https://app.portsmouth.co.uk/story/full_page_image/21st-january-2025-page-5_4f2607de/content.html
Well done to the police and keep up the good work.
Goodbye And Good Riddance
Author: siskinbob
Formerly employed by MOD and IBM, now retired
E-Scooters – Should be banned
https://app.portsmouth.co.uk/full_page_image/28th-october-2024-page-7_4f8307e4/content.html
This is just one, recent, example of how dangerous these E-scooters are. Of course they in themselves are not dangerous. It is actually the misuse by individuals that is the danger.
Locally, the only E-Scooters that are legal for use on our roads are those from authorised hire companies. Privately owned E-scooters are illegal.
I don’t understand how the government allows the sale of these scooters in this country. Unlike cars and motorbikes owners are not required to have insurance, wear safety gear i.e. helmets and the vehicles are not even registered.
Frequently they are driven in an unsafe manner. Personally, I once saw one of these scooters veer off the pavement. It moved diagonally across the road directly in front of me. So suddenly that I had to perform an emergency stop. Clearly the rider did not look to see that his way was clear.
I have also seen one of these scooters, three up. i.e. three females hurtling up the centre of the road.
In this case the victim was Raquel Delgado-Calo. She is a veterinary surgeon. She suffered deep lacerations to her forehead which will leave permanent scarring. Raquel also received stitches to her nose and a fractured skull. She spent three days in hospital and three weeks off work followed by a three week phased return. In addition, she has suffered from eight weeks of concussion. She has experienced dizziness, which has caused the cancellation of surgeries at work. And then there is the ongoing anxiety when crossing roads.
In my view, the E-scooter rider, Joseph Pedalty has gotten off way too lightly.
He has been disqualified from roads for eighteen months. He also was handed an eighteen month community order. He was fined £120 plus costs taking his penalty to a total of £319. This includes charges for no insurance, failing to stop after an accident, and failing to stop at a red light.
The law is an ass.
Pedalty has 10 past convictions and had been disqualified from the roads for drink driving in 2021.
How do his fines and convictions possibly balance out the impact that he has had on this woman’s life.
I’ll say it again. The law is an ass.
Colonoscopy Day
After a week of a Low Residue Diet, a day of fasting, and a day supplemented by laxatives, the dreaded day had arrived. (See my previous Poo Sticks post)
My appointment at the hospital was scheduled for 10:00. By 10:45, I was sitting in a small office with a nurse. I gave my medical history. Then the nurse showed me to a room where I could change into my hospital gear.
It was there that I was provided with the standard hospital gown, open at the back. I was also introduced to my “dignity pants”. These are made out of some kind of paper, very loose and with a trapdoor at the rear, for easy access.
Over all this I put on my dressing gown and slippers. Obviously I was the epitome of sartorial elegance. And so, suitably attired, I was collected and led down several long corridors. Up several floors to the theatre suite.
Why are the reception/changing areas always so far away from the treatment rooms ?
Anyway, on arrival, I was fitted with a cannular and had my obs recorded.
After a short wait I was loaded onto a trolley in preparation for entering the theatre. There was a further short delay as they cleaned the room, after the previous patient had been evicted.
Showtime !
I was wheeled into a small room packed with people and equipment. Well, three nurses, me, and eventually the doctor. Very snug.
I was asked to roll on my side and a muscle relaxant, sedative and pain suppressant were administered. Being on my side allowed me to watch the whole procedure. I viewed it on the same screen that the doctor was using.
As the camera traveled along my colon, I was thinking this is like Indiana Jones riding a mining cart along a tunnel. Laid out before me were the pink walls of my colon. I was impressed with how well I had cleaned up, thanks to the Picolax. As we trundled along in my cart, me riding shotgun with the doctor, we rounded a bend only to be confronted by …… what was that ? A rock fall, a cave in …. what ?
I spoke out loud, “Oh that doesn’t look good!”. Nobody responded to me, which was perhaps quite telling.
At this point the doctor started taking photos, biopsies and leaving markers (tattoos). And then the mining cart started the return journey and the procedure was over.
There was very little discomfort in fact my imagination blew everything out of proportion. I found being able to see what the doctor was seeing very interesting. I have since heard from friends and family that have experienced a colonoscopy. They all have no knowledge / memory of the procedure as they were all knocked out. I was told that I would be sedated and my records show that I had fentanyl. But, I didn’t experience any softening of mental focus. I am guessing that I was only given a minimal dosage.
I was wheeled out to the recovery room where I was given a cup of coffee and some biscuits. That was the best coffee ever ! Being my first proper drink since around midnight, twelve hours before. Just before I went to bed.
After a repeated series of obs, I was allowed to dress. The nurses and I then headed down to the discharge waiting room. But after more that half an hour nobody came to see me. So, I went off to find someone. A very helpful young lady in scrubs dispatched a nurse to find out where my doctor had gotten to.
It transpires that he was up to his elbows in another patient. I was transferred to another waiting area, with comfy seats. Being the only one in there, I should have realised that this was the bad news room. The doctor arrived, with back up.
The doctor was supported by one of the Bowel Cancer Screening nurses and a nurse from the Colorectal unit.
The doctor then proceeded to tell me what they had found and the next steps.
Firstly, he is pretty sure I have Colon Cancer. Confirmation will come from the biopsies they too during the procedure. Apparently they took eight samples. I was watching but didn’t count.
The “rock fall” was in fact the cancer / tumour / growth and it prevented the doctor from completing the procedure. The camera could not get past the growth so not all of the colon was examined.
The doctor seemed pretty positive. Given the position of the growth, it should be operable. I might get away with keyhole surgery. And, most importantly to me, I might not have to have a bag. However he went to great pains to stress that none of that is guaranteed.
To determine what is going on further upstream, I am scheduled for a CT Scan. I already have an appointment to see a consultant the following Tuesday.
By then he will have the biopsy and scan results and should be better placed to formulate a battle plan.
So, onward and upwards. Stay tuned …..
Poo Sticks – Updated
No, not the children’s game immortalised in the Winnie The Pooh stories.
I am referring to the game played by adults of a certain age. The NHS initiates this game. As part of their Bowel Screening Programme they send a package through the post requesting a sample of your poo. You then return it to them and they analyse it.
I’ve played this game with them for several years. Presumably, I was winning because I never heard back from them. No news is good news, right!
That continued until late last year when I was invited to a telephone consultation.
They had discovered some traces of “non visible blood.” The net of that hour long conversation was their decision to offer me a colonoscopy. I say offer because it was left open for me to decline the procedure.
What sort of cretin would I have to be to decline ?
You are 73 years old. Your body is wearing out. When the professionals are concerned enough to contact you, it’s only polite to accept.
And so an appointment was made for a colonoscopy and a package duly arrived in the post. Said package contained several pages of information about the procedure. It also included a blow by blow script for the preceding seven days and three sachets of Picolax.
It seems, understandably, that before a colonoscopy the medics like you to clear your tubes. So, for seven days I had to follow a “low residue/low fibre diet”. That is to say I had to cut out all foods containing fibres which are hard to digest. This helps reduce the amount of undigested food passing into my large bowel.
Adhering to this diet presents extra challenges when preparing meals. Those bad boy fibres are really sneaky, popping up when you least expect them. Also many of them are contained in favourite five a day fruits and vegetables.
For example you can eat potatoes but not the skins. You can eat pretty much any root vegetable, like carrot, swede, and turnip. Just make sure they are peeled and well cooked. They should be soft enough to mash. No peas, beans, citrus fruit or berries etc. and no seeds or grains. Even onions are a no-no. The list is endless.
Over the last few days I have become a nervous food prepper/eater. I was preparing some bell peppers for dinner only to find that they are not allowed. Similarly, on Sunday I was holding a glass of red wine when I decided to consult Dr. Google. Nope, red wine is not allowed, in fact turns out I should be avoiding alcohol in general.
Yes, you can make tasty meals acceptable for a low residue diet. However, they lack texture. They are also missing key ingredients to take the flavour to the max.
And so, here I am, having completed the low residue diet. Looking forward to my colonoscopy tomorrow. To be honest I am actually looking forward to eating real food tomorrow night. Just one more hurdle to cross, well two actually.
Hurdle number one is that today, 24 hours before my procedure, I am not allowed to eat anything. I can only consume clear liquids. These include water, squash, coke, lemonade, black tea/coffee, clear soup, marmite/bovril/oxo mixed into weak drinks with hot water. By this time tomorrow I will so hungry you may find me gnawing on a table leg
Hurdle number two, you may remember that earlier I mentioned Picolax. Picolax is a laxative and I have to consume three doses. The first was at 08:30 this morning. The next dose is scheduled for 12:30 and the last to be taken at 18:30.
Having read the instructions the only thing at the forefront of my mind is “Make sure you are close to a toilet”
Oh well, I suppose it’s all for the best.
Stay tuned.
Today, January 15th, was colonoscopy day.
Happy Returns
https://app.portsmouth.co.uk/story/full_page_image/2nd-january-2025-page-17_4f1407dd/content.html
A warm tale for the new year.
Perhaps, only in England …
Unexpected Picnic Guests: A Pheasant Encounter
There we were, minding our own business, enjoying a sunny picnic in the grounds of Blenheim Palace. When this fellow came mooching along, hoping for a tasty morsel.
What, do you suppose, had caught his eye ? Was it the pork pie with its jelly and crispy crust? Or was it the egg mayonnaise and watercress sandwiches. Perhaps, when all’s said and done, it was strong cheddar cheese and tangy chutney.
Either way, he was out of luck with me around. I don’t share my food with party crashers.
Appeal For Information
What Major Historical Events Do I Remember
What major historical events do you remember?
These are not in date order, just the order that I remembered them
- The fall of the Berlin Wall 1989
- Assassination of President J F Kennedy 1963
- Aberfan 1966
- Vietnam War, US withdrawal 1973
- The fall of the Twin Towers 2011
- The Iranian Embassy Siege, London 1980
- First man on the moon 1969
- The Falklands War 1982
- Suppression of The Prague Spring / Russian Tanks 1968
- Russo-Ukraine War – Annexation of Crimea 2014 & Invasion of Ukraine 2022
There are so many more events that have occurred during my brief time on Planet Earth.
Too many to list here.
A Bit Of A Pickle
Yes, as the post title suggests. I have got myself into a bit of a pickle.
Well, perhaps I should say I’ve worked myself into a bit of a pickling frenzy.
Recently, I have found myself with more veggies than I can utilise and unwilling to waste them, I have been looking for alternative uses.
Watching MasterChef I had often wondered about the pickles that contestants rustle up in such a short space of time.
After a bit of Googling, I have determined that what they are actually preparing are “quick or fridge pickles.” They are quick to prepare but are intended to be used fairly quickly.
These “quick” pickles can be eaten almost immediately but benefit from a period of marination. This can be a few hours or several days.
After marination, once opened, they will typically be good to eat for a couple of weeks, provided they are kept refrigerated.
To preserve fruit and veg for extended time periods one has to resort to “canning”. Currently I am not exploring that option.
My first attempt at quick pickling was with radishes. I made two jars just a fortnight ago, and the first jar has already gone.
They are yummy and very moreish, in my opinion.
Like Dill Pickles, of which I am a big fan, they are great to add to salads, sandwiches, burgers, or as a side on a plate of cold cuts. Giving a crunchy, zingy bonus to a meal.
Now, the Pickled Chilli’s are something of an unknown quantity.
With carrots, beetroot, and the cavolo Nero I have a point of reference. I know what they taste like so I can extrapolate the likely effect of the pickling.
These Chilli’s will present me with the veggie equivalent of Russian Roulette.
There are three varieties mixed together in these jars. Two are red peppers (Mirasol or Cayenne ???), which are from plants given to me. The third, round, and plum coloured (Chocolate Habanero ???) were donated by a friend. So I have no idea of the heat.
This will be an exciting experiment.
To be honest the whole pickling process is an experiment and the veggies keep presenting themselves for testing. I already have Cucumbers, Courgettes and Onions lined up, also Cauliflower and roasted bell peppers.
Further out on the horizon I am considering Sauerkraut and Kimchi but the process is a bit more involved. Also, I am the only person in my sphere of friends and family that actually like either so it does seem to be somewhat indulgent to make this just for me.
We shall see.
Let Down Again
https://app.portsmouth.co.uk/full_page_image/11th-october-2024-page-4_4f0207dc/content.html
A few years ago this site was the home of Marconi Underwater Systems. The site was closed, and the Marconi buildings and surrounds became derelict. The site has remained an eyesore for many years.
Around 2012 I, as a member of the Waterlooville Residents Forum, attended a presentation on behalf of a potential developer. At that time, per the presentation, the plans were to build a 60 bed hotel and restaurant. They also planned a car showroom and a drive thru restaurant. The developer went to great pains. He assured us that the drive thru was not going to be another McDonald’s.
Outline Application APP/12/00652 was submitted 4th October 2012. The recommendation was that permission be granted for this application. Since that time, the Marconi (BAE) buildings were demolished but the site remained undeveloped.
Until that is, along came Lidl and, yep, McDonald’s. But the remainder of the site remained untouched.
And now the council appear to have given the go ahead for a new KFC, Aldi, and Costa.
It’s not as if our little town doesn’t lack for coffee shops and cafe’s. As for fast food drive thru’s, we are surrounded. Nor are we short of Aldi stores, we actually have seven within a ten mile radius. Costa Coffee is even more pervasive with ten in a four mile radius.
There is a significant amount of residential construction in and around Waterlooville. With all the new residents I would agree that there is a need for eateries. But I would argue that there is a greater need for entertainment centres. Waterlooville residents frequently call for a cinema complex / bowling alley. Sadly nobody hears the call
And so, the construction of these three businesses leaves me disappointed. I feel that we, the residents of Waterlooville, have been let down again.
WrAnTz 