Things that should never be seen together...

...an 83-year-old woman and a balance beam in a children's playground!!
Yesterday however the two came into very close contact and you can imagine the outcome!  My wonderfully lively and active mother-in-law was enjoying a sunny Sunday afternoon in the park with her 2 1/2-year-old great-grandson.   She decided to demonstrate to him how to walk on the balance beam which stood about 18 inches off of the ground.  (In the meantime said great-grandson toddled off to the slide and was not was even watching.)  So, here is my mother-in-law up on the beam...oh did I mention she was still wearing her high heels??  Next thing she knows she is flying towards the spongy mat.  Although the spongy mat broke her fall it also acted like a catapult and shot her sideways into one of those big spider web things with the nylon ropes and metal poles.  She hit one of the metal cross bars impacting at her ribs.  This was approximately 3:00 p.m.  It took the ambulance one hour to get to her and then a trip to the A&E.  Being a former emergency services person this is where I lose patience very quickly when I see that simple things just are not being done.  I won't name the specific hospital but let's say if this hospital was a person then this man's name would have been Lester!
Pam and I get the call at about 5:00 asking if we could come to the hospital after making a stop at mum's to pick up an over night bag etc.  We arrive at the A&E at around 6:15 to find that mum had just been assessed and was waiting to see a doctor.  She was having trouble breathing and they gave her some pain killers while she waited and waited and waited.  The A&E was like crammed full with people waiting everywhere.  For the first 4 hours or so no one seemed to move out of A&E.  They just kept piling up.  Finally shift change came and a nurse ,who I wish I got her name came, in and saw the chaos.  It did not take her very long to start sorting the place out.  She got the staff moving and before we knew it we actually saw patients going to X-Ray, being moved on to the ward, getting discharged.  It was an amazing transformation.  Although grateful that this woman was making such an immediate impact it just underlined that fact that the chaos could have been avoided in the first place if someone had taken charge as she did!  It still took a few hours to unravel this huge backlog and as a result we left the hospital at around 1:00 a.m.  So just a few words to the NHS...overall I think you are very good however there is room to improve and having an organised A&E makes a massive difference.  The ambulance crews were backed up 4 deep not being able to off load or handover their patients this in turn caused a shortage of emergency ambulances on the road.  Patients need to be triage and assessed faster and X-Ray needs to support great capacity.  I realise these are easy things to say but they are doable and would make the NHS a more efficient operation.  So, thank you to the unknown nurse who took command and kicked butt.  We need more of these people.  My mother-in-law is resting at home with her cat

Well Done Mother Nature

Wow! What an awesome day. Mother Nature out did herself today with the sunshine and the lovely warm temperature. It made it to 17 today! I hope that you had a beautiful day wherever you are. It is amazing what sunshine does for the human spirit. Life is tough for most of us right now but when you get a day like today it is hard not to feel a bit more optimistic. Springtime is truly here. What perfect timing as we move the clocks forward tonight. (I hate to lose that hour in the spring but I do love it when they give it back to us n the autumn.) Let’s hope that we get a repeat performance tomorrow of today.

Just had to share!

Today has been my day for elevator humour.  I'm not talking about funny things that were said in the lift but the actual lift itself.  The lift in my hotel this morning was made by Schindler....so of course my brain immediately said "Ha, Schindler's Lift!"

Then I go into the office and I guess I have never paid attention before but the name on this left was Porn and Dunwoody.  This is one for the Americans as "woody" has a specific connotation which does align with porn.  

Oh what fun can be had if you just look around you everyday!!

A World Apart

I'm back in Richmond today and decided to get a proper lunch instead of a ready made sandwich which is my usual work day fare. There are some nice places very close to the office so I picked one at random. It was a lovely little bistro with an extensive menu. After ordering I sat and absorbed the atmosphere and conversation around me. (When eating alone what else is there to do?) I listened to the ladies to my left, it was a bit difficult not to actually. They were talking about choosing a boarding school for one of their daughters. I never knew it was important to have "quality shopping" in walking distance. I was also unaware of the specific requirement that the area's architecture needs to be interesting and "pleasing to the eye"! They mentioned their favourite so far featured"Neo Georgian mansions". I sat there thinking how yesterday I was on the farm where the conversation surrounded which sheep was next to lamb and a warning to watch the pile of sheep poo outside the door because SJ the "free range" sheep had been trying to get into the house again. How can life be so totally different just 130 miles away? I will say that my preference certainly falls towards the farm. My granddaughter won't care about the architecture around her school she will only care to know if her favourite lamb will be able to ride on the school bus with her.

Farm update

We have spent the weekend at the farm and it has been my responsibility to look after and feed Lola the two week old lamb. She has to be fed every 5 hours and boy is she ready when that time comes! It is amazing to see her growing along side all the other lambs.  Last night was quite an experience for me. I had just finished giving Lola her dinner and helped Rach get the sheep into the shed.  When one of the ewes, that Rach had been watching, started to have some difficulties. Rach called Simon for reinforcements as she knew this was not going to be easy.  Sparing you the specific and not so pretty detail, the ewe finally gave birth to her little lamb. Without the intervention of Rach and Si her lamb and potentially her own life would have been lost. Instead they have a healthy ewe and lamb to continue to grow the flock.  I have to say that helping out here has been the best therapy I have had for the Fibro.  The fresh air, constant activity and learning experiences have kept my focus on the farm and I have not given the Fibro a look in. This after a trip to Richmond and a bout of the plague before that I'm feeling great. Might have to think about retiring to the country. 

It was all going too well...

Today was an unplanned trip into Richmond from Northamptonshire. I got a call yesterday to be in the office to prep for a new client.  If you read this blog you will remember that my last journey to Richmond was a disaster. So, I was dreading today but much to my delight the trip into Richmond was surprisingly easy. So easy in fact that I made it all the way to the office by 9:00 and even the taxi driver from the Richmond station was lovely whereas last time my driver made me feel like rubbish for not walking to my office from the station.  No dramas I arrive at the office ready to go.  The rest of the day did not run as smoothly but that is work and you deal with it.  My luck held out and I actually found a taxi to take me to the station, this is a first for me as I always end up walking this bit due to a shortage of taxis.  I'm feeling pretty good now that I have finally cracked this route into London.  I arrive at St Pancras for the last leg of my journey. The train is boarding but I check with a train crew member that it is the correct one just to be sure.  I'm on the train for 10 minutes and it is almost time to depart when they announce the stops and I realise I AM ON THE WRONG TRAIN! I have to create chaos around me as I try to get off the train before it leaves. I make it off the train and now have to "run" two platforms over to get my real train which leaves in 2 minutes!  Can you believe it? The travel Gods were kind to me and I find a way to screw it up.  I did make to the correct train and should be home within the hour.  Phew!

Day 8 in the Big Virus House...

Day 8 finds Donna and Pam struggling to get back to some form of normal.  Yesterday we thought we might just be on our way.  However, today has dealt yet  another blow in this ever morphing virus.  I feel as if I have an elephant on my chest and with a chest as big as mine I do not need anything else on it!  Pam is trying to be brave as we have Mrs M on her way over for lunch.  We made this invitation on Thursday when we were fairly certain we would feel better by Sunday.  What the Hell is this thing and where did it come from?  Just when you start to get relief from one hideous symptom you get new ones.  Oh well, have to work this week since I spent the last week in bed.  I hope your Sunday finds you feeling well and you get to go out in the glorious sunshine that is streaming through our windows.  For me it will be enjoying the sun from the couch and watching England beat France today at 3:00.

Delivery Guys

Can someone tell me if you are a delivery guy do you have a set amount of time you wait for the customer to reach the front door? Something like .005 seconds? We just had something re-delivered (so Mr. Delivery Guy we really do want this item) do you think you could wait longer than the nano second you usually do? Our house is very long...it used to be cow sheds in the 1700's and they had a lot of cows! It takes us about 30 seconds to get to the front door. Is that too long to wait for someone? Come on guys give us a break here. This morning I almost ran to the front door and by the time I got there Mr Delivery Guy was on his way back to his van. Due to this virus I was wheezing like a stream train by the time I made it to the door! We all know you need to get to the next drop off but how many times do you want to re-deliver to the same address because you didn't wait long enough? I need a nap now!

The virus from Hell

I know we should not really complain because we have not had even so much as a cold in the last two years (a new record for me). However, this virus that has been doing the rounds finally made its way to us.  All the kids and grand kids had it then Pam's mum (who is 83) got it then finally Pam came down with it the day before we were going to Cornwall and I started on Sunday. 
We have literally been in bed since Sunday evening.  Nothing has ever hit either of us like this.  If this is the same thing everyone else had how whimpy are we?  The kids all had to work and look after their kids  plus Rach and Si are lambing and Pam's mum, at her age...how did she cope?   It is Thursday and I only know that because my iPad tells me that is what day it is.  We have lost all concept of time we would not even know if there has been a major catastrophe in the world.  Today for the first time this week we can start to see some light at the end of this very long tunnel.  I have never been in a state that I could not muddle through work after a day or two.
If you have not had this yet then I hope you luck out and miss it, if you have had it, my heart goes out to you for your suffering!  Hopefully life can start to return to normal.

One Woman's View Site

If you are still reading the blog from Facebook then here is the link to the new site. The site contains a few more pages with some of my favourite links and a Recommendations page to some very special places.  Please come and check it out.  www.onewomansview.net

Cornwall continued

We set off on our adventure, not knowing where we were going to end up but it didn’t matter as long as this sunshine continued.  We reach Rock and decided to take the ferry across to Padstow.  Still not believing our luck with the weather we enjoyed the trip across the open water.  Padstow was busier than we would thought. The galleries, gift shops and pasty shops were open and doing a good business. We walked through the streets and popped into the shops just enjoying this lovely place without the crowds that would soon arrive as the weather gets warmer.  After a few hours we head back to our little cottage. Pam’s scones and homemade jam were calling our names.  Champagne opened we sit down to have a wonderful cream tea.  Later it is up to the sitting room (which Pam transformed with lit candles) to have a chat.  We could not believe how cosy this little cottage had become just by having people in it. The fresh air was doing its trick and everyone was content and ready for a relaxing evening.  For the next few hours we sat in the candle light drinking Baily’s and swapping stories.  I looked around the room and again the magnitude of how good my life is hit me.  Sitting in a cottage on the Cornish coast with my beautiful Pam and my dear friends.  These are the times we need to absorb and keep with us to help us through THOSE days when then occur. Sunday arrives and it is time to leave.  The transformation takes place once again.  All our personal touches are removed and the cottage returns to its natural state.  This place that only 48 hours ago seemed dreary now has a special place in our hearts.  Cars packed we are ready to leave and we realise that we have been here an entire weekend and still have not found the Co-Op!  Oh well, we found loads of other places we will come and visit again.  However, you will never get me to go to Cornwall in the summer.  I can’t imagine trying to unload your car with summer tourists honking their horns behind you and screaming kids wanting to go to the beach after being stuck in a car for hours.  No thank you…we will stick with our off-season visits.

Cornwall in March

We have returned from a wonderful weekend in Cornwall. When the weekend began we were not at all convinced that it would indeed be wonderful. Our dear friends had booked a cottage in the lovely village of Port Issac. However they warned us in advance that the cottage came recommended to them by one of their sons who has a different view of "warm and cosy", so we were all a bit tentative. Our Sat Nav did a brilliant job getting us to the village and on to the street leading to the cottage. As we were approaching the address the street was getting more narrow by the foot. By the time we arrived at the front door the street was only wide enough for one car and there was nowhere to park and we had two cars to unload! Quickly we devised a plan and assigned tasks. We all grabbed bags and coolers and dropped them in front of the cottage. Pam and Helen went in search of parking while Ann and I took everything in and had our first look around our home for the weekend. The kitchen was okay and there was a log stove in the dining area. Two small chairs with throw covers stood near the fire. In general it appeared tired and worn. Mind you, it was probably built in the 1600\'s. We head upstairs to look around. Things up here are not as pleasant as downstairs. The bathroom had a toilet, tiny sink and a shower that you had to turn sideways to enter. There was a further flight of stairs leading to the bedrooms. Overall it was bare and not overly comfy looking let alone "warm and cosy". Ann was fearing the worst as she thought Helen would not want to stay in this dreary little place. So, we set to trying to make it feel more like home. We put away the vast amount of food that Ann and Helen brought. (We were under strict orders not to bring anything as this was their treat for us). Ann started to work her magic on the kitchen. The intrepid travellers took ages to return from the parking wilderness. They were both keen to make the cottage liveable for the weekend mostly because there was no way they were walking back to the cars again that night! Helen hit the kitchen to prepare dinner, Ann opened the wine, I set out to build the fire and Pam was unpacking. Fire now built using paper and a fire lighter, I was ready to light it. First small hurdle, no matches. We look through all the drawers and cupboards but no matches or lighters anywhere. Helen heads over to the pub in search of matches. She returns holding a small dish with a lit tea light in it, shielded by a newspaper. Owing to the fact that pubs are non-smoking now finding matches wasn\'t so easy. Fire now roaring our first night was a success. In the morning Pam and I come down to a beautifully laid table for breakfast. Ann and Helen are there and announce that the one item that somehow missed the journey south was the tea bags! Pam says "no problem the pasty shop has coffee and biscuits for sale in the window I\'m sure they also sell tea". Off she goes...about five minutes later Pam returns empty handed saying "she does not sell tea bags and told me to go to the Co-Op". Pam said it is at the top of the village on the left and according to Mrs. Pasty all roads in the village lead to the Co-Op. Fine, we settle for coffee instead saying we will buy tea bags when we go out. Breakfast finished we head out for a day of adventures. As we pass the pasty shop Helen says "hey look it says they serve fresh coffee and tea." At the same time we all think the same thing, why didn\'t Mrs. Pasty offer to se cups of tea to take away? We will never know the answer to that one. Needless to say we did not return to the pasty shop gain. We hit the road looking for the Co-Op on our way out. We reach the next village and Pam asked "did anyone see the shop?" none of us had seen it, this shop that all roads led to. Tomorrow I\'ll tell you about the rest of our weekend.

Alarm didn't go off, no time for coffee and fog!

You know when it is going to be one of THOSE days.  As you can tell from the title of this post I am having one of those days today.  It started with the failure of the alarm to go off.  Pam said "wow, it is really light outside".  At that point my internal alarm went off..."oh &^%$£  I'm late!"  In the shower, get dressed look at the clock and realise there is no time to even make my "in the car" coffee let alone breakfast.  Go outside and have another surprise...fog.  We are still at the farm so we are in the hills of Hereford so I'm talking mega fog.  Simon comes out and says that it should be better when I get down the hill.  (Keep in mind I have to navigate their little lane, dodging sheep, geese and Guinea fowl for 1 1/2 miles before I even get to the road.)  I finally hit the main road and the fog has not changed.  As I approach the bottom of the hill towards the A40 I see that the fog is even denser!  All I kept thinking was "just get the office and soon it will be 9:00 and the coffee shop will be open".

So, here I am with my coffee in hand and a day full of meetings ahead.  I'm hopeful that I have had my fill of bad stuff for one day.  I'll let you know.

What's in a Name?

Recently my partner and I formed our Civil Partnership. One of the things that you have to consider is whether or not you want to change your name or title.  I liked the idea of having the same name but then had to think about the pros and cons like "would I lose my identity?"  Well, I have had the same name my whole life!  So, then I thought about changing my title so the world would know I was in a Civil Partnership.  

Why is this important?  Well, let's think about this...when you first meet someone (personal or business) you try to figure them out.  Things run through your head as you are talking to them "is this person single, married, have kids or maybe divorced".  Why do we ask ourselves these questions (other than because we are generally nosey by nature).  We  endeavour to find some common ground without having to ask personal questions.  At the same time the other person is doing the same thing to us.  Then the moment comes when you have to refer to your partner in conversation.  (If you are heterosexual you probably will not have even thought about this let alone experienced it.)  For those of us who are not heterosexual we have to make a snap decision.  "Do I try to stay generic and say 'my partner' instead using her name?"  "Do I jump right in and say 'she' where they would be expecting 'he'?  See, I'll bet for many of you this type of decision never crosses your mind.  I am proud to have Pam as my partner however,  I am sensitive to the fact that not everyone is comfortable with our relationship.  This take us back to the question of title.  Yes, changing my title would tell people what my status was and it would be out there...the uncomfortable point in the conversation won't be an issue.  But here is the problem.  There is no title that describes a Civil Partnership.  Your choice is to go from Miss to either Ms or Mrs.  I have been trying to come up with a suitable title that is intuitive and represents a Civil Partnership.  I have not come up with anything clever yet so I am opening it up to you.  If you have a suggestion please post a comment.  Let's come up with something that I could propose on behalf of the people who have taken their Civil Partnership vows.

New Lambs

Update on the lambing progress...when I went to bed last night there were still just the two lambs who were born over the weekend.  This morning  I packed up the car and then snuck to the lambing shed to take a look.  I saw all the expectant mums sleeping and the two weekend arrivals in a small pen with their mum.  They were sooo cute now a few days old.  Then I looked further to my right and there was another small pen with  residents!  (The newborns get moved into separate pens with their mums to keep them safe.)  There were two more little faces looking up at me.  These two were so small  but absolutely perfect and they were only about 3 hours old!  Mum was snoozing after her ordeal.  She will certainly need her rest with these little ones to look after!    I can't wait to get back there this evening to see what has transpired while I've been at work.

Lambing Begins!

It is the end of February and time for the lambs to start arriving at my step son and daughter-in-law's farm. I love all things to do with the farm and I'm always excited to learn. This week Pam is helping out so I'm going to work in the morning and then going to the farm for the evening. So far there have been twins born (a boy and a girl) but that was over the weekend. Now we are waiting for others to make their grand entrance. I will most definitely volunteer for bottle duty in the evenings. Notice I said evenings because this is a 24 hour job. Every two hours the lambs that need special care must be checked and bottle fed. If that doesn't sound hard enough consider that these two young people also have a 9 month old! So, whatever help we can offer we will give. I'll keep you posted on the lamb count.

42-15 Tigers!

The anticipation of going to Welford Road was well worth the wait! The Tigers were in a word "awesome". Consider the fact that the team are a bit depleted owing to international duty and injuries. Yes, I realise we were playing the struggling Newcastle but still it was a good win with a bonus point. Okay, those are the game facts, the fun stuff is always off the pitch. We start with the error on my part for trusting in technology. Before the game I looked up the postcode of the car park, plugged that into the sat nav and away we go...and go and go. We get to Leicester city centre and out the other side. Things start to look a bit rural. I double check the postcode and notice it is LE11 and normally you would expect a city centre postcode to be a bit lower on the number scale. Back to the search function on the sat nav only to find it should be LE1 not 11. No panic yet, we still have an hour before kick off and the scenic tour of the rural villages of Leicstershire was pleasant. We now have to do a 180 and try to find the stadium again and hope there is still at least one parking space open. The car park now in sight we are cruising. Find a spot and out on the street we go. One question looming, where exactly is the stadium? Matt and I look at each other and shrug. Luckily a kind seasoned visitor to this grand rugby ground tells us to turn right and follow the crowd. True to his word we turn right and looming ahead is the stadium. A quick stop in the team shop, shirt, for me, shirt for our granddaughter and a scarf on board we are ready to enter the Tigers den. Thank you Matt for enduring our side trip to Loughborough and my overflowing excitement. What a day!

New Pain Scale

When you suffer from a pain disorder the doctors and health care staff always ask you rate your. This normally consists of the standard 0-10 scale with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain you can imagine. I would like to propose a more intuitive scale, a bit more user friendly perhaps. A number just doesn’t sum it up.  Here are a few of my top pain analogies that I think are better than the number scale. First, we start with the “I feel like I’ve just come out of the tumble dryer.” Which is marginally better than the “I feel like I’ve been thrown down a flight of stairs.”. At other times the pain is more specific  an example of this would be “someone is using me as a Voodoo doll!”  I think you will agree this type of description far exceeds the traditional number scale.  If you have any other suggestions I will happily add them this new system.

I could never be a weather person

Being the control freak that I am I could never do a job where I knew I was going to be wrong the majority of the time, no matter what I said!  Why the weather theme today?  Well, we were told just yesterday that we were "officially" in a draught (in our part of England).  Today I am sitting in an office on the corner of building and I'm surrounded by huge windows.  Watching the wind  whip the RAIN into a frenzy.  It is lashing so hard against the windows that if feels more like a car wash than an office!  I am grateful for the rain, as I don't want us to be in a draught but I started thinking about those poor buggers who have to try to predict what Mother Nature is going to do.  It seems she does have a good sense of humour though.  I'm sure she was thinking "okay, official draught well that means rain is on the agenda for tomorrow, let's see what they do with that!"  I wonder what Mother Nature has in store for this weekend because the weather people have called for "balmy temperatures".  Bets anyone?

Welford Road...at last!

I am finally going to see the Leicester Tigers play a Premiership game.  I’m going this Saturday with my son-in-law…wow that still sounds strange when I say it.  We are going to the temple of British rugby and I cannot wait.  You know I love my rugby and I am prone to shout at the telly when something exciting happens.  If you watched last Sunday’s game you can imagine what was happening in our living room.  The Tigers were down by 2 points and they waited until the clock had 83 minutes on it, (for non rugby people this is 3 minutes into extra time and one dead ball ends the game), before they attempted a drop goal.  The Captain stepped up and took the kick himself (I love good leadership).  I held my breath as the ball wobbled over and they won 20-19.  I finally exhaled and felt exhausted from the effort of watching this heart stopping match.  As exciting as it was I’m not sure my blood pressure could take another one of those this week.  Watch this space for the update after Saturday’s match.

Grrrrrr

You may be able to tell from the title of this post that I am not a happy bunny! I had to make the trip into London today. Now I have worked out a method that allows me to make this journey without completely kicking my butt on the physical front. I take the train from from my local station right into St Pancras no issue here it is a breeze. Then I take a cab from St Pancras to Waterloo to avoid the tube and the 1 mile walk from St Pancras. I then take a train from Waterloo to Richmond (this is where my office is located). So, the last leg of the trip from the station to the office is a 10-12 minute walk for the average person. However, for those of us who use a cane or other device to assist our walking it is a difficult walk. Loads of cobblestones and old pavements (sidewalk) fortbe American readers. I opt to take a cab the short distance to be safe. The issue arises here. Due to the fact that this is a very short trip for a cabbie many of them are not very happy to take me. Some of the drivers have even been rude and borderline abusive, today I got one of those guys. I am always nice and I apologise in advance for the hassle. This I still not enough for some people. My driver today told me sarcastically that I "had mad his day!" (which is ironic considering my earlier post this morning), he went on to say he had waited at that rank for an hour and now what was he going get for it? "nothing!" I apologised again but it made no difference. Besides being polite I also always pay them more than the metered fare. I'm not sure what more I can do. I need a cane to walk, believe me if I had a choice I would love for it to be otherwise. Also, there are parts of all of our jobs that we don't like but you deal with them. How many of us could get away with complaining to a customer for giving us business regardless of the size of the job. If we did complain I'd hazard to say we wouldn't have that job for long. So, what did I do.? Did I give the guy my standard over the odds fare? Or did I give him some abuse back, which would have been difficult as he was still complaining! I chose to take the higher road. The fare came to £3.40 so I gave him £10.00 in the hopes that he stops to examine his behaviour and doesn't treat the next disabled person or anyone else that way in the future. I was hoping that when I gave him the tenner that he might say something. Bets please...what do you think he said? Drumroll please...he said NOTHING!! As I stood there with my mouth hanging open I thought "so much for teaching this guy a lesson" and I felt like a total prat. Upon reflection though I still think it was the right thing to do any who knows maybe he did think about after he drove off...I sure hope so.

It's Monday...yuck

It's Monday...ewww Hello Folks, it is Monday, for some the Monday after half term and maybe a holiday...which makes going back to work an even greater challenge. For the rest of us it is still hard to get motivated. So what can we do to make today a little bit easier to deal with? I have an idea, a bit of a fun challenge for you. I challenge you to make someone's day. Not in the style of Clint Eastwood but rather truly make at least one person's day better. Maybe you will choose "Mr Grumpy" at work, make him crack a genuine smile. Or it could be the ultra professional and efficient person who you have thought in the past, could be a robot , because they don't ever interact unless it is business. With this person you might endeavour to find out something about them outside of work. Maybe there is a person you work with who is going through a really tough time and just maybe you could make their day a little better. Now I am not talking about having a massive, life changing, impact on this person just do something to make their day or their hour a bit better. I hope that what we all find is that it has also given us a bit of a boost as well. That is it, the gauntlet has been thrown down. Send me a comment and let me know what you did today.

Rugby...my favourite sport

Being American it is in my genetic make up to respond to the question, "what is your favourite sport?" with the answer "baseball". However, if you were to ask me today I would say rugby. Yes, I would feel guilty for betraying the truly American innate baseball answer, but it would be my honest response. When you compare the toughness factor of American football players to rugby players there is no real comparison. Football players wear the equivalent of body amour and a 2 inch thick padded helmet to protect them. Rugby players wear shirts, shorts and occasionally a scrum cap which is little more than a shower cap compared to the football helmet! Rugby players wear the same kit regardless of the temperature and weather conditions. American football players add things like hand warmers, tights and gloves when it gets a bit too chilly. All of these things add to the toughness factor of rugby players then you have to consider the pure physical element. A rugby player can go into a scrum and come out with an open bleeding head wound, then head straight into the next play, the referee will have to send him off for a blood replacement. Said player will reluctantly go to the locker room for any number of stitches and be back on the touch line, bouncing up and down so the ref sees him to let him back on to the field! An American football player dislocates a finger and goes on injured reserve for 6 weeks! A rugby player dislocates a finger and the physio wrenches it back into place during a water break and the player never misses a play. Now that is tough! How could you not love this sport?

Half Term

It is that time of year, which at Christmas seemed so far away...half term. Time for the kids and their parents to spend some quality time together. For those of us without school aged children it is still a special time with pros and cons, like all things. Pro - Traffic is much much better. Con - Business hotels can turn into holiday camps. Case in point; I am staying away for work this week and my business hotel is full of business people who have cashed in their well deserved points for free hotel stays for their families. Hence the occurrence at breakfast where I was passed by a running, 3 year old, blond child screaming "mummy what I gonna eat for breakfust". Bless her, she was lovely but my brain was not totally in agreement as I had yet to have my first sip of coffee. It is funny how we can experience things so differently. Whatever you are doing this week I hope you are enjoying it!

Totally Gutted...

I had tickets to go and see Melissa Etheridage in concert in London on Friday 17th and now I am not able to go.  Talk about devastated!  To say that I am a fan of Melissa’s is an understatement.  I even bought new jeans for the occasion. Now I have to try and sell them, not the jeans, the tickets.  It is not about the money it is about Melissa and what her music means to me and thousands of other women.  I know she is not a saint but who among us is?  The fact remains that she is a fantastic entertainer who just happens to have most of the lesbian population wrapped around her finger.   I am not a real music person but when I first heard Melissa and listened to those words that I knew came from real experience it just hit me and it stuck.  Through the years I have been a fan there has always been a song for what I was feeling.  Through my relationships and their eventual endings to the new beginnings there always seems to be a song that speaks to me.  Also, the atmosphere at one of her concerts is incredible.  The pride you feel being there with all of those woman is awesome. I will always be a fan and I hope that I will get another chance to see Melissa.  If you are lucky enough to have seen her I hope you took away something special for yourself as well.

Sunday Night

For those of you who work the standard working week of Monday - Friday how do you feel on Sunday night? Even those of us who are lucky enough to be in a job we love, there is still the "Sunday feeling". When you just don't want your weekend to end. Do you have thoughts of winning the lottery or early retirement? I know I do but in my case I think I would at least need to meet Fate halfway and play the lottery. I think the "Sunday feeling" gets more intense at this time of year...it is our equivalent to sailing's term becoming becalmed. There is no prevailing wind to carry us and the nearest land seems hundreds of miles away. So, what can we do to get past each Sunday night and through the flat waters of February? I think the answer is to find or create something to look forward to (other than the next weekend). Maybe call a friend and arrange meeting for a coffee or lunch. You don't need to spend money, you can both bring you lunch but eat together. Just give yourself something to make your week a bit more interesting. Mix things up a bit. Surprise your partner by making dinner or doing one of the chores/jobs that is usually theirs to do. If it is dinner then spend time planning what to make. Or do something totally spontaneous, be a little unpredictable and unexpected. It will be fun or at least give you something to talk about. Let me know what you decide to do. For those of you who don't work the standard week do this when on you get your "Sunday feeling" regardless of what day of the week it is. I hope you have fun.

-12...Really?

We went to London last night to see the new musical Ghost. It was cold when we set off but not too bad. Ghost was very good (I was not sure what to expect but the movie was one of my all time favourites). So, show over we catch a cab bak to St. Pancras. One hour on the train andwe are back in Northamptonshire. The doors open, the air hits us and my first thought is "OMG, the train must have detoured to Siberia! My lungs felt like I was inhaling razor blades. We hurried to the car and when the dash lights came on the temperature read (you guessed it), -12 Celsius!! Talked about a shock to the system. We went to bed with a extra blanket and woke up to -8. Getting out of bed was beyond difficult. We ventured out of the house when the temp climbed to a balmy -3! So, we decided the only thing to do is keep the fire stoked, break out the Baily's and watch England beat Italy in the 6 Nations.

Snowy morning in the village

Ah, we woke up this morning to a see the village covered in a lovely, crisp blanket of snow. The village church looked stunning in its finest coat of white. It is amazing how a week ago the snow in Rome was causing so much trouble even finding somewhere open to have a meal or a cup of coffee. The fact the it snows at home is much more fun. I was so excited when I looked outside to see 3+ inches of the white stuff. It was like when I was a kid again. The one major difference is in our new world of technology and remote connectivity it does not mean a day off. But that is okay because I can still work while enjoying my cup of hot chocolate! Just because we grow up physically does not mean that kid is no longer inside of us. I think it is important even as a "grown up" to have a snowball fight or ride a sled down the closest hill. It makes us better people when we can have fun. It puts things like work stress and the day to day stresses of our modern lives into perspective. So, if it snowed where you are go out and throw some snowballs or take the sled out (if you don't have do what you would have done as a kid, get a trash can lid or piece of cardboard). If you don't have snow today do something else fun, something you have not done in years. Believe me, you will feel better for it. You might even forget about your worries for a bit. Enjoy!

Merge...A simple concept? Apparently not!

Everyone when learning to drive learns the concept of merging from the beginning of your driving lessons or for you Americans, in Driver's Ed. The traffic symbol is very clear when you are supposed to merge.  Merge means you have to slow down, indicate and make your way into the main flow of traffic. So why then is it that some people see this sign and their interpretation is totally different? To these drivers it means accelerate quickly, don't put your indicator on (someone may actually figure out what you are doing) and push your way in to the smallest gap available! Once in the queue you now flick the V's or the finger to your fellow drivers who are obeying the traffic laws.  What are they like!!

To complain or not to complain...

Folks I need your input here.  As you have seen we recently visited Rome for a short break.  The weather was the big story during our stay.  However, the trip home was marred by a severely delayed flight out of Rome and a complete vacuum of communication from BA to their passengers.  I am a person who appreciates good service and my expectations are not so high that I'm often disappointed.  As long as the service is friendly and as efficient as it can be.  So, when I do complain it is usually for a good reason.  So, here is my question to you.  Would you complain if you experienced what we did (all fully explained in my earlier posts if you need to catch up)?  Would you have a go at BA and what would you expect as a reply from them?  Would you want some kind of compensation (vouchers etc.) or just a sincere apology for your inconvenience?  And do you think our complaints ever make to the people who could actually change things? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Words, don't you just love them!

As you know if you have been reading this blog that I wanted a place to "share" my feelings about my nemesis Fibromyalgia. I mentioned in an earlier post that just before our trip to Rome I started to get a few new symptoms.  One of them is tinnitus or as my mother-in-law would say "titty-ness".  I love it when she gets her words wrong...this needs to go on our running list for her.  So far we have the dreaded Alkheimer's, (used thus in context "Did you know he has Alkheimer's and dementia?"), then the infamous "nudesense" or to you and I nuisance. Finally, it is my favourite one to date the Satellite Navigation system (Sat Nav) or in my mother-in-law's case...Cat Nap!  Yes, the coach driver got lost even though he was using his Cat Nap.  So, now you all have some new words to use to liven up any conversation.
Oh, back to the titty-ness it is a real nudesense because I feel like I have an every present yet distant lumber jack in my ear!

Home and dry

Our journey finally ended when we arrived home at 0215!  What a day, what a trip.  It is certainly going to be one we will not soon forget.  Now it is back to work and everyday life.  I hope you will continue to read this blog as I will carry on sharing my impressions of daily life.  Finding the fun and meaning of just plain living.

Incommunicado!

BA, no one will ever accuse you of over communicating! Once we figured out our plane was delayed the fun really started. I went to the desk to find out why we were delayed and the agent said "something to do with the weather in London" He then asked if we had eaten anything. We said "yes we just had a bite to eat at the cafe". He then advises us that if we take our boarding pass to the same cafe they would feed us for free. That's helpful since we just ate at the same place and paid a fortune because there was no announcement of any kind to inform you of this offer. The gate board now showed that our scheduled departure time was changed to 2045 with a boarding time of 2005. Back to the lovely, comfy, freezing, metal chairs in the non heated boarding area. At 2000 we checked the gate board to see that our BA info was gone and a flight to Algers was now departing from our gate. Up to the desk again to find that they moved our flight to the next gate over. The info on this board still displayed the same boarding time of 2005, since it was now 2003 our confidence was and patience were hitting an all time low. Finally at 2050 we saw movement and the forming of a queue near our gate. No announcement yet again but there was definitely something happening. As we pass under the gate board it stills reads departure at 2045 or 5 minutes ago! One major item was missing from the gate...a plane. Instead of a plane at our gate there was a single bus. Onto the bus and we have to wait again. This time in below freezing temperatures. A good 10 minutes goes by, Pam has lost the feeling in her extremities and I have lost the will to live! At last the doors close and we are whisked just over 500 feet away to our plane. All we can think about is regaining the blood flow to our vital organs. Off the bus, up the first step and progress has ground to a halt. The BA staff are greeting each person at the door and pointing out their seats like it is a balmy day in June, not a sub zero night in Rome. Using my cane to climb the last few stairs I have visions of wrapping it around the head of the first person who tells me to have a nice flight!

Not leaving so fast!

Okay, so when I last logged off we were on our way to the airport under beautiful sunny skies. We arrived no problem, we check in no problem, we wait for our boarding time with only 10 minutes to go before the gate opens and guess what? Yes, problem! We notice that there seems to be a distinct lack of BA staff. To such an extent that on one has even turned up to open said gate. A quick check of the info board and suddenly our departure time has morphed from 1845 to 2045 with absolutely no reason. I guess one way to avoid having to deal with upset passengers is not to put any staff at the gate! I go online to check the BA website and there is still nothing to tell me why we'er still sitting in Rome instead of being in he air on the way back to the UK. So, we have survived the snow, slush and ice only to be tripped up at the last hurdle by God knows what.

Rome is waking up...

This morning we woke up to lovely sunshine and much milder temperatures. Rome was also waking up from its forced hibernation. Mother Nature's impact can still be seen. There is snow on the ground and hanging in some of the trees, but overall Rome is getting back to normal. Shops are open, horns are blaring and traffic is racing around (which can be more dangerous than usual as the ice is still on the side streets and in shadowed places). The flights are back on schedule so it looks as if we will be leaving as planned. We have not had the opportunity to see so much of Rome's beauty but I think you can interrupt this in one of two ways, in my past I would have said this means we're not meant to see Rome, however in my new life, I choose to think this means that we are meant to return to Rome to experience it all over again. What a trip it has been! I have intentionally left out one fact about our trip...until now. On day two while we were trudging through the 5+ inches of snow in our non snow proof shoes, Pam slipped off of a hidden curb and twisted her ankle. She has been a trooper! We got back to the hotel and once the cold wore off her ankle blew up. We had to go and find some boots to help stabilise her foot. Since then she has been wearing her flight sock to keep the swelling in check. It is black and blue and puffed up today and we have to travel home. We never do anything by halves!!

Fried custard?

Stayed local to the hotel for dinner tonight as choices were limited because it is Sunday which is the most common day for resturaunts to close. We went to a pizzeria across the street (I did say we stayed local). Our starter was frito misto which in my previous experience has meant a mixture of fried seafood, however in this case it was a literal translation of "fried mix". It was a battered and deep fried adventure! We encountered fried courgette leaves, fried stuffed olives, fried calzone, fried mini pizza and even fried apple slices. All of which were nice and very different. Then came the biggest surprise...a fried cube of custard!! Pam and I both tried it (because I was not going to be the only one). It actually was very nice but after just chewing a fried rice ball it was truly a unique taste experience.

Going Home Tomorrow??

After seeing some pictures of my team (Leicester Tigers), playing their match in the snow, I decided I'd better check that the airports were not affected by the snow. Guess what I found? All flights from Rome to Heathrow after 3:00 today were cancelled! Online check in opens in just over an hour and I'm sure hoping we don't have any problems tomorrow as our hotel is fully booked! Watch this space to see if Pam and Donna's adventure gets any more exciting...

One woman's view: Today Vatican City...

One woman's view: Today Vatican City...: Yesterday's snow was frozen solid this morning. Walking was treacherous yesterday, today it was lethal. We took a taxi to Vatican City and f...

Today Vatican City...

Yesterday's snow was frozen solid this morning. Walking was treacherous yesterday, today it was lethal. We took a taxi to Vatican City and found that the Sistine Chapel was closed. Next stop was St. Peter's Square. The church was open so through the metal detectors and across the square to the church. Cobblestones and ice what fun! Walking like a couple of new born penguins we finally made it into St. Peter's. I was not prepared for the visual onslaught of beautiful statues, paintings and sculptures. I wished my head could do a 360 to take everything in. The other thing that surprised me was how connected I felt being there. After so many years away from the church I thought it would be awkward or as if I was trespassing in a place I no longer had the right to be in. That certainly was not the case. Pam, was raised Church of England, mentioned how comfortable she felt inside the church. Once back outside we left the square to find a coffee and just relax. We found a little cafe just outside the wall of the Vatican. After enjoying a rest and cappuccino we were going to head back to the hotel. As we were leaving a man from the cafe said "Hurry and you can see the Pope if you go now!". Back across the road and to the square, that had been nearly empty when we left it, was now packed with thousands of people! We were literally in the cafe for no more than 40 minutes, we could not figure out how all of these people suddenly appeared in the square. Then we hear this voice, first in Italian then in English, it was the Pope giving a blessing to the crowd. A blessing of healing. Here we were receiving a blessing from the Pope and yet we had no clue that it was about to happen! Okay, so maybe the Sistine Chapel and Colosseum were closed but how many can say they were in St. Peter's Square for a blessing by Il Papa? Talk about being in the right place! I guess today's moral of the story is good or bad every experience is still an experience and what may seem like burden can suddenly change into a blessing. In our case the latter being a literal blessing.

Fibro 0 - Me 2

The snow has turned to ice but the intrepid travellers went out in search of food. Not before finding a lovely shop that was selling Italian leather boots. Two pairs purchased and we make our way back to our new favourite family owned eatery. The men welcome us with open arms and kisses on the cheeks. The food was out of this world and the wine a perfect companion. Fast forward 2 1/2 hours and we are drinking complimentary Lemoncello. Time to call it a night so more kisses ensue before the door closes behind us. Back on the frozen terrain we set off for a skate back to our hotel.

My original motivation for starting this blog was to have a place to "vent" about the nasty nature of living and more importantly working with Fibromyalgia. Many people don't understand or even believe in Fibromyalgia. Most days I don't understand it either. Just when you think you've got a grip on the varied symptoms and have a working plan to deal with them...you get hit with something completely new and it shakes your confidence that you can stay in control of this mysterious foe. This past week has been a case in point. I started to get a few new and yes irritating symptoms that I have never before had to deal with. So just when I'm ready to begin that feared decent it self pity my lovely, kind and beautiful partner encourages me to tackle walking through Rome in the snow and slush. Out we go to find vey few souls are on the streets and even fewer shops or cafes are open. No problem, we still make our way across the city to the Spanish Steps and see the small piazza covered in a blanket of fluffy white. It is a beautiful sight made even more spectacular because we walked here. We did not take a bus or a taxi or any other transport. If you had asked me this morning what I I thought I could do today (considering my level of pain) I would have said "I probably can't go very far". Enter Pamela to kick me into action. 3 hours later we return!

Rome in snow!

Hello from Rome, Italy

I have finally made it to see one of the most famous cities in the world. Although I have been to Italy several times I have never before made it Rome. Now here I am and I have the chance to see this glorious city in a way 99% of its past visitors will never be able to say...I am in Rome in the snow!
I actually saw a snowman in front of the Colosseum...no gladiators only a lone snowman. Most all the places you want to go in Rome are closed but who cares when see palm trees and orange trees laden with snow. It is a truly awesome and unique view of Rome.
Ciao!