Saturday 21 March 2009

Me, old and cynical?

A friend of mine has accused me of becoming old and cynical! As you are aware Sunday 22nd March is Mothers Day or more correctly Mothering Sunday. looking at the cards on sale in the shops there were the obvious ones eg to the Best Mum in the world and to Mummy on Mothers day. However what raised my ire were the following:
To my wife on Mothers Day
Happy Mothers Day to the mother of the unborn child
To Grandma on Mothers Day

Since when has anybodys wife or Grandma been there Mother??? Next thing will be cards saying To my Girl Friend on my birthday!

Another thing thats making my hackles raise is the fact that Kent County Council want to turn off some street lights at midnight where vthere is no safety implications to save money. As for safety implications surely anywhere that is a dark corner becomes a safety risk not just for motorists but for pedestrians as well. I have over a period of time noticed (as indeed have several correspondants to the local paper) that if they really wanted to save money why not turn of the street lights during the day where they are left on 24hours a day. Went to see a friend in Herne Bay this afternoon and a classic example of this was on the A229 (Thanet Way).

On the subject of cars some kind person sideswiped my car the other day damaging the rear bumber and the nearside door mirror. Fortunately I was parked with handbrake on and engine off and no one sustained any injury. Relatively speaking it was a minor incident but I certainly could of done without the hassle of dealing with an insurance claim but fortunately there was an independant witness.

As I said in my last entry I came home from hospital on Friday morning following the second course of chemotherapy. However this time they changed the treatment from R-DHAP to R-ICE as I only have one functioning kidney has the left one is atrophic. I have a CT scan booked for 31st March with an appointment to see the consultant the following week so hopefully he will have some good news for me. Fortunately I have not had any serious side efects from the chemo but I have noticed that my hair is thinning out. Wonder if I will end up looking like Kojac but sadly I dont like lollipops!

On a slightly more serious note the consultant at Maidstone has referred me to Kings College Hospital in London for an autlogus stem cell transplantation following salvage. I have been doing the great no no on this and reading about it on the internet and to be honest it frightens me. On one site I read that if the host cells reject the returned cells it can cause early death-and that has not cheared me up at all. On the off chance have you or anyone you know been through this treatment and give me any information and advice.

Finishing on a slightly more cheerful note the following joke was sent to me by a friend recently.

Las Vegas Churches accept gambling chips THIS MAY COME AS A SURPRISE TO THOSE OF YOU NOT LIVING IN LAS VEGAS, BUT THERE ARE MORE CATHOLIC CHURCHES THAN CASINOS. NOT SURPRISINGLY SOME WORSHIPERS AT SUNDAY SERVICES WILL GIVE CASINO CHIPS RATHER THAN CASH WHEN THE BASKET IS PASSED. SINCE THEY GET CHIPS FROM MANY DIFFERENT CASINOS, THE CHURCHES HAVE DEVISED A METHOD TO COLLECT THE OFFERINGS… THE CHURCHES SEND ALL THEIR COLLECTED CHIPS TO A NEARBY FRANSISCAN MONASTERY FOR SORTING AND THEN THE CHIPS ARE TAKEN TO THE CASINOS OF ORIGIN AND CASHED IN. THIS IS DONE BY CHIP MONKS . YOU DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT COMING DID YOU ?GOTCHA!

Dont all groan at once


Andy

Friday 20 March 2009

Home Again

Just to let you know that I am home again after my second course of chemo. Please to say that I have had no side effects...........yet!

Will do a fuller entry later

Andy

Monday 16 March 2009

An expensive weekend

As the title says it has been an expensive weekend.

First of all I had to renew the car insurance and road tax. The insurance was not to bad as I pay it monthly but the road tax at £145 hurt.

However it did not hurt as much as having to buy a new dishwasher at £325. The old one had packed up for the second time with a seized up pump which was going to cost about £200 to replace and as it was over 8 years old and aparently dishwashers only last 10 years it was more cost effective. Lets just hope my bank manager loves me.

I am going back into hospital tommorow for another session of chemotherapy. Its a different kind this time as they reckon the previous type was affecting my one remaining kidney. Will let you know how I get on.

Andy

Wednesday 11 March 2009

Some good news!

Those who know me know that I have a passion for jazz.

So I was thrilled to read my e mails this morning to find that there is a new album by Diana Krall released at the end of this month followed in April by one from Melody Gardot. However the best news of all is that May brings a new release by the fabulous Gwyneth Herbert. I can see me spending money in HMV on the first two. However Gwyneth Herbert is releasing hers on her own label Monkeywood Records so it will probably be an online purchase. Her last release was on her own label but was subsequently re released on Bluenote. If you have never heard her check out her website-she is brilliant.

On a sadder note I was horrified to hear about the school shooting in Germany, what ever can posess some one to shoot dead inocent victims aparently at random. I know that when I was at school there were some teachers that I got on with and others that you wished you had never met but there is no way I would of thought of picking up a gun and shooting them let alone do it.

On a personal note I had an appointment with the oncologist yesterday and they are going to change my chemotherapy as the one I was on was affecting my kidney. I use the word kidney in the singular as I only have one functioning kidney and in the consultants words I have to look after it. At the moment I dont have a date for the next corse of chemo but I believe it will be next week.

Take Care (and have a listen to Gwyneth Herbert)

Andy

Wednesday 4 March 2009

25 years

This month sees the 25th aniversary of the miners strike.

Whatever your point of view the two main characters in the dispute Margaret Thatcher and Arthur Scargill were both formidable in there respective roles. What actually happened as a result of the strike is well recorded but its interesting to think about what could or would of happened if the miners had won. Back in the 1970's they had defeated Ted Heath with there actions. Remember the three day week and power cuts by rota.

Some people interviwed on Radio Kent this morning were unaware that Kent was once a coal mining area with pits at Snowdown, Tilmanstone, Betteshanger and Chislet. Of these the only one with any buildings left standing is Snowdown and there are calls for these to be preserved as a museum/memorial to those who worked in the pits and an important part of Kents history.

Kent has recently been struck by its second earthquake in the last couple of years and even though the latest one was minor Folkestone seems to becoming a dangerous place to live!

I saw the consultant at Maidstone Hospital yesterday and he wants to change the chemotherapy regime as one of the drugs is affecting my kidney function. I have got to have a couple of blood tests done before I see him again next Tuesday as he is concerned that my platelet level could become low. I also have to have another CT scan.

Andy

Monday 2 March 2009

Bored

I am bored.

Yes I know I need to rest after chemotherapy and the risk of infection,but its still boring. I have listened to a couple of plays on Radio 4 which I enjoyed as listening to the radio you have to use your own imagination as to what the characters look like etc rather than straight in your face on TV. I even managed to do the Times crossword the other day in less than half an hour.

Looking through the local paper I see that they want to make Maidstone plastic carrier bag free by 31st March. This is very laudable but I always recycle my carrier bags as bin liners, I suppose I will just have to go out and buy some bin liners which seems to defeat the object somewhat.

On the subject of carrier bags, why can you not get paper ones anymore. We have a fortnightly recycling collection which takes anything that can be recycled. For security reasons I shred any paper that has any personal information on and this can go for recycling. If you tip the shredded paper straight into the bin when they come to empty it the shredded paper can blow down the road like confetti. As its not recylable I can not put it in a plastic carrier bag first so I have to try and find a paper carrier or similar.

I have to see the oncologist tomorrow afternoon and will let you know what happens.

Excuse my ramblings

Andy