December 28th 2007

We returned yesterday from a lovely Christmas with our good friends, Rosslynne and John and their family, in Reading. Rather a tiring journey with loads of traffic. I am into youtube at the moment - my latest obsession. Just discovered the BBC's iplayer which went live on Christmas day. Fantastic.
What was my best Christmas present? Of course, one from Kath - some BOSE earphones for my Ipod.

Christmas Eve 2007

Here is a picture of the Victoria arcade (last week) in Leeds. There are some fabulous arcades in Leeds. Also, an interesting Christmas lampshade for sale!

Sunday December 23rd 2007 - Youtube

I had a look at the Queen's new channel and it is great. She has gone up in my estimation. I remembered I had put a video on there three years ago. It is rather daft but never mind. It was an experiment. I shall put another on soon.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DJvSSK4t5os

Sunday December 23rd 2007 - Youtube

I had a look at the Quueen's new channel and it is great. She has gone up in my setimation.

Spelling

My good friend, Robin Harrod, emailed me to inform me my spelling is atrocious and why not use s spell checker. This page has been spell checked. There is only one word that is picked up by a microsoft spell checker.

Eye have a spell chequer,
It came with my pea sea.
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin not sea.

Eye strike a quay and right a word
And weight four it too say
Weather eye am wrong oar wright,
It shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long.
And eye can put the error write,
It’s rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it,
I’m shore your pleased to no.
Its letter perfect all the weigh,
My chequer tolled me sew.

Thursday 20th December - shaving

When we were in London last, Kath bought me a great present. A shaving brush (badger hair) and razor with a stand from what could be the poshest barber's shop in the country - Truefitt and Hill. She bought me a tube of the West Indian Lime shaving cream and I now order this over the internet. It lasts ages and proves to me that if you spend significant money on something you get better value. I believe Prince Phillip has his hair cut by them. (I go to Suzannes in Pontefract). Have a look at their web pages. I really enjoy my shave each morning.

http://www.truefittandhill.co.uk/

Sunday 16th December 2007 - Tony Blair and Gordon Brown

Oh dear, oh dear.



Have a look at Barney's Christmas message about two minutes in to what Tony Blair is up to. It is seriously awful.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Dr1X7UeM8



I have just renewed my membership of the Labour Party but feel this government is in free fall and will loose the next election which is terrible. Gorgon Brown has been a great chancellor and is a very decent person. He deserves to have an election win and put some moral authority to the fantastic changes Labour has introduced.

The opinion poll done for today shows the Conservatives with their greatest lead for 15 years. I suppose there still is time and Cameron is a toff.

Have a look at PMQs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3mxhdzj0Jw

Oh Dear, oh dear.

Florida

6th December 2007

Back from a great holiday with Kath and Alan in Marco Isalnd, Florida. We have been there 4 years running now. Did a lot of bird watching. Here is a list of what we saw:

Brown pelican
White pelican
Anhinga
Great Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored heron
Black crowned night heron
Yellow crowned nigh heron
Green heron
Great egret
Snowy egret
Cattle egret
Osprey
Magnificent frigate bird
Double-crested cormorant
Belted kingfisher
Red shouldered hawk
Red winged blackbird
Painted bunting
Woodstork
Roseate spoonbill
Pileated woodpecker
American oystercatcher
Semi palmated plover
Royal tern
White Ibis
Reddish egret
Spotted sandpiper
American kestrel
Bald eagle pair
Semi palmated sandpiper

White tailed deer
Racoon
Grey squirrel
Atlantic bottlenosed dolphin
Aligator
Lizards
Mosquitos!!!!!
Noseeums!!!

November 15th - Advanced Motoring

The gang I run of retired and semi-retired GPs met yesterday and we had an informal talk from Gerry and Richard from the Institute of advanced drivers based in Wakefield. It really grabbed all of our attention and their style of teaching was great. Gerry goes to the same Italian class as us and is a retired policeman. Richard is the chairman of the IAM. I am definitely going to go on the January course and am driving differently today because of what they told us. It was the best session the group had experienced since we started meeting 2 years ago. They brought along Highway Codes from the year each passed their test as well as one from 1954 that cost 1d. I think doing the course will help me driving abroad.
http://www.wakefieldiam.org.uk/
I cant write here everything we were told but I was interested in how one tells one is in a 30, 40 or 50 mph limit. I suppose I was particularly interested because I had obtained 3 points on my licence for driving at 37 mph after I had set the speed limiter to 40 in my car. I wrongly assumed it was a 40 limit when in fact it was a 30. Why was I setting my limiter? Because I had been given another 3 points one year before that for driving at 34 on a dual carriageway going out of Wakefield. 40 and 50 etc MPH limited areas have reminders on lampposts etc (unless stolen). There are no reminders in a 30 mph limited area.

November 6th 2007 - New Hall Prison

Was asked to sit in at a meeting to decide on the policy for dealing with segregated prisoners. I have never been in a prison before. This is for 400 young offenders. The getting to the meeting room was an experience with all the locked gates and doors to get through. I had to have photo ID and leave my mobile phone in the car. The meeting was with the health care team and prison officers. Most of the inmates have drug misuse problems. There is a mental health nurse as well as experienced drug misuse workers. There are general nurses as well as doctors. There is a dentist with dental nurses. The meeting was chaired/run by two colleagues of mine from the PCT and they are most impressive. I was amazed by the expertise in that room and what a fantastic job they are all doing. Why was I there? To look at the GP/team dynamics and the development of a logical training plan for the GPs. I was also there to support my PCT colleagues. I will write again about this. The prison is situated in a lovely area of countryside and there was not a cloud in the autumn sky. I met a prison officer who had been my patient 9 years ago.

November 4th 2007 - Angel Lodge

What a fascinating part time job I have. On Thursday last I was shown round the reception centre for asylum seekers in Wakefield. It is called Angel Lodge. Well over 100 adults and children are accommodated there. They are resident there for up to three weeks and a doctor does a session there each day. Health screening is the main thing. They are free to come and go and some abscond. I sat in the foyer for 10 minutes waiting to meet Fiona (who manages the medical side). What a mix of languages and people from all classes and walks of life. There was a case of diarrhoea last week that caused a great panick. If that spread into the town there could have been a riot. The health workers there have to use telephone interpreters. The screening at airports etc. is not that brilliant, I was told. A man in a wheelchair was just waved through, for example.
This week I am visiting New Hall prison to look at the medical set up thee. I have never been in a prison, so another interesting venture for me.

November 1st 2007 - Group Skills Course

Fantastic 3 day course at the PCT facilitated by Michala Purseglove and Paul. I learned a lot and it never does any harm starting from scratch. I will use the skills I have learned at my next support meeting for the appraisers. 3 days on a free high quality course like this is a luxury and privilege. Halena, Jenni, Micheal, Paul, Catherine, Louise, Pam and Ron were great to work with.

28th October 2007 - Clara Schumann

"Beloved Clara" was put on by the Ackworth Concert Society last night. It was the story of Clara Schumann's relationship with Robert and Brahms. There was a fabulous pianist and two actors doing the narrative. It was interesting to me that the Schumanns had Mendelsohn round for a meal. He is a very distant relation of mine. Lovely high quality piano in the meeting room of the 200+ years old Ackworth Quaker school. Ackworth is 5 miles from our house. The CD of this is in the IPOD music store and I bought one track. What a great week of culture Kath and I have had. Today we went out to a delicious lunch at George Gauden's in Badsworth (a beautiful village particularly in the autumn sunshine of today). Tomorrow I am starting a 3 day course at the PCT on "Group skills" and am really looking forward to it.

October 26th - Theatre

We went to see the National Theatre's touring company's production of "The History Boys" last night. It was at the Grand Theatre, Leeds. I have been going there since I was about 7. A superb theatre with a huge population base. Completely different audiences from London where the theatres can be full of tourists (like us!). Last night the intellectual and county set brigade. Musicals attract an enthusiastic and completely different lot.
The actual play was fascinating and that night it was announced that this production has resulted in the greatest number of audience attending a drama there ever.
The play is real food for thought for me. The schoolboys all got into Cambridge but ended up in jobs that could be had from any university. What is sucess? What is a good education? No wonder that play is running for ever. Why is history so important?
I have seen Peter Ustinov there. I have seen Ken Dod there. Pantomimes there have ben fabulous -we saw John Nettles in one. I am so glad to be living near Leeds which is a vibrant city with loads to offer at all levels.

24th October 2007

Went in to Wakefield (in our new car with voice activated satalite navigation) to do a morning's work at the PCT. Brain going completely. There were about 10 empty desks and 4 of us working in that particular open plan area. I took a message on the phone for Angela, wrote it down, took it to a colleage and asked where Angela worked. She was Angela. I had a meeting later in thedday with a GP and all I had put for where was "Room 17". I had to phone the GP to ask which building it was in. It was my old/new surgery in Castleford. Oh dear. Oh Dear.

22nd October 2007 - The Reunion

Kath's Birthday

We returned this weekend from our reunion with some of the London Hospital Medical Students I trained with. We qualified as doctors in 1968/9 form The London Hospital Medical College and have had many reunions since then - almost annually. This years was in the fabulous hotel at Lucknam Park near Bath.
The excellent picture was taken by Graham Hillman. From left to right, back row, Roger Lear (dove shooter), Kate Colvin (ex ambassador to the Pope), Graham Hillman (owner of large digital phallic symbol), me (rejected application for rectal tie), Brian Colvin (il Presidente), Robin Harrod (this year's obergruppenfuhrer). Front row left to right, Anne Teasdale (aka Delia Smith), Colin Teasdale (the knife), Francine Hillman (Graham's little frog - his words!), Kath Sloan (birthday girl today), Sheilagh Pavey (ex QOF inspector), Penny Stern (Kingston girl), Linda Lear (top knitter award, 2006), Dave Stern (aka Duncan Goodhew). I missed a sort of middle row on the left. To the right of Anne Teasdale - Christine Harrod (MIL of Dough author), Kevin Pavey (has 10 O levels).