MY Word

Can anybody help with a problem I do not seem to be able to resolve, p.l.e.a.s.e.

I used to receive email notifications of comments and replies to posts. This stopped working or happening, about the time the tags were re-invented. Anway, I have checked my personal profile several times, even re-input the data and saved it a couple of times.

I have changed/corrected the url. It is now my blog address; for some reason that had changed to 'menhir', on its own, which is not usually a url form.

Having done all this, I have absolutely no idea what else I can do to re-connect with email notifications to comments on my blog.

Since the end of October, we have experienced a continuing roll of medical issues.

We've just returned from a horrible journey to visit one sick relative, who was a dire emergency. Once, stabilised, an ambulance transfer 120 miles south was necessary because of existing complications for which there was no provision at the county hospital. Visiting the patient was restricted by virtue of the medical problem and the distance.

The tyranny of distance increased when the patient was moved a further 100 miles on to a hospital that had assessment equipment that our REGIONAL hospital does not have. The assessment procedure, when started, could not be completed because of unforeseen medical difficulties.

The journey to hospital number two is awful and takes as long to negotiate as one of the other cities even further afield. It required overnight accommodation, the hospital was too far in mileage and time to be able to cover everything in a day. Travel to one of the other major hospitals in Scotland would have been rather easier, even if more distant from us. There would be fewer farm tractors competing for the use of the main road.

Our relative's choices were limited we heard; waiting at home for the grim reaper to arrive, fairly soon, or to undergo a different medical process, which would, if it succeeds, provide a better quality of life. The patient was to think about it, though in fact, the decision was firmly made as soon as the facts were stated.

Overnight, another close relative was admitted as an emergency to the county hospital. There was talk this morning of arranging out-patients' appointments for tests, but that plan soon changed when the patient was seen to be quite distressed and simple medication could not be successfully given orally. When we visited mid afternoon, the patient was looking decidely unwell, and there was a canular in place for a variety of intravenous substances to be introduced to best effect.

As we left the hospital, we saw the wife of a friend and she was waiting for him to be transferred by helicopter, as a priority, to a hospital further afield, as soon as a bed became available in one of three centres. She cut short her emergency call to NHS 24, telling them, there was no time for all their "nonsense" (menu-driven repeat questioning) and she called 999.

Ho Hum....

ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS ONE?

HOW LONG DO YOU HAVE TO BE MARRIED TO FEEL MARRIED?

Oh blast! I could have done without the computer going 'phut' this morning. What it actually did was post me up a nasty message saying my system wouldn't burst into life, however, I could try booting up with my disk. After three or four tries at that, it was obvious that the optical drive was getting indigestion and not reading anything, so I gave up being a technician and worked at keeping my panic under control.

All my important folders are on my computer. It's about 3 weeks since I did a folders back-up to an external drive. I wasn't concerned about reloading programmes, pain though that would have been, it was the access to my folders that niggled at me. What if my system had died? What if it was in need of memory...it's not that long since I put memory into it? What if.....

My friendly expert answered his phone and offered to visit me this evening, saying he'd bring some extra bits with him in view of what I had tried already.

By the time he left, the machine was up and running, I'd lost and reloaded my screen saver, (I'll have to) delete the defunct link but that can wait, and I had been encouraged to think about buying a brand new all singing, speedy dancing system. I don't think my expert was entirely surprised to find I wasn't in the market for a replacement of my I.T. arrangements. I am perfectly happy to keep going with what I have currently got.

Christmas will soon be upon us!

I have posted two packages today, thought it was safer to do so now that the postal system is fully back to normal, (whatever that is). I have more to do yet, and I have every intention of keeping them as light as possible, to keep post costs very much down.

One child's gift was resolved today. Rather than put the present away, I got on with wrapping the two items, which are snugly sitting in a "Ho.Ho." Santa designed carrier bag (recycled from last year).

The trouble is, if I post the UK gifts too early, I know for sure that some of them will be opened just that bit too soon. It means therefore, I can't make space just yet, I shall have to hold on to the items. They'll definitely go about the end of this month - November.

I still have a few items to find. I have absolutely no idea what to do about them; I hope inspiration will suddenly surprise me.

Depending which side you were on, a person was either labelled a freedom fighter or a terrorist. In that regard, we have just been paying annual homage to Guy Fawkes with the usual pyrotechnic displays, officially centred on a bonfire with an effigy on it, called a 'Guy'. No prizes for guessing why. These days what are we celebrating?

The French don't ritually burn Jeanne D'Arc - who died at the stake - every year. But, we ritually ignite a long forgotten character who had every intention of blowing up the mother of all parliament's together with all who sat in her chamber, including the king.

Nowadays, November the 5th is just an excuse to brighten up dark nights with a bonfire, buy and let off a few bangers sparklers and any other gunpowder designs in a firework. Who understands or bothers with;

"Please to remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot".

Dear GPS

You are the guide for people wandering into the unknown. Much faith is placed in your ability, the prowess to lead the unwary. There is such trust that even the simplest of directions, offered by a person, (rather than an electronic device) is declined in preference to you. You have developed like an extra skin attached to homo sapiens ... "Me and my GPS will find it, it will get me there". When have I heard " Me and my partner will find it, we'll get there. " In truth, I have not.

M

Things happen in threes. There are some events that I would rather not happen, not even in threes. The frustrating thing is, we usually do not have control over the happenings that occur in threes, they just happen.

This week has been a case in point. On Tuesday I received two notifications;

One was of the death of a beloved pet, a fabulous great dane, a gentle giant, a king of canines. I was most honoured, as this dog, who had a huge inside 'house/nest' invited me, on one occasion, to sit with him in it. I did decline and made a huge fuss of him instead. On another visit, dog also bared his tummy for tickles, not a feature of all his human contacts. He was a great character and will be sorely missed by his people and their friends.

My next note was from a friend to say she was bereaved, her mother had died. Though not unexpected, it is usually a shock and a huge loss.

Today, we had our day planned, nothing too strenuous. On leaving the dentist, twenty miles away from home, hubby received a call from a close relative who was about to be boarded into an ambulance. The good thing about this was that we were on the right side of the county and were able to meet the ambulance at the general hospital.

I've been racking my brains in case there's been another threesome this week of a different sort. So far, we are up to two domestic appliance breakdowns; with one, a repair has been done, the bill has yet to be received. Just in case, I think I shall take superstition by the horns and break the spells. The domestic issues can stop at two. I've decided, that in this instance, three's a crowd! So, while it is fresh in my mind, I shall depart this blog and do what has to be done.

There seems to be a shower of cameras scrolling the listings of blog. I am sure I previously saw two or three 'blogs' for a different make to the ones I saw tonight.

Talk about selling opportunities, if that's what these "reviews" are. It seems the perpetrators of the information just cannot use the usual marketing sites. At least though, the snippets of information appear to be written in our universal tongue, rather than gobbledygook. I would prefer it, if blog sites were spam free. That is, of course, like seeking Utopia...a dream!

I've been thinking about the parents in America who acted out accidentally sending their youngest son off in un-piloted flight in a silver saucer-shaped air balloon.

The child had been 'hiding' in the house loft for several hours while the charade was being acted out, while it was filmed and the alarm being raised with the emergency authorities, including the police. The happy families game was then paraded before the media cameras with the youngest child evidently miserable, sitting on the lap of one of his parents, saying he wanted to go that he wanted to vomit.

The parents, who are trained actors, have set stunts before to publicize themselves, though, I believe the stunts were not quite at the level of this one. Following investigation, these hedonistic adults have admitted wasting everyone's time and are now being charged with offences.

What I have not heard, is anything said about the psychological cruelty that has been inflicted on to the youngest child, the poor parenting that has been demonstrated by these morally deficient individuals. I believe this family are worthy of closer examination by the child welfare organisations in America. I hope that not hearing anything about it, does not mean this aspect of the parents' performance has been neglected by the public child protection agencies.

As the door opened you could hear a droning, five...four...three...two... then the door shut before the final number was counted. The shop mail was hastily placed on the reception counter and the flustered-looking postman rushed out, without even a greeting to the staff in the shop. The urgency was to get back to the delivery van, press the off switch before the count of 'one' was complete.

The post delivery round is in a remote rural area, covering various villages and their businesses, the businesses get priority for the morning delivery over domestic post. No doubt, the postman had to get to the other villages and businesses on the route, each time, being counted out of his van with the individual deliveries and then being counted back. No two places have their counters or mail boxes in the same place.

Five seconds is a hellish and unrealistic time scale to work to per mail drop. What if it is not possible to park the van, (leaving the engine running for quick departure, which is illegal) close to where the mail needs to go. The postman is forced to double park as close as he can get. Other road users be damned! What if the conditions underfoot are slippery? We tend to have very inclement conditions; it can be icy in Winter; if there is a gale blowing, a regular feature of our climate, that can be another obstacle to timed speed deliveries. It is, in my view a recipe for an accident, it is also a recipe for developing, amongst other things, health problems.

Research undertaken by Cardiff University on a sample of 121 patients who have had major surgery, (because of cancer of the pancreas, stomach or oesophagus)has shown that feeding via tubes has speeded up recovery times. Apart from benefiting patient welfare, this research will also be attractive because of its potential cost savings.

In the past it was believed that introducing nourishment to such patients would hamper recovery. It was commonplace for there to be nil by mouth or fasting for up to ten days post-operatively.

What a thought. Patients would have to be selected for a strong constitution to survive that level of nourishment deficiency.

In the process of [disproving] the old theory, the Cardiff team introduced feeding by tube into the intestines, then observed and measured the results. Recovery times shortened as much as by three days.

I can't help but think, on a lay level you understand, that anyone deprived of balanced nourishment at a time when they are medically, highly vulnerable on many fronts, would physically struggle to overcome such a major trauma. Common sense has always supported 'keeping up your strength'. It's not just an adage is it. I am pleased that the deprivation theory has been challenged and found wanting.

Today, when there are so many medical techniques available that did not exist previously, it would not surprise me to see other older theories re-examined. A cautionary note though, unless the bottom line can be satisfied in some way, it could be much more difficult for a new process to develop, irrespective of how medically successful it might be.

I was away for a couple of nights, in Scotland. The differences in the standards of the accommodation were notable. The formal 3* hotel room that was reserved for me was totally underwhelming. It was sub-standard. The floorboards sounded and felt like you would walk through them to the joists. Once upon a time, the floor covering had been a carpet. The bathroom presented a scalding opportunity. I was grateful the single bed was comfortable. The heat in the room was unbearable, hot pipes to other floors 'travelled' through it. As I was tired I did get some sleep.

The hotel breakfast coffee was like tar and allowed to set like it. I was told breakfast was an either/or; that is, either continental or cooked. The natural smoked haddock, for me, was by far the best breakfast option.

In the next place I had booked myself into a 3* (Scottish Tourist Board) B&B hotel. Here, I had a bigger room, mostly taken up by a really comfortable double bed. It was clean and the décor was fresh. For sitting in, the room was a pleasant warmth, for sleeping in, it proved too hot. In the early hours though, I half awoke, feeling cold, and needing to put on more bed covers. I hope I don't get a chill.

Breakfast was being taken quietly and intently by all the other guests. The only sounds were that of cutlery in use as they dug into the continental and cooked foods on offer. You helped yourself to the filter coffee and what a pleasant cuppa it was to start the day.

Neither place had porridge on the menu. It is as if there is a fear to present Scotland's national breakfast cereal in Scotland. True, I once got a lump of spikey looking dough in a bowl at one place where I stayed. I hear via the grapevine, those B&B people have transformed their skills in porridge-making. With today's almost instant varieties, that should not be a difficult level to aspire to.

It defies belief. Maybe not for the organisation I have in mind. Happily, I shall not be requiring too much of them in the future, it is obviously too taxing for them to get things right.

Wouldn't you expect that when you check your banking online, (there are times when it is unavoidable) you would be able to see a statement that at least was bang up to date, with a 'today'. The site I visited tonight, all very bright and snazzy, like wearing a fur coat and no knickers, just could not do it.

It did not matter how hard I tried, for the one account, the best information I could bring up, was up to early October. One other type of account gave me today's details. If they can do it for one, why not the other? They have received a polite but patronising email from me. I wish they would be less interested in sub-headings for their emails and get their main act together.