsible. Give a shit about others. Be a bigger person. Instead of being self-absorbed try being self-aware. It's so much more healthy.
Be thankful there is no military service like they have in Israel.
Or you'd be bullet amd bomb-dodging in Iraq or Afghanistan!

So along with my ambulance service colleagues, and those in the police, the fire service, the RNLI, the NHS staff in and out from hospitals, hospices etc., the serving military personnel, mountain rescue, the vehicle recovery services, the Coastguard and the people who are less frontline but equally as valid keeping our utilities running and those who work the land and anyone i have left out ... i wish you all a very merry christmas (Nadolig Llawen) and the very best for the new year (Blywddyn Newyyd Dda).

I do wish everyone else a pretty good time over the festive period too cos some of you will probably wish you were in a job that took you away from home.

The Spirit of... human not-so-kind

He sits on the fence. It was, as ever, a lucky catch.
He's beautiful. He may not even be a he but i can not tell one way or the other.
Christmas approaches fast.
Whilst i do enjoy it it is not for the fact of being a Christian - for i am not. Dragged up as one yes but not practising as i can not do the god thing. The basic principles behind what Jesus supposedly taught i give a hearty thumbs up. In fact they're really quite buddhist in outlook.
And, the side of Christmas that has me spinning with confusion and frustration is the terrible commercialism that now goes with it.
It seems to have a stranglehold and even holds on to those that try to disentangle themselves from it's grip. I take the frosty grip of winter quite happily in comparison. A beauty not seen in summer

To disengage tempts insult to others who we love.
"Well it's like this mum/dad/auntie etc. I don't wanna give you anything and i don't want you to give me anything". It looks simple but it isn't and, after all these years, i am
1. used to it
&, stupidly,
2. enjoy giving and receiving.
Seeing loved ones faces light up cos you've got it right gives a warm glow. It's probably a selfish warm glow but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
The trouble within the commercial insanity is that it brings about huge greed. Those seeds are sown in the very young and it becomes a vicious circle.
And the stupid knock-on effect is the poverty that comes about from splashing out on what can not be afforded and do it wilfully.
Humans are stupid creatures.
All those brains but no idea how to use them properly.

We bring the insanity upon ourselves yet are always looking outwards at who to blame.
We're back to that word responsibility again.
I can't say that i stand head and shoulders above people in this matter. Far from it but maybe i am awakening. Maybe i will get it right - one day. And before it is too late.

10 days and counting

On Thin Ice

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/7769953.stm
takes you to the media view of what happened when an ambulance was conveying an already very sick child from Preston to Leeds
This always makes my stomach somersault. I feel sick and this time is no different.
We'll turn out to all manner of bumps and prangs but seeing one of your own type as i see this one makes me feel distinctly uncomfortable.
My hopes and thoughts go out to all involved.
For those inside and those who turned out to attend this incident.

Looking from a crew member perspective i hope that the crew involved have all the help they need. That they are not pre-judged as is so easy to do. That management explore what has happened with a sympathetic, empathetic and understanding heart.

thank you to the bbc for this pic.

I also hope that the services across the UK look even more closely at crew safety.
The fact that we have to stand to do anything indicates that we are using vehicles that are too big.
By rights, we should be able to do emergency work within the confines of something no or little bigger than a Renault Espace/ Ford Galaxy.
They allow some height for forward vision but also afford less chance of turning over in the event of a slippery incident. The attendant can remain sat and find kit within easy reach and be safe.
they're also alot more comfortable than vehicles in the light goods sector.
Mercedes make great cars that are very comfortable. Mercedes make great lorries that are very comfortable but the LGV sector is forgotten. Not just by Mercedes but VW, Renault, Ford etc etc. They are perceived as moving merchandise over comparitively short distances.
Lorries may be carrying loads but they travel significant distances so the driver must feel comfortable for as along as possible. Cars need to appeal to everyone else so they, too, have a better ride.

If we must continue to use LGVs for ambulances then the companies must look at improving suspension and general ride comfort... and stability.
It wouldn't go amiss if councils were more aware of the state of their roads and actively did something positive to rectify the bumpiness that is in existence all over the UK.

The other knock-on effect of bad roads is the damage done to vehicles. We regularly have suspension and bearing issues as the front wheels (usually the nearside) drop into potholes. The rest of the weight of the vehicle follows and creates further damage - to say nothing about playing rock n roll on some poor spinal case perched on a long board after parting company with their 1000cc machine on a marble-laden corner in mid Wales.
Helicopters are not always available and air ambulances.

The ambulance service is just that. The National Health Service is just that. Whilst each require a business plan of some description it should not be forgotten that the NHS and it's various departments is...... a service.
It is the biggest money pit but if this country truly wants the best healthcare system in the world then money does have to be put in. And a few more indians and a few less chiefs wouldn't go amiss.

Again, my thoughts go to all involved with the accident.

Haw Haw Haw!

It's the end of November and the weather is telling it it is no longer a mild autumn. We're heading rapidly in for winter and a bank of fog has landed at the same time as the chiller temperatures creating the Hawfrost. This leads to beautiful sites like the included spider's web. Not putting away the rotary clothes line does pay off.
I woould think that a large proportion of Britain has had a dose of fog or is having a dose of it. On tele is a live football between Wolves and Birmingham and there's obvious fog at Molineux tho' it's not impeding the match.
Oh and BC are ahead as i type.






On a sadder note:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45252000/jpg/_45252181_hotel_466.jpg

Mumbai came under attack by terrorists. Terrorists = people who create fear and terror in others. Noteably in large proportions. They took hostages at the Taj Mahal Hotel in the city and fired upon people at a jewish centre. 6 were killed. Another hotel, the Oberoi, also came under attack.
Roughly, 200 people have been killed in this single attack and, about, 300 injured
But India has had a bad year

BOMB ATTACKS IN INDIA IN 2008

30 October: Explosions kill at least 64 in north-eastern Assam

30 September: Blasts in western India kill at least seven

27 September: Bomb blasts kills one in Delhi

13 September: Five bomb blasts kill 18 in Delhi

26 July: At least 22 small bombs kill 49 in Ahmedabad

25 July: Seven bombs go off in Bangalore killing two people

13 May: Seven bombs hit markets and crowded streets in Jaipur killing 63

The Deccan Mujahideen, a previously unheard of group, have claimed responsibility.
Responsility? pah! makes you wanna laugh... haw haw haw!.... how can you be responsible and carry out such an abhorrent act?
Blame religion!... Blame religion?... bollocks! religion has naff all to do with it. These are insane power-hungry ignorants with a so-called cause who come up with that kind of bullshit.
They know nothing about responsibility.
It's, comparitively, easy to take a life. Try bloody saving one for a change.
Try sitting down and talking properly. Not shouting like little school children (three cheers to the House of Commons... NOT)
The unbelievable selfishness of the most negative variety of these people is boundless.
No one is perfect but living an essentially good life you ain't gonna go too far wrong.
Karma will step in in the event that you really cock up. Of course it doesn't always step in in this life so the schadenfreuder bird in me can't laugh at what goes around comes around. Damnit! >:¬/


That'll do for now
I am feeling hungry and imagining streaks of bacon awaiting my consumption. Trouble is, i have no bacon in the house.
I shall have to rethink my luncheon strategy

Too many Es are bad for you

I recently attended the christening of a friend's son.
Someone made a very nice cake for him......
Hmmmm! been a long time since i was in school but.....!

Then we have the speed limit.....i must remember not to walk so fast at 00.20 on a star and moonlit November night.

Spot which part of the UK this might be... haha!



Nothing to report otherwise. i wont say that nothing has happened it's just that some things needs to be pushed to the back of the agenda. Maye, even, not used at all.
We'll see :0)

So... something i've already been fortunate to see and will be seeing again in June of next year is as follows.
Jeff Wayne! diolch yn fawr!

Ten years short....

... of a century since the guns of the Great War fell silent.
On the 11th Hour of the 11th day of the 11th month it was decided that peace would fall across Europe.
Never mind that both sides actually threw soldiers in to battle, fire round after round right up until that time.
The commanders didn't see fit to think "Hey! after 4 years of blood-letting we now have a fixed time how about we dont give the order to go over the top. Perhaps we can save just a few extra souls in this insane action." But no!

Taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7696021.stm

The respected American author Joseph E Persico has calculated a shocking figure that the final day of WWI would produce nearly 11,000 casualties, more than those killed, wounded or missing on D-Day, when Allied forces landed en masse on the shores of occupied France almost 27 years later.

The treaty was signed a few hours before 11.00 in a railway carriage near Paris.

The french were, apparently, so ashamed that a soldier of their's died on the last day that they marked his headstone as his being KIA on the 10th.
Sadly, there is little doubt that men died even after the official time for the Armistice and even after the 11th.

- the war to end all wars-
sadly.... not so!

B.O. goes to The White House

Barack and Michelle hug

A new era in United States history is dawning.
Barack Obama has been elected to become the next President of the USA.
Thank goodness. Sense has prevailed in a country which has seen little over the previous 8 years.
To vote in Gee Dubya once was a pretty crazy notion but to repeat the ludicrous process 4 years later.... for sure there is NO god.
Thankfully, there is a goddess somewhere tho ;0) and she has smiled upon not only the American people but the people of planet Earth.
Whether or not we destroy Man's ability to live on the planet Nature will take care of herself but with Obama in office in the world's most powerful democratic country Mankind does have a chance.
"Somehere somewhere in the spirit of man" (jeff wayne The War of the Worlds)
I really don't know a massive amount about this man but i have a good feeling about him. Some say that you can't live on gut-instinct. I say bollocks. Just a feeling ya know :0)
I also, uncomfortably, have a sad and underlying fear.
That dear man and his wonderful family are now targets in a way that they weren't before and there are alot of people who would have him dead rather than a ::whispers....:: black man in the White House. To some it doesn't bear thinking about. And, in that group, not one is muslim. These people have no love or tolerance beyond a narrow band of misguided loyalty to those who think - i use the term lightly - as they do. They are those who applaud the crazed thinkings of the K.K.K. and other such white supremiscist groups.
Until then i cheer and applaud the arrival of Senator Barack Obama as he sits in the cyber ante-room outside the beckoning Oval office.
January can not come quickly enough.

I wish him well. I say Llongyfarchiadau and Pob Lwc.
It was 5th November yesterday and us crazy people in britain will keep lobbing fireworks up in to the sky in memory of a wee incident back in 1605 when a bunch of traitors tried to blow up Parliament whilst the King (jamesI) was in attendance.
However, i just wanted to pop up this pic as a wee celebration for Obama, Biden, the Democratic Party of the USA and all americans who saw fit to hit the button by the right name

Hiya Ween

But the children don't like it when you ask them trick or treat upon opeing the door to them.
Hmmm! strange creatures these little people!!!

Night Night Everyone!
Sweet Dreams!

Quit Inhaling

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7685797.stm
takes you to the update on the family of six from north Wales who were killed following a collision with a lorry on the M6 a few days ago.
So, it's bloody obvious that death on the roads is still very much a part of british life. Hey! it's an element that keeps me in a job tho' i'm sure many people do not wish to meet medics of any kind following such a destructive event in their lives.
Quit inhaling?... see i've already talked about the need for other motorists to clear a path for those running on blue lights but there's another group of motorists who are not in front of an ambulance but wish they were. The ambulance has a sick lad/ladette/gent/lady etc on board. The roads are not the smoothest of surfaces in the world and the vehicles are not the best sprung. Answer? drive with care. which may mean travelling at 40mph out in a 60mph national speed limit area.
Having you sucking on my motor's tailpipe is not conducive to my concentrating on what is happening around the roads ahead of me.
This must include the gent who tailgated me for approximately 15miles last night despite having a minimum of 4 safe overtaking opportunities to pass us.
The reason he got passed? despite an unwell octogenarian on board i pulled over. Did he say ta very much? did he bollocks!
Whatever the vehicle in front tailgating is FUCKING dangerous. Plumbers do not have automatic rights-of-way over any other vehicle so think before you endanger other peoples lives. In fact, THINK and do NOT ever put other peoples lives in danger.

Basic courtesy. I'm sure the United Kingdom would be in a far better position, financially or otherwise, if people could just learn to be more courteous to others.

something to think about
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ILMkpRNCBDI&NR=1

in Concert

Going back to 30th Sept.08
Katie, Fo and I headed to Cardiff on tuesday afternoon (appropriate eh?) to see the Moodies. My last trip down had been in December 07 to se Jeff Wayne's musical version of The War of the Worlds and it had been just Fo and me.
The Moodies were at St David's Hall http://www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk/english/index.asp
A venue i'd wanted to see something at since it was built.

They (the sound engineers) knackered the sound and balance. Shame cos the guys were singing their hearts out. They did sound great in a great hall with great acoustics but the sound guys failed them.
All the songs were fab., having said that.
The favourites and few more from further back. Most i knew and a couple I didn't.
Tuesday Afternoon, Nights in White satin, Question, Driftwood, Steppin' In A Slide Zone, I'm Just A Singer (in a rock n roll band).......

Justin and John

The lighting effects were good.
The audience were appreciative.
The run home went without incident.
The hard part? - crawling from my pit to go to work the next day. Bleargh!! Graeme Edge. Another of the original line-up.

Publish Post

Thank you the Moody Blues.
You do good choons

The Return

There was mention previously of my struggling to remain online. It finally quit toward the end of July and it has taken until yesteday to put me back online. I have gained irregualr access via other peoples PCs but it is nice to be at home dabbing away with my own sounds, smells and visions.
I have parted company with the isp that is AOhelL and taken up with Madasafish. They need a kick up the rear n all but to a lesser degree.
All for the price of a working router.

This is my friend's cat. CAT. Tho, formally, Ripley. She is no more. She was, i think, 16 or 17 yo. She had the funniest moods with the craziest miaow. She also had the softest fur and, despite being a moody so n so, i thought she was great so i just thought i'd dedicate this post to a beautiful cat who lived life in the suburbs of south-west London.
To Cat!!

In Memory

It's a silly month.

Last year on July 5th my Grandpa celebrated 101 years of life. On the very same day one of my best mates celebrated her 49th birthday.

This year neither are with us.

My lovely Grandpa with amazing long-term memory and great sense of humour died a few days before Christmas last year. Whilst I was and am very sad he had had a good life with a lovely lady by his side.

My mate, on the other hand, was just too damn young. Her fight with cancer came to an end in the final days of August last year.

Well, this year a concert in her memory was held on 11th July at our local community centre. I don't know how money was raised but the monies will be equally split between Macmillan Nurses http://www.macmillan.org.uk/ and St Michael's Hospice near Hereford http://www.st-michaels-hospice.org.uk/

So - this was a short blogpost in memory of two great people. So different. So loved. Both touched so many people in so many different ways.

Here's To LPT

and

JJ!

Living on in the rest of us

Deadly Cargo

I am preoccupied with death on the roads but then too many people do suffer terrible injuries on the roads of the UK and a whole host of others do not live to tell the tale.
And sometimes we know who our killer is... as is shown on a safety ad. from almost 10 years ago.
http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/seatbelts/seatbelts.htm where a rear seat passenger is not strapped in so is flung forward following a front-end impact killing the driver.

It never ceases to amaze me that people think they can save their babies in the event of a
collision with them sat on their laps.All people in a motor vehicle should be strapped in and strapped in properly. No child seat is too expensive for your child. If you can't afford one then

1. don't have a car etc
or
2. don't have children

It's quite simple really.

Other things should be suitably secured as well. Even an empty CD case on the parcel shelf can deal a nasty blow in a collision.
We're very good at making sure our box of a dozen eggs is secure since they are so obviously fragile but who gives a toss about the humans beings in transit, eh?



Whilst I am in road safety mode, the lumpy thing attached to the top of the back of your seat is not a headrest it is a head restraint. It needs to be set at the correct height for whoever is sat in that seat. This includes the rear seats where restraints are fitted!. If they are too low, par example, and another driver rear-ends the motor that you are in there is a chance of not simply suffering from whiplash but of dying due to something called HYPEREXTENSION. If not dying then possibly landing you in a wheelchair unable to feed yourself. [hyperflexion is also involved as the neck snaps forward again]

...............................One of the new breed of restraints as found on SAABs

Mobile on a mobile

In the UK if you wish to use a mobile phone whilst driving it must be of the hands-free variety. Well, you don't talk with it clamped to your ear with one hand holding it and one hand on the steering wheel.
You can be wired for sound. You can have a speaker system but do not hold it to your ear for a chat. And, you should not text whilst on the move or read an incoming text.
Now to me this seems as sensible as you can get.
Using a mobile phone removes your mind partially if not totally from your immediate environment.
Only recently - the case is ongoing - a man was killed as he ?stepped out in front of a van? whilst chatting on his mobile. Even if the investigation shows otherwise there are plenty of other cases that have proven such events. My thoughts do go out to the aforementioned chap's family and friends and those involved in the collision.
If you can not concentrate enough under your own steam then what chance you concentrating whilst driving?
This is one of my big soap box issues and my writing this now has been prompted by one of the most stupid acts i have seen concerning mobile phones. Now i have seen drivers of cars, vans, coaches (with passengers) and articulated HGVs using mobiles attached to their ears. And half of them have had a passenger perched beside them! FFS!
This latest one was a driver of a silver Ford Fiesta passing by a primary school in a 20mph zone at kicking out time. I had just moved off from having been stopped at the zebra crossing to let a family cross. His window was open, he was enjoying the sun, the company of a female passenger and a chat on his mobile!
But for further safety issues i would've taken his number plate details and passed them on to the police.

There is ONE instance when you are legally allowed to use it whilst a driver on the move. When you believe you are being followed by a potential assailant and you are informing the police whilst heading for the nearest safe place or your local open police station.
Otherwise, DO NOT DO IT! It really is not worth it. We managed perfectly well without having phones glued to our ears for decades during the existence of the the internal combustion engine.

Dunlop - loss and a win

I don't know much about motorcycle racing. I don't know much about motorcycles. I know that they fall over more easily that something on 4 wheels. I know that they afford little or no protection for their riders in the event of a crash - be it accidental or avoidable. I know they can give the most amazing thrills to those who spend time on board. Even the best riders fall off or come a-cropper in some way. Some walk away, some limp away, some are conveyed to hospitals in ambulances (by land or air) and some will never know what happened or will not live to remember what happened.
For those, even like me, who know little about the sport of motorbike racing the name of Dunlop has been synonymous with motorbike racing for a long time. It's not just about tyres it's about a family of biking enthusiats who take the sport to the extreme.
Joey Dunlop is probably the most well-known of the family. Born in 1952 in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland he was a great exponent of road racing. I say was as, sadly, Joey died whilst racing 125s in Tallinn, Estonia in 2000.
His younger brother, Robert, carried on the family tradition as did their sons.
The latest tragedy to hit the Dunlop family is the recent death of Robert Dunlop who died during a practise session in Northern Ireland readying for the Northwest 200. The engine seized throwing Robert off the bike at approximately 137mph. His two sons (of 3 ) were also there and competing. William's bike had similar problems so, come the race on 17th May 2008 (2 days later) it was down to Michael to uphold the family honour and ride in memory of father on board a Honda 250.
With the most amazing and gutsiest performance ever, Michael came home winner of the 250 class.
It is no mean feat to win at the NW200 but to do so after such tragic circumstances says alot for the character of Michael.

My thoughts go to everyone who knew Robert.

Move Over, darling

Here's a lesson on what to do if you meet an ambulance.
GET OUT OF THE WAY! oh and you think i'm talking about when it's running with bright lights and an array of loud noises blaring from it's vox-box?
Put it this way, an emergency ambulance, whether it is running with all the paraphenalia
going or not is always going somewhere. Is trying to be in the right place. It doesn't have to have a patient on board. It doesn't even have to be a patient who is seriously ill but it is always going somewhere. An ambulance, when out and about on the mean streets of the UK, always has a place to go.
What about the Police? no. Cos they cruise around showing their faces trying to keep those mean streets crime-free. Fire bobbies? not quite but closer to the emergency ambulance service.
So, an ambulance conveys an ill pateint to hospital. This person is not gonna die but does require treatement somewhere down the line. The ambulance is not in a hurry. It does not play tunes or turn on the disco lights. However, the sooner it is released from that duty with that patient it may be required instantaneously to something that is life threatening. And, because no other ambulance is available that detail could've come in 5 - 15 minutes earlier; but this ambulance that is sitting behind you doing 40mph on an out-of-town A road can not pass you due to the nature of the bends, hillcrests etc etc. It can legally do 50mph (60 on dual carriageways and motorways) but you don't care. No blue lights. No sirens. No bother. However, you are holding up this ambulance from clearing sooner. The ambulance, without you on the road, may clear only 3 minutes sooner but that can be the difference between life and death. A human being may be starved of oxygen for up to 4 minutes without any noteable detrimental effect. That person having a heart attack may not have stopped breathing for a while but the instant that attack began a friend or relative has put in that 999 call. So, clock ticking. Patient still breathing and ambulance is on it's way. Crew do the do. Happiness all round.
Same scenario. Crew are returning to their general area of cover when the call comes in. They are 10 miles away. But if man-in-a-cap had not held up the flow of traffic 40 minutes earlier that ambulance could've been 5 miles away... maybe less.
An ambulance is always going somewhere.
If one is obviously wishing to travel a little bit faster than you wish then pull over. Get off the way. No one is asking you to speed up just move over, let 'em go and then carry on.
Check your Highway Code. If two or vehicles, regardless of status, wish to travel quicker than you then you should pull over anyway! that is, of course, assuming you're doing less that the top speed limit and driving conditions are conducive for the maximum speed limit.


If in doubt...........>>>>> they look like or are similar to this one -----------------------

Part 2... attempt 2 - Faceless Corps... or - Do what??

I was unceremoniously dumped offline as i was mid part 2 so decided to give it up as a bad job... for a while.
Last year, not long after switching from BT to XX my ISP offered an upgrade. Upon discovering i was not with BT they said they couldn't do the upgrade. I asked why since the company i had switched to was also part of my ISPs company? it had to be BT and that was that. I have been with my current ISP for getting on for 9 years. I am not wholly sure that i shall be with them going in to double figures!
Likewise, i was tempted by British Gas to take over my gas and electricity. More fool me.
Shortly before saying yes they announced their profits for the year.
571million squid!!!!!! do what?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7256096.stm... ty the beeb.
So, having asked them if they would send me a new access key to my electricity meter which requires a different triangular key from that required to access my gas meter the girl at BG informed me that they no longer send out keys to people and that people were to buy them from their local hardware stores. Do what???
This company has just announced an almost obscene profit margin and they won't buy a key for the households who request them so that they can make sure their GESTIMATES for some bills are somewhere close to the correct figures.
Not everyone has a hardware store/builders merchants/blah blah on their doorstep and the cost to go out and buy one far exceeds the cost to the almighty Gas (no not Bristol Rovers) company. So much for customer relations. Well BG, ya stitched me for the year but i'm s*dding off to someone else next year so put that in your ferking pipeline and smoke it!
May karma recitify this at some later date! :D

Faceless Corporations

For approximately 3 weeks I have had problems being dumped unceremoniously off-line.
In fact, as i write this i am aware that this could happen after i write a wonderous piece shortly before i am able to save it. Can you hear my teeth grinding in negative anticipation?
I went through the various fix it click doings for my isp. Reset my router. turned my pc off and back on. Kicked the chest of drawers in. Yelled at the cat and eaten chocolate in some effort not to do serious to anyting or anyone.
A few days ago i finally rang my ISP membership tech helpline on 0844 blah de blah etc etc.
The indian chap at the end of the line worked me thro a few things and i returned online. Thing is, i could probably have managed to get myself on without his assistance. And a couple of days later my pc was still dropping me but even more often. I rang again and an indian lass talked me thro some stuff. It seems that having Sky and your PC routed through broadband do not mix very well. Sky, apparently, causes connectivity problems with broadband users.
::scratches head... don't Sky do broadband as well::: Anyhow, it loks like i shoudl chat with the peeps on level 2 tech but i need to ring back as they won't talk to me if i am still connected to Sky via my telephone system. Anyone who has Sky knows that part of your contract means having to keep your boxes attached. So, i now need to ring back having queued for goodness how long and start all over again. In an effort to calm myself i decide not to do it there and then. So, i speak to someone the next day having done as they have asked. Sorry Sky but come on this is ludicrous!
This indian chap is clearer down the tele line and he organises with BT (british untelecommunications) to do line checks and see what the issue is. You should know that my phone is now supplied by another company so i amke sure they know this and ask if the issue is outside my house? it is... probably. Well, my isp are making the calls they can make any extra payments as my contract is not with BT if needed.
I am given a fault reference number. And i make a point of asking for the ISPs' address so i can give serious consideration to writing a snail-mail of complaint. The chap passes it over. I have to ring the next day to ensure that things are going ahead.
Yesterday, my phone has completely lost connectivity and i am trying to retain a form of dignity even in only my own company.
I chase the fault issue. My ISP say they'll ring me back after 30minutes to confirm the final arrangements with BT. That was mid to late morning. At 3 hours (ish) later i try to ring back only for them to cut me off. Communication is the answer to our problems (thanks 10CC).
I wanna cry but a friend has asked me for help. They have my mobile number so i'm going out S7d it!
They ring whilst i am out but i miss to hear my mobile. thankfully, the nice indian chap has left me a message on my home system saying BT will check things out at the exchange tomorrow (today now) so PHEW!
I give up on my PC and have a sky+ fest. I pay the feckers enough dosh - attached or not attached to my phoneline!
Today, BT never called to confirm what was happening so spoke with my ISP after waiting for over half an hour but this time to a chap in Eire. Great! he sounded irish to me but i thought he was from the Netherlands. Well, he's South African originally so pretty close, eh? He confirms what the indian chap said before and suggests i call back late this avo if things are still unresolved.
Well, as you see i am online. However, i have already been dropped so have things ben resolved? do i want to put myself through the whole fiasco again? I'll see what mood i am in in the next couple of hours.
For fear of this being lost i am going to publish but i sense a part 2 brewing

Old Festival

Beltane is a festival that marks the return of summer with the lighting of fires; where people could burn their winter bedding and floor coverings, ready to be replaced afresh. Referred to as a Gaelic ceremony, it has been celebrated for thousands of years throughout the United Kingdom and Europe. In fact in Ireland, it supposedly marks the arrival of the Gaels on to Irish shores.

I've whipped the above from another site so thanks to Mysteriousbritain.co.uk

So, here's wishing my wiccan/pagan pals a Happy Beltane. The only thing i've set fire to today are a few jossticks of the frankincense & myrrh and Yland Yland flavours.

I wish i could linger longer but i have connection issues. No, this is not my cry for therapy. This is my cry for a multi-billion pound compnay to pull their finger out and give us rurals a decent frigging service.

Bar stewards! the ot of them.

I don't know whether to rant about AOL or BT the most.

Thank goodness for double-barrell shotguns eh?

A bag of Wind

I wrote such a long and provocative thought about the wonders of wine and then the internet ate it and never regurgitated for me. [as you see i've found it so don't mind that pissed off piece ]

So sod that. Here's a piece about football instead. And the happy tale about 22 men on approximately 120x100yards of turf kicking a bag of wind for extortionate sums of money.
I am watching, sorta, the semi final of the Champions League match between Manchester 'scum' United and Barce' you cheated in the final the other year' lona being played at the latter's Nou Camp.
Now, i like football (the Yankeedoodles have a problem with that reference so call it soccer... sommat to do with the term Association ::shoulder shrug::) but it frustrates me on so very many levels.
Where do i begin?
1. the wages
2. the facial expressions if someone dares look at them the right way
3. the faux innocence
4. the writhing on the floor in agony.
Anyone who knows anything about a genuinely bad injury is that the last thing you'll do is make any unnecessary movemnets (watch a video of Eduardo da Silva's horrendous injury when playing for Arsenal vs Brum earlier this year - he hardly moved once he hit the deck)
5. the tripping over a blade of grass that the ground staff have failed to cut to the required centimetreage

That'll do.
This, after all, is a game. Yes it's great to support a team (or two or three) but let's not get our underwear in a twist.
Whilst i may refer to Man U in less than endearing terms i do not loathe them.
Whilst i may support Arsenal i do not love them. And whilst it's sad when they lose and throw away a whole season right at the end it is ONLY a game.
These people have no direct bearing on the health and well-being of the world around them.
Yes seeing your number one player visiting your ward when you're suffering from some horrible disease is great and famous faces bring in money to hospitals and hospices, blah blah blah but they don't save lives. And, when they have so much money given to them for kicking around a bag of wind then, quite honestly, so they bloody should hand over significant wads of dosh.
Earlier this evening, the talented Mr Cristiano Ronaldo screwed up a penalty. The goalmouth was gaping wide and he missed.
Now, despite the sarcasm, he is a talented player but he gets paid a fortune to fk up that which he is paid to do.
If i fk up what i am paid to do then a few things can happen.
1. i get away with it
2. i get fired
3. someone dies
4. i go to prison
5. i fall on my gerbers

I know the world will never be a fair place but come on this is getting out of hand.
The money and all the rest that footballers receive is, to put it simply, obscene.

I don't say that high pay to any sportsman is justified. It isn't but footballers just seem to go nowhere near earning it.
Cricketers don't get anywhere near what footballers have yet they can play cricket for 5 days back to back.
Rugby players (union and league) crash into each other for roughly 80 minutes and then buy each other drinks in the bar afterwards. If someone hurts them they shrug it off, shake their heads and get on ( and wreak revenge... but anyway -)

What price 22 men (+ subs) and three officials running around a field for 90 minutes for X thousands of quid... against an AMI (Acute Myocardial Infarction) sufferer being attended to by two people earning roughly £11 - 15 an hour (gross)?
there's unfair and then, there's unfair and, more to point, NOT RIGHT!

Result?... Barcelona 0 Manchester United 0.
FFS!

Wine

Alco-pops... no thank you.

White Lightning... even bigger no thank you.

John Smiths Bitter... ychafy!

Glass of red?

Ribena when driving.

Wine if i'm not - preferably of the New World.

Now Anton Dvorak wrote a great piece (his New World Symphony). Think how much better it might've been if he'd been around to sample the delights of the Napa valley et al.

I have drunk some lovely french and italian and spanish reds but my heart lies with that produced from the USA and Australia. Now and again i venture into the territory of South African or South American. Chilean vineyards have a good rep. And i sampled a very tasty Argentinian rose last night.

I was at a dinner last night. Hence my considering what moves my tastebuds.

It was a BYO evening and, of the 6 adults at the table, five brought new world(4 red, 1 rose) wines.

Oxford Landing (merlot), Wolfblass Yellow Label (Cab Sauv), E & J Gallo x 2 (grapes not spotted) and the Argentinian (Mendoza).

A friend from another table entreated me to sample his french. "It's quite dry," he said as i sipped. Yikes!

It reinforced my lack of faith in the old world wines. Maybe i need to get some of that Cuvee from Citie Europe. Too drinkable really ;0)

It's not that i don't drink white it's that i prefer red. Europe seems to have a better choice of white than red. A nice Orvieto goes down very well with some tasty chicken. Having said that I am not one of those officiandos ( i'm not an officiando at all!) who believes that white meat and fish should be complimented with white. And red for red meat. Whatever works for your palette is the way to be.

Quite honestly, i believe there is no room for snobbery in alcohol.

You can the most expensive bubbly or the cheapest vino and it'll do the same thing to you if you imbibe too much. And the result could leave you with your head staring into a space that another part of your anatomy will see more often!

Alcohol. No respector of who or what you are. You abuse it and it will be the winner!

Cheers

[i dug this out 3 weeks after the event and i, subsequently, have a nice Orvieto lined up for drinking in my kitchen right now]

Whirlybirds

The more dealings I have with helicopters the more they fascinate me. Forget ambulance-chasing try chasing Air Ambulances. In the main, in the UK, they are red. A few, like those in Yorkshire, are yellow. So, whichever their colour, they stand out. And they make a lovely sound as the air shudders and vibrates. Certain helicopters have very distinctive sounds. The easiest of all to recognise is the military CHINOOKs with the twin rotar system. Not nicknamed Wokka Wokkas for nothing. The whole ground shakes when they're about.

I've also been under a RAF SARS Seaking (also yellow) and it loosened the rubber-doings that help seal windscreens. A colleague and I had to hold on firmly to our work's motor as it...she ( All motors are SHEs to me)... bounced about due to the downforce from the Seaking. It took weeks before the last of the dust was cleansed from the motor. It felt like almost as many weeks to rid it from me!

The RAF also use Gazelle and they carry a high-pitch whine that's unmistakeable.

Quieter are the MD (MacDonnell Douglas) Explorers that some of the police use as they do not have a tail-rotor.(system referred to as NOTAR)

http://www.mdhelicopters.com/gallery/MDExplorerPix/pas1.jpg

This a great pic of the Wiltshire Police chopper but, if you look, it also has the Crown badge of the Uk Ambulance Service as the two work together.

In Wales, there are 3 police choppers but they're all different.

In North Wales they have a Eurocopter EC-135.

South Wales and Gwent have a Eurocopter EC13T2i

and Dyfed-Powys have, I think, an Augusta 109Power.

For the time being, the Welsh Ambulance Service uses three Bolkow 105s.

Next on the list are the EC-135s

Below that site will show what's being flown by the police and ambulance services around Britain.

http://www.gloster.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/based.htm

I don't know why they hold such a fascination. I love the way they can manoeuvre, they way they sound and even the smell of the Avgas.

So now, with camera to hand, if i hear that vibration of the airwaves i try to get a picture of something buzzing about... be it red or yellow or whatever.

Say hello to Helimed 59, who operates out from Welshpool International Airport

In honour of...

... that young feller-me-lad who finally, and unwittingly, kicked me buttock region into starting this 'ere blog.
I've done some half-hearted blogs but they get lost in the mists of time and myspace so thought it was time to do 'a proper one'.
So... diolch yn fawr to the chap who loiters, interestingly, in the Mobox!
- although i am trying to convince him that not all good things happen to people who hang about Paddington. Nuff said

I barely watch the news these days so it tends to be more luck than judgement if i become aware that a nuclear explosion has decimated half the human population of planet Earth (no Duran Duran please)
I catch the headlines from my ISPs homepage and that's about. Anything which contains the term 'celebrity' effects an immediate CLUNK as my wee cell switches into saver energy mode.
Forgive me but who on earth gets kicks from keeping abreast (hmm yes well) of the likes of Jordan or Posh or... or... am sure there's another name out there in Celebland but it escapes me.
People! This is your life. Do not be living vicariously through the precarious lives of the well-known who are, usually, known for no known reason - if you catch my drift.

In peaceful mad Wales we have glorious sunshine as I type. This, inevitably, brings out the suburban-frustrates.
No one could ever be referred to as suburban where I live. Sub-human, sub-sheep, sub-rabbit... ie. sub-rural which sits between rural and sparsely populated.
So anyne carrying typically suburban activities here must be viewed as frustrates.. or wannabees.
Of course, many would say the word should be TIDY. Your choice but I'm sure there's a point where one's lawn must become too manicured.
I, on the other hand, am happy with my sprawl of rhubarb in which lives the black panther of Powys and the postage stamp of wasteland that sits between it and the back door.

I'm clock-watching now as Tescos will be here anytime between... 1900 and 2100.
Yes even small parts of ultra rural/sub-rural can have their groceries delivered to their doorstep but they are the only ones who do deliver c/o the online system in the area. Shame cos i quite fancy a bit of Sainsbury's and they do nice coffee amongst other things.

Next. cat feeding and Desperate Housewives

The start

Trust me. I kick off in the evening and just as everything is set up i realise that my eyes are tired and i could do with resting them... like in front of the tele. or such like. Ok ok maybe that's not really resting them but my wee brain cell needs to deactivate as well.
And i don't think i've finished watching Neighbours.
Well come on, it's light but real. How else am i gonna know how people live down under?
Pobol Y Cwm's real as well... innit? unlike that Corrie and 'enders bolox.
I really should've done this hours ago but what with chatting to the local Yoof Group and sorting out a pressie for one of my mate's who enters her prime next week and spending tokens on maps. Tokens that were a present to me for my 40th... hmm! and that wasn't so recent either.
Ah yes. How the other half lives.
that'll do for now.
How disciplined i shall be is another matter entirely.

Nos Da!